episode_0034

—Club Kidnapped: ■ Hours Later.

Squad 7’s base, in the conference room.

A heavy atmosphere hung in the air as Squad 7’s members sat around a large table.

Squad 7’s Vice-Commander, Check. Squad 7’s combat-oriented member, Spade. Squad 7’s dispatched member and a part of Headquarters’ [Intelligence Department], Coco. Squad 7’s administrative member, Apple. And… Squad 7’s Commander, Rahye.

Originally, Squad 7 had Club plus one more member, totaling seven members in all. And all of them were also Awakened.

“First, it seems everyone who was supposed to gather is here. Is that right, Check?”

“Yes, Commander-nim. Everyone is present, excluding Agent Aria, who is dispatched to Headquarters, and Club, who is missing in action.”

As Vice-Commander Check replied in a clear, distinct voice, Rahye, seated at the head of the table, nodded. She then tapped and straightened the stack of reports in her hand.

Long black hair with a smooth, fine luster. Tall like a model with a slender build and a full, voluminous chest. A woman whose impression went beyond ‘beautiful’ to ‘perfect,’ with not a single flaw to be found.

With mature eyes that maintained composure in any situation, she was indeed the Commander leading Squad 7, and the [Ice Witch] who struck fear into countless villains.

Though only in her twenties, she was recognized for her dazzlingly brilliant achievements during the [Great Catastrophe] three years ago and was appointed to the important role of Squad 7’s Commander, protecting the capital region.

Indeed, as if her past achievements and abilities demonstrated during the ‘Great Catastrophe’ were no coincidence, within three years of Rahye’s appointment as Squad 7 Commander, most of the large and small villain organizations in S-City, her assigned area, were annihilated.

While she was a reliable and dependable ally with no enemies among her own, this was precisely why villains who faced her as foes called her ‘The Witch.’

However, thanks to her flawless and perfect personality, Rahye had always received high praise from her superiors until now, but her reputation was likely to be greatly shaken by this incident.

A subordinate kidnapped by a villain.

Even in this era, many heinous villains remained, and when dealing with them, it was common for heroes to be severely injured or even die.

But at least as long as Rahye was Commander, such a thing had never happened.

This incident could even be called unprecedented.

‘…The reduction in personnel as the era became peaceful… and not being able to pay enough attention due to newly emerging villain organizations…’ ‘…Sigh… Really…’

She had no intention of making excuses, but she had to reflect on herself coldly. It had been a hectic time with insufficient personnel and a disproportionately increasing workload, and Spade and Club were subordinates who could be fully trusted in terms of skill.

Therefore, even if time were turned back to the past, she would have undoubtedly ordered the same actions. That was the best choice. That was the optimal solution.

And unfortunately, in this situation, the opponent’s response surpassed Squad 7’s ‘best.’

That was all there was to it. It should have been just that… but regardless, she couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming heaviness in her heart.

“You all must have received the reports. In that case, Apple, please give a brief briefing before we start the meeting in earnest.”

“Yes, Commander-nim.”

As if taking over from Rahye, Apple rose from her seat, holding the report in her hand. The report in her hand was one she had written with Spade. Everything was written in it, from the events that occurred at a certain department store today, to the circumstances of Club’s disappearance.

Even if it was ‘everything,’ it was nothing more than what two people saw from their perspectives. Presumably due to that villain’s actions, all recording devices and data were destroyed, so at the moment, they could only rely on the two people’s testimonies.

“First, as you well know, today at [time] and [minutes], a villain terror threat was received――”

***

“――This concludes my report. Thank you.”

After Apple’s briefing ended, sighs emanated from various parts of the conference room.

They weren’t exactly blaming Spade, who had been on-site but failed to protect Club, but Spade, who felt some responsibility for the incident, tightly clenched her fists, her face rigid.

“…Spade, relax your shoulders a bit. From what I hear, it couldn’t be helped.”

Vice-Commander Check spoke to Spade, as if comforting her. Unlike the tone she had used with Commander Rahye just moments ago, her current speech carried a strange dialect and accent. A biracial individual, a Hong Kong Korean, it was unclear where she had learned Korean, but a peculiar dialect would mix in when she spoke comfortably.

At any rate, there was nothing wrong with Check’s words. According to Apple’s report just now, Club unilaterally left her post and confronted the villain one-on-one, and based on circumstantial evidence, there was no other way to see it than that she was defeated by the villain and dragged away.

This was entirely Club’s fault for not following the instructions of her senior, Spade. As someone who had observed Club’s usual behavior, it wasn’t difficult to imagine her getting blindly overzealous for achievements and rushing forward.

“I had thought about teaching her more carefully about that part, but it’s also my fault for not doing it properly, using busyness as an excuse.”

In addition to Check’s encouraging words to Spade, Coco, who was sitting next to her, added as if to chime in. With ash-colored hair and a somewhat cunning impression, she was in charge of Club’s training due to reasons like compatibility of abilities.

“That kid was hailed as an ace where she originally came from. And she’s young. I thought she’d get a harsh lesson sometime, but I never imagined it would be like this.”

“That couldn’t be helped either. Still, hasn’t she improved a lot compared to when we first saw her?”

“Look where that got her. …I clearly taught her that nothing shortens your lifespan as much as being pointlessly stubborn on the field.”

Perhaps she was feeling the responsibility of being a trainer. Coco muttered with a regretful expression. It seemed she had more to say, but when Commander Rahye spoke, both Check and Coco fell silent.

“Let’s do the scolding later. For now, based on the report, it seems Club’s fault for acting arbitrarily on-site is significant. However, Spade also bears responsibility for not properly controlling Club. Spade, do you understand?”

“…Yes, Commander-nim.”

“And Apple, too. What do you think you’re doing, entering a building where a villain is barricaded, defenselessly? You could have judged more calmly. There was a risk of increasing the number of victims.”

“I’m sorry…”

According to the report, Apple couldn’t observe the interior because all the computer equipment inside the building malfunctioned, so she couldn’t stand it and impulsively rushed inside. Fortunately, Spade found and protected her; otherwise, if something had gone wrong, both Club and Apple might have been taken hostage and dragged away. It was an immense relief that she, who could not be expected to contribute any force, was not kidnapped. Moreover, if you put it that way, it could even be seen as somewhat better that Club, who could at least protect herself, was the one dragged away.

“And we need to revise our understanding of Villain No. 13. I distinctly heard in the previous report that she had lost all her powers.”

“There was a report from Club last time, suggesting some of her powers might have returned.”

Previously, when Club encountered her at the department store, there was a report that she couldn’t face her head-on and desperately fled. In this instance, she couldn’t overcome Spade and Club’s coordinated attack and fled, but when facing Club one-on-one, she achieved victory… that’s how it should be considered. If so, they would need to raise the threat level of Villain No. 13, which had been arbitrarily set low.

“Spade, as you directly encountered her, please write a more detailed report on this. Specifically, what exactly that villain is capable of…”

And so, the meeting continued. Even so, for now, it was merely assessing the situation and setting a course of action for the future. Squad 7 seemed likely to focus all their efforts on ascertaining the whereabouts of the villain organization [Abyss] to rescue Club.

With the possibility of asking other units for help if necessary, the meeting continued, each person feeling a mixture of worry, concern, and various other emotions.

***

The meeting had already moved away from the topic of Club and shifted to a certain villain organization that had recently risen. The kidnapping of a comrade was a big enough deal, but coincidentally, there was also a dangerous case that Squad 7 heroes had to respond to with full force.

The reason Rahye had to leave S-City today was also because a special meeting regarding it was held at Headquarters.

Everyone, especially Commander Rahye, seemed very worried about Club, but for now, they swallowed their worry and discussed the important topic.

‘………………What is it?’ ‘Something… feels off.’

However, throughout the meeting, Spade, who was attending, couldn’t relax her stiff expression. Of course, she was concerned about her junior, Club’s, well-being, and she felt responsible for her kidnapping.

But more than that. She had an extremely uneasy feeling about the contents of the report she had written with Apple, and also about the content of the meeting just now.

The events at the department store where the villain attack occurred, the encounter with No. 13, the series of events that followed… None of it was entirely wrong, but she couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of incongruity in places.

As if something was wrong. As if something was decisively distorted.

‘……Why on earth?’

But no matter how much she thought, she couldn’t find the reason. She couldn’t even understand why she thought that. Why? Why would that be? I don’t quite understand…

And Apple watched Spade, over her round glasses. With dark, eerie, and gloomy eyes, she watched her as if evaluating.