chapter 23
05 : Even in this world, the police are the ones who solve cases.
Sudden villain raids and kidnappings. missing abilities. in front of such an unprecedented situation. A girl named Mina trembled with fear of the end, which was completely different from the fear she had felt until now.
It’s not like Mina hasn’t had her life threatened while fighting a supervillain.
However, it was because he was in danger because he lacked his own strength, and he had never trembled in helplessness because he couldn’t do anything like this.
The fear of helplessness felt for the first time by a girl who had overwhelming power from the beginning. The fear made the girl not dare to do anything.
Seeing the man wearing a strange mask and the spider man staring out of the building as if they were waiting for someone and not interested in Mina, Mina eased her fears a bit and was able to think.
Mina, who alleviated her fear, thought first. Why did they kidnap me?
I wondered if they were trying to find out their true identity and retaliate, but the gaze of the masked man and the prepared camera were fixed elsewhere as if they had no interest in Mina.
Then there are other purposes, but what is their purpose?
money? There is no reason to choose him if he intends to extort money by deliberately kidnapping him. Because Mina has no family left and no money.
Looking at the clothes of the spider man, it seems to be the same religious group as those who hated psychic people in the news yesterday and tried to kidnap them.
The more I think about it, the more strange it is. If it was really intended to harm them, it would make sense to kill them immediately after bringing them to the construction site instead of tying them up like this.
All of their actions make no sense. Mina, who chewed her lips carefully, realized the purpose of the masked man only after a while and hearing a familiar voice outside.
“Yes, I came alone, you bastard! Where did you put the little boy! Skip the kids and let’s try it with adults! I’m here! Whether steamed or boiled, try it!!”
familiar voice. It was the voice of Detective Lee Moon-soo.
Mina swallowed her breath as her heart felt dizzy.
Even Mina knows that many things have happened and Detective Lee Moon-soo has become famous, and that there is a high risk of being targeted by criminals with a grudge.
Then, the reason why he was kidnapped now is a bait for an attack by those who wanted to retaliate against Detective Lee Moon-soo.
“[You’re here.]”
When the masked man heard Detective Lee Mun-soo’s voice, he reacted and laughed softly.
Mina’s heart trembled. Detective Lee Moon-soo is obviously an excellent detective and a strong person, but he is not at the level of being able to do anything against that spider man.
The reason why Mina got hit by the syringe was because she was trying to protect a student behind her back then, was a bit careless, and that spider man’s power was so fast and strong that it far exceeded Mina’s expectations.
At least- A monster with greater strength and speed than the Sikgwi he fought before. There is no way that Detective Lee Moon-soo can overcome such a terrifying psychic.
Mina struggled and tried to untie the string tied to her arm. It shouldn’t be a burden. He will die if he reaches the third floor of the construction site he is in.
Mina tried using her teeth to untie the rope and escape, but failed.
Even while she was struggling, the sound of someone’s footsteps coming up from the empty building could be clearly heard. Mina couldn’t help but cry as the sound approached every moment.
because of me. he dies because of me Detective Lee Moon-soo is dead.
“no… … no… … !”
please don’t come up I’d rather go to bed and ignore it. Mina prayed inwardly, but Detective Lee Moon-soo arrived on the third floor as her prayers were put to shame.
“[Detective Lee Moon-soo. It is an oracle. God has given you an ordeal. Accept this ordeal. And death proves it. That you are not worthy of God’s favor!]”
When Detective Lee Moon-soo arrived, the man started the prepared camera and shouted with a voice tinged with joy.
A voice full of hostility and hatred toward Detective Lee Moon-soo. Mina realized that this man would not stop no matter what.
As if killing him would be the reward of life, the masked man suddenly injected a syringe with red liquid into the spider-man.
Mina did not know what was in the syringe, but Mina was sure that it was not a good thing, seeing that the spider-man had changed into a monstrous figure that could hardly be seen as a human.
A huge body that makes the floors seem cramped. A creature in the form of a spider with no human form left.
The power felt from what should be called a spider monster rather than a spider man was strong enough to convince Mina that she would not easily win even if she had her superpowers intact.
no. If the monster that was quick and strong enough to allow Mina to be stabbed even if she was careless became stronger, would that be able to win?
.. Would I rather throw myself down so that Detective Lee Moon-soo could escape?
As Mina rolled her eyes and thought about it, the masked man threw Mina in front of Detective Lee Moon-soo as if he would not allow such a thing.
Detective Lee Mun-soo gnashed his teeth and picked up the thrown Mina. He stared at Mina’s face for a moment, then carried her on his back with a grin on his tired face.
A hand gripped her leg tightly as if he would never let go. Mina forgot the fear of powerlessness and felt that she would rather die.
Detective Lee Moon-soo has no intention of giving up on himself. But if they stay like this, they will die.
In such a hopeless situation, you can only protect yourself and do nothing… … ! Tears flow from resentment.
As Mina blamed herself that this would not have happened if she hadn’t been careful or made a mistake, the monster began to move.
The spider monster, dripping bodily fluids and wriggling its huge legs, was a creepy and repulsive figure, and a girl and a detective, helpless with their arms tied, could not do anything about it.
“[You’re dumb. Giving her back was my consideration to continue her pitiful life by using it as bait. don’t you know? How long do you think you can live like that?]”
“[It’s a child you know, are you holding it in your arms? Put aside the stupid hypocrisy and act for yourself. Detective. Wouldn’t your life be more important than the lives of the bugs behind you?]”
The masked man says. The joy and madness felt in the voice.
He took pictures of Detective Lee Mun-soo with the camera in his hand and seemed intent on enjoying himself by dropping him to the bottom of the pit no matter what he chose.
With such a masked man in front of him, Detective Lee Mun-su put Mina’s arm around her neck and then firmly grabbed her leg.
cooong!
Right after that, a giant leg flies off. The legs flew at high speed and swung horizontally as if to destroy everything on the track, and even the pillars of the building in front of the spider’s legs were shattered like Styrofoam.
Detective Lee Mun-su avoided the attack by a single margin while carrying himself on his back, but blood began to flow from his head as if he had not completely avoided it.
Dangerous. really die Detective Lee Moon-soo will die. Mina tried to shout that she would rather abandon herself and run away, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak due to the ensuing attacks.
Detective Lee Mun-su dodged all of those attacks, but it seemed like he was playing with the prey the monster had caught rather than dodging it well.
Is there any way? Am I supposed to be so helpless? Mina gathered up courage and tried to throw herself out the window with one conviction that she couldn’t let Detective Lee Mun-soo die.
“[Do you intend to keep carrying it? I found out about him. It seemed that he was an orphan, had no special powers, and did not attend school diligently.
Is it a common lamb? He also had a bad reputation at school. There have been reports of school violence. For a child like that- should a famous detective die?]”
Mina felt that her head went completely blank at what the man said.
Those words weren’t a lie. Mina was actually disciplined for school violence at school. However, it was an accident that occurred when he stepped forward to save a friend who was being bullied.
Mina only pushed lightly, but the perpetrator became a victim. Because people only saw the incident and did not listen to Mina, his reputation deteriorated.
The fact that she was often late due to her hero work was also revealed, and Mina was stigmatized as a delinquent student and became a loner at school.
In fact, Mina was often late and admitted that she had made a mistake, so she silently accepted the punishment, but she did not tell this to Detective Lee Moon-soo.
I made so many mistakes as New Hope, but I wanted to make Mina think that she was a proper person, not New Hope.
Mina had been hiding what happened at school, fearing that Detective Lee Moon-soo would be disappointed in herself like the others.
No, everything above is an excuse. Mina just didn’t want to find out about a pathetic little boy who was under the power of supernatural power.
But to hear from a man like that what he wanted to hide. Mina was afraid and didn’t know what to do.
“Tongue, detective… … .”
Feeling her body tremble, the girl looked at the back of Detective Lee Mun-soo’s head. what kind of face is he Mina wanted to check his face anyway.
Detective Lee Mun-soo was just catching his breath without saying anything with his eyes fixed on the front.
“[Are you going to say anything?]”
“That’s right. Do you have anything to say?”
Lee Moon-soo opens his mouth. Mina closed her eyes tightly. Because I was afraid of what he would say.
I felt that the incompetent, pitiful, and failure of the kid hiding behind the hero’s mask had been discovered, and the tears couldn’t stop. but-
“There is one. What you’re saying is that you’re all sick.
Did you investigate this kid? Looks like you did some research! Reporting school violence? okay! got it! Fighting to save the kids being bullied by the bullies!”
He said he had been looking at Mina all along.
“I have no choice but to know! While crying out to God, he gathers people who say he hates supernatural powers as an idiot who does nothing,
After all, that’s not enough, so why not turn a powerless person into a monster and use it? God don’t think what to do! Because you’re just incompetent! Unlike this kid!!”
He told me he was a competent person.
“Don’t underestimate this little boy! He’s such a wonderful guy that he can’t even be compared to the likes of you! Even if you make mistakes and make mistakes! Try to overcome yourself! You have guts!
He’s not worthy of being underestimated by a bastard like you who doesn’t do anything but talk slick things!”
he is… … he said he could do it
Mina felt tears welling up from within, along with something indescribable heat in her chest.
“[-it’s okay. plan is canceled Kill.]”
The masked man threw away the camera he was holding in anger at Detective Lee Mun-soo’s words. And at the same time, Lee Mun-soo threw Mina through a hole in the floor.
Lee Moon-soo’s eyes met Mina’s. He was watching Mina fall with a face of genuine relief.
Those eyes showed no fear or worry about the monster approaching from behind.
The eyes that Detective Lee Mun-soo always showed when he looked at him from before.
In those eyes, Mina realized. That person, all the time—- was watching me. I was protecting He was such an adult.
At the same time that Mina attained enlightenment, Kung! With a sound, Mina’s body fell to the second floor.
The floor was a mess, but there was no pain. The unknown heat that filled her chest and the sound of her heart blocked Mina’s ears, as if she didn’t know what was hurting.
Mina thought. It has been a question since childhood. Why was he born with this power?
Because you were chosen? Don’t be funny. He couldn’t even protect his family. They didn’t even do a good job of protecting people.
The girl self-tortured that her life was only led by failure. I couldn’t even see the way to go, and I couldn’t even figure out what to do.
But I knew that there was someone who believed in me. I found out that the person I wanted to trust the most had in fact believed in me all along.
Knowing this, Mina felt the fear coming from the helplessness that had suppressed her a little while ago.
As much as the negative emotions disappeared, Mina was filled with emotions that could not be expressed in words, and that it didn’t matter what other things were.
A warm, tickling, heart-burning feeling.
Simple words like joy or happiness couldn’t express it, but Mina couldn’t bear to find words to describe it.
Although I was wondering what this is. Rather than continuing the question, Mina clenched her fists and bent down.
Then, as if something that had blocked her power up until now was burning, heat rose from within Mina, and at the same time, the wounds on Mina’s body began to disappear.
The string that restrained his arm was powerlessly broken. Mina instinctively felt her powers return. No, it was more than that.
I know what to do. I’m just doing what I’ve been doing so far. However, if there is a difference from usual – there is no hesitation in Mina.
Mina, who felt a power that was so strong that she had never felt it before, kicked off the ground and released the power.
cooong!
Mina fired like a cannonball through a hole in the ceiling of the second floor and reached the top.
Mina did not hesitate to push the spider monster that was attacking Detective Lee Mun-soo from the third floor to the roof of the building as hard as she could.
“—Kiaek!!!!!”
The spider monster shattered the roof and walls of the building and flew up to the blue sky, but it was still intact, swinging its fangs and spider legs and rushing at Mina.
Strength is similar to Sik-Gwi, but strength is more than that. Despite the appearance of a spider, it seemed that way thanks to the body being protected by an arthropod’s exoskeleton.
Mina from before, at least a few hours ago, wouldn’t have been able to blow it off easily.
But- not now.
Mina clenched her fists. If he didn’t fall down with a single blow from a while ago, all he had to do was hit it with more force than that.
swing one’s fist He smashed the flying legs as if to break them, smashed his fangs, and thrust his fist into the body of the spider monster with all his might.
hit hit hit
The girl’s fist drew a line leaving an afterimage, and even her body began to make a creaking sound as if it had reached its limit in speed and power, but Mina did not stop.
Go beyond the limit, don’t give up even if it’s impossible. For me—- there is a reason I can’t give up!!!!
“Key, Keyaeak?! aaak!!!”
The spider monster howls in pain. The hard exoskeleton soon cracked, unable to withstand the girl’s fists, and Mina saw it and slammed it with all her might, throwing the spider monster into the construction site.
Quaang! With the sound of the bomb exploding, the spider monster flinched on the ground, but it couldn’t move any further. After Mina confirmed it, she hurriedly headed to the third floor.
I succeeded in shaking off the spider monster that attacked Lee Mun-soo, but I was worried because I didn’t know what condition it was in-
No, honestly, rather than worrying about his condition, the reason for this anguish right now is that something I can’t stand without telling him.
I’m so happy to have been recognized, I can’t stand it. She caught her breath in a different heat than before and jumped up to the third floor at once.
Reaching the third floor, Mina saw Detective Lee Moon-soo rummaging in front of the masked man who had passed out.
He was narrowing his eyebrows as if he was curious as he looked at the syringe containing the white liquid that had temporarily disabled Mina’s psychic powers.
Mina told Detective Lee Mun-soo what she knew about dangerous drugs in case he mishandled them.
“- be careful. The medicine in the syringe seems to be a medicine that temporarily disables the psychic powers. It worked for me too. I don’t know what will happen if I administer it to normal people, but it definitely won’t be good.”
“what? Nonsense. Is there such a thing?”
When he heard of the drug’s effect, he screamed in astonishment, but since Mina knew nothing about the effect of the drug he had learned from experiencing it himself, he could not open his mouth except affirmation.
But that wasn’t important to Mina right now. Detective Lee Mun-soo pondered for a while, then turned his head with a creak as if he noticed something was wrong.
Detective Lee Moon-soo met Mina’s eyes again. He looked Mina up and down with trembling eyes.
Her current condition was such that anyone who watched the battle earlier would have noticed that she was psychic.
Until now, he had seen Mina’s red eyes and knew that she was a psychic, but he had never said anything out of concern for the girl.
But if you look at the power that Mina has shown now, you will think of New Hope even if you don’t like it.
If it was his personality, he would have been deliberately pretending not to know. No, obviously, he would not have opened his mouth out of consideration for himself even after knowing her identity.
However, Mina now intended to tell him about her true identity, even if he pretended not to know.
Because he convinced himself that he wasn’t a kid who couldn’t do anything anymore.
It’s about uncovering his identity and fighting alongside the threat he faces. Even if he refuses, he will force himself to find out, acting brazenly, saying, “Didn’t you tell me that you believe in me?”
I will never let him fight alone. That was the one and only will that was now filled in Mina’s heart.
“I, Detective… … I’m actually… … .”
The moment when he was about to say that New Hope was actually himself. Mina’s senses noticed that Detective Lee Mun-soo was in a strange state.
Shortness of breath and high fever. The heartbeat is irregular and the muscle response is strange. and that hand.
Climbing up through the second floor ceiling, Mina saw him block the spider monster’s attack with a cast on his hand, and one hand of Detective Lee Mun-soo is stained purple, as if he had been hit at that time.
“Tongue, detective?”
Detective Lee Mun-soo collapses unconscious shortly after.
Heart rate gradually diminishing. Dangerous. He will die if he stays like this. Mina realized that now was not the time to hesitate about revealing her identity.
You can’t get the order wrong. Mina immediately picked him up and rushed to the nearest hospital. Hearing the siren of a police car coming from far away, Mina gritted her teeth.