Chapter 55: When Light Begins to Bleed

*Seoul City Plaza*

The heart of Seoul was supposed to be alive with laughter, footsteps, and neon lights.

Instead, it was swallowed by fire.

A massive explosion ripped through the city plaza, shattering glass, flipping vehicles, and sending a shockwave through the air. The ground trembled as if the city itself had screamed.

People ran.

They screamed.

They pushed and tripped over one another in desperate attempts to escape.

Smoke poured into the sky like a black wound tearing through the clouds.

In the middle of the chaos—

A streak of light descended from the heavens.

It looked like a falling star, blazing through the sky before slamming into the ground with divine force.

—BOOM—

The concrete shattered outward as Lightnova landed.

Cracks spread in every direction beneath her boots.

She straightened slowly, golden light flowing around her like living flame.

Her eyes swept across the plaza.

“Civilians… injured… hostiles…”

Her jaw tightened.

“Where are you…?”

Just then, through the crowd of fleeing civilians, she saw them.

A group of armed terrorists.

They were dragging several citizens with them, using them as human shields. Rifles were raised. One of them carried a bulky RPG launcher on his shoulder.

“There!” one of the terrorists shouted. “That’s Lightnova!”

All of them turned their weapons toward her.

Gunfire erupted.

Bullets tore through the air toward her in a storm of metal.

“Tch… damn bastards,” Lightnova muttered.

Golden light burst from her body.

She moved.

Not ran—vanished.

Her body dissolved into light and reappeared between bullets, weaving through them with impossible grace. Every step was precise, fluid, beautiful—like a goddess dancing between raindrops.

Then—

The RPG terrorist pulled the trigger.

A missile shot forward with a thunderous roar.

Lightnova’s eyes widened slightly.

But instead of panicking…

She smiled.

“Light Step.”

The world slowed.

The missile crawled through the air, frozen in a distorted trail of fire.

Lightnova’s gaze shifted—not to the missile, but to the terrified civilians.

In an instant, she was beside them.

Her arms wrapped around two hostages.

Then three.

Then all of them.

Light carried them.

She moved faster than sound, faster than fear, depositing every hostage behind a collapsed bus far from danger.

Then she turned.

Still within the frozen world.

Lightnova returned to the terrorists.

Her fist moved.

One.

Two.

Three.

Precise strikes to the back of their necks.

They collapsed like puppets with cut strings.

Time resumed.

The missile slammed into the ground behind her—

—BOOOOM—

A massive explosion erupted.

But the terrorists were already unconscious.

Lightnova floated above the ground, brushing dust from her glove.

“Haa… too easy.”

Then—

A red laser dot appeared on her forehead.

Her eyes snapped upward.

On a nearby rooftop, two figures were visible.

One held binoculars.

The other lay prone, gripping a sniper rifle.

“Shit!” the spotter hissed. “Turn off your laser! She saw us!”

“What!? Damn it—I forgot!”

But it was too late.

Lightnova’s aura flared.

A divine golden glow erupted from her body.

She vanished.

Light ricocheted from building to building in blinding speed.

“Oh no…”

Before they could react—

Lightnova was already above them, floating in the air like a descending angel.

They froze.

Her right hand rose, forming the shape of a gun.

At the tip of her index finger, a golden light formed, pulsing with terrifying energy.

“Goodnight.”

—BOOOM—

The rooftop exploded.

When the smoke cleared, both terrorists lay unconscious, embedded in cracked concrete.

Lightnova hovered above them.

“…Hah.”

She lowered her hand.

“Who would have thought… I’m copying Indigo’s fighting style.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“It’s not perfect… but it saves energy. Efficient. Ruthless.”

She tapped her earpiece.

“Director, the terrorists are neutralized.”

Before a reply could come—

—BOOOOM—

Another explosion erupted below.

Lightnova turned.

From the smoke…

A red glowing eye opened.

Then another.

A massive mechanical silhouette emerged.

It was a robot.

Goat-shaped.

Metal horns.

Two robotic arms. Two heavy mechanical legs.

And from its joints… green smoke poured endlessly.

“Hah…” Lightnova groaned. “I really hate fighting walking scrap metal.”

Her body dissolved into light again and launched toward it.

But just before reaching—

The robot released a wave of green mist.

The light bent away.

Lightnova was forced to reform at a distance.

“What!? Why is my light being repelled!?”

She raised her hand.

A beam of golden light shot forward.

But the moment it touched the green smoke—

It vanished.

“W-what!?”

Her heart skipped.

“My light is dissolving!?”

She stared.

Realization hit her like ice.

“…Acid.”

Her fists clenched.

“An acid specifically engineered to break down photons… to dissolve light itself…”

“Tch. How troublesome.”

The robot raised its arms.

Machine guns emerged.

They opened fire.

Lightnova dodged desperately.

But something was wrong.

The bullets…

They carried green smoke inside them.

“Ugh!”

She felt her powers weaken.

She couldn’t teleport.

Couldn’t turn into light.

She sprinted behind a car, crouching as bullets tore into metal.

“Damn it… that smoke is suppressing my abilities…!”

Her teeth clenched.

“What kind of monster makes a weapon that can melt light…?”

*Yoo Jinhoo’s House*

I stood before the mirror, adjusting my black suit beneath my long dark cloak.

The live broadcast flickered on the screen behind me.

Lightnova.

A green-smoke robot.

My eyes narrowed.

“…That shouldn’t be happening yet.”

That machine wasn’t supposed to appear until Lightnova had reached her divine golden stage.

But right now…

She was still vulnerable.

Which meant—

She could die.

“Tch.”

I grabbed my black mask and placed it over my face.

My hat followed.

“Looks like I have to intervene.”

The air twisted.

And I vanished.

*On top of a building near the incident site*

A dark blue light flared on the rooftop, and I appeared.

Hah… who would have thought that crazy robot would show up ahead of schedule? Something is wrong. I’m sure someone has messed with this. Someone has altered the original flow of the webtoon.

I scanned the entire area.

Then something shocked me to my core.

From the top of another building, not far from the scene, I saw a figure dressed in bright orange with faint red patterns.

As someone who had read this webtoon hundreds of times, I knew exactly who that was.

The final boss.

Helena.

Her golden hair shone like Lightnova itself.

But what triggered all of this?

Wasn’t this way too early?!

Right, dear readers?

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