One of the bullied walked slowly backward, clearly terrified. He tried to open the door that had closed on its own. However, some force kept the door from opening. No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t budge.

“H-hey? Why the fuck is this thing not opening?!”

Bang, bang, bang!

He pushed, pulled, and even banged on the door, but it didn't move. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Willow watched quietly, and Park Seo-Hyung chuckled, sneering out, “You did that, you little rascal?”

“Watch your mouth.”

“You want me to talk politely to you then? You little bitch?” He swaggered closer, hands in his pockets, and looked down at her.

She grinned, looking up at him. “How about screaming your lungs out for help?”

“Haha! This crazy bit—”

Smack!!

The moment he pulled his hand out of his pocket to slap her in a surprise attack, his head snapped to the side, and his body spun three or four times midair before slamming to the ground.

“Ah... AHHH!! You fucking bitch! Did you just hit me?!”

If he had been a little more level-headed, he would’ve noticed the gravity of the situation. However, Park Seo-Hyung, blinded by rage, couldn't see past his fury.

His group members tried to stop him as he slowly propped up and prepared to charge again.

“S-Seo-Hyung! Something's not right!”

“Fuck!!! Where the hell did that bitch even pop out from?!”

Only then did they realize that Willow had suddenly appeared right next to them.

“Yo! Don't be such chickens! Why are you scared of a tiny ass girl!” Seo-Hyung angrily asked them.

They hesitated. “Well, the thing is...”

“Who do you think you'll be seeing longer, me or her? Choose wisely if you don't want to end up dead.”

The boys who followed him trembled and exchanged nervous glances.

“What are you waiting for?” Willow asked, goading them. “Bring it.”

When she challenged them, one of the boys lunged with the wooden plank he was holding.

“Aaaah!”

Crack!!

Yet, the moment the plank came close to Willow, it disintegrated on its own, shattering into dozens of pieces.

The boys backed away in shock, but she was faster.

She moved her small, white hand lightly. It didn't look fast, but it struck with precision.

“Aaaah!”

“Uuughhh!”

Every time her hand moved, their bodies twisted sharply and slammed into the floor.

Swoosh!!

At that moment, while she was distracted by the other boys, a blade suddenly shot toward her face in a sneak attack, stopping midair inches away.

Seo-Hyung barked from afar, “Fucking bitch! Take one more step, and I’ll fuck up your face.”

“And you think you can?”

“You don’t think I can? You don't know what a huge crime it is for an Awakened like you to threaten a civilian like me, do you? You're so screwed, you bitch!”

While he screamed his head off, she simply smiled sweetly at him. She found it pretty funny for an Awakened individual to say such a thing.

“D-don't come closer, you crazy bitch! I warned you to stay away!”

“Go on. Do it.”

She confidently pushed him back, and Park Seo-Hyung instantly became flustered.

With every step she took, he backed away. He was eventually driven to the edge of the rooftop.

“Stay back... Stay back!”

“Do you even know who I am?” she asked with a smirk.

“No... I don’t know, you son of a—Mmfff!!!”

“If you don't, I have no reason to listen to you.” She smiled sweetly and slowly reached out her hand.

He screamed through his sealed mouth and wildly swung the knife.

However—

Clang!!

The knife shattered completely and scattered before it even reached her.

When she placed her hand on his chest, she felt how violently he was trembling. Moments later, his eyes snapped open, and he froze in fear.

“You write some funny stuff online, don't you?”

He couldn’t even muster a response.

“You see... I see a lot of things. Call it the emotions of the person writing, or maybe malice. Whatever it is, I can see things humans can't.” Smiling sweetly, she lightly pushed his chest. “I’ll ask one last time. Do you really not know who I am?”

Hearing her question, his body trembled again.

Then, the perception interference she had placed fluttered away, and his eyes widened.

“Looks like you finally figured out who I am. You pretended not to know, but knew from the start. Isn’t that right? If you lie from now on, I’ll throw you straight into hell.”

He was speechless.

“Don’t think I can’t do it. Go ahead, take a look behind you.”

He turned his trembling head to look over the railing. Instantly, he screamed, eyes bulging.

The view beneath the railing was quite literally a fiery pit of hell. Distorted figures screamed, trying to crawl out of the fiery abyss, but arms of fire stretched out from the pit, dragging them back into the scorching hell.

Willow called out to Park Dong-Soo, who was on the ground, “Hey, you there.”

He flinched, thinking he’d end up like Park Seo-Hyung.

“You prayed, didn't you? Asking how a world with a god could be so wretched, and wishing for it to be utterly ruined.”

“T-that's...”

The pressure she released was overwhelming, a presence that dared no one to resist.

“Congratulations! Today is the day you witness righteous divine punishment in action.”

Thump!

“Ugh. Uuughh?! Aaaahhh!” Park Seo-Hyung let out a rough scream as the seal on his mouth broke.

Willow had lightly shoved him, tossing him into the bottom of hell.

Watching him fall below the railing, she turned her head, and the others who had been groaning on the ground scrambled and sprang up.

They immediately bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.

“P-please spare us!”

“We’re sorry! We won't do it again!”

Who she really was didn’t matter to them. Overwhelming fear consumed them, screaming that if they didn’t beg right now, they might end up in hell like Park Seo-Hyung.

She approached the trembling boys and spoke with an indifferent face, “Go on, tell me. What do you wish from a god, young man? Do you want these guys thrown into the bottom of hell too?”

Park Dong-Soo struggled to hold his trembling hands together. He looked up at Willow, but quickly lowered his head. “That...”

“Don’t forget, the weight of a life is heavy. The divine punishment you speak of is terrifyingly grave,” she said in a calm voice.

Then she clapped her hands, and the fiery surroundings completely vanished.

The unconscious Park Seo-Hyung materialized mid-air and dropped to the ground with a thud.

“After you die, the life you lived and all the things you harassed without reason will all become your karma.”

‘If you don't want that? The only way is to become transcendental.’

Of course, Willow didn't mention that part.

“You'll forget all the memories you saw today. However,” she began, her voice suddenly turning chilly. “Take solace in the fact that it’ll be deeply imprinted on the very core of your soul. You can never do such things again.”

With those words, the boys who were still conscious all collapsed.

The only one left was Park Dong-Soo.

“This guy is an Awakened, isn't he? Neltarid isn't in their right mind, giving power to a guy like this.”

Of course, Neltarid creating Awakened individuals was, in a way, just imitating the authority Willow now possessed.

“Consider yourself fired, asshole.” With that, she lightly waved her hand, and the power of suppression seeped into Park Seo-Hyung.

The Awakened power bestowed upon him was soon completely compressed and scattered until it was completely absent

“W-what about me...?”Dong-Soo nervously asked.

“I won't erase your memories,” she said calmly. “I only planned to punish that guy, but I heard your prayer on the way here and figured I’d go the extra mile. Still, do think carefully about what you wish for.”

She then put on a beautiful smile. “It wouldn't be fair if you couldn't remember your revenge, would it?”

She reached out and gently stroked his head, then lightly clapped her hands.

He just watched her in a daze, trying to process everything that had happened.

A dazzling light abruptly spread across his body.

“Congratulations! You’ve now become an Awakened. Don't go around getting beaten up anymore.”

His eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened to him. All Willow did was force the blossoming of the latent Awakened talent within him by making it run wild, but Park Dong-Soo had no way of knowing that.

“Be a good son to your parents.”

He didn’t know what to say.

“Oh, and you better not mention me to anyone. Consider that the price for answering your prayer.” Having said her piece, she slowly vanished like scattering light.

Park Dong-Soo dwelled on her words for a long time, staring blankly at the spot where she disappeared for a long time.

* * *

Even once a few days had passed, the thugs who had bullied Park Dong-Soo, including Park Seo-Hyung, still didn't remember the incident at all.

However, they became extremely averse to bullying anyone, as if the mere thought of doing so terrified them. Among those in the group, Park Seo-Hyung showed the worst symptoms.

He was most often holed up in his room in self-imposed exile, trembling and clutching the symbol of the Church of Neltarid, continuously begging for forgiveness.

It was most likely that he would live the rest of his life begging like that. It was the aftermath of the imprint carved deep into his soul—something that was akin to divine punishment, yet wasn't quite the same.

Willow, the cause of it all, sat in front of her computer and took a short breath. She clicked the mouse and adjusted the camera angle.

“Nice to meet... you all. Let's see how many people... Woaaah! Why are there so many...”

The viewer count was close to five thousand. It was a figure utterly unbelievable for someone’s first stream.

As she mumbled to herself with a forced smile, the chat exploded.