Chapter 51 : Things That Shouldn’t Be Touched (5)

It wasn’t always a pleasant thing to cause havoc.

I’m… just a person.

An ordinary person.

I’ve never been particularly righteous, and if anything, I’m a small-minded, jealous individual.

I worked for a villainous group, the kind that gets depicted poorly in comics.

As part of a villainous group, it was only natural that I would clash with magical girls.

I knew that when I joined.

So I endured the blows.

Hayoon didn’t know my face anyway, and I would heal overnight.

The jealousy I once harbored toward Hayoon was something I’d kept well-hidden over the years.

I’m aware that my current outburst, with all the reasons I’ve attached to it, is somewhat deliberate.

But what can I do?

I’m not a saint; I’m just an emotional person like everyone else.

The feelings that surged from deep within my chest were too big and fragile to be contained.

A loud crash echoed.

I saw people screaming and running away.

Among them, some pointed at me, raised their smartphones, and started taking pictures and videos.

Did they not understand how serious the situation was?

I soared to the high ceiling and smashed it with my hammer.

Dust rained down on the people below.

James wasn’t lying when he said the building was sturdy.

Well, it had to be, considering it might face magical girl intrusions.

When white dust rained down on them, the people finally screamed and scattered.

It seemed they valued their lives, at least.

While not everyone had evacuated yet, many were already making their way out, and most importantly, the staff on the first floor were efficiently guiding people to safety.

This company had already been through one explosion before, so naturally, they’d have learned the importance of quick action.

“Let’s go up.”

I spoke toward the device James was operating.

“I thought you’d destroy everything right from the start,”

James’ voice came through the speakers.

The cockpit was securely enclosed.

Before it closed, it had a dome-like shape that seemed kind of cute.

However, the drone itself was sleek, with four propulsion units attached—two in the front and two in the back.

It looked as if someone had ripped off the nose of a fighter jet and attached it to a drone.

Was it designed this way to chase me when I moved quickly?

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that it could keep up with my magic and keep James relatively safe, allowing me to move more aggressively.

I didn’t bother responding to James and swung my hammer.

Click.

Just as I had done before, the back of the hammer glowed and unfolded.

The circuits whirred rapidly, and energy burst out of the generator within the hammer, propelling me forward.

All the unresolved frustration, this chaotic situation, the fear of failure, and the hesitation of confronting Hayoon—

It all felt distant as I dashed forward.

The air in the building was thick with dust from my rampage, and the screams of people still echoed in my ears.

But the sound of the wind rushing past as I sprinted drowned out all those noises.

I sprinted, leaping onto the landing, and slammed my foot into the floor.

At an angle where I’d normally trip and fall, my foot pierced through the floor, spinning me around.

As I turned left, I pulled the hammerhead close, confirming it skimmed the door, then extended the hammer forward.

Like throwing a hammer in a competition, I spun full circle.

The hammer, propelled by its energy, drew a swift arc around me.

Bang!

It smashed into the stairwell door, obliterating it.

The door didn’t even make a proper creak as it crumpled inward.

The bottom hinge held on, but the top hinge snapped completely.

The door slammed into the wall, hung loosely, then dropped to the ground.

I spun around once more and leaped forward, running ahead while striking the walls around me.

Hiss.

Crack.

Sparks erupted from the sides and front of my hammer as I moved.

These were the auxiliary propulsion devices James had added after observing my previous fights.

They reminded me of something I’d seen in missile launch videos.

Thanks to them, I could move aggressively, swinging my hammer around without losing balance.

Decorations fell and shattered in the hallway.

Several dents appeared in the walls, and a few doors broke.

People inside peeked out, saw me, and darted back inside.

Those who retreated didn’t come back out.

Debris, dust, shards of metal, and splinters flew everywhere.

My hair must have turned gray by now.

Whether or not my clothes were covered, I didn’t care—I just kept running.

There was even a slight burning smell.

Had the auxiliary thrusters scorched the carpet before they fully powered down?

Or perhaps the smell came from air ignited for thrust.

The sprinklers above activated, and alarms blared around me.

It sounded like an announcement was being made, but I leaped up and smashed the speaker, leaving only static.

People poured out of the places I passed, screaming as they ran through the sprinklers.

I didn’t intend to destroy the entire building.

My target was a single path.

Destroying the entire building wasn’t feasible for me alone, and I didn’t have the time.

The plan was simple: draw attention for long enough to execute exactly what I wanted to do.

This came from experience.

Even when I was running for my life, dragging out the chase ensured everyone’s eyes were on me.

Contrary to what the government, the federation, or the company might have wanted, my desperate resistance became headline news.

Attempts to suppress it with embargoes were futile—someone had already livestreamed it.

Among the fleeing crowd were those filming and taking pictures.

How many of them would post online?

As I sprinted down the hall, I finally saw the other end.

Bang!

“One more floor.”

I muttered after breaking through the door.

“Impressive,” James replied.

His voice coming through the speakers made it feel like I was talking to a robot.

The drone’s appearance only reinforced that feeling.

But the voice was unmistakably filled with amusement.

Terrifying.

A robot with emotions?

It feels like it could burn the whole world down.

Does that make me a traitor to humanity, cooperating with such a robot?

Not bad.

To the upper floor, and the one above that.

As I ran with all my might, I destroyed whatever I wanted.

Even destruction becomes a skill with practice.

Smashing fire extinguishers made the chaos even more widespread.

I struck fire hydrants to flood the area and used the propulsion system to scorch everything around me as I swung my hammer in all directions.

“Ah, hold on. I just thought of something great.”

“A great idea?”

When I shouted this with a delighted expression, James sounded puzzled.

The drone tilted slightly to one side, almost like it was tilting its head in curiosity.

It was oddly endearing.

This time, instead of heading to the opposite hallway, I turned toward another part of the building.

Midway, I sharply changed course and dashed toward the center of the building.

There, a cluster of elevators awaited.

All of them were heading down.

I chose the one closest to the first floor.

The elevator door caved inward miserably.

So, this is why people are told not to lean on them?

Well, though, I leaned on it.

Still, I’m a person, technically.

Then I jumped down.

Why didn’t I think of this from the beginning?

Thunk.

To prevent the elevator from falling prematurely, I landed on the top of the one that seemed to have stopped around the first floor.

Even so, I couldn’t completely reduce the impact, and the loud thud caused a scream from inside.

I pried open the maintenance hatch on top of the elevator and stuck my head inside.

Several people inside yelped in terror and fell to the floor.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to run?”

I gestured toward the open door with my eyes, and the people scrambled out, crawling on their hands and knees.

Good.

No one left.

“What floor was the broadcasting station on?”

“The 22nd floor. Almost at the top.”

“I should’ve entered through the roof.”

“You were the one who insisted on coming in from the first floor.”

True.

I wanted to give people enough time to escape.

“Well, doesn’t matter. The 22nd floor, right?”

I grinned as I pulled my head back out.

Clutching the hammer tightly in both hands, I crouched down.

“You can keep up, right?”

“It was designed to track your magic, so it’s not impossible.”

James spoke with a slightly exasperated tone, as if he already knew what I was planning.

It was the kind of tone that said,

If you were going to do this, why didn’t you start like that?

Why not? You’re the one who told me to cause maximum destruction.

“Alright, then keep up.”

I flashed a bold grin at the drone and leaped upward with all my might.

Bang!

The elevator I had been standing on groaned in protest, and my body shot upward.

The 22nd floor.

Can I reach it in one leap?

Doesn’t matter.

I’ll just land and jump again as many times as it takes.

It was strange.

The air inside was stuffy, my body drenched with sweat and water, covered in dust on top of it all.

Yet, oddly enough, I felt refreshed.

Was it because I was smashing everything I hated with all my might?

Even so, the circuits kept whirring.

Perhaps my mind had started spinning like those circuits too.

Bang!

A loud noise echoed from a distance.

Ironically, the building’s exterior still looked intact.

From the outside, there was no sign of fire, and the windows simply reflected the sunset.

But through the entrance, people were spilling out in waves.

The first floor of Noir Corporation’s headquarters, located across from Seoul City Hall, was a shopping mall.

Calling it the “first floor” might be misleading since it was more like a grand hall with towering ceilings.

It could hold a considerable number of people.

Naturally, even on a weekday evening, the place was bustling.

Police sirens blared, filling the streets, and officers quickly arrived, ushering people out.

Pandemonium.

That was the only word to describe it.

“If someone gets killed, there’ll really be no going back from there.”

Hayoon clenched her teeth at those words.

The magical girls turned toward the building.

Even on the 22nd floor, my rampage didn’t stop.

Bang!

The moment I broke out of the elevator, I was met with armed combatants.

They had apparently anticipated that I’d emerge from that spot, as they had formed a defensive line.

But as soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I pounded the floor repeatedly with my hammer.

I was confident this wouldn’t collapse the building entirely.

Still, no matter how sturdy the building is, slamming the floor with such force would shake the ground a little.

Seeing the combatants flinch in terror, I planted both feet firmly on the floor and unleashed a burst of flames from all the thrusters on my hammer.

The temperature in the room started to rise rapidly.

The flames erupting from the thrusters were scorching hot, as if they would burn and melt everything they touched.

“Get lost, all of you!”

I shouted.

“If you don’t leave, I’ll make you leave!”

The combatants hesitated, glancing at one another.

Thud.

One of the soldiers in the front dropped his gun, and that was all it took.

“Ahhh!”

One of them screamed as they turned to flee.

The others followed suit, panicking and bolting away.

None of them even thought about shooting at me.

Well, they were just paid employees, after all.

If the ones in suits were humans, it made even more sense.

Maybe magical girls would try to put up some resistance, but I wasn’t holding back at all—I was smashing through everything in my path.

Seems like my somewhat exaggerated reputation comes in handy.

Maintaining the thrust, I walked forward.

“Broadcasting… broadcasting… found it.”

I stood in front of a door.

I reduced the hammer’s thruster power, and the hissing sound of burning air quieted a bit.

“You can modify this, right?”

“Yes. The more ‘live broadcasting equipment’ there is, the better. Not all of it would be wired, would it?”

“Alien tech. Impressive.”

“Well, as long as we have energy, it’s possible…”

We shrugged at each other.

Well, the drone hovered up and down a little, but it felt like a shrug.

“…So, this is it then.”

“If we escape properly, it won’t truly be the end.”James said.

Honestly.

Even now, thinking about how he’s using me, his words sound so polished.

Still, he was like that when we worked at the company too.

Not that I liked it.

I gripped the hammer tightly with both hands and slammed it into the door.

Bang!

“…Huh?”

But the door didn’t break.

It looked no different from the doors I had smashed before.

The hammer left a dent where it struck, but from the other side—

“Move awa—”

Before James could finish, a blinding white light filled my vision.

A wave of pain swept over my body, as if I’d been caught in an explosion.

Even though I was cloaked in magic.

The second time being hit like this.

Oddly enough, as I flew and crashed into the wall, that’s what I was thinking.

But it wasn’t an explosion.

Bang!

The second strike barely missed as I shifted to the side just in time.

“…A robot?”

I steadied myself, relieved I hadn’t dropped my hammer.

“No…! That’s impossible! Noir Corporation doesn’t have that kind of technology…!”

[You’re not the only one capable of creating something sophisticated, James.]

I looked up.

The voice was coming from the hallway speakers.

[It’s still a company. Isn’t it natural for it to have better technology than an individual?]

I glanced at James.

Though his expression wasn’t visible, he seemed flustered, unable to respond.

Thud, thud.

Something massive walked out, bending the broken door to the broadcasting room.

It was at least 1.5 times… no, twice my size.

Its arms were as thick as my waist, and the fists at the end looked brutally solid.

What annoyed me the most was how polished its design was.

It looked like a friendly security robot from a near-future sci-fi story.

Was it actually designed for that purpose?

Getting hit by something like that would leave anyone dazed.

“We have to fight, don’t we?”

[Good luck. There’s quite a lot of them, you know.]