The Flame That Bows

The enemies were closing in.

The adventurers stood frozen, overwhelmed by the simple fact that their comrade had died in an instant. The Church of Light, however, was different. They drew their longswords and narrowed the distance with steady, practiced steps. Their stances were decisive and swift. It was clear they had done this many times before.

In contrast, the mace in my hand felt unfamiliar. I would have preferred a shotgun, but it wasn’t in my possession right now. I simply noted the strange heat radiating from the weapon and spread my micro-current wide. I etched their limb movements, muscle twitches, and heart rates into my mind, then assumed my own stance—copying theirs. Legs apart. Knees bent. I adjusted the angle of my ankles and the position of my feet.

The distance between us shrank.

With my feet planted firmly, I kicked off the ground first and charged toward the nearest enemy. Without even a flicker of surprise, he thrust his sword at me. It was a powerful stab, twisting from the waist, aimed directly at my head. Fast. Accurate.

But I was faster.

Before the thrust could reach my eyes, I moved. I twisted my entire body in the same motion I’d used to swing the mace downward. My taut muscles pulled the heavy iron along. At the end of that arc, I hurled the mace like a meteor.

My target wasn’t the enemy—it was his weapon.

The mace, moving so fast it blurred, slammed into the blade.

KAAAAAAAAANG!

The metallic screech rang out as the longsword was hammered downward. The warrior in the helmet froze for a split second.

A tiny opening. My chance.

I pulled the mace back to my side and drove my leg forward.

CRACK!

A familiar sensation. The warrior was sent flying backward, tumbling across the ground. A front kick powerful enough to shatter a normal human’s spine. Yet the warrior remained intact. The moment the mace ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had struck his sword, he had released his weapon without hesitation. Even while rolling, his hand swept to his waist and drew a dagger. Skilled. He had even thrown his body backward to reduce the impact of my kick.

Of course, there was no time to finish him. Another warrior was already rushing in to fill the gap. Excellent coordination.

I rolled my eyes and tilted my body. The longsword he swung from the side traced a clear path. I swept the mace I had pulled back in a horizontal arc to meet it.

CLANG!

The ringing of steel filled the air. At the sound, the adventurers who had been standing rigid finally moved. A pincer attack no ordinary human could survive. They seized every direction at once. It was obvious they had killed like this many times before.

The more I realized it, the more rage boiled up inside me. That deliberately recalled anger set my body on fire.

Within the micro-current that served as my extended senses, I could read even the smallest muscle movements. I knocked the longsword aside with the mace, creating an opening. Using the momentum from the swing, I drove my fist straight forward.

BOOM!

The helmet crumpled. Blood sprayed. The warrior, apparently never expecting a bare fist to dent steel, froze in shock. As he staggered back, he tore off his crushed helmet and hurled it aside. He tried to reset his stance, but—

BOOOOOOM!

“Guh…!”

Too slow. His judgment, his movement—even the act of removing the helmet I had crumpled to obstruct his vision—was too slow. So my immediate front kick landed cleanly. Unable to dodge or disperse the force, his body bent sharply. A direct hit to the abdomen. I watched consciousness drain from his eyes.

And I had not rested long enough to miss such an opening.

The mace I gripped came crashing down onto his spine.

CRUNCH!

The feeling of bones shattering traveled through my fingertips. A crushed spinal fracture. While the warrior collapsed under the impact that had also crumpled his armor, the other warrior who had drawn his dagger charged in.

If I hadn’t read the precursor, it would have been a fatal blow from behind. A superb ambush—approaching with silenced footsteps. The madness in his eyes reminded me of the drug-addicted Chinese soldiers, yet his technique was entirely different. He didn’t even flinch at his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠comrade’s death.

But I already knew.

I twisted my body and caught the wrist of the dagger aimed precisely at my vital point, locking it in place. Blood welled from the shallow cut on my side, but it was inconsequential. I released the mace, twisted sharply, kept hold of his wrist, and grabbed his collar with my right hand. Then I lifted him clean off the ground as if ripping him upward.

The moment I exhaled the breath I had drawn in, the human in my grasp was slammed into the ground.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

The body hitting concrete sounded like a bursting drum. His eyes rolled back and a wet “gack” escaped his mouth. Another opening.

I snatched up the mace I had dropped and raised it high.

“Hup!”

CRUNCH!

Another head shattered. I glanced at the completely crushed skull that left no trace of its original shape, then lowered the mace now drenched in blood.

Two arrows flew toward me. Their trajectories were vividly clear as they crossed the micro-current I had extended like tactile senses.

Swish—clang!

I twisted my head to dodge one and flicked the mace I had already pulled back to deflect the other. An immediate reaction came.

“He, he dodged…?!”

“Shoot! Stop talking shit and shoot!”

The adventurers drew their bows again, faces twisted in shock. Good. You’re next.

Just as I prepared to sprint, a pure white light flashed across my vision. The moment the woman with scarlet hair standing behind the adventurers extended her hand, the change occurred. Before I could even think of blocking, it brushed faintly against my micro-current as a trace of heat and struck me.

My body froze solid.

“It worked! Now…!”

But it wasn’t binding—it was paralysis. My muscles had tensed so extremely they refused to move, a rigid stiffness. Even when I forced power into them until they felt like they would burst, they barely budged.

What is this?

There was no time to analyze. I saw the drawn bows. I sensed the adventurers closing in. If I stayed still, I would die. I clenched my teeth, swelled my muscles, and struggled to move.

GRRRRRRRRIND!

Something twisted violently. In the distance, the woman’s expression hardened as she kept her hand outstretched. Good. It’s working.

I gritted my teeth and swelled my muscles even more. By the time the arrows were released, my arm had finally moved—just enough to block them.

Thud. Thud!

I stopped the arrows aimed at my head with my raised arm. They struck my forearm and wrist. Strength drained from my left hand. Blood flowed. But I wasn’t dead. I still had my right arm.

With my teeth still clenched, I dropped my stance low and kicked off the ground. Concrete shattered and scattered beneath my foot. The adventurers’ eyes widened. An explosive acceleration. A speed too fast for ordinary humans to even track with their eyes. In the instant the distance closed, I saw the drawn bows tremble.

“Ugh—hic!”

Twang!

I didn’t flinch at the sound of the bowstring. I had already read the trajectory. There was no need to dodge. At point-blank range with the two adventurers, I twisted my body sharply. The one who hadn’t frozen at my sudden approach hurriedly drew an axe and swung, but it was already too late.

I reversed the twist, swung my left hand to bat aside the flat of the axe, and brought the mace—laden with centrifugal force—down on the neck of the adventurer who had shot at me.

CRACK!

His neck bent at a grotesque angle as he collapsed. No need to recover the mace. The other adventurer, whose stance had crumbled under my strength, fell. All I had to do was stomp down on his head.

Crunch!

When skull fragments mixed with concrete shards scattered across the ground, six remained. Four adventurers, the woman who had used some strange trick on me, and the warrior standing behind her.

Before I could close the distance again, something shot toward me at an incomprehensible speed between the rain of arrows. Reflexively, I understood only that it was flying at me. Blocking it was pure luck.

Faster than before. A speed that could only be described as light itself. The moment it touched the mace I had raised, my body was hurled backward. Even though I had blocked it, the ferocious force pushed me back violently. My breath caught. The impact felt like being hit by a car; my eyes flew wide open.

KWAAAAAAAAANG!

With a roar that matched the force, my body flew through the air. The mace slipped from my hand. The instant I twisted in midair and landed, something crushed me down.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIND!

Concrete shattered and compressed. An invisible force pressed down on me as if trying to pulp my body. I couldn’t see it. Or rather, there was only light. Pure white light had engraved incomprehensible symbols on the ground and was pressing me down. It felt like a giant finger trying to squash me like a bug.

A shock and power I had never felt once in my life. A technique whose principles I couldn’t even begin to understand. Even as I felt a sense of crisis, curiosity stirred within me.

A power that felt like magic. Something distinctly different from the abilities used by super soldiers. A phenomenon that seemed impossible to explain scientifically. While I pushed against it with all my strength, I mulled over the information I had been given.

They had called it a labyrinth. They had called themselves adventurers. They had spoken of the Church of Light. As if such things truly existed. As if, in this world, wielding such power was commonplace.

It was already an impossible phenomenon right before my eyes. Absurdly, that fact made my heart race with excitement.

GRRRRRRRRIND!

Of course, that would come after I escaped this and killed them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all.

The adventurers seemed shocked that I hadn’t been crushed. Their faces twisted in horror.

The adventurers, pale with terror, still aimed their bows. The remaining warrior stood guard with his sword raised but did not approach. The scarlet-haired woman kept her hand extended toward me, her face twisted in shock and disgust.

I tried to rise, struggling to understand the principle behind this. The weight pressing down on me did not physically exist. Yet it was vividly present and crushing me. A weight that would have pulped an ordinary human long ago. Even with the strength to swell my forearms to their limit, I was still being suppressed.

It was probably an attack meant to kill. That was why they were both marveling and horrified that I hadn’t died. They had clearly believed this would finish me. I would use that arrogance against them.

I considered ways to reverse the pressure currently weighing me down. Was there any way to interfere? Disrupt their concentration? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Perhaps with words? If I could provoke them and break their composure, the output might drop. I had to try something.

Once I escaped, the first thing I would do was kill that woman.

I slowly shifted my posture, spreading my entire body weight and the crushing force as widely as possible to ease the burden. I planted my knees so I could kick off the moment the pressure weakened and close the distance. Just as I opened my mouth to speak—

The weight pressing down on me vanished abruptly. I saw the woman retract her hand and wave it. A sphere of light had already formed around her and the warrior standing right beside her.

Faster than thought, I rose to my feet. Then a sound reached my ears. A sound like wind blowing. The unique whistle of deeply compressed air colliding. An eerie feeling made my feet stop on their own.

A haze raced across the ground in an instant. It happened so quickly that even I barely caught it. The space itself seemed to warp like a wave. It was something familiar to me, yet the last time I had seen it had been far too long ago.

A momentary vacuum and the heat that followed. The space itself seemed to inhale.

Gwoooooooooong—

A heavy rumble. And then—

Flames erupted from the ground.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

They swept across the spot where the adventurers had stood, engulfed the sphere of light, and roared upward as if to reach the sky. Overwhelmed by the blinding radiance, I flinched. Then every sound hit me at once. The sizzle of flesh burning, the boil of blood. The thunder-like roar of expanding steam. Explosions mixed with sharp hissing. Before I knew it, I was staring up at the flames.

Within the brilliant light, human silhouettes could no longer support their own weight. They sank inward and vanished. As I watched the shadows inside the light collapse and disappear, a strange mix of emotions swept over me.

It was beautiful. I could not deny it. Fire possessed a bewitching power over people. But more than that… it was sudden. The light that had crushed me moments ago, the means that had bound my ankles, the force that had pushed me back—all of them had been strange. But this was on another level.

It was not like the flames my commander had used, which had merely flickered around the body’s silhouette. This was intense enough to make one think the ground itself had split open to invite one into hell. A flame of such power.

As if to prove its strength matched its appearance, the woman inside the sphere frowned and turned her head. Everyone except her and the warrior behind her had already lost all form. Instead, a small figure walked out through the flames that had taken their place.

What the flames had left behind was, strangely, the shape of a girl.

A cloak the color of leftover ash. A hood placed over her head fluttered in the hot wind. Beneath it, ash-gray hair danced without a single drop of sweat. Below that was a doll-like face—neat, beautiful, yet somehow unsettling. A pair of pitch-black eyes held almost no emotion. She looked like someone who would not shed a single tear no matter what tragedy she had caused.

Even her clothes were impeccably neat and proper, completely unsuited to the situation. Such a girl walked out of the inferno.

Step.

She trod on asphalt that had half-melted into tar-like stickiness as if it were a sandy beach. Her long skirt swayed. Bare feet, without shoes, pushed her small body forward. There was no doubt she was the master of this flame. Even the fire rising from the ground bowed its head in reverence and parted to make way for her.

“…Calamity Flame Vertea.”

The woman inside the sphere spoke with clear displeasure. But that was all. She did nothing else. She simply frowned quietly, gracefully brushed off the ash from her clothes with her neatly joined hands. Even though it was the ash of comrades who had once fought beside her, she acted as if it meant nothing.

When she finished adjusting her appearance, her green eyes left the doll-like girl and settled on me. Then she suddenly smiled sweetly.

“Until we meet again, Avatar of Darkness. Next time, I will come with more thorough preparations.”

She smiled sweetly, gave a polite bow, and retreated. The sphere filled with light, and like a mirage, she left only an afterimage before vanishing completely.

The threat had withdrawn. The enemies had burned away and disappeared. Even in a situation where nothing made sense, I could not move carelessly. I could not declare it safe. There was only the girl approaching me.

Calamity Flame Vertea.

The small destroyer who had just displayed the most intense miracle I had witnessed since waking up. Could I win?

I wanted to believe that such a large technique would require an opening or a recharge period. But I had never been an optimist, not even as a child. It would be wiser to assume there were no such openings.

Then, could I oppose her?

Flames could be bent by electricity. But the heavy flames still burning the ground did not seem like something my micro-current could bend. It felt impossible. A difference in weight class, perhaps. Still, the outcome was uncertain. She had the advantage in firepower, but I held the advantage in physical mass. Her tiny frame seemed to tell me that a single blow would be enough to end her.

In that case, I would simply bet on that.

As always, I gripped my weapon in order to survive. I adjusted my hold on the mace and thrust the iron lump forward as if to ward off flames it could never block, using it as the only shield between the girl and myself.

One exchange. Perhaps the fight would be decided even before that.

Just as I lowered my stance, pouring strength into my muscles—

Suddenly, the girl bowed at the waist with the flames at her back. Very politely. Without the slightest hint of hostility.

I slammed on the brakes. The ground I had been about to kick off split with a crack. The girl did not flinch at the sound. It was as if she would not mind even if I approached and split her head open. On the contrary, as if simply doing what must be done, she gently lifted the hems of her skirt with both small hands and bowed her head.

After the polite greeting, the greeting itself naturally followed.

“It is an honor to meet you, Avatar-nim.”

It was a pleasant voice. Refined and clear. The girl greeted me with that voice and met my eyes. Her eyes, completely dyed black, somehow carried a sense of goodwill unlike before.

“This unit is a humble servant of darkness, Vertea, created solely to devote herself to Avatar-nim’s adventures and glory, and to support your journey.”

She placed her hand modestly over her chest, a touch shyly. Behind her stretched my homeland. A city that still stood despite burning, collapsing, and the passage of countless years. The ruins of Seoul, which must now be called a labyrinth.