Chapter 312: You Ruined My Face

Mae-hwa had already seen enough.

"Something’s wrong..." Erika muttered.

Mae-hwa’s smile widened.

The instant Erika noticed that smile, every instinct in her body screamed that the situation had changed. Mae-hwa was no longer simply observing their movements or testing the strange technology and runes within their masks. Whatever she had wanted to learn from the White Wolf Division, she had learned it.

Erika immediately raised her weapon.

"UNIT, STEP BACK!"

The White Wolf soldiers reacted quickly, breaking Formation A and retreating from Mae-hwa. Most obeyed without hesitation, but several women were still burning with anger after watching their comrades manipulated and forced to attack one another. Instead of withdrawing with the others, they hesitated, unwilling to give the demon even a single step of ground.

That hesitation was enough.

Mae-hwa lifted her folding fan.

"Oh, my..."

She rotated her wrist.

The movement looked almost harmless, but the air surrounding her suddenly twisted. A violent gust exploded outward before curving around Mae-hwa, rapidly accelerating until it became a raging tornado in the center of the plaza.

"MOVE!" Erika shouted.

The White Wolf soldiers closest to her reacted immediately. Wolf Mode enhanced their speed enough for several of them to leap backward before the wind could catch them, while Erika grabbed one nearby soldier and pulled her out of the expanding current.

Not everyone escaped.

Several women were lifted from the ground.

"What...?!"

One soldier tried to stab her weapon into the pavement, but the wind ripped her away before she could secure herself. Another attempted to activate the mechanism in her mask and propel herself outward, only for the tornado to drag her higher.

"Captain!"

"Hold on!"

Their bodies spun helplessly inside the violent current as they desperately tried to regain control. Wolf Mode gave them enhanced strength and speed, but there was nothing beneath their feet to push against. Every attempt to orient themselves only resulted in the wind dragging them around again.

Erika’s eyes widened.

"No..."

The tornado wasn’t only carrying her soldiers.

Everything around Mae-hwa was being pulled into it.

Broken pieces of concrete lifted from the plaza. Fragments of shattered windows, twisted pieces of metal, stones and debris from the ruined buildings were dragged into the rotating wind. They accelerated with every revolution, turning what had initially seemed like nothing more than a powerful tornado into something far more dangerous.

"Everyone, get farther back!" Erika ordered. "Don’t let it pull you in!"

The remaining White Wolf soldiers retreated, several shielding their faces as the wind battered them. They could hear their trapped comrades screaming from within the tornado, but approaching them was almost impossible. Every piece of debris circling inside had become a projectile.

Then Erika noticed Mae-hwa.

The Upper Blood Demon stood calmly within the center of the storm.

Her blonde hair and traditional Korean clothing moved gently around her, yet the violent wind never seemed to touch her directly. She remained perfectly safe within the eye of the tornado, watching the trapped soldiers revolve around her.

And she was smiling.

Mae-hwa slipped one hand inside the folds of her traditional clothing.

When it emerged, several thin needles rested between her fingers.

Erika’s expression changed immediately.

"Don’t—!"

Mae-hwa threw them.

The needles disappeared into the tornado.

Instead of being thrown away by the wind, they joined its rotation. The thin metal needles accelerated alongside the stones and broken glass, circling faster and faster until the trapped soldiers could barely see them.

The first needle struck.

A woman screamed as it tore through the fabric covering her shoulder. Another needle grazed a soldier’s cheek before disappearing back into the storm, only to circle around for another pass.

Mae-hwa calmly opened her fan again.

With another movement of her wrist, more debris rose from the street.

Fragments of glass joined the tornado.

Then pieces of metal.

Then stones.

Anything with a sharp edge or pointed surface was pulled into the rotating current.

Erika could only stare in horror as the nature of Mae-hwa’s attack became clear. The tornado itself wasn’t meant to kill them immediately. It trapped them, keeping their bodies helplessly suspended while every sharp object caught inside continuously revolved around them.

"Get them out!" Erika shouted. "Find a way to break the current!"

The White Wolf soldiers spread out, desperately searching for an opening, but the tornado was too violent to approach directly. One woman attempted to move closer and was nearly struck in the face by a piece of flying metal before July dragged her backward.

"Captain, we can’t get close!"

"I know!"

Another chorus of screams erupted from within.

The trapped soldiers desperately covered their faces with their arms, but they couldn’t protect everything. Needles and shards cut through their uniforms, struck exposed skin and became tangled in their hair. Some pieces narrowly missed their eyes only to strike their cheeks, ears or shoulders instead.

Mae-hwa continued watching.

Her expression remained almost peaceful.

That was what made Erika’s stomach twist.

There was no anger on Mae-hwa’s face. She wasn’t doing this because she had lost control of herself or because the White Wolf Division had enraged her.

She was enjoying it.

"STOP!"

Erika’s scream tore across the plaza.

"You demon! Stop it!"

Mae-hwa’s pink eyes shifted toward her.

The tornado continued rotating.

Blood from the trapped soldiers was caught by the wind and scattered through the current, gradually staining parts of the swirling storm red. Their screams carried across the ruined plaza, mixed with the roar of the wind and the constant clattering of debris.

Erika’s hands shook around her weapon.

She could see her people inside.

She could hear them.

Yet she couldn’t reach them.

"MAE-HWA!"

At the center of the tornado, completely untouched by the chaos surrounding her, Mae-hwa slowly raised her fan over the lower half of her face. Her pink eyes curved with amusement as she watched Erika standing beyond the raging wall of wind.

Erika’s eyes burned with rage.

Her soldiers were still trapped inside that storm. Their screams mixed with the roar of the wind, while broken glass, needles, stones and twisted pieces of metal continued circling around them. Every second Erika remained outside was another second her people suffered.

She had held herself back long enough.

Erika reached toward the side of her wolf mask and pressed the mechanism.

"Wolf Mode."

The crimson eyes of her mask immediately blazed brighter.

A powerful wave of energy rushed through Erika’s body as the faint markings hidden beneath her tactical armor began to glow. Her muscles tightened, her senses sharpened, and the world around her seemed to slow as Wolf Mode pushed her physical abilities far beyond their normal limits.

Erika drew her sword.

"Captain, wait!" July shouted from behind her. "You can’t go inside that!"

Erika didn’t even look back.

She ran.

Her first step cracked the pavement beneath her boot. Her second carried her directly toward the tornado, and just before the violent current could catch her, Erika pushed every bit of strength Wolf Mode gave her into her legs.

She jumped.

Her body shot upward.

Mae-hwa’s eyes widened slightly.

"Oh?"

Erika rose above the lower section of the tornado, reaching a height Mae-hwa clearly hadn’t expected from a human. For the first time since the battle began, genuine surprise appeared on the Upper Blood Demon’s face.

Erika twisted in the air and plunged directly into the storm.

The wind struck her immediately.

Her body was nearly thrown sideways as glass and debris rushed past her from every direction. Erika raised her sword to protect her face, allowing several smaller fragments to strike her armor while forcing herself downward through the rotating current.

Then she broke through.

Mae-hwa stepped backward.

Erika landed inside the eye of the tornado with enough force to crack the pavement beneath her boots.

For a moment, Captain Erika and Mae-hwa simply stared at one another.

Outside them, the tornado continued raging.

Inside, everything was strangely calm.

Mae-hwa slowly lowered her fan.

"Amazing."

There was genuine admiration in her voice.

"You really came inside."

Erika raised her sword.

Mae-hwa’s smile returned. "You’re brave, Captain. Very brave." She tilted her head slightly. "But you’re also a fool. You willingly jumped into my tornado just to reach me."

"Yes."

Erika adjusted her stance.

"I am a fool."

Mae-hwa blinked, apparently not expecting her to agree so easily.

Erika’s grip tightened.

"I was a fool for holding back until now."

Her mask’s crimson eyes burned brighter.

"But I’m not holding back anymore."

Mae-hwa stared at her for another second before a soft laugh escaped her.

"Well..." She opened her fan. "We’ll see."

Erika disappeared.

Mae-hwa’s eyes widened as Erika crossed the distance between them almost instantly.

The sword came for her throat.

Mae-hwa leaned backward, and the blade passed barely above her neck. Erika immediately changed direction, bringing the sword down toward Mae-hwa’s shoulder, but the folding fan snapped upward and caught the blade.

CLANG!

Metal screamed against metal.

Erika pushed forward.

Mae-hwa pushed back.

For the first time, Mae-hwa’s feet slid across the ground.

Her eyebrows rose.

"My, my. You’re stronger than you look."

"You talk too much."

Erika suddenly released the pressure, stepped to the side and slashed toward Mae-hwa’s stomach.

Mae-hwa twisted away.

The sword missed her clothes by centimeters.

Her fan immediately swept toward Erika’s neck.

Erika ducked.

A thin blade of compressed wind passed above her head and struck the tornado behind them, scattering several pieces of debris. Erika didn’t waste the opening. She drove her shoulder into Mae-hwa’s body and followed with an upward slash.

Mae-hwa blocked again.

Their weapons collided repeatedly.

Sword against fan.

Erika attacked from the left, Mae-hwa redirected it. Mae-hwa countered toward Erika’s throat, Erika twisted away. Erika thrust toward her chest, Mae-hwa stepped aside and struck toward Erika’s ribs.

Neither managed to land a clean blow.

The two women moved through the eye of the tornado at almost the same pace, their figures repeatedly crossing as the violent storm continued around them.

Outside, July stared through the shifting wall of wind.

She could barely follow them.

One moment Erika was attacking.

The next Mae-hwa was behind her.

Then Erika turned and forced Mae-hwa backward again.

Inside the tornado, Mae-hwa blocked another slash before smiling behind her fan.

"You’re quite good, Captain."

Erika attacked again.

"And you’re annoying."

Mae-hwa laughed as she stepped aside.

"Oh, come now. Is that really how you speak to someone who complimented you?"

"You’re torturing my soldiers."

Erika swung for her neck.

Mae-hwa blocked.

"You’ll forgive me if I’m not interested in your compliments."

Their weapons locked.

Mae-hwa’s pink eyes stared directly into the crimson lenses of Erika’s mask.

"Such a scary woman."

Erika pushed her away.

"Good."

Mae-hwa slid backward, then immediately rushed forward again. Her fan snapped shut as she used it like a short weapon, striking toward Erika’s face.

Erika blocked with her sword.

Mae-hwa attacked again.

Erika parried.

Their exchange accelerated.

Erika’s Wolf Mode allowed her to keep pace with Mae-hwa, while Mae-hwa’s movements were unnaturally graceful. Neither stayed still for more than a fraction of a second. Every missed attack immediately transformed into another, forcing the other to defend before finding an opportunity to counter.

Erika thrust her sword forward.

Mae-hwa moved her head aside.

The blade passed beside her cheek.

"Oh, that was close."

"Then stop dodging."

"But dodging is much prettier than bleeding."

Mae-hwa swept her fan upward.

Erika jumped backward as a blast of wind tore across the ground where she had been standing. Before she had even landed, Mae-hwa appeared beneath her.

Erika’s eyes widened.

The fan came toward her stomach.

Erika twisted her body in midair, barely avoiding the strike, and landed several meters away.

Mae-hwa smiled.

"You’re getting slower."

"You’re imagining things."

Erika charged again.

Their weapons collided.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Erika attacked from above, Mae-hwa blocked and redirected the sword toward the ground. Erika immediately used the momentum to spin, bringing the blade back toward Mae-hwa’s side.

Mae-hwa stepped away.

The sword missed.

Mae-hwa’s fan snapped open.

Erika immediately raised her sword defensively.

A violent gust struck her.

She slid several meters backward, boots scraping across the pavement, but Wolf Mode allowed her to remain standing.

Mae-hwa’s smile slowly faded.

She had expected Erika to be troublesome.

She hadn’t expected the human woman to keep matching her movements this closely.

Erika noticed the change in her expression.

"What happened?"

She raised her sword again.

"You’ve gotten quieter."

Mae-hwa’s eyes narrowed.

Then she smiled.

"Don’t become too confident, Captain."

She vanished forward.

Erika reacted instantly.

Their weapons collided with tremendous force.

CLANG!

Erika grunted.

Mae-hwa attacked again, suddenly faster than before.

Erika blocked the first strike.

Then the second.

The third forced her backward.

Mae-hwa rotated around her, fan striking repeatedly against the sword as Erika struggled to maintain her defense.

"You humans really are fascinating," Mae-hwa said between attacks. "You build these little toys, cover yourselves in strange runes, and suddenly you believe you can stand beside monsters."

Erika blocked another strike.

"At least our toys don’t need to hypnotize men to fight for us."

Mae-hwa’s smile twitched.

Erika saw it.

Got you.

She attacked.

Mae-hwa intercepted the blade.

The impact sent a sharp vibration through Erika’s hands.

Before Erika could pull the sword back, Mae-hwa’s fan rotated against its edge.

CRACK.

Erika’s eyes widened.

A fracture appeared across the blade.

Mae-hwa struck again.

CRACK!

The sword broke.

Half of the blade spun away into the tornado.

Erika stared at the broken weapon in her hand.

Mae-hwa smiled.

"Oh, dear."

She stepped forward.

"It seems your sword wasn’t nearly as impressive as your mask."

Mae-hwa raised her fan for the finishing strike.

Erika didn’t retreat.

Instead, she stepped closer.

Mae-hwa’s expression changed.

Erika released the broken sword.

A hidden mechanism activated beneath the gauntlet covering her other hand.

SHNK!

Metal claws extended from between her armored fingers.

Mae-hwa’s eyes widened.

"What..."

Erika swung.

Mae-hwa threw herself backward.

She was fast enough to avoid the full attack, but not fast enough to escape completely.

The metal claws passed across her cheek.

Mae-hwa landed several meters away.

Silence filled the eye of the tornado.

Erika remained crouched where she had attacked, one hand empty while the metallic claws remained extended from the other.

Mae-hwa slowly straightened.

Something warm moved down her cheek.

Her fingers rose toward her face.

When she pulled them away, there was blood on them.

Only a little.

The cut was small and shallow, barely more than a thin red line across her otherwise flawless skin.

But it was there.

Erika stood upright, breathing heavily beneath her mask.

Mae-hwa didn’t speak.

She simply stared at the blood on her fingertips.

For a woman known as the Beauty Slaughter, the wound was insignificant. It was nothing more than a shallow cut across her cheek, barely deep enough to leave a thin trail of blood.

But to Mae-hwa, it was intolerable.

Erika immediately noticed the change.

The playful amusement disappeared from Mae-hwa’s pink eyes. Her gentle smile vanished, and even the hand holding her fan became completely still. For the first time since she had appeared in Caldron City, there was nothing beautiful or graceful about the expression on her face.

There was only disbelief.

Around them, the raging tornado began to weaken.

The violent wind that had been tearing through the plaza gradually slowed as Mae-hwa’s concentration shifted entirely toward the blood on her fingers. Pieces of glass and debris fell from the air, crashing across the pavement, while the surviving White Wolf soldiers trapped within the storm were finally thrown free or dropped toward the ground.

Yet Erika didn’t feel relieved.

Something worse was happening.

A suffocating demonic pressure began spreading from Mae-hwa’s body.

Erika’s expression hardened beneath her wolf mask.

This pressure...

The pavement around Mae-hwa’s feet began trembling.

Her hand slowly rose toward her cheek again. Her fingertips touched the tiny wound, almost as though she still couldn’t believe it existed. When she pulled them away, another trace of blood stained her otherwise perfect fingers.

Mae-hwa’s hand began trembling.

"How dare you..."

Erika tightened her clawed hand.

Mae-hwa raised her head.

"How dare you...?"

The pressure exploded.

Cracks spread across the pavement beneath her feet like a spiderweb as her demonic energy surged outward. The remaining wind around the plaza violently scattered, forcing several White Wolf soldiers to shield themselves.

Mae-hwa’s face twisted with rage.

"You ruined my face."

Her voice trembled.

Erika stared at her.

The wound was tiny.

If anything, it would probably disappear completely once Mae-hwa regenerated. But that clearly didn’t matter. To someone who obsessed over beauty so deeply that she judged others for scars, imperfect eyes and ordinary skin, even a temporary wound across her own face seemed unbearable.

Mae-hwa touched the cut once more.

Then she screamed.

"HOW DARE YOU?!"

The sheer force behind her voice blasted through the plaza. Dust erupted from the ground as the existing cracks spread farther beneath her, and several nearby windows shattered under the sudden pressure.

"I’LL KILL YOU!"

Her beautiful features had completely lost their earlier composure.

"I’ll kill you! I’ll rip that face off your skull!"

Erika remained where she was.

Her sword was already broken, leaving only the metal claws extended from her gauntlet, but she refused to step backward. Her crimson mask stared directly into Mae-hwa’s furious pink eyes.

Then Erika gave the worst possible response.

"Try me, you ugly hag."

Silence.

Vice-Captain July’s eyes widened from several meters away.

Even the nearby White Wolf soldiers seemed to freeze.

Mae-hwa’s expression went blank.

"...Ugly?"

Erika immediately realized she’d struck exactly where she intended.

Mae-hwa’s demonic energy erupted.

"You filthy bitch!"

She launched herself forward.

This time there was no elegance.

There was no teasing, no deliberate observation and no attempt to study Erika’s Wolf Mode. Mae-hwa rushed straight toward her with enough force to crack the pavement where she had been standing.

Wind gathered around her body.

The remaining currents throughout the plaza were violently dragged toward Mae-hwa, condensing around her fan and arms. A massive gust formed behind her, twisting into a violent shape as she poured far more power into the attack than she had used during their previous exchange.

Erika could feel the difference immediately.

She’s coming with everything.

Her eyes moved briefly toward the broken sword lying several meters away.

Too far.

And the weapon was useless anyway.

"I need another sword!"

July reacted instantly.

She pulled the sword from her own side.

"Captain!"

Erika turned.

"Here!"

July threw it.

The sword spun through the air.

Erika caught the hilt with one hand.

The moment her fingers closed around it, she turned back toward Mae-hwa. The Upper Blood Demon was already approaching, surrounded by a raging mass of wind powerful enough to tear debris from the surrounding buildings.

Erika brought July’s sword in front of herself.

Then her thumb pressed another mechanism on the side of her wolf mask.

"Alpha Mode."

The mask responded.

The crimson glow inside its eyes intensified until it looked almost alive. The rune-like markings beneath Erika’s armor lit up one after another, spreading across her equipment as the technology inside the suit began forcing even more energy through her body.

A mechanical warning sounded inside her mask.

Erika ignored it.

"Maximum output."

Her muscles tightened painfully.

The energy flowing through her equipment surged beyond normal Wolf Mode parameters, and the pavement beneath her boots began cracking under the pressure.

"Eighty percent."

July’s expression changed.

"Captain...!"

Erika lowered her body and gripped the sword with both hands.

"Full-power burst."

The system released its stored energy.

BOOM!

The ground beneath Erika exploded.

She shot forward.

At the same moment, Mae-hwa swung her fan.

A violent wave of wind gathered around her as she charged from the opposite direction, her pink eyes filled with murderous rage while the thin cut across her cheek continued bleeding.

Erika’s crimson mask burned brightly.

Mae-hwa’s demonic pressure flooded the plaza.

Neither slowed down.

Sword and fan drew closer as the two women rushed directly toward one another, their combined pressure tearing through the ruined street before their weapons had even met.

And then....

To Be Continued...