34
Ch.34 Hero
"Kyaaaah~!!"
"Waaaah!"
Boom, boom, boom—the citizens, who had been swaying their bodies to the music blasting from the outdoor club, erupted into cheers at the massive shockwave. Pink, purple, and green lasers flickered against the smoke of scattered fireworks in the sky.
Under the diagonal roof of light created by the pulsating beams, Yoo Anna crouched, panting, as she amplified the wavelength of her ability.
A scorching whirlwind—flames cloaking Yoo Anna’s body—scorched the rusted metal debris clinging to her, sending them clattering to the ground. Her skin bore red marks as she gritted her teeth, her neck cracking as she glared at the rooftop across from her.
"Huuh… You damn bitch…"
"Ahah! As expected of an S-rank hero! You’re a monster—worse than the beasts!"
KWAANG!
From the opposite rooftop, Gu Seo-ryong kicked off the ground, leaping into the air as she inhaled sharply. Then—pang, pang, pang!—flame orbs shot from her mouth. Yoo Anna scowled, swatting them away with her hands.
But hidden behind the flames was a viscous poison that clung to her skin.
"Kkh—! Disgusting!"
"Ahahaha! What’s dirty in a fight?"
Whoosh!
Gu Seo-ryong landed in front of Yoo Anna, swinging a clawed kick, then spun, lashing out with her thick tail and following up with rapid slashes from both hands.
Seeing the poison coating her fingers and toes, Yoo Anna swiftly dodged. Gu Seo-ryong, now on all fours, glared at her with sharp eyes, flicking her tongue inside her mouth.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
The sound spread, and ability of confusion crashed over Yoo Anna.
As she warily watched Gu Seo-ryong, who stood motionless without any visible change, her claws suddenly appeared right in front of her eyes.
"Kkh—?!"
Yoo Anna jerked her head back, narrowly avoiding the attack—only for Gu Seo-ryong’s foot to slam into her stomach.
The claws before her eyes had been an illusion—the real attack was a low sweep from the ground.
Sent flying upward, Yoo Anna curled up as the air around her turned icy.
The moment she was swallowed by the freezing mist she had prepared earlier—PONG!—a second lightning bomb was fired.
BOOM! KR-R-RUMBLE!
The second thunderbolt pierced through Yoo Anna’s body.
"Not used to fighting humans, are you? Your weak points are wide open."
"Kkh… Haah… Haa…!"
"Still alone, huh? You really came by yourself? Well, I figured as much. Starlight might look cold, but she’s hot-tempered and sentimental. Unlike you S-ranks, the other heroes can’t ignore pressure from above. You came alone so your fellow heroes wouldn’t get hurt, right?"
Heat coursed through her entire body—crackle, crackle—as her vision flickered. Gu Seo-ryong walked upside down in the sky, leisurely swaying her tail.
Like water rippling, her movements slowly suffocated Yoo Anna’s senses.
"Starlight’s ability is destructive flames, light, and… Plasma, I guess? Speed, and destructive power—both are top-tier. Hard to land a hit, and even harder to land one that actually hurts. But… If I can pin you down or attack at the speed of light, I can hit you as much as I want. Even if your flames block most attacks, they can’t stop internal shocks. Just like Kage, the S-rank hero of A-City, you have no resistance to illusions."
"Huut…! Hoo…! You know a lot about me, huh?"
"Of course. You’re the most dangerous enemy in W-City. Huhu, how is it? Our lightning bombs? Even an S-rank hero feels that shock, right?"
True to her words, Yoo Anna’s limbs were numb after just two lightning strikes. The pain burning through her entire body was an agony she’d never felt before.
"It hurts, but it’s not fatal."
"Well, of course. If Despair-class threats could be handled by conventional means, they wouldn’t be called Despair, would they?"
"Die! Starlight!"
TR-R-RATATATA!
From one corner of the rooftop, three villains manning anti-aircraft guns opened fire on Yoo Anna.
KAKAKAKANG!
Bullets struck the side of Yoo Anna, who braced herself, embedding into the warped steel plates before sparking on impact.
The heavy impact—different from a sniper rifle—forced Yoo Anna to take cover behind a concrete structure. Gu Seo-ryong crouched beside her, propping her chin on her hands.
"S-ranks are humans who bring despair to beasts. If you could die from mere lightning, you wouldn’t be Despair-class, right?"
"Shut up!"
Whoosh!
Yoo Anna swung her arm, and Gu Seo-ryong’s illusion distorted before sinking into the shadows.
From the inky darkness, tiny Gu Seo-ryongs bubbled up—hundreds of them, surrounding Yoo Anna’s feet, chanting in unison,
"Tired yet?”
"Such an annoying ability!"
"Ahah! Thanks for the compliment!"
Ting, ting, ting…
The sound of metal rolling was followed by a burst of light beneath the clustered Gu Seo-ryongs.
A modified flashbang—the intense explosion left Yoo Anna momentarily deafened.
Seizing the brief opening, Gu Seo-ryong lunged through the barrage of gunfire, tackling her.
"Kkh—!"
"Nah~ Another miss~♥"
The moment Yoo Anna threw a punch at that Gu Seo-ryong, another appeared behind her, driving her claws into her neck.
Shhk!
Yoo Anna immediately swiped her hand, melting off Gu Seo-ryong’s fingers, but—gulp, gulp—the remaining fingers in her neck squirmed, injecting more poison.
An illusion? No, real fingers.
The poison spread rapidly, and Yoo Anna’s ability reacted fiercely, burning away the toxins. But Gu Seo-ryong’s poison spread faster than she could neutralize it.
"Not much experience fighting humans, huh? Falling for every trick—it’s kinda cute!"
"What the hell is this…?!"
"Ahah~? Well, what should I call it? Stimulants, sensory enhancers, excitants—call it whatever. The important thing is… Important… Important… Important…"
"You’re making it… Harder… For me… To fight… You…"
"Right?"
Thump, thump.
Her heartbeat merged with the deafening music.
The light stretching toward the sky twisted, scattering as if her sense of direction had been lost, entangling with Yoo Anna’s flames.
The interlacing beams beautifully outlined a human figure—a glowing white mane of hair swaying as it pushed Yoo Anna back.
In her disoriented state, Yoo Anna was shoved off the rooftop.
The dazzling laser lights filling the night sky embraced her.
Slowly, sharply, wrapped in soft clouds—just as the gravity, sharp as ice, pierced through her, the lasers intertwined, taking the form of a massive serpent before lunging.
"Kkh—! Haa…!"
SCREECH—!
With the sound of twisting steel, Yoo Anna opened her eyes on the ground. Above her, bathed in moonlight, Gu Seo-ryong’s eyes gleamed.
Vertical pupils like a beast’s—her excited face twisted as her clawed feet descended.
KWAACK!
The moment Gu Seo-ryong’s foot pierced Yoo Anna’s stomach, the twisted steel melted and shattered, encasing her in a cage of broken bars.
"Waaaah! Waaaah!"
"Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!!"
CLANG! CLANG!
Amid the sound of falling steel, gulp, gulp, poison continued to be injected through Gu Seo-ryong’s claws as she stood over her.
Even lying on the ground, Yoo Anna felt like she was standing—her head spinning.
Above her, Gu Seo-ryong spread her arms, basking in the crowd’s cheers before crouching and speaking.
"Snap out of it, Starlight! You’ll die like this!"
"Stop… Dosing me…!"
"Kyaha!"
WHOOSH!
Yoo Anna, still on the ground, thrust her fist toward the moon—a massive pillar of fire erupting into the sky.
Gu Seo-ryong jerked back, leaping away with a scream, clutching her charred arm and punctured stomach.
"My arm! My stomach! Aaaah!"
Then, with a playful grin—pat—she peeled off her skin like a shell with her claws, revealing a pristine white hand underneath.
Pulling it free, she brushed her taut, unharmed abdomen with her other hand.
"Good as new~? Ahah!"
"Ahahahaha!"
"Gu Seo-ryong! Gu Seo-ryong! Gu Seo-ryong!"
"Haa… Haa… Haa…"
"I felt that one! Or should I say I didn’t? Ahahaha!"
Where did the illusions begin and end?
Gu Seo-ryong’s carefree attitude, the villains aiming guns and abilities, the citizens drunk on alcohol and drugs, the moans of prostitutes, the club’s deafening music tickling her heightened senses—
Yoo Anna, standing with her hands on her knees, tried to suppress her overstimulated nerves.
"Hey! Hero~? If you don’t fly again, the next lightning strike will hit the crowd!"
"Waaaah! Ahahaha!"
"Fly, you bitch! Fly!"
"You damn… Bitch!"
But Gu Seo-ryong didn’t give her time, spraying mist over the crowd.
Sssss—
The mist and lasers cutting through it excited the people. Yoo Anna burst through the haze, flying upward to avoid the civilians—only for concentrated sniper fire to rain down again.
Then, an icy mist suddenly surrounded her.
What had settled on the ground earlier wasn’t ice—it was an aerosolized stimulant.
The snipers, hidden by Gu Seo-ryong’s illusions, had successfully lured her into the mist.
"Jackpot~♥"
Bang!
Gu Seo-ryong mimed shooting a gun, and a villain hidden among the crowd fired a lightning bomb.
KWA-BOOM!
The massive explosion sent nearby people flying. Some rolled on the ground, bleeding or unconscious. Those still conscious crawled, laughing, while others, only lightly thrown back, screamed and cheered.
"Kyaaaah! Ahahahaha!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Ugh… Haa… Kh…"
The third lightning strike. Barely standing amid the madness, Yoo Anna gritted her teeth.
Beside her, Gu Seo-ryong crouched on a lamppost—thud!—her tail swaying as the crushed post sparked.
"Impressive~! How’d you do that?"
"Haa… Haa… Haa…"
"Did you swallow the lightning? I’m curious—what did you do?"
"You… Fucking… Bitch… Haa…"
The moment the lightning bomb detonated, Yoo Anna suppressed the flames coating her skin.
She channeled her ability deep inside her body, burning away the lightning at maximum speed. Instead of blocking it, she absorbed it—letting only a faint current spread to those nearby, minimizing the damage.
Even so, the shockwave sent people flying, injuring them—but compared to a direct lightning explosion, it was the least damage possible.
"Hey, doesn’t it seem kinda stupid? Why go so far to protect them~?"
Fwhip!
Gu Seo-ryong lashed her tail, creating a whip-like sound. Gu Seo-ryong crouched on the lamppost blurred—then toppled backward, falling.
One, two, three—more and more afterimages dropped, glowing purple, red, and green under the club lights.
"This tactic only works because you care about humans. Using them as shields to attack you—a tactic made just for heroes. If you just rushed in ready to kill, I’d have abandoned Guryongseong and run. But it worked so well it’s almost boring."
"Oh? So you made a hero-specific tactic, just like how beasts have their own?"
"To us, heroes and beasts are the same. Just annoyances ruining our fun."
"Funny, I feel the same about you villains."
Plop, plop.
Gu Seo-ryong’s afterimages piled up among the crowd, creating the illusion of the ground rising.
Yoo Anna clenched her trembling arm—crack!—as Gu Seo-ryong, still multiplying, smirked warmly.
"Wouldn’t it be unfair if you lost like this? How about it? Why not get serious? Who cares if people die? Let’s destroy everything, like you do against beasts."
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"This isn’t your real strength, is it~?"
Amid the drugged crowd’s frenzied screams, Yoo Anna sighed internally.
These inhuman creatures—part of her wanted to give in.
But she didn’t.
Wouldn’t.
"The hero I know would save people no matter how annoying they are. Someone who’d keep trying to save even one more."
The one who appears in the darkest moments, burning away the monsters, wiping away dry tears—a light in the smoke.
No matter how much civilians ignore them, a hero is a hero.
"So save your crap for the dogs, will you?"
"Hmm~ What an idiot."
Tap.
Gu Seo-ryong flicked her fingers, and all her piled-up afterimages floated up like balloons, obscuring Yoo Anna’s vision.
In that moment, she punched behind her.
"Calling me stupid is a compliment, dumbass!"
"Kyaaaah!"
KWAANG!
Both of Gu Seo-ryong’s arms melted off.
The illusions shattered, revealing reality.
Yoo Anna, who had been floating mid-air, was now on the ground. Gu Seo-ryong had closed in behind her.
The afterimages and sensory overload had been a trick to bring her down—but even in confusion, she’d noticed her feet touching the ground.
The vivid reality confirmed this wasn’t an illusion. Yoo Anna clenched her fist, flames rippling.
"Wha—how?! My—my arms! My arms! Aaah!"
"N-No way!"
"Phew…"
Gu Seo-ryong, now armless below the elbows, screamed and wailed.
As her ability faded, Yoo Anna’s senses stabilized. Relieved, she reached toward her, planning to knock her out and arrest her—
"Found you~?"
"…Eh—?"
In an instant, Gu Seo-ryong’s arms regrew—and she stabbed both hands into Yoo Anna’s chest.