Chapter 15 Finally Some Action Part 7
You are merely a momentary blip in the grand scheme of things.
...
Zeke had seen the Minotaur raging towards his friends. He was behind the Minotaur as it charged toward his friends, and the distance between them stretched like an impossible chasm.
He knew he had to stop the Minotaur—it would kill his friends, and that was unacceptable.
So he moved, but at the end of the day, his stats held him back. As immortal as he was, he didn't have infinite stamina—though it did help him conserve stamina better, he was burnt out from the fight. He had used up his abilities, healed from hits that would kill a normal man—though his immortality did not depend on any energy source—and his mental and physical energy were low.
His dopamine levels hit a low he'd always experienced, and looking at the distance, he felt nothing.
He had no energy or motivation to feel anything.
At the end of the day, he was immortal.
They would die anyway, leaving him alone, so what did it matter if they died now or later? The thought was cold and logical.
He couldn't stop this one—he definitely couldn't stop the nature of mortality.
And as for the system, why would he care about its mission? For all he knew, it had orchestrated this incident to mess up his slice of life.
After this incident, his semi-normal life would definitely not be the same.
But since it was already set in stone, why shouldn't he fight against it? Since he wanted to fight against it, why shouldn't he fight against the death of his brothers?
No, they wouldn't die—not while he was alive. And trust him, he was immortal.
He stomped his foot against the concrete as he had done many times since he'd copied this ability, but this time it was to save his friends, not to hurt a beast.
Boom.
He pushed forward, the familiar surge of power coursing through his legs.
Again.
Boom.
He used up the last of his mana for a final burst, feeling the magical energy drain from him like water from a broken dam.
{You do know you have mana potions in your inventory, right? Not high-ranked, but at least D-ranked mana potions.} Zero chatted with almost no emotion at the almost tragic scene, his digital voice carrying its usual casual indifference.
With no time to care about his attitude, Zeke summoned two mana potions and drank them, the bitter liquid burning as it went down his throat. But being low-rated potions, they still needed time to refill his mana.
'ZERO!!'
He bellowed internally, the Minotaur already looming in front of the trio. Aaron had stepped in front of Kai and Jude, his stance protective despite the hopelessness of the situation, ready to shield them with his own body if necessary.
The potion couldn't even refill enough mana quickly enough for a quick burst.
'No!'
{You should have faith in your friends more.}
{But what use is faith in front of power?}
{You shouldn't worry too much—they were merely a momentary blip in the grand scheme of things.}
Zero quoted Madara's lines back to back with no remorse, his digital voice maintaining its infuriating calm.
In that moment, pure lightning rained down from the sky, striking the Minotaur with a deafening blast that scorched the cracked pavement. The beast staggered, its massive frame shuddering under the electric onslaught, dark blood steaming where the bolts seared its hide. The smell of ozone and burnt flesh filled the air, sharp and acrid.
"Get away from my brother, you vermin," a cool, calm voice spoke, laced with controlled anger that could entrap mere mortals with its sweet, commanding cadence.
Seo Yeon Min descended from the sky, surrounded by a shimmering aura of cryogenic plasma that sparkled with electric arcs and frosty mist. Her lean, wiry frame moved with relentless precision, her light tan skin glowing faintly with a frosty sheen that seemed to emanate cold even from a distance. Shoulder-length jet-black hair, tipped with electric blue sparks that crackled and danced, whipped around her sharp, angular face. Her hazel eyes flickered violet with unyielding focus, pupils dilated with the rush of combat.
Thin, translucent ice wings, veined with crackling lightning, sprouted from her back, their jagged edges humming with barely contained energy as she glided down. The wings left trails of frost and static in the air, creating a beautiful but deadly aurora that followed her descent.
Her worn black trench coat, frayed at the hems and bearing the scars of countless battles, billowed like a storm cloud, barely concealing a practical gray hoodie and cargo pants. Scuffed combat boots thudded softly as she landed, the sound muffled by the ice that formed beneath her feet. Her hands crackled with faint electricity, blue sparks dancing between her fingers like tame lightning.
Despite her somewhat unkempt appearance, Seo Yeon's presence was paradoxical—socially awkward yet magnetic. Maybe electric, quite literally.
Her eyes locked onto the Minotaur, a subtle smirk betraying her serious tone, as if she'd already calculated ten different ways to dismantle the beast and was simply choosing which would be most entertaining.
As she landed, she turned to Kai, her expression shifting from predatory focus to sisterly exasperation. "You fool, don't you have better things to do than fight a monster you can't beat?"
She slapped the back of his head with the practiced ease of someone who'd done this many times before.
"Sis?! Woah, Sis!" Kai dove into a hug, fake crying and clinging to her like a lifeline. The relief in his voice was palpable, the fear he'd been holding back finally finding an outlet.
She pushed him away with a grunt of annoyance, though her eyes held warmth. He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Ouch. That hurt, though," he complained about the slap, his voice carrying the familiar whine of a younger sibling.
"You wish," she replied, raising her hand threateningly, electricity crackling between her fingers in a way that was more show than genuine threat.
"Hello, sis," Jude and Aaron greeted her in unison, their voices carrying the respect and familiarity of long acquaintance.
"Mm," she answered, turning around to face the Minotaur that had fallen to its knees. The beast looked around desperately, its primitive mind recognizing the shift in power dynamics. It got up, attempting to run, its massive frame moving with surprising speed for something so large.
With the new addition and its current condition, it definitely wouldn't survive, and the creature's instincts were screaming at it to flee.
Seeing the beast attempt to escape, Seo Yeon's posture changed. She had already been ready to attack, but now she charged her attack with the focus of someone who'd done this dance many times before.
Surprisingly, the beast actually managed to flee—for about three seconds.
"..." × 6
As she prepared to attack, she caught sight of Zeke in the corner of her eye, walking nonchalantly with his hand over his head, as if the entire life-or-death situation was just another Tuesday.
"Who's that?" she asked, not stopping her attack preparation, electricity building around her like a gathering storm.
The trio looked to see Zeke walking towards them, his casual demeanor almost surreal given the circumstances.
"Oh, sis, that's Zeke—" Kai began to chatter, but before he could finish his introduction, Seo Yeon had summoned a lightning bolt that thundered more powerfully than the last. With surgical precision, she removed the Minotaur from existence, the creature's form dissolving into ash and scattered particles that drifted away on the wind.
….
'Zero, I'll kill you myself,' Zeke said to Zero mentally after Zero had quoted Madara, his internal voice carrying genuine irritation.
BOOM!
His head snapped upward toward where the lightning had come from, and there he saw Seo Yeon Min descending like some avenging angel wrapped in electricity and ice.
{Hahaha, you should have seen the look on your face!}
{I did take a picture. Hahaha!}
{You got saved by a girl!}
{Zero, I'll kill you! Hahaha!}
Zero said, laughing in his digital voice, the sound grating against Zeke's already frayed nerves.
'I said I'll kill you myself, and I have no problem with being saved by a girl,' Zeke said with a deadpan expression, his mental voice flat with exhaustion. 'Did you do this?'
{Of course. From the moment the axe had flown in, I called Kai's sister. Did you know she was a genius? Hehe.}
'Haha, so funny. LMAO, LOL,' he said without entertaining the prank, beginning to walk towards them with the resigned pace of someone who'd just had their dramatic moment undercut.
That was when he noticed the Minotaur's movement, his body tensing as he prepared to sprint forward if the creature proved difficult for the newcomer to handle.
But the Minotaur… ran.
"..." × 6
{The Minotaur gauges battle strength better than you do.}
'He ran because I was coming close—my aura drives off Minotaurs,' Zeke replied, though his tone suggested he didn't believe his own words.
He continued walking towards them, this time with his hands behind his head, clearly not believing his own lies but maintaining the facade anyway.
Then she looked over, making brief eye contact.
Then.
BOOM!
The Minotaur ceased to exist.
'She's strong, and there goes Jude's chance of utilizing his trait,' he thought, though he had to admit he was impressed despite himself.
…
"Yo," Zeke greeted the trio as he reached them, walking past Seo Yeon with deliberate casualness, though he was acutely aware of her presence.
"You guys almost died, weaklings. The most scared out of you will have to watch Boku no Pico," he said, his voice carrying the teasing tone of someone who hadn't just fought a life and death battle.
Well, for him, there was no death involved.
"Hehe," Kai smiled, clearly confident he definitely wasn't the most scared, though his trembling hands suggested otherwise.
Jude, noticing the way Zeke had ignored Seo Yeon, smiled knowingly. Zeke always did that when he met anybody for the first time—a defense mechanism disguised as indifference.
And heck, so did Seo Yeon, he realized, watching her own carefully neutral expression.
They hadn't talked, but he'd already shipped them in his mind. Two powerhouses of the same age—peak slice of life material. Zeke would love this, if he'd admit it.
…
(Status window)
Name: Seo-Yeon Min
Age: 22
Race: Human
Rank:A Rank
…
STATS
Strength: A(623)
Agility: A(790)
Endurance: A(725)
Perception: A(755)
Magic Power: SS(1365)
…
INNATE ABILITY
Cyro-Volt Dominion(SSS Rank)
Effect: Manipulates electrified ice, cryogenic plasma, or lightning-infused frost. Enables lightning-charged ice attacks, electrified barriers, flash-freezing storms, and flight via electromagnetic propulsion and ice wings.
Flight Mechanics: Uses cryogenic plasma fields for lift, lightning's electromagnetic forces for propulsion, and ice constructs for stability, as detailed previously.
…
SKILLS
Tactical Analysis (S-rank): Enhances your ability to predict enemy moves and optimize ability usage, reflecting her intelligence.
Combat Reflexes (A-rank): Boosts your reaction speed.
….
TRAITS
Genius (SS Rank)
What do you think?
Increased Capacity (S Rank)
Increases Mana power stats by 800
…
{Remark: 2/4, Lucky you, you meet a dominant boss Lady}