episode_0196

Before meeting No. 13 today, Violet received a message.

The sender was unknown, but after checking the contents, it wasn’t difficult to guess who sent it.

Probably the same unidentified person who had previously told her about Spade.

And that Mr. (or Miss) Unknown seemed to know everything that would happen to her today, and told her about it.

How No. 13 would summon her, and what would happen there… everything.

[It’s best not to trust the person next to you too much.]

[That person is planning to brainwash Violet-nim right now.]

That was what the person who had previously told Violet the truth about her sister’s death had said.

An opponent whose identity is unknown, whose true intentions are unknown, and whose desires are unknown.

Violet isn’t naive or stupid enough to believe such an opponent.

She shouldn’t be.

She has to be.

But there was already one ‘truth’ that this opponent had conveyed.

But there was already one thing that this opponent had verified.

That faintly germinates a seed of trust, making her think, ‘What if…’.

She hoped it wasn’t true.

She prayed that it was all this opponent’s lies, and that No. 13 would be on her side until the end.

But reality was cruel.

Violet was betrayed.

* * *

No. 13 was running away.

For some reason, he failed to neutralize Violet with the brainwashing drug, and instead incurred her wrath, desperately fleeing from the murderous intent pouring out in real time.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

KWAHHHHH!!

“Kuh-uck…!”

The intense explosion and aftershock from right behind him sent No. 13’s body flying.

The speed he was running at with all his might, combined with the force of the explosion that burst right behind him, sent No. 13’s body rolling forward with intense momentum.

He collapsed with an ungainly thud, his body aching and sore as if it had been hammered all over.

“Ugh… Kuh… She’s totally pissed…!”

“No. 13!”

Gasping for breath, No. 13 barely managed to pull himself up, his body aching.

Far behind him, a high-pitched, sticky voice filled with obsession could be heard.

It was the voice of the superior to whom No. 13 had devoted all his loyalty.

And now, it was a shout filled with anger that wouldn’t hesitate to kill No. 13.

Of course, No. 13 and Violet had argued a few times.

It’s only natural, since they’re people. There’s no way they wouldn’t argue while living together.

Like when he slipped in front of Violet and accidentally touched her chest.

Or when Violet happened to witness No. 13 wandering around the base naked for some reason.

But the anger Violet was expressing now was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Much deeper, much darker, much colder, and so deeply sunken that the bottom couldn’t be seen… anger.

That bottomless anger, condensed into murderous intent, was targeting No. 13 and getting closer.

“Oh dear…!”

No. 13 staggered away and eventually arrived at a large container room in an abandoned factory.

A place like a warehouse in the center of the factory where dozens of containers were scattered in disorder.

In that space, No. 13 whipped his aching body and hurriedly hid behind a nearby container.

Violet’s spell magic is versatile and has decent power, but it doesn’t seem suitable for killing people.

“ 【Explode】.”

And.

No. 13 was hiding behind a large container, trying to catch his breath… when suddenly he heard a voice filled with a ghastly murderous intent, as if flowing out of hell.

No. 13 distanced himself from the container he was leaning against, half out of instinct.

And the next moment,

BOOM!!!

“……!”

The container No. 13 was hiding in was bizarrely distorted, and then a gruesome hole was blown in it as if it had exploded from the inside.

The traces of destruction, with the edges rising sharply and jaggedly, looked like a flower made of steel had bloomed.

Violet’s figure was slightly visible beyond the grotesquely distorted and exploded container. But before No. 13 could be seen, he quickly found the next cover and hid.

And the game of tag between No. 13 and Violet… no, hide-and-seek continued.

“ 【Explode, explode, explode, explode! Explode everything!!】”

“Ugh…!”

Crack crack crack crack crack crack crack crack!

Kuddeudeuk! Bageugeugeugeugeuk!!

Bang! Bang! Bang! BOOM! Bang!

Explosions burst here and there, container fragments flew, and huge tons of steel flew into the air.

In that situation, which was like a scene from the end of the world, No. 13 desperately ran through the gaps, focusing all his nerves.

When a flying container door brushed past the side of his face, he felt a real chill down his spine.

“ 【Crush】!”

Kujijijijijijijijijijik!!

The container right next to No. 13 was crushed with a cracking sound at the word he shouted as if venting his anger.

With that, Violet’s vision cleared and No. 13’s figure became visible to her.

At the same time, No. 13 was exposed to Violet’s vision.

And Violet wouldn’t miss it.

“Tch…!”

“ 【Stand】 !”

Violet shouts at No. 13 as if she were talking to a pet dog.

Stop.

Don’t move in that state.

No. 13’s body froze at Violet’s ability, which he had already experienced several times.

‘This is bad…!’

Commands that directly affect the body are weak and don’t last long.

His body only stopped for a moment. But even that would be more than enough for Violet.

Violet, with her golden eyes shining noticeably due to the raised magic power, began to open her mouth again.

She’s going to deliver the final blow to bind the stopped No. 13.

If it stays like this, it’s over.

If he keeps letting it go like this, No. 13 will lose his life as it is.

No. 13 pulled up his strength, saying there was no other choice.

His body is wrapped in golden magic power, forcibly breaking the binding by Violet’s spell.

“──”

But by that time, Violet was just about to put the next spell in her mouth.

It was already too late to evade. Then….

The decision was quick.

No. 13 turned his head, took a breath for a moment, and threw himself at Violet as it was.

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

“……!!”

Violet froze, startled by the loud voice that echoed through the warehouse space.

A lion’s roar containing magic power.

The resounding resonance of the air, far beyond the level that humans can produce, shook the ground and even made the sand dust rise.

The voice that Violet shouted powerfully is also pushed away and scattered by that huge cry.

“Tch…!”

Violet frowns, saying she was hit in a weak spot.

In the meantime, No. 13, who had overcome the crisis, hurriedly escaped from her sight.

Several container boxes had flown away and it had become a mess, but there were still plenty of intact containers left that could be used as cover.

“Hoo… Hoo… Hoo…!”

Violet wipes the sweat flowing under her chin with a tired face.

Her head is buzzing because of the lion’s roar that No. 13 shouted a little while ago. But the fatigue she’s feeling now is probably not just because of that.

She wasted too much magic power.

Her power is definitely a great ability that seems to be omnipotent, but that’s why the consumption of magic power is tremendous.

She has to control it properly and use it, but she got caught up in her emotions and used it too recklessly.

But thanks to releasing so much, she was able to regain some composure.

This time, efficiently, that guy──

“No. 13…!”

I’m going to kill you, she said.

With a voice full of murderous intent, Violet went out again to track down No. 13.

This time, instead of throwing things around recklessly like before, she proceeded cautiously.

* * *

No. 13 was hiding behind a new cover, calming his surprised heart.

The fatigue is still okay. Luckily, he was miraculously unharmed in the bombing a little while ago.

He used some magic power to shake off Violet’s spell binding, and then to stop her spell, but he still has some magic power left.

‘…I used my power on the boss.’

Really. What is going on?

He’s been saving up magic power to fight the heroes, to protect the organization from the Villain Alliance’s schemes, and to protect the boss in case of an emergency.

But now he used that magic power on the boss. And he will use it again.

He doesn’t want to be sentimental, but he can’t help but feel a little bittersweet.

‘There’s no room to think useless thoughts.’

‘First of all, I have to survive.’

If it’s just running away, it seems possible.

He can just hide like this and head to the exit.

Even if Violet finds him, he can block that power in the same way as before.

It’s over if the timing is even slightly off, but that’s a gamble worth taking.

“Hoo-oo-oo-oo….”

Should he have brought Rahe after all?

It’s not that he thought the plan using Coco would definitely succeed.

But he didn’t really want to, so he didn’t bring Rahe after all.

No matter how fraudulent Violet’s ability is, Rahe Captain, who is an even greater cheat, would have been able to do something about it.

Clang…

At some point.

In No. 13’s hand, which was troubled, was a chain that he had seen somewhere before.

At the end of the chain, there is a hook-shaped lump of iron.

It was like a miniaturized version of a ship’s anchor that was easy to hold in his hand.

Nevertheless, it was heavy enough for an ordinary person to hold with both hands, but it was the perfect weight to handle with magic-enhanced strength.

─If he runs away.

─If it’s just running away, it definitely won’t be too difficult.

And after running away and calling Rahe or someone else, it won’t be difficult to subdue Violet.

But he didn’t want to do that.

He couldn’t bring himself to run away.

He didn’t feel like running away.

“…Should I give it a try?”

No. 13 closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, and moved to the side of the container he was hiding, muffling his footsteps.