NOVPUBAs the signal to start was given, Ju Su-hyeok and Yeom Jun-yeol immediately imbued their weapon items with abilities.
Ju Su-hyeok summoned the sword Dubi Narae, while Yeom Jun-yeol manifested a support entity to use his fire magic.
The series of actions from materializing the card and equipping the weapons happened at such speed that it was almost impossible for the eyes to follow. At first glance, it almost looked like the items had automatically equipped themselves.
"Faster than before. Both of them are growing at an unbelievable rate!"
It wasn’t just me who noticed their growth.
There were so many people in the stands of the sports field that there weren’t enough seats to accommodate all of them, gathered to witness the duel between the two.
The real fight hadn’t even begun yet, but there were audible sighs from all over the place.
Although they were still students at Yeonggwang High School, everyone realized that their combat abilities had surpassed the typical student level.
Some were simply amazed, while others were overwhelmed.
“Ugh...”
Ma Jin-seung, who had already been eliminated in the preliminary rounds, clenched his fists as he watched Yeom Jun-yeol.
Ma Jin-seung, who didn’t have an alias, had to go through the preliminary rounds unlike his self-proclaimed rival, Yeom Jun-yeol.
Ma Jin-seung had tried everything, even pulling in Gwangrim, to make it to the finals, but he failed.
Given his abilities, it might have been possible to pass the preliminaries by the skin of his teeth, but his luck was simply terrible.
“Of all the people to be in the same group in the prelims, he had to face Maeng Hyo-don and Cha Seok-won. It’s hard to imagine Ma Jin-seung beating them.”
Although I didn’t see it firsthand, according to the journalists who visited for coverage, those two fought so impressively that their mouths dropped in amazement.
Maeng Hyo-don had grown significantly after the big battle that took place in the garden where the Unsa was imprisoned.
In that battle, Maeng Hyo-don acquired the derived skills Master of Fighters and Eyes of the Fighter, and used them generously in the preliminaries.
Even without the derived skills, Maeng Hyo-don had the strength to push through the preliminaries, but it seemed like he used them to familiarize himself with them.
“Maeng Hyo-don is the type who gets stronger the more he fights. Tak Geosan must have known this and allowed him to cut down on training time by participating in the exchange competition.”
And despite being just a first-year, Cha Seok-won, who would have been first place if it weren’t for Eunho, was also strong.
Cha Seok-won, a quirky student dedicated to research and experiments, didn’t lack in combat abilities.
Ma Jin-seung suffered a major defeat even to a first-year and fell into a huge shock.
“It was unlucky, but even if Ma Jin-seung had made it to the finals, it would’ve been hard for him to make it.”
Even if he were lucky enough to face an easier opponent in the preliminaries and made it to the finals, he would likely get knocked out quickly.
The reason for this was apparent when looking at Ju Su-hyeok and Yeom Jun-yeol.
Ma Jin-seung must have felt the same as he watched their match unfold.
The students who were chosen to represent the school needed to be at a level where they could fight side by side with those two.
If Ma Jin-seung were to team up with them now, he would be a liability.
“Ma Jin-seung’s true strength isn’t about who he fights and beats. That’s why he couldn’t properly use Gwangrim...”
Ma Jin-seung came to this realization just before almost dying.
This was why he gained the alias The Young Noble of the Prairie after his death.
As I thought about this, the conversation I had with Yong Je-geon earlier in the morning came to mind.
What if Ma Jin-seung used Replay?
"Uishin hyung?"
I snapped back to attention at Eunho’s call.
I didn’t even know what I was thinking anymore.
I pushed the thought of Replay aside and focused back on the fight.
Flame!!
Yeom Jun-yeol’s remote ignition, a derived skill of fire magic, caused the embers he had set to ignite all at once.
Trapped in the overwhelming flames, Ju Su-hyeok swung his dual swords as if flapping his wings.
It appeared that Ju Su-hyeok was about to leap into the fire, surprising some of the spectators, but the flames did not touch him.
Each time his sword blade brushed, Yeom Jun-yeol’s fire was extinguished.
Just as Kim Shin-rok had used the Fire Extinguishing Method to wipe away Yeom Jun-yeol’s fire magic, Ju Su-hyeok used his swords to cut the flames.
“It’ll be hard to catch Su-hyeok with just that.”
“You told me to give it my all, didn’t you, hyung?”
As the flames were wiped away, leaving only smoke behind, the two exchanged words with smiles.
Though they were smiling, it was obvious they were both thinking of their next move, recalling the attacks they had already exchanged.
By now, they knew that merely using skills wouldn’t be enough to defeat each other.
“If we’re thinking about team compositions, it might be best to use a few more skills and call it a draw, but somehow...”
At that moment, both of them turned to look at me.
Could they have noticed the two of us, since there are two Zinchok here?
No, I don’t think Yeom Jun-yeol or Ju Su-hyeok could see through Eunho’s identity.
In a show of support, I waved my hand a little.
I wasn’t sure if they saw me.
They then turned their gazes back to each other.
“Have you not given it your all yet?”
“Of course, the warm-up’s over. What about you, Su-hyeok?”
“I’m the same.”
Although their voices couldn’t be clearly heard from this distance, it was easy to tell what they were saying by their lip movements.
Despite fighting with such overwhelming power that amazed everyone, they seemed to be getting along well and relaxed, which was heartwarming.
Just as I was expecting their next move, Hwang Ji-ho spoke.
“Hm, it’s better to raise the barrier’s output.”
At Yeonggwang High, there were many students who enjoyed watching fights, so the barrier around the gymnasium and the sports field was active.
The barrier's intensity could be adjusted.
While keeping it at the maximum would be safest, doing so would increase energy, Inungpa, and item consumption, and the barrier would become slightly opaque, making it harder to view.
“Since this is the finals, the barrier intensity should be raised somewhat. Both of them should be aware of this.”
I thought to myself that there wouldn’t be a need to raise the intensity, but I saw the judges and staff hurriedly moving about.
The two tigers exchanged words after seeing that.
“Quick to notice. I guess I won’t need to step in.”
“Seems like you’d be better suited for the student interview.”
The student council adviser, the Class 0 Evaluator, gave instructions to the staff affiliated with the self-governance body.
“Raise the barrier’s output to the maximum. Quickly!”
Without asking for the reason, the staff raised the barrier’s output between the sports field and the audience stands.
As the output increased, the barrier became slightly more opaque, and complaints were heard from the stands.
Just then...
Boom!!!
With a loud sound, the barrier vibrated.
A force spread out from within the barrier, as if an explosion had occurred.
I doubted my eyes for a moment.
Was my left eye acting up again, making me see things?
I couldn’t help but widen my eyes and focus on the scene inside.
Inside the barrier, Yeom Jun-yeol’s summoned Hongryong and Ju Su-hyeok’s water blade, summoned with perfect winged strokes, collided.
“Hongryong! I’m seeing it in person for the first time!”
“That’s the Wings of Reverse Light...”
“No, aren’t they both already confirmed for the finals? Why are they doing that?”
“Ah, I should’ve taken the video from the start!”
The audience was in an uproar.
I noticed the scouts, who lowered their voices and exchanged opinions, and the outsiders recording the event on their devices, but the enthusiastic cheers of the spectators overwhelmingly drowned them out.
These two were truly fighting for real.
“Jun-yeol hyung, you know that bringing out Gwangrim puts you at a disadvantage, right?”
“Of course.”
Yeom Jun-yeol’s Hongryong was a fire dragon.
Ju Su-hyeok, who could use the power of all elements, imbued his sword with water, the opposite of fire.
From the outside, it appeared that Ju Su-hyeok had the overwhelming advantage.
“But like fire and water, opposing forces are never absolute rules like they are between Zinchok and their descendants.”
Even though fire and water were opposing forces, there was still room to win by fighting smart.
To give an extreme example, would a little kid’s water gun make the Flame King Yeom Bang-yeol lose?
Even if opposites made things more difficult, with proper control over power and techniques, one could fight.
Yeom Jun-yeol understood this, which is why he called forth Hongryong, despite knowing what Ju Su-hyeok’s Gwangrim was.
“I know it’s going to be disadvantageous.”
“Then why call forth Hongryong?”
Yeom Jun-yeol soared high into the air while riding Hongryong.
He had to lift his head high to see him, as Yeom Jun-yeol was now far from the ground.
From high in the sky, Yeom Jun-yeol shouted.
“Right, it’s going to be disadvantageous for Su-hyeok, who has to fight on the ground!”
Flame!
Hongryong shot a jet of fire toward Ju Su-hyeok.
Ju Su-hyeok, as he had done before with Yeom Jun-yeol’s flames, tried to erase the fire with his dual swords.
With the water energy from Gwangrim enveloping him like perfect winged strokes, it seemed like this would be easy.
But erasing all the flames wasn’t possible.
“...!”
Hongryong’s flames climbed up his sword blade and formed a pillar of fire, attempting to swallow Ju Su-hyeok.
Ju Su-hyeok quickly retreated to avoid it, but Yeom Jun-yeol’s relentless attack continued.
Without being able to counterattack at all, Ju Su-hyeok had no choice but to take the incoming flames.
The flames that could be extinguished and those that couldn’t mixed together, making it hard for Ju Su-hyeok to resist.
Gradually, the ground of the sports field was consumed by the fire.
Hongryong’s maximum output flames were something even Kim Shin-rok couldn’t erase. Yeom Jun-yeol must have remembered that and used them against Ju Su-hyeok.
Even with the water energy, Ju Su-hyeok had no way to handle it.
Yeom Jun-yeol understood well what his weapon was and how he should fight.
Yeom Jun-yeol’s strength lay in ranged combat.
By riding Hongryong, his mobility increased, enabling aerial combat, and he could also use remote fire magic, making it advantageous to fight from a distance.
“Even Kim Shin-rok, when fighting Yeom Jun-yeol, first tried to close the distance.”
Moreover, Ju Su-hyeok was fighting with a close-range weapon, his swords.
If things continued this way, Ju Su-hyeok would just keep taking hits.
If he could close the distance and attack Yeom Jun-yeol, he could reduce the frequency of Hongryong’s maximum output flames and make it easier to strategize.
But the distance was simply too great.
“Su-hyeok, do you surrender?”
Yeom Jun-yeol asked loudly, as if to reach Ju Su-hyeok, who was standing on the ground.
It sounded somewhat like he was worried about his junior, but it also had a tone of provocation.
Yeom Jun-yeol, along with the entire audience, watched Ju Su-hyeok.
Everyone was curious if the legendary genius, Ju Su-hyeok, would truly surrender or continue fighting a meaningless battle.
Ju Su-hyeok raised his dual swords, as if to answer Yeom Jun-yeol.
At that moment, the water energy that had been surrounding Dubi Narae disappeared.
“Are you really withdrawing your Gwangrim?”
“Already out of energy? Though you’ve fought quite a lot...”
“Su-hyeok won’t tire so easily.”
“Wait, does that mean he’s surrendering?”
It seemed like everyone thought that Ju Su-hyeok had given up.
But I thought differently.
“No, Su-hyeok still has a move left.”
As if my thoughts had been transmitted, Ju Su-hyeok’s Gwangrim activated once more.
The power of the perfect winged strokes once again enveloped his dual swords.
And in that instant, Dubi Narae was engulfed in flames.
But these weren’t Yeom Jun-yeol’s flames.
The flames originated from Ju Su-hyeok’s wings.
Many people couldn’t understand why Ju Su-hyeok, who had the advantage with water, would summon flames instead.
But those who were well-versed in natural abilities realized Ju Su-hyeok’s intent and gasped in awe.
“I’m coming, Jun-yeol hyung!”
With those words, Ju Su-hyeok charged into the flames, swinging his dual swords imbued with the power of fire.
He was no longer trying to erase Yeom Jun-yeol’s flames.
Instead, he was attempting to control the fire.
Ju Su-hyeok was now trying to swallow the abilities of Yeom Jun-yeol.
