The Hero is Hunting me!-Chapter 102: Fragments of Truth

After the attack at the mall—

Lightnova arrived at the scene.

Police cars surrounded the area. Red and blue sirens painted the shattered glass and cracked walls in flashing colors. Officers had blocked off the roads, preventing civilians from getting any closer.

Lightnova stepped out calmly.

Her boots touched the pavement with quiet authority.

She scanned her surroundings. Ambulances were parked nearby, and medical teams were treating injured civilians. Thankfully, none of the injuries appeared life-threatening.

She walked toward a nearby officer.

"How is the situation?" she asked.

The policeman turned to her—and immediately straightened his posture.

"Miss Lightnova!" He saluted respectfully. "Yes... the situation is fairly stable. There are no fatalities. Some civilians were injured, but none severely. The medical teams are handling it safely."

Lightnova glanced toward the ambulances. Several civilians were seated on portable stretchers while medics wrapped bandages and checked vitals.

She nodded slightly.

"This time... who caused the disturbance?"

The officer hesitated.

"Based on witness statements, they couldn’t clearly identify the attackers. The explosion smoke was everywhere. Visibility was extremely low."

"I see..." she murmured.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"May I go inside?"

"Huh? Ah! Of course! Please, go ahead!"

The officer quickly stepped aside and gestured respectfully for her to pass.

Lightnova entered the mall.

The interior was in disarray. Broken glass crunched softly beneath her boots. Smoke still lingered faintly in the air. The scent of burned material had not fully dissipated.

She walked slowly, examining the surroundings carefully.

"Hm... I can still feel residual energy here... Indigo’s energy..."

Her eyes sharpened.

"Could this be his doing?"

Just then, a female police officer wearing a brown blazer approached her hurriedly.

"Miss Lightnova!"

Lightnova turned her head slightly.

"Hm? What is it?"

"After checking the CCTV footage, we found several villains appearing inside the mall."

Lightnova’s gaze hardened.

"Was it Indigo?"

"Ah... he was present. However, the destruction wasn’t caused by Indigo."

Lightnova blinked once.

"Then?"

"There was a group of cloaked individuals wearing red masks with white wing insignias. They were shouting for Indigo to appear."

Lightnova’s eyes widened slightly.

"Show me."

"Yes, miss."

The female officer turned and began walking toward the security room. Lightnova followed behind her, her expression growing more serious with each step.

A few moments later—

Inside the security room.

Multiple monitors displayed different angles of the mall. The air inside felt tense.

A few moments later—

Inside the security room.

Multiple monitors displayed different angles of the mall. The air inside felt tense.

They focused on one recording.

The red-masked group appeared on screen, throwing bombs in different directions. Civilians were running. Smoke filled the corridors.

Lightnova watched silently.

Her eyes analyzed every movement.

Then—

One of the bombs flew toward two civilians.

A man and a woman.

The man instinctively stepped in front of the woman, shielding her.

He extended his hand toward the incoming bomb.

In that instant—

A dark blue light manifested from his palm.

The bomb vanished.

Swallowed as if it had fallen into a black hole.

Lightnova’s eyes widened.

"Pause!"

"Eh?"

The security officer flinched but quickly paused the footage.

Lightnova stepped closer to the screen.

Her gaze fixed on the man.

’That power... That’s Indigo’s ability. But... I can’t see his face clearly. The camera angle doesn’t capture it.’

She studied the height. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The posture.

The build.

The faint silhouette.

The female officer beside her shifted awkwardly.

"Miss Lightnova... could that man possibly be..."

"Yes," Lightnova replied firmly. "You’re correct. That’s Indigo."

The entire room fell silent.

Several officers exchanged shocked glances.

"Continue the recording."

The footage resumed.

After the bomb disappeared, the woman beside the man moved away.

Then—

The man activated his power.

His casual clothes dissolved into dark particles.

Reforming into something familiar.

A black suit.

A long coat.

A dark cloak.

A black mask.

A hat.

The iconic appearance.

Indigo.

Gasps filled the room.

Lightnova stared without blinking.

The footage showed Indigo charging toward the red-masked villains.

He defeated them with overwhelming ease.

Precise.

Efficient.

Controlled.

But then—

The screen went black.

Lightnova frowned.

"Huh? What happened? Why did it stop?"

The security officer swallowed nervously.

"Um... I apologize, Miss Lightnova... That footage was recorded just before the CCTV camera was destroyed by an explosion."

Lightnova exhaled sharply, clearly displeased, but she steadied herself.

"Is there no other camera angle?"

"I’m sorry, Miss Lightnova. This is the only surviving recording from that section."

The officer beside her spoke up.

"Miss Lightnova, this could be a huge breakthrough. With this footage, Indigo’s identity is slowly being revealed. We should release it to the public!"

Lightnova turned her head slowly.

"No."

The room fell silent again.

"If we release this prematurely, it will only cause meaningless chaos. Civilians will start suspecting one another—anyone with similar physical traits to the man in the video. Height. Hair color. Build. Panic will spread."

The officer hesitated.

"E-eh... Uhm... You may be right..."

Lightnova folded her arms.

She touched her chin lightly.

’A man... Approximately 180 centimeters tall... Brown hair... That’s sufficient as preliminary evidence. I need to report this to the Director.’

Her gaze returned to the paused frame.

The moment where the dark blue light swallowed the bomb.

’Indigo... You protected civilians.’

Her eyes softened slightly.

’But why remain in the shadows?’

She straightened her posture.

"Secure this footage. Do not leak it."

"Yes, Miss Lightnova."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room.

Her mind was far from calm.

—

Inside Jinhoo’s SUV, on the way home.

The atmosphere inside the car was vastly different from the tension at the mall.

Jinhoo drove calmly, both hands on the steering wheel.

Elvera sat in the passenger seat beside him.

"Huh... Who would’ve thought such a strange group would show up and try to fight you?" she said casually.

In the back seat, Gae-in spoke up.

"Yeah! That was complete chaos. I could barely see anything with all that smoke!"

"So... did you bring the birthday cake?" So-ah asked from beside her.

"Eh? Of course I brought it!" Gae-in replied energetically, lifting the cake box proudly.

The white cake box rested securely in her hands.

Min-seo leaned slightly closer.

"Hm? You should check the cake."

"Eh? Why?"

"Just open it."

Gae-in frowned in confusion but opened the box anyway.

The moment the lid lifted—

Everyone froze.

The cake inside was completely ruined.

The frosting had shifted.

The design was smudged.

The number candles were tilted awkwardly.

"A-ah..."

"Huh... I knew this would happen..." So-ah muttered.

"Why does it look like that?" Mira asked from the very back seat.

"E-eh? Uhm..."

Gae-in’s eyes shifted as she recalled what happened earlier.

She had been running toward the center of the mall.

The ground shook violently.

She lost her balance.

The cake box slipped from her hands and hit the floor.

"Ah, damn it!"

She quickly stood up and grabbed it.

"Phew... At least the box is fine."

Then she ran again.

Back to the present.

"Uhm... That’s basically what happened..."

Min-seo sighed.

"How can you be that careless?"

"Hey! It wasn’t on purpose! The shaking was so strong it knocked me down! It’s those weird cloaked people’s fault!"

Jinhoo chuckled softly from the driver’s seat.

"Hey, hey, stop arguing. At least the cake is still here. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

Elvera tilted her head slightly.

"Heh~ Then have you ever made a mistake before?"

"Oh! I’m curious too!" Mira added enthusiastically.

Hearing that, Jinhoo stiffened slightly.

A faint awkward smile formed on his face.

"E-eh? Uhm... Yeah... I have..."

"Then tell us!" Gae-in leaned forward excitedly.

Jinhoo cleared his throat.

"Uhm... Maybe next time. I’m driving right now."

A collective groan filled the car.

"Huh... We were getting excited too..." Min-seo complained.

They all looked disappointed.

Jinhoo laughed awkwardly.

But behind that smile—

His eyes darkened slightly.

’Yeah... I’ve made a mistake before...’

His grip on the steering wheel tightened subtly.

’A very fatal mistake.’

Outside the car window, the city lights blurred past.

Seoul remained lively.

Unaware of the hidden tension brewing beneath its surface.

Inside the vehicle—

The girls eventually returned to lighthearted chatter about the damaged cake and birthday decorations.

But Jinhoo remained quiet.

His expression calm.

His thoughts distant.

’The Overseer... impersonating Angelic Moon... trying to provoke conflict.’

His mind replayed the events in the mall.

The red masks.

The hesitation when he questioned them.

The fear in their voices.

’Someone is moving pieces from the shadows.’

His eyes briefly flickered in the rearview mirror.

He saw Mira smiling faintly despite the chaos earlier.

He saw So-ah teasing Gae-in again.

He saw Min-seo shaking her head.

Elvera looked relaxed beside him.

’Whatever their plan is...’

His gaze sharpened slightly.

’I won’t let it endanger them.’

The SUV continued down the road.

Peaceful on the surface.

But beneath that calm—

A silent war had already begun.

And both Lightnova and Indigo had just uncovered the first fragment of a much larger truth.