WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 84
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Most of humanity did not know this, but when the ether concentration within a superhuman's body exceeded a certain threshold... their ability crossed a kind of wall as well.
Calling it simply “getting stronger” was not enough. Their ability left the realm of mere abilities and became something close to a law. Someone who controlled fire came to control the concept of heat. Someone who controlled water came to control the concept of flow.
Yet even in Light City, the city richest in ether, only a handful had crossed that wall. It was a level one could barely reach through a combination of innate talent and tremendous effort.
And Bitna's tactics, as one who had crossed that wall, were simple.
She spotted her enemy from Light Tower, the highest point in Light City. Then she struck down at them at nearly the speed of light.
She did not literally become light. Nor did she reach the true speed of light. But an attack that came infinitely close to that speed was not the sort one could react to or block, even if they knew it was coming.
There was a simple reason Bitna had attacked at night, despite it being the time most favorable to Eun-yeong.
She had never even considered that Eun-yeong might block it.
“...Hmm.”
And now, Bitna floated in midair and tilted her head slightly to the left.
“I'll be honest. I didn't think you'd block that.”
“...”
“You're stronger than I thought.”
Bitna continued in a languid tone that did not suit a battle at all.
“This is annoying. I thought I'd be able to finish this quickly...”
Instead of responding, Eun-yeong slowly drew up the shadows blanketing the area.
It was nighttime. Because Bitna had destroyed the surrounding environment, darkness lay everywhere.
Ssssh...
Paradoxically, the surroundings gradually began to brighten. It was not because of the overwhelming radiance Bitna gave off. Eun-yeong was taking away the darkness around them, and everything robbed of darkness began to grow bright.
It was physically impossible... but neither woman found it strange. They had transcended the laws of physics long ago.
Bitna stood wrapped in pure white light. Eun-yeong's body was cloaked in shadows blacker than darkness itself.
They remained locked in a standoff for a moment before Eun-yeong spoke without expression.
“You're crazy.”
“...Am I?”
Bitna answered with only the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.
“I think so too.”
The next moment, both of them vanished.
* * *
As Kang Jin-ho watched Eun-yeong and Bitna fight, he thought to himself.
‘...I can't see anything.’
He was watching them, yet he could not see a thing.
He knew a battle was happening. He knew they were doing something... but he could not gather any more information than that.
Flash!
Light flashed once near a building in the distance. Then behind him, then overhead. Light and darkness kept flashing, while the sounds rang out two beats later. Even sound could not keep up with the speed of their fight.
KRAAASH!!!
This time, the ground split in half. A legion of black shadows tried to burst from the fissure, only for a barrage of light beams to slice through them. Then every nearby building lost power, and a massive sphere of energy appeared in midair, but pitch-black force from all directions wrapped around it and swallowed it in an instant.
Even amid all this, the flashes in the air did not stop. It was difficult to grasp how many moves they were making at once.
Where light passed, the air heated into brilliant white. Where darkness passed, everything disappeared into black. In the space where the two fought, everything had been annihilated, leaving only a hollow as though that section had been erased with an eraser.
Even with a body at least comparable to an A-rank hero's, Kang Jin-ho could not properly see what was happening... Their battle was clearly at least five levels beyond his.
A battle between the two strongest people in humanity.
Kang Jin-ho could only stand on the bare earth, exposed after all the grass had burned away, and stare blankly up at the sky.
‘...Is this really a fight between people?’
Had Eun-yeong and Bitna ever fought in HiCiSi? They had. But it was a separate event that showed only a single CG, and their actual battle had never been depicted.
He knew it would be incredible... but he had not expected anything on this scale. As Kang Jin-ho swallowed once...
Thud!
Pure white light stopped directly in front of him. Bitna looked slightly out of breath, but her expression remained indifferent as she held out a hand toward Kang Jin-ho.
Whoosh!
A jet-black shadow rose from the darkness on the ground and blocked the space between Bitna and Kang Jin-ho.
Eun-yeong and Bitna glared at each other. A very brief lull followed.
Kang Jin-ho did not miss the chance and quickly opened his mouth.
“Bitna.”
“Hm?”
Bitna looked at Kang Jin-ho over Eun-yeong's shoulder.
“May I ask you one question?”
“What is it?”
“I've gotten somewhat famous lately. I'm on the news every day, and people overseas keep looking for me. Can you really openly try to kill someone like that?”
“Why not?”
Bitna tilted her head and asked back.
“...There is public opinion, and there are laws.”
“Do those matter?”
Even as she spoke, Bitna casually fired a beam of light at Kang Jin-ho. Eun-yeong flicked a finger, and darkness blocked it.
“Why do people obey the law? Because someone punishes them if they don't, right? But is there anyone who can punish me?”
“...”
“I could fight everyone on Earth except myself and still win. So is there any reason I have to follow rules other people made?”
“...Then why have you stayed quiet until now?”
“Because I liked things the way they were.”
Bitna shrugged.
“Everyone is living just fine on their own. I get to lie around and eat snacks, and only occasionally deal with something annoying. I like Light City the way it is. That's why I left it alone.”
“...”
Kang Jin-ho tried to say something, then simply closed his mouth.
They saw things differently. Their entire way of thinking was different, so there was no chance words would get through.
Rather than do something pointless... he decided to organize his thoughts quickly.
This battle. To an outsider like Kang Jin-ho, the two seemed evenly matched. Light and darkness pushed and pulled against each other, and neither side seemed clearly ahead.
But the very fact that they only seemed evenly matched was the problem.
‘It's nighttime.’
Darkness covered everything. Even at the time most favorable to Eun-yeong, the best she could do was match Bitna.
Besides, Eun-yeong could not fight without restraint right now.
The situation just now was proof enough. Bitna had casually fired a beam of light at Kang Jin-ho during their conversation, and Eun-yeong had blocked it for him. Even if Kang Jin-ho could not feel it himself, it meant Eun-yeong had to keep devoting attention to protecting him.
‘She's fighting with one hand tied behind her back because of me...’
What a burden he was. Kang Jin-ho barely swallowed the curse rising in his throat.
Still, something was strange.
The Bitna from HiCiSi had never done anything like this. Bitna was the sort who did nothing but sit at the top of Light Tower, eating snacks, then dealt with things in an instant only when a truly monstrous villain appeared.
And that Bitna was suddenly attacking an ordinary police officer in the middle of the night?
‘Why?’
That was what bothered him. Why was Bitna trying to kill him?
As far as Kang Jin-ho knew, Bitna had no reason to kill him. They had only met once, and he had clearly passed Bitna's test then.
There had to be something he was missing. Kang Jin-ho retraced his memories from the beginning.
How many times had he played HiCiSi? Across all those countless playthroughs, Bitna had never ambushed an ordinary person.
‘...No, wait.’
But was it true that Bitna never acted first at all?
Not quite.
When a villain the player had personally raised became too strong. Or when it seemed the city itself was about to begin falling apart. Considering that alongside what Bitna had said earlier...
“Bitna... hates variables that could fundamentally destroy the city.”
It might sound like a leap. But Kang Jin-ho instinctively knew that was the reason.
That meant Bitna, the number one S-rank hero... saw Kang Jin-ho as a major variable capable of overturning the city itself.
‘...This is ridiculous.’
There was no other answer. Bitna was wary of Kang Jin-ho and intended to remove him before he grew any more powerful.
It was unfair... but being upset would not change anything.
There was only one thing to do now. Stop Bitna, or help Eun-yeong.
Should he say that he was from another world and had only pretended to deduce things because he knew the answers beforehand? But there was no guarantee Bitna would stop if he did. She might be even more determined to kill him.
What about helping Eun-yeong? Intervening directly was impossible. If he stepped between them, Kang Jin-ho would be erased in 0.1 seconds.
Then should he run? Could he run faster than light?
Call for reinforcements? Bitna had said herself that she could fight the entire world, except for herself, and win. Would calling for help mean anything?
The only person who might be able to get involved in this fight was the other transcendent powerhouse, Hermit...
“We don't have any information on them.”
After agonizing over it again and again, Kang Jin-ho decided to start with what he could do.
“Phew.”
Kang Jin-ho took a deep breath and pulled his phone from his pocket. Thanks to Eun-yeong protecting him earlier, the screen was slightly cracked, but it was otherwise intact. The problem was that the cell signal was gone, perhaps because the towers had been damaged...
That did not matter.
“Yes, it's me.”
“...”
“No, it's only a little earlier than expected.”
Kang Jin-ho calmly carried on a conversation with a phone that could not even produce a dial tone. He then hung up and immediately began sending messages.
[Trace. Coordinate Three.]
[Tienrang. Now.]
[Director. As discussed, please.]
-Message failed to send
-Message failed to send
-Message failed to send
Three red exclamation marks appeared, saying the messages had failed to send. Kang Jin-ho nodded once, slipped his phone into his pocket, and casually folded his arms.
Even Kang Jin-ho did not know where Coordinate Three was.
It was all bluster.
* * *
In the middle of her fierce battle, Eun-yeong sensed that Bitna's attention had wandered somewhere else.
Bitna's attacks had dulled, and her reaction speed had slowed as well. It was not a huge difference, but it was enough to notice.
It did not seem Bitna had grown weaker... Her focus had likely shifted toward Kang Jin-ho.
‘...Hehe.’
Eun-yeong smiled soundlessly.
At the same time, Kang Jin-ho tightly gripped the phone in his pocket and looked up at the sky. Then he grinned, the corner of his mouth rising.
If Bitna saw him as a monster and intended to eliminate him...
“Everything is going according to plan.”
He would start by acting like one.
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