An endless blue stretched around her, while clouds passed by like smoky ghosts. Below her, a completely strange scene appeared—mountains, forests, rivers—everything unfamiliar.
"What is this place?!"
She screamed as the ground rushed toward her at terrifying speed.
There was no chance of survival.
With tears in her eyes, she cried out,
"If I had fallen from the rooftop, it would have been easier than falling from the sky!"
Then, forcing herself to think, she whispered,
"Haruka… remember… remember… how can I slow my fall?"
Suddenly, she remembered a video she once saw on Instagram.
"In situations like this, you should land where there are trees."
"Yes! Trees!" she shouted. "I have to fall on a tree!"
She desperately scanned the ground below.
"Damn it… the air pressure won't let me see clearly."
Then she noticed it—a forest.
"Yes! That's it!"
She began to crawl through the air toward it.
"Damn it! Only ten seconds left!"
She started counting as she fell:
9…
8…
7…
6…
5…
4…
3…
2…
1…
0!
And suddenly—
Crash.
She slammed hard into a tree, the air violently knocked out of her lungs.
She groaned in pain.
"Aaah… this hurts."
She slowly opened her eyes.
"Still… it's not as painful as I imagined."
When her vision cleared, she froze.
A group of men and an old man were standing around her, staring in shock.
One of them pointed at her with a trembling finger and said,
"Th-the boss…!"
She looked at him, confused.
"What are you talking about?"
She blinked rapidly, trying to gather her thoughts.
"H–Am I dead?"
She moved slightly and began touching around—only to realize she was sitting on a man in his thirties, her hands on his face. He was unconscious.
She stared at him in shock.
"What is this?!"
The men around her looked even more stunned.
The man beneath her muttered weakly,
"G-get off me…"
"I'm sorry!" she shouted, quickly jumping up.
Her mind was spinning with questions.
"I was falling from the rooftop… what am I doing here? This place… it looks like a forest. Am I really in a forest now?"
She shook her head hard.
"Damn it… this makes absolutely no sense."
While she was thinking, the gang leader slowly got up as well, confused himself.
Where did this girl come from?
How did things turn out like this?
Just two minutes ago, I was doing my job…
Two minutes earlier
Deep in the forest, the atmosphere was heavy, the sound of the wind mixing with cruel laughter. A group of bandits surrounded a trembling old man who tried desperately to defend himself.
Their leader laughed loudly and said,
"Don't be afraid, old man. We'll keep you as a hostage for a while. "
He ordered his men to tie him up as they approached.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound cut through the sky, as if something was tearing through the air at high speed.
One of the bandits looked up in shock.
"B-boss… I-I—"
The leader snapped angrily,
"What do you want?! Can't you see I'm busy?!"
"U-up…"
"I told you I'm busy! If this is something stupid, I swear I'll kill you!"
"L-look at the sky above you!!"
The leader raised his head—
His angry expression turned into pure shock.
Before he could understand what was happening—
BOOM!
A girl fell straight from the sky and crashed directly onto him, shaking the ground violently.
His men froze in place, eyes wide.
One of them screamed,
"B-boss!!"
And that was how things ended up this way.
As she stood up, her gaze shifted to the scene in front of her.
An old man surrounded by seventeen men, all armed with swords.
Before she could fully understand the situation, one of them shouted,
"Who are you, girl?! Are you a messenger… or perhaps a goddess?!"
She looked at him indifferently.
"Are you stupid? I'm a human just like you."
Then she added,
"Are you filming a movie here? Your outfits look really well made. And those swords and daggers look very real. Can I try them?"
One of them stepped forward with a sly smile.
"Yes, yes, of course. You can touch them as much as you want."
He reached his hand toward her—
But before she touched the weapon, she grabbed his fingers and twisted them violently.
"My haaaand!! Aaah!" he screamed. "What did you do to me, you bitch?!"
The gang leader stared in disbelief.
"Kill her."
In an instant, her innocent expression vanished, replaced by a serious one. Her body shifted into a combat stance.
"Sorry," she said calmly, "but I don't want to die at this age."
Her body moved before her mind could catch up.
She dodged the dagger with a swift motion, feeling the air brush past her. The attacker struck again, his dagger flashing in the sunlight. She deflected it smoothly, twisting his wrist and disarming him.
Without hesitation, she drove her knee into his stomach, forcing him back. Then, with one final movement, she kicked him hard in the chest. He flew backward and slammed into a tree with a loud crash, collapsing unconscious.
The entire group froze in shock.
From the shadows, the gang leader stepped forward. His face was calm, his eyes examining her, a small smile on his lips.
"You have good skills," he said quietly. "But can you defeat all of us?"
He ordered them to attack.
The first man charged with his sword. She leaned aside effortlessly. Her body flowed like water as she twisted and dodged, never staying in one place for long. She felt the strength in her movements, her instinctive combat knowledge taking over.
Then suddenly—
A fireball flew toward her, burning through the air and scorching part of her shoulder.
She gasped in shock, barely dodging it.
"F-fire?! Is this special effects?!"
She looked at her burned hand.
"No… special effects can't hurt this much."
Before she could regain focus, another attack came—sharp, deadly shards of ice. She turned and narrowly avoided them, but as she did, a sharp pain shot through her leg.
"Oh no…" she staggered. "My leg… it hurts… I fell earlier…"
She bit her lip hard.
"I can't stop now… seven left."
Her movements slowed, her breathing grew heavier with every dodge.
Then a massive fireball slammed into her stomach. She was thrown backward, gasping for air as the impact knocked her off balance. Blood spilled from her mouth.
One of the bandits approached her with a cruel smile, grabbed her hair, and lifted her off the ground.
"Is that all you can do?" he mocked. "Being a hero isn't as easy as you think."
He kicked her in the face.
"It's a shame that such a beautiful face will be ruined."
Before she could respond, the gang leader gave the final order.
"Kill her."
One of them smiled as he raised his sword.
"Yes, sir!"