Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

Ten minutes later, the game officially started.

 

With the sound of the whistle blowing, each team ran to the opposite side. The most important thing was distance. In a team battle, they needed at least some time to organize their formation.

 

In the association president’s office, where the scene was being broadcast live on a 50-inch TV, the President glanced at the screen and then spoke to the chief of the audit department beside him.

 

“Organize it well and release it as you see fit.”

 

“Yes, I understand.”

 

“As I mentioned earlier, it needs to be edited accordingly. You understand, right?”

 

“Don’t worry, sir,” the chief of the audit department quickly rubbed his hands together like a fly and left the room.

 

‘This old man gives too many orders.’

 

The chief frowned with a sour expression, his attitude was different when he entered and exited the room. Why did he, who had gotten promoted to the position of chief, have to edit footage for the heroes? Sigh. Well, it was an order from the association president after all.

 

He pressed his brow and contacted PDs from major broadcasting stations and newspaper editors he knew.

 

“…Yeah, that new reporter of yours had a good reaction. Make sure to include him. We’re already preparing to highlight that person in the edited version anyway.”

 

***

 

Yoo Hwashin’s strategy was simple.

 

The four members of the team should never get separated. The moment they got separated, it became easier to weed out the representative due to each member’s characteristics. Even if they scattered, it would be better to do so naturally during the fight.

 

A scene flashed through Ha Cheongwon’s mind as he stood in the center of the forest surrounding the playground. So soon? He turned around and shouted.

 

“They’re coming from my left, in Hwashin’s direction! Cha Jaeha up ahead, San Ihyeong to the right!”

 

There was no time for long explanations.

 

“Let’s get off work early!”

 

Hwashin laughed as he narrowly avoided Yoo Jian’s voice and her fist.

 

“Haha, that would be nice.”

 

The matchups were Yoo Jian vs. Yoo Hwashin, Cha Jaeha vs. Ha Cheongwon and Theo, and San Ihyeong vs. Jin.

 

“This is our second round.”

 

Yoo Jian’s speed had increased from before. The boots definitely seemed to be effective.

 

The boots Yoo Jian had were originally supposed to be one of the treasures owned by the king in that dimension. They didn’t require much effort to handle, so they were perfect for her. Moreover.

 

A beautifully arched kick dropped on him. Although he dodged lightly, the impact was heavy. The ground where her back foot landed caved in with a bang, as if a meteor had struck. Hwashin laughed as if amused.

 

“Stop dodging like a little rat!”

 

Let’s do this properly!

 

Properly, huh. Hwashin glanced at the thread woven into her clothes. It was certainly faint.

 

The flow of karma was much easier to discern when its movement was regular, slow, and simple. Conversely, when it was not, it meant the opponent was quite troublesome to deal with.

 

‘Have I ever used a verbal command on an S-rank before?’

 

He firmly grasped Yoo Jian’s wrist as it flew towards him. Come to think of it, he hadn’t.

 

Verbal commands were difficult to control, and the more complex the conditions, the stronger the backlash.

 

Even for similar effects, ‘explode’ had much less backlash than ‘die.’ Perhaps it was because there were monsters that didn’t die even when they exploded.

 

Among the awakened ones of this world, aka. the heroes, he had only used his ability on Ha Cheongwon before his awakening and the guy… Goyoung? Goyoung was the only one. Well, he used it twice on Go Young since he also fixed him up nicely.

 

“Do it properly! Otherwise, you’ll lose to us!”

 

The reason Yoo Jian’s team fought individually like this was simple.

 

Their hopes aligned.

 

Cha Jaeha wanted to finish the pointless game quickly,

 

Yoo Jian wanted to go home early,

 

Jeong Mueum yawned, agreeing to do whatever he was told, and San Ihyeong shared the same stance as Jeong Mueum.

 

– Then, shouldn’t we just knock them out one by one?

 

The audit department staff said, ‘Victory is achieved by defeating the representative’. So they just needed to knock them out roughly. Considering the opponent’s strength, they had the advantage.

 

Except for one variable.

 

“Properly?”

 

Hwashin smirked.

 

Let’s test it out, against an S-rank.

 

Hwashin glanced back. Ha Cheongwon and Theo against Cha Jaeha. If Ha Cheongwon’s ability fully bloomed, he should be able to hold out to some extent.

 

The problem was that guy Theo.

 

‘I don’t know what his ability is at all. It wasn’t even properly shown in the original.’

 

The Mystery Departement. As expected, you guys are the most—

 

“Ah, hey!”

 

“Just a moment, just a moment~”

 

Hwashin replied leisurely. Even while avoiding Yoo Jian with quick movements, he looked relaxed.

 

When this game started, Yoo Jian had first set her sights on Yoo Hwasin.

 

Now that she was wearing the boots, she felt she could show the results of her training. Finally, Yoo Jian even drew out the twin axes from her back.

 

‘Indeed.’

 

This must be how a master feels watching their disciple grow. Hmm. Cha Jaeha too could now control fire to a precise level. Being able to use fire in designated areas even with people mixed in was already great progress.

 

Yoo Jian leaped up suddenly. And she called out.

 

“Jeong Mueum!”

 

In an instant, Hwashin’s body became heavy. So heavy that his feet sank into the ground where he stood.

 

So that was the reason she kept him outside.

 

Hwashin had been wondering why he hadn’t seen Mueum nearby. He must be hiding nearby, waiting for the right moment.

 

“Take this—!”

 

The goddess of victory is right in front of me!

She grinned brightly, showing her pure white teeth.

 

“「Why don’t we relax our bodies, Jian?」”

 

Huh?

 

When Yoo Jian opened her eyes, she was somehow in Yoo Hwasin’s arms. The axes were split and stuck in the ground on either side.

 

Why? Why did it turn out like this? Yoo Jian’s eyes darted around in confusion.

 

‘What’s going on?’

 

Jeong Mueum, who had been watching them, and the other heroes fighting elsewhere all turned their gazes to one spot.

 

‘…This is absurd.’

 

Though they had been through countless battles together, even Cha Jaeha hadn’t expected this situation.

 

All abilities had their limits. Or there were other abilities that could negate them.

 

Ha Cheongwon also had the foresight ability, but it didn’t seem like he could activate it at will.

 

And Cha Jaeha himself struggled to fully exert his power in a water environment.

 

Yoo Jian was the same. Close combat was her greatest strength, and the boots she obtained in this dungeon provided the perfect platform for her to gain an advantage.

 

“Cough. It’s tough using it on an S-rank.”

 

Cough, cough. Even using it to relax the body took this much effort. Manipulating the power itself was challenging, but casting a command on an awakened one, a caster of ability, seemed to take a significant strain.

 

“How is it? Do you feel warm in my arms?”

 

Hwashin smiled, and Yoo Jian quickly jumped out, startled.

 

“Wow.”

 

She hadn’t even released her power yet.

Our kid is different, huh.

 

“Alright then.”

 

Even if she could move, Yoo Jian would have trouble using her ability properly. San Ihyeong’s ability wasn’t combat-oriented. And he needed to figure out what Jin and Teo could do.

 

Now that he knew verbal commands could work on S-ranks too.

 

Hwashin spread his arms wide on both sides. His smiling face was far from what you’d call a hero.

 

“First, let’s find out who our representative is.”

 

What is this? What are you?

 

***

 

How wonderful it would be if verbal commands were omnipotent.

 

Elric always thought that way.

 

Then maybe I could have saved you. No, maybe I could have saved all of you.

 

Now, then why wasn’t the verbal command omnipotent?

 

Cause and effect. Karma. Life. It was not simple to tamper with these things. Of course, Hwashin managed to do so effortlessly.

 

What were the limits? Even Hwashin wouldn’t know without trying them on someone. Especially in this body.

 

‘I can roughly see how well it might work, though.’

 

Hwashin flicked the thread visible before his eyes. He turned his gaze following the trajectory invisible to others. Maybe because they were S-rank, the threads were tangled in a mess.

 

“What are you planning to do?”

 

Jin, unable to contain his curiosity, asked first. Theo nodded as if to support the question. San Ihyeon looked around casually, then put her raised fist behind her back.

 

“Truth or lie.”

 

Hwashin smiled broadly.

 

“Let’s see who the representative is, shall we?”

 

Where were the limits of the verbal commands?

 

Would it be possible to ask an S-rank ‘Are you the representative?’ and get a straightforward answer?

 

If it worked here, things would become much easier.

 

Next time he met Freak, he could just ask who was behind it all, and he could quickly find spies within the Association too.

 

That is, if it works, of course.

 

The first one Hwashin set his eyes on was her.

 

“Jian.”

 

“…”

 

“Are you the representative of that team?”