How the 140cm National Little Sister Protects Peace
He sprawled out long on the living room sofa. He roughly peeled a tangerine with his fingers. His toes didn't reach the floor, dangling idly in the air. Shoving a segment into his mouth, he absentmindedly flipped through TV channels.
The screen switched, and a news anchor in a suit appeared. A dry, stiff voice echoed through the living room.
A brief clip flashed at the bottom of the screen: people holding placards and sobbing. He swallowed the tangerine and switched to a variety show. Inside the TV, celebrities were forcing laughs while playing games.
They're saying to redirect the budget wasted on the dead to the survivors. A rational, cold calculation from grown-ups. He knew it was an unavoidable choice to keep the massive system running. But that didn't stop his stomach from twisting.
If they'd been eaten by monsters, at least bone fragments or bloodstains should remain. People who vanished around gates left no trace, as if evaporated. Even after vomiting blood and holding out for a month, 400,000 lives slipped through his fingers in the end. The lingering sweetness of the tangerine turned bitter in his mouth.
"Sigh."
He let out a deep sigh. His appetite vanished. He sat up. His feet hit the living room floor as he headed to his room.
He pulled out his gray training sweatsuit top and bottoms for going out. Just as he was about to strip off the frilly loungewear, the door burst open.
"Oppa! What's up? Where you going? Meeting someone?"
Kang Hae-eun's eyes sparkled as she bombarded him with questions. He clicked his tongue and tied the drawstring on the pants.
"Knock first. This is a grown man's room."
"Grown man? You barely reach my solar plexus. Where to, oh national little sister?"
"Shut it before I sew your mouth shut. Heading up north today."
Her expression hardened at his answer.
"Already time for the rounds? You'll be back before dinner, right?"
"I'll try. Tell Mom to save me some food."
"Got it. Don't get hurt."
Hae-eun dropped the playfulness and closed the door. He pulled on the training hoodie. He opened the balcony window in his room.
Gathering mana at his toes, he hurled himself into the air. The repulsive force of mana propelled his body upward. Breaking the sound barrier, he soared north.
Officially, he was a retired NEET. But he couldn't stop these periodic flights north. If those beast bastards bred and pushed south, this peaceful daily life would shatter.
Near the ceasefire line. Northern Frontline Base.
He dropped from the sky like a meteor, landing smack in the middle of the parade ground. The concrete cracked, kicking up dust. The alarm nearly blared, but the sentries spotted the silver hair and hurriedly saluted.
"Sir!"
Moments later, a two-star general burst out of the command center. He bent low to match the small stature's eye level.
"Hero! You've arrived!"
"Gimme the sitrep. Anything different from usual? Anomalies?"
He held out his hand curtly. The general handed over the tablet with both hands. He skimmed the screen quickly.
Three years ago, during Gate Shock, massive gates had opened in the north. The monsters that poured out claimed North Korean territory and built an ecosystem. The beasts mated, laid eggs, and formed food chains. To stop them from building strength and pushing south, he periodically crossed into North Korean land and culled them like mowing the lawn.
"Got it. Good work. Keep the search teams on standby—no need to overdo it."
"Understood! Good hunting!"
He handed back the tablet and shot into the air. He immediately crossed the northern limit line into the crimson wasteland.
The wind reeked of blood. The city that was once Pyongyang lay in ruins, swarming with magic beasts amid the wreckage. He hovered in the air above the city center.
He took a deep breath. He unleashed the compressed mana inside him in all directions at once.
—Rumble rumble rumble!
A blue mana storm swallowed everything within dozens of kilometers. The atmosphere screamed and churned.
"Kieeeek!"
"Grrr... yelp!"
Screams erupted from the ruins. Instinct-driven weak monsters couldn't withstand the mana and tucked tail. They fled deeper north to survive. But they weren't his targets.
—ROOOAAARRR!!!
A roar shook the earth. Hyper-aggressive top predators, or ones that sensed his mana as prey, revealed themselves. To them, he wasn't fear incarnate—he was an elixir for evolution if devoured.
The sky blackened. Hundreds of wyvern-like flying beasts with 10-meter wingspans rained down like a bombing run. From the ground, building-sized giant orcs and mutated reptiles leaped from the debris, crushing it underfoot.
His face remained expressionless as he raised his right hand. No complex process needed. He compressed mana to its limit.
Invisible blade nets deployed in the air. Pure slaughter form.
"Annoying."
He snapped his fingers.
—Slash! Slash slash slash!
But the ground-leapers didn't stop. One massive beast at the front caught his eye. Like an inflated bipedal monster. A grotesque single eye and black horns evoked old side-scrolling game yokai.
No clue how the ecosystem spat out such a hybrid.
It split its jagged maw, spewing a blood-red flash. Unlike normal monster mana, it pulsed with a nauseating bloody stench.
"Beast brat spewing mana that tastes like crap."
He twisted in midair, dodging the flash. The mountain peak it grazed blackened, rotted, and crumbled. Mana laced with toxicity.
Lethality was decent. But still just a beast.
He kicked off the air and slammed down onto its crown. Skipping the details. Pure compressed mana as a massive gravity press.
—BOOM!!!
The instant his toe touched its skull, a shockwave like hundreds of tons of invisible press crushed it. The hybrid's bones and flesh pulped, carving a huge crater into the ground.
After that, it was just manual labor. Charging foes got diced by slashes; hiders vaporized terrain-first by mana orb barrages.
No mercy in his combat style. Blood stench filled his lungs. Monster corpses piled into mountains around him.
The work wrapped up as the sun dipped west. No more aggressive responders to his mana. The rabble had fled north of the border long ago. A perfect 100km radius cleanup.
He landed atop the corpse mountain, breathing raggedly. He wiped blood splatter from his cheek with his sleeve. The hoodie, soaked, hung heavy.
"Ugh, sticky. Gotta wash up quick."
He turned south. Breaking sound barrier in flight, cold winds blew away the blood smell the whole way.
Northern Frontline Base.
He landed on the parade ground again. No siren this time. The general and staff waited, snapping crisp salutes.
"Mission complete, sir?"
"Back to baseline. Aggros all mulched, rest chased north. No anomalies."
"Outstanding! On behalf of the Republic of Korea Army, thank you!"
The general bellowed, bowing deeply. The lined-up soldiers' eyes brimmed with respect and relief. Ignoring the heavy gazes, he waved lazily and shot skyward again.
Penthouse balcony.
Stepping through the open window, spicy-sweet pork stir-fry scent hit his nose. He hadn't even kicked off his shoes when Mom and Dad rushed to the entryway.
"Our son's back! Oh dear, blood on your face!"
Mom rushed over, checking his face and limbs.
"Mom, not mine. Monster blood. No injuries."
He grumbled and stepped back, but she unzipped his sweats anyway, sighing only after confirming.
"Good boy, our kid. Eat two bowls today."
Dad ruffled his silver hair with a rough hand. It got messy, but he didn't swat it away.
Inspection done, he beelined to the bathroom and scrubbed off. Soap scent buried the blood reek from head to toe.
Changed to loungewear and emerged to a feast on the table. Mountains of pork stir-fry. Hae-eun tapped the table with chopsticks.
"Sit already. Starving waiting for you."
"Who said wait? Eat first."
"How can I start without you? Shut up and chew meat."
Hae-eun grumbled, plopping a big piece on his rice. He climbed onto the chair. Feet dangled again.
"Thanks for the food."
He shoveled a big bite. Spicy sauce and meat juices spread. The cold news and northern blood seemed to melt away in the warm meal.
Parents beamed. Hae-eun eyed his meat but flinched and pulled back her chopsticks.
A mundane, noisy family dinner. Laughter filled the table. He quietly sipped stew.
This steamy, perfect peace. This rowdy warmth he'd thrown his body into protecting—he was glad for it.