You, What the Hell Are You!
"You! What the hell are you!"
Kim Yujae screamed the moment he laid eyes on the chainsaw. It was far too savage a weapon to be considered a normal lethal instrument. But that was nothing more than an illusion. The power and efficiency of a chainsaw were actually inferior to a regular sword. It could easily get stuck in skin and muscle, halting the blade, and there was always the risk of the chain snapping and injuring the user himself. The only reason it was used as a weapon was because its distinctive shape triggered a primal terror, as if the fear had been genetically imprinted.
Cheon Mari knew this fact all too well. That was why she pulled the trigger, ramping up the blade's speed. The deadly roar of the engine filled the air, and Kang Sian gave his silent approval. Soon a gaze that looked ready to kill emerged.
"Me? Cheon Mari." At the same time, she kindly offered her name. Nothing was simpler than a name when it came to revealing whose side she was on and what kind of person she was.
'Cheon... Mari...? No way?'
It matched his expectations perfectly. The moment Kim Yujae heard the current situation and Cheon Mari's name, he understood immediately. Nartika's granddaughter. That insane bitch. He also remembered her as the one who'd been treating Kang Sian like her personal shuttle for years. The detective agency had brought that information, so it had to be true.
This was an opportunity. If he could successfully drive a wedge between them, he might glimpse a fatal chance. Then he could either drag Lim Hana out with him or report what he'd seen and escape this place.
Kim Yujae tried to open his mouth with as much composure as he could muster.
But the first to speak was actually Kang Sian. And he was addressing Cheon Mari.
"Mari, what the hell is that chainsaw supposed to be?"
"This? The moment I got the call saying you were in danger, I ran straight to the hardware store and bought it."
"Out of every tool in that hardware store, there had to be a reason it was a chainsaw, right?"
"Because it's cool! Isn't that reason enough?"
"...Fine, let's go with that. Did you at least buy the cord for tying up documents?"
"Oh, right?"
"...I'm an idiot for trusting you."
He sidled up to Cheon Mari and gave her back a solid smack. It was an incredibly casual gesture, the kind of rudeness you didn't direct at the granddaughter of a massive conglomerate. Yet Cheon Mari giggled as if she enjoyed it. Kang Sian didn't seem to have done it with any truly negative intent either; his expression had relaxed noticeably.
Something felt wrong. The idea that sowing discord would work here suddenly seemed impossible.
What is this? They feel way too close.
Weren't they supposed to be in a shuttle-and-delinquent relationship? A herbivore guy and violent girl dynamic? A parasite and host situation?
Questions flooded his mind all at once. The sense of closeness, as if every barrier between them had been torn down, was something you didn't see in a clearly hierarchical relationship.
"Friends?"
They clearly saw each other that way. But it wasn't a normal friendship. This was...
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I thought you said friends."
"Friends? Oh, were you asking if Kang Sian and I are friends? Of course we are. He's my one and only childhood friend of twelve years, you idiot."
"I'm not your childhood friend, you know."
But they were childhood friends all the same. And Kim Yujae was shocked by the answer. If these two were childhood friends, then everything he'd believed up to now would have to change. No, it wasn't just a lot; most of the information he'd collected was completely wrong.
They probably didn't hold many grudges against each other. Even if they fought, they'd make up quickly. It wasn't oppression; they were simply listening to one another. They probably hadn't even paid much attention to the company's gaze during training. It was far more likely that Nartika had supported the training themselves. That might explain how they'd reached this level of combat ability.
He had been thinking about this all wrong. The questions unraveled, and the bleak reality settled in.
But wait—if they're childhood friends, what the hell was that about the Nartika bitch dragging him to a hotel?
Bitch and bastard. Friends. Hotel. What else could that combination mean? Of course it was the returnee's grand investment feast—
No way. Her boyfriend? That elf bastard?
Of course, from another perspective there had been room for misunderstanding. It couldn't be helped.
Wait, no. I heard it's not once a week—it's every single day.
The Nartika employees even helped with his move.
His family background is pretty good even if his finances are average.
Isn't this closer to fiancé than boyfriend?
In truth, there had been plenty of room for misunderstanding. Kim Yujae began to suspect that the kid he'd been looking down on might actually be Nartika's son-in-law. Otherwise there'd be no reason for him to show up on a motorcycle carrying a chainsaw. There'd be no reason to show such a seductive outfit to a mere friend.
In the end, he'd been lured into a trap set by a crazy bastard and a crazy bitch.
The crushing pressure that surged over him made him start looking for a chance to launch a surprise attack. It happened the moment the noisy Cheon Mari finally stopped the chainsaw.
Deciding Cheon Mari looked more promising than Kang Sian, who'd already beaten down all his friends, he charged. He swung his sword immediately. One side of Cheon Mari's facial skin was sliced away.
"It... it worked..."
"What?"
BAM!!
There was no way a plan like that would succeed. He was punched and sent flying backward.
Cheon Mari touched the sliced part of her face. It wasn't a serious injury, but it was the shape of getting hurt again right after recovering.
"Ouch. Guess I have to get hospitalized again?"
Her voice was mocking. In truth, she'd deliberately taken the hit for the sake of self-defense. It was an extremely unconventional method. At the same time, it was also a very obvious one.
"You crazy bastards...! Trash that flocks together with trash...!"
"What are you even saying? A druggie who threw the first punch has no right to talk."
A cold assessment came down. An icy gaze pierced him.
Overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, Kim Yujae began spitting out words he wouldn't normally dare say. Some of it was absurd, but some of it touched on a reverse scale.
"Just try touching me!! I'll dump your friend's kid in the Yellow Sea!"
"You think I won't do it?! Huh?! You fucking bitch! Do you know whose son I am?!"
"Fuck! Fuck! Put that chainsaw away! Get lost right now?! I'll kill your parents too!"
The druggie's typical failure of emotional regulation continued in a torrent.
Cheon Mari made a slightly displeased face, then decided to employ a method with postmodern feminist tendencies.
Vrrrrrrrr—!!!
That is, grinding up the groin to transform his biological sex. She wasn't sure if it would make him female or intersex, but the idea was to bring him closer to female. It seemed quite dangerous, but when you considered the level of modern medicine, it wasn't something to worry about too much. Finishing the primary operation with the chainsaw and completing the gender transition through secondary surgery at the hospital was perfectly safe.
That was why he sincerely looked forward to the future in which Kim Yujae would reestablish his gender identity.
Since Cheon Mari was a woman open-minded enough to gender-swap a lunatic, it was only natural. Of course, as a regressor whose fundamental nature was still human, the degree of her open-mindedness varied depending on the person. Still, excluding certain theocrats, certain monarchists, certain environmentalists, certain communists, certain anarchists, certain capitalists, certain fascists, certain conservatives, certain liberals, certain progressives, certain minorities, certain non-humans, certain men, certain women, certain neutrals, certain Black people, certain white people, certain Asians, all Germans, all imperials, everyone who had betrayed her, everyone who interfered with Nartika, people she personally disliked, and so on, she generally disliked extreme solutions.
Therefore Cheon Mari inwardly praised herself for choosing a reasonable course of action against the idiot's profanity. It was the moment her inflated ego gave itself a thumbs-up, and strength flowed into her arm.
She slowly approached to carry out this wonderful plan without interference.
Someone grabbed Cheon Mari's leg. When she looked down, Lim Hana was staring up at her with unfocused eyes. She'd reflexively seized the leg at the sight of her boyfriend being cornered.
"Don't... do it..."
Her voice was that of someone on the verge of death. By the time the words ended, a slight pain bloomed in Cheon Mari's leg. Looking closer, ice shard-like objects had formed on her calf. In that brief moment, it seemed she'd used magic without an incantation. A little blood flowed, and Cheon Mari shook off Lim Hana's hand.
"What is this bitch?"
"The kid who lives next door to me. She's a druggie too."
"Ah, that wizard kid called Hana or Duri?"
Kang Sian nodded. Then he gave her a look that said she could handle it herself.
Cheon Mari set the chainsaw down as if she understood and lowered her stance. Thus, one woman's eyes met the face of a girl prettier than herself.
"Hello, wizard friend? I know some fun magic too. Want me to show you?"
"...?"
She immediately lifted Lim Hana to her feet. Still suffering the aftereffects of the Madness Herb, Lim Hana couldn't run. Cheon Mari stroked her hair as if she were adorable.
Kim Yujae thrashed and tried to approach, but Kang Sian held him back. While Lim Hana drifted in and out of consciousness, she stretched her palm forward. Then she forced the words out.
"Ice ball..."
"Yes! It's magic that turns idiots into idiots!"
Suddenly Lim Hana's senses screamed a warning. Her cloudy eyes cleared and she tried to move her body on instinct. But it was already too late.
Lim Hana was hoisted into the air by Cheon Mari.
"Spine—"
Higher. Higher still. A scream escaped as she began to descend. Not by gravity, but by the artificial force of arm strength. The final stop of the gyro drop was Cheon Mari's knee.
"—breaker!"
CRACK!!!
"A, aaaaaagh!!!"
Her waist snapped like a bow. It folded completely, and Lim Hana collapsed miserably to the floor.
"That's part of the price for throwing my precious friend underground a long time ago."
An attack with its own backstory. But it was nothing more than a cheap move meant to minimize legal liability. Since spines broke easily during combat, the techniques for reattaching them had advanced as well. Sadly, at the hospital it could be fixed far more cheaply and quickly than an arm or leg. In many ways, it was a strange reality.
"Don't make that face. Thanks to the drugs, it's at a level of pain you can endure, right?"
She was critically injured, but not dying, and the pain wasn't extreme. Since she was a woman who still couldn't be allowed to die, it was a natural measure. Cheon Mari let out a sigh as if she found it a shame.
In the end, after stomping on her a few times, she shoved her aside. It was right after she picked up the chainsaw again.
"Hey, Mari."
"What?"
"Should I just grind this bastard's groin? He's threatening way too much."
Kang Sian spat the words with a deeply furrowed brow. The threats from the other side were too severe and too specific, so it was a defensive judgment. It was a bit extreme, but they had no idea what he might do later, so it couldn't be helped. If they didn't break this druggie's will now, there was no telling what kind of problem would erupt.
Naturally, Cheon Mari looked favorably upon Kang Sian's thinking.
"Oh, I was thinking the same thing."
"Then I'll hold him down. You turn that bastard into an idiot in the meantime."
"Okay. Make it so it can't be restored, right?"
"Yeah."
The two slowly walked forward. One man swung his sword in resistance. And a short while later, the chainsaw slowed down. It was self-defense.