Ironblood is insane.
t’s not just because she’s an unmarried woman in her thirties. She’s simply different from a typical Hunter.
Some suspect she was indoctrinated somewhere, while others raise concerns that she actively seeks out trouble, always targeting those with antisocial tendencies or problematic elements.
– What Ironblood wields is not mere fists but violence backed by power.
Once, there was a B-rank Awakened who fled to Europe.
A man younger than Ironblood, who had initially been a celebrity before Awakening, gaining immense public recognition.
He sought asylum in Europe.
Though it wasn’t officially disclosed, many speculated that he fled the country after resisting Ironblood’s outrageous attempt to force him into marriage.
Why does the country go so far to protect Ironblood?
If you ask that question, the answer is simple: There is no one more loyal to the nation than Ironblood.
A guard dog doesn’t get reprimanded as long as it doesn’t bite its owner. Even if it bites a neighbor or another person, some owners shamelessly defend their dog, insisting, “It wasn’t my dog’s fault; they must have provoked it first.”
That’s exactly how things are here.
Ironblood allied with the government, became their enforcer, and lived a life of unrivaled privilege.
Until now, everyone stayed quiet.
Even other S-rank Hunters had to focus on clearing the Towers, so they avoided direct confrontation with her. Ironblood, for her part, rarely picked fights with other S-ranks openly.
But now, everything had changed.
While waiting for the helicopter to arrive, gathering only the essential belongings from the hotel, a massive incident erupted at the Korean Hunters’ training center.
[Did you really think I held back because I was scared of you?!]
Through Drei’s hacking, the sounds of an intense battle at the training center came through.
It began with a punch crackling with electricity—Blue Lightning’s attack.
And it wasn’t aimed at the torso or gut. It struck Ironblood’s face directly.
Korea strictly forbids violent clashes between S-ranks.
So much so that if a fight were to break out, they would be told to “Go fight inside a Tower and settle it there.”
But why was Ironblood different?
If you ask that question…
[Do I avoid shit because I’m scared? No, I avoid it because it’s disgusting!]
As Blue Lightning shouted, the truth became clear.
Ironblood was a person fundamentally rotten to the core.
She knew that even if she wielded violence, the government would protect her—or rather, had no choice but to protect her.
That’s why, until now, no one had actively opposed her.
S-ranks avoided her because she was repulsive.
And those below them?
They found her both disgusting and terrifying.
– You can avoid filth, but what happens if the filth starts chasing after you and clings to you? The only choice is to be careful not to get caught in its radar.
That was Ironblood.
But now, that was no longer the case.
[Do you really think my brother and everyone else stayed silent because they were scared of you? They just didn’t want to risk losing another S-rank Hunter for clearing Towers!]
Blue Lightning’s relentless attacks continued.
Electricity surged around him as he charged in, and Ironblood, still grounded, took the full brunt of his blows.
Was she shocked that she was being hit?
Or was she dumbfounded that a usually mild-mannered young man had suddenly erupted in fury?
No.
[So, what do you want me to do?]
Her skin hardened like steel, dispersing the electricity.
She surrounded herself with mana to block Blue Lightning’s attack, preparing to strike back from below.
“Oh, shit.”
“Whoa. A nut shot.”
Ironblood’s fist landed squarely in Blue Lightning’s groin.
He was sent flying out of the training center, rolling across the ground.
“D-Did she just… burst something?”
“No way. You think she hit hard enough to make it explode?”
“She’s crazy enough to punch someone in the face like that. You never know.”
“…”
Kiharu cautiously voiced his opinion, while I watched Blue Lightning through the training center’s CCTV, feeling a phantom pain in my own lower half.
“Master, should I go handle this?”
Elaine, visibly disturbed by the sheer brutality of the attack, reached for her sword, her thumb pressing against the guard as she prepared to draw.
“Drei. Does Ironblood have any secret accounts or dirt on her?”
“Unfortunately, no. There are some private photos, but they’re barely more than magazine spreads. If those leaked, she’d probably enjoy the attention. Her body is decent, after all.”
“Tsk…”
So she really wasn’t involved in anything scandalous behind the scenes?
No.
The controversy around her was already massive—but it was all tied to violence and her utterly insufferable personality. Her image was already in the gutter.
“Commander. The helicopter is arriving on the rooftop.”
“Tsk…”
“Do you want to help Blue Lightning?”
“No, it’s not exactly about helping… but seeing him still suffering like that…”
It was more about a basic sense of decency as a human being.
“If he had just been hit in the stomach and sent flying, that’d be one thing, but… damn.”
For any man, unless it was a sworn enemy who had murdered their parents, seeing another man writhing in pain from a groin shot—even in the middle of a fight—would make them flinch and pause.
“…He’s not actually ruptured or anything, right?”
The sound of the helicopter blades filled the air.
Blue Lightning clenched his fist, trying to push himself up. At that moment, Ironblood nudged the ground with her foot, about to kick him while he was down.
Rustle.
Ironblood vanished.
And I was suddenly yanked along with her.
“Elaine?”
“Ironblood is heading this way.”
“…No way. That crazy b*tch?”
“Commander, to the helicopter!”
“…Wait.”
Following Elaine’s lead, I stepped into the corridor leading to the helicopter and pulled out my phone.
“Alice. Get ready.”
* * *
“A-Are you okay?!”
An A-rank Hunter with healing abilities rushed to Blue Lightning, summoning his mana.
“…”
Blue Lightning remained silent, his face pale as he stared at the ground.
Still, he clenched his fist and struggled to stand.
Vrrrm.
The Healer activated his ability, directing his power toward Blue Lightning’s groin.
“Oh, my god…!”
The Healer felt it.
Healing abilities allowed their user to sense the extent of an injury as they restored the affected area.
“D-Da-ram, you…!”
“W-We have to chase her…!”
Blue Lightning, his legs trembling, forced himself to move, pointing in the direction Ironblood had disappeared.
“She’s going after [Master]…!”
“Wait, on what grounds?!”
“No grounds, no justification! She’s just doing it! Either to grab his ankle and drag him down or pin him to the ground until a government official arrives to take him away!”
“That’s… insane…”
The other Hunters who had rushed outside were just as baffled.
But then, chilling news came in.
“Hey! A helicopter just took off from the hotel! It’s a U.S. military chopper—[Master] will be on board!”
“!!”
“Sh-She’s not… She wouldn’t try to take down the helicopter… right?”
“N-No way. I mean, even if she’s completely unhinged, that’d be…”
Despite their words, every Hunter’s gaze inevitably drifted toward Blue Lightning’s lower half.
“Da-ram.”
One of the Hunters, mana surging through his body, unfurled wings behind his back.
The wings, dark as obsidian, had a simplistic, almost pixelated design, yet their form resembled those of a dragon.
“If something happens to me later, you’ll help me, right? I’m going to help you now.”
His ability granted him the power of flight.
Among them, he was the fastest Hunter here.
“…Yes!”
“Then let’s go!”
The flying Hunter, Obsidian Wing, grabbed Blue Lightning by the waist and soared into the sky.
Flap!
He spread his wings wide, picking up speed, but even at full throttle—
Thud, thud, thuuud!
The earth trembled as Ironblood sprinted at full force, paying no mind to roads, houses, or anything in her way.
BEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP!!
The sound of emergency sirens blared throughout the city.
A government alert.
[Blue Lightning and Obsidian Wing, cease immediately!]
“That damn vice minister…! He’s making an official announcement?!”
Obsidian Wing gritted his teeth, but his wings didn’t stop flapping.
“Shit, Da-ram! If we run into each other overseas later, act like you don’t know me!”
Obsidian Wing flapped his wings even faster.
Meanwhile, Ironblood had already reached the hotel’s vicinity.
The press and civilians gathered outside barely had time to react before she leaped over them with a single bound.
Rumble, Rumble, Rumble.
The hotel rooftop.
A helicopter, painted entirely black, lifted off.
There was no pilot in the cockpit, yet inside the unmanned aircraft, a masked figure gazed down through the window.
“Master…!”
Ironblood had confirmed the target through her sources.
Master was aboard the helicopter.
She considered whether the maid or the armed agents guarding him were present, but at this point, it didn’t matter.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Ironblood scaled the hotel’s exterior in an instant, reaching the rooftop.
By now, the helicopter was already flying over the ocean, as the hotel was situated near the coast.
“Stop!”
Just as Ironblood was about to swing her fist at the distant aircraft—
Crackle!
Obsidian Wing surged toward the rooftop at full speed.
Thud!
Blue Lightning was dropped onto the rooftop like a bomb, landing with a heavy impact. Meanwhile, Obsidian Wing, unable to overcome the inertia of his high-speed flight, overshot the hotel and plummeted toward the sea.
“Are you out of your damn mind?!”
“It’s an order.”
Ironblood twisted her lips into a smirk, channeling mana into her fist and aiming it at the helicopter.
“What are you gonna do if this starts a war with the U.S.?!”
“This is why idiots who don’t understand national security should stay silent.”
“What?!”
“Do you really think every single American welcomes that traitor? That the entire U.S. does?”
“…What the hell are you talking about?”
Blue Lightning barely had time to process her words before Ironblood swung her fist toward the helicopter.
“This…”
BOOM!
“…Was requested from ‘the other side’ as well.”
A sonic boom erupted, blasting across the rooftop.
“Guhhh!!”
Blue Lightning gritted his teeth, bracing himself against the shockwave.
But—
BOOM!
“Ah!”
Another explosion.
The shockwave reached the helicopter’s rotor, causing a blast that sent the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin, spiraling toward the sea.
“You crazy b*tch!!”
“Power that is too great is sometimes a threat to the order of humanity itself.”
“You absolute dumbass!!”
Blue Lightning snapped.
“If power like that exists, that means there are situations where it’s needed!”
For a moment, Ironblood flinched.
Her expression hardened, but only for a second.
“It’s too late. Master is already—”
The helicopter plummeted toward the sea.
“!!”
“?!”
At that instant—
A tremendous surge of mana erupted from the ocean.
But this was not the mana of a mere individual.
It was something vast. Immense. More akin to an entity than a person.
“… Boss?”
The overwhelming energy was reminiscent of a Tower Boss.
Then—
KWOAAAAAANG!!
A colossal eruption of water.
Something burst forth from beneath the surface.
Something that had not been there just moments before.
Something dozens of meters high suddenly materialized.
“…Huh?”
A massive shadow surged out of the sea, soaring into the air like a breaching whale.
And from its deck, metallic cables extended—
Snagging the falling helicopter mid-air.
There was no mistaking it.
“…A battleship?”
KWOAAAAAAAAANG!!
With a thunderous roar, the massive steel warship rose from the depths, displacing the ocean with sheer force.
