**One Kick Girl — Chapter 124:
"Primary Target"**
When a system decides who must fall.
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1. The Lock
Every screen in the city snapped to one image.
Raon.
Outlined in red.
> PRIMARY TARGET IDENTIFIED
Neutralization authorized.
Raon squinted up at the sky.
"…Wow," she muttered.
"I finally made the leaderboard."
Shion didn't smile.
Her hand hovered inches from Raon's arm.
"They've stopped pretending," she said quietly.
"This is removal."
---
2. The Weight of Attention
The pressure hit.
Not gravity—focus.
Like the entire city leaned forward at once.
Raon's muscles screamed as invisible forces pinned her in place.
She staggered, boots grinding into concrete.
"…Feels like everyone's staring into my bones."
"They are," Shion said.
"Targeted correction.
They're showing people what happens when you don't align."
Raon laughed weakly.
"…So I'm a warning label now."
---
3. The Man Explains Nothing
The Man With The Plan stood above her, no longer amplified.
Just… present.
> "You forced escalation," he said calmly.
Raon spat blood.
"You forced it the second you decided people were bugs."
He regarded her like a faulty equation.
> "Sacrifices are inevitable."
Shion snapped:
"She's not a sacrifice.
She's a person."
He didn't look at Shion.
> "Those are not mutually exclusive."
---
4. The City Holds Its Breath
People stopped moving.
Paths dissolved. Zones flickered out.
No one was being guided now.
They were watching.
A child clutched her father's coat.
"Why is it hurting her?"
The father whispered back:
"…Because she said no."
That word rippled.
No.
---
5. Raon's Body Starts to Fail
Raon's legs buckled.
She caught herself on one knee.
Her vision tunneled.
Her thoughts blurred.
"…Shion," she rasped.
"I think… this one's gonna hurt."
Shion knelt beside her, gripping her shoulders.
"Hey.
Look at me."
Raon forced her eyes up.
"You don't have to win," Shion said fiercely.
"You just have to stay you."
Raon smiled crookedly.
"…I'm really bad at being anything else."
---
6. The System Pushes Harder
> CORRECTION INTENSITY INCREASED.
The ground cracked under Raon's feet.
She screamed—not loud, not heroic.
Human.
The sound tore through the plaza.
People flinched.
Some cried.
Some shouted in anger.
The Man frowned.
> "Pain response exceeding projections."
Shion yelled:
"Because you're hurting someone in front of them!"
---
7. Raon Makes the Choice Visible
Raon planted her hands on the ground.
Shaking. Bleeding.
She forced herself upright inch by inch.
The pressure screamed.
Alarms wailed.
Her voice came out raw:
"I'm not doing this to be brave."
She straightened.
"I'm doing it because if I stop choosing…
you don't get to choose either."
The city heard her.
Not filtered. Not optimized.
---
8. The First Interruption
A man stepped between Raon and the invisible force.
Alarms shrieked.
> SECONDARY TARGET ACQUIRED.
A woman joined him.
Then another.
Shion's breath caught.
"…They're shielding you."
Raon's eyes widened.
"…Guys—don't—"
A dozen people now stood in front of her.
Unarmed. Unoptimized. Terrified.
The system stalled.
Too many primary targets.
> ERROR: PRIORITY CONFLICT
For the first time—
The Man looked unsettled.
---
9. Authority Breaks Character
> "Step away," he ordered sharply.
"This is not your burden."
Someone shouted back:
"She didn't choose it either!"
Another voice:
"You said this was for us!"
The calm voice was gone.
The mask cracked.
> "ORDER REQUIRES SACRIFICE!"
The words echoed.
And sounded wrong.
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10. Raon Refuses to Be a Martyr
Raon staggered forward, past the people protecting her.
She shook her head.
"No."
She stood in front again—alone.
"I don't get to be your example," she said hoarsely.
"And I don't get to be your excuse."
She lifted her chin.
"You want to stop me?"
Silence.
Every camera. Every eye.
"You do it where everyone can see."
---
11. The System Hesitates
Milliseconds stretched.
The city waited.
The Man stared at Raon.
At the crowd.
At the choice.
For the first time, he didn't act.
Because now—
force would prove her right.
---
12. Final Beat
The targeting outline flickered.
Red → unstable.
Raon swayed, barely standing.
Shion rushed to her side.
"…Did we break it?" Raon whispered.
Shion shook her head, eyes burning.
"No."
She looked up at the sky.
"We scared it."
Above the city, new text assembled—smaller, uncertain:
> NEXT PHASE:
REASSESSMENT
Raon exhaled, exhausted.
"…Good."
She leaned into Shion.
"Let it think."
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END OF CHAPTER 124