Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Terror (3)
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......
Had she been caught in the explosion and blacked out for a moment?
Kinesis finally came to, her eyes fluttering open from the pain surging through her entire body.
"Ugh..."
'What the hell just happened...?'
What on earth had happened?
"My... body..."
Kinesis struggled for breath as she barely managed to drag her heavy body upright.
Even exerting all her strength, the best she could do was prop up her upper body.
"Wh... where... is this..."
She was embedded in the inner wall of a collapsed building.
Why was she here?
Clutching her dizzy head from the impact, Kinesis recalled her memories and finally realized why she was in this spot.
'No way... that explosion from just now...'
An explosion from an unknown source.
Until moments ago, she had been relentlessly attacking while the opponent barely defended.
Back then, she'd assumed it was a physical-type villain, and that keeping up the pressure would wear them down eventually.
Especially since they'd been rampaging wildly in a berserk state, blocking her attacks with bare fists.
She figured they couldn't keep it up forever, and that was the optimal strategy.
But as she pressed the assault, a sudden flash had hit, followed by an immense shockwave through her whole body.
When she came to, she was here.
'Was my approach all wrong...?'
She'd never seen a power like this before.
Kinesis tried to stand, but she staggered before fully rising.
'Ugh... my body...'
Pain throbbed fiercely throughout her.
'Even my barrier barely held...'
Her usual barrier had just managed to save her life. Without it, she'd have exploded on the spot.
The power was insane...
'If it was that strong, then outside...'
The thought of central Seoul reduced to ashes made her heart race with urgency.
'I have to... get out...'
Whirr...
"Urp... kuhk..."
She wrapped psychokinesis around her body to rise, but a surge of agony made her spit blood and collapse back down.
'Internal injuries...? Can't muster the strength...'
She couldn't move.
Her limbs wouldn't respond—muscles torn, maybe.
But she couldn't stay here forever.
She had to get out and take down that villain.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Kinesis used psychokinesis to haul herself up and pulled free from the building's inner wall where she'd crashed through.
And then...
"This is..."
A massive explosion crater spanning hundreds of meters greeted her.
That blast she'd felt wasn't her imagination.
She'd been hurled here by the sudden detonation.
'Who the hell... Did they launch a missile or something?'
No, a normal missile couldn't pierce her barrier.
And it wasn't like some special ability-ignoring missile either.
This wasn't missile-level power to begin with.
So it had to be some insanely powerful explosive...
'But there weren't any traces of anything like that...'
As she scanned the area, her eyes caught a lone man standing unscathed at the blast's epicenter.
The villain she'd been fighting.
'No way... that explosion was from him?!'
She'd doubted it, but he really wasn't a physical-type...?
Kinesis stared down at the villain in shock, and he looked back at her with clear, rational eyes—unlike his frenzied punching earlier.
Whoosh! Thud!
The man leaped to her side in one bound and spoke.
"Oh... you took that explosion head-on and you're still fine?"
"Ugh... what... are you..."
"Me? Hell if I know. What even happened... I felt like I was about to drop dead earlier, but now I feel great. Refreshed, even. Yeah, like I've been reborn."
The villain grinned slyly, stretching his arms overhead like he was doing morning exercises.
"Who would've thought it was real... that drug that rebirths you... it gave me power like this too!"
"A drug...?"
"You heroes wouldn't get it. Ahh... Kinesis... Killing a top-tier A-Rank like you will definitely get me into 'that place'... Lucky for me, you're already half-dead. Huh?"
"..."
"Die for me, will ya? You're a hero, right? Shouldn't you do whatever it takes for the citizens?"
Cold sweat trickled down Kinesis's face.
Dangerous.
Her output was way weaker now than before.
Earlier, she could've taken him with time. Now? She couldn't picture winning.
That explosion had been too devastating.
"How did you even..."
"Hm? Oh, since you're gonna die anyway, want me to tell you? My ability."
Did he already think he'd won?
The villain smirked bitterly and continued.
"My original power was energy absorption. Any kind of energy, I could suck it up. Including the hits you threw at me."
"...!"
"But now I can release it too... and the absorption capacity, the efficiency—it's on another level! Look at all this power still left!"
The man swung his fist.
Sensing danger, Kinesis hastily erected a barrier, but—
Boom!
"Kuhk..."
Her weakened psychokinesis couldn't hold it back.
The impact forced the air from her lungs, sending her tumbling backward to crash limply on the ground.
She barely avoided a fatal fall by reactivating her psychokinesis mid-drop, then lay there panting, glaring up at the villain.
"Ah... guess I used too much just now. Not much left."
"Haa... haa..."
"Eh, should be enough to finish off a dying bitch like you."
As the villain approached, rotating his arm, Kinesis reached out weakly.
"Gonna use psychokinesis again? Told you it won't work. You don't listen."
"Kuhk..."
"Fine, fire away. I'll absorb it all. Your power'll come in handy against other heroes... Huh?"
The moment Kinesis's eyes gleamed, something surged toward the man's legs.
"Gaaah?!"
"Don't... come any closer..."
He could only absorb energy directly transmitted to him.
So she gathered shattered debris and sand, suspending it midair before slamming it together to form restraints.
The villain glanced down at his ankles, now shackled, in panic.
Kinesis seized the opening to psychokinetically crumble the ground beneath him into a sinkhole, but—
"You bitch...! Stay down!"
Boom!
"Kuhk..."
The shock disrupted her psychokinesis again, dropping her to the ground.
"Ptoo."
The villain spat down at Kinesis, who trembled and gasped from the agony wracking her body.
"Tch... Other heroes'll be here soon. Gotta wrap this up."
He shattered the shackles with force, yanked his legs free, and closed in on Kinesis again.
"Bored now. I'll make it quick."
"Hahk... hahk..."
"Bye."
As energy gathered above her, Kinesis closed her eyes, sensing her end.
'Someone...'
Her thoughts didn't linger.
The explosion roared, and a massive impact should have—
"...Huh?"
—struck her body.
But it didn't.
She was still intact.
Waiting with eyes shut for the blow that never came, Kinesis finally opened them at the bizarre delay.
And then...
".........What the hell are you?"
A familiar yet reassuring back filled her view.
"A person."
"That's not the answer I wanted. What's with that shitty mask?"
"Shitty? I put a lot of thought into buying it... disappointing."
Ah...
Kinesis stared up at the man in astonishment.
He'd been at the cafe just moments ago.
Why was he here?
"Y-you..."
"Oh, you're awake. Came to help."
"Ah..."
She'd thought she was done for.
Of course, the situation had escalated so fast—only a few minutes—that rescue was unlikely.
She knew that rationally, yet she'd felt so alone. Why wasn't anyone coming?
Was this really how she'd die?
No one at all?
And then...
"Th-thank... you..."
Maybe because this was someone she could trust, even without ever fighting alongside him.
Kinesis closed her eyes in relief.