Chapter 11: Kids Grow Up Just Fine on Their Own (2)
Chapter 11: Kids Grow Up Just Fine on Their Own (2)
A few minutes after Hyun-seok disappeared, his presence, which I had been tracking, finally vanished from my detection range.
Seeing as he returned without any suspicious movements, it likely wasn't a trap or a test—at least for now.
However, that alone wasn't enough to put me at ease.
"Un-ho."
Calling my partner's name, I turned my gaze toward the ferret, who was currently stuffing the last of the snacks into his mouth.
"What is it?"
His cheeks were puffed out so much it looked like he’d shoved the entire bag in there.
I momentarily wondered if he was actually a ferret or just a white hamster, but since he seemed capable of speech, I continued the conversation.
"What was the reaction you sensed from Hyun-seok?"
"Can't you even trust your friend?"
"Right now, he didn't come to me as a friend. He came as a Branch Manager."
Even if we were close, he was a high-ranking official of the Management Bureau. To maintain social order, the image of Heroes, and the hard-won trust of the Bureau, he would be capable of deceiving even a friend.
Especially if he knew that friend was trying to change the very society he had helped build.
"But he's still your friend...?"
"Even if I'm hostile toward the Bureau, there's no guarantee we'll remain friends."
I relayed this obvious truth to my naive partner and continued.
"So, tell me. The reactions revealed in that conversation. The lies and the emotions."
I can read people's emotions to some extent, but I'm no match for Un-ho.
"There were no lies."
"Is that because he knows I have a Magical Girl mascot who can detect falsehoods? What about the emotions you felt?"
If there were no lies, it meant that while he might be hiding something, he wasn't speaking untruths. In that case, the disciple likely wasn't a spy or a Hero in disguise either.
A Magical Girl whose adversary is the Black Marauder must have truly been born.
"Mostly trust. However, I felt fear when you took out that black machine."
"Fear?"
"Yes. And a bit of resignation."
What does that mean?
Fear and resignation.
"And when he saw the paper coming out of the machine, strong doubt surfaced. At that moment, he couldn't hide his emotions; they surfaced directly in his heart."
What could it mean? They were incomprehensible emotions. He didn't exactly doubt me, nor did he fully trust me. What followed that trust were only subtle, difficult-to-interpret feelings.
"I wish I had mind-reading powers."
"Even if you did, it would have been difficult in its own way."
"Well, probably."
I pieced together the revealed information.
If there were no lies and most of what I felt was trust, then he truly intended for me to train a disciple. I didn't know what might be hidden behind that, but...
"At least I don't need to doubt the Magical Girl coming in as a disciple."
"Were you planning on doubting someone you haven't even met?"
"In this situation, who else can I trust but you?"
A neutral partner who wouldn't betray me, but wouldn't actively help me either.
The Heroes who were my close friends. The Management Bureau, the workplace I had belonged to for so long. The Mutant Society, my trading partners whom I had saved. All of them were entities I had to doubt, beings I couldn't trust.
If they became obstacles in the process of setting Heroes and society right, they were people I would have to cut down without hesitation.
Perhaps moved by those words, Un-ho came to my feet and rubbed his body against me. His fur, soft and high-quality from eating well every day, tickled my skin.
He only acts like a pet at times like this.
Still, the sensation wasn't bad, so I stroked his fur. I followed the grain so it wouldn't feel unpleasant, using a practiced touch so the fur wouldn't get caught between my fingers and hurt him.
As we spent a moment grooming each other, something occurred to me, and I grabbed Un-ho’s body. I could feel the oily fat beneath the soft fur.
"Poyo!"
"Come to think of it."
I lifted the struggling Un-ho up to my face.
When our eyes met, Un-ho flailed his limbs as if he had no idea why I was suddenly doing this.
"What's this about sensing Otherworldly Power when I transform? Did you bake a trap into it?"
"I don't know, I don't know! I just requested new power according to my authority!"
"Then there's no reason for Otherworldly Power to come out of it. Un-ho, are you perhaps The Enemy of my story?"
There were certainly stories where the trusted partner or mascot turned out to be The Enemy. Recalling the Heroes who had died after being hit by such betrayals, I tightened my grip.
To be honest, I thought the possibility of Un-ho doing that was slim, but the seeds of doubt had to be nipped in the bud.
"I just bring power from outside the world. I didn't know it would connect to the Otherworld! Save me, Un-ho!"
"Outside the world, huh? Interesting. Keep talking."
Sensing that an interesting story might come out, I loosened my grip on Un-ho.
"Gah. I'm not supposed to talk about this..."
"You've already broken more than one or two mascot rules. Just spill it."
"You'll keep it a secret, right?"
No, I'll blab if I need to. The more information the Bureau has, the better.
"Sure."
Un-ho picked himself up and caught his breath.
"You know the goal of Mutants or monsters with Otherworldly Power, right?"
"It's to tear a hole to the Otherworld and erode this world."
Why state the obvious?
"Actually, the power given to Heroes is the same. It's just that the power we grant is contained within, so it doesn't spread out to contaminate this world or tear holes."
I already knew that. And the rest of the story is...
"And you reclaim it once the story is over?"
"Yes."
I clutched my aching head and pressed Un-ho.
"Everyone knows that. Why is that a secret?"
"...How?"
This damn White Fur Ball, really...
"What did you think that black machine Hyun-seok took out earlier was?"
"A gun, maybe?"
I let out a sigh. I’d thought it before, but there was no way this glutton was a traitor.
"It's an Otherworldly Power detection device. Since they've finished analyzing what Otherworldly Power is to some extent, they also know what a Hero’s power is."
"Then why is there such a rule...?"
"It's probably a rule from thirty years ago."
In this situation, shouldn't the mascot's rules have changed significantly as well?
"Poyoooo..."
The white dustball slumped onto the ground in dejection.
"So, you just delivered the power to me, but it ended up connecting to the Otherworld. Is that it?"
"It's not my fault... It was the Magic Circle that gives the most appropriate power."
"Does that mean my power is closer to the Otherworld than to a Magical Girl?"
"Maybe both?"
It just keeps getting better and better.
To verify, I pulled out my Pry Bar. My vision turned dark, and Black Particles scattered throughout the room.
The particles won't stay in the corners of the room, will they?
"What's the Otherworld contamination level?"
Un-ho twitched his nose and whiskers as if trying to sense something, and soon gave an answer.
"I didn't know until now because I wasn't trying to sense it, but in terms of the amount of power, it wouldn't be strange if a hole opened right now. Strangely, there's almost no surrounding contamination, though."
"So you're saying if I fall, a hole will open immediately?"
"Theoretically, yes. At least theoretically. Still, I don't think there will be any holes caused by contamination. It seems the Black Particles fluttering around you act to absorb the Otherworldly Power."
This is driving me crazy.
Leaving my throbbing head alone, I slung the Pry Bar over my shoulder.
"I'm going out."
"Where are you going?"
"My head is a mess, so I'm going to go beat up a Hero I see."
"Have a safe trip..."
The white piece of trash waved a forepaw at me in a dying voice, as if he didn't even have the energy to stop me.
* * *
I found one.
A healing-type Magical Girl treating injured citizens.
As if to signal her healing nature, her outfit was a nurse-themed costume based primarily on white.
Pink mana was seeping into the citizens, soothing their wounds.
Personally, I don't like attacking non-combat Heroes, but looking at it differently, the news would spread even faster because of the cruelty.
It was worth doing.
With that thought, I jumped down behind her.
Thud.
"Who's there!"
As if to prove that even a non-combatant is still a Hero, she immediately summoned a bow in her right hand and looked at me.
Her flustered face gradually turned dark with terror.
"The Hero... Hunter."
It seemed the name 'Black Marauder' hadn't been officially announced yet. I stood up, intending to end it without pain, but—
Twang. Twang.
Two arrows immediately sliced through the air toward me.
Quick judgment.
The heart. The head.
If the difference in skill is clear, one must prioritize survival. Aiming for vital points immediately was a good choice.
But it's too slow.
I had suspected she might be a long-range type who used healing magic as support, but that thought vanished at the incredibly slow speed of the arrows.
I ducked to avoid the arrows, which weren't even worth parrying, and charged straight ahead, swinging the Pry Bar at her arm.
"I'll at least end this before you can feel the pain."
I saw her face as she notched an arrow.
Astonishment, confusion, determination.
Her expression shifted in that order, and she gritted her teeth, thrusting her head toward the Pry Bar.
Dammit. Nothing I can do.
Clang!
A clear sound rang out. It didn't break, but it was the sound of a heavy impact.
Because I had pulled my strength at the last moment, her skull maintained its shape.
Her forehead was torn and bleeding, but compared to having her head completely crushed, it was nothing.
Did she move randomly out of confusion?
There's no way she'd sacrifice her head to save her arm. And yet, that was exactly what had happened before my eyes.
I was momentarily stunned by such a reckless act, but—
Whoosh.
Hearing the sound of air being sliced, I leaped backward. A silver trajectory that failed to even graze my body cut through the empty air.
"Ah. That's a shame."
Her face was covered in blood.
In her left hand was a sharp arrow.
She hadn't given up, nor was she confused. She had simply staked her life to save her arm.
Pink mana gathered at her forehead, slowly healing the wound. Perhaps her healing ability was low, as the wound regenerated at a very slow pace.
Of course, I wasn't the type to go easy on her just because her face was a bloody mess.
Taking advantage of the moment she focused on healing, I charged at her.
She tried to jump aside as if to avoid my attack, but for some reason, she stopped mid-motion and blocked the Pry Bar with the arrow in her left hand.
Crack.
The Pry Bar easily smashed through her defense. The arrow snapped, and her right leg broke along with it.
"Ugh."
No scream was heard. What she let out was a sound suppressing the pain.
No one was writhing in agony.
There was only a Hero, gritting her teeth and swinging the hand holding the arrow.
Her arrow was blocked by the Pry Bar, but I didn't continue the attack; I stopped.
There was something I wanted to ask her.
"Why didn't you dodge?"
"Ah, so you can talk?"
"I believe I spoke earlier as well."
"I thought you were talking to yourself."
Even while talking, she constantly changed the trajectory of the arrow, trying to stab me somehow.
However, since my skill was far superior, it only looked as if the arrow was stuck to the Pry Bar.
"So, why didn't you dodge?"
"Because there's an injured person behind me."
"...I only attack Heroes."
"I didn't know that."
My curiosity was satisfied.
She had simply made a Hero-like choice.
I swatted the arrow away and swung the Pry Bar toward her left arm.
Whack.
A heavy sensation traveled up my hand. I felt flesh being crushed, but her arm didn't break. She had summoned a bundle of arrows in mid-air to dampen the impact of the attack.
The fragile arrows couldn't stop the Pry Bar, but they at least prevented her arm from breaking.
"Do you intend to keep fighting?"
"As much as it takes."
Despite her broken leg and crushed arm, she didn't lose her will to fight.
"Then... let's continue."
* * *
"Begone!"
Her entire body a mess, she gathered mana and fired an arrow.
The pink-glowing arrow drew a trail of light more vivid than the dawning morning sun as it pierced through my Black Particles, but—
Clang.
"It's useless."
The pink arrow struck the Pry Bar and was easily deflected.
"Haha..."
Seeing my nonchalant attitude, the Magical Girl let out a bitter laugh, but internally, I was quite impressed.
Her leg was broken and bent in an odd direction, her forehead was split and her face stained with blood, her body was covered in scrapes from the ground and bruises from being struck by a blunt weapon, and her crushed arm had turned purple. And yet, she hadn't lost her fighting spirit.
She was an exceptionally weak Hero among all those I had seen. Her healing power was weak, and her weapons were just simple bows and arrows with no special abilities.
Despite being such a Hero, she was holding out longer than any Hero I had attacked. She compensated for her lack of physical ability by reading my movement paths, and even when she was about to lose an arm, she thrust her forehead forward to save it.
When her leg broke in the face of the clear skill gap, she created arrows and wrapped them around her thigh. A makeshift splint. An action to somehow regain mobility.
Looking at all those actions, she was worthy of being called a Hero.
Interesting. Truly. Interesting.
"How many years has it been?"
"Four years."
"Is healing your only power?"
"Yes."
"What's your name?"
"Forget the Hero name."
"...Han A-bin."
This girl would be able to grow even without being given hardships. Six to ten years. In that time, she would become a shining Hero.
Even so, I couldn't let her go. I couldn't make exceptions, and even if I did, the Bureau might take notice of her.
Just consider it bad luck.
To end her suffering, I released my limiter and unleashed my power.
Boom.
Through a brief release, a shockwave spread out from the surface of my skin.
"Kyaa!"
Along with a short scream, taking advantage of the moment Han A-bin was caught in the shockwave, I lunged toward her at a speed incomparable to just a moment ago.
Even she, who had barely managed to cope by using every technique at her disposal, failed to even perceive that I had vanished this time.
The Pry Bar swung.