The Fox Girl Appears

I could roughly gauge what kind of ability user he was. The reddish-yellow static electricity swirling around his body, piercing straight through his black uniform as he stepped closer, gave it away.

"Well, whatever. Let's talk while I get a good look at our Siyeon's pretty face, yeah?"

Kim Hyundo shifted his gaze toward the long light fixture stretching across the ceiling. Sparks danced between the filaments of the shattered bulb, brightening the dim room just a little.

"You missed me, didn't you? Right, Siyeon?"

Between the flickering lights, Kim Hyundo's face flashed into view. Slightly upturned eyes, the corners of his mouth curled with mischief, freckles scattered around his playful nose. He closed his eyes and hummed a little tune, clearly thrilled about something. To anyone else he might have looked like a cheerful rascal, but in my eyes he was nothing but a black-haired monster. Every single word that left his mouth made my skin crawl. I could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠feel exactly how the raid team had treated Lee Siyeon all this time.

"Ha... This won't do, will it? Siyeon. Want to play our usual little game after all this time?"

Hic...

A startled sound came from the inventory, like someone covering their mouth. I watched him pull out a pair of black leather gloves.

"Our team has been having a really hard time lately without our sweet little Siyeon. You know that, right? Huh? Did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you see the news about the Under Fall Dungeon raid failure?"

He slipped the glove onto one hand. As if angry, he twisted and tightened it repeatedly.

"And get this—Team Leader Yoo Seolah told me to take the team and lure the monsters. Ha... Seriously... First time doing it in a while and I thought I was going to die. That shit's hard..."

He shoved the second glove onto his other hand. A tight *squeeze* sounded as he pulled the cuff.

"Fuck... You did that crap every day, but I nearly died? Huh?"

The moment he finished speaking, he spread his fingers wide. Unlike before, dangerously concentrated sparks gathered in his right hand.

Crackle...

Crackle... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crackle...

"Ugh~ Still, I can't stand seeing you in pain."

He covered his eyes with his other hand and stepped closer. The way he kept snickering behind his hand told me he was eagerly waiting for her reaction despite his words.

"Kick. Been a while, hasn't it? Come on, give me your hand, Siyeon. Let's shake."

He thrust forward the clump of orange sparks that looked hot enough to sear flesh. The sight of his grinning face above that glowing hand turned my stomach.

Static electricity that normal people would call a sting sat at around ten thousand volts. A taser that could paralyze a person was an impressive fifty thousand. Yet the closer this bastard got, the hotter my skin burned. I couldn't even imagine how much pain that mass of electricity in his hand would cause.

"Ha... Are you crying, Siyeon? What are you doing?"

A normal person would have died instantly. But with her body reinforcement ability, Siyeon could probably endure it somehow. If this was his idea of a prank, it was clear he'd been tormenting her viciously all along.

"I'm asking what you're doing. Not going to shake my hand? Not happy to see me?"

Ah, ah... Hic, ugh... It's n-not that...

Trembling and sorrow poured out of the inventory. I could hear her restless, tear-filled voice. She existed in a white world where Kim Hyundo could neither see nor hear her, yet he was strangling her all the same.

I had heard every story from her. When they were just words, they hadn't felt real. But experiencing it now, I finally understood. She had endured this kind of absurd agony. All this time. Alone. Just Lee Siyeon by herself.

For what?

Grind.

I ground my teeth. Rage boiled against that damn black-uniformed bastard. I wanted to wipe out the entire 1st Raid Team he belonged to. I wanted to grind those trash journalist bastards to dust. The money-grubbing association too. And me—sitting here like an idiot. Me, me, me, me.

Yes, you too. Me too. Yeah, you too. Me too, me too—so don't just sit there, you too.

Kick. What? Don't just sit there? That's actually a good idea?

Something felt off. It seemed like my eyes were turning red. Red like hers. My hands shook. Before I knew it, my fists were clenched tight. My body began twitching, ready to burst forward at any second. The trembling and sorrow I felt from her inside my heart were transmitting to me in full.

It was just like the first time she had strangled my neck. The more I tried to understand her, the more something churned inside the inventory. Emotions, voice, thoughts—I could feel every part of Lee Siyeon. Right now she was scared and lonely. She believed she had been dropped back into the world alone.

And then I heard it. The certainty that no one would help her. Her voice acted like a signal flare.

In response to her bitter monologue, my reason reacted. No—more accurately, it snapped.

That... that... I hate it, I hate it... It hurts...

Sob, hic... I'm scared... Hic, sob...

"Kick. My eyes are closed, Siyeon. If you don't grab my hand soon, I'll drag you to the team leader... Huh...?"

───────────────

BOOOOM!

A crushing burst of sound. It was a simple, destructive punch. I also heard the dull noise of it smashing through multiple walls.

M-Minwoo?

The floor was covered in cracks. Thick dust rose between them. The interrogation room's concrete wall had half-collapsed, as if someone had been hurled through it. In the middle of the destruction, only one person stood, body twisting with red eyes.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, as if satisfied.

"You... soundproofed... bastard...... You... talked... too much......"

Th-this is the trance state (Berserk), isn't it?

"...Talk...... all you want......"

How did you get my unique skill?

"I...... will...... help...... you......"

Uh... uh? Minwoo! Snap out of it!!

- Thud.

The last person left in the interrogation room collapsed forward, as if every ounce of strength had been poured into that single strike. There was no one left to fight.

The association's towering building. The executive conference room on its highest floor. It was my first time here, but it wasn't exactly pleasant. I'd been dragged here practically against my will.

I clearly remembered sharing a salad with the detective in the interrogation room, then waking up in a hospital. After that... um... after that... Wait, no... Before that? My head hurt too much to think straight. Anyway, when I opened my eyes in the hospital again, association agents hauled me straight here. They mentioned some kind of investigation, but my mind was too foggy to remember any of the details.

"Hmm... You are Kang Minwoo, a C-class ability user affiliated with the association, correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

"From the Supply Support Team, I believe?"

"Uh... I've been removed from that position for now."

"Ah, I see... Ha... This is really troublesome..."

"What is this...? How could Hyundo lose to an ability user like this...?"

The woman sitting across from me had short white hair with perky fox ears standing upright on top. She flipped through the clipped documents again and again. They probably contained my profile. The suited agents who had brought me bowed and left, so the fox woman before me clearly held a fairly high position within the association.

She had been reading a single line of my profile, staring at my face, tilting her head, and letting out heavy sighs the entire time. I wanted to ask Siyeon who she was, but ever since we arrived at the association she had closed the cube door and gone completely silent.

Still, her face looked familiar. Her features were the kind you'd see on a celebrity on TV, so my eyes kept drifting back to her. Just the elegant line of her jaw was beautiful. Her sharp nose hinted at a prickly personality, and her blue-white eyes kept stealing glances at me. Every time she moved, those perky fox ears twitched, making me want to touch them just once.

I'd heard that transformation ability users began appearing after the Purple Hall opened, but this was my first time seeing one in person.

"Are you truly an inventory ability user?"

"Uh, ah. Yes."

"Not a Berserk ability user?"

"No."

What kind of nonsense was this? It was common sense that a person could only possess one ability. Besides, I had no desire to use two.

"Well, fine. I'll know once I check."

"Check?"

"Yes. Here, take this."

"Uh..."

The fox woman reached across the table and slid a small case toward me.

"It's an Assist Lens."

"A lens?"

"Since you're a non-combat ability user you might not know, but every combat ability user wears this equipment, so you can relax."

"Ah... So this is the System I've only heard about..."

"Oh? You know of it?"

"Of course. I secured the contract for the electromagnetic focusing lens components used in this device. Wasn't this equipment upgraded about two years ago?"

"That's correct. The lens's communication functions were upgraded at that time... You know quite a bit."

"I've only heard about it. I've never actually used the system, so I wouldn't know the difference."

"Well... You'll be experiencing it soon enough..."

"I suppose so. I'm oddly excited."

The fox woman crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. It seemed she was willing to wait. I smiled and picked up the lens case.

I really was curious. An AI combat support system running on a next-generation quantum computer server. It analyzed the wearer's condition and everything that entered their field of vision at high speed, then visualized the data in an easy-to-understand way. It truly was a crystallization of modern science.

There were more than enough reasons to be intrigued, so I felt no reluctance putting it on.

"Then let's see..."

I took out the lens and placed it against my eye. A faint stinging static shock ran across my skin. Three minutes passed with no change.

"Uh... Nothing's different?"

What? It was just a sting.

"Pfft. How boring. It really must be your first time. I was the same way."

The fox woman shook her head slightly while keeping her arms crossed. She seemed to find ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my reaction amusing.

"No... It really is..."

"Oh?"

"Looks like letters appeared in front of your eyes, right? It says System."

"Oh... Yes."

"Then the rest you'll learn gradually. Your records should have been properly uploaded to the database by now, so I'll take a look at your profile. System? Display Kang Minwoo's current profile."

The moment the fox woman spoke the command, it felt like she had requested an analysis. If it worked by simply stating what you wanted, the interface seemed surprisingly intuitive. I probably wouldn't need much time to learn it.

"What...? He really is an inventory ability user, but...?"

"Why is the 1st Raid Team buff applied?"

"The database from the association's forensic team definitely listed Lee Siyeon... Ha... Seriously..."

The fox woman looked at me again, clearly frustrated that things weren't adding up. She kept glancing between the floating profile only she could see and me, sighing repeatedly. She talked to herself quite a lot. But I barely noticed. The floating text in front of me held my full attention.

Wait... Could I not get rid of this?

It disappeared.

"Ha... The operation period is coming up soon. What should I do about this..."

"Seriously... That fox-like bitch..."

"Just wait until she comes back..."

She was still muttering. But aren't you the fox here?

"Aaaaaah! This is so annoying!!"

The fox woman suddenly hurled my profile behind her and threw a tantrum. It looked like things really weren't going her way.

Hiiik!!