41. Unreal (5)
The appearance of an unbeatable monster did not change Flame’s daily life.
If anything, she kept trying, and trying again, in her own way.
Since she could not make her magic any stronger, she learned how to combine it. She organized a scientific team to analyze the monsters’ patterns and appearances in order to identify their weaknesses.
She no longer thought about ordinary life anymore.
This was her ordinary life now.
To kill, and kill again, the monsters that had begun appearing without end, and protect the world.
“…Miss Flame?”
“Ah.”
“You must have nodded off for a moment. We’ve arrived. Shall we begin the operation?”
“Yes. Take me there right away.”
Traveling all around the world, Flame hunted monsters without rest.
She had achieved results in her own way. Even monsters that had once been difficult to face could now be defeated with the help of science, and it became possible to hunt them more efficiently and more quickly.
She also did not forget to provide part of her magic to research institutions for study. If it was for the advancement of the world, she was willing to reveal her magic as much as necessary.
But research into magic made no progress at all.
Even the greatest scientists in the world, throwing themselves into it with their glasses on, said they simply could not understand it.
It was as if the world itself were saying that magic belonged to one person alone—Flame.
And the more that happened, the harder she tried.
She fought, and fought again, even cutting down on her sleeping hours.
And so…
A year passed.
- Two days ago, a monster appeared in Vilnius, Lithuania.
- The Tibetan Plateau has suffered ecological devastation due to a herd of monstrous bulls occupying the region…
- The monster that appeared in Peru’s Colca Valley has the ability to manipulate the climate, causing the Earth’s temperature to become abnormally…
- The monster that appeared in Moscow, Russia is spewing lava. The city center has already been reduced to ruin…
No matter how hard she tried, no matter how fiercely she pushed herself to her limit—
Some things simply could not be done.
Was protecting the entire world alone something that was only possible in movies?
The moment she recognized that all her efforts were accomplishing nothing, an endless emptiness came crashing over her.
“Miss Flame? Are you all right?”
“…Yes. Where is our next destination?”
“Please decide. At present, monsters have appeared in fifteen different locations.”
Now, monsters appearing in double digits at the same time was an everyday occurrence.
She had only one body, and there was only one place she could save.
Every other place would be abandoned here and now by her decision.
So she had to choose as efficiently as possible.
She had to distinguish between places where even if they bombarded the area with missiles and turned the city into a wasteland, they could still defeat the monster—and places where even that would not work—and save what she could.
She was growing more and more exhausted.
Why was it that those words suddenly came back to her now?
‘You have to choose death of your own will.’
She hurriedly shook her head.
‘No. That can’t be.’
She did not want to give up this life.
She was still happy.
Saving the world while bearing everyone’s expectations on her shoulders—that was her calling.
If she kept trying like this, then surely she would be able to lead this world to peace.
…Baek Yuseol came to find her that very night.
If one were to name the trendiest city in the world, the answer would unquestionably be New York.
A city where people of every race gathered, where the cultures of past and present coexisted, where tourists crowded the streets at all times, and neon signs glittered all twenty-four hours of the day.
But New York today was dead.
Because of the monster appearance alert.
Step.
Flame set foot in that New York.
The cold streets of New York, with all the crowds gone, felt strangely unfamiliar. Looking at the streets that should always have been noisy and alive lying dead and silent, the dream she had dreamed a year ago suddenly came to mind.
‘Pull yourself together.’
There was a monster here. She could not afford to let her guard down because of stray thoughts.
And yet—
“What…?”
The monster was already dead.
Seeing the massive body, shaped something like a dog, lying there cold and still, Flame unconsciously searched for someone.
“…Baek Yuseol.”
On the opposite side of the street, that boy was there.
His expression was unusually troubled today, and even after killing the monster, he had not sheathed his shining sword.
Instinctively, she tightened her grip around her staff.
Several helicopters, having noticed that the monster’s energy reaction had vanished, were approaching. They were part of the strategic team—there in case Flame had been injured, in case she requested support, and to deal with the monster’s corpse.
“Do not come any closer. Stand by.”
After issuing them that brief command, Flame walked toward Baek Yuseol.
“You’re too late, Flame. It’s time to go back.”
“Back where?”
“To where we originally lived.”
“My home is here.”
“…That’s right. But this is not where you belong.”
He gestured toward the cold, lifeless street as he spoke.
“The happier you are, the unhappier the world becomes. Even so, are you still going to stay here?”
This time, she could not answer right away.
Flame bit down hard on her lip. Blood welled up.
“What… exactly are you telling me to do?”
“You have to leave this world.”
“Go where?”
“You know.”
She began to resent the way Baek Yuseol spoke without any change in expression.
Who exactly was that boy, that he could speak so easily about someone dying?
“It’s for your sake.”
“…I can’t believe you.”
“Of course you can’t. That’s why I waited. Until you could accept it. But… I don’t think I can wait any longer.”
Baek Yuseol was still wearing his school uniform.
On the name tag on his chest, the name of his alma mater was written: [Guwol High School].
“We’re reaching the limit. For the sake of this world too, it’s right for both you and me to leave.”
“I…”
“So just stay still.”
The conversation ended there.
[Blink]
In the blink of an eye, Baek Yuseol had already reached striking distance.
‘Huh…?’
A white flash split her vision in half.
Clang—!
But the slash line could not cut her down, blocked by the shield she had spread on instinct. That did not mean the impact went anywhere, however, and from the shock of her mana shield shattering, Flame gagged dryly.
“You damn…!”
She had no intention of quietly dying for him.
Flame spun her staff once and slammed it down on the ground.
Thud!
A pillar of light shot upward and swallowed Baek Yuseol’s body as he swung his sword. But she instinctively knew that something on that level would never be enough to bring him down, and just as she tried to prepare another spell—
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Before she knew it, Baek Yuseol had circled behind her, and with a swing of his sword, a huge chunk of her barrier shattered away. It did not end there. Sensing with pure instinct that the blade flying at her was aimed directly at her neck, Flame threw herself forward and rolled with all her might.
-Miss Flame! Are you all right?!
The voice coming through the communicator rang in her ears even through the dizziness in her head.
Ignoring it, she rolled across the ground.
Boom!
Light exploded, and Flame’s body was hurled up toward the top of a building. Baek Yuseol instantly chased after even that with high-speed movement, but she scattered spheres of light recklessly through the air.
KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!!
She had only thrown them out to interfere with his path, but perhaps their power had been greater than expected, because an entire side of the building was blown away.
Thinking it might actually work in her favor, Flame slipped into the gap in the building and caught her breath.
“Crazy bastard… Are you seriously trying to kill me?”
She had no intention of letting him.
When she pressed her hand to the floor, enormous vines sprouted and covered the building. If Baek Yuseol entered here, she intended to use the plants, which moved according to her will, to press him in. No matter how fast he was, in a cramped space like this he would not be able to move freely.
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Crash!!
But of course Baek Yuseol had already thought of that. He moved to the lower floor of the building and brought the floor down altogether, and Flame fell before she could even resist.
‘Shit—!’
Left with no other choice, she wrapped her body in a shield of light and used the recoil of an explosion to hurry out of the building.
Rumble—!
The building debris collapsed, and the place where Flame had been falling caved in with a crash.
If she had been even a little slower, she really would have died.
Whoosh!
‘He’s coming!’
Unlike herself, who could not move freely in midair, Baek Yuseol could maneuver sharply and cleanly. But she had already prepared for that just now.
Creeeak!
Dozens of vine stalks shot out from the collapsing building and began connecting one building to another like bridges, and Flame landed on top of them.
Whooo…!
The wind scattered around them, and Baek Yuseol’s figure blurred once again.
She could feel it with her senses.
‘Behind me!’
Without even turning her head, she struck the ground with her staff and summoned a pillar of light behind her—but… she felt no impact.
When she looked up, she saw that Baek Yuseol had anticipated even that and moved to the front, where he was already swinging his sword.
Crack-crack-crack!!
“Ugh…!”
Half her shield shattered away, and her insides twisted violently.
Blood welled up into her mouth.
But she did not give up. She violently flipped the vines over.
Crack!
The vines transmuted into a steel-like material and coiled around Baek Yuseol’s body like snakes, tightening around him.
So that no matter where he tried to Blink, he would not be able to escape.
But he knocked even steel aside with his sword, or cut through it, and continued approaching her.
‘Close combat is bad for me.’
Cold sweat pouring down her face, she manipulated the vines and leaped with all her strength to the building across from her.
Crackle! Crackle!
Fragments of magic flew out, and neon signs burst apart and fell. Baek Yuseol stepped on those neon signs, then jumped and came rushing at her.
‘I have to stop him…!’
But no matter how many shields she spread—
No matter what kind of attack she tried—
Nothing worked on him at all.
It felt like crashing into a huge wall.
The other side was merely moving quickly and swinging a sword, yet with all the varied magic at her disposal, she could not resist him.
Was it because a battle like this, a battle against magic, was entirely new to her?
The overwhelming difference in experience cast a shadow right in front of her eyes.
“You son of a bitch!!”
No matter what she did, she realized she could not match him.
But no matter who her opponent was, she would not give up.
Using vines, Flame raced between buildings and fired light again and again, while Baek Yuseol cut through every one of them and pursued her.
Light blazed across all of New York, plants sprang up everywhere, and deafening explosions rang out.
All because of a fight between just two people.
“Haa… ha…”
Letting the vines droop limply, Flame landed on the rooftop of a building and collapsed to her knees.
Far away, it felt as if she could see the city’s horizon.
Now that she looked closely… this place was the famed Empire State Building.
‘…So this is how I end up seeing New York’s landmark.’
Thinking such a ridiculous thought, Flame forced herself painfully back to her feet.
Tap!
Hearing the sound of Baek Yuseol landing behind her, she turned her head.
Their eyes met.
His eyes were a clear, distinct black.
“Why…”
She no longer cast any magic.
She only looked toward Baek Yuseol, who was slowly walking toward her… and asked:
“Why are you trying so hard… to kill me…?”
She resented him.
If she died, everything would be solved?
What kind of law in this world worked like that?
She had been happy.
The days she lived and breathed, every single day, had been filled with happiness.
When she ate. When she walked down the street. When she studied. When she played with her friends. When she watched movies. When she hunted monsters. When she went to sleep.
Every moment had been happy.
And yet, the reason she had been happy—
Was that she had been driving the world into unhappiness.
Because of her existence, the world was heading down the road to ruin.
“That’s… too cruel…”
Tears welled up in Flame’s eyes.
Even if she tried not to accept reality, she had no choice but to accept it.
She knew.
She had sensed it long ago.
Even while living as though she had become the protagonist of this world, had she not always carried a question inside her?
‘Why am I the only one this happy?’
By now, Baek Yuseol had come close enough to touch her.
He raised his sword to her neck.
Without resisting, she lowered her head.
She closed her eyes, bit down hard, and asked:
“If I disappear… will this world really become happy?”
“Then… what will happen to me…?”
It was such a strange question.
She was going to die anyway, so what did she mean, what would happen to her?
But unexpectedly, Baek Yuseol gave a crisp answer right away.
“You’ll still be happy, even after you die.”
“…Ha. What a joke. If I die, how am I supposed to be happy?”
This time, he did not answer immediately.
Baek Yuseol was hesitating.
But in the end, he did not tell her.
There was no need anymore.
He smiled.
Someone smiling while killing another person would have looked utterly insane, but Baek Yuseol seemed, at last, almost light—like someone who had finally laid down all his burdens.
“No. You really will be happy. I’ll make sure that happens.”
“What? What do you me—”
She could not finish her sentence.
From high above the sky… a mass of pure white light was falling down.
“Pretty, isn’t it?”
“N-no. Wait, that’s—”
“That’s the characteristic of the monster I hunted this time. The main body itself isn’t much, but when it dies, it drops a pillar of light onto its own corpse. It looks almost like an angel descending, so its nickname is Heaven’s Gate…”
Baek Yuseol started rambling on about something.
Had he ever spoken that much before?
Yet now he opened his mouth and kept talking as if he were speaking to someone close to him, as though they were simply sitting in a café chatting together.
She could not hear him.
‘Haha…’
So this is how I die.
Because it felt like the moment had come, she was able to accept it humbly.
Saaaaaah—!
As the world was painted whiter and whiter, Baek Yuseol took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
He said something, but it was completely swallowed by the great roar around them.
Still, from the shape of his lips alone, she could understand clearly.
‘Let’s go back.’
Only then did Flame remember who the boy pulling her along was.
‘Ah, right.’
Why had she not remembered until now?
How stupid.
‘You came all the way here… to take me back.’
At the very highest place in the city, wrapped in a complete white flash, Flame was finally able to smile brightly.
It was a smile happier than any moment she had spent in this world.
