The Academy’s Time Stop Player

Woosh! Boom!

With a tremendous explosion, the front door shattered, and a devastating gust of wind swept through the house.

Before the force could engulf the interior, Irian quickly fetched three puppets hidden in the shadows to shield herself.

Whoosh!

“Tsk!”

Splinters, carried by the wind, lodged into Irian's puppets. A few grazed her cheek. As soon as the gust subsided, she sent two of the puppets towards the entrance and then summoned ten more.

Her immediate need was to escape.

Irian was ready to entrust her puppets with the fight while she looked for a way out. However, she could sense the magical energy from both the entrance and the balcony windows behind her, indicating that all escape routes were blocked.

As that realization hit, the balcony window shattered with a crisp sound. A sharp dagger and the shards from the broken window, drawn by some unseen force, hurtled towards her.

Woosh!

“Block it!”

Reacting instantly, Irian commanded one of the puppets guarding her back. It threw itself in the path of the incoming shards, blocking them with its body. However, it couldn't stop the dagger, which pierced the puppet and continued towards Irian. She tried to dodge, but the blade embedded itself into her shoulder.

Thud-

“Ugh!”

Thump! Thump!

She quickly pulled the dagger from her shoulder and turned to face the entrance. The sounds of multiple villains rushing in were unmistakable. Five, to be precise.

Before the weapons they carried could target the Puppeteer, she promptly placed both hands on the ground, summoning ten puppets. She immediately climbed onto one, intending to escape through the window.

But a villain who entered through the same window launched a kick towards Irian, who was on the puppet's back. The impact sent both Irian and the puppet crashing into the wall.

Boom! Crunch!

“Kugh!”

The puppet shattered in half, and a powerful jolt surged through Irian's torso. However, there was no time to recover. The same villain threw a punch at her face. Irian raised her arm in defense, but the sheer force sent her crashing through three consecutive walls.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Aaahhh!!”

“What, what's happening?!”

“It's a villain!!”

Screams echoed around her.

Rising dust obscured the surroundings. The soft steps of the villains approached from beyond the broken walls.

Shortly after, a villain, standing over the fallen Irian, arrived. Irian, lying on the floor, looked up at him.

It was a face she recognized.

An A-rank villain. The Executioner.

He looked down at Irian and began to speak.

“I never imagined the Puppeteer would be a woman.”

With those words, the executioner drew his dagger.

He coldly looked down at Irian and said,

“You know the fate of traitors.”

Whooosh!

As he said that, he hurled the dagger towards Irian's heart.

Swish-

However, that sound wasn’t of flesh being pierced.

For a moment, the executioner's face contorted in shock.

What he thought was Irian turned out to be a puppet with Irian’s face.

“Spread out. She couldn’t have gone far. Use more manpower if needed, but find her at all costs.”

With those words, the villains who followed him dispersed, and the executioner left the apartment to search for Irian elsewhere.

Meanwhile, in Hajoon's dormitory.

"Ugh... damn it..."

It was already late into the evening, 10 p.m., and just as Hajoon was about to drift off to sleep, he was rudely awakened, his face twisted in annoyance.

Was it because of the distant wail of sirens he heard from outside the window?

Certainly, that was part of it. But the main irritant was the unknown person who dared to call at such an ungodly hour.

With a scowl, Hajoon checked the caller.

"...?"

Upon seeing the identity of the caller, he stared at the caller ID in disbelief.

He had expected it to be from someone in the UK, considering the time difference, but to his surprise, it was a call from the president of the Korean Heroes Association.

"This person isn't one to call at this hour."

Still puzzled, Hajoon answered the phone.

Almost immediately, the urgent voice of the association's president filled his ear. As he listened to the unfolding situation, Hajoon's expression darkened. The president informed him that two A-rank villains had launched a terror attack on a nearby apartment complex.

“Huff! Huff!”

Under the dark night sky, Irian was sprinting towards an unknown destination.

She didn’t have a specific place in mind.

All she wanted was to escape and put some distance between herself and them.

“Huff! Huff!”

As she ran aimlessly, Irian pondered.

Where could she flee to? Who could she seek help from?

But there was neither a safe haven nor anyone she could turn to for aid.

She was an A-rank villain, targeted not just by heroes but also by the members of the Villain Alliance.

“...”

Gradually, her pace began to slow as the strength in her legs drained. From a run, it reduced to a slow walk, until eventually, she came to a complete stop.

In a situation where there was no place to hide and no one to turn to for help, was there any point in running? Especially when she, being targeted by both heroes and villains, had no allies.

Of course, she couldn’t ask the Irregular for help.

Considering their relationship, it'd be more surprising if he came to her rescue.

He probably spared her just because she was of some use to him.

“...”

Whooosh! Thud-

“You didn’t get very far, did you?”

From behind her, the voice of the executioner rang out. Almost instantly, several villains appeared, surrounding her.

Irian, with a resigned expression, just stared blankly up at the night sky.

Whooosh! Bam!

A fist from the swiftly approaching executioner slammed into Irian, sending her flying straight into a wall.

Thud!

Every fiber of her being screamed in pain.

But even amidst that agony, she merely stared at the approaching villains with empty eyes, not letting out even the slightest whimper.

She still had many puppets she could summon.

Perhaps she could hold them off for a few minutes.

But such resistance seemed futile.

Even if she managed to escape, her end wouldn't be a pleasant one.

The fate of a traitor, she knew better than anyone, was never a good one.

“...”

Gently, Irian closed her eyes.

Letting all tension drain from her body, she waited for the end.

Once her identity was revealed, escape was impossible, after all.

Whooosh!

Then, it happened.

A gust of wind rustled her hair.

A faint light seeped through her closed eyelids.

The only light illuminating the pitch-dark surroundings reflected in her eyes.

Sensing something wrong, she slowly opened her eyes.

And the scene before her was one she had witnessed many times, a familiar sight.

Whooosh!! Bang!! Crash!! Crash!!

Under the night sky, a boy holding a hammer that shone brighter than the moonlight.

He stood in front of her, shielding her, and in an instant, the villains targeting her were sent flying, crashing into the walls.

The boy with an exceptional power, one you'd expect to see in comics.

Irregular.

"I thought you said you wouldn't be caught."

Kim Hajoon turned to face Irian and looked down at her.

He then bought a high-grade potion from the store window and sprinkled it on her body.

Wounds that began to disappear, encased in a faint glow from her body.

But her despondent eyes, which seemed to have lost hope, slowly drifted to the floor as they gazed at Hajoon.

The Puppeteer asked, "Why did you come?"

"..."

"It wouldn't matter even if I died, right?"

She questioned him with a feeble tone, void of energy.

Now that there was no need to act, she asked Hajoon in her usual tone.

Hajoon silently stared at Irian for a moment with a calm demeanor before speaking.

"You didn't really care about being in the Alliance, did you?"

The Puppeteer, who betrayed the Alliance as soon as her life was in danger, probably felt no allegiance to them.

"..."

Irian confirmed his statement with silence. She indeed felt no loyalty to the Villain Alliance.

That's why she thought there would be no repercussions even if her double-dealings were exposed.

But now, things were different.

"They've found out about you in the Alliance. They'll probably chase you to the ends of the earth."

Her listless eyes locked onto Hajoon's.

After a brief pause, meeting her gaze, Hajoon spoke.

"Why don't you just join me and become a hero?"

For the first time, an emotional change flashed across her face. She scoffed at Hajoon's suggestion, almost mockingly.

"My parents were killed by heroes, under the guise of it being a 'necessary sacrifice' to defeat a villain. And you're asking me to become one of those heroes?"

Irian's face contorted with emotion, anger evident in her voice as she began to lash out.

"Wanna hear something interesting? Heroes kill civilians too. Whether by accident or on purpose. Many heroes give up on rescuing and end up causing death, all while justifying it as 'unavoidable.'"

She had seen many heroes.

Heroes who deliberately abandoned rescues to cover up their own mistakes. Or those who accidentally killed civilians due to their own incompetence.

Yet, most of them would deflect the blame onto the villains, hiding their own mistakes without even an official apology.

All Irian ever wanted was a simple apology.

"And you're asking me to become one of those heroes?"

She questioned Hajoon once more, genuinely wanting to understand.

She never wanted to be associated with such people.

Hajoon looked at Irian for a moment, furrowing his brow, and then responded with a confident statement that left Irian momentarily taken aback.

"Do you really think those trash are heroes?"

"Why... why are you defending them?"

Questions clouded Irian's face.

And Hajoon, with a deeply furrowed brow, addressed Irian.

"Do you really think I'm like those guys?"

For Hajoon, it was a necessary retort.

Upon hearing those words, a hint of realization sparked in Irian's eyes.

With just that one sentence from Hajoon, Irian finally understood.

Why she had tried so ardently to cooperate with him.

'A hero...'

An irregular.

He never let anyone die, regardless of the situation.

He was the ideal hero, one she believed couldn’t exist in reality.

And when such thoughts crossed her mind, Irian could only lower her head, her face caught in an awkward expression, neither able to laugh nor cry.

Beneath the night sky, he seemed so radiant, while she felt utterly insignificant in the engulfing darkness.

"It's different... incomparably so."

Irian replied to Hajoon's words, her voice choking with emotion.

It was as if even drawing a comparison would be disrespectful to him, she earnestly denied his statement.

Then Hajoon, with a faint smile, extended his hand to help her up from the ground. Irian, lifting her head, hesitated for a moment before slowly taking Hajoon's hand.