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Jeong Ha-yul’s body stiffened as she set down Kang-woo and Eun-chae.

“That mask… I remember it.”

“Nice to see you. Have you been well?”

Surprisingly, Jeong Ha-yul and the hostage-taker wearing the Fox Mask seemed to know each other.

“Seeing you pull off something like this, I guess you can make a living with just one arm?”

“Well, you know. At first, it felt like I lost the whole world, but as I kept living, I got used to it.”

“…So you came to take my other arm too?”

“Huh? Sounds like you’re asking me to kill this kid.”

The Fox Mask tightened his grip on my torso with his left arm.

“Ugh!”

A groan escaped as the pain felt like my ribs were about to crack.

“It’s useless. You think I’d risk my life for a kid like that?”

“Still as unflinching as ever. Why don’t you just switch sides and become a villain?”

“Kill me if you want. I don’t care.”

Jeong Ha-yul’s attitude was completely different now.

She looked at me with cold eyes.

‘Damn… Are you really going to abandon me like this?’

No, that can’t be.

It shouldn’t be.

She must be pretending not to care to make me give up…

But… why does her expression look so damn cold?!

Even if a knife were at my throat, she wouldn’t bat an eye.

I started to feel uneasy.

“Gyeoul, I’m sorry.”

“…Huh?”

Why is she apologizing all of a sudden?

Please, don’t do this.

“Anyway, your magic power is weaker than a civilian’s, so you’re going to die soon. Shouldn’t those who can live, live?”

“…”

My magic power is weak, so I’m going to die soon…?

It was revealed a month ago that I wasn’t the third case.

From Jeong Ha-yul’s mouth came the absurd statement that I was going to die soon.

Which means…

Damn it! I trusted you, Demon King!

Yes, I’m the youngest in the Demon King’s family.

There’s no way they’d abandon their mascot so easily!

This isn’t the time.

I need to play along with Jeong Ha-yul’s act.

“…Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”

As I nodded my head, still pinned by the Fox Mask’s side, and bid farewell…

Jeong Ha-yul’s pupils shook.

…Stop it! I’m just playing along with your act! Stop your pupils!

Desperately blinking my eyes, she finally seemed to catch on and stopped her pupils from moving.

“Kid, it seems the Demon King is going to abandon you. There’s no need to hold onto you anymore.”

That’s right!

The kind Fox Mask spoke as if he was going to let me go.

“…I guess so. I’m just a useless kid who’s going to die soon anyway.”

Thank you, Villain-sensei.

I’ll repay you with a thorough performance until the very end.

But then…

“…That’s right! You’re not even worth being a hostage!”

Jeong Ha-yul suddenly started acting awkward.

I’m screwed.

***

I took the kid hostage to catch Jeong Ha-yul.

But… Jeong Ha-yul doesn’t seem to care at all.

Even the kid, who’s supposedly on borrowed time, bids farewell with calm eyes.

‘…Guess it’s true.’

I didn’t have high expectations from the start.

A violent hero who prioritizes beating villains over civilian safety.

A villain who catches villains.

That’s why Jeong Ha-yul is called the Demon King.

I just tried the hostage situation because the timing seemed right.

I didn’t expect it to work, so I’m not disappointed.

“Kid, it seems the Demon King is going to abandon you. There’s no need to hold onto you anymore.”

“…I guess so. I’m just a useless kid who’s going to die soon anyway.”

The Fox Mask thought there was no need to kill a kid who’s already on borrowed time and was about to let me go.

“…That’s right! You’re not even worth being a hostage!”

Jeong Ha-yul suddenly started with her awkward acting.

The Fox Mask’s lips curled up, and his left arm started to tighten.

“Then… I’ll kill you now.”

“C-can’t you let me live?”

“I was going to, but I changed my mind.”

“Ahhh!”

Jeong Ha-yul ruined my only chance to escape from the hostage-taker.

Crack—

“Ahhhhhh!”

With the sound of something breaking, Jeong Gyeoul’s screams grew even more intense.

“S-stop it!”

Unable to bear it, Jeong Ha-yul finally gave in.

The Fox Mask set Jeong Gyeoul down on the floor and placed his foot on her head.

“You said she’s not even worth being a hostage. So I’ll kill her for you.”

“…What do you want?”

“Pfft. I wish others could see that expression.”

“Money? Or do you want my arm?”

Jeong Ha-yul offered money or even her arm, but the Fox Mask’s expression turned serious.

“Do you think I came here for something as trivial as that? With all these people?”

“What?”

There was no one around.

The police hadn’t even arrived yet, and only a few bold civilians were watching from a distance.

But as the Fox Mask raised his hand, countless red dots appeared on Jeong Ha-yul’s body.

“Of course, you’ll have to offer your head.”

“…If I die quietly, will you let the others live?”

“Think of it as saving on bullets, and I’ll let them live.”

As Jeong Ha-yul appeared to be contemplating, the Fox Mask chuckled and added,

“It’s a high-caliber sniper rifle, so the bullets are a bit expensive.”

“…I understand.”

“No!”

Jeong Gyeoul tried to stop Jeong Ha-yul, but it was no use.

“If I die, I can save three lives. And… you’re only 7 years old. You have a fun life ahead of you. Wouldn’t it be unfair to die like this?”

“…That’s not it…”

Jeong Ha-yul made a cool statement, but Jeong Gyeoul’s reaction was lukewarm.

What was she going to say next?

Just as the Fox Mask and Jeong Ha-yul were focused on what she would say next…

The daggers on the floor started to shake.

Whoosh—

They began flying towards the Fox Mask.

“What the!”

Jeong Gyeoul’s sneak attack was completely unexpected.

The Fox Mask, who had been focused on Jeong Ha-yul, didn’t see the dagger flying from right below.

Only after hearing the sound of the dagger cutting through the air did the Fox Mask quickly back away.

He barely managed to deflect two daggers aimed at his torso, while one aimed at his leg grazed his clothes.

At the same time, Jeong Ha-yul charged at the Fox Mask.

The distance closed in an instant, leaving no room for the snipers to shoot.

“Damn it!”

Already off balance from dodging the dagger aimed at his leg, the Fox Mask raised his left arm and leg to shield his torso.

But the right fist was a feint.

“You bastard with no right arm!”

The left fist was aimed at the Fox Mask.

Jeong Ha-yul’s favorite technique.

The flower of boxing.

A liver shot landed.

“Ugh!”

This was the chance to kill the Fox Mask, but Jeong Ha-yul didn’t follow up.

‘He won’t recover anytime soon anyway.’

One punch was enough to rupture his liver.

Now, the problem was the snipers aiming their rifles.

Sure enough, the snipers were targeting Eun-chae and Kang-woo.

The laser pointers were about to lock on.

In an instant, Jeong Ha-yul grabbed Eun-chae and Kang-woo and ducked into an alley, out of the snipers’ sight.

Jeong Ha-yul, already running while holding Jeong Gyeoul, was faster than the snipers.

“Ugh… What the hell, I thought it was a car accident…”

“An attack? Is this an attack?”

The shock of running must have woken Kang-woo and Eun-chae.

“Gyeoul, stay here with them.”

“Ha… Ha-yul!”

“Don’t worry. It’s not the first time. I’ll handle it and be back.”

“That’s not it, there’s something like a red dot on your face…”

“What?”

Bang—

A bullet aimed at Jeong Ha-yul’s forehead flew.

Even a high-caliber sniper rifle couldn’t pierce Jeong Ha-yul’s body.

It wouldn’t kill her, but she dodged it with all her might.

“Damn, if it weren’t for you, I would’ve had a scar on my face…”

Jeong Ha-yul was Jeong Ha-yul, but…

“…All those cosmetic ads would’ve been ruined.”

“…You’re really something, oppa.”

Baek Kang-woo thought his heart was going to drop.

It was the result of believing that Jeong Ha-yul wouldn’t die and being a capitalist-tainted office worker in his 30s.

Jeong Ha-yul glared at Baek Kang-woo.

“We’ll talk when I get back.”

She roughly estimated the sniper’s location based on the direction and height of the bullet.

In an instant, Jeong Ha-yul found the sniper on a nearby rooftop and disappeared.

“…Maybe getting caught by a villain would be better.”

“Right, why did Ha-yul say that in front of them…”

“Aren’t you nervous or scared?”

Jeong Gyeoul, who had seen it all, was dumbfounded.

“…We’ve been through this a lot. You must be shocked, Gyeoul. Are you okay?”

“…A lot?”

Eun-chae and Kang-woo had been with Jeong Ha-yul since her first awakening, and five years had passed.

Until a year ago, being attacked once a day was routine, and there were dozens of attempted kidnappings.

They had even been actually kidnapped once.

“It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with guns, so I’m a bit nervous.”

“Really? I find it thrilling and fun.”

Eun-chae and Kang-woo seemed to be enjoying the situation.

‘…They’re all crazy!’

Jeong Gyeoul seriously considered staying in England to become Grand Mage Heinz’s disciple.

But realizing that they would probably follow her to England, she gave up.

“I’m back. Everything okay?”

“Your clothes are a bit bloody in front of the kid…”

“Ah, it must’ve splattered just now. Sorry, Gyeoul. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Eun-chae, who was also covered in blood from the car flipping over, blamed Jeong Ha-yul.

Jeong Ha-yul accepted it and apologized to Jeong Gyeoul.

‘They’re really weird!’

Jeong Gyeoul decided that once she turned 17 and her magic seal was lifted, she would definitely escape from this house.

“But… there are still the Fox Mask and a few others left. What do we do?”

“…This time, there’s no choice. Or we could just break their bones.”

“What do you think, Gyeoul? Would you hate it if your sister got blood on her?”

The three of them looked at Jeong Gyeoul simultaneously.

The three blood-stained men and women smiled with their lips curling up.

Jeong Gyeoul’s back shivered.

‘Damn it! Forget 17. I’m running away as soon as I get back to Korea.’

 

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