Ch.107The Horned Mask Monster (1)

Just before my fist could make contact.

In that instant, with a sound like space collapsing, my fist became fixed in midair.

As if caught by something, it wouldn’t move forward no matter how much force I applied.

Just a hair’s breadth away, a mere centimeter.

She didn’t even flinch.

Instead, she slowly lifted her coffee cup. She brought the steaming cup to her lips.

“Coffee, you see, tastes best when drunk before it cools.”

Her voice was relaxed, calm, and even cheerful.

“The hotter your emotions get, the cloudier your judgment becomes.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she flicked her finger.

Pop.

A small, sharp sound.

But that was enough.

My body was thrown backward through the air and slammed into the ground.

Pain spread through me, but the shock came before the sensation.

‘What kind of ability is this…?’

I gritted my teeth and stood up.

I couldn’t believe that the being before me could create such a gap without exerting any effort.

Yet my body knew the truth.

“Is this… your power?”

“To be precise, it’s power given to me by humans.”

Avanka approached one step at a time.

The sound of her heels echoed in the silence.

“I am a monster. But a special one. Born from human fear. Your fears, guilt, hatred… all those emotions make me stronger.”

Her fingertips traced through the air.

Simultaneously, the interior of the restaurant transformed.

The ceiling twisted, chairs and tables melted. Reality seemed to flow like liquid.

And as space split open, dark figures emerged.

They were things I ‘didn’t want to see.’

It’s difficult to name them precisely, but none were unfamiliar.

Faces, voices, emotions that seemed like I’d encountered them somewhere before.

Not from the past, but precisely moments that I—the pre-possessed Kang Jang-hoon—had ignored.

Cries I’d heard somewhere, gazes I’d seen but turned away from, scenes on the street I’d passed by.

But.

“…You think you can shake me with this now?”

I snorted and swung my fist.

Things commonly called traumas.

Well, if I were my pre-possessed self, I might have been manipulated into a crying mess.

But now I’m a human wearing the mask of a monster.

I’d seen countless worse sights in this world, and I had a record of resolving them all.

The figures tore and burst under my attacks.

For each one I struck down, three more appeared. They weren’t mere illusions. They were living projections made from my indifference, hesitation, and forgetfulness.

Nevertheless, I would beat them all without exception.

“This is the world you humans have created.”

Avanka said.

“I am merely a mirror. Reflecting human fear.”

I couldn’t stand it.

I gathered my qi and prepared for a final strike.

Black energy gathered at my fingertips. With this blow, I would tear her apart…!

“Then, from now on, I’ll be your mirror.”

Whoosh.

The dark energy concentrated in my fist erupted, forming a massive shape.

The straight blow tore through space as it rushed forward…

Boom!

With an explosion, the entire restaurant shook. Tables shattered, and the ceiling vibrated as if about to collapse.

As dust rose, I caught my breath and looked straight ahead.

And there she stood. Not having retreated a single step.

But one of her arms was gone.

“…Still, one must not love humans.”

Avanka quietly bowed her head. For the first time, a very subtle sadness crossed her face.

Nevertheless, her gaze remained cold.

And that wasn’t the end.

Black mist, not blood, began to pour from her body.

It wasn’t smoke. It was fear itself.

Someone’s scream, sobbing heard from somewhere, whispers begging for help echoing in corridors.

All that fear became ‘smoke’ with form, flowing from Avanka’s skin.

Crack!

Fissures appeared in Avanka’s skin.

It cracked, and her outer appearance began to split open like a shell breaking.

“Now, I can finally bring out my true self.”

As her body collapsed, what emerged were dozens, hundreds of faces.

Those screaming, those closing their eyes and smiling, children shrieking in terror.

Those faces writhed, enveloping her body.

The most noticeable among them was a smiling face.

But it wasn’t just Avanka’s original face that was smiling.

Dozens of mouths were smiling simultaneously.

This was the true form of a monster born from human fear.

I instinctively stepped back.

My body reacted.

My mind froze, and emotions boiled.

Meanwhile, Avanka took just one step forward.

With that alone, the walls of the entire building twisted, and the ground began to sink.

I gritted my teeth and raised my body again.

Clenching my fists, I leaped up.

“Uaaaaaaaaaah!!”

My fist flew straight toward her face.

She didn’t dodge.

She took the hit directly.

Thud!

The sensation at my fingertips was definitely ‘flesh,’ yet simultaneously unreal.

But she didn’t step back even an inch.

And at the same time, her hand struck up at my chin.

Crack!

My vision spun for a moment.

My body floated up, shooting toward the ceiling.

Before I could come down, her shadow caught up to me.

“Jang-hoon, hurry and show your true form too.”

Avanka’s voice whispered in my ear.

And then…

Wham!

Her foot stamped on my chest.

“Guhk?!”

I was thrown through the wall from midair and crashed to the floor.

My body slowly rose. But my bones screamed, and my vision doubled.

“If you don’t transform quickly, you’ll die. Or… are you afraid because we’re in the middle of the city? Worried your true identity might be exposed?”

“…!”

“Hehe. Well, I can just take off my ‘Avanka’ mask and start anew with another one, but I realize that would be difficult for you. But don’t worry.”

Avanka whispered as she carefully lifted me up, my mask shattered and face bloodied.

“If I make you my servant, I’ll create a new identity suitable for you.”

“Don’t… laugh…!”

I roared and swung my fist again.

This time using both hands, I unleashed a flurry of blows.

But she didn’t even dodge. She didn’t even flinch when hit.

She just kept smiling.

“That was a good strike.”

Simultaneously, her bone-white hand pierced straight through my chest.

***

The sky was deep, and the air unusually quiet.

Faint moonlight flowed through the bedroom window gap, tinting the blanket with a pale glow.

Under the soft light, the room was as silent as if time itself had stopped.

Hoshino stared at the ceiling, quietly inhaling.

And she smiled softly.

“…So it wasn’t a dream.”

Jang-hoon’s warmth still lingered on her fingertips.

When she closed her eyes, she recalled his voice and touch from last night.

His body heat, breath, even the small murmurs as he called her name.

“I never thought… such a day would come!”

She hugged the blanket and curled up.

It was the most peaceful evening she’d ever had.

But at the same time, there was a small ripple of anxiety somewhere in her heart.

“But when is Jang-hoon coming back?”

“Today, I need to take care of something at the Central Building. It won’t take more than a few hours.”

“I’ll be back before dinner. Wait for me.”

He definitely said that… Surely he wasn’t already ‘cheating’ on her.

The clock had passed 9 o’clock, approaching midnight, but he still hadn’t returned.

Hoshino came down to the mansion’s living room.

Trying to hide her tension, she was about to pour tea as usual when it happened.

A breaking news ticker scrolled across the television.

She glanced at the screen absently, then froze.

“Unidentified monster appears inside Calveno Building in Hero City Central Building Complex—Evacuation order issued.”

“All heroes on site incapacitated. Response impossible. Identity and type unknown.”

“Unprecedented level. Site containment requested—”

Hoshino stood frozen.

Something inside her broke with a ‘click.’

“Calveno Building? That’s…!”

Her pupils trembled.

“…Where Jang-hoon… said he was going today?”

No one answered.

On the screen, drone footage showed the collapsed urban landscape, with black smoke and distant alarm sounds as background noise.

She bit her lip hard.

Then, without hesitation, she turned.

The mansion’s armory.

There lay various swords that Hoshino had personally organized.

She calmly selected one.

A Japanese katana with a silver blade.

A symbol of her resolve to let no one, nothing, harm Jang-hoon.

She strapped the sword to her back and opened the door.

The wind blew.

Her skirt fluttered, and moonlight reflected off the blade’s edge.

“…Wait. I’m coming… now.”

She burst through the mansion’s main gate.

And moments later, a figure could be seen soaring through the sky, flying toward the distant city.