episode_0069

Golden lightning swept across the stage. A net of electricity spread out, slowly coiling around me like an anaconda.

I couldn’t help but falter for a moment.

This wasn’t Cheon Soyul’s usual method. She usually launched consistently linear attacks, relying on the aggressive nature of lightning magic.

It had been a long time since she slowly constricted the space like this.

‘Had she prepared a countermeasure…?’

Well… It wasn’t that strange, thinking about it. Even I had a few hidden trump cards prepared.

It was perhaps inevitable from the moment I resolved to participate in this tournament.

The problem was simply that Cheon Soyul’s lightning had precisely targeted my weak point.

She was pushing out the frozen cold in the stage area I had painstakingly occupied with her own heat, dyeing it with a deeper color.

‘This isn’t easy.’

I frowned, because the unfolding of this situation was not pleasant for me.

Given the nature of my unique magic, which becomes advantageous in prolonged battles, it was obvious that giving Cheon Soyul space would be a complete failure [an idiom meaning to fail completely].

I had no choice but to make a decision.

It was a bit early, but I would make my decisive move.

Snap!

My hand shot forward. Pale blue cold air rippled like a slow wave, and the cold frost negated the currents trying to penetrate me.

“Phew.”

White mist escaped from my lips as I exhaled briefly. I felt my body temperature plummeting rapidly.

Then, with wide eyes, I unleashed my mana.

By clenching my outstretched palm more forcefully.

Thus, a storm of cold air swirled.

Roar!

“…!”

Cheon Soyul’s eyes narrowed slightly as she saw the sight. She even paused for a moment. She showed signs of caution.

And I immediately kicked off the ground.

Thump!

There was a way to move faster. Ultimately, I could borrow Baek Ayun’s ability to enhance my leg strength, but I didn’t bother.

I simply wanted to move my body using only my physical abilities. At least for now, in this fight against Cheon Soyul.

So, I approached Cheon Soyul’s immediate vicinity, intending to strongly extend my cold-emitting hand and grip her wrist.

Squeeze!

I succeeded.

I immediately moved to the next action.

The cold and chilling storm swirling behind me instantly condensed. Where? Into my fingers, my grip, and my wrist.

‘Let’s finish this in one blow.’

For this moment, I, too, emptied my mind.

Without considering anything else, I only continued to think about how to win this fight.

Today, Cheon Soyul approached the match with a rather passive attitude, unlike usual.

The reason was to build up [her power] to more surely defeat me.

That is to say, her lightning energy was slowly constricting the arena even now, taking away my space.

If this process were to be completed, I would likely lose today’s fight.

‘So…’

Therefore, there was only one thing to aim for: to end it faster than usual. Even if it was reckless, even if it was a risky gamble, I needed one decisive blow to turn the tide.

I immediately acted on that.

“Ugh…!”

I tightened my grip on Cheon Soyul’s arm even more. She frowned, seemingly in a bit of pain, and the next moment.

Whoosh!

I partially closed my cold-infused hand, and immediately struck out towards Cheon Soyul. A single palm strike infused with ice properties.

That was my decisive move.

My fingertips met Cheon Soyul’s chest.

Then came the clash of two attributes, followed by an explosion.

Cheon Soyul’s eyes met mine, precisely.

…

…

BOOM!!!

A thunderous roar erupted. It was one of my main skills, a pseudo-fusion magic that partially mixed wind attributes with cold.

This attack could somewhat compensate for the inherent lack of power in ice attributes.

It was also an attack that had allowed me to defeat Cheon Soyul several times before…

I had no doubt that things would turn out the same way this time.

Suddenly.

“…Heh.”

That is, until Cheon Soyul let out a muffled, sneering laugh.

“…!”

My eyes widened significantly. It wasn’t because Cheon Soyul’s reaction was peculiar.

Rather, the cause lay in her condition.

She had clearly taken my palm strike head-on, yet she was fine. No, was she fine? Judging by her contorted expression, she must have taken some damage.

At the very least, as long as she was standing on two feet, my attack was as good as a failure.

‘Ah.’

I belatedly noticed the cause and effect: the presence of a tiny bolt of lightning, barely perceptible and difficult to discern, surrounding Cheon Soyul’s solar plexus.

That had withstood my attack.

Not blocking it, but enduring it. It was probably just a temporary measure. Had she forced herself to endure the pain by scorching her own body?

“What…?”

What a foolish thing to do. I was dumbfounded, and despite being in the middle of the match, I just stared at Cheon Soyul with an absurd expression.

She twisted her lips, as if showing off.

“Focus on the match, you son of a bitch.”

I don’t know why such an insult had to suddenly come out.

At the very least, it was clear that Cheon Soyul’s condition was relatively normal.

Naturally, the next turn was hers. Cheon Soyul stomped the ground, and at the same time, raised her hand towards the sky.

Even I, who was preparing as if she intended to harm me, belatedly realized the meaning.

Heaven’s Punishment. Lightning bestowed by the blue sky…

It was Cheon Soyul’s absolute weapon.

It would pour down. Even when I frantically tried to create an ice wall to shield myself, Cheon Soyul didn’t quietly let my attempt pass.

At the casually swung blade of lightning, my flimsy fortress shattered and scattered.

Rumble!

The blue sky began to roar.

Darkening, it became infused with lightning energy.

I couldn’t help but feel a chill down my spine. A sensation running down my spine, coincidentally similar to an electric current.

-Heaven’s Punishment descends.

And I had never once managed to block Cheon Soyul’s Heaven’s Punishment before.

—

The response I suddenly showed the next instant was…

…therefore, very instinctive.

I raised my hand. Extended it upward. Just like Cheon Soyul, I raised my arm towards the sky.

Crackle…

And I created lightning.

It was Heaven’s Lightning.

It was exactly like what Cheon Soyul wielded, and putting everything else aside, this power was indeed something I had directly received from her.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be wrong to call it a testament to mine and Cheon Soyul’s love…

I let out a chuckle at such a silly thought, and unleashed my mana—that pale blue, frozen mana imbued with my unique attribute.

And I mixed it with Heaven’s Lightning. Not the crude storm from before, but this time, I intended to use a ‘fusion magic’ in its true sense.

Dual attribute.

Ice and.

Lightning.

‘This is the first time I’m really trying to mix them.’

There was a risk of failure. But what was there to stop me from succeeding, even on my first attempt?

I could do it. Because I was Seol Hayeon, the world’s greatest mage’s favorite disciple, and above all, I was a genius myself.

Crackle, crackle-crackle! RUMBLE-RUMBLE-BOOM!!

Pale blue mixed with the lightning.

Cold tangled with heat.

An overwhelmingly powerful and threatening sound tore through the air, echoing throughout the space, and around that time, Cheon Soyul also noticed my change.

Her eyes shaking in bewilderment, she looked at me and her lips quivered with difficulty.

“You, what are you doing right now…”

…

I didn’t answer. I only focused on combining ice and lightning into one, creating a new attribute.

My arm repeatedly froze and burned.

Paradoxically, perhaps that’s why it was fine? It was like cooling down hot computer parts with cold water.

Although the principle wasn’t exactly the same, thanks to it, the attempt could end quite successfully.

For an instant.

I felt the arena grow quiet.

‘No.’

It was I who had grown quiet. The sounds reaching my ears disappeared. It was fine to say I had blocked them out, because I didn’t want to hear.

My eyes were solely looking up at one sight: the pale blue lightning soaring high into the sky.

I countered Heaven’s Punishment. Cheon Soyul’s incomparably powerful ultimate move, I met it with the fusion magic I had created.

Thus, the clash. For an instant, the sky became excessively bright.

DEAFENING ROAR!!!

The huge explosion that erupted immediately after engulfed the entire stadium.

*****

‘Ah.’

Once I came to my senses.

I did feel a bit of regret.

Even though I had resolved to defeat her with only my own power at the start, when faced with the risk of defeat, I had pulled out a stolen power without a second thought.

To put it bluntly, it was a bit embarrassing. Even though I had won, it didn’t feel like a victory…

I simply let out a hollow laugh and painstakingly raised my upper body. After all, I couldn’t just lie sprawled on the ground forever.

However.

“…Ha.”

…

Cheon Soyul wasn’t.

She remained collapsed, unable to get up any further.

From the start, she had only been in a state of delaying pain after being directly hit by my decisive move. In that situation, even Heaven’s Punishment, which should have been her final decisive blow, was helplessly nullified.

How could she not collapse? She had to fall simply from the aftermath of the clash between her Heaven’s Punishment and my fusion magic.

Cheon Soyul grit her teeth silently.

Her expression looked quite vexed.

[Second-year student Lee Hyunjin, ranked second, wins Round 2.]

Around that time, the announcer’s calm declaration of victory resounded through the stadium via the speakers.

I gave a bitter smile, and extended a hand to Cheon Soyul, who was lying sprawled out.

Moreover, though she grabbed it, she seemed to lack the strength to stand up on her own… So I just infused a bit of strength and forcibly helped her stand up.

Stumble!

Was she exhausted from that short fight? Cheon Soyul swayed and half-forcibly leaned on me for support, grinding her teeth at the same time.

She glared at me from the side with menacing eyes emitting a fearsome light.

“Hey.”

“…Why?”

“Do you want to die?”

And then she suddenly threatened to kill me.

I closed my mouth with an awkward expression.

If that was truly a phrase blurted out abruptly, cutting off all context, then perhaps I wouldn’t know, but I knew very well that there was a valid reason behind her words.

The fusion magic I had just used would undoubtedly feel very unfamiliar to onlookers.

Still, a significant number of people would recognize its true nature: the identity of the lightning mixed with my cold, and its origin.

I let out a helpless sigh and bowed my head deeply.

“I’m ashamed. I’m sorry.”

…

Cheon Soyul didn’t answer. She merely continued to sigh deeply, in her own way.

‘Ouch.’

Soon, Cheon Soyul, who had pinched and twisted my arm with her fingernails, turned to look at me aloofly.

“…You.”

And then she spoke, starting with a single phrase I had completely not expected.

“Should I take this as a marriage proposal?”

“…What?”

“A-Are you going to marry into my family? You bastard.”

A ‘word’ I hadn’t thought about at all, a word I had heard briefly a few months ago.

Cheon Soyul, with the tips of her ears flushed reddish, mentioned it to me once again.