Don't Cry
Captain Hook's hook scraped across the floor with an unpleasant metallic screech.
"I've seen plenty of kids who talk a big game."
He muttered in a low voice, his gaze fixed on Isuh.
"Shall we see if your skills are as good as your mouth, kiddo?"
Instead of answering, Senior Isuh twisted her lips into a smirk.
"Kiddo?"
She slammed her fist into the ground, and red mana snaked across the platform floor toward Captain Hook like a living serpent.
Clang—!
Isuh's compressed mana collided head-on with Captain Hook's hook.
The sparks from metal and mana clashing briefly lit up the darkness of the subway station.
"Starting with cheap tricks..."
Captain Hook said as he swatted away the red mana with his hook.
"...?!"
The figure that should have been right in front of him had vanished.
Flustered, Captain Hook frantically scanned his surroundings.
From beneath his feet, Isuh suddenly burst upward and drove her fist straight into his jaw.
Crunch!
"Guhk!"
Captain Hook's body launched into the air.
He quickly rolled to his feet and put distance between himself and Isuh, wiping the blood from his mouth with the long hem of his coat.
Senior Isuh watched him retreat a couple of steps and flashed a relaxed smile.
"Let's see how much dust a kid like you can eat."
Captain Hook spat a glob of red saliva onto the platform floor.
"Looks like I need to teach you some manners."
They closed the distance at high speed, exchanging punches.
It was a fight based on physical blows, but the mana rippling between them also clashed like rival beasts trying to push each other back.
"Senior, are you sure you don't need to help?"
I asked Baek Donghyun, who was calmly sitting and watching the fight between the two.
"That guy looks just as dangerous as the Plague Doctor I ran into last time!"
"Don't worry, Gangjin."
Unlike me, who was fidgeting restlessly, Senior Donghyun remained perfectly at ease.
"That residue of Captain Hook's might be a bit tricky, but it's not an opponent Isuh can't handle."
Senior Donghyun wore a gentle smile, looking completely relaxed.
"I see..."
This scene was a little hard for me to accept, but when I thought about how it was just 'business as usual' for the seniors, it made sense that this could be an everyday occurrence.
Huh?
A new question suddenly popped into my head, so I asked the senior.
"By the way, Senior, is the Student Council's Q originally just a support role that works from the back?"
At my question, Senior Donghyun turned to look at me and let out a quiet chuckle.
"You think Q is a rank for healers and support-type ability users?"
"Yes. I thought of it like the healer or buffer position in games."
Senior Donghyun closed his eyes for a moment, as if thinking about something.
"I wonder who decided that recovery and support types should be called that?"
"Uh... I'm not sure?"
Now that I thought about it, who had decided on terms like combat-type or recovery-type?
Did the government classify and assign them based on the type of ability?
"Did you happen to see Gangcheol fighting during the residue cleanup at the abandoned factory in the west?"
I recalled the battle between Senior Choi Gangcheol and the Plague Doctor at the western abandoned factory.
"Yes. Senior Gangcheol fought using his The Emperor's New Clothes ability."
"What fairy tale is The Emperor's New Clothes?"
"Well..."
The Emperor's New Clothes.
It was the story of a foolish king who was tricked by liars into walking around naked and suffering embarrassment.
"Huh...?"
As I recalled the story's content, something clicked in my mind like I'd discovered something new.
"What do you think when you compare the story's content with Gangcheol's fight?"
Certainly...
"I'm not sure it has much to do with the fairy tale's content."
"Really?"
Senior Donghyun's eyebrows rose slightly.
"To put it simply, the fairy tale The Emperor's New Clothes is being rewritten by Gangcheol."
He smiled at me, who was still struggling to understand his words.
"An ability is nothing more than 'material.'"
Senior Donghyun stretched his legs out while still seated and let out a big stretch.
"That's why I think dividing mana and abilities into categories is meaningless."
"...What?"
Jinny and I tilted our heads at the same time.
Wasn't it obvious that mages used magic and warriors used their bodies?
"No matter where your awakening point is or what your ability is... mana ultimately changes depending on how the user decides to use it."
It was a little hard to understand.
I glanced sideways at Jinny beside me.
She was listening to Senior Donghyun's words with a deeply focused, profound expression.
"Just because mana comes out of your butt doesn't mean you have to fight with only your butt, and just because you have a recovery ability doesn't mean you can't swing your fists."
Regardless, Senior Donghyun continued his explanation.
"Was that a bit difficult? The body part and ability are just ingredients. How you cook with them is up to the awakener."
I fell into thought.
The mana that bursts out from my butt.
Until now, I'd only thought of it as a tool for embarrassing summons.
But according to the senior, depending on how I defined this power, it could become something completely different?
It was still a high-level concept that was hard for me to grasp.
Sensing my complicated expression, Senior Donghyun placed a hand on my shoulder and added,
"You'll understand what I mean one day."
Whoosh—clang!
At that moment, Captain Hook, who had been clashing with Senior Isuh, let out a sinister laugh and suddenly changed targets, swinging his hook at me.
"Dodge, Gangjin!"
Jinny tried to step in front of me to protect me from the incoming attack, and I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact.
But I didn't feel any pain.
Instead, what I heard was the sound of cold, clear ice crystals colliding.
Crack!
A massive snowflake barrier had unfolded like a shield in front of me, blocking the slash.
It was Senior Donghyun's mana.
"What kind of cowardly bullshit is this?"
Senior Isuh exploded in anger as she pressed Captain Hook.
"Wasn't this a one-on-one fight?"
Captain Hook licked his hook with his tongue and laughed unpleasantly.
"Where are the rules in a fight? The winner makes the rules."
The clash between Senior Isuh and Captain Hook resumed.
Senior Isuh's movements, wrapped in red mana, seemed to overwhelm him.
But then the cornered Captain Hook began his counterattack.
Sizzle—.
"Eek!"
The hook swung in an instant, lightly grazing Senior Isuh's cheek.
Drops of blood fell from her face as she stepped back.
Captain Hook greedily licked the blood clinging to his hook.
"That hook isn't normal!"
Jinny shouted urgently upon seeing it.
"He's sucking up mana through that kid's blood!"
Sure enough, Senior Isuh's red aura was visibly fading.
"You disgusting bastard, you're stealing my mana?"
If this continued, all of Senior Isuh's mana would be drained by Captain Hook.
Realizing the situation was turning serious, she closed the distance in one burst to end it quickly.
"Playtime's over, brat."
Captain Hook pulled a purple orb from his pocket, tossed it into his mouth, and crunched down on it.
"I'm getting tired of playing along."
Jinny yelled.
"That's a mana core! That bastard... he's eating a mana core!"
I immediately relayed Jinny's shout to Senior Isuh.
"Senior, be care—!"
BOOOOM—!!!
A massive explosion erupted before I could even finish speaking.
"Senior!!"
The rampaging mana wave bursting from Captain Hook's body struck Senior Isuh head-on.
When the smoke cleared, she was slammed against the far wall, having nearly exhausted all her mana.
The impact was so powerful that the wall had caved in.
"Senior...! Are you okay?"
I jumped up in a panic and ran toward where Senior Isuh had been slammed.
"Ugh, this is so fucking annoying..."
The snowflake barrier Senior Donghyun had wrapped around Senior Isuh seemed to have reduced the damage she took.
"Doping is cheating, you ugly piece of shit."
The reason Senior Isuh had been hit was because she couldn't react in time to Captain Hook's suddenly bloated mana after he'd devoured the mana core.
"Bark all you want, brat."
Captain Hook's body had grotesquely swollen from consuming the mana core and absorbing Isuh's mana, radiating a hideous aura.
"The cries of the defeated don't reach the victor, after all."
"...Ugh!"
Senior Isuh, slumped against the wall, clicked her tongue while catching her breath.
"Hey~!"
At that moment, a voice cut through the heavy atmosphere.
It was Senior Donghyun.
"Isuh, can you keep going?"
He checked on Senior Isuh, who was half-lying against the wall.
"Senior... that bastard... suddenly got so much stronger..."
"Looks like Captain Hook was pretty tough."
Senior Donghyun stood up and started stretching.
Watching him, Senior Isuh wiped the tears welling in her eyes with her finger and said,
"I left some for you because I thought you might be bored, Senior..."
She let out a small laugh, clinging to the last shred of her pride.
"The mana core doping was too much, right?"
"It's definitely... not that I lost..."
After saying that, Senior Isuh's head drooped as she lost consciousness.
The snowflake barrier surrounding her scattered beautifully into white mana particles.
"Alright. From now on, I'll take over."
The gentle smile on Senior Donghyun's face vanished, replaced by a chilling aura.
"Gangjin, just in case, can you ask for backup in the Student Council chat?"
Perhaps because of the wildly bloated mana radiating from the rampaging Captain Hook, Senior Donghyun asked me to prepare for the worst.
"Senior, I... I'll help too!"
As I pulled out my phone and shouted, Senior Donghyun turned his back and answered quietly.
"You came to watch today, so just sit back and rest."
White frost began to swirl like a storm from both of Senior Donghyun's hands.
"Just tell the chat that a Hunter showed up during a nighttime residue sweep."
Jinny had already come over to me and wrapped mana around the unconscious Senior Isuh.
"She's lost quite a bit of mana."
Then she began to shine a soft golden mana down on her.
"Are you sharing some of our mana?"
"It's for faster recovery. Put some strength into that butt of yours, butt-man."
At Jinny's words, I clenched my butt tightly for Senior Isuh's sake.
"Not on my watch!"
Captain Hook swung his hook, sending a black slash flying toward Senior Isuh.
But the attack vanished weakly before it could reach us.
Fizzle—
Senior Donghyun slowly began releasing his chilling mana.
"Eating a mana core to awaken... For a residue, that's quite the clever trick."
Snowflake barriers were shimmering around me and Senior Isuh.
"Gangjin, you said earlier that Q was like a healer or buffer, right?"
The senior snapped his fingers.
The solid barrier scattered softly and gathered back into his hand.
"Enough pretending to be relaxed."
As Captain Hook poured out his mana, a horde of pitch-black mana crocodiles charged toward Senior Donghyun.
"My ability is Santa Claus."
"Santa Claus...?"
At those quiet words, the crocodile horde rushing at the senior all froze solid.
Shatter—
They vanished along with snowflakes.
"No way..."
Captain Hook stepped back a few paces in panic.
Without turning to look at me, the senior said,
"It's that Christmas guy. The Santa Claus grandpa."
Senior Donghyun closed the distance by exactly the amount Captain Hook had retreated.
"He gives presents to good children and punishes the bad ones."
Santa Claus.
The legend of the grandfather who gives presents to good children on Christmas.
Looking only at the ability, it certainly gave off more of a healer or buffer image.
"Damn it...!"
Captain Hook pulled something from inside his coat.
It was a bomb made of mana.
"Shut up with your muttering! Eat this!"
BOOM—!
The bomb triggered a chain of explosions in an instant, filling the platform with raging flames.
The few remaining intact glass panels shattered all at once, and the dimly lit electronic display was caught in the blast and destroyed.
Whoosh—
But a chilling wind swept through as if cleaning up the situation, instantly clearing the smoke.
Senior Donghyun emerged completely unharmed.
Before the explosion could reach him, he had instantly pressed his back against the wall and scattered his mana with a single gesture, creating a massive wall across the center.
That wall had safely protected Senior Isuh and me from the blast.
With a serious, contemplative expression, Senior Donghyun looked at the unconscious Senior Isuh leaning against the wall.
Then he squeezed his eyes shut.
When he opened them again, a fierce gaze pierced straight toward Captain Hook.
"...Shit!"
Captain Hook pulled several more mana cores from his pocket and shoved them into his mouth, preparing for the coming attack.
The surging mana gave off an ominous energy, and the flames grew even larger.
"Your crimes are so bad that I'm going to give you an extremely painful punishment."
Beautiful cold mana snowflakes danced around the senior.
"Hah, are you threatening me with death or something?"
Captain Hook snorted as if it were ridiculous.
"No, I won't kill you. I'll just torment you enough that you won't die."
The slightly angry senior said, his hand still in his pocket.
"So..."
Captain Hook
Captain Hook's mana had grown so powerful that it dominated the entire space.
And the Student Council's Q, Senior Baek Donghyun, was walking straight into its center.