episode_0031

“…”

“Seolha?”

During their morning jog, when Seolha started running faster without saying a word, Arthur found it hard to keep up and called out to Seolha.

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

Struggling to catch his breath, Arthur said, “It seems like you’re lost in thought.”

“Oh…”

I know what she’s thinking about.

“Did someone ask you a question?”

“A question?”

I naturally asked Seolha.

“Yes, what do you think is the biggest problem with a sweater?”

“A sweater?”

“Yes.”

“……”

I know the answer to the question. It’s obvious. I’m the one who asked the quiz.

What should I do? Should I give her the answer?

“Hmm… What type of question is it?”

“What?”

“The type of question. If you’re really asking about the problem with a sweater, there are several types of answers you could be looking for. Technical? Price-related? Or nonsense?”

“Ah.”

I think I’ve given enough of a hint now.

“It’s probably nonsense.”

Of course, Mad Hatter likes jokes.

“The problem with the sweater… Hmm, I don’t really know. What do you think, Arthur?”

“Hmm… Nonsense… The problem with the sweater.”

I pretended to think. Should I give her the answer?

“…Sweat?”

“Yes?”

“Because it’s a ‘sweat’er, wouldn’t ‘sweat’ be the problem? Sweat? Or maybe body odor?”

“!!”

Seolha’s eyes widened at Arthur’s response.

“…That seems right, doesn’t it?”

“Haha, really? Be sure to ask the person who posed the question. See if the answer is correct.”

“Yes…”

(Boom! Boom! Boom!)

“Come on, move!”

People shouted towards two huge trucks that were not moving on the road.

(Vroom)

Meanwhile, on the opposite lane, a truck of the same model as the ones blocking the road approached from the side.

(Squeak!)

As the two trucks moved alongside the originally stationary ones, they came to a halt.

“?”

“What’s going on?”

As four identical trucks blocked the road, people sensed something was amiss.

(Creak!)

In the midst of this strange turn of events, people climbed onto the trucks.

“!!”

“!!”

Bulletproof vests, modified military uniforms, large bags, and people holding mini-guns with multiple barrels connected.

(Squeak!)

“Alright!! I’ll give you 10 seconds! Run quickly!!”

A person who looked like the leader on top of the truck shouted at the people using a megaphone.

At the man’s shout, the citizens who were walking quickly ran, and those in the cars jumped out and fled onto the road.

“One~~two~~three~~four~~”

The man counted with the megaphone.

(Thud!)

“Hurry! Hurry!”

“Got it.”

In the man’s eyes, people were already seen running far away.

“Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!”

He quickly counted down the remaining numbers.

“Fire!”

(Zzzing!!!)

At the man’s command, his subordinates with the mini-guns started shooting bullets.

(Bang!!!)

On top of the huge truck, vehicles in front and behind began to turn into heaps of metal.

(Zzzing!!)

After sufficiently turning the vehicles into heaps, the subordinates started shooting at the people.

(Bang!!!)

People hit by the mini-guns turned into masses that indicated they were made of flesh and blood.

“Massacre?”

[Yes, a massacre! Villains armed with mini-guns are at 43rd Street! Already dozens dead!]

“I’m going.”

Snow Flower, dressed in a costume from the F Division of the Administration Bureau, immediately leaped out of the window upon receiving the message.

(Swoosh!!)

And swiftly began flying at high speed.

“The villain is?”

“A-Class villain, Bloodbath.”

“!”

Bloodbath, he doesn’t have any special abilities. Perhaps among A-Class villains, he might be the weakest. However, his greatest ability wasn’t a superpower. For him, the greatest ability lay in his cruelty.

He enjoys massacres, whether revealed or concealed. What’s the difference between a villain and a criminal? It’s simple. A villain wants their actions to be known, while a criminal hopes to remain hidden.

In that sense, Bloodbath was something between a villain and a criminal. He killed people whether he revealed himself or not. Many cases had been uncovered where he killed people without revealing himself.

For this reason, the conclusion of the Administration Bureau regarding Bloodbath was clear.

‘A lunatic who enjoys massacres.’

“I’ll be there soon.”

[Be careful, he’s carrying a mini-gun.]

“Yes.”

“He’s a hero!!”

Suddenly, a subordinate holding a minigun arrived at the crime scene and found Snow Flower, shouting,

“(Geeeeeeng!!!)”

All the subordinates aimed their miniguns at Snow Flower and fired at the sky. It was like a scene from a war where anti-aircraft guns were firing. No, it was exactly that. They were using miniguns actually used for anti-aircraft purposes to shoot at a being in the sky. So, this was an anti-aircraft attack.

“(Whiiiiing!)”

Snow Flower created an ice shield to defend against such an attack, dodging here and there. It seemed that since people were shooting miniguns rather than precisely targeting with mechanical devices, the accuracy wasn’t very high.

However, within seconds, hundreds of bullets, given that there were four miniguns, over a thousand bullets were flying towards her, so she managed to avoid getting hit by the bullets, but couldn’t easily approach.

“(Clank! Clunk!)”

One minigun shooter dropped his bullets, and the subordinates carrying bullets came out of the truck and started putting them into a huge bag on their backs.

“(Shiik! Kwajik!)”

At that moment, Snow Flower created hail and hurled it towards the miniguns, completely destroying them.

“Ha!”

Rather than aiming for the shooter, a perfect sniper shot only at the minigun, and the villain Bloodvess sneered.

“Dodge it.”

“Oops.”

“(Clank! Clank! Clank!)”

As Bloodvess got down under the truck, the minigun shooters also went inside the truck.

“Where are they?”

When the anti-aircraft fire stopped, Snow Flower flew towards the truck.

“(Clank! Clank!)”

But at that moment, a minigun turret emerged from the truck.

“!!”

“(Geeeeeng!!)”

Fortunately, Snow Flower was able to create a shield to protect herself, but due to the firepower of the minigun, along with the shield, she was thrown backward.

“(Vroooom!! Kwa-dook!!)”

The huge trucks began to flee in the opposite direction of Snow Flower, trampling over once-functional vehicles and intact cars that had become obstacles in front of them.

“Keh heh heh.”

Inside the truck, Bloodvess laughed as he looked ahead.

“?”

As he ran quickly, he saw a man standing in the middle of the road.

“What should we do?”

“What should we do? Run him over.”

“(Vrooooom!)”

Trucks were running in one direction on the four-lane road like a giant monster running down the road. Amidst the rush, the leftmost truck started to make noise and then spun 180 degrees, flying into the sky.

“!!”

The rightmost truck, this time, also flipped 180 degrees just like before.

“What the!”

Now, the two trucks in the middle simultaneously made noise.

“Damn it!”

Bloodbath grabbed the handle and shouted.

(Thud!)

…

(Clank!)

“Heuk! Heuk!”

From the overturned truck, Bloodbath opened the door at the bottom of the truck, no, now the door on the ceiling, and climbed onto the truck.

“……”

As Bloodbath, bleeding from his head, raised his head, the figure of the man who had been standing on the road earlier was seen on top of the truck.

“Hello?”

Another villain, Mad Hatter, greeted Bloodbath.

“Damn it.”

In response to Mad Hatter’s greeting, Bloodbath muttered quietly.

“You’re acting up because you’re avoiding the hero, huh? What a pain for a villain.”

Bloodbath, he is a very cunning man. A man who has slaughtered people dozens of times. Perhaps more than an S-class villain, he is a man who kills many people. He is impulsive but also calculated.

He has an insatiable desire for slaughter and therefore impulsively decides to slaughter, but he is a villain with two irreconcilable traits: impulsive slaughter and meticulous planning.

Even for this terror alone, he had meticulously planned the crime scene, battle with the hero, escape, and more.

“Yeah, I’m a villain who kills villains.”

As this was the first terror in the F district, Bloodbath thoroughly investigated the F district. Naturally, he came to know Mad Hatter in the process of investigating the heroes and villains residing here.

“I’m active like that these days.”

Arthur answered Bloodbath’s question.

“Just one thing, why kill villains? Are you pretending to be a good guy or something?”

“Yes? Hahaha!! There’s no way.”

In response to Bloodbath’s question, Arthur laughed and said, “I’m just doing my job; it’s just so noisy, so I’m cleaning up. And above all, I really loathe bad guys. It’s a kind of self-loathing, you know?”

Arthur pulled out a handgun from his pocket and said, “Got a cigarette?”

“I’m on a no-smoking streak.”

“Today, everything’s getting messier in the army.”

(Thud!)

“Bloodybe!!……..”

Snow Flower, who swiftly flew to chase Bloodybe, spotted Mad Hatter standing next to Bloodybe.

“Oh! Snow Flower, my dear.”

Mad Hatter greeted Snow Flower warmly upon seeing her.

“Don’t shoot.”

Snow Flower said to Arthur, who was aiming at Bloodybe with a gun.

“Hmm? This person just shot and killed dozens of people. A very bad person. Are you trying to save even such a person?”

“Whatever crime they committed, they must face the judgment of the law.”

“…Then what about those who won’t face the judgment of the law?”

Arthur, who always smiled, hardened his expression at Snow Flower’s response and spoke in a lowered voice as if shooting his words, “What?”

Seeing Mad Hatter’s unfamiliar reaction, Snow Flower was taken aback.

(Swish)

Realizing her mistake, Arthur covered his mouth with his hand.

“…Haha! So, did you read my letter?”

Then, he smiled again like the usual Mad Hatter and said to Snow Flower, “What’s the biggest problem with a sweater? Snow Flower, my dear.”

“Sweat.”

“…Oh, correct. Did you figure it out yourself?”

“Thanks to a good friend.”

Who is that good friend? How honorable.

“Even if I don’t know, seems like a very smart friend, right?”

Arthur asked Bloodybe.

“…I’m uncomfortable, can we finish this quickly?”

Bloodybe, not understanding the conversation between the two, said.

“Oh, I’ve been rude.”

“It’s fine. Do what you have to do, I’m starting to lose feeling in my legs.”

After finishing speaking, Bloodybe closed his eyes. He had already accepted his fate.

“That’s right.”

(Click)

Arthur aimed the handgun at Bloodybe’s head.

(Rat-a-tat-tat!!)

And pulled the trigger.

“…”

(Rat-a-tat!…)

The muzzle of the handgun went silent after all the rounds were spent from the magazine.

(Thud)

Bloodybe’s headless body fell under the truck.

“Mad Hatter!!”

(Swoosh)

Seeing that sight, Snow Flower conjured up icicles and shouted, “Unfortunately, today I have no intention of fighting with Snow Flower, my dear.”

“Ahhhh!!”

Black smoke rose around Arthur.

“Well, then I’ll see you at the next tea party.”

Arthur disappeared into the smoke, politely taking off his hat and placing it on the seat as he bid farewell.