episode_0056

*****

An attack aimed at the moment of kicking forward. Falling meteorite. A space that is blocked on all sides.

Surtur’s judgment was quick.

“Uaaap!”

A sharp pain runs through my whole body. Pain comparable to, or even greater than, the pain experienced before the special training. What I got in return was a fire so big that I couldn’t even compare it to anything I had experienced before.

The line-turned-plane flame marked the center of the meteorite. The flame of the apocalypse burns everything. Meteorite was no exception.

But the meteorite was so huge. And it was much stronger than Surtur knew. The center where the slash hit turned into ash and scattered, but before the left and right sides could burn up, the meteorite crashed into the elevator on the floor.

The impact was more than enough to cause the elevator, which was holding on with only the brakes, to collapse.

Kigigigigigig.

The elevator was pushed down by a meteorite with a loud sound of scraping metal. Surtr, who passed by the meteorite and was floating in the air, was unable to move immediately due to pain.

Of course, the enemy did not miss the opportunity.

────!!!

A lion-faced beast jumped down from the top of the passage with a roar. Surtur, who defended himself from the slashing claws, fell straight down.

‘brand! [Set it on fire and swing!]’

Literally, the painter’s body moved on its own as he cried out with his soul. Hahaha! A line of flame rose along the path of the painter’s sword stuck in the wall. Thanks to the speed at which the flame burns, the speed of burning has been reduced to some extent,

thud.

“Big!”

The painting that fell to the floor bounced through the open door.

“Oh, the tide is turning.”

Cooung. The surrounding area shook once due to the impact of the heavy muscular body falling. Surtur somehow raised his head from his collapsed state and observed his enemy.

‘different… .’

Transforming into a lion beast is definitely the potential of Steam Lion. However, the image of a hatter remained in the beast in front of him. Although it was larger than the original Steam Lion.

The Meteor from before was also the magic of a dumping cat, but there was no sign of a magical girl. Previously, Hatter continued to use other potentials. If you connect the facts, one conclusion emerges.

“Potential using other people’s potential… .”

“Correct answer. Well, it would be foolish not to notice at this point.”

The Hatter nodded lightly and approached the painter. Fine immediately tried to create another sword, but Hatter’s fist struck faster than him.

“Kuhuh… !”

“It was truly amazing timing. As you can see, we needed powerful potential that could be used indoors. Meteor is powerful, but it takes too much space.”

There were only a few places where sufficient potential energy could be secured in underground buildings. The fact that Hatter was pushed back before coming here wasn’t really about acting.

Of course, this and that were just thoughts after learning about Hatter’s potential.

“Actually your spark was great. If I had missed this, I would have had a bad night’s sleep. Really, if it weren’t for Cat’s interference, I would have kidnapped her a long time ago.”

“Mr. Cat, go… ?”

Surtr’s expression was like that of the Bone Hatter, tinged with mockery. He picked up Surtur with one hand, unable to move due to the flames and the pain on both sides of his fist.

“It’s obvious what she’s thinking, but she’s here too. Even compared to me, this is excellent trash that is not inferior to me at all. The reason she told me not to touch you is because of your background.”

All of them are in Cheon Myeong-go’s A class, one is a family member of an S-class hero, and one is a member of Korea’s best corporate family. Hatter said it was a bit of an unstable setup to commit something suspicious.

“Thanks to you jumping in like this, everything has been resolved. Did you say that this kind of thing is called Saeongjima, the ruler of your life?”

Saying that, Hatter pulled out a gun-like object with a syringe attached from his pocket. And after that, he fired one shot at Surtur and one shot at himself. Surtur shivered at the unique sensation of the drug spreading.

“What, did you do.”

“You can be a little more happy. The reason you came to intern with us is because of strengthening, right? This is exactly what you are looking for.”

this? There was no reason to even question it. Something hot boiled inside Surtur’s body.

The sensation itself spreads far and wide. All kinds of information around him came into his senses and flooded Surtur. Time. smell. ear. sense of touch. taste. I felt like I couldn’t possibly accept just five things.

If you can’t accept it, just create a new sensation. As I said that, I felt a new sensation. Surt suddenly looked down. He could see himself falling down and Hatter looking down at him.

The moment when the soul expanded was very brief. If I wasn’t conscious, I might not have recognized it or passed it off as some kind of illusion. But somehow, Surtur decided that it was a sensation he had experienced before.

“This… ?”

“This is a drug received from Genesis. It is the raw material for the medicine that turns humans into monsters. Hmm, is this something the students don’t know yet?”

“Is this the true identity of Ganghwa? Drugs?”

Surtur had heard about this from Fafnir once. There is no way there is such a thing as a drug that can easily strengthen an awakened person. If it is a drug, it will most likely be detected through a physical examination, and there is no way the state will remain silent if such an item exists in the first place.

The thought of touching something quickly subsided. Surtur, who noticed the change in his body, quickly prepared for his next action.

“Hoo, are you paying attention to the fact that it is a drug? Did you hear this from someone? This is truly amazing material. It affects the human soul, not the body.”

Surtur did not want to listen to what he said next. I don’t know why, but after taking that medicine, much of the pain gradually disappeared. With my body moving again, I grabbed the sword and swung it, but the Hatter had already retreated a long way away.

“Are you not using the flame?”

“There’s no way you can use something like that while cutting the body.”

“No. It probably can’t be used.”

Hatter smiled and said that as if she was having fun. The strangely confident tone made Surtur feel uneasy. What did you just do to the pills?

‘huh? It’s not. I think I can use it normally.’

Surtur barely refrained from reacting inadvertently to Sara’s words. However, in Surt’s own opinion, the current situation was not bad.

Rather, a strange confidence filled my whole body, as if I could do anything. If this is the case… , you can do ‘it’. I had that confidence.

“The correct answer is that you did not use your abilities hastily. That drug causes your abilities to run wild. You’ve seen it too, right?”

“Have you seen it? no way… !”

“They also needed samples of their own. But this time my purpose is this.”

Huh. The feeling of something being pulled. Surtur inadvertently forced his legs, which seemed to be going weak, to hold on.

At the same time, I was embarrassed. Because the feeling of omnipotence that I had just a moment ago had disappeared.

“Hehehe. Hehehehehe. Now your abilities are mine too.”

“… indeed. This is the essence of Ganghwa.”

The remaining strength increased a little. In other words, all of the students so far have been drugged in some way and have had their powers taken away from Hatter.

As the ability goes out of control, the power is taken away and the remnants remain as ‘strengthening’. If you forcibly stole someone else’s potential, you would have been caught, but with this method, that wouldn’t have happened.

In a way, it is not wrong to guess that Ganghwa is someone’s potential.

When the part he had been paying attention to all along was explained, Surtur smiled in spite of himself. Hatter saw that and tilted his head.

“Where does this leisure come from? Did you think that I would have taken away just as much power as I went crazy? If that’s the case, I’d say it’s an illusion. I can bring more than that if I want.”

“I already knew that.”

Both ‘Meteorite’ and ‘Beast Manhwa’ were much more powerful than Surtur himself knew. I had at least expected that if the situation were to arise, I would be able to use it by force.

“Hmm… ? I’m not sure. If you are resistant to your own attributes, it will disappear if your potential is taken away, right? Well, either way, the game is already decided.”

With your spark.

Saying that, Hatter held out her hand. But nothing came out of that hand. The Hatter’s head tilted in the opposite direction.

“Does flame have a different sense from other elements? Like this, like this, or like this… .”

No matter how hard Hatter tried, something like poisonous dance or ice would only come out of his hands. Surtur saw that and held out his sword.

Burning flames wrapped around the blade.

“Like this, hey. Since you saw the demonstration, try following it again.”

“… ! Unbelievable. He must have brought all his abilities, but how!?”

Did you misunderstand Surtur’s potential? In reality, the flame may have been generated indirectly through potential such as manipulation of oxygen specific gravity.

Hatter erased the first thought that came to mind. No matter what potential he generated, there was no way he could use it as he had taken it all. So is it something other than potential? But it was too powerful to be considered that way… .

“Is there a new sample appearing in this yard? I originally planned to keep it alive and use it forever, but I guess I should at least stuff it!”

What the Hatter showed in the face of an incomprehensible phenomenon was joy. He charged his strengthened body towards a new object of study.

Surtur swung a sword filled with flames. Unlike before, it had the power to burn and cut anything it hit, but it couldn’t even graze the Hatter. The unique wildness of Lee Hyeong-gye’s potential was combined with the potential that had been raised to the realm of runaway, and was being displayed to its full potential.

“Your potential is strong, but it is too obvious. The sword is meaningless if it doesn’t fit, and the sword is ultimately good! If you decide to avoid it, you can avoid it. And like this!”

Sharp pieces of ice flew through the unfolding solo dance. Surtur swung his sword quickly, but his sword skills had limitations in blocking all the small pieces.

If you attack with the ” face, your processing power will be limited. I can’t help but acknowledge its power, but only if the user does it, it’s like a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck.”

The poison on the piece of ice that grazed Surtur’s body made Surtur’s body numb. The consolation was that the poison was not that strong. Of course, I don’t know what will happen if that continues.

In cases like that, Surtur has solved the problem by killing the attacker himself. Just like I did when I passed through the crime prevention devices just now.

However, the opponent was strengthening the main body with beastmen. The disadvantage of not knowing how to fight was not a big problem in the face of wild instincts.

It’s definitely strong. However, Surt felt rather fortunate. While Hatter uses his abilities recklessly, Cat and Ryan’s potential will also weaken. They were confident that any member of their team would overcome their weakened state and come to their aid.

and… , It’s not that I can’t beat Hatter in that state. Thinking like that, Surtur let go of the sword.

“Have you finally given up? It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt. They’ll give you lots of painkillers. The test subjects up there didn’t scream that much either.”

No matter what Hatter said, Surtur stood still and closed his eyes. I could feel the flow of magical energy around me to some extent, as if the special training I had received with Fafnir was in vain.

But that wasn’t enough. Surt recalled the feeling of omnipotence he felt a moment ago, when he felt like he could do anything. Where did the feeling you felt at that time come from? What kind of scenery were you looking at?

Little by little, the outline of the world became clearer. The world that used to be like a kindergartener’s scribblings has now become as precise as a cartoon.

I wanted to take it even further into the realm of precise art. However, the world no longer responded to Surtur’s will. The absolute lack of competency was blocking the wall in front of him.

‘that’s enough.’

A voice like that sounded in Hwain’s head.

The inside of the closed eyelid. A world made of darkness and magic. Inside, a comical monster lunged at me. In reality, the speed was comparable to that of a decent car, but Surt could feel the movement as if he could grasp it with his hand.

I imagined a movement in front of me to block it. Just like when I manipulated smoke to create a shape, I gathered the lines of magical power to create a shape.

It was the smooth hand of a girl.

“Quaaah!”

Surtur flinched and opened his eyes at the painful scream just hearing it. A prisoner rolling around rubbing his burned upper body on the floor. And there was a hand of flame floating in the air.

There was no wind, but my hands were shaking as if they were being swayed by something. Sometimes, a few fingers would disappear and disappear. But it was clearly shaped like a hand.

“Hello, Sarah.”

Surtur smiled shyly and greeted his friend after seeing him for the first time in a long time.

The Flame Hand responded by writing in the air.

*****