A Woman's Betrayal
Kang Sian couldn't even understand how he'd ended up in this situation. Even if someone else were in his place, they probably wouldn't get it either. Drug addicts weren't the kind of people ordinary folks could figure out, after all.
"With a face like that, you should've lived a little straighter."
"All that studying and you don't even know what character means?"
"Typical. Just a bunch of kids with fancy family names."
With those voices swirling around him, the encirclement slowly tightened. If he just stood there, he'd end up getting beaten by all six of them.
"I'm asking seriously. What are you planning to do about the aftermath?"
"That's none of your business."
"We'll handle it ourselves, so why don't you worry about yourself?"
Of course, it wasn't hard to guess. They'd obviously try to crush him using their families' influence.
"Tsk."
That was exactly why he couldn't afford to take this lying down. Kang Sian glanced around once, then immediately sprinted backward.
"H-huh?"
"Hey, grab that bastard!"
Three of them. A magic staff, tonfa, and knuckle dusters. The weakest link was obvious. Kang Sian charged straight at the male student holding the magic staff. Sluggish movements, slow reactions, delayed judgment. Before the guy could even launch an attack, Sian drove a fist into his jaw. With a sharp crack, the student toppled backward.
There was no time to savor the moment. Sian turned his gaze to the female student approaching with the tonfa.
"You son of a bitch!"
She swung the tonfa with a wild yell. It looked sloppy to anyone watching, but at close range, dodging seemed difficult. For Kang Sian, however, it was no challenge at all. His abnormal reaction speed kicked in, followed by equally abnormal movement.
"What the—what—ack! Kyaa!"
It was like he was living in a completely different time frame from everyone else. The response was unbelievable for someone who'd supposedly scored at the very bottom on the Hunter Aptitude Test. The male student with the knuckle dusters, who had been following behind, was sent flying by a sudden counterattack.
The three charging from the rear had no choice but to stop at the sight.
"Magic? No, he said he lacked magic power, so is it an esper ability?"
This world wasn't limited to magic as its only supernatural force. There were also phenomena called miracles and talents known as esper abilities. Among them, esper abilities were rare yet one of the most coveted things. Similar to magic but fundamentally different—powers that consumed stamina and mental energy instead of magic power. Abilities so efficient that magic couldn't even compare.
"Well, I sure hope that's the case."
Still, one needed innate luck to obtain them. And even if someone did get one, everything depended on what kind of ability it was and how much talent they possessed.
"No?"
Kang Sian shook his head as if to say what he'd shown wasn't an esper ability. It felt like deception, but officially, that was the truth.
I don't know either, you bastard.
From fourth grade through his first year of middle school, it wasn't like he hadn't thought about it. No, it wasn't even a matter of thinking—it was something he'd used so freely that he'd reached a level where it felt natural. It felt almost like an esper ability. It was almost certainly one. Yet every time the school tested him, the result came back as nothing. Even when he requested reexaminations, they dismissed it as some unconscious magical talent. It was enough to drive him insane. He couldn't tell if the Ministry of Education was strange or if he was.
Still, it was clearly something real.
"Then how the hell—"
"Anyway, this is your last chance. Leave one behind and get lost right now."
He spoke while stomping on the three students already on the ground. Lim Hana's academy friends, terrified of ending up the same way, hesitated.
"What are you all doing?! Just use magic!"
"B-but! If we use magic, the aftermath—"
"We came here prepared for the aftermath anyway!"
They were ready to hit someone, but not ready to go as far as using magic. Taking advantage of that opening, Kang Sian slowly approached. He needed to close the distance until attacking became easy and using magic became undesirable.
"Damn it, I don't know either! Ice Bolt!"
Lim Hana's conflicted friends raised their hands. They were preparing magic, and Kang Sian immediately dashed forward. Icicles formed in the students' hands and shot straight at him. Sian ducked to avoid them, but that wasn't the end. More icicles kept coming, and he had to keep dodging. He pressed forward even as ice grazed past his ears.
Still better than fighting Cheon Mari.
It was only natural that fighting academy hopefuls whose attack patterns were obvious in a single glance felt easier than brawling with a regressor and former hunter.
Lim Hana's academy friends began backing away in horror at the scene.
"H-huh?! Wait—"
"Where do you think you're going!"
With a thud, an uppercut slammed into a face. The others nearby charged with spears, and Kang Sian charged right back. It was the smart choice. Long spears couldn't display their proper power at close range. Once they got tangled up trying to hold onto them, they couldn't expect support from their friends either. They tried to drop the weapons but, lacking combat experience, couldn't bring themselves to abandon the spears. In the end, they took a beating and were sent flying backward.
Only the mage remained, but she awkwardly backed away. Slow magic was useless when he could dodge every single shot anyway. Besides, as first-year middle schoolers, the magic they knew was limited, and there wasn't much they could do.
Eventually, with her standing by, Kang Sian reached right in front of Kim Yujae. The guy had been carefully feeding grass into Lim Hana's mouth. When Sian's shadow fell over him, he stood up and glared.
"You want to get hit and then leave? Or just leave?"
Kang Sian's final ultimatum. His eyes were as sharp as his words. It was a sight that didn't match someone supposedly at the bottom of the Hunter Aptitude rankings. Kim Yujae, trembling, clenched his fists. Then he quickly threw a punch—
"Wha—ack!"
He was thrown with an over-the-shoulder flip instead. The impact was even greater because Sian had used his opponent's own momentum against him. Yujae tried to get up without giving up, but Sian mercilessly kicked him in the stomach. Even though it was the kick of someone who hadn't become a hunter, getting your stomach beaten was still incredibly painful.
"Gah! Graaah!"
A body trained through constant fighting. Even if he didn't think so himself, to them, Kang Sian's attacks felt like being struck with an iron club.
"You rotten bastards."
After dealing with them, he approached Lim Hana. She was trembling violently, her face pressed to the ground. Just as he reached out to shake her shoulders and check on her—
"Get lost."
"Huh?"
"I said get lost."
Hateful eyes locked onto him. Then he felt the sensation of a palm against his chest.
"Shockwave!"
Bang—a sound far louder than expected rang out. The shockwave slammed into his chest, and Kang Sian was sent flying far away. He soared several meters before crashing down. It was fortunate he didn't fall off the edge, but rolling across the ground left wounds all over his body.
"Kuhak, kuhuk…… khek……."
The pain was so intense he could barely breathe. He was effectively neutralized, and Lim Hana clearly had no intention of leaving him alone. If he stayed like this, he might actually die. Kang Sian forced himself to stand, thinking of escape.
"Freeze!"
A single word without any regard for consequences. Kang Sian's body and the floor became firmly stuck together. No, they froze solid.
"H-huaaah……!"
Extreme cold washed over him. Still, it wasn't a difficult spell to break. The only problem was that it required some magic power.
"How dare you, how dare you, how dare you touch my friends!"
An emotion he couldn't understand at all. Who had touched whom first? Kang Sian barely managed to lift his head and glare at the embodiment of double standards. Lim Hana, eyes blazing yet half-glazed, drove an icicle right in front of Kang Sian's nose. She was determined to return every hit her friends had taken. It was a scene that showed exactly how Kang Sian saw Lim Hana and how Lim Hana saw Kang Sian.
"Shit, it looks like you've been eating Gwangjeungcho and your mind's all over the place—"
"Shut up! You traitor! You betrayed me again today! You stabbed me in the back! And now you're trying to take my friends too?!"
The conversation ran on parallel lines. Just as Lim Hana, eyes completely flipped, was about to drive the icicle into Kang Sian's head—
"Aaaaaagh!!!"
A human scream. Then someone falling from above entered both their lines of sight. They couldn't see the face, but it was almost certain the person would die.
"……!"
Something was clearly wrong. Lim Hana backed away and shouted at her academy friends to run immediately. It was the right instinct.
Kwaaaang—!!!
With a deafening explosion, the entire ruin shook violently. Screams and shrieks echoed from everywhere as debris rained down from the ceiling and walls. It felt like the world was collapsing. Tragically, those twenty seconds of tremors marked the beginning of something horrific. The ruin, as if reaching its limit, began to crack and spew out boulders. The academy friends, barely regaining their senses, retreated and fled.
"This goddamn—"
But Kang Sian couldn't run. His legs were bound to the floor.
"Lim Hana! Untie this!"
He screamed until his throat was raw. The only response was cold indifference.
"Ha, hahaha……."
After freeing her legs, Lim Hana began to laugh. Just like a mad witch. Was it because of the Gwangjeungcho's effects? Because the person whose memories she'd distorted was in danger? Because the academy had taught her that traitors and villains must be eliminated? Because her academy friends had egged her on? Or simply because the entire scene was fascinating?
Once, everything had been good. Where exactly had it all gone wrong? There was no denying that nothing could return to normal anymore. Kang Sian gritted his teeth as if feeling betrayed by Lim Hana's sneer. Just as he was about to spit out some final words—
Crack, crunch!
A section of the upper floor that had collapsed struck the corner of the bridge where Kang Sian was bound. The structure began to tilt sharply and quickly lost balance. When the final support snapped, that entire floor of the bridge gave way.
Kang Sian stared at Lim Hana's face until the very moment he plummeted into hell. Conversely, Lim Hana watched as she sent someone into the abyss.
"───!!!"
Down, down, down. Light disappeared. Swallowed by darkness. He barely managed to free one hand and reach out, but all that met him was a gaze born from pleasure and mockery. Not a single trace of sympathy.
Crash!
That was the end. Kang Sian fell to the bottom of the abyss.
Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
……
Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah.
"Ah…… huh? Sian?"
Several minutes had passed since the fall, and it was around the time she'd escaped to the surface. Lim Hana realized she'd committed the most human act of her life.
"Why?"