VS CATS (1)
The fight began in earnest the moment our battle cry rang out, with the white bear and the lion leading the charge. The two beasts were showing off movements far too flashy to belong to mere animals.
The lion lunged, aiming to sink its fangs into the white bear’s throat, but our bear had already slipped back just enough. At the same time, the bear took a quick side step and slammed a body blow into the lion a half-beat faster than its retreat.
BOOM!!!!!!
The devastating body blow, born from the white bear’s ridiculous muscle mass, produced a ferocious impact sound. At the same time the blow landed, the bear stepped forward again. But the lion lived up to its title as a spiritual beast. It endured a strike that would have knocked out any normal animal, then twisted its body and raked the bear’s hind leg with its razor-sharp claws.
SLASH!!!
The white bear grimaced and tried to kick the lion away, but the lion had already created distance and slipped out of the bear’s range. It immediately targeted the opening in the bear’s attack and focused its assault on the same hind leg again. It was clearly trying to disrupt the bear’s fancy footwork.
The situation was razor-sharp, a true instant-death struggle where even the slightest carelessness would be fatal. I quickly cast a buff on the white bear to give it more strength.
“Hey! If you win this, we might be able to collab with Kumamon!”
The white bear let out a thunderous roar full of fighting spirit. But even that didn’t seem like enough to defeat the lion. Against an opponent who kept its eyes sharp and constantly looked for openings, this level of motivation wasn’t going to cut it. So I threw on another buff.
“We’ll talk to Coca-Cola too!!”
The bear turned its head to stare at me. Its eyes clearly asked whether I meant 815 Cola instead.
“Of course not!!!”
Meanwhile, the lion cunningly used the moment the white bear looked away to close in fast, swinging at the bear’s head. The number floating above the lion’s head had already gone up by one. Its smirk looked like it was already celebrating victory.
It was a do-or-die moment. If things continued like this, the white bear would take serious damage. Just before the lion’s sharp claws could strike, I tossed out the final bait to draw out every last ounce of the bear’s combat power.
“Solo advertisement!!!”
The moment those words left my mouth, the fighting spirit radiating from the white bear suddenly sharpened and condensed. It was like the calm eye of a storm. The bear kept its eyes closed even as the lion attacked. And from that state, it dodged the lion’s strike with an almost supernatural naturalness.
It wasn’t a conscious movement. The hopeful future of a solo ad had moved the bear’s body on pure instinct. Yes. This was the pinnacle of the unconscious.
The number above the bear’s head went up by one. When it opened its eyes, it wore a faint smile, as if it had glimpsed a bright future. The lion, whose own red number had gone up by one, began to twist its face in confusion.
While the lion’s expression shifted from confusion to shock, the bear planted both hind legs firmly into the ground like anchors. Then it twisted its waist powerfully, poured every ounce of strength into its front paw, and unleashed its ultimate technique.
“Choo-pyoo-choo-pyoo (Bear Fist)!!!!!”
Bear Fist (Ungkwon)
The white bear’s Bear Fist landed a perfect counter. With an enormous impact sound, the massive lion that had been boasting its size and weight was launched into the air. As the bear moved in to follow up with another strike, Furia, the leader of the Holy Knights, had already closed in on me.
“Don’t take your eyes off the fight!!”
“Fur’s flying, you son of a bitch.”
Left-hand mana tattoo: 5 o’clock dagger. Right-hand mana tattoo: 10 o’clock wire. I quickly wrapped the dagger with the wire and drove it deep into the ground so it wouldn’t come loose. At the same time, I dodged Furia’s thrusting spear to the right and yanked the wire along with me.
Furia looked at me and sneered.
“You’ve gone soft!”
This time, the massive shield in Furia’s left hand—carrying absurd weight—came crashing down toward me. Since I was wearing the Defensive Coat I’d been saving, I could have just taken the hit. But since I couldn’t be sure what would happen afterward, I activated my mana tattoos again while thinking of another plan.
Left-hand mana tattoo: 9 o’clock shield. Right-hand mana tattoo: 5 o’clock dagger.
It wasn’t as good as Furia’s shield, but it was a crude rectangular barrier large enough to cover my body. I slammed the shield into the ground and wrapped another dagger around the middle of the wire, then threw one more dagger so it only lightly embedded itself—just enough to pop out with a little force.
At the same time, I grabbed the top of the shield with my left hand, pushed off hard, and leaped into the air. The instant Furia’s shield collided with mine, an ominous metallic screech rang out.
CRACK!!!!
My shield shattered into pieces and vanished in an instant, but I had already escaped into the air. Yet Furia didn’t stop his momentum and immediately thrust his spear at me while I was still airborne.
“You won’t be able to dodge this!”
“Have you ever seen a tower avoid a fight?!”
I condensed mana only into my left palm. Translucent heat haze rose from it. In response, a yellow mass shot out from Furia’s spear toward me.
It was holy power. The type of mana given when pure mana passes through the filter called “god.” Without needing any further explanation, the two forces collided at the same time. A violent explosion erupted, and both attacks canceled each other out.
I landed behind Furia, and he turned to face me. Looking at me, he spoke as if he had realized something.
“That technique. It’s the Cheonma Repulsor, isn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“And you can probably only use it five or six times!”
“You son of a bitch, how the hell did you know that?”
[Is your information leaking?]
How does he even know the exact number of shots?
Furia put on an expression that said it was obvious and declared proudly,
“Obviously I knew because I’ve been reading this novel from the very beginning!”
“Oh my god. So you’re a reader. Nice to meet you.”
“No need to be so formal.”
In the blink of an eye, Furia and I stopped fighting, lowered our weapons, and shook hands. While shaking my hand, Furia asked,
“So, is this episode going to be a mass release?”
“I’ll try asking.”
[Shouldn’t it be twelve chapters in one day when there are twenty-four hours in a day?]
You want me to sleep? I can sleep plenty after I’m dead.
[The undertaker will wash your body after you die anyway, so there’s no need to worry about bathing.]
Shut the fuck up, you bastards.
Another stream of nonsense echoed in my head, but I ignored it and met Furia’s eyes. Then, in the most hopeful voice I could manage, I said,
“They said it’ll be three chapters instead of a mass release!”
“The Lord will surely bless you!”
At that moment, one worry suddenly popped into my head. Piece must have had the same thought, because she urgently spoke to me.
[My dear! Then doesn’t that leopard also know about your abilities?]
Ah, shit. If other people find out about this, I’m screwed.
Furia seemed to have guessed what I was worrying about from my expression. He gave me a very benevolent smile and spoke softly.
“Are you worried about your abilities? Don’t worry.”
“Uh… really?”
“Yes. I won’t tell anyone, anywhere.”
His unwavering words made it seem like my concern had been unnecessary.
“If I told anyone, I would be the one dragged away as a heretic.”
“Thank you so fucking much! Dear reader!”
Meanwhile, Caersi had been about to attack Jung Ayeon but stopped and watched our antics. She roared in fury.
“You idiots! Stopping a fight to do something like this, nya!!”
“Stop ignoring this lady in every single match!!!”
“Ah!!!”
Apparently fed up with being ignored in every match, Jung Ayeon shouted with pent-up resentment and summoned several beasts right behind Caersi. Each summoned creature immediately began biting and tearing at Caersi’s body.
“It hurts, nya!!!!!”
Holy power exploded outward from Caersi’s small frame like a sudden burst. The explosion blew away every single summoned beast clinging to her. However, because she had already been attacked, bite marks covered her body and blood was flowing from multiple wounds.
Seeing that, I shouted urgently.
“Hey! Jung Ayeon! Don’t let that bastard heal!”
“U-understood!”
“There’s no need to rush. You don’t have to worry about healing abilities.”
Jung Ayeon hurriedly tried to summon more beasts to pressure Caersi, but Furia’s words about not worrying stopped her.
“Our saintess can’t use healing at all.”
“Aha! So she went all-in on damage!”
“You fucking cat!!! Why are you saying that like it’s a good thing!!!”
“Ah! I got baited!”
Caersi manifested a huge cat paw on her right hand and slammed it down hard on Furia’s head.
“Be quiet, nya!!!”
CLANG!!!!
“Ughhh…”
Jung Ayeon watched with slightly pitying eyes and spoke to Caersi.
“You seem to have it rough too.”
“…You look like you’re struggling as well, nya.”
Feeling a strange sense of kinship, the two suddenly stopped fighting and shook hands. The atmosphere was so warm and friendly that anyone watching might have mistaken it for a peace treaty.
Meanwhile, Furia—who had just been smacked by Caersi—turned back to me with a menacing scowl and growled again.
“To think you would bewitch this body! Are you ready?!”
“Bewitch my ass, you bastard.”
Furia picked up his weapon again and tried to create distance. But now it was time to use the trap I had set at the beginning. I yanked the wire hard with my left hand.
“What?!”
“Where are you going?! Don’t get off the ride, dear reader!”
The second dagger I had planted came loose, pulling the wire taut. The wire caught around Furia’s legs, and his body, which had been stepping back, suddenly lurched forward as if he were about to fall. In that instant, Furia reflexively stabbed his spear into the ground to steady himself.
I didn’t miss the chance and dashed forward. Furia quickly raised his shield as he saw me coming. I condensed mana into my right hand and slammed it straight into the shield. Just before my right hand made contact—
Furia’s desperate cry rang out.
“Oh Lord!!!”
And then an explosion should have erupted from where my right hand touched Furia’s shield.
But no explosion occurred at all.
Huh…?
[W-what is this?]
Something different from everything before had just happened.