Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Caliber
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"Only something on that level can truly be called my chariot. It's worth all the effort I put into forging you. Well done, human."
The moment Fry nodded arrogantly.
The time to savor that overwhelming afterglow was far too short.
Shaaaaaaaak! Kee-ee-ee-eek!!!
The bug wall that had been punched clean through began filling up pitch-black again in less than three seconds.
No, the situation was actually getting worse.
The bodily fluids and corpses of the bugs I'd pulverized down to the molecular level were being devoured voraciously by the surviving Abyssal Black Bugs.
Their bodies swelled to 1.5 times their size in an instant after cannibalizing their kin, and from there, they underwent explosive cellular division.
[...Devour...! Consume that massive yang energy...!]
In a flash, a pitch-black tsunami twice as massive as before—at least three stories high—came crashing down toward us.
"Out of the way, partner! Time for me to earn my keep!"
Sa-hyeon leaped forward in front of me.
A massive black tiger phantom flickered behind his back.
His hands morphed into sharp beast claws, which he viciously crossed and swung through the air.
"Get shredded."
Kwaaaaa!
A colossal sandstorm erupted from Sa-hyeon's fingertips, sweeping through the street.
Tens of thousands of sand grains spun like razor-sharp saw blades, tearing into the Abyssal Black Bugs' shells and bursting their innards.
The bugs sprayed black rain into the air as they were ground to pieces.
But while Sa-hyeon cleared the front, bugs bypassing via building walls and sewers poured down on our flanks and rear.
"Not on my watch!"
At that moment, Seo Hwa-rin kicked up the fallen Haetae Sword with her toe, snatched it midair, and stepped forward.
"Haetae Sword, Second Form - Shura Net!"
Seo Hwa-rin swung the Haetae Sword in a wide arc.
Pure, chilling water vapor burst from the blade tip, condensing into a massive watery barrier in the air before crashing down as raging waves that swept away the bugs attacking from the side.
Kwaaaaaang!
The bugs, crushed by the water pressure, plummeted onto the asphalt.
Moreover, her water vapor carried the power of 'pasa'—evil-banishing force—so the swept-up bugs couldn't multiply, melting away with pale bellies upturned.
"Agent Kang Han-gyeol! Deputy Leader Sa-hyeon and I will clear the path! Get Team 4 out in the meantime!"
Seo Hwa-rin shouted to me as she parted the waves.
As expected from the elite touted as Team 1's next leader.
With her and Sa-hyeon holding back the bug tidal wave with monstrous might on both sides, a narrow gap opened before my eyes.
"Team Leader! Where was Team 4's last radio contact?"
"There! Near the yellow academy bus in the middle of the intersection!"
The spot Seo Hwa-rin pointed to.
Bugs had already piled up there like a mountain, forming a pitch-black grave mound.
"Pepper! Let's go!"
"Woof!"
I kicked off the ground and charged like a beast.
Pepper ran beside me, opening her third eye on her forehead to emit netherworld pulses that corroded and shook off the souls of small fry trying to latch onto me.
Tadak! Kee-eek!
Even so, bugs that slipped past Sa-hyeon and Seo Hwa-rin started clinging pitch-black to my body.
They couldn't pierce my furnace-forged skin, but their teeth sought to suck the 'spiritual power' emanating from my body itself.
"You leech bastards!"
I roughly shook off the bugs on me and burrowed behind the yellow academy bus.
There, three massive white cocoons the size of human bodies hung, glued together with bug fluids. Faint heartbeats pulsed from within.
"Found you!"
I grabbed the cocoons with both hands and tore them apart with all my strength.
Sticky, acidic mucus sizzled against my knuckles, but I ignored it and ripped them open with brute force.
Inside lay three Team 4 agents, half-mummified from drained spiritual power, unconscious.
I quickly grabbed their napes and slung them onto my back.
But at that instant.
Kee-ee-ee-eek!!!!!!!
The moment I peeled away the unconscious agents, the Abyssal Black Bug horde went berserk at losing their meal.
Dozens of sewer lids exploded open, and bugs surged up like black sludge in a frenzy.
It was three or four times the number I'd smashed earlier—a horrifying swarm.
"Damn it, they never end!"
Sa-hyeon's sandstorm and Seo Hwa-rin were starting to get pushed back by the overwhelming numbers.
The pitch-black bug wall encircled us, blotting out the sky.
At this rate, we'd be buried and suffocated under the bug grave before I could extract Team 4.
I gritted my teeth and made a decision.
'Last time I just used raw strength. This time, I'll pump in real spiritual power.'
With the unconscious agents slung over my back, I strode forward.
I madly gathered the surging pure yang spiritual power from my dantian into my right arm.
Space warped like a heat haze around my fist, glowing red.
"Sa-hyeon! Team Leader! Get down!!!"
At my shout, Seo Hwa-rin and Sa-hyeon instinctively hit the deck.
I pulled back my throbbing right arm and unleashed everything into the heart of the oncoming bug tidal wave.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!!!
This was on another level from the previous air pressure blast.
The explosively infused spiritual power became a massive 'spiritual cannon' blast.
Space distorted ahead, vaporizing millions of bugs clogging the three-lane road without a trace.
Chunks of asphalt were ripped up and flung dozens of meters.
"Hah, hah... Got 'em."
I lowered my fist, breathing raggedly.
Heat poured off my arm.
This should have blown away at least half the swarm.
But.
Sssssss— ssss.
"......We're screwed."
A bead of cold sweat dripped from my chin.
The three-lane road, perfectly cleared by my spiritual blast.
It was filling up pitch-black with bugs again in just five seconds.
No—the bugs that lapped up the lingering spiritual power I'd unleashed were clumping into far more grotesque, massive forms than before.
Tens of thousands merged into giant centipede shapes, wriggling creepy tentacles toward me.
No end in sight.
More crawled from the sewers than I could kill.
"......Ah."
I blankly gazed up at the bug swarm blotting the sky.
Forget bone refinement or 10 billion salaries—this wasn't something brute force or punches could handle.
A involuntary chuckle escaped me.
Even the team leader and Sa-hyeon were panting at their limits.
Like punching the ocean.
No matter how strong, stamina would run out first against infinite proliferation.
That was when.
"Tsk tsk. What's the use of brute strength without brains? If your head's no good, your body's the one that suffers."
The little girl—Fry—who'd been watching from behind me with arms crossed strode forward, clicking her tongue.
She glared at the massive centipede form with disgust, her golden eyes flashing.
"You can't cut the sea with a sword or stop a tsunami with a fist. Using physical force against lowly scum like that is amateur hour."
"Then why didn't you step in sooner, Your Majesty?! Were you just munching popcorn while I busted my ass?!"
As I yelled in frustration, Fry snorted and raised her tiny hand into the air.
"How dare these filthy bugs touch my food bowl."
Suddenly, massive spiritual power drained from my dantian.
Fry, bound by soul contract, was using my energy as a catalyst.
Paaaaat—!
A golden ember sparked at Fry's fingertip.
Upon touching the air, it swelled into a colossal golden wave of flame.
[Vanish without a trace.]
Fry snapped her fingers.
Hwaaaaaaak—!!!
Sacred flames carrying absolute purification surged outward in all directions.
The bugs' death cries erupted in unison.
The Abyssal Black Bugs that split under physical attacks evaporated on contact with the fire, deleted from existence.
A miraculous control that left only warm coziness on me, the Team 4 agents on my back, nearby buildings, and abandoned cars—burning only the evil yokai energy.
In just 10 seconds.
The solar blaze swept through Jungnyeong-dong academy district, and the sky-blanketing bug cloud vanished like a lie.
Even those crawling from sewers were incinerated to ash from within the holes.
The suffocating stench was replaced by clear morning sunlight and fresh air.
"Whew. Now I can breathe. Why didn't you burn 'em sooner, Your Majesty?"
I grumbled as my legs gave out and I sat down heavily. Fry haughtily blew back her bangs.
"A king always makes his entrance last."
But that majestic pose didn't last three seconds.
No sooner had she spoken than the golden energy cloaking Fry scattered like a burnt-out bulb.
Having poured out vast power to incinerate the horde at once, the temporary human form she'd maintained collapsed.
Pong!
With a small pop, the black-haired little girl who stood arrogantly as if to burn the world vanished.
Instead, a familiar yellow fluffball dropped from the air.
"Wha—what?!"
Stunned by the sudden change, I reflexively reached out and barely caught the falling chick.
"Peep?! Pii-yap-yap! (Wh-what is this?! My perfect divine form!)"
Fry reverted to her original adorable chick self on my palm, flapping her tiny wings in panic.
'Ah, she must've used up all her power on that one strike.'
Eradicating a disaster of that scale in 10 seconds was too much for her freshly awakened small body, naturally.
I let out a sigh of relief and chuckled.
Then I gently stroked her little head with my thumb.
"Great job, Your Majesty. You pushed too hard and burned it all out. Hop in my pocket and get some rest."
"Peep..."
Fry pouted her beak indignantly but soon gave in to exhaustion, burrowing into my padding pocket and passing out.
"......"
"......"
Sa-hyeon and Seo Hwa-rin stared blankly at the scene where the disaster that nearly devoured them was perfectly erased by a little girl's gesture.
"Haha..."
A hollow laugh escaped Sa-hyeon.
He was a battle maniac, but that blaze transcended his common sense.
It wasn't just raw firepower.
It was a different caliber. A sacred, overwhelming heat as if the sun itself had manifested on earth.
His instincts screamed a warning, cold sweat dripping: don't touch that kid—she's the real deal.
"This is insane. Totally off the charts."
Sa-hyeon muttered, rubbing his dry face.
Meanwhile, Seo Hwa-rin had collapsed to the ground.
The Haetae Sword, still leaking water vapor, lay powerless nearby.
She alternated glances between the empty street and me crouched down.
This was beyond dismissing as a 'special-grade shikigami.'
"Team Leader, you okay? Not hurt?"
As I offered my hand, Seo Hwa-rin looked up at me with unfocused, vacant eyes.
"......I don't even have the energy to be shocked anymore."
"Pardon?"
She didn't even take my hand, murmuring at the sky with a resigned expression.
I could almost hear her elite team leader mentality crumbling to dust.
"First days on the job are always tiring. Better call the chopper quick."
I grinned and patted her shoulder. Seo Hwa-rin let out a deep sigh and barely stood.
She checked the fallen Team 4 agents, then urgently grabbed her radio.
"Headquarters! This is Team 7! All Team 4 survivors secured! Abyssal Black Bug horde completely eradicated. Request immediate medical team and evac chopper!"