The First Shockwave
The first time I unleashed a shockwave in combat was two weeks after possessing this body. It was more than enough time to realize that my possession had happened three months before the main story began. I'd gone through the full adaptation period—or so I thought—when shit hit the fan.
My opponent was a C-Rank villain named Steel Skin. His ability hardened his skin like metal, just as the name implied. He was somewhat notorious in the underworld, but he never appeared in the original work I knew. In other words, my knowledge of the original story was useless against him. He was just your run-of-the-mill villain with zero screen time.
The situation was straightforward. Steel Skin picked a fight first, demanding tribute money if I wanted to operate in his turf—like some back-alley bandit. Naturally, I refused. Then his underlings raided my rundown one-room apartment. There were three of them, armed and trying to intimidate me. But I'd been in this body for two weeks by then, so I was used to it. I grabbed the baseball bat at home and beat the crap out of them before chasing them off. A few days later, the man himself showed up. This slum was a real jungle, just like in any hero story. All I wanted was to make some money and escape to the civilized world where the lights of progress shone...
"Blank. Everyone knows you're B-Rank. But honestly."
Steel Skin's fist came flying. My body reacted before my mind could. I twisted away with all my strength. His punch punched straight through the brick wall behind me. It scraped against the inorganic bricks with a metallic screech, leaving his fist unscratched. Definitely threatening. Fast. I got lucky dodging it.
"They say you're really just C-Rank level. You only got B-Rank because the Hero Association made a fuss."
His voice was laughing. I backed away to create distance. The combat instincts ingrained in Blank's body flowed through my limbs, making my movements smooth. This guy Blank was pretty decent. He seemed versed in basic hand-to-hand and weapon techniques. The problem was synchronization. My physical abilities synced well, but using superpowers was still clumsy. In the original, it only mentioned something like shockwaves, but no details on how the ability worked, which was a pain.
Steel Skin charged again. This time, I didn't dodge. I'd spotted a rusty pipe rolling on the alley floor 0.5 seconds earlier. I crouched, snatched it up—something cold and heavy gripped perfectly in my palm. His fist hurtled toward me. I read its trajectory and swung the pipe horizontally to block.
A metallic clang exploded. My arm went numb. The impact of metal skin against steel pipe shot up to my wrist. Steel Skin froze for a split second, surprised I'd blocked it. This was my chance while his fist was stalled. I got a feel for how to use the superpower. Instead of retreating, I pressed forward. I reversed my grip on the pipe, twisting my waist. A rising strike loading my full body weight. At the same time, I channeled shockwaves through the entire pipe.
I visualized an invisible vibrating force transferring from my body to the pipe and struck. The sensation of energy surging from my fingertips to the metal tip tingled through my palm. This Steel Skin lived up to his name—he felt like hitting a solid chunk of metal. In the instant the pipe sank into his side like it was being sucked in...
SKREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAMMMMMM!!!!!!
An explosion roared. Not just a simple impact—it was the shockwave detonating through the pipe, burrowing inside his metal skin. Steel Skin's eyes bulged wide. His metal skin blocked external shocks, but an internal blast was a different story. His frame held up, but his expression betrayed the internal damage.
"Kuhk."
Blood spewed from Steel Skin's mouth as he staggered. He collapsed sideways. I gripped the pipe like a lifeline, enduring the stinging vibrations transmitted through my hands. My palms burned like they'd been scorched. The backlash from the shockwave rebounding through the pipe. Note to self: shockwaves can transmit through objects, but using a medium means the recoil comes back too.
Steel Skin twitched his limbs on the ground, struggling to rise. "Kuh-luk!!" Every time he moved, more blood poured from his mouth. My attack had hit hard. He flailed desperately, trying to stand. His arms trembled like a massager, and he lifted his head, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.
Did I... just win?
I slowly lowered the pipe. "...Not C-Rank, huh."
Steel Skin spat blood and grumbled curtly. "Believing rumors too seriously is for suckers."
We're all in the same line of work—let's get along, yeah? His eyes narrowed, pride wounded. Job done; time to part ways?
No. Should I kill him?
I was adapting faster than expected; killing suddenly felt appealing. For the peace of my daily life, it made sense. If I let him live, he'd come back.
Environment shapes you, huh.
Living as a villain for a few weeks had corrupted my mindset. That thought lasted only a moment.
SHWIIIIING!!!!!!!!
Light poured down. From above the alley. A rooftop. A beam sliced precisely in front of Steel Skin's feet—a warning shot. The concrete floor cratered shallowly, then melted like heated marshmallow. I instinctively looked up.
A figure stood on the rooftop railing. Neatly cascading black hair. A slim-fit bodysuit accentuating her voluptuous figure. Eyes sharp even in the night. Light trailed from her right fingertip like thread.
──Flash. S-Rank hero. Seo Ha-yoon. In the original, the one who hounded Blank most persistently (based on her three appearances). And right now, the last person I wanted to run into.
No way she'd mistake me or fail to recognize me. She looked exactly like in the original.
She's pretty.
As expected of the protagonist—her beauty had an intensity all its own. A flawless, icy allure that could captivate you all day without boring. She stared straight at me.
"B-Rank Blank. C-Rank Steel Skin."
Her voice was quiet. Impossible to tell if it lacked emotion or concealed it.
"Ooooh! It's Flash!!"
"The hero's finally here!! Those guys are done for!!"
Suddenly, a huge crowd gathered around, cheering wildly. Citizens treating hero-villain fights like entertainment—maybe they're the real strongest.
"Don't move. Either of you."
Seo Ha-yoon glared right at us.
"It's Flash. Bad luck today."
Steel Skin somehow hauled himself up, limping, then bolted without warning.
Hey, dude. At least signal me before you run. Her gaze followed. A beam grazed his leg.
"Gaaah! Fuck!!!"
Steel Skin clutched his leg and rolled on the ground. Yeah, he's getting arrested for sure.
0.5-second gap. Then her eyes turned to me. I had to run. My brain knew it. My feet wouldn't move.
Seo Ha-yoon leaped from the rooftop. Mid-fall, she turned her feet to photons. She adjusted speed with recoil and landed silently. Ten steps away.
"Not running."
She said, sounding surprised.
"......Was thinking about it."
A bit of bravado, but I'd straight-up frozen. This was Hero Chronicle's protagonist, Flash. I hadn't expected to meet her this soon. Shock rooted my feet. And... she was even more stunning than I'd imagined; I lost myself staring and froze.
"Conclusion?"
Light gathered at her fingertip again. Focusing. Aiming. A move I'd seen in the original. Once complete, it'd punch through building walls. Run. Now.
Villains in this world have no rights.
The worldview was brutally dark. Captured villains became lab rats for conglomerates like Karls or got forcibly drafted with bomb collars, thrown into warzones or terror sites. Sure, rotten villains don't deserve rights, but I wasn't debating criminal rights now. Getting caught here meant I was fucked. That's what mattered.
I loaded shockwaves into my soles. Fighting Steel Skin had given me the knack for using my power. Thanks, Steel Skin!!
My body launched upward. Simultaneously, her beam grazed past. By my shoulder, mere centimeters away. I felt the heat. Close call.
"Move!! Get out of the way!!!!"
I yelled at the blocking crowd, scanning for a landing spot.
"Kyaaaaah!!!"
The spectators finally snapped out of gawker mode, scattering like sheep without a shepherd. I landed on a rooftop. Ran. My feet flashed, leaping between buildings at speeds too fast to track visually. I glanced back. Seo Ha-yoon pursued. Parts of her body turned to light beams, closing in silently and swiftly.
Fast. I knew from the original, but experiencing it was different. I gritted my teeth, accelerating. Three blocks. Four. Dove into alleys. Narrow, twisting paths. Her straight-line beams would struggle here.
Blank's body remembered escape routes. Instinct screaming to flee this hero. Turn, turn again, vault a low wall.
"......"
Her silent pursuit terrified me most. If she'd yelled "Stop right there!" it'd be less scary, but Seo Ha-yoon chased with unchanging expression, optimal path.
How many minutes of this frantic rooftop chase? Eventually, her footsteps faded.
Guess I'll buy this.
Crouched in a corner of an abandoned factory, I caught my breath. Heart pounding. The heat from the beam that grazed my shoulder still lingered on my skin. A bit more to the left, and my brain would've been roasted golden-brown.
Of all days, Flash on my first real fight. Per the original, my first encounter with Seo Ha-yoon should've been much later. Something was off. I hadn't done anything different, yet divergences appeared.
Her eyes flashed in my mind. That emotionless aim. But oddly, unlike when Steel Skin fled, for a split second—just a split second—something seemed different.
...Nah, just my imagination.
I stood. That was enough for today. I survived. A full day.
After the chase, Flash Seo Ha-yoon briefed the police on events.
"Whew. Feels like a bad tooth finally got pulled. Never thought we'd nab Steel Skin. Haha."
The officer flipped off the shackled Steel Skin contentedly.
"I didn't catch him."
Seo Ha-yoon reported factually, her tone icy.
"Huh? Then who..."
"The B-Rank villain Blank did."
Seo Ha-yoon didn't hog credit that wasn't hers. All she'd done was a restraining shot at the near-dead Steel Skin's feet.
"Blank...? Thought he'd gone quiet lately. Didn't expect him scrapping with another villain."
The officer brushed it off. Villain infighting in the slums was commonplace.
"A B-Rank villain with no recent activity suddenly shows up..."
Blank's abrupt appearance nagged at Seo Ha-yoon. Maybe investigate after work. With that thought, she handed over Steel Skin and finished her report, then left.