I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 217: Open stream (4)

"...Ah, the sunglasses."

As I stepped out the door, I suddenly realized that I had left my sunglasses back in the gym.

These eyes... These unnecessarily pink eyes were so conspicuous that I could be seen from far away unless I wore sunglasses.

Even in Celia, where people had various hair colors and eye colors, my appearance stood out.

Never mind my face—there was no one else with pink hair or eyes like mine.

There were similar shades, but they were much darker or lighter. It couldn't be said to resemble mine.

Was that a good thing? Well, not exactly.

People would whisper or stare at me because of my appearance.

And...

'That's a really unusual color.'

'With looks like that, it could probably be sold for a high price.'

'Isn't she too young?'

'Don't you know? Nobles like them younger.'

"Tch."

...That unnecessary memory resurfaced.

Of course, the ones who drooled over my appearance were made to live new lives, but it wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory.

Looking back at these thoughts, it seemed I was in a bit of a fluster right now.

Anyway, with that kind of appearance, I had to use a few tricks to avoid drawing attention, and the sunglasses I left behind in the gym were a fairly important tool for that.

Going back to get them wasn’t difficult.

It wasn’t exactly a big deal.

"...Never mind."

But I simply turned my back.

I couldn’t really explain why.

I just had a feeling that it wouldn’t be meaningful to go back for them.

A feeling like that isn’t enough of a reason to convince someone, right?

So, instead of making excuses for my actions, I kept walking.

'Where should I go?'

The answer came quickly.

After all, I was wrapped in Edel's divine power, so there was bound to be some connection to Edel.

"Let's go to Demonis."

If Edel sent me the invitation, then why use such a roundabout way instead of just using my phone to contact me?

And if it wasn’t Edel, then why did the man have Edel’s divine power?

All the answers to those questions would be found at Demonis, where Edel was.

As I ran swiftly, I pulled my hood low and scanned the surroundings.

The building that housed Demonis wasn’t far from Da-eun’s house.

But I was at Yuki’s gym.

While Demonis in the heart of Seoul might not be too far, it wasn’t exactly close either.

"...Guess there's no helping it."

Even I couldn't run at my full speed in a crowded street.

Unless I planned to flatten everyone in my path.

So, I had to resort to other means here.

I kept my pace, one step, then two.

Thud—

On the third step, my body suddenly shot up into the air.

Glancing below, I noticed someone walking from the opposite direction, looking around as if confused.

They were rubbing their eyes, clearly not expecting such a sight.

Had the wind gotten cold?

I sped up, leaving the trembling pedestrian behind.

Sometimes stepping on nameless tall buildings' rooftops, sometimes landing on the back of flying birds.

When none of that was possible, I used the air itself as a stepping stone and flew higher, and soon the destination came into view.

"...What’s that?"

And then, something entirely unexpected.

The vast black sky, replacing the blue sky.

A scene so alien, like a black curtain had been drawn across the sky, I landed and let out a hollow laugh.

"Seems like something's happening."

Someone who didn't know might think it was a solar eclipse...

No, probably not?

Anyone who wasn’t completely ignorant wouldn’t mistake this for a solar eclipse.

A solar eclipse refers to the moon covering the sun, not darkness falling like a curtain.

Plus, a solar eclipse doesn’t come with a giant hand tearing through the sky.

"Ha, it’s a mess."

The dry laugh that escaped my lips felt very hollow.

It almost felt like a drought-stricken rice field was wetter than this.

It wasn’t even funny, but of course, I laughed.

Murmurs—

Given the situation, people in the street had all stopped and were looking up at the sky.

Some were stumbling backward in fear, but far fewer were watching with curious eyes and chatting.

It’s such an unreal sight that they might not even feel the danger.

In Celia, where dimensional beasts are common, it might be one thing, but such sights are rare on Earth.

The black curtain hanging in the sky and the strange energy emanating from the massive hand breaking through it were exactly the same as what I knew.

So, it was the energy of the dimensional beasts.

"Edel... You didn’t warn me about something like this."

What a useless god.

Sigh.

What else can you do?

When the higher-ups are incompetent, the underlings suffer.

In that sense, Edel could learn something from me.

I was truly a competent and exemplary leader.

"..."

Suddenly, my ears itched—was someone badmouthing me?

I couldn’t have overheard my own thoughts, so it must have been just my mood.

But if it weren’t, it didn’t matter.

It’s the duty of the higher-ups to guide their subordinates on the right path when they have mistaken thoughts.

Sigh.

'Let’s stop with the nonsense.'

Being around Da-eun so much must have rubbed off on me in a way I didn’t like.

I sighed, then glanced at the red sword in my hand...

Crimson Aegis.

In that moment, nostalgia welled up inside me.

'If it were Dad...'

Dad always used to say I was too much like a boy or too blunt, so he might have even welcomed me talking like this.

No, it wouldn’t have been 'might.' He would have definitely welcomed it.

Thinking that, I briefly didn’t mind.

"Work should be serious."

I could throw a couple of words to irritate someone, but I didn’t like the idea of being playful even while working.

It’s like a character behaving in a way that didn’t suit them in a comic.

I readjusted my grip on the Crimson Aegis.

There were too many people.

Of course, using a sword in a place like this would attract attention.

But, well...

Does that even matter, given what’s going on?

Leaving the gym, I realized my earlier intuition was right, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled.

"...Hmm. I guess they won’t step aside if I ask."

Muttering to myself while looking at the crowd in front of me.

They were too busy watching the scene, and I wasn’t sure if my voice would even reach those who were scared.

I didn’t care.

If I were concerned about things like that, I would still be standing in front of the gym, hesitating.

Whoosh...

The red blade of the sword was enveloped in my mana, turning pink.

But that didn’t erase the Crimson Aegis’ characteristics, so the heat emanating from it made the surroundings feel pleasantly warm.

"...Heeek?!"

A pedestrian, feeling warmth that didn’t match the chilly air, turned around and gasped.

Seeing their reaction, I felt slightly... not sorry.

I wasn’t trying to harm them, if anything, I was helping, so there was no reason to feel bad.

"Shhh..."

Taking a light breath, I readied my stance.

Exhale—

Before my breath even scattered, the things around me distorted like a smashed watercolor painting.

And in the next moment, a giant hand appeared before my eyes.

'...Still disgustingly huge.'

One finger was bigger than me.

It reminded me of the giants I faced in Celia...

"..."

As I measured the size of the hand, I suddenly felt disgusted.

Some people at my age were still so small, being treated like children, and here this giant hand was, arrogantly spreading out—

"...Hmm."

...I got too excited.

I calmed my mind and leaped again.

My body, which had soared just moments ago, started descending again, but...

Screech—

My sword had already touched it.

In an instant, a flash of light followed by a pink line spread.

What should I say in a situation like this?

Ah, right.

"You’re already dead... right?"

Boom!

As soon as I finished speaking, the hand split along the long, drawn-out pink line.

Purple liquid poured out, and the arm that had extended from the black curtain twisted in pain.

It seemed quite painful.

If I were a saint, I might have comforted the enemy’s pain.

"But I’m no saint."

The enemy is in pain?

...Then that’s a complete gain for me.

If you dig at the wound, why should I comfort you?

So I moved in the direction my heart led me.

Since I cut vertically earlier, I might as well cut horizontally to balance it out.

I twisted my sinking body and swung my sword.

Slash!

Tada, complete.

The two pieces of the palm, cut beautifully in a cross shape, fell to the ground.

They were fragments, but much bigger than me.

"...Tch."

It was easy to predict what would happen to the people below if they got hit.

"Pestering me."

Seeing people watching without a sense of urgency, I briefly thought, 'Should I save them?'

But then I swung my sword a few more times, giving them some more pieces to think about.

Large fragments shattered and fell endlessly.

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It might hurt a little if they get hit, but I wasn’t planning to care about that.

They should be thankful they weren’t killed.

"Alright. Next—"

My pink eyes flickered.

The palm that was barely left let out a soundless cry.

Matching its appearance, it had no sight, and the arm, in pain and anger, couldn’t find me and flailed helplessly at the empty air.

"I’m right here."

To announce my presence, I gave a slash, and the flailing arm continued to rage.

At first, it was a little fun.

"...Not that fun."

It quickly became uninteresting, like hitting a motionless scarecrow.

And, it wasn’t even stubborn enough to fuel my determination.

As my interest waned, the desire in my sword slowly faded.

"Not going back quietly? Then, let’s finish this."

There was no need for any grand technique in dealing with something like this.

Swordsmanship is made to cut ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ and thrust efficiently.

Even without those, I had already torn it apart. There was no reason to put in more effort on a dying corpse.

Ka-kach!

Mana-infused into the sword turned into a blade of pink energy.

As it touched the elbow of the giant arm, which was barely protruding from the black curtain, a harsh sound rang out.

It resisted more than the other parts, but...

Ka-ka-ka-ka-!

Screech!

The outcome didn’t change.

A web-like scar appeared on the massive arm, and it soon shattered into pieces.

Looking down, the ground below was a chaotic mess with people scrambling to flee.

Seems like the fragments helped them snap back to reality.

Heh.

It was funny, so I lightly laughed, using my mana to step on it and watch the scene.

But that’s that.

"What should I do now?"

The situation wasn’t over yet.

The black curtain still hung in the sky, and more strange beings might emerge from it, just like before.

I kept my sword ready, not relaxing.

-Blink!

"...Huh?!"

A dazzling beam of light shot out from the black curtain.

Caught off guard by the surprise attack, I squinted and leaped backward.

I had already lost the initiative, so I had to brace myself for the upcoming attack—

"Phew... I thought I was done for."

Struggling to open my eyes, I forced myself to focus, and a familiar voice rang out.

"...Edel?"

"Yep. It’s Edel!"

It was a voice I’d heard before.

The lively voice, not matching her age, sounded just like the Edel I knew.

‘Should I just cut her off?’

I briefly thought about it, but then I sheathed my sword.

It was too late to cut her off pretending I didn’t know.