The God of War
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
"Please save us!!"
"I told you to shut the fuck up!"
- Bang!
The bank lobby descended into pure pandemonium the instant the robbers burst in. But when one of them fired another shot, everyone simply trembled and sobbed, too terrified to make another sound.
Right now, all of us were kneeling in the center of the wide lobby. Five robbers stood over us, guns raised, eyes gleaming with vicious focus. All five were women. Their arsenal consisted of two shotguns, two rifles, and one pistol. Every last one of them wore identical black masks and black tights. Classic bank robber chic.
Committing outright terrorism in broad daylight, in Korea of all places? These women weren't just crazy—they had left the solar system behind. Yet they looked strangely relaxed, as if they had an ace up their sleeves.
Soon enough they dragged out a woman who appeared to be the branch manager and started screaming at her.
"Hurry up and tell us where the vault is!"
"I understand! I'll guide you immediately! Please follow me!"
- Bang!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!"
The woman holding the rifle had fired at the ceiling. When the branch manager shot her a betrayed look, the robber scratched her head.
"I said I would guide you!!!"
"......I just wanted to try shooting it once."
"Sigh... Please follow me."
"Hey, you heard her! Move your asses!"
The rifle-wielding woman hurled several large duffel bags at the two robbers carrying shotguns.
"Whoa—ack!"
"You brain-dead idiots! Can't you catch one fucking bag?"
"Then don't throw them all at once, you moron!"
- Bang!
The rifle robber fired another warning shot.
"Move! Five minutes is all we need to clean this place out!"
"......Fine."
The pair dragged the branch manager away.
They look like they learned how to rob banks exclusively from comic books.
Even the Abydos Countermeasures Committee would be more organized than this.
Piece: Anyway, none of this is bad for us.
Three robbers remained. Two with rifles, one with a pistol. I figured the three of us—me, Hye-ji, and Elsia—could handle them easily. I began to circulate mana through my body.
Or at least I tried to.
What the hell??????
My lord? What is the matter?
The mana isn't moving...
It wasn't like I'd suddenly developed arterial sclerosis. The mana inside me simply refused to budge. No matter how hard I tried to force it, the energy felt completely blocked, as if it had no intention of circulating at all.
I glanced at Elsia and asked quietly.
"Elsia, can you move your mana?"
"One moment."
She focused for a second, then her face filled with confusion. Looking troubled, she answered.
"......What is happening?"
"Beats me."
At that exact moment, two people sprang up from the floor. Silver-bordered hunter licenses hung around their necks. A man and a woman struck theatrical poses and shouted with dramatic flair, like they were performing in a Peking opera.
"You villains! Our Silver Claw shall deliver judgment!"
"Everyone, fear not! We of Silver Claw will protect you all!"
The numbers floating above the hunter duo's heads increased by one at the same time. No mirror fragments appeared because of the distance, but both of them suddenly wore triumphant grins as they charged the rifle-wielding robbers.
They were unarmed, yet they rushed forward with absolute confidence.
However.
"Huh? Huh? What's going on?"
"Honey! Something's wrong!"
- Bang! Bang!
"Argh!!"
"Kyaaah!!"
Both were shot in the thighs, collapsed in a pathetic heap, and began bleeding all over the floor. The onlookers simply stared at them with the universal expression reserved for terminal idiots.
The hunter duo, red numbers above their heads having risen by one each, cried out in grievance.
"Why?! We should have subdued them by now!"
"This definitely wasn't how it was supposed to go!"
"You two really are fools."
The woman holding the pistol gazed at the fallen duo with open contempt.
"Did you think we came here without a plan?"
"Leader! What should we do with them?"
"Kill them later. Leave them alive for now."
The pistol-wielding woman—apparently the leader—pointed in our direction and issued orders.
"Hey! Drag out that red-haired little brat over there!"
"You heard her. Get up!"
She was pointing at Hye-ji.
Hye-ji's eyes darkened instantly. She muttered under her breath.
"Little brat? You must have a death wish."
"Hye-ji, hold on. It looks like no one's abilities are working right now."
Hye-ji gave me a puzzled look. A number above her head ticked up by one. She stared at me with genuine confusion.
"They are working. No problem on my end?"
"What???? For real????"
"I'll stay put for now like you said, Shinu."
Hye-ji obediently walked forward and stood calmly in front of the pistol-wielding woman.
The leader took Hye-ji hostage, fired another shot into the air, and spoke to the crowd in a gentle tone.
- Bang!
"Stay quiet if you want to live."
One of the shotgun robbers spoke to the leader with clear excitement.
"As expected of the leader! Everything's going exactly like you predicted!"
"Of course. I knew it would turn out this way."
The hunter duo, still groaning on the ground, each muttered their own complaints.
"Why the hell aren't our abilities activating?!"
"Ugh... If only my ability worked, these punks would already be—"
"So what exactly were you relying on when you charged in?"
The leader spun her pistol lazily and addressed the hunters.
"Since you're going to die anyway, I'll give you a parting gift and explain."
"Leader! Is that really okay?"
"It's fine. This is exactly what I've experienced before."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Within my ten-meter radius, anyone with bigger breasts than mine cannot activate their abilities."
"Bullshit! Then what the hell is that chest!"
"You still don't get it? Our leader stuffs her bra!"
"Will you shut up!!"
So the reason your ability won't activate is because your chest is larger than hers, my lord.
Just how small are we talking about here?
The male hunter gave the leader a pitying stare.
"Then why don't you just use that ability to get a job?"
"What the hell do you know about me!!"
- Bang! Bang!
"Urgh!!"
"Ack! I didn't even say anything!"
Bullets found their way into both hunters' thighs again. The leader spoke with raw, unfiltered rage.
"The guild said I wasn't useful and refused to let me join! I applied to the national ability-user suppression team but failed the physical! What the hell am I supposed to do with this?!"
"......You could just train your stamina and pass the physical."
"Shut your mouth!!"
- Bang!
"Ugh..."
The unexpectedly correct answer must have struck a nerve. The leader's pistol spat fire once more.
Right then, the two shotgun robbers returned, huffing and puffing as they carried the heavy bags alongside the branch manager.
"Ugh! Leader, these are way too heavy!"
"Stop whining. Did you get all the money?"
"Of course! So what's the plan now?"
"What else? We kill them all."
The robbers casually loaded their weapons, completely indifferent. The crowd began to sob louder, trembling with terror.
A nullification ability user. A truly nightmarish opponent for people who relied on powers. Especially when the other side held all the weapons.
But.
"Hey."
"What do you want, brat?"
"Do you have a death wish?"
We had Hye-ji.
The leader reloaded her magazine, snorted, and pointed her pistol at Hye-ji.
"Brat. You clearly don't understand. We're extremely dangerous people."
"I don't think you know who's actually dangerous here."
"Hah! How cute! If I felt like it—"
Within a 10-meter radius of me, anyone with larger breasts than mine cannot activate their abilities.
- Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!!!
The leader's sentence never finished.
A massive gauntlet formed around Hye-ji's right hand. The moment she drove her fist into the leader's side, rocket-like flames erupted from the back of the gauntlet, accelerating the punch with explosive force. It slammed straight into the leader's abdomen.
The leader couldn't even scream. She flew across the lobby, smashed into the wall, and fainted on impact. The red number above her head quietly ticked up by one.
One of the robbers who had mocked the leader's padded chest earlier shrieked in horror.
"No way!!! The leader is an AAA cup!!"
"Hey."
- Bang! Bang! Bang!
While the robbers panicked, Hye-ji manifested a semi-automatic shotgun and subdued the rest of them in seconds, sparing the one who had just spoken. She seemed to retain some conscience and used rock-salt rounds instead of live ammo. Not that it didn't hurt like hell.
With the nullification user now unconscious, Elsia snapped her fingers. Thorny vines instantly bound the collapsed robbers.
The remaining rifle robber finally regained her senses and swung her barrel toward Hye-ji. I was faster.
I materialized the hand axe from my left mana tattoo, buried it in the robber's arm, and kicked her rifle clear across the room. The woman screamed in pain, but when she saw Hye-ji slowly approaching, she could only tremble in silence.
She wet herself where she stood.
"AAA cup? Don't brag about something you can fix with a damn pill."
Hye-ji spun the shotgun, grabbed the barrel, and swung the stock like a club.
"I don't have any, you son of a bitch."
- Thwack!!!
That was the end of it. Every robber was neutralized.
The terrified crowd slowly lifted their heads, trying to process what had just happened. Then someone pointed at Hye-ji and shouted.
"A god! It's a god! A god has come!!!"
Everyone burst into tears of joy and swarmed around Hye-ji, surrounding her completely. Hye-ji scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
A god, huh. A god without breasts. Yeah. That title fits perfectly.
"The God of No-Breasts has descended upon us!!!"
"Hey! Kim Shinu, you fucking bastard!"
Before Hye-ji could grab me by the collar in panic, the entire crowd, overcome with emotion, began praising her at the top of their lungs. They seemed to have misheard my words and mistaken "無神" for "武神."
"God of War! God of War! God of War!"
"God of War!!!"
"She's a god! The god of battle!"
"Mommy! When I grow up I want to be the God of War!"
The bleeding hunter duo muttered from the floor.
"Isn't it the God of Flat Chests?"
"God of Void?"
"Shut up!"
Hye-ji dashed over and kicked both of them in the jaw, knocking them unconscious.
The hymns of praise for Hye-ji continued until the police finally arrived.
It was the beginning of a new myth.