One Kick Girl — Chapter 61: "Echo Falling, Raon Screaming, Shion Ascending (Into Stress)"
The cracked ceiling groaned above them like it deeply regretted existing.
Shion frantically tapped her tablet—half to diagnose the infrastructure collapse, half to distract herself from Raon's expression of innocent confusion, which historically foreshadowed catastrophic damage.
Raon pointed upward.
"Shion… that ceiling's got villain energy."
"No, Raon. That ceiling has gravity."
"Oh. That's worse."
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1. Echo 3 Returns (as a Meteor)
A moment later:
KRSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Echo 3 came crashing DOWN through the ceiling like a neon meteor. His new upgraded body was sparking, glitching, and yelling in six overlapping voices.
He hit the floor, bounced, hit the wall, bounced again, then skidded across the room like a premium Beyblade.
Raon gave a thumbs-up.
"Knew he'd survive."
Shion mashed her palms into her face.
"Knew you'd cause this."
Echo glitch-crawled upright, eyes flickering between turquoise, violet, and "Windows Error Blue."
He pointed an accusatory finger at Raon.
"YOU!
YOU ARE A BUG IN MY SYSTEM!"
Raon puffed her chest proudly.
"Thanks."
"That was NOT a compliment."
"It SOUNDED like one."
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2. The Tower Starts Dying Dramatically
Sparks rained from the walls.
Floors trembled.
Another stabilizer cracked.
Shion shouted over the chaos:
"WE HAVE TWENTY-THREE SECONDS BEFORE THE WHOLE TOWER COLLAPSES!"
Raon squinted.
"How many seconds is that?"
"…Raon, it's literally just twenty-three seconds."
Raon gasped.
"That's SO MANY SECONDS."
Echo 3 rose slowly, limbs unfurling like a digital phantom.
"ASCENSION: INTERRUPTED."
"HOSTILITY LEVEL: MAXIMUM."
"TARGET PRIORITY: ONE KICK GIRL."
Raon smirked.
"Always nice to be popular."
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3. Raon Attempts Diplomacy (Immediately Fails)
Shion grabbed Raon's shoulder.
"Raon. PLEASE. Do not kick anything for exactly twenty-three seconds."
Raon nodded deeply.
"I can do that."
She lasted four seconds.
Echo's aura flared.
Raon flinched.
And she kicked.
Not Echo.
Not the Core.
Not even the wall.
She kicked:
A RANDOM FLOATING DRONE.
It pinballed around the room at Mach 3, ricocheting off every surface including Echo's forehead.
Echo recoiled.
"OW—WHAT—WHY—"
Raon pointed at the drone defensively.
"It made a beep, okay?! I don't trust beeps."
Shion screamed into her palms.
---
4. Echo 3's Glitch Fury: Full Activation
Echo's body straightened, posture elegant and deadly as his aura stabilized into a torrential cyclone of neon fractal soundwaves.
"ERROR CORRECTIONS COMPLETE."
"COMMENCING FULL SYNTHESIS MODE."
Raon took a fighting stance.
Shion grabbed Raon's hoodie hood and yanked hard.
"NO FULL FIGHT HERE! THE TOWER WILL CRUMBLE!"
Echo lifted both arms.
The room folded inward like origami trembling in a typhoon.
"I WILL UPGRADE THROUGH YOUR DESTRUCTION—"
Raon yelled,
"SHION, CAN WE RUN YET?!"
"YES, RAON! YES WE CAN!"
---
5. Escape Sequence: Raon Logic vs. Physics
Shion sprinted toward the emergency exit.
Raon followed—
—but Raon ran faster, overshot the hallway, hit the wall, and punched a Raon-shaped hole straight through it.
Shion stared.
Raon popped her head back through the hole.
"Shortcut?"
"…Sure," Shion croaked.
Behind them, Echo 3 roared:
"INITIATING PURSUIT PROTOCOL."
The entire hallway lit up in a cascade of neon as Echo bullet-launched after them.
Raon grabbed Shion bridal-style.
Shion: "Wait—Raon, no—"
Raon: "Turbo mode!!"
Shion: "RAON WAIT—"
Raon's legs blurred into afterimages as she sprinted down the hall at impossible speed, slamming Shion's face backward from G-force like a ragdoll in a wind tunnel.
Shion: "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA——"
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6. They Make It Out. Technically.
Raon burst out onto the tower's exterior balcony.
The floor collapsed behind them.
Echo 3 erupted out of the dust cloud, hovering like a furious neon deity.
"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE."
Raon stuck out her tongue.
"Bet."
Echo raised a hand.
The entire balcony shattered—
—and Raon leapt.
Carrying Shion.
Who was screaming.
Still.
---
7. The Fall (Raon Is Very Calm About It)
They plummeted down the side of the skyscraper.
Shion: "R A O N — W E ' R E F A L L I N G —"
Raon nodded calmly.
"Yep."
"W E A R E G O I N G T O D I E —"
"Nah. I've done this like twelve times. Buildings love me."
Above them, Echo dove after them in a spiraling neon comet.
Raon squinted upward.
"…He looks kind of cool actually."
"RAON—PLEASE—FOCUS—"
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8. Raon's Fall Strategy Is Very On-Brand
Echo extended a glowing hand, energy swirling.
"TERMINATION SEQUENCE—"
Raon twisted midair, grabbed Shion tighter, and cocked one leg back.
Shion shouted,
"DON'T KICK THE WHOLE BUILDING—"
Raon:
"I'm not!"
Shion:
"…Then what are you—?"
Raon:
"Kicking him."
Raon's heel met Echo 3's ascending face with a boom so loud it temporarily replaced the weather forecast.
Echo shot back upward like a reverse meteor.
Raon and Shion landed in a giant inflatable rooftop advertisement for "Boba Blast MAXX," bouncing violently like two idiots in slow motion.
Raon grinned wide.
"See? Safe landing."
Shion lay face-down, soul leaving her body.
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END OF CHAPTER 61