Rainbow Reflection
As the dust gradually settled, the silhouettes of two figures walking through it grew sharp and distinct.
One was a black man whose massive frame easily cleared two meters. His body was packed so tight with muscle it looked ready to shred the academy uniform straining over it at any second. He carried no weapon at all, yet the overwhelming physical presence he radiated made him feel like a living siege engine.
And walking ahead of him was a twin-tailed schoolgirl who seemed utterly out of place amid the blood-soaked battlefield. She strolled leisurely over to a dagger stuck in the distant ground, bent down with casual grace, and plucked it free. Now holding a matching dagger in each hand, she spun both blades lightly, her lips curving into a bright, sunny smile as she spoke with shameless ease.
"Why so quiet, Anya-yang? Weren't you happy to see me after so long?"
At that sickeningly familiar, overly friendly voice, Anastasia's brow twisted into a murderous scowl.
"Don't shorten my name, you Yankee bitch. Who the hell do you think you are, acting chummy?"
Killing intent dripped from every syllable of the curse. The twin-tailed girl, however, merely shrugged as if the words had bounced right off her.
"Oh my, how cold. We met as national representatives at the International Awakener Exchange, remember? I thought we'd gotten pretty close back then."
"Bullshit. You think I'd buddy up with some American skank?"
Anastasia adjusted her grip on the greatsword that was as big as her own body and growled.
"If all you're gonna do is flap your mouth, then crawl back into your hole. Or come at me right now. I'll crack that skull of yours open."
The air turned razor-thin, a single spark away from the greatsword flying. Yet the twin-tailed girl simply kept smiling, amused, casually absorbing every ounce of Anastasia's bloodlust.
In the middle of that taut standoff, I quietly stopped walking. If I stuck my head out without reading the room, I was pretty sure those monsters would aggro me and I'd end up in a world of pain. Holding my breath, I carefully sidled up and glued myself to Anastasia's back, then peeked out and whispered.
"…Um, do you know them?"
Anastasia clicked her tongue at my clueless question, pure disdain on her face.
"Huh? You don't know those two? They're the monster pair the U.S. government is pushing with everything they've got. The twin-tailed bitch is Chloe. The muscle pig behind her is Johnson. If you can't even recognize them, you're basically blind when it comes to this scene."
Oh… Awakeners backed by the American government? Then they must be ridiculously strong.
I was turning my head, half-impressed, just to get a look at those famous monsters when it happened. My eyes locked dead-on with Chloe's smiling ones.
Fwoosh—!
There wasn't even time to suck in a breath. Chloe, who had been standing a good ten-plus meters away a second ago, slipped into Anastasia's blind spot and was suddenly right in front of my nose.
"Wow! Who are you? What's your name?"
"Mmph?!"
Chloe's hands clamped onto both of my cheeks. My paper-thin body was yanked forward helplessly by her grip until I was standing on tiptoe.
"Whoa, your cheeks are so soft! Do you put something on your face?"
"Nnngh… le'go…"
My cheeks were squished like steamed buns, turning my words into ridiculous squeaks. I tried to thrash free somehow, but Chloe just kept kneading my face with playful laughter.
"Tell me your name and I'll let go!"
Desperate to survive, I frantically worked my mouth.
"…H-Han Siyul!"
Chloe's eyes went round and she tilted her head.
"Han Siyul? Korean… right? Never heard that name before… Hmm… Ah! So that's why your skin is so nice? I've heard Korean cosmetics are amazing—maybe I should buy some directly this time and try them?"
She was still holding my cheeks and muttering when—
"You fucking bitch, who said you could crawl in here?!"
KRAAAASH—!
Pissed that someone had gotten behind her, Anastasia swung her massive greatsword with everything she had. The merciless arc looked ready to pulverize both my head and Chloe in one blow.
"Oh my!"
Chloe lightly released my cheeks and flipped through the air as lightly as a feather. She landed without a sound after barely dodging the greatsword, then settled her twin daggers back into a ready grip. Amid the vicious spray of dirt and dust, she smiled brightly again and spoke in that irritatingly cheerful tone.
"What's this~? Why so mad, Anya-yang? Is that kid just now your pet or something?"
My legs gave out and I flopped onto the ground. Rubbing my stinging cheeks, I swallowed blood-tears of pure injustice inside.
…Calling someone a pet the first time you meet them is a bit much, isn't it? No, wait, more importantly…
I turned toward the platinum-blonde thug who had just swung a greatsword hard enough to take my head off along with the target, and shouted with all the grievance I could muster.
"Noona! What are you doing trying to kill me too…?!"
"…"
At my desperate protest, Anastasia pretended not to hear and casually averted her gaze. She adjusted her grip on the greatsword as if to brush off the awkwardness and slowly started walking toward Chloe.
Watching her, Chloe propped her chin on one hand and murmured with genuine interest.
"Hmm… 'Noona,' huh? A minor? No way… More importantly, you two know that's 'teaming,' right? Your evaluation scores are gonna tank hard. You sure you're okay with that?"
"You teamed up with that pig bastard too, you bitch."
Anastasia jerked her chin toward the towering black man in the distance and snarled. Chloe burst into bright, ringing laughter.
"Haha! What are you talking about~? We were beating the crap out of each other until just a second ago. We only walked over together because we spotted Anya-yang. We've never once joined forces to fight, you know?"
"Bullshit. I've never teamed up with this worthless shit either. He only gets in the way."
Anastasia twisted her grip on the greatsword and fired back just as savagely.
"Stop running your fucking mouth and just die already, you bitch!"
KRAAAAAASH—!
The words had barely left her mouth before Anastasia kicked off the ground and launched. Her body-sized greatsword came crashing straight down toward Chloe's crown. But Chloe moved as if she had seen it coming, gliding sideways through the air and slipping cleanly past the monstrous trajectory. Where the greatsword slammed home, a massive shockwave tore the ground open in a grotesque crater. Fragments flew in every direction as a cloud of pale dust billowed up.
Shhhk—!
The instant Anastasia wrenched the greatsword free, Chloe slipped into that tiny opening. The daggers in both her hands carved a sharp X through the air and shot forward.
Clang—! Clang! Clang—!!
Sparks bright enough to blind exploded outward. My pathetic eyes couldn't even fully track their movements in that hyper-speed exchange. Even so, the raw sensation on my skin told me the rough shape of the fight.
Brutish, overwhelming destructive power and strength belonged to Anastasia. Wind-cutting agility and speed belonged to Chloe by a clear margin.
Russia versus America. A blood-soaked duel between national representatives of the absolute strongest countries in the world, cold-war intensity made flesh.
Oh… this is insane. If only I had popcorn right now.
I had already forgotten my fear and slipped into perfect spectator mode, staring blankly, when a huge, heavy shadow suddenly fell over me as I lay sprawled on the ground.
"…?"
An eerie pressure that seemed to cut off even the heat of the surroundings. I swallowed dryly and slowly lifted my head.
The massive man packed full of bursting muscle, Johnson, looked down at me with cool, emotionless eyes and spoke.
"What are you looking at? Your opponent is me, Chopstick Boy."
…Me…? Your opponent…?
I stared up at his enormous frame with a blank face. That muscle-bound monster who looked, with only slight exaggeration, twice my size had just designated a scrawny anchovy with all stats at 1 as his "opponent." Sitting on the ground, I trembled as I forced my mouth open.
"J-Johnson… sir, was it…? I don't really intend to f-fight…"
"Unbecoming of a warrior."
Johnson cut me off in a blunt, decisive voice.
"A warrior gives his all no matter who the opponent is. Running away is what cowards do."
The moment the words ended, Johnson pinched my collar between just his thumb and forefinger and lifted me into the air as if I weighed nothing.
Are all the psychos in this place just itching to pick me up?! Put me down right now, you maniac!
I dangled in midair and thrashed desperately. Johnson didn't budge an inch. He simply drew his other boulder-like arm all the way back behind him, loading it like a cannon.
"And a warrior gives his all even when hunting rabbits. Going easy because someone looks weak is nothing more than an insult to your opponent."
I saw the thick veins bulging and ready to burst along his forearm and nearly lost my mind.
No way… he's going to hit me with that…?
I shook my head wildly. If that cannonball of a fist landed clean, it wouldn't just break bones—an entire body part would go flying like a joke. I opened my mouth in a frantic bid to beg for my life when the merciless punch meant to finish me shot forward like a bolt.
"Uwaaaaaagh!"
I squeezed my eyes shut, screamed, and thrust my paper-thin arms out in a hopeless attempt to block. That was the exact moment. My two hands, stretched out in pure self-defense, happened to be aimed at the area near Johnson's heart.
KAAANG—!
A bizarre metallic clang rang from my chest, and something burst forth. A chain—blood-red, radiating a hideously ominous and spine-chilling aura. The crimson chain tore through the air like lightning, pierced Johnson's thick chest without the slightest physical resistance, and locked solidly into place near his heart.
I didn't even have time to process the freakish phenomenon. Johnson's loaded fist slammed square into my gut.
THWUUUMP!!!!
"Gueeek…!"
That overwhelming destructive force. Instant, total rupture of every organ in my belly—a hideous agony that smashed through my entire body. All the air fled my lungs so completely that even a scream refused to come out. Whether it was an artifact that activated on fatal injury, my body began to dissolve into a soft, glowing light that signaled "retire."
Just as my consciousness was fading into the distance—
"Grrraaaaaaaagh—!!!"
Johnson, who had thrown that expressionless punch only a second ago, clutched his own abdomen as if he himself had been the one struck and let out a horrific death cry. Through my blurring vision I saw it clearly. That giant man writhing in agony and dropping to his knees was crumbling into the same white motes of light as me.