The Second Calamity
The Second Calamity
The first attack had ended in shock and horror, with three A-rank heroes struck down helplessly.
BOOM.
A pink tempest struck again—right in the middle of Seoul—without any warning.
The wind was so fierce you could barely open your eyes, strong enough to tear the outer walls off buildings.
Dozens, then hundreds of magic circles bloomed across the sky, raining down violet lightning, stars, and beams of light.
Like divine judgment descending upon the mortal world, the city began to heave as if it were on the verge of annihilation.
An overwhelming spectacle that looked like a vast disaster no ordinary human could stop.
Buildings shuddered. The ground lurched. Right in the heart of it all,
Where every ordinary person had already fled to save their own life,
A single woman was charging straight toward the center of the storm.
"Ngh..."
Stardus.
South Korea's A-rank hero.
She alone was forcing her way through the magical gale toward the villain at the center of the storm.
"Ngh... Haaah!"
And as for her condition—
It was terrible, to put it mildly.
The wind was so violent it threatened to sweep her away, and she could barely keep her eyes open.
Whenever she managed to look ahead, an even more hopeless sight spread out before her.
The sky was stained an unnatural pink, so alien it seemed to belong to another world.
And far more attacks were coming at her than during the previous incident.
"Hah!"
She barely managed to swing an arm and knock aside a massive violet star-shaped projectile hurtling toward her.
Pop—the star burst like a firework under her fist.
Violet powder scattered in every direction before vanishing without a trace.
At the same time, lightning began striking all around her.
CRACK—
CRACKLE—!
Violet lightning rained down from every direction in a bizarre spectacle.
And at the same moment—
VEEEEEN—
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!
"Ngh..."
Destructive violet beams poured from magic circles that had formed in midair.
Within the pink-drenched gale,
Countless magic circles seemed determined to erase the intruder from their domain, firing violet star-shaped shells, bolts of lightning, and searing beams.
And Stardus—
She endured it all alone, struggling to advance even one more step.
"Haa... Haa..."
Shin Ha-ru gritted her teeth.
After the previous attack, she had driven herself mercilessly to prepare for the next one.
She was already stronger than any ordinary human could imagine, yet she had pushed herself harder still, determined to surpass her own limits.
But as if mocking every ounce of that effort,
The enemy had returned.
Stronger than before.
"Haaaah!"
She threw herself into a roll, narrowly avoiding the beam that erupted straight at her.
The enemy was still overwhelmingly powerful, while entering the storm had only made her weaker.
Her body felt slow and heavy, as though something were crushing down on her and sandbags had been strapped to every limb.
Being told to confront the disaster before her in that state was almost unbearably cruel.
The one saving grace was that another advance warning had allowed the Association to evacuate nearly every civilian before the attack began.
So while she still had the chance,
She had to defeat the villain at the center of the storm.
All by herself.
There was no one there to help her.
"Hngh..."
As the thought crossed her mind, another followed before she could stop it.
She was a hero.
And a hero was someone who saved others.
Then who would save the hero?
Who would help her?
...No one. There was no one.
No one at all.
A hero had to rise alone and face the endless malice coming for them without anyone else to rely on.
Right.
None of that mattered.
In the end, the only one she could trust was herself.
She gritted her teeth at the thought.
Right.
No more pointless thoughts.
She had to overcome this trial by herself.
No matter what.
Her resolve hardening once more, she hurled herself into the torrent of magic rushing toward her.
And from her body—
Golden light began to stream, unnoticed even by Stardus herself.
***
"Ha-ru... sniff! She’s entering an Awakening State again!!!"
I saw the golden light flaring on the TV. As a certified Stardus expert, I recognized immediately what was happening.
Stardus’s Awakening State occurred when she reached her absolute limit and her power surged beyond it. Even after the state ended, some of that strength remained, making every awakening a valuable opportunity for growth.
I hadn't expected it, since she only fought the Moon Priestess twice before I intervened—the previous time and that time. But it was nothing but good news.
Yeah. This was... enough...
So there I was, tears streaming down my face, when Seo-eun, who'd been watching me, sighed and muttered from beside me.
"Good grief... why does that woman keep getting stronger? It's already hard enough matching specs as it is..."
She'd been grumbling to herself, but then she seemed to remember something, turned to me, and asked,
"Big bro, couldn’t this go wrong?"
"Sniff. What?"
"I mean, big bro's plan is to crash in and kidnap that woman the next time she shows up, after Stardus loses again in this attack, right? But what if Stardus gets so strong she actually wins right now?"
Ah.
In other words, what if Stardus’s new power let her defeat the Moon Priestess right now?
I kindly explained to my needlessly worried Seo-eun.
"Seo-eun... if this could end that easily, do you think I’d be crying like this?"
"You mean it can't?"
"Right now the Moon Priestess is very strong. Very."
Between all the buffs and debuffs the Moonlight Cult Leader Cheon Wol-hwang had arranged in advance, this version of the Moon Priestess would give even most American S-rank heroes a serious fight.
Which meant, in other words, this “temporary power-up” wasn’t enough to beat her!!
"Sniff... I can’t watch this!"
"Big bro... you’re crying, but why are you swallowing your fist...?"
I squeezed my eyes shut and held on.
I couldn’t bear to watch. Not this horrific scene!
And sure enough.
A little later, another explosion reached my ears.
[BOOM—]
[Everyone! As we speak, Stardus has been thrown out of the storm! We believe she was struck by an attack she could not withstand!]
Hah. Of course.
This was awful.
***
"Nngh..."
Stardus had been blasted out, unable to endure the onslaught.
She lay collapsed on the ground. Some time passed before she staggered back to her feet.
Still with one knee on the ground, she panted for breath.
"Hah... hah..."
She'd given it everything.
She'd thrown all her strength at the fight.
But again.
The outcome hadn't changed one bit.
"Ha... hahaha..."
The enemy was far stronger now.
How—how exactly was she supposed to beat that?
It hit her then.
Ah.
I can’t beat that thing.
The moment that thought surfaced,
A terrible, crushing despair coiled through her once more.
I can’t do this.
Is this as far as I go?
Am I going to remain this helpless forever, unable to do anything but watch that thing destroy everything?
What kind of monster is in there
that it can be so strong?
Negative emotions began to consume her.
But she shook her head.
And hauling up her unsteady body, she started walking back into the storm.
Right.
She was a hero.
Even if she fell, she had to fight.
She steeled herself again, stepping into the winds—and the look in her eyes
Her gaze was unmistakably darker than before.
***
The surreal pink tempest, laying waste to everything.
Countless magic circles suspended in empty air.
The same storm that had destroyed an entire city with overwhelming force the last time, and was now doing it all over again—
Pitilessly, cold-bloodedly, without so much as a single word, quietly bringing Seoul to the brink of ruin.
The one controlling it all was
A young-faced woman kneeling with her eyes closed in prayer, long black hair spilling down her white shrine-maiden robes.
Even as the gale howled around her, reducing everything in sight to splinters,
"I’m sorry... I’m sorry... I’m sorry..."
She kept whispering apologies no one could hear, cold sweat beading on her skin.
'What do I do... people are getting hurt because of me... all because of me...'
Her eyes were nearly brimming with tears now.
But in total opposition to her thoughts, her hands kept moving restlessly, tracing magic circles into the air, calling up the storm.
'I don't have a choice...'
Yes. There was no choice.
The Moonlight Cult Leader had already bound her in all but name.
Because of the spell he had planted in her, she had no choice but to move like a puppet and obey his every command.
She would probably be forced to live under his control forever. Hurting other people until the day she died.
That thought constricted her chest, but she pushed it down and kept working.
The one thing she could manage was, when she attacked with magic, subtly aiming away from ordinary civilians and hitting only the structures around them.
So she kept going—hurling the storm against the city, fending off the heroes who came at her—
Until the cult leader's voice echoed in her ears, and she flinched.
Child. It is done. Reveal the moonlight to the world one more time, then return.
The order to return had come.
At last, she could stop this senseless destruction.
A relieved sigh escaped her. She started winding the storm down and made ready to send the moonlight into the sky.
She was withdrawing now, but
It would probably happen again before long. She'd be sent to ravage another city.
Over and over and over.
Puppeted by the Cult Leader's grip.
...Will anyone ever come to save me?
The words slipped out without her meaning to. She gave a bitter smile.
Of course not.
This world isn't some fairy tale with a prince on a white horse.
And when she thought about all the sins she had already committed—
Maybe,
The only salvation waiting for her was death.
With that thought in her heart, she conjured the emblem of moonlight into the sky above.
The long second terror had come to an end.
***
[The moonlight crest has appeared in the sky! The terrorist attack is finally—finally over. Our hero has lost once again...]
The instant I confirmed the second attack was finished, I shot up from my seat.
"Big bro?"
"Dain?"
Everyone was staring at me, confused by my sudden move.
I made my proclamation to all of them.
"All right. We start preparing now."
Until now, we'd held back twice. All for a single goal: to make Stardus stronger. All for one purpose: to stop the apocalypse.
But now.
"We prepare to stop the next attack. Soo-bin, contact the Lepis Squad and tell them to come back."
"Huh? Ah, yes!"
I swept my hair back and started walking toward the room where every step of the plan was already laid out.
Yes. It's finally time to move.
This long grimdark arc—the one that dragged on through dozens of incidents in the Original Work and ultimately destroyed Seoul—would end now, by my hand.
To save Korea.
To save the Moon Priestess, who's suffering because of that Moonlight Cult Leader.
And—
For Stardus. The one who will keep suffering otherwise.
"All right! Everyone, move!"
D-7 until the next attack.
I would have everything perfectly prepared before then.
Everything we needed to abduct the Moon Priestess.
Wait for me, Stardus.
I’M COMING!!!