Prelude #3
“What... is this?”
It was Yuria’s question as she examined the cylindrical grenade with her eyes alone. Sehwa answered immediately.
“It’s a flashbang. The Doctor developed it, and Jihyeok modified it. It can temporarily blind most monsters. It’s incredibly useful in a fight.”
“And all of this fits inside that device?”
“Yes. Isn’t it amazing?”
“It really feels like magic...? Like some kind of miniaturization spell.”
Sehwa’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Can you use magic too, sis?”
“I can’t. Even if I could, it’s impossible here.”
“Why?”
“The natural energy here has been destroyed so thoroughly that there’s almost none left. Still, if I went somewhere like the Amazon, I might be able to gather a decent amount.”
“Ah... that’s a shame. I wanted to see it...”
“Once we defeat Tyrat and restore our homeland, I’ll show you. I really hope you’ll come. I may not invite just anyone, but I want to make sure you come no matter what.”
“I’d love to go too.”
While the two of them chatted about trivial things, I was having an important conversation with the Doctor in her private lab. The topic was Yuria’s sense of justice.
I relayed the answer to the question Yuria had asked me back at the house.
“Really...? It didn’t seem fake to you?”
“I’m only twenty years old. I don’t have enough life experience to judge something like that. But I did feel sincerity in the way she spoke.”
“I see... So you think her concern for humanity outweighs her desire for revenge against her parents’ enemy?”
“It’s only a guess. Consider it carefully before deciding.”
“Understood. I’ll definitely keep your words in mind.”
You’d better decide quickly. Astaroth would be emerging soon, spreading an enormous amount of energy across all of Seoul.
Beep—! Beep!
A warning alarm rang from outside the room.
He’s here. Astaroth, who had absorbed the life force of countless creatures from deep within the Antarctic Ocean.
I met the Doctor’s eyes for a brief moment, then immediately dashed outside.
“Jihyeok!”
Sehwa’s urgent cry came from where she was monitoring the situation board. As I opened the hangar door, I asked,
“Percentage and location?”
“Seventy-five percent... Location is Mok-dong in Seoul.”
“Seventy-five percent? It’s already B-rank?”
“I-it’s at eighty-one percent now... It’s A-rank.”
Sehwa’s voice trembled. It was the highest grade among all the Evilion Gates that had appeared so far. Her panic was completely understandable.
The gauge stopped at eighty-seven percent.
With a grave expression, I spoke to Sehwa and Yuria.
“Get ready to deploy immediately. Yuria, you’ll ride with me in the fighter—”
Rumble—!
At that moment, an overwhelming pressure crushed everyone inside the lab. I couldn’t finish my sentence; my upper body bent forward as if an invisible force were pressing down on my shoulders.
“Ugh!”
I could feel my strength draining away. It was Astaroth’s characteristic ability—plunging all living beings within a wide area into lethargy and stripping them of any will to act. If I had been in my modified body, I wouldn’t have been affected, but right now I was human. It was only natural that I would be impacted.
The Doctor was hit even harder. She had collapsed while trying to run out and was now sprawled on the floor, weakly turning her head to look around. She looked like someone searching for a comfortable bed.
Outside must be absolute chaos by now, with accidents breaking out everywhere. Astaroth had appeared without giving anyone time to evacuate.
“This fucking...”
I muttered a low curse, then felt a slight surprise when I noticed Yuria’s condition was relatively good. She had fallen into lethargy as well, but she still had enough strength to move and was even supporting the panting Sehwa.
I knew she would endure well, but this much? I had underestimated Yuria’s mental fortitude.
“Sehwa...! Are you okay?”
“Sis... I... I have no strength... I don’t want to do anything...”
“This is... the energy of Astaroth, one of Tyrat’s minions...! Song Jihyeok! Doctor! Snap out of it...! Don’t let this emotion crush you...”
I struggled to lift my head.
“Sehwa... you need to transform...”
“How? Tell me what to do!”
Grinding my teeth, I picked up a ballpoint pen that had rolled across the floor. Then I stabbed it deep into my thigh.
Thud!
With a dull sound, the pen pierced my thigh. Blood welled up, and my mind cleared instantly. I rushed over to Sehwa, grabbed her limp hand, and pressed it twice against the device on her opposite wrist.
Flash—!
Sky-blue rays of light poured out as Sehwa transformed into Leona. Her unfocused eyes regained their clarity, and strength flooded back into her body.
“Jihyeok...!”
Leona, with her dignified gaze, spotted the wound on my thigh and gasped in horror. Grimacing from the pain, I clenched my teeth and said,
“Go...! Stop him for now...!”
“O-okay!”
Sehwa immediately headed for the hangar, smashed through the closed ceiling, and shot into the sky. Yuria watched her ascent with visible anxiety.
“Song Jihyeok! Astaroth is a high-ranking monster. Leona can’t handle him alone...!”
“Help the Doctor. Then head to the hangar...”
“Yes! But what about you...”
I ignored Yuria’s worried words and limped toward the fighter jet. After roughly shoving aside the debris from the shattered hangar ceiling, I opened the cockpit.
Yuria must have heard something from the Doctor, because she accompanied her back to the private lab. A short while later, the Doctor emerged supported by Yuria, a device now in her hand.
She brought it just in case? Good. But Doctor, get a grip. Yuria might start thinking you’re pathetic. Is this how the leader of the lab should act?
The moment the two of them boarded the fighter, I began takeoff.
Astaroth, having gained power, had become a muscular humanoid monster. He stood about two meters tall. Unlike the previous bosses, he wasn’t gigantic, nor did he look like a grotesque beast. He hadn’t caused any destruction upon appearing, either. He simply stared down at the ground with indifferent eyes.
On the surface, gray, sand-like dust was flowing toward his seven orifices. It was the lethargic energy of living beings.
—.....—
Then Astaroth did something strange. It happened right after Leona arrived.
—My King...—
Astaroth spoke in the common language of Erandel and dropped to one knee. It was a polite gesture, like a knight kneeling before his sovereign.
Watching the scene on the monitor while flying toward Mok-dong, I felt my heart sink with a heavy thud. The one he had shown respect to wasn’t me, who was flying in from afar—it was Leona.
Fuck...!
Alarms blared inside my head. Astaroth had sensed the energy I had planted inside Leona—the power I had kept so carefully hidden as it took root and grew within her.
This was completely unexpected.
I glanced at Yuria. She was busy taking care of the Doctor and had no time to look at the monitor. The communication device was only on me, so she couldn’t have heard the Erandel language. To Leona, Astaroth’s words would have sounded like alien speech...
Thank goodness.
—.... What...?
Leona sounded confused. That was only natural. After the battle, she would find it even stranger. But once she released her transformation and returned to being Sehwa, cleaning up the situation would be simple. For now, the priority was getting through this moment.
I stabbed my thigh once more and shouted,
“What are you doing!? He’s asking you to attack! Are you just going to stand there?”
—Ah, right!
“Take him far away! Somewhere with no people!”
—Understood!
Leona, now focused, moved. With a thunderous boom, she tore through the air and instantly closed in on Astaroth. She grabbed him by the neck and vanished into the distance.
Leona had chosen a location in the middle of the West Sea where no humans were present. There, she began her battle with Astaroth. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say she was unilaterally attacking him.
Clang!Clang!
At incredible speed, she swung her sword across Astaroth’s entire body. Astaroth blocked her strikes with a bewildered expression. He clearly didn’t understand why she was pointing her blade at him.
He definitely didn’t think she was me. But he did consider her one of my subordinates—and his own comrade. His current reaction was simply confusion at being attacked by an ally.
Clang!Crunch!
A small chunk of flesh was torn from Astaroth’s arm as he blocked the sword. At that moment, his face twisted in anger, and he swung his hand.
Whoosh—!
Black flames erupted from his arm and sent Leona flying far away. Astaroth, radiating unfiltered fury, opened his mouth toward Leona as she regained her stance.
—Traitor! You are a traitor!—
God damn it... Lower your voice, you bastard. Marcela! Do something! Use magic to seal his mouth! If Yuria hears this, she’ll get suspicious!
Ah, right. Marcela was probably busy cleaning up the mess from Astaroth’s behavior back in Mok-dong.
I stood up and approached the still-staggering Doctor, then slapped her cheek hard.
Slap!
“Aah!”
The force of the slap made the Doctor scream. Yuria’s mouth fell open in shock.
“S-Song Jihyeok! What are you—!”
Ignoring the flustered Yuria, I slapped the Doctor’s cheek again.
Slap!
Her head snapped to the side. I shouted,
“Doctor! Hand the device to Yuria right now!”
The Doctor, who had been blankly touching her reddening cheek, finally regained focus. Her mind had cleared.
“What...? B-but...”
“Leona can’t do it alone! He’s too strong! We need one more person!”
“...How’s the battle going...?”
“It’s overwhelmingly unfavorable.”
The Doctor trusted my words without question. She had no choice but to hand it over.
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but when she saw Leona and Astaroth clashing beyond the cockpit, she sighed and pulled the device from her pocket. She held it out to Yuria.
“Just put it on your wrist. It will trigger the transformation.”
Yuria looked startled, clearly not expecting to receive a device under these circumstances. But her eyes soon hardened with resolve as she accepted it.
As she moved to put it on her arm, I said,
“I’ll open the cockpit. Transform as you jump out. If the fighter gets destroyed, the Doctor and I will become fish food. This second device doesn’t have much capacity. That means your transformation time will be short, so don’t get flustered by the unfamiliar emotions and power. You must eliminate that monster immediately. Understood?”
“Y-yes...! I understand!”
I rushed to the pilot’s seat and slammed the button. With a hiss, the cockpit opened. The moment the salty scent of the sea hit my nose, Yuria stepped onto the edge of the cockpit with her long, slender legs and leaped.
She fastened the device to her wrist.
Flash!
Yuria’s body, which had been falling toward the sea, shot straight up into the stratosphere. Vivid green light burst out in every direction.
My eyes trembled faintly as I watched.
Finally...!
At last, the second Beast Slayer had appeared. For the first time, two of them would fight together to protect the Earth.
The situation itself was a bit disappointing, but it couldn’t be helped. No—in fact, this was better. I had managed to induce a natural transformation under urgent circumstances.