Bang—!The burning restraint line snapped away, flying off before boomeranging straight back toward him. Uichan hurled every rooftop object within reach at La Épée. While the hero blocked the debris with his arm, Uichan seized the moment to dash away.To make matters worse, the pain in his abdomen was steadily worsening. He clutched his lower belly in panic.“Just… a little longer, kids.”Blacktan and Noatis were already dangerous opponents—but La Épée, above all, wasn’t someone he could afford to fight directly. He was a natural Ability User, one who could summon thunder and wind at will. The fact that he was using restraints rather than elemental strikes meant he wanted Uichan alive—even if it meant hurting him to do so.Lost in thought for a split second, Uichan suddenly felt a killing intent at his side and twisted away. A restraint whip sliced past his shoulder. He countered with his fist, slamming into it—Crash—!Only to collide with La Épée’s own punch. Shards of ice burst through the air. His fist was encased in solid frost, radiating biting cold. Every time Uichan reached out to erase his memory, La Épée darted back with unnerving precision.“Think again. If you give up now, I’ll make the capture painless.”“I’m not very good at painless memory erasures.”At that insolent retort, La Épée laughed softly. He drew the restraint line back and coiled it around his fingers. The glowing cord blazed hotter and hotter, red as molten steel, radiating heat like a furnace. With every second, it grew more like burning wire—an instrument heroes used to make villains scream.“When you’re in this line of work, curiosity hits sometimes,” La Épée mused. “Heroes have ability codes engraved into their bodies. But sometimes, villains carry those codes too. Makes me wonder.”“……”“If Under Doom’s body carries a hero’s code as well.”A filthy habit. Digging for a hero’s code in a villain’s body was just another way of mocking them—implying the villain had once been a hero. Or worse, a way to trace their identity.“Well, even if you don’t, I can’t blame you. You’re a villain, not a hero.”La Épée lunged again. They clashed several times, neither gaining ground. It wasn’t a fight of victory or defeat—only exhaustion.Uichan just wanted out. Cold sweat drenched his back; stabbing waves of pain shot through his abdomen again and again.If this went on, even his ability would destabilize. He turned and ran. Full speed—his fastest yet—but La Épée pursued relentlessly, striking as the restraint whip snapped after him like a predator’s tail.The limit came sooner than he expected. Mid-leap across a rooftop, Uichan’s legs gave out. He collapsed, the whip grazing just inches above his head—a deadly sight.Whish—!Then, from ahead, a volley of thin, sharp blades rained down—straight toward La {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Épée. Uichan looked up to see the wooden puppet, the one who had carried off Podo, returning to attack the hero.“Mother Ship, are you protesting for me to catch it? Sending one puppet—what’s the point?”La Épée swatted the knives aside effortlessly, but the puppet didn’t relent, buying time. Uichan pushed himself up, seizing the brief window.He almost fled—but changed his mind, stomping the ground with immense strength. The rooftop trembled violently. Seeing La Épée stagger back, Uichan turned to escape.“Ugh!”But in that instant, his insides twisted, and his ability unraveled. That tiny lapse sealed his fate.Whip—!The restraint line lashed out like a wolf. Maybe it was an illusion, but La Épée’s eyes widened. He even reached out, as if to pull it back—Too late. The burning cord sank its teeth into Uichan’s leg, coiling tight. His entire body lurched.The whip left a trail of eerie light as his body tilted over the edge—still clutching the wooden box against his chest.He fell.La Épée ran to the ledge immediately.Below, fifteen stories down, tangled pipes and grime filled the alleyway—but there was no body. Only a trail of blood dragging inward before abruptly vanishing, as if erased. Half of the severed restraint line lay abandoned at the edge.La Épée jumped down, landing before the last smear of blood. He crouched, touched it with his fingertip, and pressed it to his tongue.“…I only meant to scare him.”He touched the blood again, licking it. A shadow rose behind him. Turning with a faint smile, he faced the newcomer.“The man I sent to watch Uichan came here? That’s odd.”It was Bae Gyohoon, La Épée’s current sidekick. The man hesitated—he had, after all, been ordered by La Épée to tail someone only hours ago.“Well?”“…It’s just…”“What just what.”“…A black panther came out of nowhere and mauled me.”“And?”“It bit me so hard I couldn’t get free. I eventually used my wits to escape and resumed surveillance, but…”Just as he said, Gyohoon was a wreck. His neatly pressed suit was shredded, hair disheveled, face grim. He looked utterly defeated as he confessed,“…I lost him. The moment Uichan left the house, that panther attacked. After that, I completely lost track. I tried going back, but that nerdy guy’s weird alarm traps make it impossible to get close. I’m sorry…”La Épée, who’d been absently smearing the blood between his fingers, went still. When his gray eyes lifted toward Gyohoon, the man squealed and bolted into the shadows.The alley fell silent, wind sweeping through.“Yeah.”La Épée exhaled, staring up at the basalt-like walls of the high-rise. A faint laugh escaped him.“One wrong assignment, and I’ve turned into complete trash.”He’d hurt the kid.With a flick of his fingers, the spilled blood lifted from the ground, hovering. He scooped it up and swallowed it, licking every trace away as though tasting bone. Only when nothing remained did he turn to leave.Behind him, explosions from the government complex roared without pause.***If he’d been even a little slower, La Épée would’ve seen his face—and captured him. The thought alone made Uichan’s heart pound uncontrollably.He’d been saved mid-fall by one of Mother Ship’s puppets waiting below. The puppet cradled him, carried him out of the area, and finally set him down in a nearby park.But right then, Uichan realized something he didn’t want to believe.The stomach pain that had tormented him—had vanished the moment he’d used Regression. It was as if time itself had rewound.“No… no way.”Regression didn’t work on its user. He’d confirmed that with the original owner—dead long ago. Uichan had used the ability over ten thousand times. If it affected him, he’d have grown younger until he was a child again.But he’d never tested whether that rule extended to his unborn children.He shook his head, refusing to dwell on it.“First, home… check on things… then think.”He hid inside an old public restroom and changed out of his dark clothes. Removing the burned restraint line from his thigh was agonizing—the red-hot coil had bitten deep into his skin.Still, Uichan endured the pain, managed to tear it free, disinfected the wound with saline, and wrapped it tightly with a makeshift bandage. After dressing in the spare clothes he carried, he stepped out of the stall.He washed his face and hands, slipped on white half-gloves, and put on a pair of thick-framed glasses from his bag. Then, cautiously, he left the restroom.May’s trees were in full green bloom, leaves dense under the night sky. The park around the restroom was quiet and deserted.Unable to hold back his exhaustion, Uichan sank onto a bench. If he just caught his breath, maybe the chaos around him would fade for a while. Above all… his body was screaming for rest.He set the bag with the wooden box beside him and rubbed his eyes. Leaning back, he pulled his knees up and crossed his arms, resting his chin on them.Just for a minute… I’ll rest.But at some point, he drifted off.Someone was shaking him awake. Uichan groggily opened his eyes. Through the blur of sleep, a pair of golden irises came into focus.As his vision cleared, he recognized the face—and startled, trying to sit up, but a large hand caught his shoulder, steadying him firmly.“Careful, Uichan. You’ll fall.”

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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.