Our Precious Little Pest
Our Precious Little Pest
Atra raised her gaze.
She saw flames.
The flames, which had been quite far away, slammed into her in the blink of an eye.
—Boom!
A massive impact broke through her defenses and shook her body. Calmly absorbing the shock, Atra moved both arms.
From within the flames, hands and feet shot out. Attacks flew at her.
Fists hammered in, elbows and shoulder tackles crashed in next. Her legs didn't stay still. Limbs moved in unison, a barrage of freeform attacks surging forward.
Punches and kicks wreathed in Calamity Flame, all carrying Giant Strength—force that would shatter and tear apart most guards in a single blow.
Atra stoically blocked and redirected them.
A hand wrapped in flames—swept aside.
A fist rising from below—blocked. Boom! The impact hammering into her forearm lifted her body off the ground. The attacks were heavy. Atra furrowed her brows and extended her arm.
Boom! Having swept aside Atra's attack by swinging her fist with brute force, Hong Yeon-hwa drove a knee upward. Atra held out a palm and blocked the knee strike.
Crash! Her body floated even higher. In that gap, Hong Yeon-hwa twisted her body. The flames spun round like a windmill. A fist shot out from the swirling flames and swung like a mace.
—Boom!
Struck while airborne, she was sent reeling backward. Her singed hair fluttered roughly, and Atra, landing steadily on the ground, stared straight ahead.
—Woosh!
Wreathed in a viscous, clinging flame, Hong Yeon-hwa charged in. The Calamity Flame's appearance was neither rough nor wild but almost calm. Yeon-hwa's expression was still as well.
But the aura was the complete opposite—utterly ferocious.
Intense emotions leaked through her still expression, stoking the Calamity Flame even hotter.
'Calamity Flame Expansion Ability, Flame Advance.'
She had witnessed it before, in the past, back when she was active. The current head of the Calamity Flame Family, Hong Jin-seon.
She had seen his flames on the front lines. Those flames were so ferocious that the thought came naturally: so this is Calamity Flame.
Even high-rank monsters, the moment they were enveloped in that Calamity Flame, let out shrieks that shook the world and rolled on the ground.
Even a 3rd Rank monster that slammed into the front line regarded that Calamity Flame as a threat not to be taken lightly.
She'd encountered it outside the front lines too.
She couldn't recall his name. A bastard the Calamity Flame family had expelled as a disgrace and issued a summary execution order. His Calamity Flame was particularly threatening; she didn't remember the name, but the flames lingered in memory.
A regrettable memory. She could have captured and killed him, but outside interference prevented it. A man with a unique ability that sprouted blades from his whole body. Quite ridiculous, but his skill let them barely escape.
Those flames, hailed as worthy of great renown, overlapped considerably with the Hong Yeon-hwa standing before her.
Crack! Hong Yeon-hwa stomped the ground and twisted her body. She twisted her waist and pulled one leg back. Calamity Flame surged through her.
Expansion Ability, Flame Advance. Physical ability boosted to unparalleled intensity. Gathering every bit of the Calamity Flame's blaze within her body, she pulled back her outstretched arm and concentrated force.
She reversed her twisted body, swinging the leg she had pulled back with immense reach.
Kapow! The kick tore through the air, carrying a distinctive energy. An undeniable will manifesting upon the world. A technique-type expansion ability was beginning to emerge.
But the motion was large. If it connected, it would be a powerful attack, but there were many openings. Plenty of distance for a counter. Atra could immediately exploit a gap and land a strong counterattack.
Yeon-hwa knew those weaknesses best. In actual combat, she'd almost never use such a big attack. Yet she went through with it.
"Hmph...!"
Because this attack was premised on landing.
As she expected, Atra chose neither to counter nor evade. She simply stood her ground, solidifying her defense.
In a normal spar, she would have countered and beaten her down. But that wasn't the purpose now—this was about letting her vent.
"Raaaaaaaaa—!"
With a cry that erupted like a release of pent-up frustration, the trajectory of the attack slammed into the steadfast defense.
—KABOOM!
A massive reverberation spread as if a flame-wreathed meteor had struck. A sickening sensation shot through her blocking arms, and the braced arm was forced aside.
Thwack! The attack pushed through the defense and struck her face. Atra's head snapped to the side.
Rumble! The ground around them, etched with web-like cracks, suddenly caved in.
The sparring ground, built sturdy to withstand superhuman combat, collapsed feebly like a sand castle.
Both figures were buried in a dust cloud.
"Huu..."
A moment later, Atra rose abruptly from the dust cloud.
She got up, massaging her stiff neck, and let out a deep breath.
Dust covered her, an unpleasant prickle against her neck.
Atra furrowed her brow hard. Not because of the dust, but for another reason.
Her neck ached. She wiped the corner of her mouth, and there was crimson blood.
And when she examined the arm that had blocked the attack, sure enough, her forearm was noticeably swollen.
Even without Aura, it was an exceedingly powerful attack. Even if an ordinary monster slammed into her, it wouldn't bring this much shock.
"So, have you vented your feelings a bit?"
Having finished wiping the blood from her mouth, Atra turned her gaze forward.
Hong Yeon-hwa, releasing the Calamity Flame she'd contained within to burn away the dust and such, glared irritably at Atra.
"You think that's enough, you bitch?"
"I figured as much."
The brutal curse exploded. Atra shrugged nonchalantly at the tone that even dropped honorifics.
At that relaxed response, Hong Yeon-hwa's face crumpled miserably.
The spar... no, the venting session.
—The disciple's situation seems to be a curse indeed. And the condition for lifting it, as expected, is a kiss.
An abrupt and uneasy meeting. The place, a deserted sparring ground.
And the words spoken as if no preamble was needed were exactly what Hong Yeon-hwa herself had anticipated.
Lee Ha-yul is fundamentally highly guarded. The inner fence is quite high and sturdy, and he shows rejection toward those who haven't crossed it. Perhaps due to his kind nature, he's polite and friendly even to people outside the fence, but if they act rudely, he immediately cuts off interest and completely ignores them.
However, he can't do that to someone who has crossed his fence. Once they cross it in any way, he can't drive them back out.
Superhumans inherently have unique and eccentric worldviews and personalities. In a world where innate talent is a great power, such worldviews become even more peculiar and pronounced.
That fence was also Lee Ha-yul's unique worldview. Such a worldview is hard to change.
Hong Yeon-hwa realized it too late. By the time she understood, some were already inside the fence. And after confirming the unknown something afflicting Lee Ha-yul, she couldn't push him away even more.
—Is that so? Then just die cleanly.
An expected outcome. She outright punched her. Atra accepted the fist thrown without hesitation with little reaction.
Thus, she vented her anger intensely for a while.
"Fucking hell, so damn hard. Like a lump of iron."
Her crumpled expression didn't ease. She was the one who swung, but it felt like she was the one taking damage.
Of course, at the sight of the targeted lips split and blood trickling down, her anger very, very slightly subsided, but most of it didn't.
No matter how much she beat that woman, her frustration refused to ease.
"A warrior's body is naturally tough. Especially a superhuman who engages in close combat shouldn't be soft."
'Bitch.'
At Yeon-hwa's complaint while shaking her stinging wrist, Atra shrugged again.
That shameless reply made her angry again. Hong Yeon-hwa narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment. Then a thought made her raise the corner of her mouth.
"Seems your body's that hard? Then are your tits hard like sheet metal too?"
At the vulgar sexual harassment following the cursing, Atra furrowed her brow.
"...The Heir of Calamity Flame's conduct is truly vulgar. Haven't you ever been reprimanded for your language?"
"It's the truth. Mine aren't hard. Ha-yul really likes them. Oh, does he dislike your sheet-metal bosom?"
"......."
Atra's expression crumpled hard. Her lips twitched for a moment, but she said nothing and turned her head away as if avoiding her gaze.
Finally, some of the response she wanted. Feeling slightly relieved, Hong Yeon-hwa giggled.
—Ring!
"Huh?"
An alarm rang in Hong Yeon-hwa's ear. A familiar sound. Her smartwatch's alarm.
The source was inside the debris piled nearby. She'd carelessly left it on the floor expecting destruction, and it seems it fell when the ground collapsed.
She roughly cleared the debris. Because the alarm kept ringing, she quickly found the smartwatch. After brushing off the dust and attaching it to her wrist, a hologram projected in front.
Hong Yeon-hwa read the hologram with an indifferent expression.
...
"This..."
—Crack!
Her indifferent face distorted. A creepy crunching sound came from her clenched fist.
"This, this...!"
Her entire body trembled. The Calamity Flame she'd barely contained boiled over.
"This Golden Child really... Arghhh!!!"
"Oh dear..."
Boom! The Calamity Flame erupted. The horrified Atra blocked the flame.
* * *
A courtroom, by its nature, is a cold and solemn space.
A space to judge the truth of a criminal's wrongdoing, and if guilty, to enforce the severity of punishment.
A space filled with the desires of the guilty hoping their sins aren't revealed, and the victims wishing for the criminal's sins to be thoroughly exposed.
How could such a space be amiable?
I had visited a courthouse once. After crashing into a car like a moth to a flame and going from having four limbs to three, I had to attend court due to that incident.
Creaking a wheelchair, passing through people who lunged like jackals, flashing cameras—the courthouse I entered had exactly that atmosphere.
Although I didn't say much and the lawyers and prosecutors handled things well, that unique solemn atmosphere remains in my memory.
Anxiety, tension, fear, desperation, terror... emotions never positive clung thickly to the space.
[Anxiety]
[Tension]
[Fear]
[Terror]
[Gloominess]
Now I'm feeling that again.
My right arm injury was well managed for the time being.
An injury where my arm was split in two. I was flustered and trying to deal with it, but Baek A-rin, who rushed over in a panic, was faster.
She aligned the cleanly severed surfaces, froze and fixed them with cold energy, then pushed water energy into the stabilized wound to proceed with healing...
I was so impressed by that swift and precise action that I momentarily admired it, and then got scolded by Baek A-rin for admiring what...
Anyway, I soon received diagnosis and healing from the resident healer and my arm was wrapped in high-grade bandages.
Fortunately, the cut was clean and Baek A-rin's first aid was so excellent that nothing much happened.
But this matter didn't end there. I was dragged to the dormitory like a criminal, and soon surrounded by people who had rushed over after hearing the news.
The living room of my dormitory... this place is a court and a judgment seat.
And I, demurely kneeling in the center, was the criminal, and the many pairs of eyes staring at me were the judges...
Hong Yeon-hwa, Baek A-rin, Ellia, Seo-yul, Master, Professor Liana... when did they all gather...
"Why don't you treat your body preciously, Ha-yul? Hm?"
Just then. Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been looking down at me in silence, spoke as if representing everyone.
I lifted my eyes slightly.
And seeing Hong Yeon-hwa's glaring eyes as if asking where I got the gall to lift my head proudly, I let out a startled squeak and lowered my head again.
"I, I... treated it preciou—"
"By treating it preciously, you nearly lost your arm like this? Are you a robot? Can you detach and reattach your arm?"
"N, no..."
"What? You didn't treat it preciously? So you deliberately abused your body like trash?"
"I'm sorry..."
Under the not-so-friendly gazes, my body shrank on its own.
Hong Yeon-hwa and Master with sharp, anger-filled eyes. Baek A-rin and Professor Liana sighing in disbelief. Ellia with tear marks under her eyes, and Seo-yul still sniffling...
'Hah...'
The piercing stares and emotions felt too sharp.
Especially, Seo-yul's state made my heart feel torn. A so-called guardian, what kind of guardian makes the child only shed tears?
This situation was far more painful than Aerus's claws or the Twin-headed Poison Dragon's venom...
"Haah..."
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been staring down at me like that, suddenly let out a sigh and crouched beside me.
As I lifted my head slightly, Hong Yeon-hwa met my eyes and spoke.
"Shall I try cutting off my arm as an experiment? Then will Ha-yul understand how I feel?"
"N, no—!"
—Thud!
At those words, my mind went blank. I put myself in her shoes. Just imagining it felt like my head would burst.
My arm could be cut, torn, ripped any number of times, and that's fine. It's okay if I'm in pain. But others must never do that.
After that, my memory is hazy.
"I'm sorry..."
I just cried and wailed, shedding tears profusely, clinging to Hong Yeon-hwa...
* * *
[Player Correction System: Measurement]
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▶Title
｢Golden Child｣
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