**One Kick Girl — Chapter 186:
"Circle Back (The Final Boss Phrase)"**
Corporate horror • Linguistic warfare • Shion enters lethal professionalism
1. The Phrase That Ends Civilizations
The message arrived at 9:02 AM.
"Let's circle back on this."
Raon froze.
Her chopsticks slipped from her hand.
"…Shion."
Shion didn't look up from her laptop.
"Yes."
Raon whispered, voice trembling,
"They said the thing."
The room went quiet.
Even the air conditioner stopped humming out of respect.
2. Linguistic Threat Assessment
Synthra Byte pulled up her threat analyzer.
"'Circle back' detected.
Meaning unclear.
Intent hostile."
Yuno frowned. "Isn't that just… a follow-up?"
Shion closed her laptop slowly.
"No," she said.
"It's a delay weapon."
Raon's fists clenched.
"So they're not DONE?"
"They are never done," Shion replied.
3. Historical Context (Why This Is Bad)
Shion stood and began pacing like a war historian.
"'Circle back' originated as a harmless phrase.
Then it evolved."
She gestured dramatically.
"Now it means:
– I didn't read
– I don't want to decide
– I will reappear later with new demands"
Raon gasped.
"That's illegal."
"It should be," Shion agreed.
4. Raon's Immediate Solution (Rejected)
Raon cracked her neck.
"I'll kick the phrase."
Shion raised a finger.
"No."
Raon deflated.
"But—"
"You cannot kick ambiguity. It regenerates."
Synthra nodded solemnly. "Like a hydra, but with email signatures."
5. The Counterspell
Shion sat back down.
"This requires a response."
Raon leaned in.
"…A strong one?"
"A precise one."
She began typing.
Raon read over her shoulder.
Happy to circle back — could you clarify which specific item you'd like to revisit, and what decision is needed?
Raon blinked.
"That's it?"
Shion smiled faintly.
"That's the blade."
6. The Waiting Begins
Minutes passed.
Raon paced.
"They're typing. I can feel it."
Shion remained still.
"This is the dangerous part."
Yuno whispered, "Why?"
"Because they must now choose," Shion said.
"And they hate choosing."
7. The Reply Arrives
The email popped up.
Just generally wanted to touch base and ensure alignment.
Raon screamed into a pillow.
"THAT'S NOTHING."
Shion nodded. "As expected."
She typed again.
Understood — based on our last sync, alignment was confirmed.
Unless there's a new request or change in scope, we'll proceed as planned.
She hit send.
Raon felt a shockwave ripple through reality.
8. Silence
No reply.
Five minutes.
Ten.
The typing dots never appeared.
Synthra checked the system logs.
"…They disengaged."
Yuno blinked. "That's it?"
Shion leaned back.
"They retreated. Temporarily."
9. Raon Processes Victory
Raon stared at Shion.
"You didn't kick anything."
Shion nodded.
"And yet, the threat is neutralized."
Raon whispered, awed,
"…You're scarier than me."
Shion sipped her coffee.
"Experience does that."
10. Post-Credit Sting
Elsewhere.
Deep in the abyss of middle management.
A shadowy figure read the email.
"…They boxed me in."
Another voice whispered from the darkness:
"Deploy…
'Let's Take This Offline.'"
The lights flickered.
END OF CHAPTER 186