Day 30
"Number One, stop."
The doll froze mid-swing, its fist halted an inch from crushing the fallen Proxy's skull at the sound of Cheon Seo-ah's command from behind.
A movement that seemed to ignore every law of physics. Proof that even with its power restricted, the doll's fundamental performance hadn't dropped in the slightest.
More than that...
"Clearly, you're all lacking in experience."
Cheon Seo-ah surveyed the nine villains sprawled across the floor.
It wasn't power they were short on. What they lacked was simply experience.
The Proxy's current realm was Nascent Soul. The rest remained at Golden Core, with Chilgeomje lingering somewhere between Core Formation and Golden Core. At that level, they had more than enough to enjoy life as absolute beings on Earth.
But perhaps precisely because of that, they had far too little experience fighting opponents of comparable strength. And on top of it all, the performance of Cheon Seo-ah's doll — Number One — was simply too overwhelming.
Still, though.
"There's no reason for any of you to go to the Cultivation World anyway, so this should be more than enough."
Unless hundreds of nuclear warheads were deliberately concentrated over their heads, the odds of them meeting any death other than natural causes would round down to zero.
Muttering that, Cheon Seo-ah withdrew Daematcheon.
"Well then, I'll be off."
"Safe travels, young lady."
At Cheon Seo-ah's words, the Proxy bowed his head in reply. His expression, however, remained stiffly frozen — he still hadn't fully shaken off the shock of being defeated by a mere "doll."
It wasn't just the Proxy. All nine villains were in the same state. This wasn't something she could fix for them. Time was the only medicine; they would have to overcome it themselves. If they managed to stand back up on their own, their realms would climb higher. If they couldn't, they would live out their lives stuck at their current levels until they died.
Well, no need for me to worry about that. More importantly...
Cheon Seo-ah glanced at the smartphone screen in her hand. An open conversation filled the display — a chat with Gwanghwi, ranked eighth among South Korea's heroes.
After parting ways with Gwanghwi on a promise to visit again, Cheon Seo-ah had never once returned to her house. It wasn't that she'd deliberately avoided going. Nor was there any major reason she couldn't. It was just...
If I say I forgot, she'll get mad, right?
Hmm. Better not mention that. Still, she'd remembered Gwanghwi's existence eventually, so that was fine, wasn't it?
Thinking that, she set off, and before she knew it she had arrived at Gangnam Station. Even in the early afternoon the station was packed, fully living up to its notorious reputation for foot traffic.
Let's see. She was sure...
"It should be around here somewhere."
Cheon Seo-ah looked around. Hero name: Gwanghwi. Real name: Jin Yu-ri. The place she'd arranged to meet her and her sidekick, Kang Ye-seul, was right in front of Exit 11 at Gangnam Station.
But no matter how she searched, she couldn't find them. Just as the thought crossed her mind that something might have happened—
"Huff—! Huff—! S-sorry. We're way late, aren't we?"
Breathing hard, Jin Yu-ri and Kang Ye-seul finally appeared. They'd clearly run in such a panic that their ragged breathing showed no sign of settling, and sweat poured down their bodies even though summer had already given way to autumn.
"It's fine. I just got here myself."
"R-really? Haa—, thank goodness."
Jin Yu-ri and Kang Ye-seul both sighed in relief at her answer.
More importantly.
"Why did you call me?"
"Because you said you'd come hang out and then never showed?"
At Jin Yu-ri's words, Cheon Seo-ah stared at her steadily. Not cloudy, exactly — but those dead black eyes fixed on her created a strange sense of discomfort. Jin Yu-ri cleared her throat with a forced cough.
"I'm kidding, kidding. So don't stare at me with those eyes, okay?"
"So what's the real reason you called me?"
"You'll find out when we get there. But one thing's for sure — it's absolutely nothing that would hurt you."
"Hmm."
As Jin Yu-ri spoke with her chest puffed out confidently, Cheon Seo-ah's eyes narrowed.
"Here?"
"Yep."
The place they'd arrived at following Jin Yu-ri was one of the most famous locations in Gangnam — no, in all of Seoul. And for good reason...
"The Hero Association?"
Cheon Seo-ah muttered, glancing at the massive building before her. The Hero Association. More precisely, the South Korean branch of the Hero Association. The building that could be called the true headquarters had the word "General" inserted between "Hero" and "Association," after all.
But more to the point—
"Why did you bring me here?"
Cheon Seo-ah asked, genuinely unable to understand. Honestly, she had no reason to come to a place like this. She had no intention of becoming a hero, and furthermore, the pitiful children she'd helped were now known on this Earth as the "Nine Most Dreadful Villains." So why would she, who could be called those pitiful children's guardian, become something like a hero?
But Jin Yu-ri seemed to think differently. She opened her mouth with a serious expression.
"About what happened back then."
"What happened?"
"That..."
At Cheon Seo-ah's question, Jin Yu-ri hesitated. At that frustrated look, Kang Ye-seul sighed and stepped forward.
"Mind if I explain?"
"Of course not."
"Back when you came to our place, Yu-ri attacked you."
Even now, they didn't know why Jin Yu-ri had attacked Cheon Seo-ah. If even the one who launched the attack didn't know the reason, how could Kang Ye-seul possibly figure it out? But what mattered wasn't "Gwanghwi's attack," as she'd put it.
What mattered was—
"You have a space-related ability, don't you?"
After Cheon Seo-ah left the house that day, Jin Yu-ri had said it. The reason she hadn't collided with Cheon Seo-ah wasn't simple coincidence, nor was it thanks to her desperate control of her own power. The reason she could charge in wreathed in light and still not crash into Cheon Seo-ah was because the space around Cheon Seo-ah had bent.
And so Kang Ye-seul had thought: she absolutely had to debut Cheon Seo-ah as a hero, and recruit her as their team's sidekick. Space-related abilities were rare, but not completely unheard of. However, someone capable of "bending" space enough to block Gwanghwi's attack was so rare you could search with your eyes on fire and still never find one. That was why Kang Ye-seul wanted to act before Cheon Seo-ah registered as a hero first and her ability became known to the world.
Of course.
"That's a little unpleasant."
None of this had been done with Cheon Seo-ah's consent. In her haste, Kang Ye-seul had moved without getting Seo-ah's agreement or permission. So she wore an expression as if she'd expected exactly that reaction.
Jin Yu-ri, too...
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
She kept apologizing with a truly remorseful look. Cheon Seo-ah looked steadily into both their eyes.
Yu-ri unnie was just going along with it. The one who made this plan was Kang Ye-seul. And the reason she pushed this plan so hard is...
Twitch—.
Cheon Seo-ah's brow twitched as she peered into Kang Ye-seul's eyes. At the same time—
"Alright."
"I'm really really sor— wait, what? What did you just say?"
"I said alright. About becoming a hero."
"Really? For real? You're serious? No take-backs!"
"I'm serious. Honestly, I was a little interested in becoming a hero anyway."
At Jin Yu-ri's visibly delighted face, Cheon Seo-ah smiled faintly. And as they say, strike while the iron is hot. Jin Yu-ri and Kang Ye-seul hurried into the Hero Association before Cheon Seo-ah could change her mind.
The glass doors opened onto the first-floor lobby of the Hero Association. The vast space was packed with people. Among them were heroes in distinctive costumes, and ordinary people were a common sight as well. Well, most of those ordinary people had come to take the exam to become heroes.
"But don't you need to register first before taking the hero exam?"
"Ah, we already handled all that. I may not look like much, but I'm a Class 2 hero, so I don't have to worry about little things like that."
"I see."
Exchanging such words, Kang Ye-seul and Jin Yu-ri led Cheon Seo-ah down to the Association's basement. And there...
"Is this the girl?"
A sharp-looking man with deep dark circles under his eyes appeared as if he'd been waiting, and spoke.
"That's right. Can we start right away?"
"Of course. Once she answers a few questions, she can take the exam immediately."
Questions...?
At the word from the man's mouth, Cheon Seo-ah tilted her head—
"According to the file, Ms. Cheon Seo-ah's ability is space-type. What exact ability do you possess?"
As he spoke, the man's eyes turned a deep green.