1. Raon vs. Fame (A Losing Battle)
Three days after beating Discordia Beatmare, Raon was officially a Rank B hero — which, according to Shion, meant absolutely nothing except more forms to sign.
Still, the city loved her.
Her face was everywhere: snack wrappers, shampoo bottles, even toilet paper with the tagline —
> "Flush your fears with One Kick Strength!"
Raon stared blankly at a commercial billboard looping her kicking a toilet monster.
> "I didn't agree to that."
"You signed it," Shion replied, flipping through a digital contract.
"I signed a napkin."
"It counted."
Raon sighed.
> "Heroes used to fight villains. Now we fight sponsorship clauses."
---
2. The Hero Bureau Press Conference
The Bureau held a press event to "celebrate" her success — which mostly meant pretending they were in control of her chaos.
Banners read:
> "ONE KICK, ONE FUTURE!"
"RAON — THE LEADING FOOT OF JUSTICE."
Raon stood stiffly on stage next to Shion and several top heroes: Baron Silence, Synthra Byte, and Manager Kimchi (yes, that was his real code name).
Baron Silence, a tall man in a tuxedo who never spoke, just stared at Raon intensely.
Synthra Byte — a cybernetic pop idol hero with glowing headphones — smiled too brightly.
> "It's so nice to finally meet the girl who breaks sound barriers and contracts!"
Raon replied flatly,
> "Cool. Do you get health insurance here, or is that still a myth?"
A murmur went through the crowd.
Shion leaned in, whispering through gritted teeth,
> "Smile. You're live."
Raon blinked once, slowly. That was her version of smiling.
Then a journalist raised his mic.
> "One Kick Girl, what drives you to keep fighting?"
Raon thought for a long time.
> "Honestly? Ramen discounts."
The room exploded with flashes.
Shion facepalmed so hard it echoed.
---
3. The Static in the Sky
That night, Metrosonic's sky glitched.
Not like clouds — literally glitched.
Pixels flickered. Neon signs froze mid-animation. Drones dropped from the air like confused pigeons.
Shion's tablet went haywire.
> "The city network's been hacked. Source unknown. Someone's overriding all Aether frequencies."
Raon sipped instant ramen calmly.
> "So another weirdo villain?"
"No. This is different. Look."
On every holographic screen across the city, a single symbol appeared — a spiral made of sound waves, pulsing in rhythm with Raon's heartbeat.
Then a distorted voice spoke:
> "ONE KICK GIRL. YOU THINK YOUR POWER ENDS THINGS. BUT EVERY IMPACT CREATES AN ECHO."
Raon squinted.
> "...That sounds like a bad album intro."
The voice continued.
> "I am Echo. You've shattered balance. Every time you kick, you send ripples through the fabric of resonance. Soon, the world will break with you."
The broadcast ended. The city fell silent.
Shion looked horrified.
Raon looked bored.
> "So… what you're saying is, I kicked the universe too hard?"
"Yes. Somehow, yes."
"Cool. Do we still get paid?"
---
4. The Echo Incident
The next morning, strange reports flooded the Bureau:
Streetlights flickering in sync with heartbeat sounds.
Buildings humming with inaudible bass.
Civilians spontaneously levitating when someone sneezed.
Raon and Shion were called in for "urgent field assessment."
Manager Kimchi briefed them over hologram.
> "We've detected resonant anomalies all over Metrosonic. Some form of reverse frequency feedback."
Raon blinked.
> "In English?"
"Stuff's floating and we don't know why."
"Ah. Got it."
The Bureau Chief interrupted, sweating.
> "We believe it's connected to your… kicking energy signature."
Raon looked offended.
> "Hey, I always kick responsibly."
"You kicked a villain through six districts last week!"
"She lived."
"Barely!"
Shion stepped forward.
> "Permission to investigate Echo directly."
The Chief hesitated.
> "Denied. It's too dangerous."
Raon stood.
> "We'll take that as a yes."
They left before he could finish protesting.
---
5. Operation: Find the Echo
Deep below Metrosonic, Shion traced signal anomalies through the city's resonance core — a massive underground chamber powering every Aether device.
Lights flickered as they descended.
> "Readings are unstable," Shion said. "It's like someone's rewriting the city's vibration field."
"That sounds expensive," Raon muttered.
At the center stood a strange figure — translucent, flickering between human and hologram form.
> "You shouldn't have come here," it said. "You're the source of the imbalance."
Raon stepped forward.
> "You talk too much for an echo."
The figure's eyes glowed.
> "You call yourself 'One Kick Girl.' But what happens when your kick doesn't end things—"
He raised his hand.
A blast of compressed resonance energy shot forward, matching the frequency of Raon's previous kicks.
For the first time ever —
Raon blocked, and felt resistance.
Her leg trembled. Shockwaves rippled backward.
Shion's sensors went red.
> "Raon! He's matching your output! It's like fighting your own reflection!"
Raon gritted her teeth.
> "Finally…"
She smirked.
> "Something that doesn't break in one kick."
---
6. One and a Half Kicks
The chamber shook violently.
Raon launched forward — her first kick colliding with the Echo's counterwave.
The impact created a resonant explosion that cracked reality like glass.
Shion screamed through the comms,
> "Stop! You're destabilizing the Aether core!"
Raon ignored her.
She twisted midair, pivoted — and launched a second kick.
The shockwave folded space.
The Echo screamed, disintegrating into fragments of sound.
Then — silence.
Raon landed, panting. For the first time in years, she'd needed two kicks.
Shion rushed over.
> "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Raon said, flexing her leg. "Might need a new shoe though."
The chamber lights flickered back on.
But deep in the system, unseen, a new waveform began pulsing —
recording, imitating, learning.
---
7. The Calm After the Kick
Above ground, the city resumed normal rhythm. Citizens cheered, unaware they'd nearly been turned into music.
Back at their apartment, Raon slumped on the couch.
Shion sat beside her, typing up a report.
> "You realize you just created a sequel to yourself, right?"
"Cool," Raon muttered. "Maybe she can handle the interviews."
Shion sighed.
> "I mean it. That Echo wasn't destroyed — it adapted. There could be others."
Raon yawned.
> "Then I'll just kick them again. Maybe twice this time."
---
[End of Chapter 4 — "Echoes of a Second Kick"]