My New Light
"This madman!!"
B-Class hero. Nickname: Baekho.
There was no way I wouldn't know her. An infinitely growing heroine whose power was a lesser echo of Ultimate's — and if Ultimate had still been whole, the two of them were destined to stand as twin pillars at the very vanguard of heroism. Baekho's Gift was the infinite-growth type: the more she trained, the stronger her body became.
"Oh my gosh……"
My voice shook. There she was on the screen, rising to her feet in a single motion, crushing despair under her heel.
Hope. My New Light!!
I lunged at the monitor and plastered myself against her close-up as if I could pull her into an embrace.
"Ooooh! Baekho, so you were still out there! Why have you only shown yourself now? Why, why, whyyy!!"
My hand stroked down the glass.
"Kihiit… kishishishishishishit!!"
She grew slower than Ultimate, who harvested experience by slaughtering Mains — but given the nature of her Gift, she had more than enough potential to take his place. At last, a new chance had fallen into my lap.
Of course, walking up to her out of nowhere and asking to be her personal researcher would look insane. I had no connections, no introduction, nothing. So I would use this opportunity instead: get myself rescued by Baekho, let a natural bond form, and leverage that into something deeper. She might even become my heroine in Ultimate's stead.
A perfect plan. Heh heh heh.
The problem was how to slip out of the fortress without looking like I was running.
I stole a sidelong glance at Hongryeon. She had quietly averted her eyes from the spectacle of me glued to the screen. I spun on my heel, white coat flaring, and planted myself in front of her.
"Kishishi! It seems this body shall have to go welcome the specimen in person!"
Hongryeon shook her head.
"The Mecha Legion has completed suppression of the field, yet what variables may yet arise, this maiden cannot know. Should you… desire that woman, this one shall order Mechaman to secure her."
I had figured she would try to stop me. But I needed to correct the part about desiring "that woman." Masat's image was that of a scientist driven mad by his experiments, and nothing else.
I brushed her cheek with my fingers and smiled.
"Non, no, no. One woman at my side is quite enough. What I desire is a specimen — and a precious material that will correct the failure known as Frankenmate, at that! Kishishishit!!"
Hongryeon's camera-lens pupils dilated wide. What was that? Had she glitched?
Fortunately she looked aside and parted her lips.
"…This maiden understands your words. As it is a precious specimen, you wish to secure it with your own hands. Is that so?"
I snapped my fingers at once.
Tak!
"Bingo! As expected of this body's chief assistant! The only one who truly understands my heart is Hongryeon! Kihihihihit!!"
Hongryeon bowed her head.
"As you will. This maiden shall contact Mechaman and have your escort reinforced."
I swept toward the exit, white coat billowing. Getting permission to leave at all was a relief. Now the real trick was peeling Hongryeon and Mechaman off me.
Ah. That might just work.
The instant the massive steel door rumbled open, I jabbed a finger at the horizon.
"What?! This energy signature — that's an S-Class hero, no question!!"
I ground my teeth and let the rage pour out.
"No doubt they've come to interfere with this body's experiments!"
I flicked glances at Hongryeon. She tilted her head.
"Alpha has yet to issue any warning, however."
"Oh! Alpha, Alpha, Alpha!! Does Hongryeon believe some AI is smarter than this body?! Then I am most disappointed! Disappointed!!"
Hongryeon folded her hands and bowed with perfect courtesy.
"This maiden begs your pardon. She has spoken out of turn. She shall order Mechaman to respond at once."
Tsk. Getting Mechaman out of the way was a gift, but Hongryeon needed to leave too…
"Hmmm! By my calculations, Mechaman alone will not suffice. Kishit! Hongryeon had best go support him as well!"
"However, should this maiden leave her post, a gap shall form in Lord Masat's protection."
Exactly! I needed that gap, so Baekho could come rescue me!
At the threshold, a robotic arm held out my crystal-orb staff. I took it.
"Kishishi. An escort? Does this body look like it needs such a thing?"
The miniature fusion reactor in my sternum kicked to life, flooding the air with a blaze of white light. Superconducting circuits bloomed and raced beneath my coat. The mechanical skeleton activated; a robotic gauntlet clamped down on the staff.
Clack!
Plasma flared inside the orb.
Crackle-snap!!
From the two spring coils jutting out of my back, the relief system dumped its surplus current in a searing flash.
"No problem!! Before the greatness of science, all living things are equal!! Kihihihihihihihit!!"
Hongryeon hesitated a moment, then bowed.
"Judging by that woman's energy output, she is no match for you, Lord Masat. This maiden shall therefore proceed to search for and intercept the entity of which you spoke."
Yes, yes! Go already!
She drifted toward the doorway as if merely hurrying — then, at the last stretch, detonated a sonic boom and shot toward the horizon.
BOOM!!
Whoa… if I took even one hit from those legs, there wouldn't be a bone left in my body. Oh, right. I was the one who enhanced her like that.
I'm an idiot……
Anyway. The greatest obstacle — Hongryeon — was gone. I was completely alone. The perfect chance to escape the suffocating grip of the Mausoleum Temple had finally arrived.
Now then! Time to save me!
B-Class hero Baekho!!
Baek Seoha surveyed the city streets and frowned.
The neighborhoods of Gwanak District were a wreck. Flames clawed up between shattered buildings, and severed power lines spat current in dangerous, snapping sparks. Overturned cars littered the roads; the asphalt itself had been gouged open in patch after patch.
But the truly strange part was something else. The carcass of a colossal elephant jutted from a utility pole it had been impaled upon. A rhinoceros Main's head was buried in a building wall, still dripping blood. Remains of beast-type Mains lay scattered up and down the street.
Are the Mains fighting each other over territory?
She turned her glare on the enormous man she had just struck with a flying kick. His body was a map of scars, and the bolt driven through his temple made it obvious he was no human. The hit had landed — she had felt it — and yet he had simply walked out of the outer wall as if nothing had happened.
"Me. Hurt……"
"Kh… you Main bastard. Dragging innocent civilians into this……"
A Main got no mercy. Baek Seoha charged the giant at once. She leapt high, cocked her leg nearly vertical in midair, and roared,
"Axe Kick!!"
A fourth-dan in taekwondo, and the form was flawless. The heel of her boot drove into the crown of his skull.
CRACK!
Kicking power that could bend rebar. The Main's face punched through the asphalt as the street itself caved in beneath him.
KRA-KOOM!
Baek Seoha smiled in satisfaction and murmured,
"Justice always prevails. Heh."
That was when a grotesque laugh drifted down from the sky.
"Kishishi! I have been waiting for you! B-Class hero Baekho!!"
She lifted her gaze toward the voice. A scientist was descending at a leisurely pace on a floating disc — and his appearance was anything but ordinary.
A man in a gas mask fitted with three filter canisters, bluish smoke leaking from beneath the faceplate. A goggle-type HUD glowed with a soft blue light across his hidden eyes. A mechanical exoskeleton sheathed the body beneath his white coat, and a circular device shone, exposed, at his sternum. In his right hand, a staff crowned with a crystal orb. Most ominous of all were the two spring coils on his back, plasma crawling between them in a way that looked one spark short of catastrophe.
The scientist stepped off the disc and flung both arms wide, his voice thick with emotion.
"Come! Quickly now! Deliver me with those righteous hands of yours! I am a decent, law-abiding citizen myself!"
Baek Seoha swept a look around the devastation and clenched her fists. What the hell was this disgusting man even saying? He had come drifting down from a fortress tower, armed to the teeth, as casually as a man stepping into his own living room — and he wanted to call himself a citizen?
She bared her teeth and stabbed a finger at him.
"A citizen? After turning this place into a war zone, you dare put that word in your mouth?!"
The scientist wagged his head with a performance of wounded sorrow.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding. Strictly speaking, I wasn't the one who—"
Baek Seoha slashed a hand through the air and cut him off.
"Shut up! In the name of justice, I will not forgive you!!"
The Hero Association had taught her that certain Mains seduced their prey with clever words. Anyone who could drop an entire fortress-type dungeon into the city clearly possessed formidable scientific power. She could not afford to get pulled into his rhythm.
She launched herself at the scientist without another second's hesitation.
"First strike wins!!"
She spun her body in midair, winding up the kick.
"Roundhouse— wait?!"
The rotation gave her a split-second view of what was behind her, and Baek Seoha's eyes went wide. The giant Main she had just buried in the asphalt was charging at a speed that made no sense for his bulk, fist already swinging.
"Uwaaah! Master! Protect!!"
"What?!"
She was airborne. There was no dodging. Baek Seoha crossed her arms on reflex.
The instant that massive fist connected, agony detonated through both arms.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
The bones in both arms shattered, and she was launched. She smashed through a building's windows, punched through the interior wall, and slammed into a bathroom.
KRA-KOOOOM!
SSSSHHHH!!
The drainpipes burst. Water erupted from every direction. Baek Seoha coughed up blood.
"Khack!"
She had sacrificed both arms and the shock had still torn through her entire body.
"This is… bad… I think my organs ruptured… ghk!"
She couldn't hold it back. A gout of bright red blood spilled from her lips.
"Nngh……"
Then the scientist came sprinting across the office, urgency in every step.
"Oh! I am so terribly sorry, Baekho! How are you? Is your body all right?"
All right? That fake concern, that needling tone — it made her sick. Baek Seoha clenched her teeth and forced herself to her feet. If the dungeon lord died, the Mains under him would collapse into a disorganized rabble. All she had to do was put down the scientist in front of her.
He extended a hand sheathed in machinery, his voice soft and gentle.
"If you're in poor condition, I shall treat you myself. I do have a recent track record of resurrecting a hero who was already dead. So please, place your full trust in me. Ksss-sss-sss…"
"You… resurrected a hero…?"
The scarred giant flashed through Baek Seoha's mind. Her eyes flew wide, as if a missing piece had finally clicked into place.
"It can't be……"
She had thought the face looked familiar. Until three months ago he had been the super rookie, the A-Class hero Ultimate. Everyone had praised him as the man who would become the world's second SSS-Class hero. Perhaps he had grown arrogant. Three months ago he had vanished without a trace.
And now — that Ultimate had been reborn as a Main, by this lunatic scientist's hands!!
"This madman!!"
Baek Seoha gathered every last scrap of strength in her body and charged the scientist.