Dokkaebi Doesn't Pull Cheap Shots (2)
The most despicable tactic against a transformation-type ability user had to be interrupting their transformation with an attack. Like hitting a combining robot mid-merge or blocking the change altogether.
Discussions on transformations flooded in, along with endless debates on how to handle them. Some stories played the clichés straight, others subverted them, and some even countered the counters.
And for this transformation, I pulled out a counter-cliché to the "villain attacks mid-transformation" trope.
The transformation effect wasn't just flashy visuals—it unleashed a preemptive burst of mana, erecting a protective barrier around me. A flawless transformation completed safely inside, then revealed.
If the attack had landed mid-transformation, fine. But failing despite striking during it? Talk about pathetic.
[Th-this damn...!]
To put it bluntly, it made them look like total cowards.
[That's cheating...!]
[When did I say I'd fight fair? I said I'd guide you.]
I surged forward in a flash, swinging my club.
Clang!
I smacked away the gun he'd drawn. It was just a standard K5 pistol, nothing fancy, and I precisely intercepted the live round with my Dokkaebi Bat, sending it spinning into the dirt.
[Die, fake!!]
[I wasn't treating you like a villain, but blindly spraying bullets like that? Can't ignore it now.]
There were people behind me. Dodging gunfire sideways like a typical villain would just let it hit them. But Yoon Isun was back there—the student who'd asked for my help. As faculty, I couldn't let her get hurt. Not as an adult.
[Who do you think you are, pulling a gun?]
Thwack!
I hurled my club forward; it flew straight into the path of the bullet aimed at my forehead.
Clang!
The spiraling bullet grazed the club's tip and ricocheted downward, embedding in the ground at my advancing foot. Without slowing, I leaped and snatched the rebounding club from midair.
[Fool.]
Slash!
I swung the seized club like a sword from above.
[Gaaah!!]
The tip struck only the suit, slicing diagonally. The fabric split open as if cleaved by a blade.
"N-no! My suit!!"
As the steel chest plate peeled apart, Yuk Gibong's true voice leaked out from within.
[Not a devil after all. Deluded without even turning—impressive imagination.]
I'd thought his madness meant he'd become a real devil. Turns out he was just on the brink, mind shattered by devilish influence.
'Knock him out.'If I could stop it now—
"Gaaaaah!!"
Crackle!
Sparks erupted from the suit's severed edge. Exposed wiring spat electric flames, and Yuk Gibong clutched his helmet in agony.
"Gaaah, no...! I'm not fake...! I-I'm the real...!"
[Hmm.]
I gripped my club again. Knock him out before devilization, and I could subdue without killing. Even I couldn't just execute a minor outright. Devils were the exception—once fully transformed, they weren't minors or even human anymore. Not since that ten-year-old devil slaughtered hundreds of civilians. Full devils lost human rights.
So, to avoid needless blood and revert him while still human, I charged with club raised—
"Stop, Dokkaebi!!"
I couldn't swing.
"Even you can't be allowed to kill!!"
One of the color-coded special squad—decked in full red—leveled a sword at my club. It looked more like special forces issue than hero gear, military stance and all, but Red Special Squad blocked me from halting the devilization.
[Out of my way.]
"I can't! We're just stopping you from killing that student!!"
[Idiot.]
Too late.
[You blocked me, so now Yuk Gibong becomes a devil.]
"Wha...?"
[If you'd stayed out, I might've prevented it.]
There'd been a slim golden window, but his mental fortitude crumbled faster than expected.
[GRAAAAAAAHH!!]
The devil roared. Kamen Rider-inspired design bulked with bulging muscles, massive wings unfurling from its back.
[I'll kill you all...! Everything that denies me!!]
From the suit's gash I'd carved gleamed beastly eyes at a slant, black lightning crackling outward from Yuk Gibong's core.
[I'm real...! No one can call me fake...! I-I'm real!!]
[Totally lost it. Congrats, Red. You made the kid a devil.]
"N-no! I...!"
Five Color Red stumbled back in panic.
[Stay put!]
I swung at the front, but Red thought it was aimed at him and parried with his blade.
Squelch!
"...Huh?"
Something talon-like pierced Red's chest. Through suit, flesh, and bone—the devil Yuk Gibong's extended claw from behind.
"Yeonseong!!"
Another squad member—likely calling Red's name—lunged at me.
[Keeheeheehee!!]
The devil retracted its hand, cackling madly as Red collapsed clutching the gash.
[Tch.]
I grabbed his chest, infused light mana, and tossed him back.
"Kyaaak!"
[Get him treatment. It's not a full pierce—just clawed. A healer can save him.]
Not a fist-sized hole; more like five blades raking across. White started pouring mana into the downed Red like a game healer spamming spells.
[Hero injured too. Perfect villain now. Death sentence from the moment of devilization.]
Tragic. Without inflating his ego with "You're the real Rider," he might've just been another cosplaying hero aspirant. But that chance was gone. Devil now, attacking heroes—left unchecked, it'd slaughter civilians endlessly.
'Ends in execution after all.'No choice.
[Villains get executed—]
[Kuhahaha!!]
Before I finished, it thrust a hand at me—palm blade aligned, fingertips hollowed like gun barrels.
Rat-tat-tat!!
Fingers belched mana bullets like machine guns. Crimson-black rounds flew in fives, erratic trajectories and timings impossible to bat away at once.
No helping it—
"Flames!!"
Pink fire streaked past me, intercepting the mana shots. Non-physical ammo clashed magics, exploding in my face and blinding me.
"Fall back... Dokkaebi! This is hero territory!!"
Yoon Isun dashed up beside me. She levitated pink mana orbs like a telekinetic, summoning sprite-like flames that swirled protectively around her.
"Devil [Doppelganger] estimated at A-rank mana! All below B-rank, evacuate civilians! Other A-ranks, help me suppress the devil!!"
Under her command, onlookers moved with crisp efficiency. She held no official authority—no student council president title mattered here—but as an A-rank, she claimed field command.
[Kuhahaha! Die, all of you!! President, keh, noise pollution?! Hahaha! Witnessing my greatness is your lesson—trying to talk me down?! Die!!]
"Tch...!"
The devil Doppelganger fired all ten fingers at Yoon Isun; she countered with flames from her orbs.
Boom-boom-bang!!
Mana clashes erupted between them, a prolonged power struggle.
[Sorry.]
I lightly patted her shoulder, then stepped up beside her, extending one hand.
[Flames aren't used like that.]
Properly speaking.
Fire-type abilities.
[Are for overwhelming firepower.]
Come forth, hand of Gung-gi.
I thrust my left hand forward like a tiger's claw.
Black Flame Spirit Tiger. Release.
From my hand materialized a massive tiger head amid black mist and crimson glow.
ROOOAAARRR!!
The black tiger's maw gaped, unleashing dump-truck volumes of inky flames that engulfed the devil Doppelganger.
[Explode.]
BOOOOM!!
A black fire pillar dozens of meters wide erupted from Doppelganger, scorching skyward.