The giant, bipedal monster looked like a round lion doll.

The fiery breath spewed by the creature, designated Crying-X, engulfed the transport plane.

“Woaaah!”

“Ahhhh!”

Jae-hee and Hae-eun, watching from the command post a safe distance away, screamed in unison.

“Master! Jail Mojik! Firestarter! Bookworm! Powerbomb! And the pilot and all the other people I’ve seen around but don’t know by name!” Jae-hee rattled off the names of everyone on board in a rapid-fire panic.

“My brand-new transport plane! I'm still paying it off in sixty monthly installments, and I haven't even had it for three years!” Hae-eun, on the other hand, wailed for purely materialistic reasons.

Watching the same scene, they were worried about entirely different things.

Jae-hee shot Hae-eun an icy glare. “Commander, seriously?! Is this really the time to be worried about that?!”

“Ah, right. You’re right!”

Jae-hee’s rebuke snapped Hae-eun back to her senses.

“If I’d been on board, I’d be toast by now, wouldn’t I? Good thing I got off early. Yes, at least we’ve avoided the worst-case scenario…”

“…”

Jae-hee’s glare grew even colder.

Status Window, standing beside them, adjusted his glasses and shouted, “No… It’s okay desu!”

“Huh? What’s okay?”

“It held on desu!”

The next moment—FWOOSH!

The transport plane shot out from the pillar of fire, completely intact.

A closer look revealed Firestarter, his hands extended through the slightly ajar rear hatch, sucking the flames toward himself.

When the breath hit, Ghost’s sword flashed, slicing through the hatch’s locking mechanism. Firestarter then thrust his hands through the opening and absorbed the inferno.

Though the front of the transport was scorched black, the plane itself was safe, thanks to Firestarter swallowing the entire blaze.

Hae-eun pumped her fist in delight.

“Goddammit! I knew I could count on you, my little shits! I could just eat you up!”

Uh, you didn’t believe in them at all…

As everyone shot her an unimpressed look, Hae-eun’s expression instantly turned cold again as she scanned her surroundings.

“What are you looking at? Don’t you people have a job to do?”

She waved her hand high above her head.

“Transport Team! To your vehicles, now! We’re moving in, fast and hard!”

***

“Phew, that was a close one…” Jail Mojik muttered, slumping to the floor of the cargo hold.

Firestarter had absorbed the breath just in time, but the momentary heat had turned the inside of the plane into an oven. An unseasonable warmth filled the air.

“WAAAAAHHH!”

Crying-X roared. The tone of its cry was like a whining child, but its sheer volume made it menacing.

“That bastard was quiet until a second ago. Why’s it throwing a fit all of a sudden?”

Jail Mojik covered her ears in pain.

Ghost clicked her tongue. “It must have sensed it instinctively—that we’re here to beat the shit out of it.”

Beep—

A transmission came in from the commander.

«Mojik, anyone hurt or dead? Even if some are, I trust you can still continue the mission?»

“Yeah, well, we’ll manage…”

«Good. Get in close and finish it!» Hae-eun commanded urgently. «If we drag this out, who knows what other weapons it might have! Take it down in one go with maximum firepower!»

Jail Mojik grumbled at the commander’s casual order. “She always works people to the bone…”

Ghost gave a bitter smile. “That’s because we’re not people. We’re convicts.”

“Convicts are people, too!” Jail Mojik muttered.

Just then, Powerbomb, who had been peering out a window, yelled, “Hey, no time for chatter! Something else is coming!”

Everyone looked his way just in time to see Crying-X’s long tail whipping toward the rear of the transport like a lash.

“Shit, there’s no way in hell we can dodge—”

As the words of horror left Powerbomb’s lips, Ghost drew her sword, ran to the edge of the wide-open hatch, and met the colossal, incoming tail with her blade.

Swish!

SLICE!

The monster’s thick tail was severed with impossible ease.

The severed tip tumbled through the air, spinning violently before crashing into a nearby building and tearing it apart.

CRUUUUMBLE…!

The impact shattered windows across dozens of floors of the building. Façade tiles exploded like fireworks as the exposed steel frame bent with a horrifying shriek.

Fortunately, the building had been evacuated long ago, so there were likely no casualties, but the property damage would be immense.

The transport plane skimmed precariously past the collapsing structure. 

Bookworm shrieked, clutching her head. “You never said it would be this strong! You said it was just a balloon!”

“It’s over a hundred meters tall. You think it was going to be weak?!” Jail Mojik snapped, then started giving orders. “Firestarter, keep defending against the breath!”

“Got it.”

“Ghost, you keep defending against physical attacks!”

“Tch. A swordswoman can’t do much on a flight mission…”

“And Powerbomb, Bookworm!” Jail Mojik turned to the other two prisoners. “You can both fly, yeah?”

“Well, I can manage a crude imitation…”

“I-I can do it, too.”

Powerbomb and Bookworm nodded. Both were Awakened capable of conditional flight.

Jail Mojik pointed her index finger at Crying-X, preparing to activate her binding ability as she barked an order.

“Descend and beat it down! I’ll watch for the right moment to provide support!”

Thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup—

The moment the transport was directly over the monster’s head, Crying-X unleashed its breath again.

“WAAAAHHH!”

As Firestarter once more took the full force of the flames, Powerbomb and Bookworm kicked off the edge of the hatch and dropped into the open air.

“Hup!”

Powerbomb kicked hard at the empty space.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted from the tip of his foot, the reaction force launching his body upward.

B-Rank Awakened, Powerbomb. His ability was “Explosion.”

He could generate an explosion from any of his extremities. He could set one off at his elbow before throwing a punch to gain propulsion, or create one at the point of contact with an opponent to inflict damage.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Or, like now, he could set off explosions at his feet to maneuver through the air.

It was a rather brutish way to fly, but Powerbomb maintained a running posture in midair, using the recoil from the continuous explosions to dash across the sky.

“?!”

By the time the giant monster located him, it was too late. Powerbomb had already managed to get right in front of Crying-X’s face.

He pulled back his fist, gathering all his strength.

“Eat… this!”

The next moment, his fist, drawn back like a taut bowstring, shot forward.

BOOM!

An explosion at his elbow added speed to the punch, and it connected with the monster’s face.

Powerbomb yelled the name of his signature technique, the same as his callsign.

“Powerbomb!”

KRA-KOOM!

A massive explosion erupted from his fist.

The head of the giant, lion-doll-like monster was momentarily engulfed in smoke.

Powerbomb grinned confidently. “Ha, how do you like that, you shitty balloon? Let me just pop you…”

But when the smoke cleared, Crying-X’s face was perfectly fine. It was only slightly singed.

“Why aren’t you hurt?!”

The monster’s enormous eyes stared down at Powerbomb.

SWOOOSH!

The next instant, Crying-X’s foreleg swiped at him as if swatting a fly.

The motion was lazy, but its range was immense, and its power went without saying. Seeing the lion’s paw rushing toward him, Powerbomb couldn’t even think to dodge.

I’m dead…

Just then.

Shhhlick!

A lavender magic circle materialized in the air, and from it shot a single, thick, wriggling tentacle.

The octopus-like appendage snatched Powerbomb out of the air and yanked him sideways, pulling him clear of the paw.

Still, he couldn’t help but freak out at being suddenly bound by a tentacle.

“Whoa?! The hell is this?!”

“Heh heh heh heh, it’s my ability.”

The terrified Powerbomb looked to his side and saw Bookworm, wrapped in the same tentacle, dangling in the air.

Hiding her mouth behind the tattered leather-bound book in her hand, she let out a sinister laugh.

“My, what a lovely picture. I’ve wanted to tie you up with my tentacles ever since I first saw you…”

The tentacle binding Powerbomb tightened its grip.

He panicked, grabbing at it and trying to tear it off. “Y-you crazy hoe! Let me go right now!”

“You’d be better off staying put for now.” Bookworm glanced upward. “I think your punch made the lion doll angry…”

“…!”

“WAAAAAGH!”

Crying-X swung its arms repeatedly, trying to crush Powerbomb and Bookworm.

But its massive size made its movements slow, and Bookworm skillfully dodged, using newly summoned tentacles to throw and catch herself.

Caught up in the motion, Powerbomb screamed as he was whipped around beside her.

«Bookworm!» Hae-eun’s voice came over the comms. «Stop playing around and take it down!»

“Does this look like I’m playing around…?!”

«I told you, there’s no benefit to dragging this out! Go all out and end it in one shot!»

Gritting her teeth, Bookworm opened the leather-bound book in her hand and focused on its contents.

“As you command! I’ll give it a good, hard punching…!”

Hearing this, Powerbomb scoffed.

“Ha, that’s rich. My punch didn’t even faze it. What are you going to do with that…”

The next moment, Powerbomb’s eyes widened, and the words died in his throat.

“…tiny… fist… of yours…”

Wriggle! Wriggle!

Dozens of tentacles shot out from a massive magic circle that had appeared in the air, and they began to twist and braid themselves together.

AA-Rank prisoner, Bookworm. Her ability was “Tentacle Summoning.”

She could summon tentacles from any point within her line of sight and use them for a variety of movements.

“Ehehehehe!”

Bookworm succeeded in simultaneously summoning over thirty tentacles, her limit, as blood dripped from her nose.

The tangled mass of appendages formed a massive pillar—and at its end, a tightly clenched fist.

“Tentacle, tentacle…”

Bookworm drew back her own small fist—and threw it forward.

“Punch!”

Simultaneously, the colossal pillar of tentacles mimicked her movement, swinging toward Crying-X’s jaw.

THWACK!

The giant tentacle fist slammed into the exact same spot Powerbomb’s explosive punch had landed.

VWOOM!

A tremendous shockwave radiated outward, like the aftershock of a bomb.

Tinkle…!

CRASH!

The windows of every skyscraper in the vicinity couldn’t withstand the force and shattered completely.

The impact was so powerful that the transport plane, flying near the point of contact, momentarily faltered, and the hair of the convicts waiting at the hatch was blown straight back.

Thud…!

The lion-doll monster dropped to one knee, its posture broken. An effective hit.

“Damn, I heard there was a monster in Deck 3’s Glasses Society. Guess that was her,” Jail Mojik muttered, breaking into a cold sweat.

Then a different kind of shock crossed her face. “Wait, it didn’t pop even after that?”

Crying-X had been knocked off balance, but it had endured.

Its face was caved in, its jaw bent backward, but that was it. Its outer shell hadn’t ruptured.

“Is this thing really a balloon? If this much physical damage won’t break it, what else can we do?”

As if sharing Jail Mojik’s thoughts, a transmission came in from Hae-eun.

«Ghost.»

She was calling on her usual trump card for situations like this.

«You’ll have to do it.»

“Hah…”

«What can you do? We’ve come this far…»

Hae-eun was always like this.

Ghost readjusted her grip on her black sword, Void Trinity, and grumbled.

“I had a feeling it would come to this, ever since I realized I was the only one who brought a needle to a balloon-popping mission.”

***

Meanwhile, the five members of the Product Transport Team climbed into a waiting sedan.

Romeo took the driver’s seat, Juliet the passenger’s. Oberon, Titania, and Jae-hee piled into the back.

Oberon and Titania sat on either side, with Jae-hee sandwiched in the middle.

My escape routes… are all blocked…

Completely surrounded, Jae-hee looked around at the outlaws he was trapped with.

Vroom!

Just as the engine started, Shylock approached and leaned in, whispering to his subordinates.

“You know what to do?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Handle it. No loose ends.”

“We won’t disappoint you.”

Jae-hee tried not to listen to the sinister exchange, but he couldn’t help but overhear. He swallowed back a tear.

This is so suspicious…!

Shylock slapped the body of the car.

“Go.”

VROOOOM!

The sedan, carrying the outlaws and the Boy, sped off.

It was headed toward the sea of fire in the city center, where a giant monster and a handful of convicts were locked in a fierce battle.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.