“F*ck you, asshole!” Kuon spat directly at the officer trying to restrain him.
Driving a vicious kick straight between the man’s legs, Kuon bolted into a nearby alleyway, leaving the burly officer collapsing into the dirt behind him.
“What are you doing?!
Don’t just stand there!
Go after that brat!” Behind the groaning man, a younger officer lowered the brim of his cap and let out a long sigh.
“Understood,” the young man replied calmly, setting off into the alley at a smooth, measured pace.
“Goddamn it!
This is the fourth time this week.
Do these damned forsaken Ruined ever learn?” Jumping, sliding, and sprinting through a maze of back alleys and crumbling infrastructure, Kuon parkoured over the ruins in under a minute, moving with tense, practiced clarity.
Landing hard on the concrete roof of a dilapidated apartment complex, Kuon finally allowed himself to stop and catch his breath.
There was no way they had kept up.
He was safe.
‘Ha…
ha…
damn it.
These corporate scumbags.
Always trying to pin the blame on us just because we’re from the Ruins.’ Kuon’s right arm clamped tightly against his ribs, securing a heavy, book-shaped object beneath his oversized coat.
His grip tightened until his knuckles turned pale.
‘We’re Ruined.
So what?
That doesn’t give them the right to treat us like livestock.
Aren’t we human too?
Oh, wait—I forgot.
They classify us as rats.
Guess not.
But still!’ Exhaling an angry breath, Kuon took a crude step forward, only for his boot to get caught in the frayed hem of his massive coat.
The garment was nearly twice his size, making fast movement a nightmare.
The athleticism he had just displayed wasn’t effortless—his legs burned like open fires, and his chest heaved with shaky, uneven breaths.
He reached inside the lining and checked the object.
Thank god.
It was intact.
Kuon had worked double shifts for months to afford this book.
And yet, the shopkeeper in the upper district had still scammed him out of every credit he had, only to turn around and report him for theft the moment he walked out the door.
This wasn’t just any book.
It was his little sister’s birthday present.
For months, Stephanie had talked endlessly about it, her eyes lighting up every time she mentioned the story.
Hearing her go on about it was what drove Kuon to work sleepless nights on starvation rations just to save enough.
Being a protective older brother in the Ruins wasn’t easy—it was outright dangerous.
But there was no way in hell a corrupt shopkeeper or a few patrol officers were going to stop him from bringing it home to her.
Kuon glanced back over his shoulder one last time.
As expected, the rooftop behind him was completely empty.
‘Alright.
I need to get back to—’ *Whip!* A sharp whistling sound tore through the air.
A high-caliber bullet grazed his cheek, carving a sting of deep red across his skin and snapping him back into reality.
‘What the—?!’ Before the thought could even finish, a second round smashed into the pavement right between his feet, spraying concrete shrapnel into his shins.
Stumbling backward to keep his balance, Kuon frantically scanned the surrounding roofs.
His eyes widened.
The young officer from earlier was standing on the ledge of a building fifty yards away, a standard-issue sidearm trained directly on Kuon’s chest.
‘Shit!’ Kuon cursed under his breath, taking a slow step backward.
How had the bastard tracked him through the maze?
And even if he had, how the hell had he covered that much ground so fast?
No ordinary human could match Kuon’s speed.
Which meant only one thing…
‘No.
It can’t be.’ The young officer lowered his gun with a relaxed smirking expression and slid it back into his tactical holster.
Then, blue arc electricity crackled violently around the soles of his boots.
With a single, explosive launch, the officer crossed the massive gap between the two buildings in a fraction of a second, tearing through the air and landing heavily on the gravel just meters in front of Kuon.
“Well, well…” The officer tilted his head, a mocking grin spreading across his face.
“You’re one nimble little rat, aren’t you?” Kuon’s blood ran cold as he stared at the glowing blue sparks vanishing around the officer’s feet.
‘An…
Ability User?
Since when did the Common Defense Force start recruiting Superhumans?’ This was bad.
Worse than bad.
How was a mundane supposed to outrun an Ability User?
“Hello?
Aren’t you going to say anything?
Or am I getting the silent treatment?” “Y…
you…” Kuon stammered, his mind racing.
He drew in a deep breath through his nose, forcing his racing pulse to settle…
and instantly sprinted in the opposite direction.
Kuon had never run faster in his entire life.
Straining every muscle, he dove through the broken doorway of a stairwell, plunging into the dark interior of the abandoned complex to lose the officer in the claustrophobic hallways.
Sweat poured down his face like torrential rain.
His chest felt like it was about to burst as he navigated the dark corridor.
BOOM- A bullet shattered the wall right beside his ear, spraying stone dust and leaving a spiderweb of cracks across the concrete.
The deafening sound knocked Kuon off balance, sending him sprawling hard onto the floor.
‘Damn it!’ Kuon scrambled to push himself back up, but a dark blur cut through the dust with terrifying speed.
Before he could even lift his head— WAM- A heavy tactical boot smashed directly into his ribs with the force of an accelerating vehicle.
With a sickening crack, Kuon’s ribcage gave way.
His body was launched sideways through the air, slamming violently into a concrete support pillar before bouncing off and crumpling onto the floor.
“Aaargh!” A choked scream burst from his throat.
The blinding shock of fractured bone washed over him in a suffocating wave, rendering his limbs instantly numb.
“F-f*ck!
God…
damn it…” Kuon wheezed, curling into a ball on the cracked tile.
Clutching his chest, he tried to pull air into his lungs, but every attempt sent a sharp, agonizing spike through his torso.
Every breath burned.
Every muscle screamed at him to stop moving.
But stopping meant dying.
He had to live.
For his little sister…
he had to make it back tonight.
Gritting his teeth until they nearly cracked, Kuon dragged himself up, leaning his back against the pillar to keep from collapsing.
He coughed violently, forcing his bruised lungs to work.
“Well, hello down there.
Lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?” The officer stepped out of the dust, casually adjusting his gloves.
Up close, he was tall—nearly a head taller than Kuon.
He had striking electric-blue hair and sharp, vibrant red eyes.
His clean skin and relaxed posture made it obvious he hailed from an Echelon far above the dirt of the Ruins.
“Y-you…
bastard…” Kuon scowled, his voice barely a raspy whisper.
The officer chuckled, stepping closer.
“Honestly, for a rat, you’ve got impressive reflexes.
I was actually surprised for a second back there.” Kuon pressed his hand tighter against his coat.
The book was still there, secured against his side despite the brutal impact.
“F…
f*ck you,” Kuon spat through the pain.
“What is a Superhuman even doing in the low-level CDF?
Doesn’t the SDF have plenty of room for high-and-mighty bastards like you?” The officer’s grin faltered slightly, his blue eyes narrowing.
He let out a quiet, dramatic sigh.
“You really drop a lot of f-bombs, don’t you?
That filthy mouth is going to get you killed long before your class does.
As for your question…
it’s simple, really.
Because I enjoy it.
Toying with rats in the Ruins is far more entertaining than risking my neck against wild beasts on the frontlines.
Only a total lunatic throws themselves into constant danger just for ‘duty.’ I know what I want.
It might not be noble, but it sure is fun.” Kuon glared at him, his jaw clenched tight.
The logic was sickening, but the bastard wasn’t wrong.
While the officer talked, Kuon’s eyes darted around the corridor, calculating any possible route out of the room.
Suddenly, the officer went still.
The smirk completely melted from his face, replaced by a cold, bored expression.
He covered his forehead with one hand and let out a dry, mocking laugh.
“Oh…
wow.
I can’t believe it.
You actually got me to stand here and give a whole monologue.” The officer’s red eyes locked onto Kuon with sudden, dangerous sharpness.
“How rude of you, you dirty little rat.”