amaotonovel Chapter 208 Easily
Chapter 208 Easily
That's it... over? It was that easy?
Sienna could hardly believe that the plan had actually succeeded.
At this moment, Ruttles was pressed face down on the alley floor, Teddy's huge paws pressing against the back of his head. He wasn't knocked unconscious—because she didn't know how to knock someone out without endangering his life—but Maple had handcuffed his ankles and wrists together with something she'd made to counteract his shock.
She has done everything she can to incapacitate him.
This should have been a wonderful moment. And it truly was.
The local villains have been eliminated!
[Regional Quest: Two Tigers Cannot Share One Mountain - Completed!]
You are now the dominant villain in the Auclair region.
[Reward: +1 skill slot]
This... is actually quite important.
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Athena said.
"Did you just get a skill upgrade point?" Charm Girl asked. "Because I got one, but I'm not sure if I really deserve it."
“Me too,” Aleja Ikta said. He lightly nudged Ruttles’s foot with the side of his sneaker. “Looks like taking this guy down is going to be a big deal, huh? There’s not even a mission for it.”
“Yes,” Sienna said. She didn’t comment on the difference in rewards or the wording of the quest prompts. The non-quest prompts she received portrayed her as Auclair’s final major villain. She felt that the prompts others received should be different.
Clearly, the rewards are different. Skill upgrades are good, even a kind of improvement. But a skill slot is a completely different matter. If things follow the pattern, this might be another sister's creative ability. Perhaps even her last? At least for the short term?
She wasn't sure if she was ready to use that skill slot.
Rattles suddenly burst into laughter.
The laughter was so unexpected that Sienna was startled, as were the others. And he didn't stop. Because Teddy was practically shoving him to the ground, it wasn't the kind of hearty laughter, but it sounded like Ruttles had discovered something he found extremely funny.
To be honest, it gave her the creeps. “That explains it,” he said with a laugh.
“I think he’s finally gone mad,” Athena said. “I think we should shut him up.”
Sienna shook her head. The last thing she wanted was for the villain she'd captured to suffocate. "Meradone will be here soon. Once she arrives, this will be over. Can you keep an eye on him? I'll go make a call to her."
After getting everyone's approval, she walked to the end of the alley. One of Trinity's clones followed her, then leaned against Sienna, so that while Sienna was taking out her phone to make a call, she could casually scratch Trinity's head.
The phone rang twice before Meraton answered. "Boss? Are you ready to let us move?" Meraton asked.
“Uh, no? I mean, the plans have changed?” She turned around and saw that her sisters had helped Ruttles sit up. He was sitting on the floor with his legs spread apart so it wouldn’t be easy for him to stand up, with Teddy sitting behind him. She could imagine that, being so close, he could feel Teddy’s warm breath on his neck.
“How will it change?” Meraton asked.
“We, uh, caught Ruttles,” she said.
"You did it?" Meraton asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
“Yes. We’re, uh, in the alley,” she leaned forward, squinting at the nearest street sign to read it. “It’s in an alley down from where you are. I’ll have Bandit point you the way from outside. Can you come over and use your abilities against Ruttles? His abilities might let him escape easily.”
“Okay, I’m coming right away. By the way, Handshek is glad he’s not being tortured to extract secrets anymore. Remember to charge him for all of this.”
“Uh, I will,” Sienna said. It was somewhat perfunctory; she couldn’t imagine confronting someone like that just for money. But it might give her some leverage later, which wasn’t bad.
Meraton assured Sienna that she was on her way, and then the call continued awkwardly for a while before Sienna said goodbye and hung up.
“Hey,” she said when she returned. “Mehraton will be here in ten minutes.”
“We should also call the Human Rescue Foundation,” Charm Girl said.
“Let’s wait until this guy is completely under control,” Aleja Ikta said. “I’ve exhausted all his luck, so it’ll be difficult for him to escape, but sometimes skill can overcome bad luck a little… just a tiny bit.”
“So, you’ve all made arrangements, haven’t you?” Ruttles asked. He shuffled his shoes on the ground, adjusting his posture slightly, but Teddy’s growl stopped him. He still smiled, his eyes fixed on Sienna through the mask. His smile was stained with blood, and Sienna couldn’t help but shudder.
“I… I don’t know what you mean,” Sienna said.
“I only just realized it,” he said. He shook his head. “Damn it. I was blind, wasn’t I? I swaggered in here thinking it was some backwater I could control. I never expected to find real competition.”
“A rival?” Charm Girl asked. She sounded dismissive, but she listened intently as Ruttles spoke. It was hard not to listen to what he had to say in that situation. They were in a dimly lit alley, surrounded by the villain who had hurt each and every one of them—except perhaps Aleya Ikta.
“Yes, the competition in the villain field. I didn’t think there would be any here. Fabian is just a petty thief with some skills. That guy (referring to Aleia Ikta) is just a loser with no ability.” He nodded at Aleia Ikta.
“Ouch,” said Aleya Ikta.
“Oh, shut up. You know it’s true. You’re too cowardly to confront real villainous behavior.” Ruttles turned all his attention to Sienna. “And then there’s this ‘boss.’ Damn, I should have guessed it from the start, just based on the title. But you’re not just fooling me, are you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sienna said.
He grinned. "You know. You got the same mission, right? Just the other side of it. Congratulations, you're the last real supervillain in O'Clair. This city is yours. And so are you brats."
“Boss, what is he saying?” Charm Girl asked. She sounded as if she knew, or at least her suspicions were beyond Sienna’s comprehension.
“It’s nothing,” Sienna said dismissively. “Maple Leaf, please gag him.”
“Okay,” Maple Leaf said. She turned to Trinity. “Please give me one of your socks.”
“But my feet will get cold,” Trinity said. “Why don’t you use your own?”
“Because I don’t want half of my foot to be cold, and you have six feet, so only one-sixth is cold, not half,” Maple said.
Trinity frowned, then shrugged. "Okay."
Ruttles laughed again. "Hey, boss. How about letting me go before you gag me, huh?"
"Let you go?" Sienna asked.
“Yes. If you let me go, I’ll leave this city. I swear. I’ll pack my things and go somewhere not so… like here. And, as an added bonus, the Human Relief Foundation will never know anything about you from me.”
Sienna stared at Rattles. She was conflicted, and even almost considered accepting the offer.
Silence is priceless. If anyone finds out (her secret), she's finished.
Then she noticed that Charm Girl was looking at her suspiciously, while Alejandro Ikta was clearly deliberately avoiding looking in her direction.
Athena came to the rescue. She gave a haughty snort, then leaned closer to look the villain in the eye. "You think anyone will believe you? Fool. Big Sister is the greatest hero of all time."
“That’s right,” Teddy muttered in agreement. “The boss is a superhero.”
Ruttles chuckled. "Oh, that's great. Even these kids believe this lie?"
“I never believe lies,” Trinity said. “And the fact that you’re weak and stupid isn’t a lie.”
“Bandit,” Sienna said, pulling Trinity back. “Maple Leaf, can you gag him?”
Maple nodded. She made something out of some tape and Trinity's socks... It didn't look like something Sienna would want to put in her mouth, but she didn't feel guilty about putting it in Ruttles' mouth.
"You can shut me up now, but I'll still tell everyone everything."
“You can lie however you want,” Sienna said. “That’s not my problem.”
But that's actually her problem. She can sense Charm Girl's suspicion. Or maybe it's just her imagination.
Regardless, as Ruttles mumbled through her words while her sisters gagged her, her anxiety deepened. If, or rather, if this were to leak out, it could mean the end of her career, or even worse, more serious consequences.
The only saving grace is that with Rattles captured, Sienna has no real reason to continue acting as the masked man.
At least that's what she hoped for.