BXBX NOVEL Chapter 4 - Please go away (1)
"...Hmm?"
But that tranquility is about to be shattered.
The top video on YouTube\'s algorithm was the CCTV footage of the bank robbery from this morning. While Team Leader 1 and I were out having drinks, the incident had already made headlines, garnering over 500,000 views on YouTube.
[A magical girl who can punch a Class A Awakener?!]
"Damn it," I swore the moment I saw the title.
It\'s not the headline itself that bothers me—it\'s the comments.
[giggles Magical★Punch!]
[Magical Punch! Magical Punch! Magical Punch! Magical Punch! Magical Punch! Magical Punch!]
[As expected of the Magical Bloodfist. Even an A-class Awakener can be beaten with bare fists.]
[The other muggers are too weak to fight her lol]
[Is that really a Class A Awakener? How can he be so physically strong and still be sent flying by a Magical Punch?]
[I think we should question whether Team Leader 5 is really a magical girl...]
[But she beats them up so brutally. I can see the blood splatter even through the mosaic.]
Magical Punch. Magical Bloodfist.
Yeah, that\'s my nickname. I wouldn\'t say it myself, but I\'m pretty famous.
I\'m a magical girl, but I don\'t use magic—just my fists—and my unusual appearance attracts a lot of attention. Plus, I\'ve never taken more than five minutes to subdue a criminal, no matter who it was. When I show up, whatever happens is solved in five minutes. With a track record like that, I\'ve become a household name.
"It\'s been quiet lately too..." I mused.
I haven\'t been active recently because there haven\'t been many criminals as of late. Thanks to that, I was collecting free tax money, and people lost interest in me after a while. But Bae Jin-Chul, that a**hole, broke my peace.
A**hole. I should have just killed him.
"Well, at least this video will prevent another criminal from showing up for a while."
My head hurts from the dizzying array of people\'s reactions, but let\'s think positively. As Lee So-Young always said, think of the good in everything.
I\'m sure the criminals will keep an eye on me for a while. Even this morning, most of the robbers seemed to know me.
Bae Jin-Chul didn\'t commit a premeditated crime. In the afternoon, I heard a report that Bae Jin-Chul had awakened a month ago. He was an A-ranked Awakener, so he must have felt like the world was at his feet. Suddenly, he gained such great power, so he became arrogant. He thinks he can take on anyone. No one can stop him. Most awakened criminals are like Bae Jin-Chul.
I\'ve seen and beaten a truckload of guys like Bae Jin-Chul in my career. Of course, that doesn\'t mean I\'m particularly strong.
"Even if it wasn\'t me, he would\'ve gotten caught anyway."
Don\'t underestimate the Awakener Crime Division; they are trained solely to deal with Awakened.
You can\'t put them in the same category as heroes or regular Awakened people. This guy was so disrespectful of the Awakener Crime Division that he was willing to rob the bank this morning.
"Let\'s just sleep."
I was trying to watch a funny video, but it just made me feel bad. I wonder what my teammates will make fun of me tomorrow morning when I go to work.
"Good morning, Magical Pun..... No, team leader."
"Park Oh-Jin, you bastard. What did you just say to me?"
"What? What do you mean? I just said hello, didn\'t I?"
"I think you said something about magical."
"That\'s unlikely. You\'re weak in the morning, so maybe you misheard me because you\'re still not awake."
I clenched my fists in frustration as he shamelessly blurted out his nonsense with an expression that said he really didn\'t know anything. This a**hole must have his head up his ass. Making fun of their boss is getting worse by the day.
"Hmm, is that so? Do I still look tired?"
"Hahaha, Team Leader, don\'t you always sit down and close your eyes to sleep as soon as you get to work? You\'re always tired."
"That\'s right, so I think I\'ll go for a light workout today to shake off the fatigue."
"That\'s a good idea. Morning exercise is good for you."
I took off my coat and threw it on a chair. Then I turned my shoulders in a circle and walked over to Park Oh-Jin.
"Team Leader, why are you coming to me to exercise?"
"Because I need you to help me with this exercise."
"And what kind of exercise are you doing?"
"Sparring."
"I apologize. I was just making a lighthearted joke, trying to get you out of the funk you\'ve been in lately. Please forgive this lowly subordinate."
While he was immediately bowing at a ninety-degree angle, I warned him in a low voice as I looked at the back of his head.
"Oh-Jin."
"Yes, ma\'am."
"You should at least know who you\'re messing with before you make fun of them."
"I\'ll keep that in mind."
"Would you like a taste of the Magical★Punch, too, so you can see what it\'s really like?"
"No, I was too cocky."
"As long as you understand."
I patted Park Oh-Jin on the shoulder and returned to my seat. As I did, I snatched the tub of ice cream in front of Lee So-Young.
"Oh, Team Leader, I was just about to eat that!"
"Let me have some."
"That\'s really expensive, so I barely decided to buy it after thinking about it for so long!"
"Sharing is caring. We\'re a team, aren\'t we? Oh-Jin, get a spoon too. Let\'s eat together."
"Sounds good."
"Nooo...... You guys are too much."
Our team office is always stocked with plastic spoons so that we can take away So-Young\'s ice cream at any time. After being forced to share, So-Young began to eat her ice cream with tears in her eyes.
"By the way, isn\'t today the day Yu-Sung returns?"
"Yes, ma\'am. He went on a business trip to Busan and came back yesterday, so he\'ll probably be here soon-"
Speak of the devil. Before Park Oh-Jin could finish his sentence, the office door opened.
"Bad morning."
With wavy hair dyed brown, a tall man staggered in. This is the guy I was talking about earlier, Yu-Sung. Shin Yu-Sung is the last member of our team.
"Oh, you guys are eating ice cream? Is this So-Young\'s?"
"Yeah, she said it\'s expensive. You should come and eat it too."
"Sure. Sharing is caring after all."
"M-my 50,000 won ice cream...!"
What, a tub of ice cream costs 50,000 won? Then I definitely can\'t leave any. You can\'t leave something expensive unfinished.
Shin Yoo-Sung joined us after bringing a spoon, and the four of us sat around the table. As I scooped up the ice cream, I playfully asked Shin Yu-Sung.
"Yu-Sung, did you have a good time in Busan?"
"You know it was a business trip. I wanted to play around too, but I didn\'t have time."
"But I heard at least you caught all those scientist bastards."
By scientists, I meant villains.
The Monster Association is a group of mad scientists who capture monsters to study them and terrorize the world. I know them well, as they often clash with the protagonist group.
Shin Yu-Sung was dispatched to capture the members of that group in Busan.
"We caught all of them in Busan, but to do that, we had to circle Busan twice to chase and catch the ones who were running away."
"I see. By the way, Yu-Sung, did you catch anyone with the name Lames Jane?"
"You mean, that Association\'s executive?"
"Yeah."
Lames Jane. He\'s the final boss of the first episode of this manga.
He\'s a villain who serves as a link between the hero and the main heroine and is the heroine\'s nemesis. He was in Busan during this time to prepare the groundwork for the monster attack in Seoul.
"No, we captured a few of the executives, but not him."
Shin Yu-sung thought for a moment. \'Maybe he fled Busan before our team could raid the Busan headquarters.\'
I\'m actually relieved that they missed the criminal who would cause terrorism, because he needs to be caught by our hero and his heroine.
That way, they can grow up together and do my job for me in the future.
"If not, then it\'s fine."
"Why? Is there something about him?"
"Not really. You know that he\'s slippery like an eel. I just thought it would\'ve been nice if you caught him."
Actually, I know where Lames Jane is right now. I could go kick his ass right now, but I\'m going to overlook it. He\'s supposed to be a springboard for the protagonist\'s growth.
Of course, that doesn\'t mean we condone the terror he\'s perpetrating.
Even the protagonist can\'t stop all the monsters from attacking the citizens.
So I\'ll stop that.
I\'ll kill the monsters, leaving the hero to fight the villain.
It seems like the roles between the Awakener Crime Division and heroes have swapped, but so what? We should help each other out.
[A member of the Monster Association, a group that uses monsters to carry out terrorism, is captured in Busan......]
On the rooftop of the Hero Association, there was a woman watching the news of the arrest of Monster Association members by the Awakener Crime Division.
With her silver hair and distinctive appearance, she possessed a beautiful face exuding a mature aura. However, she appeared distressed.
\'I wonder if Lames Jane was also arrested?\'
Her name was Jung Ha-Yeon. She is a magical girl and an A-ranked hero.
When she heard that dozens of members of the Monster Association had been captured in Busan, she wondered if Lames Jane, the member of the same group, had also been captured, but she shook her head.
The Lames Jane she knows is a very sneaky person. There\'s no way such a person would be caught so easily.
"Ah, as expected, there you are."
As she continued to watch the news, the rooftop door next to her opened. A pink-haired hero approached her.
It was her best friend, Lee Mi-Na.
"You\'re always up here, getting some fresh air."
"Because it\'s comfortable."
"So it\'s easy to find you."
Lee Mi-Na nudged Jung Ha-Yeon as she stood next to her.
"You\'ve been hearing about the Monster Association, haven\'t you?"
"Yeah. I was wondering if Lames Jane had been captured."
"...You\'re still the same."
At Jung Ha-Yeon\'s words, Lee Mi-Na smiled bitterly.
Lee Mi-Na knew why Jung Ha-Yeon was so obsessed with the Monster Association.
Jung Ha-Yeon has few friends, and most of them are her coworkers and fellow heroes.
Even though they\'re more of a celebrity these days, heroes are still people who fight monsters. They risk their lives fighting monsters, so it\'s not uncommon to face death at any moment.
That\'s how Jung Ha-Yeon\'s friend died. She was killed by a monster created by the Monster Association.
She must have been devastated to lose such a friend to the Monster Association. Undoubtedly, she must have harbored a strong desire for revenge.
"Don\'t worry so much. One day, Lames Jane will be caught."
"Yes, I hope so."
Jung Ha-Yeon smiled bitterly at Lee Mi-Na\'s comforting words. It would be great if she could actually catch Lames Jane, though it would be quite difficult given the size of the group and that man\'s thorough plans.
But Lee Mi-Na\'s words were not just for comfort.
"I\'m not just saying that; I mean it. Because if the criminal division is starting to catch him, that means she\'s going to make a move."
"What do you mean by her?"
"Team Leader 5 of the Awakener Crime Division."
Shin Hye-Rim, the team leader of Team 5.
Jung Ha-Yeon had heard this name before, mostly from Hero seniors.
None of the descriptions sounded normal.
\'If you ever meet a blonde magical girl, avert your eyes first. You must never make eye contact with her.\'
\'Don\'t mess with the blonde girl.\'
\'Avoid conflicts with the Awakener Crime Division as much as possible.\'
\'If you meet someone from the division, check their hair color first.\'
\'If she\'s not a blonde, she\'ll treat you like a human being.\'
\'If you do meet a blonde woman, give up hope.\'
Everyone was talking about Team Leader 5 like she was the Grim Reaper, so she didn\'t think to look into it further. Jung Ha-Yeon just thought, \'She must be scary.\'
Honestly, Ha-Yeon thought it was an overreaction, and she just assumed that the older heroes were just trying to scare her.
Since the Awakener Crime Division is in the business of catching Awakened ones, they\'re sort of their natural enemy, so that\'s probably why they exaggerated.
"If it\'s her, she\'ll definitely be able to take on the Monster Association alone."
"Is she that strong?"
But when even her own friend says this, Ha-Yeon can\'t help but be curious.
No matter what, the idea of an individual taking on a group of villains is too far-fetched. No matter how strong Shin Hye-Rim is, she\'s still a person like them.
"I\'ve never seen her in person, but she\'s a magical girl like you, so you should see her yourself and make your own judgment. There\'s a recent video on YouTube where she caught a bank robber."
With that, Lee Mi-Na showed her a YouTube video. It was a video of Shin Hye-Rim overpowering a bank robber. She didn\'t even know this video was circulating because she doesn\'t watch YouTube.
When she watched the video, she was genuinely surprised to see Shin Hye-Rim overpower a bank robber in an instant.
No, it\'s not merely overpowering; it\'s one-sided violence. Who would believe she\'s subduing a robber who\'s already passed out when she emotionally beats him up?
Jung Ha-Yeon couldn\'t tear her eyes away from the sight of her beating the A-class Awakener as if she were going to beat him to a pulp. She could understand why the seniors were so afraid of her.
Overwhelming power. They don\'t call her the Monster Association\'s Grim Reaper for nothing.
However, something else has been bothering her since earlier.
"By the way, Mi-Na, I was wondering something."
"What?"
"Didn\'t you say that this person is a magical girl like me?"
Shin Hye-Rim\'s ethereal outfit is a clear indication that she is a magical girl. But for a moment, Jung Ha-Yeon forgot that Shin Hye-Rim was a magical girl.
"Why is this magical girl fighting with her fists and not using magic?"
With the way she fought, she could hardly be called a magical girl.
"...I don\'t know; I thought you, a fellow magical girl, might know, but apparently you don\'t either."
"......"
I don\'t know. Not a clue.
If she\'s a magical girl, she should be able to use magic. Why does she use her bare hands to catch criminals?
And how does she overpower a body-enhancer with pure brute force?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Why is she still beating up the already unconscious mugger......
I can\'t tell. Shin Hye-Rim, what kind of person is she?