One Kick Girl — Chapter 272
"Mandatory Power Scaling Compliance Training"
Raon was seated in a folding chair.
A folding chair.
Not a throne made of defeated enemies. Not a floating platform of cosmic dominance. Not even a mildly dramatic rock.
A plastic chair.
It squeaked when she shifted.
Across the fluorescent-lit conference room hung a banner:
INTERDIMENSIONAL FAIRNESS COMMITTEE
"Because Balance Matters."
Shion stood beside her, arms folded, expression clinically unimpressed.
Auditor Null adjusted his silver tie and tapped the glowing clipboard.
"Welcome to your mandatory Power Scaling Compliance Training."
Raon slowly raised her hand.
"Can I punch the banner?"
"No."
"Can I punch the concept of this room?"
"No."
"Can I punch—"
"No."
Raon slumped.
1. The Violation Report
A hologram flickered to life.
It showed Raon's recent battle with Galactic Emperor Omega-Beast-Zero-Prime-Final-Form-But-Actually-Not.
One punch.
Explosion.
Credits rolled.
Shion cleared her throat softly. "For accuracy, the fight lasted 1.8 seconds."
Auditor Null nodded gravely. "Yes. And 1.6 seconds were wind-up."
Raon leaned forward.
"Okay but to be fair he said he was 'stronger than narrative tension.'"
"And you erased him before exposition," Null replied.
"Exposition is optional."
"It is not."
Shion pushed her glasses up.
"Technically speaking," she said calmly, "Raon operates on a fixed-output system. She does not scale. She does not escalate. She simply… ends."
Null scribbled something ominous on the clipboard.
"Yes. That is the problem."
2. The Power Suppression Band
A staff member rolled in a velvet cushion.
On it sat a sleek metallic bracelet glowing faint blue.
Raon narrowed her eyes.
"That looks suspiciously like character development."
"It is a Power Suppression Band," Null said smoothly. "It will reduce your output to narratively acceptable levels."
"How acceptable?"
"You will require at least three punches per arc villain."
Raon gasped.
Shion went pale.
"Three?" Raon whispered. "That's cardio."
Null continued calmly.
"You may also experience mild symptoms including dramatic struggle, temporary doubt, and teamwork."
Raon shot to her feet.
"TEAMWORK?!"
Shion quietly raised a hand. "…I am already here."
"Yes," Null said. "You will now matter more."
Shion froze.
"…I beg your pardon?"
3. Demonstration
The training room doors opened.
A practice opponent walked in.
Six meters tall. Covered in spikes. Glowing red. Roaring theatrically.
"I AM CALAMITY KING OBLIVION—"
Raon flicked her wrist.
She didn't even throw a punch.
The shockwave erased his roar mid-syllable.
Silence.
Smoke.
One shoe dropped to the floor.
Null stared at the crater.
Raon blinked.
"…I barely tapped the air."
Shion checked her scanner.
"You output 0.4%."
Null's eye twitched.
"That is precisely why you are here."
4. The Adjustment
The suppression band snapped onto Raon's wrist.
It hummed.
Beeped.
Flashed:
OUTPUT REDUCED TO 12%
Raon flexed her fingers.
"Okay," she said cautiously. "That feels weird."
"Try again," Null ordered.
Another training monster entered.
Roaring. Flexing. Overdesigned.
Raon punched.
The monster flew through three walls, demolished a mountain, and embedded itself halfway into the horizon.
It was still technically conscious.
It coughed.
"…Ow."
Everyone froze.
Shion's eyes widened.
"Raon."
"…Yes?"
"You didn't kill it."
The room gasped.
The monster weakly raised a thumb.
"I… have character potential…"
Raon stared at her hand.
"…What."
Null smiled slowly.
"Excellent. Growth."
5. Side Effects
Thirty minutes later.
Raon was sweating.
SWEATING.
She had punched five training monsters.
All still breathing.
All groaning dramatically.
One had even delivered a tragic monologue.
Raon looked horrified.
"Why do they keep talking after impact?"
Shion patted her shoulder.
"This is what mid-fight dialogue feels like."
"I hate it."
"Yes."
Null flipped to the final slide.
"Congratulations. You are now approved for regulated hero activity."
Raon glared.
"What happens if I remove this bracelet?"
Null paused.
"Please do not."
Raon smiled.
Slowly.
6. The Twist
The lights flickered.
The clipboard glitched.
Null frowned.
"That's… unusual."
Shion's scanner beeped sharply.
"Raon."
"…I didn't punch anything."
A distortion tore open in the center of the room.
Dark. Heavy. Oppressive.
A voice echoed through the rift.
"Who dares restrict the One Who Ends?"
The temperature dropped.
The suppression band sparked violently.
Raon tilted her head.
"…Is that about me?"
From the rift stepped a silhouette.
Familiar.
Identical.
Same hair. Same posture. Same casual blank expression.
But her eyes glowed crimson.
Shion's voice dropped.
"…Raon."
Null stepped back.
"That entity is not registered."
The red-eyed version cracked her knuckles.
"You let them put a limiter on us?"
Raon blinked.
"…Us?"
The double smiled.
"I am the output you suppress."
The suppression band shattered.
The room exploded outward in silent shockwaves.
Monsters disintegrated instantly.
Walls folded.
Gravity reconsidered its career.
Null screamed.
"This was not in the paperwork—"
Red-Eyed Raon raised a hand.
"Paperwork is optional."
The entire committee vanished in a blink.
Silence returned.
Dust settled.
Only Raon and her double stood in the crater.
Shion slowly lowered her arm, shielding her face.
"…Well," she said carefully, "this seems psychologically significant."
Raon stared at her duplicate.
"…Are you evil?"
The double shrugged.
"Not evil. Just honest."
She stepped closer.
"You don't end things because they deserve it."
Her glowing eyes locked onto Raon's.
"You end them because you can."
The words hung heavy.
For once—
Raon didn't punch.
Shion watched carefully.
This wasn't a battle.
It was something far more dangerous.
Self-awareness.
The red-eyed Raon extended a hand.
"Merge with me."
Raon looked at her fist.
Then at Shion.
Then back at the double.
"…If I merge," she asked quietly, "will I still be me?"
The double smiled.
"You'll be everything."
The sky above the ruined facility cracked open like glass.
Power swelled.
Reality trembled.
Shion whispered under her breath:
"…Please don't choose the dramatic option."
Raon stepped forward.
She took the hand.
The world went white.