The Gathering Storm (2)
There is no direction to the light.
Not unless you are awake.
The light that once guided you will only blind your eyes.
Once your vision blurs, you will do nothing but chase the light.
You will be nowhere to be found, and only the light will remain.
Therefore, always stay awake.
If you are not awake, you are already standing before the gates of hell.
In the heart of the Void, atop a massive mountain of trash, a girl with purple hair was fast asleep.
“Mmm...”
The girl’s brow twitched, and then she opened her large eyes.
Her snow-white eyes blinked a few times.
Just like that, Picture greeted the world, which was, as always, blindingly bright.
A world bleached pure white. Eyes that throbbed with pain.
Suffering from a piercing headache, the world she faced was, as always, a total pain in the ass.
“My sunglasses...”
Picture, wearing her sunglasses, scratched her head atop the pile of garbage.
“Is today the day?”
The time was 5:00 AM.
Picture let out a yawn with her small mouth.
“Haaam...”
Honestly, it was a hassle. But just because it was a hassle didn't mean she could skip out on such a fun event.
“Hehehe~ Well, since today is a special day.”
She pulled a blade from the trash heap.
A rusted, chipped Chinese cleaver.
“Will this... do?”
The cleaver spun brilliantly before being caught in Picture’s hand.
Clap, clap.
As Picture clapped her hands, teddy bears reached out from the piles of trash.
Assisted by the teddy bears, she climbed down from the garbage heap and stood before a decrepit sink.
She hated washing up, but it had to be done. Today was an important day.
Picture said as she took off her clothes,
“Shower.”
At her command, the teddy bears swarmed in, pouring cold water over her head with watering cans.
One lathered her body with soap. Another held a toothbrush.
“Uwaaa~ Cold, cold! Ugh, it’s freezing! Hooo...”
Having finished her quick shower and makeup, Picture tied her hair into two tight buns and got dressed.
“Alright, shall we go, my little ones?”
The worn-out teddy bears followed behind her.
“Let’s go have a blast.”
Picture.
The only villain to come from the ranks of unregistered hunters, and the biggest headache in South Korea.
The purple-haired girl leisurely made her way out of the Void.
President Kim Jung-tae’s address to the nation was incredibly long.
- Snore....
- When is this gonna end...
- Call me when it’s over
Since President Kim Jung-tae was a man who wrote quite eloquent speeches, the content was filled with words that could stir passionate emotions, but those watching the live internet broadcast were more interested in the feast than the ritual.
Eloquent or not, few people cared about the speech.
- Is it the Mugunghwa Medal?
- I heard they’re giving a title?
- Title lol
- But if you get that, you get a pension.
- True lol
- And military exemption too lololol
- So she’s officially a military-service-completed high school girl now;;
[Citizens, we are facing difficult times.]
[Our comrades are dwindling, and our enemies are growing by the day.]
- lololol
- President
- He speaks well though lol
- He’s good at his job too;;
- Seriously, one of the few likable presidents in Korea lol
- If it weren't for Kim Jung-tae, we couldn't have normalized things.
- The grace of Jung-tae;;
- Normalization of guilds, normalization of military service;;
- Kim Jung-tae was the one who scrapped the hunter conscription, and he’s the one taxing hunters too.
- Wow lol
- God of balance lololol
[We do not know who the enemy is.]
[An unknown terror is binding and shaking us.]
[However, I believe we will overcome this fear.]
[What we must fear is only...]
Just as the President’s speech was reaching its climax, a massive, ear-piercing explosion rang out, accompanied by blinding lights.
BOOM!
[That would be me!]
- What is this
- An attack?
- The Blue Guild is there, and it’s an attack?
- Are you kidding me
- Is this live?
- Ah, it cut out
- F***
- What the
- Is the President alive?
- Terrorism?
- F***, terrorism during a presidential address?
- Wow...
- Kim Jung-tae has high approval ratings, so the backlash is gonna be huge lol
Confused people stayed on the stream even after it went black. Amidst the breaking news and reports, people recalled one very likely person who would pull off such a stunt.
- That crazy b****?
- Picture, that crazy b**** is terrorizing the President;;
- Isn’t it shoot-on-sight if found?
- The bounty must be over 10 billion by now
- I told you she’s S-class
- If she’s S-class, why be a villain lol
- Who knows, how can you understand the mind of a crazy b****
People from the Blue Guild gathered around the President, while limbs flew through the air on the outskirts of the event venue. In the distance, standing before a massive light, was a girl with a frail build.
The girl, having stylishly taken off her jacket, introduced herself.
“Remember! The one you should fear is this Picture!”
Behind her, worn-out teddy bears swarmed in.
“F***, it’s a crazy teddy bear!”
“Uwaaaah! It’s a gun!”
The teddy bears, each wielding kitchen knives or firearms, began slaughtering the civilians.
“Hunters! Where are the hunters!”
“S-save me!”
When Eunseo hurriedly stood up from her seat, one of the teddy bears lunged at me.
“Tsk.”
I drew a sword of light from my subspace and severed the teddy bear’s head. Blood spurted from the doll’s neck.
“...F***, this is a human.”
“Pardon?”
Eunseo stepped back in shock. Wow, turning people into teddy bears? Is she a lunatic?
I gritted my teeth and kicked the lunging teddy bear away.
“Eunseo, stay behind me for now.”
“B-but I must serve you, Hyunseo-nim.”
“You’re no help right now, so just hold onto your life!”
“...But I’m worried you’ll get hurt, Master.”
“Get back!”
I scratched my head at Eunseo’s crestfallen expression.
“Don’t you trust me?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but...”
Suddenly, that person’s voice echoed in my mind.
‘Do you know what a master needs most?’
‘A kind heart! A soft tone! Embracing like the ocean! Non-violence!’
‘All wrong!’
‘Liar! Booooo!’
‘Listen well. What a master needs is the disciple’s overwhelming respect.’
‘Aaaah! Stop hitting me!’
‘The overwhelming respect that stems from strength!’
‘Aaaah! This is just trash! This is child abuse! No to violence!’
‘Do as you’re told! Roll when told to roll! Lick when told to lick!’
‘Just raise a dog instead!’
‘Right! I’ll make you a dog-like disciple!’
I chuckled, remembering my time with that person.
“Do you remember what the President said today?”
Eunseo tilted her head at my question.
“Yes, I remember.”
“What did he say?”
“Uh... S-class or higher ability?”
“Right. Ability estimated to be above S-class.”
I kicked away another lunging teddy bear and continued.
“An absurd level of swordsmanship.”
I swung my blade, and three teddy bears fell to the ground, missing their legs.
“And a weapon estimated to be of a high grade.”
The blood-stained blade shimmered under the intense afternoon sun. Eunseo’s expression as she watched that sword began to harden, bit by bit, as if recalling something.
“No way. No way. Wait. No. Is the timing right? Uh, no... You said you were... a woman?”
“Walks the world alone. Not a single defeat.”
Cheonha-dokhaeng (Walking the World Alone), Mawang-bulpae (The Demon King Never Defeated).
Eunseo’s mouth hung wide open.
“Hyunseo-nim, you are the Lone Demon King?”
Well, it’s embarrassing to say it myself.
“Hyunseo-nim?”
“Step back.”
“Yes!”
I felt a strange sensation at her noticeably changed attitude. Perhaps the master was right. What a master needs isn’t just tolerance, but charisma.
I pulled two small daggers from my subspace and threw them.
“T-this is.”
“I was going to give them to you later, but take them now.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Even if you aren’t used to it. Just try blocking for now.”
“...”
“You shouldn’t get hurt too badly against these guys.”
She seemed flustered by the surprisingly heavy blades; her hands holding the two daggers were visibly trembling. She was clearly shaken by the news that the teddy bears were actually people. But it was something she would have to get used to eventually. If so, outside the Tower was a hundred times better than inside.
“Watch closely. When one faces many, it’s like this.”
As I joined the front lines with my sword, the teddy bears began to be neutralized one by one. Teddy bears that lost their weapons or limbs. Teddy bears that could no longer stand and had fainted. As the teddy bears in my vicinity were cleared in an instant, police and soldiers began to clear the ones at the entrance.
“Well, is this all you’ve got?”
Perhaps the President had moved to a safe zone; the Blue Guild hunters began to join in, and the tide of battle shifted rapidly.
“You shouldn’t throw around the word ‘fear’ so carelessly.”
As I smirked, the girl stared at me intently.
“You’re interesting.”
The girl, having completely discarded her jacket, was wearing a suit that looked like a one-piece swimsuit. Wow, there really are people who walk around in that. Isn’t she embarrassed? As I was looking at her exposed white thighs and arms,
“..!”
The girl lunged, her worn-out Chinese cleaver clashing with my sword of light, sending sparks flying.
When? She covered that distance in an instant?
“Villains use their skills to their heart’s content, One-Punch Girl friend.”
Clang!
This crazy b****.
My sword moved laboriously, struggling to keep up with the rapidly swung cleaver.
Kagagak!
Six exchanges passed in an instant, and the rusted cleaver grazed my forearm. Even with stats reaching four digits, I had created an opening by struggling to keep up with her cleaver.
The girl lowered her sunglasses and looked at me, seemingly taken aback for a moment.
“...You kept up with that?”
“You’re the one who’s crazy. What kind of person are you?”
The eyes of the girl who introduced herself as Picture glowed white.
“Then, try blocking this too.”
The cleaver, swung so fast it was barely visible, bent at an unexpected angle and aimed for my armpit.
Kagagak!
Blocked by the sword of light, sparks flew. If I had been a second slower, my left arm would have been severed. I opened my eyes wide, retracing the trajectory.
‘Could this girl be...’
The thought I had been harboring was slowly being confirmed by that last attack. Cold sweat broke out. No, that’s not it, her appearance is completely different. Still, this unpleasant feeling...
“Do you have time to space out?”
The way she swung her cleaver, cutting sharply, resembled someone. Her insane hobby was exactly like that b****’s.
‘F***...’
Perhaps she had the same thought, as she wore a chilling grin.
“Seriously. You’ve become interesting.”
“...It is you. F***.”
Taking advantage of my distraction, the cleaver grazed my thigh. A long laceration appeared on my leg in an instant.
F***ing b****.
Vicious b****.
Devil-like b****.
Picture, who had spun her cleaver a few times, grinned.
“Long time no see.”
“Don’t act all friendly and greet me, you b****.”
“Oh my, such rude language.”
Picture cracked her neck and giggled.
“Shall we play for the first time in a while, Junior? Or is it Junior Sister now?”
A sneer hung on the Senior Sister’s lips.
“F***...”
The person I least wanted to meet. My senior, and the disciple of ‘that person,’ was standing right in front of me.