what?
What happened?
If it were Kwak Chun-pal inside the giant robot, would he be thinking like that?
Along with the shock of the red wave, the sight of a giant robot, or rather a giant sphere as tall as a five-story building, flying up after being hit must have been an unexpected sight for the people watching and the broadcasting station cameraman filming it.
Well, I didn't expect that either.
“Isn’t it a bit stronger than you thought?”
I thought about the last incident. If I kept blowing up mountains whenever I was bored like last time, I was sure I'd cause trouble before I could stop Ariel's incident.
So, I asked number 5, and what I got was this muffler.
"The original power of No. 1 is condensed into a muffler, which can be wrapped around and used when needed. What design could be more perfect than this?"
Hearing No. 5's proud voice, I simply responded with a laugh.
“Still, I think I’ve done something right with this.”
As I turned my gaze towards the sky, the robot Dongle slowly began to fall from the sky.
The moment I was amazed again, thinking, "I blew up something so big,"
“Isn’t that thing falling into the city?”
I, too, gaped open my mouth inside the mask as I heard voices and screams from among the people.
That's right! That wasn't just any robot, it was a 30-meter-tall giant robot!
“...30 seconds until it falls into the city.”
[Time limit: 1:40]
“Wow!”
As if it were a death sentence, I heard the instructions from No. 5 and the AI, and before I knew it, my body started running towards the giant robot.
The muffler wrapped around my right hand crumbled into particles of light and disappeared, and immediately a new muffler came off the choker and fluttered behind me as I ran in a hurry.
The speed of Dongguri's descent, which had been slowly rising, began to accelerate rather than slow down, and the people's screams grew louder as Dongguri's huge shadow grew larger.
No, it's too late!
Even if you rush in and try to catch it, it's difficult to handle the weight and size added to the acceleration.
Method, method-
At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.
Yeah, that's it.
I grabbed the muffler in front of me again and started wrapping it around my right ankle and foot.
“Number 1? What are you doing?”
“With the power of the muffler, I will jump and fly.”
"What? You idiot! Stop! Even if you can swing a punch with all your might, you haven't calculated the output precisely enough to use it for jumping!"
“Then, now I can hit you with my body!”
“Number 1, really stop!”
Ignoring the radio transmission from No. 5, which was chattering loudly in my ear, I slowly lowered my posture, putting my right foot back.
The oppressive energy that had been surrounding his fist earlier slowly gathered in his right foot, and his right foot slowly began to glow red.
“Please…please!”
Be as you wish, please!
He spat out without realizing it, and at the same time looked up in the direction of the giant robot that was slowly beginning to fall.
The moment you kick your right foot at the same time-
With a red shockwave, my body was quickly launched into the air.
For a moment, the strong wind felt on the mask made my face frown, but soon the shape of a giant robot came into view.
Its body, like a giant bowling ball, was cracked here and there, and its speakers, which spoke to the outside world, were making static noises and sparking.
The giant robot's red-glowing external camera makes eye contact, and it soon staggers and tries to raise its arms in the air, but it doesn't stop.
He did a somersault, and his right heel, still wrapped in his muffler, struck the robot in the head.
A red wave explodes with shock once again.
The giant robot, no, the giant black ball, slammed diagonally down from the air and landed in a wide open space at a construction site that was in the middle of construction.
Kwaang-
A shock shook the ground, dust rose, and sirens began to sound throughout the city.
*
[Time remaining: 0:58]
The red Z on his chest flickered in the darkness.
The length of the muffler, which had been fluttering in the wind and shining red, slowly shortened until it was just long enough to reach my shoulders.
"it hurts."
“Yeah, who told you to use it so ignorantly?”
“It worked out well, so that’s okay.”
My right leg, which had never been tired even under the most severe impacts, was now limping as if my ankle had been torn off. The dizziness I felt when I realized that my leg was hurting even at the height of a building still made me tremble.
As I entered the construction site following the navigation's instructions, a horrific scene unfolded before my eyes.
On the sandy beach next to the building under construction, a giant robot known by various names, Donggeul and Aemuldanji, lay scattered and broken here and there.
And Ariel was screaming while holding the collar of the man who was lying on the floor.
"Now, tell me! Who is it that's been telling you all that nonsense about my powers being weak?"
"I, I don't know for sure! One day, out of the blue, they contacted me first. And this time, I accepted the deal regarding the identification drug after paying the amount he offered!"
“That’s ridiculous!”
puck-
A clean kick sent Kwak Chun-pal rolling on the floor, clutching his face as he lifted his chin.
"You're saying someone other than us was your criminal consultant? That's ridiculous—"
"What? Do you really think Miss Ariel still believes other evil organizations are loyal to the Black Crown?"
At her words, Kwak Chun-pal wiped the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth and looked at her with a smile on his face.
"I'm not the only one who finds the Black Crown, a major corporation, so pervasive in this underworld, unpalatable. Everyone bows to its overwhelming power, but they're always eager to seize that opportunity."
“So, because of that greed, you received information about me and a criminal consultant from a guy whose source is unclear?”
When Ariel looked down at him with a disgusted expression, Kwak Chun-pal laughed and spat out the blood that had gathered in his mouth onto the floor.
"What's wrong with accepting it? There are plenty of guys after you and your position as the leader. Who knows, maybe your closest confidant betrayed you—"
match-
A black whip lashed his face, and Kwak Chun-pal gasped in a gasp, falling to the ground. Seeing him fall like that, Ariel, still unable to contain her anger, tightened her grip on the whip and turned around.
“I guess it was a waste of time.”
"It doesn't matter. Even if I squeeze the head of the destroyed organization, there's nothing left to be gained. It would have been nice to at least get some information about the mastermind behind this."
Ariel, who had been quietly keeping her mouth shut next to me, kicked a pebble on the floor and turned her head towards me.
"Perhaps, Woojin. I can't rule out the possibility that it's the work of an insider who's dissatisfied with you being chosen as number one."
“No way. Just because of something like that?”
“That’s how important the position of ‘No. 1’ is within the Black Crown.”
"That's all," I said, but soon, seeing Ariel's unusually calm expression before my eyes, I fell silent. Her lips were pressed tightly together, her expression, as if lost in quiet thought, was the same as when she first spoke of the world.
“Do you think someone betrayed you?”
"There were guys like that back in the day. These days, I don't really pay attention to them."
Ariel chuckled at my question and looked at me calmly.
"Yes. Even if, Woojin, you betrayed me and handed over such information to the enemy."
I stood there quietly, watching her with her usual haughty smile and her fingers forming a gun shape and making a gun gesture, and I retorted with one word.
“...Don’t say things like that.”
"huh?"
“Don’t tell me I’ll betray you.”
At my rebuttal, she looked at me with wide eyes, then soon came closer to me with a playful smile.
"Why? How can I guarantee you won't betray me when you tried to run away from me when we first met?"
“At least I don’t betray those who trust me.”
Yes. She believed in me and waited for me, even today, when she alone, in a potentially dangerous transaction, faced the enemy.
The method had a unique way of trying to harass people, but I had to try hard not to touch it.
“So, what I want to say is.”
The moment I looked straight at her and tried to put my thoughts into words,
Chwiiiik-
White steam poured out of the choker like a rice cooker that had just finished cooking.
[S-Mode. Forced release ends. Reinforced muscle fibers and Black Blood's regenerative abilities are restored.]
The black suit covering my entire body began to slowly be taken away and put back into the choker, and at the same time, an overwhelming sense of fatigue washed over me.
"I…"
Oh, damn it. You should at least let me finish talking-
I felt my body slowly crumble to the floor, and my consciousness faded into darkness.
What I saw in my last consciousness was Ariel running towards me with surprised eyes.
**
Seeing him collapse helplessly like a puppet without any strength, Ariel unconsciously rushed over to him and supported his body.
She tried to support and hold onto his body, but she couldn't hold on to a man of such a strong build while wearing heels, so she ended up collapsing to the floor with him.
On her knees, as she sat on the floor, his head, which had just fought for her, was resting on her knees, breathing softly.
"... You idiot. You should finish what you were going to say. You arrogant slave."
She spoke with her usual haughty tone and quietly looked at his figure on her lap.
“Next time, I’ll have to make sure I learn how to handle it properly.”
The police will be here soon. Until then, let's stay put.
For a slave to rest even a little more comfortably, there is nothing better than the master's lap pillow.
Ariel smiled, thinking again about how merciful a master she was to her slaves.