Fountains, Vines, and Flowers
Though I whine about it being broken nearly every day, the truth is that calling Cecilia's ability overpowered is a bit of a stretch.
Her power works as well as it does precisely because it belongs to her.
At every moment, Cecilia is feeling her own senses from two seconds into the future. During combat she occasionally glimpses the future from an opponent's point of view once or twice, but even that seems to come with quite a few restrictions — and it isn't as though she can see, either.
She has to predict and dodge every movement on pure sensation alone, and even if she dodges, there is no guarantee the future simply won't change. Suppose the opponent is a powerhouse of roughly equal skill. Even if she senses an attack two seconds ahead and slips past it, she might immediately feel a future in which the next blow lands somewhere else entirely.
And unlike anyone else, the fact remains that while wounds may never form, she still feels every bit of the pain — that part needs no further explanation.
Even so, the reason she is strong is simple. Outstanding intelligence that lets her anticipate an opponent's movements through every other sense despite being unable to see. And overwhelming physicality trained to the absolute limit of an Awakener.
If Cecilia's ability had gone to anyone else, it would never have seen the light of day.
Some of you might be wondering what I'm trying to say right now.
What I want to say is…
"So freaking cool! I love you, Unnieee!"
That the woman currently slicing every flying scrap of building debris out of the air with her sword was just too damn magnificent.
This world is clearly not a martial-arts novel, and it is not a world with mana either. The fact that she was carving through building wreckage like tofu meant her physicality was simply that overwhelming.
I'd caught glimpses of it lately, working out with her almost every dawn. The incredible muscles hidden beneath that so-hot, sexy body line of hers…! You could probably do laundry on those.
Shhk.
A clean cutting sound rang out, and a massive building split cleanly in half.
Krrrrrash!
The split wreckage slammed down on either side of me. That meant I owed Cecilia my life.
How was I supposed to repay a favor like this? I was short on cash… Guess I'd have to repay her with my body? If it was a beauty like Cecilia, I was all for it.
Emerging from the billowing dust was a massive man. A giant who looked a full five stories tall — literally a giant. His ability was probably gigantification.
The problem was… his eyes were pure white, mouth hanging slack. He seemed to have lost all reason.
Gigantification is a dangerous ability in its own right. It is not merely looking bigger — weight and strength become entirely different dimensions. A simple power that might just be the most dangerous of all.
And from inside a half-collapsed building, about eight people came strolling out at a leisurely pace. From a sleazy-looking guy with yellow-dyed hair to a pretty unnie.
From far off, I could hear the rest of Team B realizing something had gone down and racing toward us. How long until everyone joined up? Twenty seconds? Thirty?
I drew the sharp dagger from the sheath hanging at my waist. A beautiful form with elegant curves, clean enough that my beautiful face reflected on the side. I could probably use it as a mirror…! Plus a cute little handle that was slightly soft and made to fit my hand perfectly.
Something I'd learned recently during those secret late-night training sessions alone with Cecilia. With long weapons I can make everything out of tears, so I had learned to handle various arms — but the most important one I studied was the dagger. Partly because it is the weapon I use to cut my wrists to produce tears, and partly because of Cecilia's advice that I need to prepare for situations where I cannot cry.
My ability is definitely not perfect. I have simply been lucky so far. If an ability user who can control fire like Tania just starts blasting heat, every last tear of mine would evaporate. I learned dagger techniques so I could at least have a minimum defense for times like that.
I seem to be an Awakener myself, so my physical abilities increased rapidly and I could learn quickly — but because I have trouble gauging distance, the blade was made a bit longer than a typical dagger. And since it was a custom weapon personally crafted by the same acquaintance of Cecilia's who made her sword, the blade's strength and sharpness far surpassed any ordinary weapon.
I briefly savored the cool yet soft texture of the handle, then brought the blade to my wrist. I would not make the same mistake as when I borrowed a dagger from Yeji before. Was it Yeji or Yeeun? Hahaha, whatever.
The blade was so sharp that just a light tap drew a red thread across my wrist, and pain began to set in. What the hell had they done to this sword? It was barely a nick, and it hurt horrifically!
"Augh…"
I had asked them to make it hurt as much as possible when cut, since I need to cry from this — but this was too much! I should ask Cecilia to blow on it later. Even better if she licked it. They say spit heals wounds, right? A beauty's spit would definitely work even better. Wait — then is my spit a panacea? If a friend gets sick, I should feed them my spit. Even if they refuse, if I deliver it mouth-to-mouth, they won't have a choice but to take it.
I felt the ticklish sensation of tears rolling down my cheeks. Team B's comrades were still a bit of a distance away, but Mudwell was right in front of us.
I let the tears that had rolled down hover around me and Cecilia as I thought. Could the two of us hold out until the others arrived? No matter how strong Cecilia was… that was impossible. These were powerhouses on a completely different level from any enemy I had faced so far.
But those concerns of mine were cut away the moment Cecilia swung her sword.
Shhk.
With a simple cutting sound, the sleazy guy's head shot up into the air.
Puhwaak! Blood began gushing from the headless neck.
Cecilia did not stop there — she swung her sword several more times from where she stood. With more slicing sounds, the heads of two more enemies farther away were severed the same way. This was before the first headless man's body had even toppled backward.
How could she cut them from where she stood when they were that far away? I would have to ask later.
With three people headless and spraying blood everywhere, it felt like watching a fountain show, and my heart started pounding. Playing in a fountain show with a sexy beauty of a female teacher until we were completely soaked. Something I had always dreamed of.
"I want to join in too!"
I sent the tears spinning around me flying all at once. Somehow sensing it, two sharp-witted ones threw themselves clear — but the three still reeling from suddenly losing three comrades were hit by my tears.
Jjeojeojeong!
Crystal vines that grew in an instant wrapped around their bodies. And just like a child craving love hugging their mother's body even tighter, they squeezed harder.
Crrrack! They shattered their bodies to pieces.
Maybe because the vines were covered in thorns. Blood poured from the crushed people, dyeing the vines red. The vines that touched the blood began to slowly change form, as if they had absorbed good nutrients. Growing thicker, thorns growing sharper. And hugging the dead people's bodies even tighter…
Krrrrunch. They burst their heads. And in that spot, a very red and pretty flower bloomed.
How should I put it — it felt like watching an incredibly beautiful magic show? Imagine watching a fountain show when suddenly beautiful flowers bloom all around it.
I was contemplating whether I should photograph this beautiful scene when one of the guys who had ungracefully dodged my tears shouted something at the man who had smashed the building.
"You bastard! Snap out of it already! We're all about to die!"
As if understanding the man's words, the giant who had been standing blankly slowly turned his head toward him. Then the man shouted with wild joy. How could he be that happy when his comrades had just died? Must be a psycho.
"Yeah, fuck! Snap out of it and kill those bastards!"
Crunch!
The giant casually swatted the man to death like swatting an annoying bug. So he really had lost his reason after all.
Among the drugs Eclipse is manufacturing, there are several types, and two representative ones stand out. A drug that lets you have multiple abilities, and a drug that massively enhances existing abilities. They are practically staple material that always shows up in ability-based stories. That giant had probably taken the latter.
In How to Become a Hero, these drugs only appear mid-story in their completed form — but there was a setting that the early versions had severe side effects. The most representative side effects being death, and losing all reason to go berserk.
Whoooom!
The giant currently swinging his fist vigorously at me was probably in that state. Looking at the man's fist that had already completely filled my field of vision, I thought: they say women like men with big hands — so just how popular would this giant be? Should I get his autograph in advance? Holding that hand would definitely give an exciting size difference.
Just before the swung fist could strike me—
KRAAAAAANG!
With a massive impact, the giant's fist stopped. And the man whose fist was locked against that fist slightly turned his head to look at me. Still wearing that dead-serious expression.
"Are you all right?"
Team B's second A-rank Awakener, Hwang Daegil, was the first to join us.