Chapter 18: Before viewing ⑤

Red and black streaks twisted together in a vivid, violent dance.
Each time the blades met, a sharp metallic clash rang through the air.

Flame and shadow.

The two elements collided with relentless ferocity.

As time wore on, the winner became clear.

One by one, the flame blades began to shatter.

“…This is unfair.”

Yu Hyesun narrowed her eyes, glaring at the oncoming dark blades.

“Igrid, cry.”

The phoenix carrying Yu Hyesun spread its wings wide.
Before the swarm of blades could reach its master, it opened its beak with full force.

Screeeeeee!

A sonic wave burst forth from its throat, distorting the very air.
The blades caught in the wave scattered helplessly.

‘That’s…’
[It’s a non-elemental attack using soundwaves.]

So she had prepared a countermeasure against shadow.
If this dragged on into a war of attrition, I would surely lose—I didn’t have enough mana to outlast her.

There was only one option: go all in and end this quickly.

‘Territory Corruption.’

I clenched my fist.
In an instant, a ten-meter radius around us was swallowed in darkness.
A sphere of black that devoured even the faintest rays of light.

Next, I opened my palm.

‘Realm of Night.’

The orb burst, and shadows scattered in all directions.
Just as Yu Hyesun had filled the skies with fire, I now drowned the heavens in darkness.

An unnatural night descended upon the Great Forest of Yarne.

–Kaa! Kaa!

The crows, watching from afar, flapped around in confusion.

A pitch-black void. Not even a hand held before the face would be visible.

Fwsh…

Yu Hyesun tried to summon fire again, but the flames were immediately swallowed by the shadows.

Darkness devours. That’s its nature.

A faint crack formed between Yu Hyesun’s brows.

Screeeee!

The phoenix unleashed another wave of sound.
My shadows hadn’t yet learned to consume noise.

A section of darkness around Yu Hyesun was pushed back.

Without hesitation, I reached out.

“You…!”

She noticed me behind her and gasped in shock.
Fire bloomed in her hands, but I was faster.

“Black Hole.”

A whirl of black bloomed at her chest.
Her face twisted in panic as she kicked off the ground, trying to escape.

Too late.

The black hole swallowed her whole.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Crunch. Crack.

Horrific sounds of a body being compressed echoed in my ears.

Even as her body was crushed, Yu Hyesun’s gaze never left me.

“You… you b*stard!”

Desperately, she reached out.
Her trembling fingers stretched toward my throat.

Just as they were about to touch—

Whoosh—

The black hole devoured her completely.
As her power faded, nothing remained where she had stood.

The phoenix, now masterless, trembled in midair before crashing helplessly to the ground.

“…….”

I quietly lowered my hand.

[…….]

Victory.

It had ended faster than expected, but it was anything but an easy win.
I’d used up nearly all my mana in that short time.

Had I not conserved my strength throughout the Evaluation Match, this would’ve been impossible.

The crows that had wandered through the darkness now swarmed around me.

–Kaa! Kaa!

They circled me, as if celebrating the win.

Just in case, I reached up to check my mask.
Thankfully, it was still intact.

‘That makes five…’

As I sank into a strange sense of reflection—

–Kaa!

All the crows suddenly turned their heads in unison.
Their gaze shifted downward.

[Master, it’s the phoenix!]

I looked down, half in disbelief—then sighed.

‘Of course. She’s not that easy to beat.’

The phoenix’s body glowed.
Its wings, legs, and head began to shrink, slowly taking on a human shape.

And finally, in the phoenix’s place stood Yu Hyesun, wreathed in flames.

‘Resurrection? Seriously?’

The familiar might have looked like a phoenix, but to think it could actually resurrect… It was ridiculous.

[Master and familiar share a soul, so in theory, it’s not impossible… but even I’ve never seen it with my own eyes.
So that’s how a phoenix revives…]

Yu Hyesun, seated in the mental realm, stared with dimmed eyes.

[Perhaps I too… No. Focus.]

Rightly so.

Yu Hyesun stood with half-lidded eyes, staring straight at me.

[There’s a heavy penalty. Her mana has dropped to nearly zero, and she can’t resummon her familiar.
Her condition can’t be great either.]

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Memorizing the briefing, I descended.

A vibrant meadow, fresh green blades of grass swaying.
Two girls stood face to face.

Iran watched in silence.
Yu Hyesun, mirroring the gaze, sneered inwardly.

‘This is absurd.’

Iran ’s fighting style closely resembled her own.

She was a natural elemental wielder, trained with Yu Hyesun as her benchmark due to their similar age.

Same style—
But Yu Hyesun had far more experience.

And yet, the gap was this wide.

All because of that broken talent.

‘It really is unfair.’

To truly crush that ability, one needed to be a full tier above.
A double-rank fighter at the very least.

In a battle of raw firepower, she would inevitably lose.

‘But there’s a weakness.’

A weakness only Yu Hyesun could know—one learned from countless sparring matches with Iran .

Fwsh!

Yu Hyesun lit up a flame.
The fire took shape—forming a tiger.

A puppet executing a pre-programmed command.

The fire tiger began to circle widely around Iran .

Left unchecked, Iran would have to deal with a pincer attack from both the tiger and Yu Hyesun.

Iran conjured a blade of shadow.

Just as she released it toward the tiger, Yu Hyesun dashed in.

‘Your one and only weakness.’

Her eyes met Iran ’s, hidden beneath the mask.

Yu Hyesun stopped right in front of her and manifested flame knuckles.

‘Close combat.’

A flash—her punch shot out like a bullet.

Yu Hyesun’s fists moved beyond what human eyes could follow.
The wind pressure alone tore grass from the earth.

There were very few in her tier who could engage her in melee and survive.

‘Unlike me, you’re incomplete.’

A memory flashed through Yu Hyesun’s mind—one she would never forget.

—You are perfect.

No one can match the firepower of your flames.
No one can build mana faster than you.

With enough effort, even the title of strongest martial artist will be within reach.

—In the history of gifted, there’s never been one as flawless as you.

That was why Yu Hyesun could acknowledge Iran .

Iran may be exceptional, but she was not perfect.

Give a swordsman enough distance, and she could be brought down.

And yet… what was this?

Pop!

Her fist struck nothing but air.

‘Coincidence?’

Obscured by her own flames, Yu Hyesun launched another strike.
Iran tilted her head, dodging effortlessly, then went for a counter.

Her kick grazed Yu Hyesun’s cheek.
Yu Hyesun’s pupils dilated with shock.

‘How…?’

Clenching her teeth, flames erupted from her entire body.

“What are you?!”

She grabbed Iran ’s leg and hurled her across the field.

A pillar of flame shot after her—but it was intercepted by a sphere of darkness. Neutralized.

Yu Hyesun burst out from behind the wall of fire.
She struck Iran hard in the temple with her elbow.

As if she had expected it, Iran gracefully deflected the strike.

Then, like judgment, her counter slammed straight into Yu Hyesun’s abdomen.

“Ugh!”

Gritting her teeth through the pain, Yu Hyesun grabbed Iran ’s sleeve.

Immediately, she moved to lock in a joint technique—

But Iran slipped free like a cat.

“Haaah!”

If Yu Hyesun was a master martial artist, Iran was like a wild bird.

She evaded Yu Hyesun’s relentless attacks with strange, flowing movements.

Like a cat.

No—

‘Yu Hyesun?’

The moment Iran overlapped with Yu Hyesun in her mind, Yu Hyesun’s tension spiked to the limit.

‘I’ll need to bleed for this.’

Seizing the initiative, Iran reached out with clawed fingers—aimed directly at Yu Hyesun’s neck.

A glint flashed in Yu Hyesun’s eyes.

“Now!”

From behind Iran , the fire tiger leapt—
the same one she had summoned at the start.

Crunch!

The claws pierced her neck—
But Yu Hyesun gripped Iran ’s arm tightly instead of retreating.

Behind her, the fire tiger’s claws were coming down with enough force to split her in two.

Panicked, Iran tried to pull her arm back.

“Khk!”

Iran suddenly froze.

‘…Idiot.’

A strange light flickered on Yu Hyesun’s face, once twisted in hatred.

‘You should’ve just ripped my throat out.’

And yet—for some reason, the strength in Yu Hyesun’s arms faded.

Freed from the hold, Iran twisted away.

Crunch!

The claws narrowly grazed the tip of her nose.

“Huh?”

But Iran ’s expression clearly showed surprise.

The mask caught on the tiger’s claw flew off, spinning in the air.

Her complexion instantly turned pale.

Abandoning the mask, Iran lunged at Yu Hyesun again.

Her claws once more aimed for the neck—but this time, they were laced with killing intent.

‘This is it.’

Yu Hyesun accepted defeat cleanly.
And strangely enough… it didn’t feel as awful as she thought it would.

‘Still… I won’t go down quietly.’

Yu Hyesun aimed her hand at Iran ’s heart.

There was enough power to pierce it, but in her condition, she couldn’t move faster than Iran .

Before she could reach, her throat would be torn out.

Resigned, Yu Hyesun shut her eyes.

Thud.

A warmth heated her palm.

“Why…?”

Confusion flickered in Yu Hyesun’s eyes.

Iran ’s claws had stopped just short. She should’ve struck first.

Even in this moment—was she hesitating?

But when Yu Hyesun looked into her eyes, she realized that wasn’t it.

“Master… why…?”

Iran ’s face was filled with confusion.

She stared down at Yu Hyesun’s hand—more precisely, just beside where it had struck.

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to her.

And as it started to feel more real, Yu Hyesun was left speechless.

At last, her voice trembling, she asked:

“Why did you stop…?”
“My body moved on its own… The talisman…”

Only then did the truth become clear.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

—What is this talisman?
—One is yours. Give the other to Iran .
—What’s it for?
—I don’t know yet. But maybe… maybe it’ll bring you victory.

The talisman given the day before the Evaluation Match, along with the mask.

“…”

In the end, Iran ’s body collapsed.