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The standoff between Chronos and his subordinates, Jeong Gyeoul and Jeong Ha-yul, continued.

Magic power was rising from the bodies of all four individuals.

A battle could break out at any moment without it being surprising.

Ideally, they would have wanted to wait until all the S-Class heroes arrived and the Association’s support came.

But Chronos, knowing he would be at a disadvantage, had no reason to wait.

Even if the S-Class heroes arrived and gained a numerical advantage, it seemed like someone among them would get seriously hurt.

“…It might be better to strike quickly.”

“Do as you wish, don’t worry about me, sister.”

The two sisters nodded at each other.

Just by looking at their eyes, you could tell what they were thinking.

Jeong Gyeoul and Jeong Ha-yul simultaneously stomped the ground.

Jeong Gyeoul charged at Chronos, while Jeong Ha-yul headed for his subordinate, Hermes.

A fierce wind blew, causing Jeong Gyeoul’s hair to flutter wildly.

She hadn’t bothered to wear the tight hero suit, as it was cumbersome.

Her clothes flapped wildly as well.

A mysterious purple light of magic power flowed out, and tangible magic enveloped her entire body.

It was a substitute for the hero suit.

At the same time, she thrust her fist toward Chronos.

Ziiiiing!

It was a sound that resonated from within Jeong Gyeoul.

Magic power surged through her circuits, spinning wildly.

The circuits, enduring the surge, released the magic power through her fist.

Kwaaaaang—!

The power was completely different from her usual Demon King Punch.

The tremendous noise was enough to distract Jeong Ha-yul and Hermes, who had just begun their fight.

The sea split where Chronos had been standing.

As if a missile had struck, a cloud of dust rose from the deep crater.

Jeong Ha-yul, thinking there was nothing to worry about, charged at Hermes again.

Jeong Ha-yul’s movements were also different from usual.

The focus on brute strength was gone.

It felt like watching Jo Se-hee fight using speed.

The distance closed in an instant.

They exchanged hundreds of blows in a flash.

In the realm of blinding speed, fists and kicks flew.

A cold wind swept over Hermes, starting to inflict wounds.

Jeong Ha-yul pressed on fiercely, as if she couldn’t afford to lose the offensive.

She wasn’t usually one to enjoy that style of combat.

Like Jeong Gyeoul, she seemed to feel a certain unease.

Whoooosh—!

It came from the side.

Another wave of purple magic power spread out.

It was the color of an aurora descending to the ground.

Chronos, who had emerged from the dust cloud, was staring intently at Jeong Gyeoul, holding a time sword in his hand.

A technique that steals time from whatever it cuts.

Even a single graze could be fatal.

Jeong Gyeoul released her magic power, expanding her domain.

Only after feeling the aura of the sword could she be sure.

Chronos was too much even for Jeong Ha-yul to handle.

Tzzzt—!

The sword of Chronos emitted vibrations.

Even without touching it, her entire body felt sluggish.

The worst match-up for Jeong Ha-yul, who relied on physical combat.

It was why Jang Gil-yong had been defeated so quickly.

Beyond her body feeling sluggish, her magic power’s movement slowed.

The flow of air slowed.

The wind slowed.

An unreal scene unfolded, as if all time was flowing slowly.

Only Chronos seemed unaffected.

He kicked off the ground and leaped forward at an incredible speed.

The sword flying toward her face.

She tilted her head back in time, but her delayed reaction almost cost her a slash across the face.

Instead, two strands of hair were cut off…

The surrounding hair turned white.

“You bastard!”

Not content with trying to scratch her precious face.

He was trying to turn a 16-year-old middle school girl into a white-haired old woman.

If she had been 0.1 seconds slower, hundreds of strands of hair would have been cut.

Memories of all the teasing she had done in the past began to surface.

Her spine tingled, and she felt a chill.

‘If I had been hit, I would have been teased for life…’

Using the force of her tilted head, she spun around and kicked Chronos.

The blow didn’t seem to faze him, but she was satisfied with just creating some distance.

Chronos was undoubtedly beyond transcendent.

The aura flowing through Jeong Gyeoul’s skin proved it.

Though it was a different kind of power.

The overwhelming strength felt similar to Jeong Gyeoul’s.

She threw ice spears to prevent the distance from closing, but they melted instantly upon nearing him.

“…Is that the power of time?”

“I just sped up the time flowing through the magic.”

The ice spears were harder and lasted longer than regular ice, but at their core, they were still ice.

Given enough time, they would return to water.

“…That’s some insane cheating.”

Fire would extinguish over time.

Wind would scatter over time.

To counter with magic, she would need to use earth-based magic…

But Jeong Gyeoul only knew the most basic spells.

It was a moment of regret for not learning more in time.

She was low on magic power and lacked knowledge of advanced spells.

Relying solely on telekinesis made it hard to deal decisive damage.

She should have taken her time and flown up slowly.

Rushing in had only complicated the situation.

Chronos wasn’t about to give her time to recover her magic power.

He pressed on fiercely.

She used telekinesis to deflect unavoidable attacks.

Sometimes pushing her own body away, barely holding on.

But her dwindling magic power was causing her lower abdomen to cramp.

She took a deep breath and expanded her consciousness.

Time seemed to slow down as her thoughts accelerated.

‘Damn… this is bad.’

In that fleeting moment, countless thoughts raced through her mind.

[Use your spiritual power, you idiot junior.]

It felt like the voice of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was coming from somewhere.

‘What the hell is that monkey saying? I’ve been using spiritual power to hold on this long.’

Whether it was really the Great Sage speaking or just a hallucination, she didn’t know.

But in both reality and consciousness, the Great Sage’s remarks were always useless.

[Spiritual power is different from magic or demonic power; it’s a higher-dimensional force.]

Thanks to that, she had managed to use it well.

Anyone who wasn’t a fool could tell that the strange purple light was spiritual power.

With combat power several times her usual, she had taken down named villains in one hit.

But that was as far as it went.

Even if it was strong, the quantity wasn’t much.

[Tsk, you seem to think of higher-dimensional power as just being a bit stronger… Lower-dimensional power can’t help but respond when pulled. It’s literally a difference in dimensions.]

…!

The moment she heard that, a thrilling sensation shot through her head.

She realized that if her spiritual power desired, it could draw in all the surrounding magic power.

Though she had harbored this power within her, she didn’t know why she only realized it now.

But now that she had, it was enough.

Jeong Gyeoul exhaled through her mouth.

“Hoo—”

A purple hue seemed to reflect off Jeong Gyeoul’s pale skin.

The magic power within her body began to follow the flow of her spiritual power.

The magic power burned through her circuits with a fierce intensity.

Drawing out that much spiritual power left her unable to react to Chronos’ attacks.

“It’s over!”

Just as Chronos was about to stab his sword into Jeong Gyeoul’s stomach.

Kwa-jik!

“…! How!”

Chronos’ face twisted for the first time.

It was a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

“How? What do you mean how?”

Jeong Gyeoul, who had crushed Chronos’ right hand with her left, pulled back her right arm.

“Just die!”

This time, the flow of time seemed to reverse, speeding up.

Jeong Gyeoul’s clothes fluttered endlessly.

A panicked Chronos threw the sword in his left hand, trying to grab it with his other hand, but Jeong Gyeoul used telekinesis to knock it away.

The magic power swirling within Jeong Gyeoul’s body began to suck in surrounding magic power like a black hole.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!

The ground twisted, and the atmosphere warped.

By then, the S-Class heroes who had arrived were shocked by the scene.

They were only a few minutes late.

But the Goseong beachfront was no longer the terrain they knew.

The sea was still split.

The ground was so torn up that there was barely any solid footing.

And Jeong Gyeoul.

She was emitting an incredible flow of magic power that the S-Class heroes couldn’t even imagine.

‘If my magic power is lacking, I’ll just borrow some!’

Chronos’ magic power, Jeong Ha-yul’s magic power, Hermes’ magic power.

Even the S-Class heroes’ magic power.

An enormous amount of magic power was being sucked into Jeong Gyeoul’s body.

——!

Finally, it exploded.

There was no deafening roar.

The immense magic power seemed to devour all sound.

There was no noise, only the color purple.

***

“Phew, that stupid monkey actually came in handy for once.”

After sending Chronos flying, she let out a relieved sigh.

A cat landed lightly beside me.

…Why is this guy here?

For a moment, my brain froze.

[Ungrateful brat.]

I frowned for a moment but then pulled up the corners of my mouth as if nothing had happened.

But my eyes weren’t smiling.

“Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the strongest Buddha, the most handsome Monkey King. What brings such a noble being to this humble place…”

Trying to say something I didn’t mean made my smile feel unnatural.

[What’s that?]

“…A real slip of the tongue. A real, real mistake.”

Words like diplomacy didn’t suit someone like me, who now possessed the strongest, most supreme power.

But it seemed like this guy hadn’t lost his power after all.

It was a moment to tread carefully.

[Look ahead, you idiot. It’s not over yet.]

“…Ahead?”

Even after taking a punch with that much magic power, it’s not over?

That sounded like nonsense.

But there was a man running toward them from the distant sea.

Persistent men aren’t attractive.

He doesn’t know that.

That guy is definitely single.

 

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