Returning to the Present

  A Few Moments Later

  Gangnam-gu — South Korea

  Gangnam Ex Building — Rooftop

  It was possible to see a pulse being released outward from every part of young Nabi Yu's body, even as the world around her remained slowed, its colors still rendered in negative tones.

  [Nabi Yu — completely vengeful & merciless voice] ...Who do you think you are! To speak about the most incredible woman in my entire life!!! [Ragged, painful, dry breathing] —

  Nabi Yu lunged forward, managing to strike the man in the stomach with her fist, catching him off guard with the sheer speed of her reaction. At the same time, she shifted her body sideways, narrowly avoiding Taesuk's attack — an attack that would have killed her.

  [Yuna — Echoing, Motivating & Confident Voice] My dear daughter, beat your wings with all the strength you have... [Deep, proud sigh] —

  As a result, the iron projectile thrown by Taesuk slammed violently into the ground where Nabi Yu had been moments before, embedding itself deeply into the surface.

  The scene was punctuated by the sight of young Nabi Yu screaming with extreme fury.

  [Adrian — Echoing, Motivating & Confident Voice] Little sister, fly beyond the limit your wings can bear... [Confident & proud sigh] —

  She drove her fist deep into Taesuk's abdomen, making him spew his black Oculi blood forward.

  His furious expression twisted into a wide-eyed glare, consumed by hatred for what she had just done to him, as the pain he felt seemed to numb every nerve in his body.

  [Nabi Yu — Completely Vengeful & Furious Scream] WHO IS NOW BY MY OLDER BROTHER ADRIAN'S SIDE, FAR AWAY... [Ragged, painful, dry breathing] —

  As the two clashed once more, the entire environment seemed to be engulfed by an invisible force expanding in all directions, placing immense pressure on Taesuk's body — a pain that did not affect him physically.

  In reality, it was his essence that was being attacked beneath his physical existence, causing the excruciating sensation that his very being was being crushed.

  [Nabi Yu — Completely Vengeful & Furious Scream] ...TOO FAR FROM MY ARMS, BECAUSE OF YOU, TAESUK!!!!!!!! [Ragged, painful, dry breathing] —

  As the space around them appeared to distort, the air took on a fractured appearance, its cracks spreading for several meters in every direction.

  Taesuk screamed in extreme agony, realizing that young Nabi Yu, at only fourteen years old, was exerting a force far beyond what even he could muster at that moment.

  Echoing within Taesuk's mind was the voice of a memory from a few days earlier — one belonging to a member of the Inanis faction's upper echelon.

  It spoke in a playful, sarcastic tone about the latent potential that Nabi Yu's family could reach on its own, if arrogantly provoked by someone who toyed with their emotions and feelings.

  [Astaroth — Echoing Voice From The Past] ...When young Nabi Yu comes after you — and I know she will come like a "thirsty animal" for revenge — I... I give you a warning as a fellow member of the faction: do not play with her, young Taesuk. [Light, ironic & amused laugh] —

  Her Oculi abilities were unleashed with overwhelming intensity, disintegrating his abdomen into fragments and splitting him in half as if it were something trivial.

  The surreal scene unfolded before those present: part of Taesuk's body was thrown backward along with his black blood.

  Despite the overwhelming pain, he attempted to reconstruct himself in order to retaliate against Nabi Yu for her audacity.

  [Taesuk — Echoing Voice From The Past] Do you truly think I would be afraid of a pathetic, poorly awakened fourteen-year-old child, using her Oculi abilities so pathetically, someone who must be completely broken psychologically? [Carefree little laugh] —

  [Astaroth From The Past — Light, Amused & Curious Laugh]

  Meanwhile, Nabi Yu, even as she felt her muscles beginning to atrophy, did not hesitate to put an end to the situation — despite knowing the severe consequences that could follow once silence claimed the rooftop of the Gangnam Ex building.

  Taesuk, pushing his Oculi abilities to their limit, sensed the bloodthirsty presence emanating from Nabi Yu.

  [Taesuk — Echoing Voice From The Past] Lord Astaroth, you must be joking to warn me about something so pathetic. Nabi Yu may have the blood of one of the noble Oculi families running through her veins, but... [Sarcastic little laugh] —

  At that moment, his body — severed at the waist — began to fall backward, losing all connection with the lower half of his legs.

  He witnessed the surreal scene before him, feeling a chill race down his spine, for what he now saw was not a young girl, but death itself — smiling as it advanced to strike him once more.

  [Astaroth — Echoing Voice From The Past] "But?" [Ironic & amused little laugh] —

  Nabi Yu surged forward at blinding speed as the world around her slowed even further, but only for Taesuk. She began the motion of her next strike, appearing behind him in the blink of an eye.

  [Taesuk — Echoing Voice From The Past] ...But young Nabi Yu is nothing like her father, who was a prodigy, classified as an "irregular" even as a mere child when he first revealed his abilities. [Mocking sigh] —

  As he turned, incredulous and unable to react, spinning helplessly in the air, he saw Nabi Yu with her face smeared in black blood.

  A mixture of her own and that which Taesuk's body had sprayed after she split him in half moments earlier.

  [Taesuk — Echoing Voice From The Past] Young Nabi Yu undoubtedly takes after her mother, who was pathetic even as an Oculi, compared to the rest of her own useless and weak family. [Mocking, amused laugh] —

  Nabi Yu's clothes — a dress that had once been so beautiful and red — were now dancing in the air, badly torn after the few minutes of brutal combat between them above the terrace and earlier inside the building.

  At that moment, the red fabric of Nabi Yu's dress was heavily stained with Taesuk's black blood.

  [Astaroth — Echoing Voice From The Past] If you say all that, then who am I to try to change you? But... I will love seeing you left without a reaction before the "thirsty beast" you allowed to smile with pleasure as it advances toward you, Lord Taesuk. [Amused & animated laughter] —

  The scene before the still-slowed world was unmistakable: Nabi Yu advancing once more with all her strength gathered into her fist.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  He could see that fist seemingly distort the air as it moved forward, driven by the power of the Oculi abilities that Nabi Yu had concentrated within it.

  [(Taesuk — Thought, Incredulous & Frightened) Impossible... (broken & trembling breath)]

  It was unbelievable — almost like a visual representation, to Taesuk, of Nabi Yu's blazing essence erupting outward from her body.

  In truth, the target of this new attack from Nabi Yu was not his heart, as Taesuk believed, but nothing less than his face, frozen in that incredulous expression, unconsciously crying as he felt that this blow would annihilate him.

  [(Taesuk — Thought, Incredulous & Horrified) That damn girl really is an "irregular." (broken & trembling breath)]

  Faced with the sensation that the young Nabi Yu's essence was capable of inflicting upon Taesuk's own essence — almost insignificant when compared to hers — amid her fury and thirst for vengeance,

  it was clearly reflected in his eyes as Nabi Yu's punch advanced like a bullet straight toward Taesuk's face.

  [Adrian & Yuna — Echoing Voices, Motivating & Confident] ...Nabi Yu, destroy him until nothing remains, and... FLY WITHOUT ANY MORE LIMITS TOWARD INFINITY, LITTLE BUTTERFLY!!!!!!!! [Deep, proud breath] —

  Thus ending that brutal scene, with Nabi Yu's fist clenched with such force that it simply passed through Taesuk's face — and then his skull.

  As if it were nothing, continuing forward until almost all of Nabi Yu's arm had pierced through the inside of his head.

  At that moment, it was possible to see the young Nabi Yu smiling, her gaze completely empty of any emotion or feeling.

  Even though she was not human, but rather a young Oculi bearing only the outward appearance of an ordinary human.

  As a result, the slowed time returned to its normal flow, and a powerful pulse was released in all directions across the heavily destroyed terrace of the Gangnam Ex building.

  Creating a visual scene for anyone still awake in the area and looking toward the building at that exact moment.

  Nothing less than the clouds closest to the top of the Gangnam Ex building were gently pushed aside, dispersing as the pulse advanced in all directions toward the horizon — all within just a few microseconds.

  After all of that, the focus shifted once more to the top of the building's rooftop, where Nabi Yu could be seen ceasing her scream consumed by hatred. She now stood amid the many ruins of the rooftop.

  They were now scattered with shattered body parts, along with a great amount of Taesuk's blood spread in every direction around her at that moment.

  It was possible to see that horrific scene of Nabi Yu standing there, one of her trembling fists—once raised—slowly lowering to the side of her body.

  [Joyful & Echoing Laughter of the Affectionate Yuna from the Past, Calling for Nabi Yu while Still a Baby]

  Meanwhile, Nabi Yu, her body trembling at the very edge of its limits from exhaustion, looked upward with eyes completely white, which gradually returned to looking visibly like those of an ordinary human.

  [Cheerful & Echoing Laughter of the Caring Yuna from the Past, Calling for Nabi Yu while Still a Child]

  All around her, amid the wreckage spread across the rooftop, the shattered pieces of Taesuk's body could be seen beginning to emit a faint yet dense dark smoke at the same time.

  [Deep & Echoing Sigh of the Proud Yuna from the Recent Past, Calling for Nabi Yu]

  In the absolute silence that settled over the completely destroyed rooftop, the young Nabi Yu formed a smile upon her lips—one that conveyed a deep inner peace finally achieved after all those months of emotional suffering.

  [Adrian from the Past — Attentive & Affectionate Echoing Voice] ...Hey, you little messy "butterfly," no... [Awkward & Happy Sigh] —

  Those words were what kept her, even while thirsting solely for vengeance, from taking her own life in the face of the emptiness that overtook her after Adrian's death a few months earlier.

  After the house where the two of them had lived together for several months—following the death of Nabi Yu's mother, Yuna—had become a refuge for Nabi Yu.

  [Adrian from the Past — Attentive & Affectionate Echoing Voice] ...Don't forget that I'll come visit you every month, after they come to get you from your house in a few weeks and take you somewhere safe. I... [Confident & Motivated Sigh] —

  Adrian, who at that time only wished to protect her despite being just seventeen years old, was fulfilling the last request made by Miss Yuna herself before she died right in front of him.

  That scene of Nabi Yu was difficult to witness, as she gazed up at the night sky amid the silence of the world around her.

  [Adrian from the Past — Emotional & Affectionate Echoing Voice] I will always love you, my little sister from another mother. Please forgive me, Nabi Yu... [Deep, Tearful Breath] —

  [Echoing, Deafening Explosion Sound from a Past Memory]

  It was clear to see her clothes, torn and stained with the black blood of both herself and Taesuk. At the same time, Nabi Yu's long black hair danced in the wind, which blew gently across the rooftop.

  Her hair could be seen moving with the wind as Nabi Yu cried black tears in the face of the pain she felt both emotionally and physically.

  Yet simultaneously, she smiled as she spoke the name of her mother, Yuna, and of the one who had become her older brother in just a few months at her side after her mother had passed away more than a year earlier.

  That person was the young Adrian, to whom her mother had entrusted her safety temporarily—just before Nabi Yu could finally collapse to her knees on the ground, utterly exhausted after everything that had happened.

  The young Nabi Yu hears the sound of clapping, deeply impressed, coming from someone whose presence she had not sensed at all in that place.

  It is revealed that this person is another Oculi, dressed in white garments and wearing black glasses over their face.

  [Person — Impressed & Sarcastic Voice] ...You have the same potential as your idiot mother, young Nabi Yu. —

  [(Nabi Yu — Frightened & Fearful Thought) This bloodthirsty presence is worse than the one Taesuk emanated...]

  [Person — Genuinely Sincere Voice] But I am here to take your body, whether it is alive or dead. —

  It then becomes clear that this person is calmly sitting atop one of the destroyed pillars of the building's terrace.

  [Person — Deeply Indifferent Voice] Since your pathetic fight against Taesuk has come to an end, and your Oculi awakening has finally been achieved. —

  [(Nabi Yu — Frightened & Fearful Thought) Who is this terrifying person behind my back?]

  [Person — Genuinely Empty Voice] And just so you know, young Nabi Yu... I have no desire to go through the trouble of touching you with my bare hands. [Deep sigh]

  Before Nabi Yu can turn around and react in anger toward the one who dares to show her irony and sarcasm—

  [Person — Genuinely Empty Voice] Since you are just like your parents in essence — something so fiery and, at the same time, extremely irritating. [A faint, disgusted sigh] —

  The world can be seen slowing its temporal flow, its colors shifting into negative tones, as that person makes a subtle motion with one of their fingers in Nabi Yu's direction.

  With her back turned, her entire body shivers as she feels the murderous, lethal intent radiating from that person, visibly focused on killing her.

  [(Nabi Yu — Deeply Desperate Thought) I can't move a single centimeter, I... I'm going to—]

  It is revealed that this subtle gesture causes a fragment of a destroyed pillar near the person to levitate and be hurled at high speed toward Nabi Yu.

  [(Nabi Yu — Deeply Desperate Thought) I don't want to die, please...]

  The fragment is nothing less than cracked concrete, with a twisted, sharply pointed piece of iron embedded at its tip, aligning itself mid-flight toward the center of Nabi Yu's back.

  [(Nabi Yu — Deeply Desperate Thought) PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!]

  Echoing through the world slowed down into its negative tones, what sounded like a high-speed whistle approached the terrace of the Gangnam Ex building.

  In a brief instant, it was possible to hear a man's voice whisper the name Nabi Yu, in a tone that clearly conveyed happiness at having arrived in time.

  In the very next second, the incredible scene unfolded: the launched pillar was simply shattered into countless pieces in midair, before it could successfully strike the young Nabi Yu.

  Time returned to its normal flow, along with its colors, making it possible to see, through the smoke rising from the pillar's explosion, the shadow of a person descending swiftly and fluidly toward the ground near Nabi Yu's back.

  That figure positioned himself defensively behind her, protecting her back, while Nabi Yu remained frozen, unable to react to such speed.

  Meanwhile, the second figure—revealed to be a man—calmly raised his gaze after arriving at that place just in time, having pushed his Oculi abilities to their maximum.

  He looked toward the person standing several meters ahead of him, the one who had dared to attack the young Nabi Yu from behind in such a deplorable manner.

  Immediately, the individual who had attempted to harm Nabi Yu—revealed to be Astaroth—displayed on her expression a complete joy and satisfaction at the presence of that man.

  He was not a random person, but rather one of the most important members of the forces of the Reginae faction.

  As the smoke continued to dissipate, stirred by another gentle breeze of wind that seemed to be released from that man's body in all directions within moments, his figure was finally revealed.

  The man whom Astaroth hated so deeply stood there, his white hair and black garments swaying softly as he released his Oculi abilities.

  They appeared to simulate invisible flames, briefly distorting the space around his body before being deliberately dissipated by his own will.

  The eyes of the man protecting Nabi Yu were completely black, without irises, and on his face there was a clear and absolute contempt for the one known as Astaroth.

  Astaroth, a member of the Inanis faction, sat atop a remaining pillar, looking down at him with utter disregard, treating the person standing before her—shielding her target—as utterly insignificant.

  Astaroth considered attacking again, using her Oculi abilities to hurl one of the many fragments around her, intending to provoke the man into defending Nabi Yu once more.

  But in a single second—before her attempt at a new attack could be completed, with nothing more than the movement of a single finger.

  Astaroth was swiftly surrounded within mere moments across the shattered terrace, and at that instant, the sarcastic, pleasurable smile vanished from her lips, replaced by an expression of unmistakable boredom.

  Several allies of that man were revealed: some standing atop the debris, others calmly seated upon the many twisted metal beams scattered across the terrace of the Gangnam Ex building.