Chapter 2 - They make me mad, so what else can I do? (1)
Normal people are incapable of taking down awakened individuals, as they transcend human limits.
Awakened people possess incredible abilities; their skin can stop bullets, and they can tear through steel with their bare hands. Not only are they physically strong, but they can also wield magic.
Ordinary police officers cannot stop them with their various abilities. That's why we're here.
It takes Awakeners to catch Awakeners. We are the police force of the Awakened, dealing with criminals of our own kind. Even heroes, who battle extraterrestrial threats, must respect our authority, for they too are Awakeners.
We exist solely to deal with the Awakener as the Awakener Crime Division.
It was imperative to have an organization to keep the Awakeners in check if they went mad with power, and that's where the Awakened Association comes in. This organization governs all Awakened in Korea.
"Is it those guys?"
Upon leaving the headquarters, I transformed into a magical girl and flew as fast as possible. Within two minutes, I arrived at the bank where the incident had occurred, only to find masked robbers barricaded inside.
I was the only one to arrive this early; the rest of the team would be here in three to four minutes.
I immediately radioed my teammates through the earplugs in my ears.
"I got here first."
[We'll be there soo-]
"There are ten robbers. One of them seems to be a Class A Awakening, while the other nine are B-grade or lower. I'll handle them myself."
I cut off Park Oh-Jin's words and spoke quickly. Right now, the robbers are trying to escape with the money.
We can't lose them.
"As soon as you arrive, you'll surround the bank with the other teams. There might be some that I fail to catch."
[Understood.]
We've been working together for a long time, so he quickly understands what I'm saying and is probably relaying my words to the other team leaders by now.
"Phew."
So all I have to worry about is kicking their asses.
These jerks. Why are they robbing first thing in the morning?
I stretch my wrists and walk slowly into the bank.
There sure are a lot of punching bags.
Crash!
"Kyaaaa!"
As they burst into the bank, the robbers terrorized people by shooting fire from their hands and pounding on the walls with their fists, shouting, "Hands in the air, get down, you bastards!!!"
In an instant, the bank erupted into screams and chaos. People cried out and raised their hands, while the robbers threatened bank employees to open the vault.
Leading the robbery was Bae Jin-Chul, a Class A awakener who had awakened about a month ago. His mindset mirrored that of many awakened criminals who commit crimes.
'I'm a Class A awakener, and if I'm this strong, they can't stop me, so why don't I just rob them?'
As a Class A awakener, one of the strongest in Korea, he was confident he could take on the police or even another Awakened and emerge victorious.
So, he decided to rob a bank.
It was the same playbook as most awakened criminals. He figured it might take some time to defeat a Hero or the Association, but he was willing to take that risk.
After all, the folks from Hero Association and the Association were mostly B-class awakeners, and even if there were some A-class awakeners among them, he believed in his own strength.
'Besides, I'm not alone.'
Bae Jin-Chul had assembled a group of B-level and C-level awakened people who shared his mindset.
No matter how many opponents they face, subduing numerous Awakened wouldn't be easy. Furthermore, if they find themselves at a disadvantage, they can always resort to taking hostages.
"I've got the money; let's get out of here!"
He returned with a bag of money, feeling pleased with himself as he hurried to flee the bank...
"Huh?"
A woman stood at the entrance of the bank.
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Her long blonde hair and beautiful face drew gazes, but it was her attire that caught Bae Jin-Chul's attention.
She wore a cute, airy outfit with numerous frills. Such attire could only belong to...
"Magical girl?"
Indeed, she was a magical girl. Only a magical girl would wear such an outfit.
A magical girl, a female awakened representing only a small percentage, specializing in magic.
"Tsk."
Bae Jin-Chul clicked his tongue.
"I didn't expect a magical girl to show up. This is unexpected."
Dealing with a magical girl capable of wielding various forms of magic on her own wouldn't be a simple task.
"Hmm?"
But his worries were quickly put to rest.
Upon closer inspection, there was no one else outside; at this moment, there was only one magical girl here.
'She's here alone? Great, then that's fine!'
She must've been a hero who happened to be passing by. But I guess she thought she was being brave when she was just being stupid!
Not even a magical girl could face ten awakened opponents alone.
"Guys! Quickly defeat that b***h and let's get out of he-"
"Whaaaat?! S-she is?!"
"Huh?"
Bae Jin-Chul was about to shout out when he noticed the robber standing next to him flinching.
The robber's expression was strange as he looked at the magical girl. He reacted as if he had seen a ghost.
"Hey, what's the matt-"
Thud!
Bae Jin-Chul was in the midst of speaking to the robber beside him when he was abruptly cut off.
Suddenly, a powerful blow struck his head.
"What...?" he began, before realizing he had already been hurled across the room, crashing into the wall.
'That was boring,' was my first thought.
He was an A-class awakened and the biggest, so he seemed strong, but he flew away so quickly.
"Aaaaah?!!"
The strongest robber was blown away with a single punch, causing the robber standing next to him to tremble.
The other robbers reacted similarly, all staring at me in horror. Unlike the one who flew away, they seemed to know me, at least vaguely.
I glanced around the group and opened my mouth.
"We're from the Awakened Association. If you surrender now and obey us, we will-"
"Aaaaargh!"
"Hmm?"
Just as I was about to urge them to comply peacefully, the guy whom I had punched earlier made a war cry.
What, he didn't faint? I must have hit him too gently.
"How dare you... How dare you hit me into the wall! I don't know what kind of magic you used, but don't think you'll get away with it again!"
As he shouted, a red aura rose from his body. His already bulging muscles expanded even more, making him resemble more of a rhinoceros than a man.
I see. He's a physical enhancement type, so he's still alive.
Thud!
The big man threw his body across the floor.
Like a cannonball, he flew towards me at high speed, his fist punching out.
He was literally in front of me in the blink of an eye.
But
"Ugh?!!"
I lightly dodged the big guy's fist and grabbed his head.
Crack!
And slammed him into the floor.
The marble floor cracked, and blood gushed from the giant's mouth beneath my palm.
But it wasn't enough. There was no way a physical enhancement-type powerhouse would fall like this.
So I grabbed him by the face again and lifted him up.
Crack!!
I slammed the back of his head into the ground once more.
"Aaaaah!!!"
"I see you're still screaming, so you must still be fine."
Crack!!
"Ughhhhh!!!"
"Hmmm. Is this not enough?"
He was a grade-A awakened after all, so he was pretty sturdy.
Crack!!
"Ah, ahhh......"
As I continued to slam his head into the floor repeatedly, his struggles weakened, and the strength drained from his body. His arms, which had been struggling, now hung limp.
At the sight of him, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"You're going to pretend you're weak and try to hit me again, aren't you?"
"Ugh, ugh......"
I wondered if it was just my imagination. It seemed like his head shook from side to side.
Haha, of course it's my imagination; there's no way he's going to give up so easily, is there?
I've seen it with every criminal I've ever met. They pretend to surrender and then stab you in the back.
"What? How did I know, you ask? So that was your plan all along! You shameless bastard!"
"Uhh...?!!"
Crack!
"Kuh!"
I felt like I was hitting him in the head too much, so I drove my fist into his stomach, and a fountain of blood sprayed out of his mouth.
As I happened to be looking down at his face, blood splashed on my face.
"Ah, shit."
"......S-sorry..."
He mumbled something in a small voice.
Was he trying to apologize? No way. Every criminal I've ever seen in my life has been a shameless bastard.
There's no way a guy like that would apologize, right?
Boom!
Annoyed, I punched him a few more times, keeping his face away from me as much as possible to avoid getting splashed with blood.
After a minute or so passed...
Wee-oo wee-oo!
A few Association cars pulled up in front of the bank. It seemed like the other teams had arrived.
I stopped beating the already unconscious man and turned my attention to the other robbers.
"Hey, you guys. Do you see that big black car up ahead?"
"Y-yes!"
"I-I see it."
The robbers nodded obediently, and I pointed to the Prisoner Transport vehicle.
"Get in."
As soon as those words left my mouth, the robbers bolted out of the bank as if fleeing from me, sliding into the vehicle.
Case solved.
I turned to the employees and civilians inside the bank, offering them the brightest smile I could manage.
"I know you've been scared, but rest assured, we'll take care of the robbers."
"......"
"......"
But there was no reply. They looked at me like those robbers who just ran out—or rather, they looked even more scared than those robbers.
I'm a bit disappointed.....I was just executing justice.
As I walked out of the bank with a heavy heart, a man ran up to me, panting.
"Hey, Team Leader 5, Are you okay?"
"Ah, Team Leader 3. Don't worry. I just finished."
"Deputy Leader 5 told me that you were going to take on the robbers by yourself."
He must have been shocked to hear that I was going to take on 10 robbers by myself.
I smiled reassuringly to ease his worries.
"Nine of them just got into the vehicle, and the other one is currently unconscious inside the bank. There was some resistance, so I was a little late."
"You call that late? It was only three minutes."
Team Leader 3 appears understandably embarrassed, considering it took five minutes for the team to reach the bank from the association.
You drive as fast as you can, but by the time you get there, the robbers are already in custody.
But it made sense that the job ended quickly.
"I only had to subdue one of the robbers, who looked like a big guy, and the rest of them lost their will and surrendered. Typical of criminals."
"Ah, I see. As expected of you, Team Leader 5. Haha."
"Can I leave the rest of the robbers to you, Team Leader 3? I'll go back to the association."
I almost said quite blatantly, 'I've caught all the robbers; you guys can do the cleanup.' However, Team Leader 3 did not complain. He simply nodded and walked into the bank.
"Excuse me, Team Leader 5. I have a question."
And he came right back out.
"What is it?"
"What's that?"
I looked at where the team leader pointed with his finger.
What else would it be?
"That's the robber I just told you about."
"...That one?"
"Yes."
"That's a person?"
"......"
"He's not dead, is he?"
"......Probably?"
"......"
What? Don't look at me like that. Why are you giving me the same look as the people in the bank?