Mihang
Under Mihang's command, Bunny and a vast legion of monsters charged the Hero. They came with savage fangs bared, howls that threatened to split eardrums, and claws honed sharp as blades. Screams tore from the other participants' throats.
"Eek! Wh-what do we do?!"
Kim Min-jeong recoiled in terror, her whole body trembling.
"It's over. We're all going to die."
Lee Ji-han stood frozen in place, resigned to despair.
"Nngh-nngh-nngh!"
Do Gwang-sik spun in frantic circles, lost to panic.
"..."
Kang Hyun-soo didn't even look back. He just bolted.
"Heehee! There's sooo many cute animals! This is fun!"
Han Mir snorted a laugh at Han A-reum — the only one among them who seemed completely unfazed, her innocence untouched — and swept his hand through the air.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out, and the iron bars caging the nearby Anomalies split cleanly in two. Han Mir looked at their bewildered faces and spoke in a low voice.
"Protect these people. Do that, and I guarantee I'll let you live."
!!!!
The Anomalies, who had been nursing a quiet unease, moved at once. But then one of them suddenly stepped forward and blocked their path. A massive bipedal lizard with eight arms pointed a finger toward Mihang's forces and muttered in a language no human could understand.
They couldn't parse the words, but the meaning came through well enough. The tide of battle favored Mihang's side, it was saying. Betray the Hero. Join her.
The other Anomalies began to stir. In that fleeting instant, a thousand calculations seemed to race through their minds. Their pupils trembled. They licked their lips, restless and uncertain.
Watching them, Kim Min-jeong felt it in her gut — something was going terribly wrong. Even after the Hero had spared them, their vicious nature was waking up again. They looked ready to slaughter the survivors instead.
The lizard Anomaly opened its mouth once more.
Splat!
Something burst. The lizard's body crumpled forward. Where its head had been, a viscous slurry of brain matter and blood spilled out and soaked the ground. The Anomalies stared, jaws hanging open in shock.
Han Mir's words cut like a thrown dagger. They immediately plastered on bright, sunny smiles, stuffed broccoli into their mouths, and formed a ring around the survivors like bodyguards.
The Anomalies swallowed hard as they watched. That vast legion of monsters couldn't get a single one of their number anywhere near them.
Han Mir had torn the head from a massive horned beast at the vanguard and was wielding it like a sword. The monsters that came near were cleaved in half on the spot, skewered like meat on a spit, and sent crashing to the ground. Eyeballs burst. Bellies split, spilling entrails. They were reduced to ragged scraps of meat. At the Hero's feet — his entire body lacquered in blood — the corpses piled into a mountain.
Mihang ground her teeth as she watched him. What the hell was going on? How was he still able to fight like that?
He has as much power as he did in his Hero days — no, he feels even stronger than back then. Did he come through the battles against the Demon Kings without a single wound? Even if you granted the absurd assumption that he'd won those fights unscathed, there was no way he could have escaped their curses.
She chewed her nails, growing more agitated by the second. Countless troops had died, and she replaced them instantly with newly created monsters. But the tide of battle didn't shift at all. She was waiting for the Hero to tire. He hadn't shed a single drop of sweat. There was no trace of fatigue on him. The only thing dripping from his body was the blood of the monsters that had fallen so pointlessly.
If anything, the longer it went on, the more the battle solidified in the Hero's favor. Mihang's soldiers, who had been attacking with such ferocity, were losing their nerve, faltering — because what they saw before them was a true monster, one no one could hope to approach.
"H-hiiik... wh-what is that thing..."
Even Bunny couldn't get anywhere near him. She just stood there, trembling. She'd known Han Mir was strong from watching the game unfold, but she'd never imagined he was strong enough to crush Mihang's entire legion as easily as mashing tofu.
Her instincts were screaming.
Get close and you die. Do not approach. Not under any circumstances.
"What the hell are you doing?! Kill that goddamn Hero already!"
Mihang summoned a whip into her hand and cracked it across Bunny's back. A vivid crimson welt bloomed across the girl's skin. Bunny bit back a groan and spoke.
"Nngh! I-I'm sorry."
"I don't want your sorry! Cut off the Hero's head and lay it at my feet right now! If you don't, I'll erase you and this entire space along with you!"
"...Yes, Master."
Bunny gripped a scythe larger than her own body with trembling hands and ran toward the battlefield. She was nothing but a paltry creation anyway. Whether she died at the hands of Mihang, who had made her, or at the hands of Han Mir the Hero — the result was the same.
She looked at the Hero standing atop a swamp of blood, crushing monster corpses beneath his feet.
"Ghk... gahk..."
Crunch.
The monster caught in his grip had its neck snapped. Instant death. Bunny watched with bitter eyes as the creature tumbled lifelessly down, becoming just another part of the mountain of corpses.
Even if this wasn't a space that belonged to the real world, those things were still living beings with genuine consciousness. They felt terror and dread before overwhelming power. They wept when they were sad. They shed tears when they were happy. They were alive. But they were nothing more than machine parts, swapped out the moment they outlived their usefulness. And Bunny knew she was no different.
Just meeting the Hero's gaze made her heart drop into her stomach. Her shoulders shook. In those dry, expressionless eyes, there was nothing but an emptiness she couldn't put into words.
"I'm starting to get bored."
Realizing she was next, Bunny squeezed her eyes shut and prayed it wouldn't hurt.
"Whoaah?!"
A gale slammed into her like a storm, forcing her eyes open. In her spinning vision, she saw the Hero's back — he had already closed the distance to right in front of Mihang's face.
Mihang startled and cracked her whip. Han Mir casually caught it and yanked it toward him. The sight of him holding that whip sent a memory of Shurun flashing through her mind — one she never wanted to relive — and slammed every panic button she had.
"Hiiiik! G-get away from me!!"
The entire village heaved with her scream. The ground folded in half like a closing book, surging up from both sides to crush Han Mir between them.
But Han Mir was fine. He hadn't taken a single measure to protect himself, and he didn't have a scratch. What shattered was the ground that had tried to crush him.
Mihang fled. Fighting the Hero at close range was the stupidest thing you could possibly do, and she knew that better than anyone. She soared through the air, summoning guns and cannons, even ripping entire houses from the ground and hurling them at him. He neutralized every last one with a few casual gestures.
Han Mir ran at a speed that made his legs nearly invisible, closing in on Mihang without mercy. Watching him, her face twisted.
What the hell is he?! What is this?! At least my attacks used to land! Nothing works now. No matter what I throw at him, that monster won't take so much as a scratch. I'm sure of it.
Then something flashed through her mind.
That's it. Why didn't I think of this sooner? Just lock him inside this space and run. Never come back here again. Even a Hero can't use magic in this place. Escape is all but impossible. If I can just get away before he catches me, I can seal that arrogant Hero away for good.
Mihang's lips twitched. A spark of hope blazed in her chest — not just surviving, but achieving the magnificent feat of sealing the Hero himself. She glanced back over her shoulder with a sly smile.
"Kyahaha! You're finished, Hero! You can't even imagine what I'm about to do! I'll leave you here to rot for eternity. And when you're a white-haired old man, I'll come back and kill you myself! Ohohoho!"
Mihang let out a greasy cackle and thrust her hand forward. A black portal bloomed in front of her. Beyond it lay the real world.
"Well then, take ca—?"
But she couldn't move. One more step — just one — and she would have passed through the portal. Somehow, her body stayed right where it was.
Her gaze slowly dropped.
The whip binding her body. And right behind her, Han Mir's face, wearing a wicked smile.
"Eh?"
Whoosh!
In an instant her vision flipped, and she found herself in Han Mir's arms. Held like a princess swept up by her prince, Mihang stared blankly up at the man carrying her.
Han Mir looked down at her, blood dripping from him, his eyes a coexistence of killing intent and emptiness. He grinned, baring white teeth.
Tears welled up in Mihang's eyes.
"I-I don't waaaaant this!!!!"