One Punch from Fortune Girl
The giant fly monster was approaching through the clouds of dust.
Every time its forelegs scraped the floor, shards of broken glass were shoved aside, and its transparent wings trembled violently.
"Hey! If you just stand there, you're in danger! That fly has a machine gun mounted on its back!"
"Haha... it's a really big bug."
What the hell is she doing? Hasn't she fought these things before?
Usually, monster entities were roughly ranked by size, but occasionally some would show up with weird attachments. In those cases, you had to treat them as one rank more dangerous.
And that was exactly what this thing was.
In short—
It's a dangerous bastard, you idiot!
"Did you hear me?"
"Huh? Ehh?"
Whirrrrrr.
The barrels of the machine gun attached to its back began to spin. It was about to fire.
"Th-this is bad."
Click. Click. Click.
Only smoke leaked from the muzzle.
No bullets came out.
The monster shook a few more times, straining, but the machine gun just spun uselessly.
Lucky. It looked like it hadn't finished charging yet.
I quickly shouted from behind Fortune Girl.
"Looks like it's out of ammo! Now's your chance! Attack it, quick!"
"Oh? Y-yes, ma'am."
Please, just act instead of answering.
What is she even hesitating for?
Fortune Girl finally seemed to snap out of it and started moving.
She dashed toward the fly monster with quick zigzag steps.
Long before she reached her target, she suddenly dropped low.
She planted one foot deep like she was preparing for a long jump, then kicked off the floor hard.
Her body shot upward like a spring.
For a moment, Fortune Girl looked like she had frozen in mid-air.
...That's actually pretty cool.
Her black ponytail trailed a beat behind, and her fully extended leg pointed straight at the top of the fly monster's head.
Thud.
With a heavy impact, the monster's body tilted to one side.
Fortune Girl rode the falling momentum and drove her knee straight into its foreleg.
Then she used the recoil to leap backward and land cleanly.
Krrreeee.
The fly monster let out a strange screech.
Its legs scraped the floor, and its wings vibrated like crazy.
Did that hit properly?
Without realizing it, I clenched my fist tight.
Suddenly the monster flapped its wings hard and lifted off the ground.
It was clearly trying to flee.
I glanced up at the ceiling above it.
The office ceiling wasn't that high.
Sure enough, the machine gun on its back snagged on one of the ceiling fixtures.
The monster's body lurched, then slammed straight down.
Fortune Girl tried to dodge, but it was too late.
She was hit by the massive body, and I heard her scream.
"Kyaa!"
Fortune Girl's body was sent flying backward.
And of course—
Right toward me.
"Wait, huh?"
The airborne Fortune Girl crashed straight on top of me.
With no time to dodge, I fell backward with her slamming into my chest.
Thump.
My vision shook for a second, and I saw the ceiling.
Something went into my nose and mouth.
"Ebebebebe."
Oh. That startled me.
Thankfully, it was just the back of Fortune Girl's tied-up ponytail.
Whew.
The moment I realized it wasn't the fly's hind leg, other sensations flooded in late.
A soft touch all over my body.
The scent of fragrant shampoo in my nose.
And in my eyes, the sight of her pale nape.
When I came to my senses, I realized Fortune Girl was straddling me.
She seemed startled too; I could feel her staring blankly straight ahead.
"How long are you planning to stay there?"
"Oh my. Oh my. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"
The fly monster was still visible right in front of her.
Its oddly shaped proboscis was quivering.
I quickly pointed at it and shouted.
"Just go catch that thing already!"
"Yes."
At least she answers well.
Fortune Girl hurriedly tried to get up.
Pushing off my body was fine.
But her hand went straight to a very wrong place.
Hey. Not there.
Squish.
"Aack—! I told you to catch the monster, why are you grabbing my—"
"Oh my. Oh my. I'm terribly sorry."
It was a very unfortunate spot.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
It hurt.
Just then, a rough male voice came from behind us.
"Haa... haa..."
Who is that?
"Are you two okay over there? Haa... haa."
I turned toward the voice.
A muscular, reliable-looking man in a tight yellow suit and mask was standing near the emergency exit, breathing heavily.
He's here.
A hero who actually looks like a hero has finally arrived.
"Ah! Yellow Tiesman! Over here! This fly monster—"
Before I could finish, Yellow Tiesman kicked off the ground.
His outstretched fist stretched forward like rubber.
That's right. A real hero acts first and talks later, right?
"Yellow Long Range Punch!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The thick fist slammed into the center of the fly monster's torso, and its massive body bent backward.
The fly monster toppled over, landing on its back and exposing its belly.
Its limbs and wings twitched for a moment, then went still.
Yellow Tiesman dusted off his palms, gave the monster a quick glance, and slowly walked toward us.
Fortune Girl and I stood up and brushed off our backsides.
Yep. That's what a hero looks like.
Fortune Girl, standing in front of me, pointed at the fallen fly monster and shouted at Yellow Tiesman in a slightly annoyed voice.
"Hey! That was mine. Didn't you see I was in the middle of taking it down?"
"Huh? Ah, you are... um, Miss Lucky... Gal?"
Fortune Girl lightly swatted the finger Yellow Tiesman was pointing at her with the back of her hand.
"It's Fortune Girl!"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't realize and was rude."
Right then, I saw the limbs of the supposedly defeated fly monster twitch.
"Behind you! It's still alive!"
You two idiots, stop fighting over credit and just kill the damn monster properly!
I wanted to yell that.
"What? After taking my punch?"
The moment Yellow Tiesman turned around, the fallen fly monster flapped its wings and burst forward.
Its massive body rammed straight into his chest.
Something shot past my peripheral vision.
It was Yellow Tiesman.
He flew right past me and slammed into the floor near the elevator with a loud crash.
Yellow Tiesman tried to get up somehow, but after propping himself on one elbow, he collapsed again.
Wait. Yellow Tiesman is C-rank, but he got knocked out in one hit by a fly monster?
Then there's no way for Fortune Girl. She's only E-rank.
"Run—"
Before I could finish telling her to run, Fortune Girl's legs were already moving.
She kicked off the floor, stepped on the edge of a collapsed desk, and launched herself into the air.
Her first kick was aimed at the machine gun on the monster's back.
With a sharp crack, the barrel twisted sideways.
The second kick slammed into the fly monster's head.
"Take this! Rapid-Fire Lucky Seven Kick!"
Wait, did she just jump again in mid-air?
The follow-up kicks from mid-air hammered the monster's head and back several more times.
This time it landed cleanly too.
The fly monster's massive body was pushed inward.
The shoulder-like part slammed into a nearby pillar with a heavy boom.
It stopped for a moment, leaning against the pillar, then rose again.
The machine gun on its back began to spin slowly.
Whirrrrrr.
The muzzle turned toward us once more.
"No! The machine gun must be charged now! Get out of the way!"
It didn't fire earlier, but this time it definitely would.
I quickly grabbed Fortune Girl's wrist and ran backward.
Escaping came first.
Fortune Girl yanked her wrist free and stopped in place.
"What are you doing? Let go!"
"Do you want to die?"
Rumble—crash—boom!
Suddenly, a tremendous roar came from behind us.
When I looked back, I saw the ceiling, floor, and pillars collapsing right on top of the monster.
The fly monster was completely crushed underneath.
Dust filled the air.
Its forelegs and wings twitched for a moment,
then went still.
"Huh?"
"See? That was my Heaven and Earth Shattering Kick. Hehe."
"What the..."
And then, belatedly, a group of men in black suits came rushing up through the emergency exit.
Hero Management Agency field agents.
They sure took their sweet time.
These guys always show up right when it's over to do the cleanup.
They were all wearing black suits, and some of them had submachine guns slung over their shoulders.
One who looked like a supervisor swallowed a wry smile behind his sunglasses and spoke.
This area was attacked by a swarm of fly monsters. Most have already been dealt with, but the building might still collapse, so please evacuate immediately.
They show up after everything's over and still talk so much.
What collapse? If it was really that serious, they wouldn't have come up at all...
I brushed the dust off my knees and answered.
"Yes, we were just about to leave anyway."
Another agent wearing sunglasses stepped forward.
"By the way, who took down that fly monster? From the looks of it, it seems to be a leader-type, at least C+ rank."
"What? Leader-type? That thing?"
I'd thought it was just a slightly bigger fly monster, but apparently it was a leader among them.
No wonder Yellow Tiesman went down in one hit.
I saw other agents helping the fallen Yellow Tiesman to his feet.
Fortune Girl jumped up and raised her hand.
"Me! I caught it!"
Wait. Isn't she E-rank? How?
The supervisor-looking agent stepped in front of me.
"Then are you the witness, sir?"
"Ah, yes, that's right."
The agents slowly examined the fly corpse from various angles, then looked at the crushed concrete pillar and said,
"So Fortune Girl really took it down? We can't see any obvious impact points from her, and the concrete..."
The thing had been impaled by countless rebar from the massive concrete floor and wall and died that way.
"Ah... well..."
As I hesitated, Fortune Girl walked up in front of me.
Her face was covered in dust here and there.
"Huh? You saw me finish it with my Hectopascal Kick, didn't you?"
I couldn't tell if she was being shameless or just confident.
"Earlier you said it was your Heaven and Earth Shattering Kick or something?"
"Anyway!"
Well, whatever. It was true that the whatever-kick had finished it off.
"Yes. That's correct. I saw it."
The moment she heard my answer, she broke into a bright smile and looked at the agents.
Without thinking, I stole another glance at that smile.
"See? Heehee. So does this mean I get to move up a rank? During the next promotion period?"
Fortune Girl walked over to one of the agents who seemed to be writing something in a notebook and asked him all sorts of questions.
"Ah, I'm afraid I don't have the details. We'll check the CCTV and review everything thoroughly. We'll be going now."
"Yes, yes! Please take good care of it!"
Watching Fortune Girl bow at a perfect ninety degrees to the agents carrying Yellow Tiesman downstairs, I smiled bitterly.
Looks like even at the bottom, the competition isn't easy.
Then Fortune Girl suddenly turned toward me and raised her arm.
Flash.
She placed her right thumb, index, and middle finger against her forehead, palm facing out, while her other hand rested on her hip.
"Then I'll be on my way too. This has been Miss Fortune Girl. May brilliant luck shine on everyone!"
It was a hero's signature farewell pose. Usually only popular heroes did it at the end of fights.
This was the first time I'd seen an E-rank do it.
Why is she doing that when I'm the only one here?
Fortune Girl held the pose, staring straight into my eyes the entire time.
What do you want me to do about it?
I just stared back.
Hmm... she is kind of pretty, isn't she?
But suddenly, a sound echoed from the far corner of the office.
"Ahh... ha... aahhhng. Ahng."
Oh, shit.
My phone was still alive.
What kind of opera singer is that? What the hell is that video?
The sound—whether it was singing or moaning—kept echoing from the corner of the office.
Sigh.
She glanced in that direction and tilted her head.
She hesitated for a moment, then turned toward the emergency stairs.
Then she turned her head back toward me again.
Please, just leave without saying anything. Please.
Luckily, her gaze briefly touched the hole where the elevator had fallen, then returned to the emergency exit.
I felt cold sweat running down my back.
Whew. She's gone.
Still, I should at least say thanks.
I shouted as loud as I could toward the emergency exit.
"Th-thank you! Fortune Girl!"
My voice echoed back from below the stairwell like a reply.
Soon after, Fortune Girl's answer came back.
"You're welcome! And sorry for touching you there earlier~"
Huh?
Damn it.
Time for me to go too.
I gave the fallen fly monster a wide berth and headed to where my phone had fallen.
The moment I picked it up, I looked at the screen to turn off the sound.
Ding-dong.
Message from Hanbyeol Officetel Management Office. The following units were damaged during the recent monster entity attack. Units 401, 402, 403, 501, and 502. That is all. Residents of the affected units, please contact us immediately.
Unit 403.
My place.
Ah.