Ch.101Chapter 4. Prove You’re the Strongest (1)

Morning, 7 AM.

At the time when everyone was preparing for their daily routines, people stood frozen in front of devices that could display videos, whether TVs or tablets.

“Wow….”

Ymir sipped her morning coffee and let out an exclamation.

“They said Goblin suddenly appeared, and after meeting me, he went all the way from Sejong Island to Gangwon Province? Busy guy.”

On TV, Goblin was facing off against an S-class villain known as Crimson Witch, Qiongqi, along with two other S-class individuals.

She didn’t know the exact situation.

All sorts of information was circulating chaotically—something about a gun incident in Gangwon Province, or street racers appearing at dawn—and the Hero Association had made no official statement.

“Can you see this?! Two S-class heroes are about to fight in a 2-on-2 battle!”

“Ugh, this is insane. Shouldn’t we evacuate…? If they fight on the airport runway, bullets will be flying everywhere…!”

“I have to record this! This will definitely get a million views!”

People were just watching livestreams from Yangyang Airport through various monitors.

News stations merely reported briefly that a disturbance had occurred at Yangyang Airport, without providing any special live coverage.

“…He might be stronger than I thought.”

Ymir licked her lips as she watched Goblin in the video.

The pungent aroma of coffee enveloped her entire body, and she stabbed a frank sausage she had grilled for breakfast with her fork and put it in her mouth.

Whoosh!

“……”

As soon as the heroes began their attack, Ymir froze.

With a sausage segment in her mouth, she clearly witnessed Qiongqi entering Goblin’s body.

“Woooooah!!”

The hands of those filming at the scene were trembling with excitement, or perhaps the entire airport building was actually shaking—everyone was getting excited.

“Something big is coming!!”

Goblin had shown new forms several times before.

Starting with Doji Rider, Goblin had begun to reveal new appearances repeatedly.

But this was the first time for something like this.

An S-class ability user merging with another S-class?

“They’re combining!!”

Crunch.

Ymir unconsciously bit into her sausage.

Juices flowed out, but she chewed the sausage as if it were jerky, watching Goblin’s transformation with calm eyes.

“Combining….”

Becoming one with Goblin.

“…Huh? Wait a minute. Why am I envying that?”

Ymir suddenly felt heat rising to her face.

She hurriedly fanned herself to cool down, but unlike usual, her heart wouldn’t calm easily.

“…Tsk.”

Ymir clicked her tongue and put down her fork.

Watching Goblin transform into a new form on screen, she fidgeted with her fingers, repeatedly showing signs of regret.

“I want to see it in person….”

Probably everyone felt the same way.

The number of live streaming viewers had surpassed 30,000 since morning, and other channels were seeing their numbers skyrocket as well.

“To think I can’t see this in person….”

It was disappointing enough to watch through a screen—how must those still sleeping feel?

“…Sigh.”

Ymir lamented as she sucked on her sausage, appreciating the new appearance of Goblin, who had transformed amidst scattered flames.

“…Why isn’t he a Rider anymore?”

Goblin had taken on a new form.

Doji Rider was no longer there.

Red embers rising from his entire body.

A red durumagi like a coat, with flame-like patterns.

Underneath, a black hanbok that clung to his body, with a waistband.

The mask on his face was different from his usual one, a black tiger-like goblin mask that somewhat mixed with Qiongqi’s appearance.

Flash.

But those gleaming eyes were still golden.

“……”

Ymir played with her hair, covering her mouth with side-swept locks crossed left and right.

“…Hehee.”

Somehow.

His new appearance, though with much less gold, resembled the colors of Magical Girl Gold Taoist.

* * *

A suit created with magical power naturally embodies the will of its user.

[This is unexpected. Didn’t you dislike hanbok styles?]

[It’s not that I dislike them. I just found the behavior of those who excessively push Korean nationalism on me unpleasant.]

[Well, appearances don’t matter. It looks pretty cool, so it’s fine.]

Qiongqi expressed curiosity about the new unified form I had created, but quickly set aside his doubts.

[What weapon will you use? Mine? Or your usual club?]

[Since this is special, I should use yours.]

My usual weapon is naturally the goblin club, but now I can use a different weapon with “S-class firepower.”

As such, there’s no reason to use the same weapon as usual.

[Let’s start with interception.]

I put my hand inside the durumagi sleeve, then released magical power to create sharp, dark thorns.

[Flare Beat.]

I threw sideways a long needle that was easily 20cm in length.

The needles spread left and right, then changed direction mid-flight, colliding head-on with the ice feathers flying toward me.

“Where do you think—!”

Snow White moved her hand as if conducting, trying to maneuver the ice feathers to avoid the thorns, but my thorns moved faster between the feathers, scattering embers.

[Too slow.]

The moment embers flowed down the trajectory of the incoming ice feathers, the feathers shattered into pieces, causing a magical explosion.

[Spreading many without substance only makes for a flashy display.]

Every time my fiery thorns passed along the path of the ice feathers flying toward me, the feathers broke apart.

It looked like red lasers wrapping around white pillars, and as chain explosions occurred, Snow White’s magical bullets disintegrated in mid-air.

[Changing form doesn’t change the essence, Snow White.]

“Ugh…!”

[Ice feathers are still fundamentally magical bullets. Intercepting them is all it takes.]

“Then how about this!”

Ratatatatat!

A loud noise erupted from behind.

“What if they’re real bullets instead of magical ones!”

Taejo had appeared behind me, riding his scrap metal dragon.

The dragon held rifles neatly arranged in its mouth, and in both hands it held motorcycles with rifles attached, all aiming at me.

“Physical bullets won’t cause magical cancellation!”

[Oh? You figured it out?]

Ratatatatat!

K2 bullets rushed toward me.

I jumped sideways to avoid the trajectory of the bullet shower, and Taejo pursued me, continuing to pour bullets.

“I don’t know how tough that suit is, but I just need to keep shooting until your magic wears off!”

[Correct answer, Taejo.]

The most fundamental method of dealing with ability users using bullets.

Keep firing bullets until they penetrate—specifically, until the protective mana wears off and the shield breaks.

Historically, overwhelming force has always been the answer, and Taejo continued to fire dozens of bullets at me.

[But you’re too weak for that.]

I quickly ran along the ground, then planted my foot firmly and jumped up.

Just before jumping, I spewed flames beneath my feet to rocket upward, and I landed precisely on top of Taejo’s scrap metal dragon.

“Ugh!”

Taejo immediately jumped off the dragon.

[Good decision.]

I raised my hand high, then thrust it into the dragon’s neck.

KWAAANG!!

Red flames burst from the entire body of the dragon as it crashed to the ground.

The flames crackled as they burned the dragon’s body, and I rose from the collapsed scrap dragon, lightly dusting off my hands.

[No time to rest.]

Sensing a slight shadow, I looked up to the sky, where a massive ice formation had suddenly appeared.

[Planning to crush me flat.]

I could simply dodge—but Snow White had already laid the groundwork.

Ice crystals spread around the massive glacier.

Like setting up a net before unification, Snow White had left no room for escape.

And there was only one reason for such an attack.

[You weren’t wrong.]

Because she was trying to trap me by dropping a massive glacier like a meteorite.

[But while you might be able to capture other villains with that method…]

Since her goal was to subdue rather than kill, most of her attacks were meant to freeze and impact rather than stab or cut.

[You can’t capture me.]

I drew out Qiongqi’s magical power, then shaped the blazing crimson flames into a single form.

Weaponization of magical power.

The technique called “aura” in fantasy novels had become an essential skill for ability users in this world, and I too used that power to create a weapon fitting this form.

The weapon most suited to Qiongqi.

The weapon most suited to flame abilities.

[Open.]

[Blaze Sword!!]

I swung the sword in my hand high into the sky.

[Slash——!!]

Slash!

The blazing sword of flames cut through the glacier.

It sliced through the sky, and the glacier split in two.

“Hmph.”

A low sneer came from above the glacier.

“Did you think I’d use an attack that failed once before?”

There she was, above the glacier.

[Hiding behind the glacier?]

“Didn’t notice?”

Snow White, having dodged my slash, wrapped her entire body in white magical power and swung her fist over her shoulder.

[…A freezing punch?]

“Want to die?!”

A white fist filled with all her S-class magical power rushed toward me.