Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

The bright ceiling suddenly darkened.

 

Near the head of the approaching shadow, a long, thin line appeared. The elongated arc that suddenly tore open instantly transformed into an enormous mouth. Between the parted lips, a black liquid stretched vertically.

 

The giant shadow covering the ceiling fell directly onto Hwashin.

 

‘That looks dangerous. It’s too big to dodge.’

 

Hwashin stood still in the same spot.

 

He blinked his eyelids slowly. As if time flowed more slowly only around him.

 

His eyes, flickering with light, stared at the shadow. Reading the intertwined karma. He felt the sensation of pulling and twisting one of the tangled threads. The shadow’s shape suddenly twisted oddly. Then he spoke.

 

“Stop.”

 

At that deep resonance, the shadow’s furious charge slowed abruptly.

 

“Shadow! What are you doing?!”

 

Even though the flustered Go Youngwoo shouted at the top of his lungs for it to move immediately, it was useless. Go Youngwoo clicked his tongue shortly, seemingly bothered by the murmuring audience.

 

In fact, the one who was really surprised was Hwashin.

 

‘I stopped it without thinking.’

 

No, no. Rather, this was a good opportunity. Wouldn’t it be fine to show just this much of his ability?

 

With this flash of inspiration, Hwasin’s eyes gleamed once again.

 

He finally decided on his ability.

 

Hwashin, with curved eyes, skimmed over the muscle man’s face once more.

 

– Number 2-1!

 

It was worth manipulating karma to get a match with him.

 

In his previous life, Elric, now Hwashin, was a person with clear preferences. His likes and dislikes were so distinct that his attitude towards people he disliked was evident. This hadn’t changed.

 

This muscle man, Goyoung, was a person he disliked.

 

Now that he had decided on his abilities, his worries were over.

 

“It’s time to scold the naughty kid.”

 

A joyful smile spread across Hwashin’s face.

 

***

 

Go Youngwoo yelled at the insolent shadow. Why did he have to suffer such humiliation when he was up against an F-rank of all people!?

 

“Hit him! You damn shadow bastard!”

 

Wow, such beautiful language.

 

Hwashin subtly flicked his finger inside his pocket to release the spell. As soon as the spell was lifted, the shadow punched Hwashin in the cheek. Hwashin flew like dust on the street and rolled across the arena floor.

 

“Haha! That’s it!”

 

But the joy was short-lived. The shadow stopped obeying again. It transformed into various shapes, then suddenly became a long pillar that shot up into the sky. Even Go Youngwoo found it hard to keep up with the speed. The shadow had never moved that fast, even under his control. What was going on? What was happening?

 

“Uh.”

 

Through the slightly parted lips of Go Youngwoo’s now pale face.

 

The shadow didn’t miss the chance and was sucked into his mouth. The shadow filled his mouth, and the part that couldn’t fit turned into black liquid, staining the area around his mouth. It was an utterly filthy sight. Some people even turned their heads away in disgust.

 

Gugh-hugh-.”

 

Sitting on the ground, Hwashin shouted loud enough for the audience to hear, almost as if he had been waiting for this moment.

 

“My goodness! How could this happen!?”

 

It was terrible acting, but the heroes were more focused on Go Youngwoo eating the shadow than on Hwashin’s voice. Hwashin pushed his acting even further. It was the perfect place to show off the acting he had practiced alone for 200 years.

 

“An A-rank being devoured by his own ability! Isn’t this an extremely dangerous situation?”

 

In reality, Goyoungwoo wasn’t being devoured; Hwashin had manipulated the karma to make it look like he was being devoured.

 

But who cared anyway? Right now, the goal was to grab people’s attention.

 

Hwasin’s dramatic acting continued relentlessly.

 

“What happens when you eat a shadow? D-Don’t tell me!”

 

“Kyaaaa-!”

 

His flashy overacting was paired with sensational remarks.

 

“He will turn—!”

 

Go Youngwoo’s stomach, having swallowed the shadow, gradually swelled up. He rolled on the ground, clutching his stomach as if he desperately needed to use the bathroom.

 

It was a satisfying sight.

 

Hwashin, who had been smiling contentedly, quickly changed his expression and turned his gaze to the staff member. The staff member, also surprised by the unexpected situation, was making a phone call to somewhere. While the call continued, Hwashin started his mind control.

 

I am a flustered F-rank, an F-rank who’s been too lucky.

 

As soon as the call ended, Hwashin raised his hand to call him.

 

“Audit Department staff, is it possible to continue the match?”

 

“Huh? Ah, yes. Well.”

 

There were many ways to handle Go Youngwoo, but Hwashin chose to make him swallow the shadow and suffer a stomachache for a simple reason.

 

‘He aimed for my stomach earlier.’

 

It was annoying. He wanted to add another embarrassing moment to Go Youngwoo’s past as a penalty for his insolence.

 

While Hwashin was picking his ear, the Audit Department staff finally declared Hwashin’s victory. A devilish smile spread across his face. Hwashin jumped up and greeted Mueum first.

 

***

 

Ha Cheongwon, who had been watching the match from an entrance between the audience seats, rushed out and grabbed the railing. Using the shadow against an F-rank could potentially be fatal.

 

He had heard that killing was prohibited in this match. Ha Cheongwon’s pale hands finally relaxed their grip when he saw what happened next.

 

The shadow eventually succeeded in hitting Yoo Hwashin once. That was all. In the end, the shadow was sucked into Go Youngwoo’s mouth as he failed to control his ability.

 

Occasionally, such incidents occurred when heroes couldn’t control their powers.

 

However, a hero’s ability didn’t have a lethal effect on themselves. Just as Cha Jaeha, who used fire, didn’t get burned, Go Youngwoo’s shadow would eventually be expelled from his body somehow.

 

As the unpleasant imagination continued, Ha Cheongwon quickly shook his head.

 

Anyway, since one side was unable to continue, the match was Yoo Hwashin’s victory.

 

Yu Hwashin was lucky. …Or so it seemed.

 

But Ha Cheongwon, having experienced the previous incident, couldn’t possibly think that way. Was it really just luck?

 

[Smile!]

 

[If you don’t want me to die, come and watch me later.]

 

….That strange confidence.

 

Hwashin was an F-rank. His mana was also F-rank, and he had no discovered abilities. Yet, the composure he had shown was baffling.

 

Ha Cheongwon gripped the railing tightly again. Yes, it wasn’t his imagination that his mouth had curled up on its own that day. Hwashin must have used that ability today too. There was no other explanation for this situation.

 

Ha Cheongwon watched Hwashin jumping around, celebrating his victory.

 

“Mueum! I’m done! No, Mr. Mueum. I am done, sir!”

 

As soon as the match ended, he waved at Mueum, who was sitting quietly in the front row. However, Jung Mueum, like Ha Cheongwon, couldn’t smile.

 

[He’s weak.]

 

The man who had said those words actually won. Was he lucky? Sure, that could be the case. But there must be a reason why that person showed such confidence. In fact, even before this series of events, he had cleanly dodged all of Go Youngwoo’s attacks.

 

‘…Really, what a strange man.’

 

***

 

Hwashin left the arena before the next match was even determined.

 

“Hmm-hmm-hmm.”

 

A hum naturally escaped his lips. He had won the match and had a rough plan for how to join the SH1 unit.

 

‘My ability… mana manipulation. That should be enough, right? Awakened abilities are related to mana, and even more so for monsters.’

 

It would also make a good cover.

 

He must be a real genius. How did he come up with this idea?

 

Moreover, it would be easy to explain why he was initially rated as an F-rank later on.

 

In novels, abilities related to illusions, mental manipulation, and control were often misclassified. S-rank hero Jin was a prime example.

 

‘For the second match, I’ll act like I can finally use that ability properly.’

 

“I, am, a, ge, nius~”

 

As Hwashin cheerfully climbed the stairs, he bumped into a familiar face. Looking up, he saw the face of that staff member from before.

 

“Oh! Our staff member, did you come to watch me?”

 

“…You.”

 

The man’s state was clearly unusual. His face was pale, and cold sweat was dripping from his forehead. As if he’d seen a ghost.

 

Why were his hands shaking so much?

 

“What exactly are you?”

 

“…Huh?”

 

Ha Cheongwon grabbed both of Hwashin’s shoulders. A grinding sound came from his clenched teeth. The sound was loud enough to be heard from here, so he must have been grinding them hard. He’d lose all his teeth when he got older if he kept that up. Goodness, if he didn’t take care of his teeth when he was young, it would be hard on him later.

 

Ha Cheongwon shouted with a trembling voice.

 

Rather than threatening, it sounded more like he was the one who was scared.

 

“You were supposed to lose! …That was the future!”

 

The future?

 

“I clearly saw you losing with my ability.”

 

What did he see with his ability? The future? Hwashin’s mind raced at Ha Cheongwon’s muttering. At this point in Korea, if there was someone with foresight abilities…

 

Now that he thought about it, there were six waiting rooms. Each room had one S-rank hero, so there were six S-ranks in total.

 

However, the SH unit was supposed to include an A-rank hero with foresight abilities. Since it was an A-rank, he thought the A-rank must be among those in the rooms.

 

“Heh.”

Guess not. A smile spread across Yoo Hwashin’s face.

 

At that moment, Ha Cheongwon was bewildered. He considered his foresight ability, even if it was B-rank, to be practically useless.

 

[Skill: 30-Second Foresight (B) (You can see 30 seconds into the future.) (Potential for rank-up)

 

Note: Mastery of the ability is lacking. As foresight is a mental ability, the activation conditions and range can change with personal growth, necessitating regular check-ups.]

 

Only 30 seconds. Moreover, his control was poor, so he didn’t know when or what future he would see.

 

Yet, this time he had seen it clearly. The scene of Hwashin losing.

 

The future he saw as soon as he entered the arena was—Yoo Hwasin fainting after being swallowed by the shadow, and Go Youngwoo laughing boisterously.

 

But what was the ‘present’ unfolding before his eyes?

 

It was Go Youngwoo who collapsed, and Yoo Hwasin was fine. The future had changed.

 

He was confused. Could the future change so easily? His pupils shook. His expression hardened. He couldn’t figure out what to say first.

 

Hwashin approached the bewildered Cheongwon closely and flipped over the employee ID in his breast pocket.

 

With a clatter, the staff ID swung down on its lanyard, revealing the words.

 

‘…Management Department, Ha Cheongwon, B-rank.’

 

…Seeing the name confirmed it.

 

“Mr. Ha Cheongwon?”

 

‘The hero with foresight abilities, Ha Cheongwon.’

 

This man would become an A-rank hero with foresight abilities, belonging to the SH2 unit.