Ch. 52 - Let's fight honestly!
I Became a Magical Girl In a Harem MangaThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
TN: Taking hostages, our main character, btw.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
TN: Taking hostages, our main character, btw.
"This way, the small fries will all be incapacitated, and we'll just have to deal with the rest. Do you understand?"
"Yes! I get it."
"Well, they don't seem like a big deal anyway, so why don't we just take care of them all?"
"Wait a minute, is this how you usually catch villains?"
Lee So-Young and Shin Yu-Sung readied themselves as if they could go at a moment's notice, but Yoo Seo-Eun questioned the sanity of the operation.
"If you're worried that the villains will be crushed to death by the rubble of the building, then don't worry. They're all Awakened, and they won't die from this."
Of course, they won't take any damage, but they will be unconscious.
Whether they become unconscious by my hand or by a collapsed building, it's the same thing, right?
But there was someone who disagreed, and it wasn't Yoo Seo-Eun, but Park Oh-Jin.
"Um... Team Leader. Their hideout is an abandoned building."
"That's right. Since it's an abandoned building, can't we destroy it?"
"Then who will clean up the rubble?"
"......"
So that's what Park Oh-Jin wanted to say.
"I don't want to be the one to clean up the concrete rubble, and I'm sure the chief will yell at us again, so I think we should just do it the way we always do."
"...You're probably right."
I was so desperate to get the job done that I tried to go with my own style.
But I knew this was going to happen, and I had another approach in mind. This is also one of the most effective methods.
"Seo-Eun, we have a saying in Team 5."
"What? What do you mean?"
"If you cut someone's head off, they'll die."
"...Isn't that obvious?"
The hideout of the Hounds, the villainous organization that challenged Shin Hye-Rim, was an abandoned building in the mountains.
Most of the organization's members are Awakened, who have already committed crimes and are wanted for them. Like many other villainous organizations, they are a group of people who have difficulty living a normal social life, so they band together to commit heists and terrorist acts.
These villains are still viewed as normal by the criminal justice system. They aren't terrorizing people with their own strange beliefs, nor are they just a group of very powerful villains.
A normal villain organization made up of a bunch of random people—that's the Hounds.
But there's one thing that's a little different, and that's their leader.
"Let's show the world how scary we are!"
The leader of the Hounds, Kim Jung-Soo, is a Class A Awakened. That's pretty strong considering most villains are C-level and D-level.
"This society will realize how terrifying we are—the ones they ignored and despised!"
"Chaos! Destruction! Oblivion!"
"You have my word, captain! The nation will fear our pack!"
"Yes, good! Let's unleash terror today!"
Dozens of members shouted and cheered as Kim Jung-Soo called for a terrorist attack. They had one purpose: to disrupt society and make their presence known.
"But, leader. The Awakened Crime Division has Shin Hye-Rim. Do you think our attack will succeed? She can single-handedly slay a thousand monsters."
For a group of villains who wanted nothing more than the destruction of the world, there were some who were capable of relatively normal thoughts. It was only natural that they would say things like this.
Kim Jung-Soo may be a Class A Awakened, but he's up against Shin Hye-Rim. Moreover, there are several A-class awakened people in the Awakened Crime Division. Even if Shin Hye-Rim didn't come, the future was clear.
"Huh, are you worried about that? I've told you many times; you only need to trust me."
But at that, Kim Jung-Soo snorted lightly.
"I thought I explained to you why S-Rank Hero Kim Min-Seok retired?"
"Come to think of it, you said that Kim Min-Seok retired because of the after-effects of your handiwork, right?"
"That's right! After seeing the taste of my fists, Kim Min-Seok became depressed and retired as a Hero. Even an S-ranked Hero is no match for me."
"...I see. With your strength, you should be able to take on Shin Hye-Rim."
"As expected of you, captain!"
"You're a god!"
'Kim Jung-Soo had forced one of only three S-Rank Heroes in Korea to retire.' The members of the Hound Dogs believed him blindly.
Looking at them singing and praising him, Kim Jung-Soo said confidently.
"So don't worry. If you trust me, I can beat Shin Hye-Rim from the Awakened Crime Division with a single punch."
After saying that, Kim Jung-Soo went out of the hideout to smoke a cigarette.
When he was a short distance away and no one was around, he smiled wryly.
"Assholes, do you really believe that?"
Of course, everything Kim Jong-un said was a lie.
"I don't have that kind of power. I'm not capable enough to knock out Kim Min-Seok; that's ridiculous."
'I don't know why Kim Min-Seok retired,' Kim Jung-Soo thought, and he took a drag of his cigarette.
The general public doesn't know why Kim Min-Seok retired. Only heroes know that he retired because he was traumatized after being almost beaten to death by Shin Hye-Rim.
Even Kim Min-Seok himself never said why he retired.
Kim Jung-Soo used that loophole to fabricate a story about himself that didn't exist, showcasing his power and gathering members for the Hounds. He claimed that despite being an A-class Awakened, he possessed special abilities comparable to those of an S-class Awakened.
He said that he had the power to defeat even Shin Hye-Rim, portraying himself as an extraordinary individual.
"So this is what it's like to be a cult leader."
The members of the Hounds are all dissatisfied with society. They are people who have failed, been ignored, and been humiliated by society, and they are driven to seek revenge on the society that has shaped their plight.
At first, Kim Jung-Soo thought, 'How could anyone fall for this?' But it turns out there's a reason why many people fall into scams or join cults.
People who were rejected by society or were mentally deficient joined easily.
"Idiots. Do you think I'd really try to create terrorism?"
The reason Kim Jung-Soo created the Hounds is simple. He wanted to rob jewelry stores and other places while the members of the group went on a rampage and caused a disturbance.
He would use them as bait, steal as much as he could, and run. He has done this many times, traveling around the country.
"This is the last time I'm going to do this today. I'll see what scam I can pull next."
He burned through his cigarette while thinking.
-Step step.
Footsteps came from the nearby grass. Not just one set, but several. Wondering if it was one of the group members who had gone out and returned, Kim Jung-Soo looked over.
"Is this it?"
"Yes, they're in that building."
But it wasn't the Hounds. The five people who had suddenly appeared were faces he didn't recognize.
Except for one.
He knows the blonde beauty at the front of the group.
It was Shin Hye-Rim, the woman Kim Jung-Soo himself had been boasting to the group that he could defeat.
"Hey, is that him?"
"Yes, that's him."
Why did the Awakened Crime Division show up here? Was the location of the hideout discovered? If so, how? Oh, he just made eye contact with Shin Hye-Rim. Does he glare at her now? Dammit, what's going on?
While Kim Jung-Soo was thinking about it.
-Thud.
"Kuh?!"
Shin Hye-Rim ran in and snagged Kim Jung-Soo.
When I got to the location of the hideout that Lee So-Young told me about, I saw a villain leisurely smoking a cigarette. However, the aura I felt was different from that of a normal Awakened person, so I asked Lee So-Young if he was the same person.
The guy I encountered was the boss of the group.
What I did after catching him was simple.
"Hey you guys! Your boss is here!!!"
I immediately put a knife to the boss's throat and took the boss hostage.
"What are you talking about?"
"It's Shin Hye-Rim! Shin Hye-Rim is here!"
"What?! Why is Shin Hye-Rim here? Has our hideout location been discovered?"
"B-boss! He's been caught!"
"What?!"
Hearing my voice, the villains poked their heads out of the window and gasped, realizing that their boss was not only captured but also had a knife to his throat.
"You don't want your boss to die, do you? Get out of there now! If you don't get out in a minute, this guy's going to go to hell."
If we rush in, there's a chance they'll scatter in all directions. So by taking the most important person, the boss, and holding him hostage, the villains won't know what to do.
Yoo Seo-Eun looked at me in disbelief as I performed the hostage situation.
"Is it okay for a government official to do this?"
"When villains take hostages, it becomes a difficult situation, doesn't it? People often feel compelled to give in to their demands to ensure the hostage's safety. We were inspired by that and decided to adopt the tactic ourselves. If it's effective, why not learn from it?"
"So this is what you meant when you said to cut off the head first..."
Yoo Seo-Eun raised her eyebrows at Shin Yu-Sung's explanation.
Yoo Seo-Eun thought it was strange, but it worked better than she thought.
As they waited for the villains to come out, something was off.
"Wait a minute, our captain can easily subdue Shin Hye-Rim, right?"
"Then why was he captured?"
"What do you mean? This is all the boss's plan; he wants to catch them off guard and attack them!"
They muttered something amongst themselves and then started shouting at us.
"You bastards from the Crime Division, you'd better be prepared; our boss can kill you in an instant!"
"Boss, let's show your strength here!"
"Let's show our strength!"
Apparently, this guy who's being held down by me is stronger than me.
"...Hoh?"