episode_0179

***

It was indeed Spade. A merciless fist.

No. 13, knocked down by Spade’s one punch, watched in admiration from the floor, pretending to be dead.

However, his feigned death was in vain, as Spade’s gaze returned to the fallen No. 13.

“Get up, you son of a bitch.”

Realizing that pretending to be dead any longer would be useless, he quickly stood up.

“S, Spade. Wait a minute. Just listen to my story.”

“Shut up.”

“Just calm down a little──”

“I said shut up!!”

Spade’s foot slammed into No. 13’s abdomen, and No. 13’s kicked body flew several meters across the corridor, rolling on the floor.

“I’m going to kill you.”

A cold, angry voice was directed at No. 13, who was clutching his stomach and rolling on the floor.

“I’m going to kill you, No. 13!!”

A powerful surge of magic caused the floor to rumble and the air to tremble.

Feeling the premonition of death like the Grim Reaper’s scythe touching his neck, No. 13 desperately tried to get up. He had to escape.

He barely supported himself with his trembling arms and managed to lift himself up, but just before he could properly stand, Spade, who had strode up to him, kicked No. 13’s abdomen again, sending him flying.

No. 13’s body flew through the air like trash once more.

“Keuheoeuk… Keuheok…!”

Rolling on the floor, No. 13 was finally unable to get up.

From his mouth, barely facing downwards, a dark red clot of blood gushed out.

His whole body was a mess, and the pain was no joke, as his muscles and internal organs were torn and ruptured here and there from the damage he had already taken.

His vision blurred and his consciousness seemed to fly away, but the pain instead brought him back to his senses.

It hurt.

It hurt so, so much.

“Get up, you son of a bitch!”

However, without even having time to writhe on the floor in pain, his fallen body was forcibly lifted.

Spade had grabbed No. 13’s collar and pulled him up.

“I remember everything. I remember everything! You trash villain!”

“Khuhuk… Heoeok… Khulleok…! Keo… ha… eu… S, Spad… Just, just a moment… just…”

Kuuung!!

While grabbing No. 13 by the collar, Spade slammed No. 13’s body against the wall as if throwing it.

The force and impact, as if he had fallen onto the wall, tormented No. 13 with difficulty breathing, and he trembled in pain.

His body was already covered in bruises and bloodstains, and his bones were broken and swollen in strange ways, making his body so gruesome that one would turn away just by looking at it.

However, Spade, who was pushing No. 13 against the wall, didn’t seem to care about any of that, and put even more force into the arm pushing No. 13.

“Release it.”

“Heo… eok… heoeok… Ju… st a moment…”

“Release it, you son of a bitch! The brainwashing, release it!!”

“R, release… d… I released it….”

With something, whether phlegm or blood, stuck in his throat, preventing him from even producing a proper voice, No. 13 desperately replied.

“I… won’t… be affected… anymore… I won’t be affected… really….”

The suggestion placed on Spade had been completely lifted with the 『Release Suggestion』 a little while ago.

It was not a temporary liberation.

It was no different from an initialization to the point where restoration was impossible.

It was a desperate measure to shake off Apple’s hypnotic suggestion, but thanks to it, No. 13 no longer had any way to control her.

In any case, he could no longer do anything to Spade.

No. 13 barely conveyed the situation, but Spade, not receiving the answer he wanted, pressed him with an even more ferocious momentum.

“I’m not talking about me!”

“Our Squad 7.”

“Release all the brainwashing you put on my colleagues, on our Captain, you trash!”

All the constraints that had been dominating Spade’s mind were released, and the current Spade remembered everything that had happened during the brainwashing.

There was still confusion in his head.

Perhaps because he had just regained his senses, it was difficult to bear as it felt like bugs were crawling inside his skull.

But even in that situation.

Spade instinctively knew that if he didn’t do something to No. 13 now, there would really be no way or means to do so later.

So.

He had to do something now.

Previously, he had thought of him as just a fool whose actions were insignificant compared to his abilities.

But now, seeing this man controlling Squad 7 like his own limbs and even dominating and manipulating Captain Rahe, Spade clearly sensed that he was the greatest enemy that the Hero Association had to eliminate first.

And.

And above all.

“I’m going to kill you, No. 13!”

“I don’t care.”

“If it had ended with me, I wouldn’t be this angry!”

“But, touching the other people in Squad 7, you clearly crossed the line.”

“Disgracing those people, making them like that!”

“You crossed the line, you bastard!”

Spade’s shout contained anger, but it was not directed at himself.

Rather than himself, it was for others.

She had already made up her mind that she would endure whatever she had to as long as she was a hero.

So, she wouldn’t have complained no matter what happened to her from the point where she fell for the villain’s scheme and was defeated.

If No. 13 had only touched Spade, she wouldn’t have been this angry, and would have only thought of calmly and rationally arresting No. 13 and dragging him away.

However.

However.

However.

Not herself, but others.

When she thought that he had laid his hands on her precious colleagues.

She couldn’t bear the anger.

The killing intent and hatred surged wildly, her lips trembled, and it felt like her brain was bubbling and boiling…!

“Ha, haha… hahahaha, ha… ha…!”

And.

In response to Spade’s attitude, No. 13 responded with a labored laugh.

“You’re laughing?!”

“W, well… I’m laughing… How can I not laugh when you’re saying something so funny….”

Spade grabbed No. 13 by the collar and slammed him against the wall again with a kuuung!

The air was forcibly drawn from No. 13’s lungs.

“What’s so funny? What’s so funny?”

“Well… talking about villains… crossing the line… or whatever….”

Kuuuung!

Once again, Spade slammed No. 13’s body against the wall.

“Kkeo… euk…!”

No. 13’s consciousness was already hanging by a thread.

If he took another impact like this, he would definitely pass out.

Even in that situation, No. 13 stubbornly spoke in a hissing voice.

“Hey, hero… What’s so strange about a villain doing bad things like breathing?”

“Talking about crossing the line or whatever, you’re saying funny things….”

“We already crossed the line a long time ago.”

“The villain does villainous things, and the hero punishes them.”

“The villain takes revenge on the hero who punishes them.”

“What’s with seriously saying such obvious reality, about crossing the line, about not being able to forgive… Are you okay in the head?”

In the pain and bleeding, he spat out incoherent words with a dreamy head.

He felt like his lifespan was steadily being shaved off with each sentence he uttered.

However, without caring about that, he really pleaded to Spade with his life on the line.

“…….”

It was unknown what Spade felt from No. 13’s shouting.

But the light of dangerous anger that he had shown until just now seemed to have disappeared from his eyes.

But instead, what was reflected in Spade’s eyes was a cold-blooded murderous intent.

Spade decided that he had to eliminate the villain No. 13.

Revenge for the fact that he had humiliated himself and his colleagues was now irrelevant.

He just instinctively felt that he, as a hero, had to finish this man here.

He was too dangerous.

He clearly sensed that for heroes and for this society, this man should never be alive.

And.

And more than anything.

“……Die.”

Like that.

Just as Spade was about to swing his fist to smash the head of the unresisting No. 13.

Jureueueueuk.

No. 13’s shadow at his feet rose up, writhing like water, as if it were a surface of water.

“?!”

‘Oh no…!’

‘Shadow… the Chief of Staff’s ability…!’

Appearing as if emerging from the shadows was Captain Rahe of Squad 7, wearing a white uniform.

She, who had no wounds or disarray even after fighting the Lesserat combatants.

At the same time as she sprang from the shadows, she aimed for Spade’s solar plexus without question and swung the hand holding the sword hilt.

Although it was a sudden event, Spade was also a hero who was being reborn as a soldier of reversals.

He was able to recognize and react to Rahe’s appearance springing from the shadows and her attempt to attack.

But that was all.

He couldn’t manage to block Rahe’s fist, which was unleashed with lightning speed.

Peoeoeoeok!!

“……!”

Rahe’s fist, which accurately struck the center of his solar plexus, dug in deeply with an ominous sound of udeok udeok udeok ppudeuk.

“Euk… kkeo… euk…!!”

“I’m sorry, Spade.”

“Cap…tai…n….”

A body strengthened with magic was useless.

With force beyond that, but with power adjusted so that Spade’s body wouldn’t explode, the force accurately reached the inside of Spade.

Spade, whose body had slightly floated up with the shock of the fist, lost his strength and collapsed at Rahe’s feet with a thud, losing consciousness.

“Keuheok… heoeok… heoeok…!”

No. 13, who had been grabbed by the collar by Spade, also slid down with his back against the wall and slumped down.

Fortunately, his head was intact without being smashed….

***

With the leader Apple, her subordinates, the villains, and Spade, who Apple had especially kept by her side, completely neutralized.

Like this.

With Spade’s fainting as the last event, Squad 7’s 『Lesserat』 raid operation successfully came to an end….