The Mask Falls
Staying out of sight, I circled around to the rear of the battlefield, slipped behind a ruined structure, and peeked out at the fight.
BOOM!BOOM!
The woman was dodging Jihwan’s attacks with fluid, graceful movements. For some reason she wasn’t counterattacking at all—she was only running away. …Is this my chance?
I didn’t know exactly how strong she was, but the fact that she had pushed Instructor Lee Daesan to his limit and had evaded Jihwan’s strikes multiple times told me she was no pushover. If I faced her head-on, my odds of winning were low. But if I struck her from behind right now, I might buy Jihwan the few seconds he needed.
A few seconds. I wasn’t weak enough to fail at something that simple. And if I pulled this off, Jihwan would praise me!
“…Okay…”
I steeled myself, gripped my sword, and began moving forward. One careful step… then another…
I was creeping right up behind the woman when—
Crack.
“…Hup!”
I must have stepped on some debris; the sound was louder than I intended. I whipped my head around in a panic, but fortunately no one seemed to have noticed.
“…Phew.”
I let out a tiny sigh of relief and continued forward, watching the ground more carefully this time. I placed my feet in the empty spaces, advancing one cautious step at a time, when—
Whoooosh—
A sudden, unpleasant wind blew across me. It felt damp, strangely warm, and carried a weird stench.
Ugh, seriously…
I scowled and lifted my head, only to be hit by another gust of the same moist wind. That was when I finally realized what it was.
KWEEEEEEEEEEEEEK—!!!
The bound monster had begun thrashing wildly.
“Damn it…!”
I was the one firing the spells, and I quickly noticed that the woman with the white scythe was behaving strangely. She showed no intent to attack; she had lowered her weapon entirely and was simply dodging here and there. It was completely different from the aggressive way she had fought earlier.
Was she waiting for reinforcements? I didn’t know exactly what they were after, but their plan had already failed. From the equipment and combat ability of the terrorists we had faced on the way here, it was clear they weren’t some ordinary group. They had apparently assembled an elite strike force, yet thanks to Min Soyeon and Gong Haeseon’s efforts, most of the terrorists had already been neutralized.
Cornered like this, the remaining terrorists had only two real options: grit their teeth and hold out for backup, or drag as many enemies as possible into a suicide explosion.
By the time their reinforcements arrived, the Association’s response team would probably be here too. No matter how well-trained these terrorists were, they would struggle against the professionals the Association had raised. And if they chose to self-destruct… I would have to burn every ounce of my mana to stop them.
I had already moved the fallen Lee Daesan to safety. Now I was sending probing attacks at the woman, waiting for the right moment to strike in earnest. But…
Hm?
I noticed her head kept turning toward one side. Her face was hidden, so I couldn’t read her expression, but she seemed to be constantly checking something in that direction.
I followed her gaze and—
“Tch…!”
There stood Gong Haeseon, commanding her spirits and launching attacks at the woman.
…Gong Haeseon?
Right then—
KWEEEEEEEEEEEEEK—!!!
The roar of the beast Gaura, still chained at the rear, shook the entire plaza. The woman froze for a moment at the deafening noise, then looked back and forth between me and Haeseon as if realizing something.
…What is it?
Suddenly she raised her scythe and dashed forward. Not toward me—toward Gong Haeseon.
I snapped back to my senses and hurriedly drew up my mana, erecting obstacles in her path.
RUMBLE—!RUMBLE—!RUMBLE—!
Several boulders shot up from the ground in an instant. But the woman twisted her body in an eerie, unnatural way, slipping between them as she closed in on Haeseon. The distance between them was now only about thirty meters.
“Damn it…!”
I was about to cast the next spell to protect Haeseon when—
CLANG!!!
Someone suddenly appeared and blocked the woman.
“Haaah!!”
It was Min Soyeon; she had vanished from sight only moments ago.
CLANG!!CLANG!!CLANG!!!
The moment Soyeon began clashing with the woman, my heart started hammering violently.
No…
I canceled the spell I had been preparing and instantly fired freezing magic at the ground.
Crack—Crack—Crrrrack—
A sheet of cold ice spread across the floor, forming a smooth, road-like path. Without hesitation I leapt onto it and slid forward like I was riding a board, already preparing my next spell.
Just then—
CLANG!!!CLANG!!!
“Haaah!!!”
Soyeon barely managed to block the woman’s scythe and immediately tried to counter. The precarious sight made my chest tighten with fear.
Absolutely not!!
I sucked in a deep breath and shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Soyeon-ah!!!”
Both Soyeon, who had been locked in a power struggle, and the scythe-wielding woman turned to look at me.
“Here I come!!!”
Sleeee—
Soyeon seemed to realize what I was doing. She quickly disengaged and retreated toward Gong Haeseon. The woman refused to let her escape and chased after her, swinging her scythe.
The pure-white blade sliced through the air toward Soyeon’s back.
CLANG!!CLANG!!CLANG!!
“Tch!”
Soyeon somehow blocked the blows, but her stance was poor and she was gradually being pushed back.
“Go…!”
At that moment, the fire spirit Haeseon had summoned hurled a fireball, but the woman fluidly deflected it and swung her scythe at Soyeon again.
Then—
Shiiiing—!
“Khk…!”
A sharp slicing sound cut through the air, and a bright-red spray of blood burst from Soyeon’s arm.
“SOYEON-AH!!!!”
She had been cut. The moment the scythe struck, Soyeon’s sword slipped from her grasp. The woman immediately raised her weapon for the finishing blow—
“NO!!!”
I had finally reached range. I instantly threw up protective barriers around both Soyeon and Haeseon, then leapt high into the air.
Ting—!
The perfectly timed shield blocked the woman’s scythe. She looked up at me in clear surprise.
“I won’t miss this time!!!”
Explosive Barrage
Kiiiiing—!!
The magic circles wrapped around my wrists spun violently. I brought my palms together, aimed through the gap at the woman, and unleashed the spell.
The multiple circles around my arms spread outward at once. Kiiiiiiiiing—!!! They began firing bullets packed with overwhelming magical power.
THUD—!THUD—!THUD—!
The bombardment rained down indiscriminately on the woman. The central plaza was brutally demolished, thick clouds of dust billowing upward.
The recoil from the spell sent me drifting down slowly. I frantically pushed through the dust, searching for Min Soyeon and Gong Haeseon.
“Soyeon-ah!!! Hae— ugh…”
Using magic my body wasn’t suited for had its price. My head spun violently and a powerful wave of dizziness hit me.
Kh…
My legs gave out and I collapsed. At that moment—
“J-Jihwan…!”
The dust parted and Gong Haeseon appeared. But Min Soyeon was nowhere beside her.
“…Where’s Soyeon?!”
Fighting back the dizziness, I forced myself up and ran to where Haeseon was looking. Soyeon lay on the ground behind us.
“…Khk…!”
She was unconscious, drenched in cold sweat. Her condition was bad. I checked the wound and saw that her right arm had been deeply slashed by the scythe; blood was still flowing.
The sight of my horribly injured daughter left me speechless. My heart plummeted, then began pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from my chest. Cold sweat poured down my back as if I myself had been wounded, and my hands started shaking uncontrollably.
My mind began to fade into panic—
“N-no… No! Get a grip!!”
Slap!!Slap!!!
I clenched my teeth and struck my own cheeks until I regained my senses. I hurriedly tore off my top and ripped it into long strips for a tourniquet.
S-slowly… You’ve done this countless times…!
Injuries and cuts were everyday occurrences inside Gates; I had treated them endlessly in my previous life. But the moment I tried to tend to my own daughter’s wound, my mind went completely blank.
I took a deep, deliberate breath to steady myself, gently lifted Soyeon’s arm, and began carefully tying the cloth above the wound.
S-slowly… Faster…!
“Huu…”
The sight of her sweating coldly and letting out shallow groans tore my heart apart.
“…It’s okay. It’s okay, Soyeon-ah. I’ll heal you right away…”
I reflexively comforted her while hurriedly wrapping the bandage. Then—
“…Da…”
A word I had longed to hear slipped from her lips.
“…Huh?”
I looked down in shock. Her eyes were barely open, gazing at me through a hazy veil.
“…D…Dad…”
The weak, struggling voice that called me “Dad” made my lips tremble again. No. Not now… Get it together…!
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, then forced a gentle smile as if nothing was wrong and continued working.
“…That’s right. It’s okay, Soyeon-ah. I’m right here.”
I’m right here.
I couldn’t bring myself to say the word “Dad.”
*
While Jihwan was tending to Min Soyeon, the ground shook with heavy thuds and the beast’s roar echoed through the dust cloud.
KWEEEEEEEEK—!!
It seemed Jihwan’s attack had freed the monster.
“…I-I can do this…!”
Determined to help Jihwan, I summoned a wind spirit and recalled Gaura’s characteristics to prepare my defense. First I ordered the spirit to blow away the dust so I could see. The plaza had been completely destroyed.
And there…
“…Kh…”
Despite taking that devastating barrage, the masked woman was still standing. Half her mask had shattered; she staggered unsteadily, scythe in hand.
The distance was neither too far nor too close. I could handle her at this range.
I commanded the spirit again, preparing a wind attack. Thanks to Min Soyeon getting hurt, she had stolen all the spotlight—but if I took this woman down myself, Jihwan would surely praise me.
“N-now…!”
The spirit released its gathered wind. Shiiiiiiiik—
The woman, already nearly incapacitated, could not dodge. A loud CRACK! echoed across the ruined plaza. The impact finally shattered the rest of her mask, sending pieces clattering to the ground.
Clatter. Clatter. Thud.
At last I saw the true face of the terrorist who had threatened us.
“…”
Her once-beautiful features were now a mangled, bloody mess.
“…Huh…?”
But no matter how damaged it was, I could never fail to recognize the face of the older sister I had lived with for seventeen years.
“…S-Sis…?”
Thinking I must have seen wrong, I tried to step closer to the fallen woman. At that moment, the beast Gaura began lumbering toward us.
KWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK—!!!!
THUD!THUD!THUD!
Confirming her identity was more urgent than the monster. I walked forward in a daze until—
“H-Haeseon-ah! Get over here!!”
Jihwan grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back.
“W-wait…! Th-that’s my sister—!”
Before I could say anything more, Jihwan lifted both me and Min Soyeon and fled the plaza. The beast Gaura that had appeared in the square opened its massive jaws and—
Swallowed the fallen woman whole.