Chapter 101

The moment Erica and the student council vice-president thought they had boarded the Busan Branch Manager’s Sky Ship, their bodies landed on the ground.

That was due to the Sky Ship’s ability, which had instantaneously teleported the Busan Girl back down from the deck.

This action was a privilege granted solely to the Sky Ship’s captain, made possible because even the skies recognized the Branch Manager’s authority, treating them as their own maritime domain.

The power held by a regional branch manager was far stronger than anything Erica had imagined, to the extent that if you were to count on your fingers those who could rival her in this country, the total wouldn’t exceed the digits of two hands.

Without leaving a single word of farewell, the owner of one of the two flying Sky Ships—which may now potentially own both—departed completely into the heavens with both vessels.

Considering all she had to do in the future, the girl judged this as a natural course of action and decided to locate her scattered companions. Fortunately, finding them proved to be quite simple.

Following a loud noise from one direction, Erica found a golden cheongsam-clad woman looting the pockets of the attackers, calling out “Thanks for the tribute!” Further along, she overheard a gasping aspiring journalist and a celebrity girl exchanging remarks such as “Hek! Hek! Barely escaped!” “Indeed.”

In some cases, Erica had to directly approach to find certain individuals, but others came to her.

“There you all are.” A gentle boy approached, radiating a soft glow, while another blonde woman said, “I’ve finally found you,” as her group arrived. By her side stood Youinna, and, to her side, the former pink-haired queen they had once fought against.

As Erica and her group reconvened to signify the end of the event, she suddenly felt a peculiar sense of absence, as if someone were missing.

Counting each person who should have been present, Erica finally realized who was absent.

“Uh?”

The first-year student she had been intending to look after had vanished at some point.

She had lost track of the junior while focused on the battle, even dismissing their existence after they expressed a desire to touch the frozen sea.

Had they been taken hostage? Were they alive? Feeling responsible since she had brought them there, Erica pulled out her phone to check.

The ringing tone sounded, but after the beeping noise, the call ended with only the message about the costs of the call.

The junior was also in their first year, legally considered an adult in this world, which should have comforted Erica, but…

Erica dialed again, aware she was delaying the weary group from returning to their accommodation.

She knew it would be easier if she didn’t consider them human, but she couldn’t help but know they were.

Putting that knowledge into action is a different story. She didn’t want to dismiss the goodwill shown by those who had been friendly to her as false.

After calling for a while, Erica decided the junior might have returned to the accommodation, and planned to head there with her group.

“First, we should stop by the branch manager’s office,” a young man in a black suit interjected. He appeared to be an agent of the Busan Branch.

Guided by him, Erica’s group had to head to the association before returning to their accommodation. Ultimately, a day full of preparation by the capable terrorists and the traitors within the Busan Branch ended with nothing accomplished.

Maybe that’s how it appeared on the surface, but who knows what hidden agendas these groups might’ve had in motion throughout the day. As such, it was drawing to a close.

There was something Erica had missed amidst all this. Her emotions weren’t yet rich enough to worry about others.

The change she had undergone was a side effect of the “power” she used. The walls of her heart, which she had rigidly maintained, had begun to loosen slightly.

What this shift would mean for Erica, nobody knew yet.

*

Within Haeundae, where people who were supposed to leave after hearing the alarm decided not to, two individuals remained.

The girl Erica was searching for out of a sense of responsibility and a woman belonging to the terrorist group No Name shared the same space.

One was a girl, possessing a simple supernatural ability that anyone could learn, unrelated to true magic, while the other was a swordswoman terrorist equipped with the advanced supernatural ability called “Evolution,” capable of advancing technology, working for No Name.

“Even though I’m putting in all this effort, you should acknowledge it. Well, you seem to somewhat acknowledge it, which is why I keep calling…”

In magician’s attire, the girl pressed her foot on a woman’s neck while smiling wryly.

Kana, the aspiring magician.

Erica’s current target was not merely at the hands of a terrorist but was actually overwhelming the terrorist with a forceful power.

In a bizarre situation where a combatant of the No Name group, someone with what appeared to be a formidable supernatural ability “Evolution,” was dominated by a simple “magic” ability—a type of power typically unsuited for battle—the kimono-clad woman attempted to strike the foot pressing on her neck, but Kana’s eyes, clouded green like a serpent, had paralyzed her with increasing confusion.

Thinking that magic is simple can be dangerous—hypnosis and puppetry both fall under the category of magic. While magic doesn’t entirely specialize in these areas, Kana had a knack for mastering all aspects, which suited her role perfectly.

She could simply stare with her eyes instead of using tools required for hypnosis, allowing her to skip several stages of inducing it.

It was especially effortless against someone who didn’t play a pivotal role in shaping or supporting the world’s events.

After sending the iron-backed boar back to the base and attacking Erica, Aya-se was unexpectedly overwhelmed.

Even in a predicament where she couldn’t close her eyes and had to keep staring at her opponent, Aya-se was losing consciousness. Just as her mind began slipping away, another woman’s hand covered her eyes.

“Let’s stop there.”

A brown-haired woman came and helped Aya-se close her eyes. Normally, she would have fallen into a hypnotic state if she had fallen asleep during this situation, but since her line of vision to Kana’s hypnotic gaze was cut off, she escaped that fate.

Had she looked a few seconds longer, Aya-se would have fallen to hypnotic sleep—a truly precarious moment.

The girl who knew her role was aware of why she had intervened with such precise timing.

“Who would’ve thought I’d meet not Kim Ha-neul but another protagonist from the same school… Should I consider it an honor?”

The seemingly ordinary protagonist.

Even though this woman appeared plain, Kana sensed something extraordinary and immediately withdrew her foot from Aya-se’s neck, retreating. Hypnosis and brainwashing were Kana’s domain.

It might have worked on the protagonist if perfection wasn’t required, but Kana also knew that if even a little bit was effective, her life would be at risk in an instant.

In other words, this woman before her could k*ll in the blink of an eye, much like the boy who had detained her for tens of minutes.

The characters designated as protagonists were monstrous in their capabilities, and Kana, compared to them, was among the weakest—but she didn’t feel disappointed. They had one “life coin,” and she had over dozens.

Even if she lost a body, she could revive dozens of times, allowing her to remain unperturbed when facing someone capable of snuffing her out in an instant.

“No, I just came to pick up my subordinate.”

“Valuable one, I see?”

“Necessary for my purpose.”

However, unaffected by Kana’s abilities, the woman calmly stated her intentions. She was aware that neither hypnosis nor brainwashing could affect her.

“I no longer aim for the True Heroine. I’ve work to do here.”

The leader of No Name added that she was dropping out of the competition for the True Heroine and suggested others pursue her without interfering with her aims.

The leader of No Name possessed a flawless body impervious even to hypnosis, but her target girl…

“Ah, actually, I’m searching for someone too. They might be the True Heroine I aim for. There are others trying to approach them, so if you’re staying to do something here, maybe we can collaborate?”

“Perhaps.”

Though still rough, the No Name leader’s voice began to return to normal. Neither she nor Kana, who seemed friendly with Kim Ha-neul but was now negotiating with the protagonist, were aware they were speaking of the same target.

The ultimate goal of protagonists, the True Heroine, was worth abandoning all else to achieve. This common target made them potentially the most dangerous adversaries to each other.

“Since we’ve both given up on pursuing the True Heroine, let’s have a chat? My calls have just ended.”

“Sure.”

Unaware of this fact, the most dangerous individual in the association, the doll maker, and the most dangerous group, the leader of No Name, disappeared to conduct talks.

The leader of No Name disappeared, taking her subordinate with her, leaving Haeundae calm as though nothing had occurred.