Chapter 83: East Asia Line Battle (1)
Chapter 83: East Asia Line Battle (1)
"Now! I'll show you my completed technique! Thunder God! Master!"
Baek Si-hyun shouted, waving her hand energetically from across the field.
"How is she always so full of energy?"
She had spent the last few weeks doing nothing but getting thrashed by Thunder God. Seeing her still smiling like that was almost terrifying.
"She knows," Thunder God said, glancing at me while rambling about something strange. "She knows that staying by someone's side requires that much effort."
Thunder God let out a small sigh. "In a way, I'm jealous. I gave up once. Maybe it's because she's young."
Even for someone like me, I knew what needed to be said at a time like this.
"You look plenty young yourself, so don't worry about your age. Isn't that the only good thing about this job? Your youth lasts longer. So..."
The words were hard to force out. They were words I had never tried to say in my entire life.
"What are you trying to say? Hmm?"
Perhaps she sensed my awkwardness. Thunder God leaned her face in close, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
"...Just watch Si-hyun. She's staring at us, wondering why we aren't looking her way."
The poor disciple was standing there with her hands outstretched, waiting for us to pay attention. Her pitiful appearance was the perfect excuse to change the subject.
"Hmm. Let me ask you one thing. My old self. My current self. Which do you like better?"
That was an obvious question.
"Your current self. You're beautiful, so don't worry. And don't ask again."
The answer shot out instantly. There was no need to think. How could I even compare her current self to back then, when she hadn't even grown up properly?
"That was a decent thing to say, coming from you, Ha-ram."
Thunder God turned her head toward Baek Si-hyun, but her voice was thick with embarrassment. I couldn't see her face, but it was likely flushed red. Even I, after spending weeks with her, understood what kind of words and actions she liked.
And I understood her feelings, too.
"Well done, Senior."
Had she overheard us? Han A-bin placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded.
"What do you think you're doing?"
A disciple touching her master so casually and nodding as if she were proud of him? It felt like my disciples had been getting a bit too bold lately.
"As your disciple, I'm just wishing for my master's happiness, so don't mind me."
Her response was so absurd that I gave up on replying and turned my gaze toward Baek Si-hyun. Sensing that her audience was finally watching, Baek Si-hyun finally let a smile spread across her face and swept her hands through the air.
Crackle. Zap. Bzzzzzt.
Beautiful flowers of electricity spread out from her hands, blooming into full buds. It was certainly a sight to behold. However...
"Isn't that a waste?"
A hemispherical dome made of electricity. Creating it so cleanly was impressive, but its power was bound to be diluted. Even if you create an electric field, it's meaningless if the output is weak. It didn't seem to impose any restrictions on those entering it; it was a technique of questionable purpose. I looked at Thunder God to see if she agreed.
"Be quiet for a second," Thunder God muttered, covering her mouth with a pale face. The atmosphere felt unusually heavy. "Really... Theoretically, it's possible, but there's no way a human mind should be able to calculate that..."
It seemed Thunder God, an electrokinetic herself, saw something I didn't. Was it something only an expert could perceive?
Leaving Thunder God to her muttering, Han A-bin and I stood there blankly staring at the electric field for about five seconds.
"Ha!"
Baek Si-hyun, who had been steadying her breath, let out a sharp cry and moved.
A continuous stream of bright flashes erupted, and with every single spark, Baek Si-hyun shifted her position.
"Kyaa!"
Han A-bin, standing beside me, let out a sharp scream. Perhaps her eyes couldn't handle the intense glare. In contrast, Thunder God and I stared wide-eyed at the spectacle. It was just that incredible.
"...That's actually possible?"
"I think I see why you called her a genius. I thought you were just bragging about your disciple."
No, even I didn't know she could do this. Was "genius" even the right word for this? Inside that hemisphere of electricity, she literally became electricity itself as she moved.
A yellow dome—a domain of her own creation. Inside it, she moved with absolute freedom. Her instantaneous speed was slower than Thunder God’s, but there was no sudden acceleration or abrupt stopping. It was a fluid, natural movement that flowed like water.
If Thunder God was a sprinter... then this was a sustained, base speed, like running a marathon.
It was a dangerous technique. How was one supposed to block that? It wouldn't matter as long as she couldn't damage my body. But what if Baek Si-hyun gained enough offensive power to pierce my defenses?
As I was quickly running through counters in my head...
"Ha-ram."
I heard Thunder God’s voice, sounding exhausted.
"What?"
"Between me and Baek Si-hyun using that technique... which of us do you think would be harder to fight?"
...What answer was she looking for?
"Your sudden acceleration."
It was an honest answer. At least for now.
"And if she gets better?"
...Right. She knew it too. That technique still had room to grow. Even at a glance, her control was lacking and her speed wasn't that high. But if it became more precise, more rapid...
"..."
I remained silent. I felt that if I spoke the words aloud, something would come to an end.
"I see."
Perhaps my silence was an answer in itself. Thunder God looked at Baek Si-hyun. Whether she had run out of strength or lost control—or both—Baek Si-hyun went tumbling out of the electric field, rolling across the ground like a fool.
Thunder God looked sad.
* * *
"Come with us."
The words I spoke at the moment of parting.
"I'll decline."
For some reason, I kept trying to talk to her. It wasn't like me; I was being persistent to a pathetic degree.
"Prohibition said it too. That there's something around here. I have some leeway now. And Si-hyun still has more to learn..."
"Stop."
Her slender finger cut me off. A finger clad in a silicone glove, pressed against my lips.
"For me... I don't think I'm ready yet. I need... a little more time."
She said this, then patted my head and walked past me. Her destination was my disciple, Baek Si-hyun.
"Until the day I return, you stay by his side and protect him."
What did that mean?
"Eh?"
Baek Si-hyun also seemed to fail to grasp the meaning, letting out a dumbfounded sound.
"This is the part where you just say, 'Yes, ma'am,' Si-hyun," Han A-bin offered as support, but the heavy atmosphere didn't change. There was Baek Si-hyun, who didn't understand a thing, and Thunder God, who looked grimly determined.
"It's strange, isn't it? When I first saw you, I thought, 'Someone like you?' But..."
She hesitated for a moment.
"Not anymore. So... until then, I'll step aside."
To be honest, I didn't really know either. What did she mean? I thought I had come to understand Thunder God through the experiences of the past few weeks, but I was still lacking.
* * *
Back home after another trip on the Rubber Boat.
The disciples, exhausted from the rough sea journey, disappeared into their rooms as soon as we arrived.
Tick.
Tick.
Only the sound of the clock's second hand filled the living room.
Tick.
As the clock struck midnight, I moved Un-ho from my lap to the sofa and stood up.
"Are you really going?"
How many times had we gone back and forth on this?
"Yes."
"...Please... be careful."
Without answering, I opened the front door.
"I have come to escort you."
It was Al’shel, holding firearms in each tentacle and magic staves in both hands.
"What's the situation?"
Slam.
I threw the question at him as I closed the door.
"Preparations are complete. I've finished instructing Yumil to come here and disguise herself as you, Ha-ram. I've also leaked information to the Hero Chong So-rim that there are refugees in the area."
"And Yumil’s condition? Do you think she can pull off the disguise?"
This was the most important part. I didn't know how long this operation would take, but if it was discovered that I was missing...
"Based on cross-testing with the Executives, they couldn't tell the difference. Only Lady Linshua noticed."
That should be fine then.
"Then... let's go."
"Yes."
Al’shel waved his magic staves, and a Magic Circle beneath our feet glowed briefly.
I felt a momentary wave of nausea from the Spatial Teleportation. Closing and opening my eyes to endure it, a gray wall came into view.
The Great Barrier. It stood right before my eyes.
"Starting the operation immediately without even a break, I see."
"Is that not what you wanted?"
The skin of the Octopus Head before me began to turn slightly red. The emotion of excitement. It had been a while since I'd seen that from him.
"Yeah."
I took the final step forward. The Great Barrier was only about a meter away, but I had to get closer to swing my Pry Bar.
"One last question. What if the Management Bureau doesn't retreat?"
His body turned a deep red. This was the octopus's true nature. I had no idea why a guy like this wanted to protect humanity.
"What about it?"
"We will try our best not to kill, but... there's the Bureau’s Defense Force, and the remaining Heroes, isn't there? Especially... Lady Thunder God."
Was that last mention of Thunder God intentional? Even so, my emotions remained flat. They were unnervingly calm.
It didn't matter.
The moment that thought crossed my mind...
Splat.
A sound like thick ink being sprayed rang out.
The massive Otherworldly Power accumulated in the Contaminated Zone gathered and settled into my clothes. The power, exceeding its limits, spread from my back to form giant wings.
Liquid wings that rippled and felt strangely viscous. As they flapped violently, I began to rise into the air.
What a strange function. It looked like something straight out of a child's imagination. Still, I personally liked it. Wasn't it a perfect feature to make a small body look imposing?
As I ascended with my wings rippling, the Red Pry Bar appeared in my hand. A blood-stained weapon and a tool of destruction, perfectly suited for prying open humanity's shield.
I pulled it back behind my shoulder, gathering strength. As I began to charge my power, the clothes read my intent and gathered Black Particles to create a foothold. I crouched low and extended my right arm.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The limiters released one by one, sending out shockwaves. As the power gathered, all my senses began to amplify.
Wreeeeeeeeeee.
Beyond The Wall, from the Black Tower, I could hear the sirens of the Management Bureau.
My vision distorted.
I saw things that shouldn't be seen.
A world filled with gray.
A world that had lost all emotion.
A world where humans had become mere lumps of meat.
A world of nothingness.
Countless worlds flickered past.
And then, I found what I was looking for.
"..."
The gathered power... was unleashed.
Boom. Screeeeeech.
The tip of the Pry Bar latched onto it. Not a physical barrier, but a place overlapping in another reality.
The Idea of the Great Barrier that existed in another reality—the very thing that had allowed the Great Barrier to remain an impregnable wall for nearly fifteen years.
To be the first to destroy that immortal record with my own hands.
The Pry Bar, backed by all my strength and my honed senses, captured the target.
An ancient, decrepit wall that didn't live up to the name "Great Barrier." A wooden fence someone had built long ago to protect this place. A testament to a territory they had risked their lives to create to protect their way of life.
Not that I give a damn about any of that.
Cr-crack!
It was instantaneous. That was all the time it took for the Red Pry Bar to destroy it.
And just like that, the barrier's immortality vanished.
Simultaneously, attacks rained down upon The Wall. Magic from the Mutants. Charges from the monsters. The incomprehensible, disgusting lashings of tentacles from the abominations. The combined result...
Was quite a beautiful sight.
A perfectly synchronized, sequential assault.
"...How did you do it?"
A single question pulled me back to reality from the spectacle.
"What do you mean?"
I turned my head to look at Al’shel, who was floating in the air with his arms crossed.
"How did you break the barrier?"
"Train harder."
"Is that all?"
"Did you think I had some special ability? Train your strength until you can pierce through space, and hone your senses until you can perceive it. That's all there is to it."
"..."
If we could do that, would we be struggling like this?
Ignoring the octopus's muttering, I answered his earlier question.
"And about your question from before."
I suppose this makes me the villain.
"You have permission to kill."
"Even the Management Bureau?"
"They have hazard pay included in their salaries for a reason. The Defense Force. The Heroes. Even me. We are all people meant to die. I've given them a reason to run, so if they choose to stay, there's nothing I can do."
The octopus's red skin grew even deeper in hue, and the corners of his mouth twisted violently. It was as if he could no longer hide his wicked nature.
"Lord Lee Ha-ram. I also asked about Lady Thunder God."
"It doesn't matter."
Yes. It didn't matter.
For she, too, was prepared.
The moment those words left my lips...
CRAAAAASH!
The barrier crumbled.
The invasion had begun.