Chapter 50

The ability to alter reality—to make what has already happened false. This power of reality alteration is far too overwhelming for a single human to possess, yet it is not an entirely penalty-free, invincible ability.

The scope and strength of the fabrication aren’t something that can be enhanced merely through one’s own training. Instead, it grows in proportion to the number of people who believe in its owner.

As long as no one knows about her ability, she could quietly go about increasing the number of those who trust her. But the moment her power is discovered, people will flock to whichever side is rapidly growing in influence and is known for granting wishes with unnatural ease, rendering her efforts meaningless.

The reason the queen of the school had kept a low profile for a year was precisely because, no matter how much influence she amassed, she believed the probability of being cut down before gaining enough strength to overpower others was too high.

Truthfully, her “religion” struggled to gain significant strength in comparison to the power she wielded.

For unknown reasons, the most threatening reaper from the association had been pursuing her. The student council president had been searching for her as if she were a sworn nemesis, setting aside all other matters. And the current reigning queen of the school—a certain woman—was also looking for her by sending others out.

To escape all this surveillance, Kang Yu-ri had been converting people into followers in areas without CCTV. However, this effort had its limits.

Two hundred followers in two weeks. Although she had rapidly gathered followers, further expansion was sluggish. It was inevitable that the more people who followed her, the easier it was to be discovered by others.

Therefore, Kang Yu-ri decided it was time to stop growing her influence and instead move directly to her ultimate goal: attacking Erica.

She had learned firsthand at school—Erica’s ability was Chunoecheon, an almost invincible power that allowed her to overcome any danger, no matter the circumstances.

However, there was one form of harassment Kang Yu-ri never attempted at school—administering sleeping pills. The results proved significant when they worked successfully on Erica.

After that, it was simple. Binding Erica with a modified device that suppressed her supernatural abilities completed the plan.

Even though Erica seemed invincible due to her powerful supernatural abilities, Kang Yu-ri’s confidence stemmed from seeing drops of bl**d when Erica had engaged in self-harm. Moreover, because this weakness likely arose due to her connection with Kim Ha-neul and the student council president, Kang Yu-ri believed this vulnerability would persist as long as that relationship remained unbroken.

“Her power isn’t perfect. And if this weakness came about because Kim Ha-neul and the student council president are still connected, then it will continue until we hear they’ve split apart.”

As long as Erica remained bound by these chains, her supernatural abilities could be disregarded. Kang Yu-ri wondered what expression Erica would make, what words she would say, now that she no longer had the protective cover of her powers.

The woman, whose divine appearance made it easy to gather “believers,” opened the door wide with anticipation. The hallway light illuminated the interior.

A girl dressed in a flowing dress, uninterested in all but matters related to “Kim Ha-neul,” was there. Her ankle was chained to the wall.

This woman had been of constant interest to Kang Yu-ri since her first year of school.

Even if the entire school ostracized her, if she could only love the one she cherished, external persecution wouldn’t matter. And this woman was too strong to be manipulated into paying attention by mere harassment.

While Kang Yu-ri’s abrupt departure from school was certainly sparked by the disdain she received from Erica, this disdain wasn’t limited to the second year.

And even if Erica had some kind of bodyguard with her, this wasn’t a crucial moment for Kang Yu-ri to worry about.

“Checkmate.”

The woman smiled menacingly as she yanked the chain from the wall, attaching it as menacing restraints on her arms and legs. Mocking Kang Yu-ri’s assumptions, the iron chains were now menacingly attached to her.

What was this?

Despite being startled, Kang Yu-ri maintained her composure and immediately used her power. Two men appeared beside the lone woman.

“Lady, please step aside.”

“Ah? Can I just take her down?”

She rewrote the situation where the woman was unescorted and had come alone, making it so that she came with these guards.

The speed at which she could activate her ability was something she could hone through personal effort.

She summoned reinforcements as soon as she understood the situation. Those summoned were the strongest recruits among those the queen had gathered over two weeks.

A gardener who could grow lethal plants from barren soil and the impenetrable steel wall of the association.

In a world where superpowers don’t significantly enhance one’s quality of life, it was rare to encounter someone capable of taking down both of them simultaneously. Unfortunately, their opponent vastly exceeded the queen’s expectations.

The chain attached to Iska’s wrist swung as the chunk of iron at its tip struck the heads of the two men summoned to guard the queen. They fell, bl**d splattering, without any chance to use their abilities or honed techniques.

“Ugh!”

Their downfall was disappointingly easy compared to their illustrious reputations.

“Ed! Gray!”

Even the queen, whose composure rarely wavered, was shocked and screamed. Yet, despite her apparent panic, she attempted to negate the situation where their heads were smashed with the iron chunk by using her reality-altering ability.

Given that the building was filled with people who believed in her, nullifying this situation shouldn’t have been too difficult. Thus, her attempt to reverse Iska’s decisive blow should have succeeded.

If not for the fact that there was no chain attached to her left ankle anymore.

“…I shouldn’t have been able to use my powers without that chain. How…?”

The queen understood Iska’s extraordinary physical capabilities.

Activation-type superpowers require immense stamina usage every time they are triggered, which is why those with such powers tend to be physically stronger than ordinary people. Even if their stamina is drained, the benchmark is based on normal humans, meaning the more these powers are used, the stronger one’s physical capabilities become. At the pinnacle of strength, one can perform feats such as removing chains without using superpowers.

That Iska surpassed Kim Ha-neul in physical strength was impressive enough, but given that Iska possessed an unreasonable level of physical prowess far exceeding Kim Ha-neul, it made sense in retrospect.

Though most people she had fought against considered Kim Ha-neul the strongest, the city is vast.

Yet, it was impossible for Iska to manipulate the chain with such skill. The chain attached to her also had the ability to suppress superpowers.

Even if the chain had been wrapped around her ankle without her noticing, it should have been impossible to manipulate it so skillfully to suppress superpowers.

In other words, Iska’s pure technical skill was so advanced it could be mistaken for superpowers.

Given that Iska must’ve developed various techniques and combined them through rigorous training, it made sense she could show such a trick.

“This level of trickery doesn’t require superpowers. It’s just pure technique.”

Iska displayed superhuman physical capabilities without using superpowers—how many people must believe in her to achieve that?

Even without activating her powers, Iska’s performance was extraordinary. If her physical prowess combined with her superpower…

Perhaps this woman, known as the Silver Girl of the Association, who was a harbinger of doom for criminals, could be rivalled by Iska.

The queen looked at Iska in astonishment.

At the moment Iska located the queen, she bound her to prevent her escape and decisively overwhelmed her. Iska’s dominance was so evident that even with her divine protection, Erica doubted she could win against her.

According to system lore, she was the first boss of the main scenario, yet she easily defeated a woman capable of altering reality.

“Ten thousand believers—minimum. Only then could we have made it a fair fight.”

Thus, Erica deduced, this woman was undeniably a key figure in the world.

In a story dominated by the main heroine, this woman’s role could only be one of four possibilities.

She could be one of the final bosses waiting at the end. Or she could be from another genre, a protagonist in her own right, or the main heroine of that genre. And if not, she could be that single unique role—a character who stands above the main heroine, prepared to join forces with the protagonist to defeat the final boss.

“Perhaps you are the true heroine.”

While Erica was pondering Iska’s role, Iska raised her right hand high to finish off the queen with finality.

To avoid being struck, the queen spat bl**d at Iska’s face. Iska, avoiding the bl**d from getting in her eyes, took a step back. Suddenly realizing that the chain tied to her ankle had disappeared despite its presence moments ago.

“That battle isn’t over yet. I apologize, but you misunderstand. I couldn’t defeat you. But not being able to defeat you isn’t the same as losing.”

Erica was taken aback by the statement, never noticing the presence that had continuously trailed her for the past two weeks.

For the past two weeks, Erica hadn’t noticed Iska’s presence beside her or even the school queen’s observation.

Chills ran down Erica’s spine as she crossed her arms. Why were so many women in this romance novel fixating on other women, given that this was supposed to be a normal romance novel featuring a male protagonist where all heroines should potentially love him?

“All this is just false. You should simply vanish and return to where you belong. I never intended to harm you anyway. My target wasn’t you from the beginning. Why do you keep interfering?”

Aware that the chain wasn’t moving, the queen quickly attempted to rewrite reality and make Iska disappear from that spot.

Had her ability worked, Iska should have been instantly transported back to where she had been kidnapped. However, Iska remained in place.

The only difference was that the chains Iska wore had turned gold and were crackling with electric currents.

Just as the queen had attempted to return to the state before being restrained, when Iska’s chains should have teleported her back to her original location, why didn’t it work?

Attempting to escape, the queen stepped backward but was unable due to Iska grabbing her hand and preventing her from fleeing.

“I made a promise. No matter the situation, if the opponent fulfills my purpose, I would, in return, protect Erica.”

By channeling the suppression power of the chain in the form of electrical currents around her, Iska resisted the queen’s reality-altering ability.

Her ability to counteract the reality-manipulation power despite the chain’s suppression capability displayed Iska’s prowess.

“I admit I am trash, but it is you who interfere. You’re trying to turn my attempt to honor my promise into something dishonorable. Therefore, you lose. Because you interfered with me.”

As the golden current became too much, the chains around Iska’s limbs disintegrated into ash.

Before the ‘power suppression’ function of the chain turned into dust could disappear completely, Iska’s hand momentarily vanished. Then, the school queen collapsed.

A somewhat anticlimactic ending for someone with reality-altering powers. But neither the queen nor her followers were killed, as killing through supernatural powers was forbidden in this country.

Moreover, since the queen was merely the first boss in Erica’s storyline—something unresolved even from her freshman year—concluding her story permanently was beyond the capability of Iska, who wielded only raw force.

“So I guess I paid for the Ice Cream? Now it’s your turn.”

My turn?

To do what?

Something which the system had declared—ending the queen’s harassment through intimacy—Erica continued to feign ignorance even as Iska approached her with a sinister smile and crushed the power-suppression chain on her.

“Approximately paid for the ice cream. Now, it’s your turn.”

While the system demanded that Erica engage in an act to end the queen’s harassment, Iska smiled lewdly.