episode_0174

[Side: Plaza within the Black Market]

Whooooooooosh

“Ugh, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Number 13 screamed as he fell straight down from the sky.

Rahe, holding Number 13 in her arms as they fell together, remained calm.

They had been ejected from a helicopter flying in the air and were falling without even equipment like parachutes.

It was a height and speed that would shatter an ordinary person upon impact with the ground, but for Rahe, this was no problem at all.

“Number 13-nim, please be careful not to bite your tongue.”

As they neared the ground, she adjusted Number 13 in her arms.

She took a posture that would minimize the impact on him as much as possible and reinforced her legs and entire body by appropriately distributing magic power.

And then, impact.

Kuwuung!!!

They landed with a deafening noise.

However, nothing was broken, and there was no shattering.

But Number 13, terrified, couldn’t easily get out of Rahe’s arms. Utterly pathetic.

The plaza located in the center of the black market.

Rahe and Number 13, held in her arms, had just arrived at that plaza.

The location presumed to be Apple’s location had already been confirmed.

The aide had obtained black market map data and pointed out several places where Apple was suspected to be, and Aria’s precognition confirmed exactly which building Apple was in.

It would have been easier to descend directly onto the building where Apple was, but the closer they got to her, the more problematic her ability to remotely control electronic devices became. They could potentially end up crashing the helicopter into some strange mountain.

That would be the end of them in many ways. Rahe and Number 13 wouldn’t die from it, but Number 13 would be killed by the boss for losing a valuable asset, the helicopter. Either way, he’d end up dead.

“Ugh… but this kind of landing isn’t good… It feels like my insides are completely turned upside down.”

“Are you alright? Is there anything that’s bothering you?”

“…I can’t whine. I seem to be alright… for now. More importantly──”

Number 13 scanned his surroundings, on guard.

The moment the helicopter was spotted, they would already be marked by the enemies.

And now, immediately after falling and landing with Rahe, people were flocking to this plaza.

At a glance, they didn’t seem to be kind people who had come out of concern for those who had fallen.

And above all, there was one familiar face among them.

“Finally, you’ve come, Captain of the 7th Squad!! I thought I would be the one to come looking for you, but I never expected you to come first! I’m so happy!!”

“That woman…”

A villain appeared at the head of the crowd, as if she had been waiting, immediately after they landed in the plaza.

She was a huge woman, and every word she spoke was hearty and belligerent.

The former leader of the villain organization Lesserat.

The villain Delta, whom Spade had previously pursued but ultimately missed.

She had already heard the whole story about her from Aria.

She was the weapon of mass destruction to be used against Rahe and the joker that Apple possessed.

It was hard to believe, considering she had run away because she couldn’t handle Spade alone before, but something must have changed in the meantime.

At this moment, villains were gathering in the plaza one after another, surrounding them.

The number of villains was increasing, and above all, there was an opponent at the head who might be comparable to Rahe.

Of course, no matter what tricks she used, it was unimaginable that Rahe would lose to a mere villain.

However, it would be troublesome if Apple escaped in the meantime while they were held up here.

“Then, Rahe, please proceed as planned.”

“…Are you really sure about this?”

“It can’t be helped.”

“Hey, you two, what are you chatting about? Is this your living room?!”

Delta stepped forward, provoking them.

At her feet, ice pillars erupted with a crackling sound.

In addition, a dark navy-blue magic power bloomed, surrounding Delta.

The ominous magic power looked dangerous enough to shout at Rahe with confidence.

“Then, Number 13-nim… let’s begin.”

Despite Delta’s menacing threat, Rahe, unconcerned, reached out her hand toward her surroundings.

The next moment, a thick ice wall rose up at once, as if to envelop the two of them.

* * *

The wide ice wall prevented the villains gathered in the plaza from approaching.

It was amazing how she could create such an ice wall with just a wave of her hand, both in technique and magic power.

The subordinates were also surprised by the sudden rise of the ice wall. But for Delta, it was a trivial matter.

“What is this!! Let’s fight! Let’s fight, Rahe!! I’ve been preparing until now to fight you!!”

The height of the ice wall was about 3 meters.

At Delta’s command, some villains jumped over the wall, or flew in the air to ignore the wall.

Others tried to melt the wall by breathing fire, and Delta, reinforcing her bare body with magic power, jumped in and demolished part of the wall in front of her at once.

Delta had easily demolished the wall in this way, but when she crossed the wall, she was faced with a strange sight.

In the middle of the widely surrounding ice wall, Rahe was crouching down, taking a stance as if to throw something.

And on one of Rahe’s arms─Number 13 was curled up, clinging to her.

It was already too late when she realized what it was for and what the intention was.

“Throw him, Rahe!!”

“Under…stood!!”

Golden magic power explosively burst out from one of Rahe’s arms.

And soon, Rahe’s arm was swung.

Pwaaaah!!

It sounded as if fireworks were exploding.

At the same time, Number 13 was launched as is, leaving behind a glittering golden trail.

The place where his thrown body was heading was, needless to say, the building where Apple was located.

Everyone, including the villains who had jumped over the wall, the villains flying in the air, and even Delta who had enthusiastically broken through the wall, all froze at this sudden and unexpected act.

“Aren’t they completely crazy…!”

Delta muttered, involuntarily letting out a hollow laugh.

* * *

It was impossible to reach Apple’s location by helicopter.

But if they landed within a range where Apple’s abilities couldn’t reach and ran, it would be quite a distance.

Above all, if they were met with interference from the 『Lesserat』 villains under Apple’s command, time would be even further delayed.

Aria’s precognition wasn’t omnipotent. There was no guarantee that they could quickly chase after the escaped Apple.

Furthermore, if they missed Apple today, they would be unable to prevent the upcoming war between villains and heroes.

That’s why, although it was a somewhat forced method, they had to take this approach.

After reaching a position as close as possible by helicopter, Rahe would use her power to launch only Number 13 to the location where Apple was.

‘…For now, the speed and angle are fine. The problem is the landing… but they said there’s a method.’

Rahe narrowed her eyes and checked the figure of Number 13 flying away, leaving behind a faint golden trail.

Rahe also thought this operation was crazy.

But since the person involved in the operation himself said it was okay, and he ordered her to do it anyway… Rahe couldn’t refuse.

──!!

And the villains’ attack began on Rahe, who appeared to be defenseless at first glance.

Villains flying in the air and villains transforming into beasts rushed in from all directions, surrounding Rahe, aiming for her vitals and extending sharp claws or weapons in their hands.

And the next moment.

Rahe’s body seemed to sway lightly, and then half of the villains who were rushing at her were cut in two.

The other half were either trapped in ice pillars as is, or were pierced through the abdomen by ice spikes that sprang up from the ground and died.

Before she knew it, Rahe was holding a snow-white rapier in her hand.

Golden magic power, radiating cold air, was wrapped around one hand that wasn’t holding the sword.

Rahe’s black hair and eyes had also turned golden.

It was a sign that she was ready to go all out.

“I am Rahe, the captain of the 7th Squad of the Hero Association. Villains of the villain organization 『Lesserat』, I will mercilessly punish you in this place for causing chaos in the country and threatening the safety and lives of citizens. Those who value their lives should immediately drop their weapons and lie face down on the ground and surrender. The safety of those who do not cannot be guaranteed.”

Her clear voice echoed through the plaza.

But no one was intimidated by Rahe’s words and surrendered or lay down.

They were all deeply fascinated and controlled by Apple.

They were prepared to give up their lives, and they were not afraid or retreated even in the face of Rahe, the greatest power on the hero side.

Rather, they were each screaming, spewing vulgar obscene remarks and swear words, each numbing their reason and stimulating their emotions.

Faced with those who looked like a group of beasts, Rahe decided that there was no need to hesitate any longer.

“Kuaaaaaaang!!”

And.

As if she had really become an irrational beast, the villain Delta made a menacing attitude and sound, and rushed towards Rahe without hesitation with a dark navy-blue magic power.