Salve for the Burn
Her cheek was torn open, exposing her teeth. Her left earlobe was ripped apart, scattering bits of flesh. Strands of her light green hair fluttered in the air. A stinging pain. Siul thought she was lucky it had only ended like this. If she hadn't distorted space to deflect the blow, her entire head would have been torn off.
She swung her reverse-gripped sword upward. Distorting space, she accelerated the blade mid-swing, unleashing a slash that drew a half-moon. But it didn't reach. The high-ranking monster, with an agility unbelievable for its massive size, leaped in an instant to evade the attack and brought its forepaw down with immense force.
Boom—!!! The ground shattered. Pelted by flying debris, Siul recovered her swung sword and prepared her next move. She couldn't afford to fall behind for even a single second. Not if she didn't want to end up like gum squashed onto the asphalt in the blink of an eye.
'It's strong...' Siul forced her focus back, which was trying to blur from the pain. Her strength was divided because she had to protect the students of Class 1-A, so she wasn't at full power, but she doubted she could win even if she were. The high-ranking monster before her was strong. It was easily one of the strongest monsters she had ever fought.
Among the qualifications to become an academy teacher was the subjugation of a high-ranking monster. It was a condition to prove oneself as an outstanding Supernatural Ability User. As the assistant homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, Siul also had a record of defeating a high-ranking monster, befitting an academy teacher. However, just as there were gaps in power among Supernatural Ability Users, there were bound to be differences in strength among monsters classified as high-ranking. Since any entity above mid-ranking was lumped together as high-ranking, the gap between high-ranking monsters was quite substantial.
'It's way stronger than the high-ranking monster I subjugated back then. And I didn't even kill that one alone...' Siul wanted to cry. In the first place, how many reckless heroes would fight a high-ranking monster one-on-one? When a high-ranking monster appeared, unless one was an Awakened, they always fought in cooperation. Although Siul had contributed the most to that fight, she had by no means defeated it alone.
'Uwahhh! Senior! Please come quickly! I'll be good from now on! Are you watching right now by any chance? You're not watching and refusing to help, right? You're not just spectating and thinking, "Since you're an academy teacher, try subjugating a high-ranking monster on your own," are you?! Do you think every teacher is like you, Senior?!'
A crude claw pierced through the distorted space. Siul swallowed hard as the forepaw stopped right in front of her nose. Her teeth felt cold. Because a part of her cheek had been torn away, her teeth were exposed to the open air. She flinched every time the wind blew. If she hadn't suffered a similar injury in the past, she would have panicked.
The high-ranking monster's onslaught was fierce. Like a leopard stalking its prey, it pressed its attack relentlessly, utilizing its incredible mobility. Even when she repeatedly distorted space to block its path, it made sharp turns and didn't stop for a single second.
"Whew..." Her heart pounded with tension. Anxiety slowly crept up, binding her legs. Exhaling a hot breath, Siul quickly rolled her eyes. This was no time to whine. She didn't know what situation her senior was currently in. She might still be fighting the masked girl, or she might have lost. The idea of that person losing—it was highly unlikely, but she had to consider every possibility. It wasn't just her own life on the line. The lives of her students were at stake as well.
'Excluding Senior, the most reliable thing to count on is Unit 2, who received the request for backup. They'll move quickly, so they should arrive soon, but...' Could she hold out until then? If she could at least go all out, it might be different, but at this point, where she was distorting space on a massive scale and maintaining it to protect the Class 1-A students, it was uncertain how long she could stand against it.
■■■■■■■■■─────!!!! The high-ranking monster roared wildly. Snorting as if annoyed by Siul's persistent resistance, it dug up the ground with its front legs. Siul let out a bitter smile. She really should have made the cocoa she drank before work much stronger. If she had known it might be the last cup of cocoa she would ever drink in her life, she definitely would have.
'Don't think about winning. I can't win right now. In that case, I have to buy time. Hold out as much as possible. My face is a bit torn up, but my hands and feet are fine.' The most threatening thing was its mobility. If so, even if she couldn't do anything else, she should cut one of its legs to restrict its movement. It was a gamble, but if it succeeded, she would be able to hold out much longer. Resolving herself, Siul stepped forward with her right foot, spreading her legs wide, and lowered her sword. Perhaps sensing something unusual, the high-ranking monster growled, drool dripping from its jaws.
Space Distortion. This ability, which literally distorted space, could be utilized in various ways depending on how it was used. Siul shot forward as if pushing off the ground. It wasn't a straight line. She moved in a highly erratic zigzag pattern, abruptly changing directions to disorient the high-ranking monster's vision. Yet, her speed didn't decrease at all. No, on the contrary, she grew even faster. As if defying inertia, as if defying the laws of physics, she re-accelerated even further with every change of direction, plunging down like lightning.
'I'll cut it in one go!' She swung diagonally upward. The high-ranking monster, whose reactions had been dulled by her erratic movements, opened its torn mouth with a wild roar as Siul arrived right in front of its nose.
Kabaaaam—!!! At that moment, an explosive sound erupted. It wasn't because of Siul's slash, nor was it because of the high-ranking monster's attack. As if the sun in the heavens had been forged into a sword and dropped, a red line was drawn with immense heat. Light flashed. For an instant, her vision was dyed in orange.
The high-ranking monster's movements grew sluggish, as if bewildered. The same went for Siul. Perhaps her eardrums had ruptured from the massive explosion, as all external sounds turned into a buzzing noise. But she didn't stop her sword. It would be foolish to miss a stroke of good fortune right before her eyes. *Slash.* The light was too intense for her to open her eyes, but since she remembered the position, there was no problem swinging her sword. She felt the sensation in her grip. A heavy strike. Although she couldn't cut it off completely due to the hard scales, she succeeded in severing half of its forepaw.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■─────!!!! The enraged high-ranking monster howled. Siul quickly threw herself to the side, and a violent gust of wind swept through the spot where she had been standing just a moment ago. Crash! Crackle-crash—!!! A chilling sound of destruction. Siul rolled a few times, then kicked off the ground and stood up. Her vision, which had been taken by the light, quickly returned. Siul glanced at the place where the sun had flown from with a brightened face. Had backup finally arrived! That was incredibly fast! *What, if that's the case, I didn't need to risk my life on a gamble,* her face, which had brightened with that thought, soon turned to bewilderment.
"...A student?" Far away, a boy wearing the academy uniform stood in a sword-swinging posture. Though faint, his face was visible. He was definitely a student she remembered. Since he was an outstanding honor student who stood out in Class 1-A, there was no way Siul, the assistant homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, wouldn't know him. "Yujin? Why is he over there...?" No, more importantly. That attack just now... was it done by Yujin? Sure, Yujin's ability was Pyrokinesis, so it was theoretically possible, but the scale was completely different, wasn't it?
Frowning at the acrid smoke, she looked around. There was no one. As expected, there was no one. No backup forces were in sight. All that entered her vision were the sizzling, roasting corpses of monsters. With that single attack, a significant portion of the monsters had been wiped out. This kind of firepower. It wasn't that it didn't exist if one looked for it, but it wasn't at a level a first-year student could pull off...? More importantly, if he could do something like that, it would have been better if he did it sooner. *My cheek and ear are gone.* Siul grumbled as she gripped her sword again. It was unexpected support, but the battle was not over yet.
'With my remaining strength, I can use it two... no, three more times. But...' He had thought of the theory long ago. However, his Supernatural Ability's output and control were far too lacking to actually implement it, so he had never tried. Yujin, who had completed on the spot without practice a technique he had only conceptualized, furrowed his brow at the throbbing pain. His hand was burned. Fortunately, it wasn't a serious burn, but a first-degree burn with scorched skin. It had been a long time since Yujin had felt the pain of 'heat'.
Supernatural Ability Users have resistance to their own abilities. It was only natural. If a fire-using Supernatural Ability User like Yujin didn't have resistance to fire, a disaster would occur where they would burn themselves every time they used their ability. This was the same for other Supernatural Ability Users as well. Anyone had resistance to their own ability, so unless it was intentional self-harm, they wouldn't get hurt just from the aftermath of using their ability.
'At the end, the compression and rotation were lacking. I momentarily lost control.' Normally, even if he failed to control his power, he wouldn't get burned, but the power gathered on the sword at that time was too intense. Too intense for his resistance to completely block. Yujin took a deep breath. Still, it was a decent result for something he had used on the fly. With a few practices, he would be able to handle it perfectly. But right now, this was a real battle, not a spar. There was no time to leisurely master power control.
"Is that hand injured?" It was when Yujin was infusing heat into his sword again. At Lucia's question, Yujin hesitated for a moment before nodding obediently. "Yeah, it's nothing." "What do you mean it's nothing? Look at this. You have blisters." "It's fine. It's not a serious injury... More importantly, please step back for now. You might get caught up in it if things go wrong."
But Lucia, having no intention of backing down, approached Yujin instead. Yujin extinguished the orange flames he had raised and turned to look at her. Lucia was staring intently at Yujin's burned hand. "If you leave it like that, it'll get infected. No... if you use that technique again, it won't just be a matter of infection..." "Don't worry. A Supernatural Ability User's regenerative ability is faster than an ordinary person's. Though it's nothing compared to your Super Regeneration." Even if he suffered a severe burn, as long as his nerves didn't die and prevent him from using it, it was fine. As long as he could hold his sword, he didn't care. Whether it became hideously scarred or left him in pain for the rest of his life.
"Give it to me." "Huh?" Lucia snatched Yujin's hand. Startled, Yujin tried to pull his hand away, but Lucia firmly held onto it. "H-Hold on... what are you doing? Let go. My hand is hot right now. The heat hasn't fully dissipated yet, so you might get hurt if you're not careful."
It was a heat intense enough to burn Yujin, who had fire resistance. Even if he had extinguished the fire, the remaining heat did not disappear in an instant. Indeed, Lucia's hand, which held Yujin's, began to turn red. "If you get burned, you should apply ointment or rinse it with water, but since we don't have ointment or water right now... I'm sorry. Excuse me for a moment." Even though it must have been as hot as touching heated iron, Lucia's expression was calm. Lucia stared at Yujin's hand, which she held, then slowly brought her face close. Opening her pink lips, she suddenly bit down on Yujin's finger.
"……?!" It didn't hurt. Because she hadn't bared her teeth. Yujin froze stiffly at the sensation transmitted from his finger. Something soft brushed over his finger. Lucia closed her eyes and sucked on his finger. Moving her tongue, she carefully licked starting from his thumb, then his index, middle, ring, and pinky fingers. She didn't stop there, applying saliva to the burned back of his hand. Like a cat diligently lapping up water from a dish, she applied her saliva to Yujin's hand.
"Lu, Lucia...?!" "I'm sorry. Is it unpleasant? Still, it'll be better than leaving it alone." "N-No, that's..." A white thread of saliva stretched from the back of his hand to Lucia's lips. She opened his palm and meticulously licked even the joints of his fingers. Although Lucia didn'