The Villainous Director Is Raising a Child!

At the same time, black objects came tumbling in through the shattered window in a downpour.

Roll, roll… Kwaang—!!

Along with an eardrum-splitting explosion, the solid concrete walls of the hearing chamber were ripped away like sheets of paper.

Beyond the thick smoke, heavy combat-boot footsteps rolled in like an earthquake, and heavily armed terrorists began pouring in.

Dut-dut-dut-dut!

"Kh—!"

"Wh-what is this—?! To dare commit an act of terror in this sacred court!!!"

The chair's face went stark white as veins stood out on his neck.

But his air of authority lasted only a moment.

Ta-tang! Ta-da-dang!

When the chair right next to his was blown to pieces by gunfire, he flung himself under the desk in the least dignified way possible.

State authority paralyzed — a lawless free-for-all.

The Awakened Liberation Front? Why the hell are those terrorist bastards here?

Reckless madmen or not, striking at the heart of the Republic of Korea in broad daylight? What in the world were they after…!

But my question didn't stay unanswered long.

[Everyone, listen well!]

Beyond the roiling smoke, a metallic-tinted loudspeaker voice rang through the hearing chamber, loud enough to make it ring.

[We are the 'Awakened Liberation Front.' We stand here to smash the yoke of oppression the Bureau has hung on us and to win true liberation and freedom for every Awakened!]

As the declaration landed, his muzzle swung toward the tightly shut hearing chamber doors.

Ta-da-da-dang—! Kwaang!

Along with the blast, the heavy oaken doors were blown to pieces.

As the haze of dust lifted, the scene beyond was laid bare.

The hundreds of reporters and cameras that had been driven out earlier had staked out the front of the doors, and now, terrified by the sudden explosion, they'd slumped where they stood.

The terrorist wore a satisfied, blood-tinged smile.

He spread his arms toward the dozens of cameras — no, toward the whole nation watching this scene through them.

[Watch closely. See just how flimsy the false peace you enjoy really is.]

His eyes locked precisely onto the red light of a camera.

[Our demands are simple. Hand over 'Director Chae Junhyeok' and the 'test-subject children.' Do that, and we'll leave everyone else unharmed and withdraw quietly.]

"……!"

…So that was what they were after.

They hadn't come simply to kidnap.

The most closely watched hearing in the Republic of Korea. A moment with the eyes of the entire nation fixed on it. These bastards had been waiting for exactly this.

In that instant, through the blasted-open doorway, armed forces came rushing in like a wave, shields up front.

"All units, enter! Rescue the hostages!"

Courthouse security.

In a heartbeat the hearing chamber became a battleground where the firepower of two forces slammed together.

Dut-dut-dut-dut-dut—! Ta-ta-tang! Tang!

The moment furious fire opened up from both sides, the expensive desks were shredded to sawdust.

Kwaang!

"Grrraagh!"

Bullets sheeted down; steel struck steel and sent sparks flying — a screaming hell of pandemonium.

"Yul! This way!"

I caught Yul's arm, hauled him along, and dove behind the chair where the children were hiding.

Then, from habit, I patted my waist.

But my hand caught nothing — only an empty suit jacket.

Damn it…!

The hearing chamber's entry rules meant I'd handed in every artifact I had on my way in, and now it was a bitter regret I'd carry to the grave.

If I even had the [Warding Jade Talisman], this would be so much easier…!

A bone-deep helplessness came rolling in.

Breathing hard, I checked on the children huddled deep in the shelter.

"Guys! You okay? Nobody hurt?"

"…We're okay!"

The kids were far more composed than I'd expected.

Something to be thankful for, I guess….

The training that had them fighting monsters and staring down the fear of death every day was, of all things, the very thing holding their nerves together now.

But the situation was going from bad to worse.

Kwaang! Puh-oong!

The eardrum-splitting explosions were creeping closer.

Only natural.

A terrorist outfit that had struck by surprise, heavily armed and set on this from the start, against the handful of guards posted at the courthouse — there was no way it would be a fair fight.

…

If we could use abilities somehow, we'd have a fighting chance. But with the kids' powers sealed, we were nothing more than one grown man and six small children — powerless.

Stay here much longer and….

I looked back at the children.

Eyes that leaned on me and me alone, even in the crossfire.

I had to protect these small lives.

That was what I was here for.

I set the resolution firm in my chest and opened my mouth in the steadiest voice I could manage.

"Guys. Listen carefully. From here on, I'm going out there to draw their attention. While they're on me, you head out through that back door."

But the words were barely out; the children startled and clung to my arm and leg.

"No! You can't!"

"How can we just leave you behind, Director!"

"We'll fight with you! We're not going!"

…Of course. They won't listen.

There was no time. The blasts had come right up on us, and I could hear the footsteps of the ones hunting us.

I forced my face into something ugly and roughly shook the children's hands off.

"Oh, for — get it through your heads already!"

At the sudden shout the children flinched and drew back.

"Get a handle on your own situation! What the hell can you actually do here?"

"Director…?"

"You can't even use your powers — what good is any of you here?! You'll just be dead weight!"

"…"

"Don't get the wrong idea. You think I'm sacrificing myself for you? Fat chance."

I twisted my mouth into a bitter sneer and drove it home.

"Have you hanging off me, in the way, and I can't even run for it!"

"……."

"You think I'm going to die in a place like this? You lot clear out fast, and I'm perfectly capable of getting out alive on my own! So please…"

Hiding the trembling of my hands behind my back, I forced it out at the top of my lungs.

"Get out of my sight, right now! Because of you I'm about to die too!"

A shout loud enough to tear my throat.

I expected the children to burst into tears, or to shrink back with hurt on their faces.

Only then… would I be able to charge into hell with my mind at ease.

But.

"……."

The children didn't cry.

They only stared up at my face.

A heavy silence.

Just as my chest was about to drop, wondering if I'd taken it too far—

"We're tired of playing along with your lies, Director."

There were no tears in their eyes, no fear.

If anything, only a solid, unwavering resolve.

"You always lie to us…. And getting hurt in our place — cut that out too."

……?!

While I was fumbling my mouth open and shut, thrown, Yul stepped in front of me and tossed it out, offhand.

"In the end, if we just hold out here, we win, don't we? Reinforcements are on the way."

"……!"

Yul's read was dead on.

Five minutes at most. Hold out and we'd win.

But that made it more dangerous, not less.

Pressed for time, they'd thrash however they had to.

I couldn't let the children get swept up in that overload.

Just as I opened my mouth to argue back, Sea-ah tapped my shoulder and cut me off.

"That much doesn't even count as a worry for us."

Sea-ah turned her eyes on the children right after.

That look wasn't a nine-year-old's.

It was the look of a 'leader' forged through countless training runs.

"Guys. You all remember? Urban combat training, no abilities."

The children's faces settled into calm in an instant, and they nodded, grave.

"The situation's exactly like then. Our goal isn't to fight head-on. It's to break up the enemies' line of sight and throw them off as much as we can."

Sea-ah split the roles up without a beat of hesitation.

"The Director, Suho, and the twins can't move fast enough, so hide behind cover here and wait."

"Mm!"

"Got it! We'll take care of the Director!"

"Sihyeok, oppa, and I will scatter their attention and buy time."

"Okay."

Sea-ah, Yul, and Sihyeok traded short, weighted looks.

Without a word, each had read the others' intent perfectly.

"Operation start."

"Wa — wait…!"

There was no time even to call out their names.

The three kicked off the floor and shot out into the storm of gunfire in the blink of an eye.

"Director! This way! Hurry!"

"Get down, Director!"

Small, cute little hands were tugging at the hem of my clothes while I stood there in a daze.

When I came to, Suho and the twins were desperately pulling me behind a safe pillar.

Half-dazed, I let their hands drag me down into a crouch.

An absurd reversal — being protected by the very ones I was supposed to be protecting.

"Over there! They ran that way!"

"Get them! Miss them and we're finished!"

Sure enough, along with the terrorists' shouts, the muzzles swung toward the scattered children.

"Guys…!"

I nearly cried out on reflex.

But the moment a sound left me, the children's position would be blown too.

"Ngh…."

I bit down on my lip until it bled, and all I could do was watch their small backs vanish into the dark.

"Damn it! I can't see a thing in this!"

The terrorist leader chewed at his lip, anxious.

If everything had gone to plan, he should have secured Chae Junhyeok and the children and pulled out by now.

But the smoke grenades the government bastards had set off had turned the hearing chamber into a fog thick enough that you couldn't see a hand in front of your face.

"Kh — Cough! Chief! Mana detection isn't working!"

"Of course it's not! This is a mana-suppression zone!"

Thanks to this godforsaken system, even his detection skills were dead.

The only things he could trust were the rifle in his hands and the grenades.

Outside, sirens were already faintly starting to wail.

"Find them fast! Don't let a single rat slip through!"

At the chief's frantic bellow, the terrorists went red-eyed and set to tearing through the wreckage.

That was when it happened.

Through the haze of smoke, between the broken chairs, a small shadow was spotted darting past.

"Over there! Get it!"

Two subordinates immediately swung their muzzles up and lunged in the direction the shadow had vanished.

"This way! Definitely — it hid behind these chairs!"

But there was no one there.

Only empty space and the thick smoke.

"Huh? I know it went this way—"

Thock—!

From the opposite corner came a dull sound.

Nerves on edge, the terrorists spun around, startled.

"That way, then?!"

The very instant they turned their attention.

Beneath the desk, in the dark, Sea-ah — who'd been holding her breath — flashed her eyes open sharp.

Shwoo—

She rolled out silently, sliding along the floor, and snatched the ankle of a startled terrorist.

"Ugh?!"

The man whose ankle she'd caught lost his balance and staggered.

And in that split-second window, another shadow came dropping down from atop a chair.

"Hah!"

It was Yul.

Riding the drop-height, he brought his heel down clean and hard on the back of the man's neck.

Thwack!

"Ergh…."

The big man collapsed to the floor without so much as a scream.

Then, ghost-like, Sihyeok — who'd thrown a stone from a distance to draw them off — came slipping in and kicked the downed man's rifle far out of reach.

Perfect combination play.

"Wh-what… what the hell was that?!"

"Gaaaah! Die! Die, damn you!"

Their comrades, gripped by terror, sprayed their rifles at the empty air.

Ta-ta-tang! Tudu-du-duk!

The smell of gunpowder and sparks flew, but the bullets only pointlessly tore up the smoke.

The children had already melted into the dark like ghosts.

"Come out! Come out, you damn rats!!!"

"Damn it, time's—"

The leader, who'd been checking the clock in a mounting panic, finally made his call. Veins standing out, he screamed.

"All units, cease fire! Executing Plan X!!!"

The moment the order dropped, the scattered terrorists pulled fist-sized black objects from inside their coats without hesitation.

Bombs.

Chak! Chak!

Without a second thought they slapped the explosives onto pillars, walls, and the undersides of the spectator benches.

Setup done in an instant, they retreated fast and regrouped at the collapsed wall they'd first blown through.

Detonator in hand, the leader shouted in a voice thick with fury.

"In three minutes, the bombs go off!"

His voice rolled out chillingly.

"If you don't want to die under this building, surrender quietly!!!"

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