“Liu Xiao-Wo, it’s about time you show up.”
In the center of the event hall, Jo Gi-man sipped wine while watching the direction from which the protagonist would emerge.
Transcendent Liu Xiao-Wo.
She was a gift from the heavens, having reached the transcendent realm at a young age.
Even Jo Gi-man considered her a special ability user, so there was no need for further explanation.
She possessed incredible powers, which made her an existence that Jo Gi-man couldn’t even touch at this moment.
Of course, just because he couldn’t directly touch her didn’t mean he couldn’t kill her.
But she was capable of managing the great beasts that were either dormant or about to awaken in this vast country.
For Jo Gi-man, who needed to maintain the stability of this world, there was no need to eliminate someone with such abilities. No matter how strong, covering the entire world at once wasn’t feasible.
As time passed, a hum of chatter began to spread throughout the banquet hall.
In this place where security was extremely tight, heightened tension indicated that the protagonist had appeared.
In the distance, a middle-aged woman in a cat mask gracefully stepped inside, one step at a time.
“······.”
With every step Liu Xiao-Wo took, the atmosphere thickened with silence.
Creeeak—crackle──
She walked towards the center of the hall, ripping apart the mana of others as if it were a matter of course.
All the awakened ones in the vicinity unconsciously placed their hands on their chests, steadying their breaths.
Hoo- haah-
Among the awakened from China, those at the very top felt such intense pressure that they could barely continue even basic actions of life.
“······.”
It seemed that Liu Xiao-Wo had no intention of easing the tension among the people.
As the aura intensified, people trembled and lay flat on the ground like drenched puppies.
Of course, some were appearing relaxed. For example, a guy sipping wine while suppressing his presence. Or those somehow enduring the pressure within their own space.
‘Hmm… but Liu Xiao-Wo doesn’t seem any different than before.’
Seeing Liu Xiao-Wo’s unchanged aura, Jo Gi-man nodded in satisfaction. Every time he noted her consistency, he felt his rationality calm down.
‘Should I head out soon? Seven-headed Dragon?’
Jo Gi-man tried to speak again to the unusually quiet Seven-headed Dragon.
[······.]
‘How many times do you think she’ll chase me this time? Three times, like last time? Or maybe four this time since it’s a little special?’
[······.]
‘Huh? You want me to just start since you don’t care about that? Alright.’
Jo Gi-man had already stepped forward to secure his place.
A spot from which she could see him among the crowd perfectly.
‘Yoon Han-gyeol, poor guy. Dying without even using this fine weapon. How bitter must that be! But don’t worry. I’ll make good use of your face from now on. Puhaha-‘
[······.]
*
‘I guess I should start by tearing apart the one who created that indeterminate mask. The leather stench hitting my nose is just too disgusting.’
Since the moment the People’s Assembly began, Liu Xiao-Wo had been filled with such thoughts.
‘Because of that disgusting smell, I want to shred everything in my sight into pieces.’
It was exceedingly difficult to satisfy someone like her, who kept her five senses in an extremely sensitive state.
Today, once again, a tragic scene where another technician dies would unfold, suffering worse than any pain.
Before her stood humans, all of whom couldn’t show their faces.
[We await your presence. If you could just spare a moment to visit our region… ]
[We beseech you, please listen to the tales of our guild even for just one minute- ]
[We implore you to lend your strength to drive out ‘Huadan,’ which has settled in Sichuan… ]
[We are honored, oh Dragon Gate! The handling of ‘Barion’, which has consumed Tibet, is urgent, please-]
‘Dragon Gate, Dragon Gate, Dragon Gate. How annoying. Those disgusting little bugs.’
The fools who could barely lift their heads out of fear were sprawled on the ground, extending their palms to the sky with their pitiful tales etched on the petition papers.
The names of the great beasts and the great evil one on the opened petition stirred irritation in her eyes.
‘Collect everything for now.’
(Kihkihkih-)
(Grumbling while collecting-)
‘Shut it.’
At Liu Xiao-Wo’s order, one of the cat-masked beings that hovered around her began to collect the petition papers.
‘But has Barion grown that much? The guy could barely scrape by as a great beast. It’s really better to nip those ‘Predatory’ abilities in the bud.’
(I should’ve cut it off!)
(It’s your fault!)
‘Silence! Back then, I tried to ‘exile’ him with ‘gray’, but you guys refused. Damn you all…’
(I don’t remember!)
(I didn’t realize!)
(I did it for you!)
Thanks to the incessant chatter of the five cats in her head, Liu Xiao-Wo felt drained all day.
Even so, bearing the duty of [Guardian of China], she at least tried to fulfill her minimal tasks.
At least for now.
‘So tiresome… ridiculous.’
Most of the strong requests from notable powers in China could have been resolved independently, yet they sought Liu Xiao-Wo’s strength due to her overwhelming ability and extreme efficiency.
Crucially, they knew that even if they made unreasonable demands, she couldn’t kill them directly.
Of course, she wasn’t oblivious to their dark intentions.
‘If the day comes that I can set down this burden, I’ll make sure to kill you first, so look forward to it.’
Those lowly beings trying to get by without lifting a finger. It was enough to make her want to vomit.
‘Those bugs have no idea what agony I endure every time I use my abilities.’
Sadly, these vermin were her only cards she couldn’t easily discard among the most extreme types of ‘Awakened Ones’ who rejected non-awakened ones.
They were key figures in maintaining a world close to her ideals, so she couldn’t utterly reject them.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come.’
She felt as if bugs were crawling all over her and wanted to leave immediately, yet the only reason she was still here was one.
「Do you seek a stimulus to break the gray world? If so, go there. You shall obtain what you desire.」
A few days ago, a paper airplane with those short words visited her nest.
Many groups and individuals attempted to approach her throughout the year in countless ways, but this time felt different.
It was absurd that something foreign could penetrate her specially maintained space.
Unless one knew the few seconds of gap, that was true.
‘The gray world…’
That word led Liu Xiao-Wo to this place, even knowing it could be a trap by an entity possessing unknown powers.
Would the colors return to her increasingly weary world?
‘There’s still no color… it’s all gray.’
The world seemed like an old black-and-white film, all hazy and gray.
If only it could be painted with even a single color…
But such expectations were shattered in less than ten minutes.
Kwaaaang───!!
In a fit of rage for having taken a pointless detour, Liu Xiao-Wo couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer.
Her hand stretched toward the sky, and soon a massive crack spread across the sky, turning gray.
Swooosh───
Darkness fell upon the world, and gray smoke began to pour from the fissure.
It bore a resemblance to the gray smoke emitted from ‘Gray Smoke’s’ flapping wings.
“The Gray Demon King…”
Somewhere along the line, this became the custom name for Liu Xiao-Wo’s unique ability.
In the regions cast under its shadow, she became a deity, an absolute being.
Her power went far beyond that of a human, granting her ability to realize her imagination.
That power only grew as time passed, so it was hardly an exaggeration to label her a catastrophic awakened one, steering the world toward ruin.
Faced with Liu Xiao-Wo’s rampage that tore the sky open, all those gathered could only stand there, dumbfounded.
“Hiiiik!”
“F-Forgive us…!”
They hurriedly begged for forgiveness, but in truth, they hadn’t done anything wrong; it was simply Liu Xiao-Wo who was angry.
(Kihihihit-)
(Bugs, bugs!)
(The guardian is angry!)
One of the cat-masked beings by her side disappeared somewhere, while the other four began to dance joyfully, playing the traditional Chinese instrument ‘Dizi’.
Hooowwww-
As the instrument played, Liu Xiao-Wo’s crumpled face finally relaxed.
‘Indeed… I should head back.’
How foolish.
To have come all this way for such wordplay, suffering through it, and then to lose control of my emotions and partially unleash my powers. My lifespan must have shortened by several days.
Just as Liu Xiao-Wo was about to gesture to the ‘gray cat’ in the sky to return.
───?!!
She saw it.
The side profile of a man gulping down wine gracefully among the crowd.
Of course, it was Jo Gi-man’s intention to start revealing himself now, but she had no way of knowing that.
‘… Huh?’
Something… something was different.
‘Who is that? There shouldn’t be someone like him!’
He felt strangely out of place, clearly distinct.
He gave off the illusion of being in a different space entirely, a strikingly handsome man.
Perhaps because he was surrounded by squirming little bugs, the aura coming from him stood out even more.
‘Color… I can see color…’
Though the man glimmered in shades of black and white, it had been so long since she saw anything other than gray.
At that moment, Liu Xiao-Wo was certain.
‘The words on the paper airplane were right!!’
After having risen to a position known as the ‘Dragon Gate,’ which controlled China, she believed that the gray world would change because of that man.
But she couldn’t move.
‘Oh, come on!’
A pack of hyenas, trying to snatch up any crumbs, blocked her way with their heads down.
They were merely huddling in fear, yet she was the type to be conscious of people’s gazes.
In that fleeting moment, the man disappeared from her sight, and she was left looking around anxiously.
‘Did I miss him?’
That couldn’t be possible.
The ‘gray cat’ was still unclaimed.
The thought of something escaping her vision in this space was absurd.
‘He must be at least on my level of strength… impossible.’
And a few minutes later, the man reappeared in her field of vision, and this time their eyes met.
“······ Wow.”
Without realizing it, she gasped in awe.
In over thirty years, she had never once shown interest in the opposite sex.
No, it would be correct to say that she hadn’t had the environment to do so.
From the very beginning, she had been surrounded by cats meant for her protection, preventing her from doing anything.
As time went on, she thought to herself that maybe she really had no interest in the opposite sex.
Hoooww-
The man disappeared from her sight again.
But this time, since she was fully alert, she managed to grasp his tail.
‘I can’t take it anymore!’
Years of pent-up anger erupted with the appearance of one man.
“Get lost!”
As Liu Xiao-Wo snapped her fingers, hundreds of awakened ones who had been burying their heads around her vanished in an instant.
The figures disappeared, leaving only a picturesque scene.
“Kikikikikiki”
“Crunch crunch”
This time, the ‘green cat’ vanished and reappeared.
Simultaneously, the previously hidden awakened ones reappeared, standing like fools with blank expressions.
The spaces around the banquet hall twisted, and groans echoed through the air.
This was Liu Xiao-Wo’s incredible power that even affected the unique spaces of transcendents.
– Uurgh… my head…
– What am I doing here? Where is this?
– Ugh…! I was supposed to meet the Dragon Gate at the banquet…
Liu Xiao-Wo repelled the confused elite, breaking away from her location to chase after the man.
‘He’s already that far?!’
To her surprise, the man maintained a good distance away.
He turned around and smiled brightly.
He’s casually smiling while being behind me?
He had certainly stepped into the transcendent realm for a good amount of time.
But it felt strange.
His physical capabilities were around S-rank, right? Even if he was a hunter specialized in mobility, what speed could he possess…?
‘Is it a trap? Who cares, what does it matter!!’
Still, it felt good.
She had already fallen deeply for him.
Liu Xiao-Wo pushed the ground hard, and Jo Gi-man smiled triumphantly.
‘Come, follow me.’
In a transformed state, combat ability dwindles significantly.
Even so, Jo Gi-man was confident he wouldn’t be caught.
[Refined Distance]
– Must maintain a set distance from the pursuer.
– 4 uses remaining.
With this skill, it’d be impossible to catch him.
From there on out, all he had to do was glance back occasionally and smile, luring her in.
It was a funny thing.
To think anyone could perform such a feat just by showing their face once.
No matter how crazy the world had become, if your opponent was Liu Xiao-Wo, reconsidering the value of ‘charm’ could be worthwhile.
‘Yoon Han-gyeol… how unfortunate.’
He had suffered terribly in the latter part of the previous round.
A monster without limits in senses.
The charm that entranced Liu Xiao-Wo.
The more he thought about it, the more questions arose about that existence.
Thus, he had tried to see if there were any other secrets concealed, but it was all in vain.
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