27. Sword Dancer of White Flame

* * *

My vision cleared as I surveyed the battlefield. Both Si-woo and I had collapsed – perhaps from shock. The situation looked dire.

“Why hasn’t backup arrived?”
“Fools. Jin-seok’s overseas. My subordinates erected barriers – everything looks normal outside.”

Of course – Jae-su would have brought his faction, hunters resentful of Jin-seok’s success. Turned into monsters, they’d follow blindly.

“No reinforcements are coming, idiots.”

Enough. Reina and Suji were battered, the academy saturated with miasma. First, I absorbed the dark energy, black smoke swirling into my palm.

“The miasma…?”
“Eun-ha?”
“Thanks to you, Jae-su, my seal’s broken.”

Without that SS-core, I’d have remained just “Steampack Eun-ha” forever.

“What…?”
“I’ll handle this now.”

No point letting the injured fight.

“Your golden eyes… serpent-like pupils…”
“Call me dragon, fool.”

As if he had room to talk.

“You… you’re like Azhi Dahāka!”

Monster manuals did describe the calamity dragon’s golden serpent eyes.

“Eun-ha…?”

Suji and Reina stared in shock. I must look different now.

“Reina, take Si-woo to the clubroom for potions. Suji, handle the northern monsters.”
“And you?”
“I’ll deal with this trash.”

Jae-su bristled at my finger-pointing. No gentleman, this one.

WHOOSH-CRACK!

I caught his kick and slammed him down. His dragon-scale spear caught my eye.

“Oho. Dragon-forged?”

Decent weapon. Suji’s Flame Spear’s equal. But skill couldn’t compensate for his transformation.

“You thought becoming a monster would help?”
“It did for me.”

CRUNCH!

I shattered the spear mid-thrust. Did he really think lesser dragonkin could pierce me?

“By the way…I ate your parents, didn’t I?”
“What?”

Back then, human flesh tasted divine – especially nuns. I licked my forked tongue. Jae-su’s eyes burned crimson.

“You bitch!”
“Taste a dragon’s breath.”

White flames erupted – my signature purification fire. The mindless charge never stood a chance.

CRACKLE!

“Oops. Meant to incinerate your head.”
“Monster!”
“First try in ages. This fire burns until nothing remains.”

Like white phosphorus, but worse. Jae-su screamed as his body turned to ash. I mercifully beheaded him – evidence for the Association.

“Eun-ha?”
“Si-woo?”
“Reina took him.”
“Let’s clear the rest.”

We’d need every hunter against China’s coming threat. Academy golems had protected most students, but monsters now surrounded the main building.

“Too many…”

I wreathed my sword in white flames.

“I’ll fight too!” Suji raised her spear.
“You’re exhausted.”

Facing her former master had taken its toll. My flames fanned out, purging monsters in cleansing fire.

SCREECH!
HOWL!

Students cheered from windows. “Eun-ha万岁!” (Long live Eun-ha!)

“Look!” Suji pointed to a man-made gate behind campus – Hunter reinforcements gaping at the conflagration.

The battle ended, but the toll was staggering. Over 300 hunters dead. The Association’s military authority – gone.

* * *

Korean Hunter Association

Chairman Choi Cheol-sik and Vice-chair Jung Na-yoon were devastated. The losses crippled their “Hunter Deployment Rights” – emergency authority over private guilds.

“Even Steel Guild’s vice-leader Choi Joon-oh may never recover.”

Video evidence showed Eun-ha dominating Jae-su with pure martial skill before incinerating him.

“She’s combat-ready now.”
“Ridiculous for a student.”
“This year’s batch is exceptional.”

Eun-ha already surpassed Jin-seok’s academy days. She might even join the elite Twelve Apostles.

“We should grant her a title.”
“To associate her with us?”
“Exactly. Jin-seok’s already ours.”

“She wields white flames with a sword…”
“Yes?”
“‘Sword Dancer of White Flame.’ Fitting for a princess.”

Thus Azhi Dahāka was reborn as Yoo Eun-ha, the White Flame Sword Dancer.