First Battle (3)
Crack! With a clear, ringing sound, the wooden chunk flew off. It clattered to the ground.
"H-heek!" An weird squeak slipped out of me before I knew it. I panicked. No, I just swung with everything I had. I never expected the wooden sword to snap clean in half from a single hit.
"As expected of a 10,000-won item..." Heukryeon's voice grumbled from beside me, complaining that the wood was no good after all. Yeah, figures for something that cheap. Durability and all that had to be lacking.
No, wait a sec. This wasn't some Amazon's Tears or whatever. Who prepares for running into an orc on a random street? That's like prepping for a lightning bolt out of the blue. Nobody braces for that.
"Grk?" The orc looked just as stunned that the weapon smacking its head had broken in two. Its face screamed, What the hell is this thing? as it slowly lifted its head.
"F-first things first." Seizing the moment it was dazed, I hurled myself to the corner. I snatched up the stick I'd tossed aside earlier—the mini-sized one. I'd bought it to practice spear arts, but between footwork drills and such, I'd never even touched it.
Should I try some half-assed spearwork? Nah, better yet—
Snap! I jammed it against my knee and snapped it with brute force. Now I had two halves gripped in each hand.
"You even know dual wielding, my lord?" Heukryeon murmured softly.
"I-I saw it a ton in comics..." Picturing that pirate dude with the triple blades, I dropped into stance. It felt awkward as hell, but more familiar than a full stick. Besides, whether it was the wooden sword or this, neither had an edge anyway.
"Plus, I've got two now." I tightened my grip. Two weapons meant twice the chance. I'd cut its breath short before both broke.
"Taat!" I stepped into Ghost Shadow Step again, diving into its guard. The instant I moved, my body blurred. By the time the enemy registered the flicker, the distance vanished.
"Grk?" The orc panicked. It snapped to its senses late and threw up a defense, hands locked over its head in a guard. Smart—prioritizing after that head smack.
But that left everywhere else wide open.
"Gap!" Torso. My twin sticks whistled through the air, hammering its body. Simultaneous strikes to the gut and knee.
Then—
Snap! Snap! The half-broken sticks shattered again. Quarter-sized chunks now.
"...Tougher than I thought." The orc was sturdier than expected. Wobbling from knee and rib damage, but still upright.
"Isn't the stick just weak?" Heukryeon whispered.
Honestly, I was leaning that way too. "Nah, the wooden sword took a few hits."
This practice stick? Way flimsier than the sword. As I sighed, the orc approached slow, eyes bloodshot with rage.
"Grrraaah..." Pure killing intent. Yellow drool dripped from its maw. A beast lost to fury.
Yeah, I'd be pissed too after that beating. It closed in with one obsession: rip me apart.
What now? No weapons left on my end. But it still clutched that thick iron pipe—instinct refusing to drop it even mid-pummeling.
One solid hit and I'm done. I wasn't some steel-bodied gangster. This soft little frame taking a direct pipe to the head? Eyes rolling back in agony. No, it'd be worse than that.
"What will you do, my lord?"
"Hmm. Modern tactics have this thing called a counterattack. Y'know, resupply run." Time to bail, right?
But...
"..." Glancing back, the woman huddled on the ground, trembling, legs gone limp.
She'd bolted like Usain Bolt possessed just minutes ago. Why collapse now?
"Tch." If I counterattacked—er, ran—she'd be orc-pipe mincemeat. No escape for her.
No weapons. But I had one special move. Not some geezer skill like Heavenly Demon Overlord Step, but way more famous. The true hallmark of the Heavenly Demon.
"GRRAAAAH—!" The orc bellowed, squeezing out its last strength. The pipe whistled toward my skull, slicing the air.
Big swing, but easy dodge. I shifted my core with Ghost Shadow Step, letting it graze by a paper's width.
At the same time, I compressed every ounce of inner power into my right fist. Heat haze rippled over the tiny knuckles, soon faintly staining crimson-black.
Now.
I zeroed in on its exposed face.
"Heavenly Demon Punch!" With a booming kiai, my fist rocketed forward like an explosion.
BOOM!!! Air burst like a bomb. The moment my small fist met its brow, the orc's massive head tore free from its body.
"..."
Plop. Drip. Crimson-black blood sprayed everywhere. The headless hulk flailed midair before crashing down with a thud.
Wh-what just happened?
Chae Yu-ra sat frozen on the ground, staring blankly ahead.
A massive lump floated skyward. The orc's head, frozen in shock, spun once before dropping with a thud.
Roll. The headless body toppled late, kicking up dust.
Less terror, more numb relief flooding her dazed mind.
I really... thought I was dead. Legs refused to move. She'd die here. No exaggeration.
Studying my life away, off to eternal sleep. If she'd played around more, maybe less regret. But Chae Yu-ra wasn't the fun type. Textbook model student, shuttling school to cram school, nose in books.
That made it worse. Hadn't even hit college. Never partied like others! Almost ended as midnight orc chow on some back alley.
Right when death loomed—a tiny girl popped out of nowhere, squaring off one-on-one with the beast.
Not even a real fight, really. Embarrassing to call it that. The girl dominated the giant monster from start to finish.
Especially that fluid, slippery footwork. Body blurring, then poof—somewhere unexpected. Orc's crude pipe swings cleaved empty air as she danced around, pummeling gaps.
Weapons broke midway, sure.
But "Heavenly Demon Punch!!" The girl yelled some nonsense and bare-fisted the orc's head clean off. Like a rocket launch.
What epic technique was that?
No, that was just a plain punch... The retort bubbled up, but Chae Yu-ra shoved it down. No nitpicking your lifesaver.
But... what even is this girl?
That's when—
"Huh? This? Heavenly Demon Punch. Been training it for when I become the Heavenly Demon."
The girl by the corpse piped up proudly. Chae Yu-ra thought it was for her.
Not for me? The girl's gaze fixed on empty air, not her. Mumbling to thin air like chatting with someone.
Cold sweat trickled down Chae Yu-ra's spine.
What's wrong with her? Possessed?
After yapping at nothing, the girl turned and approached.
Step. Step.
Face-to-face. Thick blood reek wafted over. Chae Yu-ra looked up, gulping.
Harmless, right? Even if dangerous, better than that chasing orc.
"You okay?" The girl extended a tiny hand.
"Ah? Y-yeah. Pr-probably."
Chae Yu-ra grabbed it. A quick tug—she was up.
Then clouds parted. Pale moonlight poured down.
"Ah..." A dazed sigh escaped Chae Yu-ra.
The girl, drenched head-to-toe in gore. White cheeks, jet-black hair—speckled with orc blood. Crimson eyes gleamed mysteriously in the lunar glow.
Gruesome scene. Kid slathered in blood.
But...
Chae Yu-ra stared, entranced. Utterly beautiful. The blood-soaked hellscape somehow fit the tiny girl perfectly, sending chills.
Why? Girl and gore? Mismatch. Yet it felt natural on her. Unexplainable.
"Th-thank you." Chae Yu-ra snapped out of it. No danger—just her savior. She bowed deeply.
"I... I lived thanks to you. Thought I was goner for real."
The girl said nothing. Did I mess up? Lifting her head—
"Miss!" Footsteps thundered from afar. People rushing in.