Bulldozer's Vengeance
Smooch, slurp, mwah... no, not that! BOOM――!!
The headquarters of Jeongseong Construction collapsed in ruins. Rebar twisted, glass shattered into a thousand pieces. Dust clouds billowed up as debris flew in every direction.
Madness Bulldozer. The monster whose skin had mutated into metal stood before the crumbled building. Over three meters tall, forearms as thick as a grown man's torso, a body as massive as a freight truck.
"………."
The Bulldozer said nothing. He simply gazed at the sight of the collapsing structure.
Jeongseong Construction. The company that had forcibly demolished the shantytown where he'd lived for thirty years. The company where he'd toiled as a day laborer.
His first target for revenge was now gone.
Just as he'd planned, the building had been empty during the collapse. Thanks to the emergency protocol for dimensional gates. As soon as the alarms blared, all the employees had evacuated.
"Next......"
The mansion of Jeongseong Construction's president, Shin Chang-seok.
The Bulldozer turned his head. The president's mansion was right in the heart of Gangnam. Not far from this headquarters building at all.
Soon, the Madness Bulldozer's massive body lurched into motion. His frame weighed at least several dozen tons. The ground shook with every step.
Drones buzzed through the sky, blaring the alert. Thanks to that, the streets were already deserted. A small mercy. Civilians in the way would just be a hindrance.
He had to reach the president's mansion as fast as possible, before more interlopers arrived.
But then, ahead of the Madness Bulldozer, someone appeared on the overpass. A yellow mascot costume. A mouse? No, closer to a hamster. Pointed ears poked up from the hood, and a short tail hung from the back.
"Stop right there!"
The woman in the mascot suit――probably late teens or early twenties――shouted.
"A-rank Awakener, Electric Hamster! Electrofluff! Surrender without resistance!"
The Bulldozer glanced up at Electrofluff for a moment but didn't respond. He just kept walking.
"I warned you!"
The woman in the hamster costume――Electrofluff――leaped from the overpass railing, landing on the road below.
"I know all about your skin being metal, okay? It's a total matchup against my electricity!"
Electrofluff thrust both arms forward.
"Last warning! If you don't surrender――"
Thud.
The Bulldozer didn't stop.
"......Fine. Have it your way!"
Crackle――!
Lightning burst from Electrofluff's body. Output around......one hundred million volts. A bit weaker than a real bolt of lightning. A ripping sound tore through the air as azure-white electricity engulfed the Bulldozer.
Zzzzzap――!!
Current surged across the Bulldozer's metallic skin.
"Urgh......!"
A groan escaped the Bulldozer's lips. His whole body convulsed. Muscles twisted.
Electrofluff laughed.
"Hurts, doesn't it!? If it hurts, raise your hands and get on the ground!"
Crackle-crackle――!
The current intensified. Smoke rose from the Bulldozer's body. But he didn't stop. One step. Another.
"W-what!? That's one hundred million volts!"
Electrofluff cried out in panic.
The Bulldozer didn't answer. He just pressed forward.
Electrofluff hit her limit.
"Two hundred million volts――!!"
But even then, the Madness Bulldozer didn't stop.
"N-no――"
The Bulldozer's hand seized the mascot costume. Electrofluff's feet left the ground.
"Kyaaah!!"
As the massive arm swung, her body traced a parabola through the air. She vanished into the sky with a scream.
The Bulldozer walked on. The president's mansion was truly just a short distance away now.
Thud.Thud.Thud.Thud――!!
This wasn't the sound of the Bulldozer walking. Explosions from behind.
The Bulldozer halted. Something was coming. Fast. Jump. Land. Jump again. The ground-shattering impacts grew closer.
BOOM――!!
A woman blocked his path. Black two-tone hair. A bright smile on her face. But beneath it, anyone could see the murderous intent.
"Hi?"
The woman said.
"I'm Kang Haneul."
……………
I looked up at the wall-mounted TV in the empty pasta shop.
On the screen, an Awakener in a yellow hamster mascot suit unleashed a barrage of lightning. But the metal-skinned monster didn't stop. Step by step, it advanced, then casually grabbed the hamster-suited woman and hurled her away.
......Insane.
He'd subdued an A-rank Awakener like she was a toy.
S-rank. National disaster level.
Can they really stop it?
Unease crept up my spine. What if Kang Haneul lost? If that monster subdued even her and got upgraded to EX-rank villain?
At that moment, the screen shook. The camera zoomed out sharply. And what it captured――was Kang Haneul.
Kang Haneul on the screen was smiling. Like she was out on a picnic.
As she charged at the Bulldozer, it swung a massive fist as if it'd been waiting. A punch the size of a man's torso hurtled toward her.
Kang Haneul didn't dodge. She just blocked it with one hand.
BOOM――!!
The shockwave blasted outward. Nearby car windows shattered. Asphalt cracked.
But Kang Haneul didn't budge an inch.
"......Huh?"
The Bulldozer swung again. This time with both fists. In rapid succession.
Thud-thud-thud-thud――!!
Explosions rang out one after another. Kang Haneul still stood firm. Not pushed back a single step.
Another barrage of punches. This time, Kang Haneul didn't just block. She grabbed the Bulldozer's fist, hoisted up its three-meter-plus frame――
And threw it. Into the sky beyond.
Rumble――!!
A colossal crash echoed as the TV screen zoomed out. Soon, it cut to a mansion.
The destroyed mansion must have been the Jeongseong president's home.
What rotten luck for that president guy...... House and company both smashed because some villain dropped out of nowhere during work hours.
On screen, Kang Haneul brushed dust off her palm, smiling. She didn't look the least bit strained, no matter how you sliced it.
"Is that even human?"
That level...... I mean, like a green giant hit by gamma rays. Smashing cities, toppling buildings, unstoppable by armies. Always angry, growing stronger with rage, uncontrollable. Almost exactly the same.
I hadn't seen the Reptilian boss fight live because it was inside a dimensional gate. But witnessing Kang Haneul's power in real-time, even through a TV screen, felt entirely different.
Kang Haneul could kill a nobody like Moon Yujin with a finger flick. They weren't even the same category of being. The gap between them was wider than elephant and rabbit.
Thud.
Kang Haneul landed beyond the shattered window.
"All done! Took less than three minutes. Right?"
She approached, face unchanged with that smile.
"Yujin, we had a promise."
……………
Kang Haneul took another step closer.
"More than just a spaghetti kiss, remember? We promised. Right?"
"Uh, yeah. That's true, but......"
I'm screwed.
I hadn't even come up with a proper excuse yet. What could I say to slip out of this?
"Not here...... haha. I mean, people might see?"
"No one's around now? They all ran off earlier. Just you and me."
She was right. Not just the pasta shop――no one in this building or the ones around.
"Mm, still, let's head back to the Association first......"
"Why do you keep putting it off?"
Kang Haneul's tone dropped lower.
"Yujin. You're not thinking of breaking our promise, are you?"
......Game over.
No escape. If I kept refusing the kiss, what would happen? She'd definitely get mad. Like when she snatched my phone in the hallway and deleted Baek Sehee's contact. And what an angry Kang Haneul could do...... I'd just seen it on TV.
To seize the initiative.
I needed to build the relationship first. Earn trust. As the physically weaker one, to control Kang Haneul, I had to make her need me on her own.
Flat-out refusing here was the worst move. The bond would snap, trust crumble, and Kang Haneul...... wouldn't hold back anymore.
"......Okay."
The moment I answered, Kang Haneul's demeanor flipped.
"For real?"
"Yeah."
Well, Kang Haneul was pretty anyway. No reason to think of it as a bad thing. Just one kiss.
That's what I decided to think. I had no choice.
Kang Haneul drew even closer. Now, we were close enough to touch if we reached out.
"Yujin."
"Yeah."
"Close your eyes."
I did as told.
Darkness. I heard breathing. Couldn't tell if it was mine or hers.
Soon, something soft touched my lips.
"………."
It was a kiss. Kang Haneul's lips were warm. Softer than expected, with a sweet scent. From the lip balm she'd applied that morning, maybe.
Time seemed to stop. Or maybe it was just a few seconds.
Then, something pushed between our lips.
Huh?
Tongue. Kang Haneul's tongue tangled with mine, saliva――
"W-what the hell are you doing here!?"
A woman's voice cut in abruptly. I jolted back, lips parting, and looked toward the sound.
Someone stood at the restaurant entrance. White suit, long pink straight hair.
Baek Sehee.