First Magic
"Mm?"
Ignoring Freak No. 1, whose body had burst open and was rolling across the ground, I wiggled my fingers.
The hand feel is weird.
It's not like I've punched a lot of people before. Hell, I've never punched anyone before.
But the sensation from disciplining that cyborg dog just a little while ago is still fresh in my mind. Of course, the cyborg dog was covered in alloy, and this freak who just exploded had that welding mask on, but still... something felt fundamentally different.
Rebound?
The moment my fist connected, there was this strange rebound force. Like my fist was slipping? No, more like it was being pushed back... actually, even more than that.
Like pinching jelly.
Pinching jelly or pushing through it. That's exactly it. Not the soft, squishy kind like konnyaku jelly, but tough and resilient, like those famous gummy bear jellies.
Not a shield, huh?
I noticed the magic because I could see it. I saw the faint membrane enveloping the freak's body. I watched it block the bullets, even felt how it did so. So naturally, I thought it was a shield spell. I clearly saw it emitting a force just a bit weaker than the incoming bullets, slowing them to a stop.
But... it wasn't a shield.
Up close, hitting it, smashing it—I could tell for sure now. A force that pushes away incoming objects from the outside? No. Magic that repels anything approaching from the outside. That's why the bullets dropped powerlessly, why it didn't falter mid-charge even when hit, why it didn't burn from the napalm rounds.
"Whoa!"
I pumped my fist in excitement, my body shivering.
Way cooler than a shield...!
But if this really is that kind of magic, why did these freaks only use it as a shield?
Saving mana?
My tail curled into a question mark as I let out a silent cheer.
"Magic thieves. You guys have mana too?"
I turned my gaze. My eyes met those of the four remaining freaks.
A chilling silence descended over the wasteland, where screams had echoed moments before.
They'd withstood hundreds of bullets and napalm rounds without a scratch, but I'd killed one with a single punch. The Maika Family, terrified by the sight, naturally shut their mouths.
The freaks? They weren't talkers to begin with. No matter what insults you hurled, they just kept their mouths shut and focused on killing the family.
Now, those freaks were staring straight at me. They quickly switched targets. Prioritize the most dangerous entity. No need for talk or signals. Their minds were linked as one. Even the dead freak was the same.
They checked where and how it died. Adjust tactics based on that data.
One strike to the torso. End? Over. Real? Real.
No need to make eye contact for communication, but the freaks glanced at each other once. The answer in their heads felt like an error. It wasn't.
One strike to the torso, and it was done. Can't adjust tactics with this. Need more data.
Tak—the lead freak charged.
The distance was so great that I could observe Freak No. 2's movements in detail. Its running speed rivaled a buggy. I didn't know the mph or the reason, but I knew it was fast. Now I understood why.
Concentrating magic on the front of its body to nullify wind resistance, wrapping its soles to repel the ground on contact. Thus, it could surge forward even faster than its natural speed.
"Cool..."
But how do you even do that? How do you wrap that rebound force around yourself in the first place?
I pondered the mysterious principles of magic, then clenched my fist. The freak was closing in while I thought.
Waste to smash it.
Was there a way to capture it alive and extract the magic? With that in mind, I threw my punch. Puk—crunch.
This time, with stronger resistance, Freak No. 2's jaw shattered.
And then.
"Whoa."
A puzzle piece clicked in my head. The mystery of the magic partially unraveled.
How? The moment I smashed the freak, I understood part of its magic.
One more... two more... all three?
"Jackpot."
My eyes sparkled as I reached back. A delicate white hand. But the moment it touched the buggy—kwa-duduk—the bumper crumpled viciously.
The next move was obvious. Maika, riding in the buggy, let out a shrill scream and leaped out. At the same time.
Vroooom—!
The buggy launched like a projectile.
The freak didn't stop charging. No reason to halt for a mere car when it blocked bullets and napalm. It would repel the buggy and reach me. Everyone thought so. It should have been that way.
Kwa-gwang—!
Freak No. 3, smashed by the buggy, tumbled backward.
The flung buggy was far heavier than bullets or napalm rounds. Fortunately, it didn't die. Just... not dead.
"I'll savor you later."
Passing the sprawled No. 3, I charged at Freak No. 4 following behind. Twice as fast as the buggy's launch speed. The freak's ocular implant couldn't track it.
As I closed in right before its eyes, the freak dropped into a low stance. Whatever. I moved my body. This time, in a stance for 'hitting better.' Leg forward a bit more, waist dipped, shoulder deep, fist thrust harder.
Ugh-crunch. With a clean sound, the fourth freak's head exploded.
Fuel filling the freak's skull poured toward me. I didn't dodge, just stared.
"Ah."
Puzzle fitting together in my head. Heat flowing through veins. Heart pumping scorching heat like mad.
It all reversed. Heat bursting from the heart, veins flowing, nearly complete puzzle in the head. Thus, the drawn circuit.
Gaps and distortions made it hard to recognize, but with that, I felt I could complete the circuit.
I decided to try.
Heat gushed wildly from the heart, seeping along the imagined circuit.
And.
I burst out laughing.
"Got it."
The spilling fuel shot skyward. As if gravity had flipped.
Through that gap, Freak No. 5 charged. Different from before. Upgraded several times over from the fallen ones. It had gathered data and learned how to counter.
Evidence: the shape of the magic enveloping its body had changed.
My smile widened. Could I smash this one with a fist? With that thought, I thrust my open palm forward.
The emotionless freak twitched. It instantly abandoned attack for defense.
Calculated and predicted attack path. Incalculable. Unpredictable. Gathered all rebound force in one spot, bracing for unpredictable impact.
"Whoa."
The greedy dragon's eyes captured the magic's flow. It could concentrate the magic in one place too. Of course, I couldn't mimic it yet, but smashing it head-on would surely reveal it.
My hand gripped the freak's flesh. Simultaneously, I thought: How to handle something you can't smash with a fist? Seen this in wuxia novels a lot.
Destroy from the inside.
Somewhere inside, near the heart, the madly rampaging heat—I loaded it into my shoulder. Pushed it down my forearm. Let it flow to my hand while drawing the circuit.
When complete.
Ignition.
Poo—fwaaak—!
The freak's body burst hideously.
"...W-what the... what the hell is that?!"
A few minutes—no, seconds. These freaks had chased twenty family members as bait for three hours straight, but they were wiped out in under a minute.
By a tiny girl.
First with a fist, second also fist, third with a buggy, fourth with a fist. The fifth? No idea. Looked like she grabbed its collar, then its body fanned out in an explosion.
All that remained: a chunk of freak flesh in the girl's tight grip.
"Repulsor..?"
That little girl has a repulsor and is Eden's elite? Ridiculous. No corp agent, not even a regular employee, would wear a rag like that. Infiltration and assassination are for netrunners; field agents have no need to hide.
So what the hell is she?
Should we just watch?
"Boss... shouldn't we bail?"
One of Maika's drivers whispered.
"That monster... looks like Topher's girl, doesn't it? Check behind her."
As the driver said, Topher was approaching the girl from afar, grinning.
Topher's a nasty-tempered bastard. But that smile? Pure family attitude, no matter how you slice it.
"Mess with the wrong people, we're fucked. Why not just split?"
"...Think that'll work?"
Bailing was impossible. The freaks' speed was visible at least; the girl's... wasn't.
Ocular implants only caught fluttering silver-gray.
So, instead.
Maika smirked bitterly at the girl sneaking toward the fallen freak.
"Hey, grab that. Kill 'em both."
"What's 'that'?"
It had a name, but Maika forgot. Good thing he could describe it.
"The strongest thing we've got."
"...Isn't that what we busted ass for to shove up Topher's base?"
Right. Acquired with great pain. How much ass-kissing Zailek for that one?
But why? To survive. Use it now.
"We're about to die here—fuck the base. Without Topher, they're just cripples. Grab it quick, no one sees."
"Tch... Got it."
The moment the driver vanished from sight, Maika flattened himself.
The girl's focused on the freaks now, but who knows when that shifts. She seemed sharp enough.
Don't judge by normal standards. Even a sleazy coward like Maika survived the wasteland for a reason.
"Huff... huff... So damn heavy... B-boss..!"
After a while, panting and commotion from behind. Girl still fixated on the freak. Perfect timing. Fire now.
"Mount it."
Ching—the hand implant opened wide, thick mount rising. A blue stake etched with circuits loaded on top.
The weapon bought with two years' family budget. Even Topher, ruler of the east wasteland, wouldn't survive. A wasteland repulsor equivalent.
"...Hey, what's this thing called again?"
"...No clue."
Anyway, a pile bunker. Zailek Tech's latest model. Arm-thick size, power said to pierce repulsors once.
How would it fare?
Maika swallowed dryly, targeting overlay in his eyes.
No need for anything else. Silver-gray hair stood out in the wasteland. Range: 382m. Can't miss. At this distance, faster than sound.
Topher beside her dies too.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo..."
Hands shaking, but fine. Had guidance too, right? Just fire.
Just fire.
Whoosh— the girl's head snapped up. That chilling gaze pierced Maika.
"Dieeeee—!"
Maika shrieked like a madman and pulled the trigger.
Thoo—kwaang—!
Air exploded, sound tore. Recoil enough to send Maika tumbling, the pile bunker's stake launched.
"Soo!"
Topher reacted fast. Judged he couldn't deflect it, so he wrapped around the girl, turning his back. Poured power into reinforced tendons to leap away.
Impossible.
Against his expectation, her body was too heavy. He could lift and jump 200kg easy, but now? Immobile.
"What the—!"
Fast, accurate judgment from under 400m. But without neural accel implant, Topher couldn't think further.
Too late to dodge now. His mind went white.
"Kyahahahahaha!"
Maika laughed at the sight. Direct pile bunker hit? They'd burst without trace. Then slaughter the family, loot Topher's slush funds, straight to Eden. To Eden...
"Hahaha... ha, ha..?"
Maika couldn't continue the thought. The stake, charging like it could kill gods, was meekly caught in a dainty hand.