SRSBO: Chapter 18

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but I still feel like I’m unlucky. I could even confidently say that I must have sold a country or two in my past life without any hitch.

Crouching under the counter, I thought to myself. If they wanted to barge in, they should have come before I paid. If they at least had done so, would I have needed to pay for no reason?

The eyes that lost its focus were directed towards the crushed bread beneath one of the robbers’ feet, what a pitiful sight. It was the chocolate bread I had bought to eat for lunch today.

Just 30 minutes ago. Before all the fiasco, my mind had been extremely calm.

Since it was not good for the patient to have an empty stomach, I was planning to feed Han Siyoung some jelly, and then have a quick meal of bread and go to work.

My plan was perfect.

But it took only about three minutes from when I finished paying to when I stepped outside. In that short amount of time, the three robbers broke in.

“Put all your money in this bag right now!!”

Why are they causing such a commotion at the store?

I was swept up in the crowd and managed to hide my body somehow, but after catching my breath and looking around, I realized that the items I had paid for were scattered all over the floor during the chaos while we fled.

The only thing left was the jelly I had bought for Han Siyoung. Not to mention, if things continued like this, I would be late for my part-time job.

I tried contacting the police station with my cell phone, but the signal didn’t work.

‘Maybe I can send a text message…….’

I decided to write the message first as the situation was urgent.

Normally, Han Siyoung, who worked at a guild and was the quickest to report, would be the one to act. However, since she’s sick right now, she’s probably not in her right mind, so I’ll pass on that.

I thought that Yang Hyunwoo and Joo Yunwoo would be able to grasp the situation quickly since they were Espers, so I informed them separately.

My interpersonal relationships were narrow to begin with, so I didn’t have anyone else to send a text message to.

I sent a message roughly describing the location and what kind of incident had occurred, asking them to contact the police or a guild, but it was uncertain whether it would be properly sent.

Boom, bang!

The Esper robbers used their abilities to scare us so that no one would think of making any hasty moves.

The exit shutter had already been automatically lowered, perhaps one of them had manipulated it.

Judging from the way they sensed and attacked anyone who approached them even a little, it seemed like there was some kind of surveillance system to monitor the door separately.

Due to the chaos, a metal bar that had been separated from the display rolled toward me. I subtly pulled it toward myself with my foot.

‘…… Are they weak Espers?’

Maybe because they’ve been through something worse recently. They didn’t look that threatening.

Judging from their actions, they didn’t seem very smart either. Although the threatening sound was loud, their individual abilities didn’t seem very strong.

Of course, since they were Awakeners, they were stronger than normal people, but I’ve heard that low-level Espers aren’t much different from normal people in terms of physical abilities.

Above all, Espers are also people.

It hurts if you get hit, and if you get hit in the wrong place, you die, it’s the same for everyone.

From my experiment last time, even the low-level esper, Joo Yunwoo, barely survived my attack, which I had unleashed with all my strength. So, these guys probably wouldn’t die either.

When I threw the jelly container I was holding on the floor and grabbed the iron bar, I heard a child crying.

“Mom, Mommy……!”

“Little kid. If you don’t shut your noisy mouth right now, you’ll get hit by this old man, geddit?”

One of the robbers grabbed a child who looked to be about 7 years old and lifted him up.

A woman who seemed to be the mother desperately called the child’s name. One of the robbers pointed the gun at the child’s head as if they were going to use him as a hostage.

Upon closer inspection, the gun looked like a crude model gun. If it had been real, they would have fired blank bullets when they first started threatening.

That would be the fastest way to instill fear in a short period of time.

However, I couldn’t be sure of anything yet, and with a hostage in their hands, I couldn’t move recklessly. I was just waiting for an opportunity, when a man nearby spoke to me.

“You, are you thinking of attacking an Esper?”

“……?”

Who are you to speak so informally on our first meeting?

He was a man with striking red hair and dark skin, along with a strong, intense presence. He also had piercings on his eyebrows and ears.

Whether it was his confidence that came from his tall stature and strong frame, but even in this chaos, the man looked at me with curious eyes.

Looking at his crouching posture with one of his arms over his knees, he looked more like a gangster watching a fight than a hostage.

“They’re the lowest level, and their guns are just BB guns, but still, it’s not really something an ordinary person should take on, right?”

Oh, they truly were the lowest level of Esper, and even their guns were toys.

“Who are you?”

“Me? I’m an Esper.”

“Then please help the hostage.”

The red-haired man shrugged in response.

“Unfortunately, it’s impossible to use it right away over there. It’s the kind of ability that could easily get the hostage killed.”

Hmm, seems useless. Could this person be weak too?

“Oh, shit…… My ability is for large-scale destruction, you see? I can’t use it because of the oil.”

Perhaps my thoughts were evident on my face, the man raised one eyebrow and explained. His expression clearly showed his irritation, so I shifted my posture to move more easily and asked.

“Are you sure about what you said earlier? That it’s a fake gun.”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know that? I’m an active professional. I’m sure.”

“Then that’s fine. I needed someone else to be sure besides me.”

Honestly, I didn’t plan on moving on my own at first.

If it were Amelia, that might be different, but Kim Eujung is just an ordinary civilian with no offensive abilities. Besides, even when it came to Amelia, there wasn’t much fighting involved to begin with.

How could a precious healer be called up for battle?

But now, with the child taken as a hostage, it seemed those lunatics were planning to attack the hostages one by one.

The woman who had been crying and shouting the child’s name had already been struck to mute by another Robber 2. And one brave citizen had managed to attack Robber 3 who was holding a cell phone but got pushed down and passed out instead.

In the process, Robber 3, who was surprised by the attack, dropped his cell phone. But Robber 2 shouted at Robber 3, telling him to be careful, as if the cell phone was an important item.

‘…… Is Robber 3’s ability related to radio waves?’

The fact that contact had been lost and that the store’s surveillance cameras were monitoring the exit seemed to match up.

Robber 2’s ability control was immature, so as soon as he shouted, the items on the counter shook, causing several people nearby to be more injured.

On top of that, with the sound of police cars coming from outside, the robbers grew visibly nervous and began smashing nearby items in a frantic manner.

I was relieved that the report had been made, but I couldn’t help but worry whether we’d make it through safely until the police arrived.

The distance was short, and it was only a matter of time before we would be caught. So I thought, since we were destined to get caught anyway, wouldn’t it be better to try something while the robbers were off guard?

Bang.

Another loud banging sound was heard, and another stand was shattered, crushing one of the nearby citizens.

“You said you’re an Esper, right? Are you an attack-type?”

“Yes?”

“Then, help me instead of the hostage. Just move me a little bit away from the gas stand, okay?”

“…… What?”

“I’ll give you a small reward later, so get their attention. If possible, target Robber 3 over there. It’d be better if you could cause some injury to him.”

Since the man was an Esper with offensive abilities, it was better than nothing. If my guess was correct, I just needed to be cautious of Robber 1 and Robber 2 for direct attacks.

At that moment, Robber 1, who was holding a child hostage, turned his body the other way.

Robber 2, who had knocked down the stand with his invisible ability, was threatening the mart employee, and Robber 3 was watching the student who was putting the money inside a bag and holding the cell phone.

I seized the opportunity when Robber 1 turned his back, kicked the ground, and ran toward him. Before he could even turn around, I brought the metal rod down hard on his head.

Bam!

Robber 1 stumbled and collapsed to the ground, and the kid who got away rolled on the floor. Just to be sure, I swung the metal rod down on Robber 1 one more time, when a voice filled with harsh curses came from behind.

“What the hell is this crazy bitch doing?!!”

They shouted and immediately leapt off the display to run toward me, but just at that moment, the clothes of Robber 2 and Robber 3 suddenly caught fire.

The angry shouts soon turned into screams of pain, and my gaze naturally turned to the red-haired man.

From a little distance away, the man was looking at me with wide, surprised eyes.

“That woman! That woman is an esper!!”

It seemed that among the civilians, there was a comrade of the robbers.

As Robber 4 tried to approach and help Robber 2 and 3, who were screaming from the heat, he immediately turned around and attacked me.

He was definitely holding a small rock in his hand, but in an instant, it transformed into a sharp blade that grazed my cheek as it passed by.

Fortunately, he shouted before the attack, or I almost would have lost my eyes.

This was unfair. I was not an Esper, it was that person. I have been falsely accused of being an Esper.

As I furrowed my brows from the stinging pain in my cheek, I saw the red-haired man extending his hand from the other side.

At that moment, a deafening sound, as if the world was collapsing, echoed all around.

Bang!!

“…… Huh?”

Crack.

The chilling sound, as if a gigantic monster was opening its mouth, made everyone freeze, everyone held their breath and stopped all movement.

Me, who was covering my cheeks in pain, the hostages who were confused, the robber who was picking up the rock again, the robbers who were throwing away all of their burning clothes, and even the red-haired man who was the mastermind.

We all turned our gaze toward the ceiling, where the sound was coming from.