Goo Goo, It's Baby Ha-yul (1)
Goo Goo, It's Baby Ha-yul (1)
Inside the hologram, Lee Ha-yul was desperate.
Whatever drove him to such urgency, he spent the entire battle dogging the Alpha Individual's every step, buying time.
Eventually the perspective shifted to the passageway, and a grueling fight unfolded — the kind that instinctively draws the word "harrowing" from you.
"...So? Why are you showing me this."
For Atra, it was difficult to watch.
She shook off her tangled thoughts as best she could, then turned her head.
"I am officially his guardian, but you people don't usually nitpick over that when accessing observation records."
"Haha, because having you visit our office, Lady Clyde, is a terrifying prospect."
In other words, if they'd gone ahead on their own and you came storming in afterward, it would be troublesome.
"That's not it. Why call me here to view them at all? Was it really necessary to request my accompaniment?"
Atra was, for all intents and purposes, something akin to Lee Ha-yul's guardian.
Examining the site of a dungeon rampage with a magic tool imbued with the Authority of Observation was standard procedure.
And collecting Lee Ha-yul's records — he who had drastically reduced the damage from this rampage incident — was also standard.
In that process, seeking Lee Ha-yul's consent was a matter of basic decency.
Since the person in question was unconscious, seeking permission from Atra as his guardian was, in a sense, only natural.
But for them to specifically request Atra's "accompaniment" — considering how the Association had handled things in the past, something felt off.
Normally they would either simply ask for permission to view the observation records, or notify her after the observation was complete. One or the other.
Atra gave a curt nod. A signal to spit it out if they had something to say.
Still the same temperament. Maxwell smiled wryly, pointlessly adjusted his tie, and manipulated the magic tool.
The footage accelerated.
It skipped past the harrowing death-struggle segment, then resumed playback at a certain point.
- Fwoosh!
At the sight of the flames filling the screen, Atra clicked her tongue.
The menace was palpable even through the recording. Flames that filled you with certainty: if they touched you, you'd be in no good state.
Calamity Flame.
'Of course he used it.'
It was a life-or-death situation. Consequences be damned, the right call was to use every tool at your disposal to survive, no matter what.
But that didn't make the aftermath any simpler.
Lee Ha-yul using Calamity Flame. The first-year instructors who witnessed the scene at the time were all keeping their mouths shut about it.
That made sense. Handling it was a mess.
He used Calamity Flame. So what were they supposed to do about it? Interrogate him about whether he was some illegitimate child of the Calamity Flame Family? Or investigate whether he was from a collateral line...
Either way, it wasn't something their side could meddle in.
Seeing Hong Yeon-hwa, the heir of the Calamity Flame Family, personally shielding him gave the impression that things wouldn't spiral in a bad direction.
Still, that didn't mean it was a matter they should broadcast to the Association or other organizations far and wide.
Maxwell, noting Atra's creased expression, shook his head.
"That isn't all."
"What?"
Maxwell manipulated the magic tool again. The paused footage resumed. Atra stared at the screen with a sense of bewilderment.
How long had her gaze been fixed there, tangled emotions and all?
- C-crack!
The moment the Ice Purity that began at Lee Ha-yul's left arm engulfed the monster's face, Atra's expression froze right along with it.
"...What is that."
During her time on the Demon Realm's frontline, she'd crossed paths with members of the Three Great Families many times.
It was the most brutally dangerous place on earth, so they were all elite warriors who had manifested and trained their unique abilities. Because of that, Atra had experienced Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, and Taesan firsthand.
The chill that reached her even through the screen...
'Azure Sea?'
Her thoughts ground to a halt. Her mind couldn't keep up with the information in the footage. It was as if her brain was refusing to accept it.
Lee Ha-yul manifested Calamity Flame. She already knew that. She'd already seen him use it in the Tower. She'd assumed he must have ties to the Calamity Flame Family.
Lee Ha-yul manifested Azure Sea...
Why, goddammit.
Seeing Atra's expression, Maxwell nodded as if he understood.
"That isn't all."
"...What do you mean, there's more?"
Maxwell wordlessly pointed at the footage.
What more could there possibly be here?
Atra pulled her halting thoughts together and turned her trembling eyes back toward the screen.
And then.
- KA-BOOM!
The passageway shook with a thunderous roar. As the screen filled with an extravagant display of golden light, Atra's mouth fell dumbly open.
A familiar feeling...
'No.'
Not just familiar. Not just barely familiar.
Intimate? No, not that either.
That was... the very energy that Atra herself carried with her at all times, that she was feeling even in this very moment.
A unique ability born from the sublimation of Atra's light-attribute mana and techniques.
"White... Night..."
"Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, and Clyde's White Night... all wielded by a single person. Haha, words that would get one branded a lunatic."
At Atra's murmur, Maxwell nodded as if in affirmation.
"Records were necessary for managing the aftermath of the incident, so I had already accessed the observation records beforehand. Ah, please don't misunderstand. It wasn't Lee Ha-yul's observation records — I simply happened to witness this while reviewing the records of the rampage site."
Maxwell hastily added this, worried he might suddenly find his collar grabbed. He had no desire to part with the expensive tie he'd paid good money for...
"I thought you ought to know about this matter as well, which is why I requested your accompaniment."
Maxwell's explanation reached her ears. It didn't properly register. Atra's mind had long since stopped working.
Her spirit, already worn to the breaking point from Lee Ha-yul being caught up in the rampage, couldn't possibly recover with that... that absurd scene seared into her brain.
'......'
How was she supposed to interpret that?
More importantly, could she even manage the fallout from this?
That scene had already been discovered by the Association through observation.
A person who manifested multiple unique abilities. Rare, but not unheard of. Atra herself possessed two unique abilities.
But like Lee Ha-yul... someone who simultaneously possessed Calamity Flame and Azure Sea was unprecedented. And on top of that, Atra's own White Night... no, how in the world did he even use it.
Just thinking about the storm that would erupt the moment that information leaked outside made her head feel like it would shatter.
"There's no need for concern."
"What do you mean there's no need for concern?"
"I'm not speaking in riddles. There's no hidden meaning. I mean it exactly as I say. The outcome you're worried about won't come to pass. The main topic is only just beginning, after all."
Then it happened. As though reading her thoughts, Maxwell suddenly spoke up.
"Before the Disaster Management Department could even access those records, they were classified as top secret by decision from the higher-ups. I alone accessed them. My case amounts to nothing more than holding temporary authorization in order to show them to his guardian."
Higher-ups.
At those words, Atra's expression changed.
"By higher-ups, do you mean the senior councilors?"
"No. Higher than that."
Above the senior councilors who held decision-making authority over Association executive matters. There were only two ranks above senior councilor.
The Association Presidents.
The Tower Master of Space and the Tower Master of Harmonization, who had founded and managed the World Superhuman Association and were now in seclusion.
Atra's face crumpled.
The meaning of that statement was simple.
Whatever the reason, the two Association Presidents... the Tower Master of Space and the Tower Master of Harmonization had stepped in to shield Lee Ha-yul.
"......"
The Tower Master of Growth, who had personally sought out Lee Ha-yul at his orphanage and brought him here. The unprecedented status of Special Admission.
The Tower Master of Space and the Tower Master of Harmonization, who had personally locked down all related information the moment Lee Ha-yul got caught up in an incident.
Three of the five Tower Masters were protecting Lee Ha-yul? Why?
"That concludes the matter I was to convey to you."
Wooong... The hologram at the center of the room faded. Maxwell, having retrieved the hologram device, shook his head with a weary expression.
"If it's no imposition, may I take my leave? My work is piled high, and even if I start right this moment, it looks as though I won't be going home for quite some time..."
At the sight of Maxwell, who was just as visibly worn down by exhaustion, Atra nodded with a complicated face.
.
.
.
A few days later.
Atra's complexion was even more deathly than before.
Lee Ha-yul had regained consciousness the day before. His body was, for the time being, out of immediate danger.
The severed... the torn-off arm had been recovered along with him, but it had long since become a lump of mangled flesh that couldn't be reattached as a body part.
And the injuries didn't end there.
Every bone in his body shattered, his circuits destroyed... his muscles ripped to shreds, his internal organs completely pulverized.
From injuries that should have killed him a hundred times over, perhaps touched by heaven-sent fortune, his body was recovering, and Lee Ha-yul had regained consciousness — then immediately went into convulsions.
After briefly crying out in gasping, suffocating agony, Lee Ha-yul lost consciousness once more.
Atra's spirit grew even more frayed...
Lee Ha-yul was currently under intensive care, with even visitations restricted for reasons of stability.
Other than Atra, who had been waiting outside the treatment room the entire time, Liana was the only person who had so much as glimpsed his face.
- Rustle
"......!"
A presence stirred inside the healing room.
Atra shot to her feet and pressed the call button nearby. A healer would be rushing here soon.
There was no reason to wait in the meantime. She carefully opened the door to the healing room.
His eyes were still closed. But judging by the way his body was twitching, he seemed to have regained consciousness.
- Gulp
Atra observed Lee Ha-yul with obvious tension.
This was Lee Ha-yul, who already had a precedent of going into convulsions once.
If he convulsed again... Atra's heart might be torn to shreds one more time.
Lee Ha-yul's arm moved, as if he was trying to raise his upper body.
It didn't go as Lee Ha-yul intended. His arm, wrapped in thick plaster, wouldn't move the way he wanted.
Making her presence known, Atra carefully approached.
"...Can you hear me?"
Just in case, she spoke quietly, almost a whisper. Lee Ha-yul's head turned.
The silence stretched. Atra's insides scorched with anxiety. If only he'd say something... dammit.
What a stupid thought. Atra was in the middle of mentally berating herself.
A single tear trickled from the corner of Lee Ha-yul's eye.
Thud! A boulder slammed into Atra's chest. Her vision swam. She hurriedly opened her mouth, then lowered her voice, afraid of startling him.
"Why, why! No, why are you doing this...?"
Even as Atra spoke, flailing her hands, Lee Ha-yul kept on, tears streaming out as if his tear ducts had broken.
- Hnnggghh...
On top of that, even a wordless whimpering sound escaped him — a sound too broken to form a voice. At the emotion thick with pain and sorrow, Atra's heart darkened and crumbled to pieces inside her.
Lee Ha-yul laboriously raised his upper body.
His body had recovered, to a level where movement was difficult but possible.
He obviously should have been hospitalized, but he wasn't so fragile that he'd crumple and break at a touch.
Atra frantically moved to support Lee Ha-yul. If he fell here, it would be no laughing matter.
In that moment.
Lee Ha-yul abruptly threw himself into Atra's arms.
Tightly... At the sensation pressing into her chest, Atra's body froze solid. Then, at the feeling against her waist, she dropped her rigid gaze downward.
The arm that remained, now alone without its partner — an arm that could barely move within its cast — squirmed and strained as if asking to be held, trying to wrap around Atra's waist.
It didn't go the way he wanted. It was an arm whose movement the cast made awkward.
Another whimpering sound rose from Lee Ha-yul's throat. At the sorrow-laden emotion, Atra hastily pulled Lee Ha-yul into her arms.
'...What is this.'
Even in her confusion, Atra awkwardly patted Lee Ha-yul's back as he burrowed squirmingly into her embrace.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Measurement]
...
▶ Mental State
【Weariness】: A state of being exhausted and weakened
【Pain】: Distress and suffering of body or mind
【Sense of Loss】: The feeling or emotional state after losing something
[【Curse of Beauty's Misfortune】 activates]
[Expended vitality energy restores the physical body]
[【Curse of Beauty's Misfortune】 consumes vitality energy]
[【Curse of Beauty's Misfortune】: Death is merely liberation]