The Hard Way – 3

A neatly dressed man entered somewhere. The way he walked from the door to the throne exuded dignity.

At the same time, hesitation and fear fell from his steps like dirt clinging to his shoes.

“Crown.”

Before he could even offer a greeting, the voice of the one seated on the throne was heard.

“Four Heavenly Kings Crown, you are in the presence of the Witch, the mistress of all darkness.”

The man called Crown quickly approached the throne and bowed deeply.

“Lilith and Tols have been eliminated.”

Her voice contained no mourning or regret.

Rather, it was tinged with subtle annoyance and frustration.

“Yes… my subordinates have confirmed it.”

“Persona, Tols, Lilith… I took the trouble to grant them power, yet they were defeated so easily.”

The Witch’s voice, descending from above, felt infinitely heavy.

He barely restrained himself from prostrating on the ground.

“Is the Magical Girl stronger than I anticipated, or are you Four Heavenly Kings falling short of my expectations…”

“Keuk! …Witch!”

An intangible force seized him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him.

He struggled in the air, choked by the brutal force constricting his throat.

“You continue to bring disappointing results… I wonder if there’s any reason for me to keep you alive.”

“Kuek… Kak….”

Driven by his survival instinct, Crown desperately tried to breathe.

Just as his consciousness began to fade, the force vanished, and he landed hard on his backside.

“Kuek… Hah, hah… Witch…”

He gasped for breath repeatedly.

The Witch, watching her subordinate spit saliva onto the floor with bloodshot eyes, clicked her tongue.

“I was too foolish. I bothered to bestow power, only to waste my time.”

Her languid words carried deadly weight.

“Ah, no. I am different.”

Crown trembled, fearing the word ‘disposal’ would escape the Witch’s lips.

“Different… Hmmm… Can you prove that?”

The Witch treated Crown as if he were a child.

He pushed himself up, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

The Witch’s energy, which had been constricting his body, made movement difficult, but survival came first.

He had to speak.

“F-First, please look at this.”

He raised an eye he had taken from his subordinate. Then, he crushed it with force.

“This is…?”

The blood that spurted from the bursting eyeball created several images that floated in the air.

The Witch, who had been indifferent, showed interest in one of the images.

The video showed a man putting on a mask and transforming.

“Persona?”

The Witch’s words were tinged with surprise.

Crown inwardly sighed in relief.

“Persona is alive. And he’s siding with the Magical Girl….”

“Continue.”

“At first, I thought he might have been converted by the Magical Girl’s magic, but the power he used was the power you bestowed, Witch.”

“I can tell by looking.”

“Tols and Lilith may have been defeated by Persona’s sudden appearance.”

“I believe I said Persona was the weakest among you?”

“T-That’s true, but… the appearance of a Four Heavenly Kings who was thought to be dead must have shaken them.”

“Hmph….”

The Witch hummed.

“So?”

“Yes?”

“So, what do you intend to do? If what you say is true, the Magical Girl and a ‘former’ Four Heavenly Kings are on the same side. Can you, the only one left, defeat them both?”

The Witch leaned forward, fixing her gaze on him for the first time.

Crown felt as if he were drowning in those eyes, as deep as the sea.

“I-It is possible.”

“You Four Heavenly Kings always said it was possible. I’m too tired to believe those words anymore.”

“…Mercy.”

“I will give you two months. If you do not bring me the heads of the Magical Girl and the traitor by then… I will personally dispose of you.”

“…Understood. Then I shall take my leave.”

Crown bowed deeply and backed away from the Witch.

“Hmmm… A traitor.”

The Witch muttered, gazing at the door Crown had exited through.

“The half-wit who received the least of my power managed to take down Tols….”

It was unsettling, but there was no distortion in the video Crown had shown.

Feeling both intrigued and uneasy, the Witch clicked her tongue.

“Why do I have to [pick you up] when you have perfectly good arms and legs?”

“I said, ‘[Please pick me up.]'”

Kim Sung-ah remained unmoving, her arms still outstretched.

“Same difference.”

He crossed his arms and looked down at the stubborn girl with a weary expression.

Perhaps it was excessive to call her a girl, considering she was an adult.

“It’s not like I’m asking for anything super special. You can do this much for me, can’t you? Don’t be so stingy.”

Kim Sung-ah puffed out her cheeks.

The staring contest between the man and the woman continued for a while, and it was the man who raised the white flag.

“Ugh, fine. Fine.”

He put his hands under her armpits.

“…….”

Kim Sung-ah turned her head to the side as his face drew closer.

“Oop-sy.”

He lifted her with a grunt, and her short legs swung back and forth in the air.

“You’re short.”

“What did you say?!”

Kim Sung-ah contorted her face and struggled as he voiced his honest thoughts.

It was a meaningless flailing in the air, though.

“Anyway, about the snack….”

Kang In-ho, who was about to say something, stopped talking.

Goosebumps began to rise all over his body. Kim Sung-ah also stiffened her face and looked at Kang In-ho.

“Mister.”

“Yeah. These bastards never get a day off.”

“I’ll go.”

Kim Sung-ah stood up abruptly, snorting, and Kang In-ho placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Mister?”

“Sit.”

He pressed down on her shoulder, making Kim Sung-ah sit.

“???”

“I said I’d go.”

“But… today is your day off.”

“A promise is a promise. I said I’d go, so I’m going. You eat your snack and study. How many days until the college entrance exam… about 60 days left, right? You need to put on a final spurt.”

“…Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“You saw it. I’m pretty strong, right?”

Kim Sung-ah looked as if she were sending a child out to a dangerous place.

Kang In-ho chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“Eat, study, and rest. I’ll be back.”

His right hand covers his face.

“[If I go like this]”

Flames blazed, and his face was engulfed in fire.

“[Rider]”

As the transformation incantation ended, Kang In-ho’s figure, wearing a mask adorned with flames, was revealed.

“Mister.”

“I’ll be back.”

Kang In-ho leaped out of the second-floor window and disappeared.

“Mister….”

Kim Sung-ah murmured wistfully, watching Kang In-ho’s figure disappear into a dot.

“Your transformation incantation is cheesy.”

It was a transformation incantation that even affection couldn’t cover up.