Chapter 192

〈Chapter 192〉Part 1, Chapter 9, Section 26

As Seok Harang stepped forth to oversee the battlefield, the tide of battle swung overwhelmingly in favor of humanity. Standing gracefully atop a wall of ice, her condescending gaze cast upon the scene below struck awe into the hearts of people worldwide.

– Whoa, she’s skewering those Black Scorpions for us like pro! Insane!

– If I were her, I’d just flick my wrist and sweep them all away… She’s holding back way too much. In my place, I’d hog it all!

– Goddess-sama!!! If only her mid-game was as solid as her early and late game, she’d be absolutely perfect T_T

Seok Harang constructed a vast wall of ice to form the final defensive line, and whenever heroes found themselves in peril, she would swiftly come to their aid with ghostly precision using spears of ice.

The moment the masses realized that the entire Qinghai Lake region lay under the benevolent watch of this Ice Goddess, they couldn’t help but feel as if a divine being had truly descended among them.

It wasn’t just humans who sensed the divine aura. The Black Scorpions, sensing Seok Harang’s overwhelming magical power blanketing the entire battlefield, began to move sluggishly. Frost began to settle on their once-gleaming carapaces.

“To all heroes.”

Without even bringing her lips close to her communicator, Seok Harang raised her hand skyward and radiated her magic.

“If you find yourself in danger, I will lend you my support. Please fight without fear.”

Her declaration, carried by her magical power, spread across the entire battlefield. Thanks to the thick fog and the water of Qinghai Lake, the environment was perfectly suited to Seok Harang’s abilities.

“Hmph.”

Though every breath brought a slightly stronger taste of salt to her mouth, Seok Harang claimed the vast saltwater lake as her own domain. Keeping a watchful eye on the entire lake for any sudden appearances of Black Scorpions, she fired off ice spears whenever the heroes found themselves in peril.

Snow Night.

Just as Phoenix, who claims to be the Sun incarnate, displays incredible power during the day, Seok Harang, as the Rusalka spirit of Snow Night, unleashed her formidable strength under the cover of night.

This was the moment when the might of an SS-Rank hero was once again revealed to the world.

* * *

[Good call on recruiting her. We would’ve been in deep trouble without her.]

“Indeed. Absolutely overwhelming.”

Gawein whistled in amazement as he watched the live feed of the Black Scorpion extermination operation. His admiration for Seok Harang’s prowess was pure awe, while Oracle gave him a sly grin.

[Not sad about losing the title of world’s first SS-Rank?]

“Not at all. I couldn’t reach that level anyway, so…”

Having exchanged words for so long, Oracle knew full well that Gawein was quite disappointed despite his self-deprecating wave-off.

[Everyone has their own path. With already two – no, four SS-Ranks emerging from East Asia, good news should be coming soon. Looking forward to it.]

“You’re putting too much pressure on me…”

[Are you blaming me now? Typical SS-wannabe throwing a tantrum.]

“You wouldn’t understand if I didn’t talk to you about this. Please show some understanding.”

[What about Her Highness?]

Gawein’s hand froze mid-motion. This was the first time he broke his composure since Oracle’s taunts about SS-Rank.

[You weren’t personally close to Her Highness?]

“…She merely enjoys tales of heroism. It was Her who forcibly bestowed my nickname, after all.”

[The princess does have a thing for myths. Still, what a shame. Because of Her Highness, you couldn’t go to the field…]

“GAWAINNNNN!!”

The door burst open violently. A golden-haired maiden in a red dress stormed into Gawein’s office, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“What, what is it, Your Highness?!”

“I’ve decided!”

The young lady clasped her hands together, giggling excitedly. Gawein instinctively felt uneasy and swallowed hard.

“Decided what…?”

“We’re going to Korea!”

“Excuse me?”

“Korea! I want to hear firsthand accounts about Lady Seolhwa’s exploits!”

“……”

[Heh heh heh.]

Both Gawein and Oracle fell silent. The princess couldn’t contain her excitement over Lady Seolhwa’s performance on screen.

“How amazing must she be? She’s not much older than me yet achieved SS-Rank! Gawein, doesn’t the Round Table have any business in Korea? There must be something, right? Or create one! I want to go along!”

“……Your house arrest hasn’t been lifted yet, has it?”

“Is that important right now?!”

The princess kicked the sofa in a fit of pique.

“I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THAT LADY MYSELF! How did she end up fighting ‘Phoenix’? Ah, and there’s Cheongnyeon in Korea too, isn’t there? And Xiao Lin beside her! Ugh, three days and four nights won’t be enough! Let’s make it a week! Two days each in Busan, New Seoul, and Seoul should do!”

“That’s easier said than done. If I leave England suddenly, there will be a gap in our forces…”

“It’ll be fine. What could possibly happen in a week? Come on, don’t be so stiff. Hehe, I’m also curious about how Yunjang reached SS-Rank…”

The princess’s expression hardened as she tilted her head.

“Where is Master Yunjang now?”

“……”

[…….]

Neither could bring themselves to say that he was indulging his homicidal urges.

* * *

Crack!

The sword shattered. The finely honed blade split cleanly in two. The upper part spun through the air before embedding itself in the dirt, while the remaining lower portion trembled like an aspen leaf.

“…I lose.”

Hayaete acknowledged defeat while still maintaining his stance. His spirit had broken the moment his sword did, and he accepted his loss.

“That took quite some time.”

Hayaete’s opponent, Xiao Lin, raised both hands to cancel her magic. The crescent blade that had cleanly bisected Hayaete’s sword vanished without a trace.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to practice with so many different weapons – swords, spears, halberds, clubs, polearms, and more. That was an excellent fight. Hayaete.”

“Hmph, hahaha. Now I see why Gawein kept talking about your level. You’re in a whole different league.”

Hayaete sheathed the remains of his sword. Though the masterfully crafted blade was now irreparably ruined, he had considerable attachment to it.

“Sorry about breaking your sword.”

“Nah, it’s fine. These things happen when you fight long enough. I tried to kill you, after all. What’s to apologize about?”

Perhaps because he had accepted his defeat, Hayaete brushed off the matter of his broken sword easily. Around where they had fought, the ground was thoroughly scarred with deep slashes and the aftermath of explosions.

“Man, we really went at it. How long did we fight?”

“…About half a day?”

“I counted…4796 exchanges? 928 with the sword, 740 with the spear…”

“……Ahem. Hayaete.”

Xiao Lin cleared her throat to interrupt Hayaete’s reverie.

“During our fight, I asked you several times – will you assist in the Black Scorpion extermination effort?”

“Huh? What’s that about?”

Xiao Lin calmly pointed to Hayaete’s wrist.

“Take a look.”

“Oh, wait. So thousands of Black Scorpions are rampaging, and we’re trying to intercept them at Qinghai Lake… oh, we’re fighting them right now?”

It was just past midnight. Hayaete scratched his head before flopping down onto the dirt.

“Fine. Handle it without me. I’m feeling down after losing. Gahhh, SS-Ranks are insanely strong—! There’s no way I can win!”

“If you can’t defeat me, then defeating Him…”

“Him?! Hey, are you close to that guy? Can you do me a favor?”

“Asking me to arrange a match against Him? No thanks. Defeat me first, maybe then.”

Xiao Lin flatly rejected Hayaete’s request.

“You haven’t even asked yet.”

“But you knew what I was going to ask, didn’t you.”

“Still no. But let me ask – is He really stronger than me?”

“…Probably.”

Xiao Lin’s ambiguous response puzzled Hayaete.

“You can beat me, right? Can’t estimate his strength?”

“No. While we might be evenly matched in an initial clash, he seems to know my weaknesses far too well…”

“See?! I noticed that too!”

Hayaete sat up, delighted.

“He kept targeting my dirty spots with nasty combos! That guy’s definitely a filthy bastard with a serious case of hysteria. Completely two-faced!”

“…I wouldn’t know about that.”

Xiao Lin recalled watching Phoenix fight.

– Challenge me anytime you wish.

“Rather straightforward, I’d say.”

“What? No way. Clearly you’re blinded by love or something.”

Hayaete wagged his finger side to side.

“Those types always have dark ulterior motives. They pretend to be nice and gentlemanly while secretly plotting sinister schemes behind your back!”

“……Hmm.”

Could it be the opposite? Xiao Lin’s intuition told him so, but Hayaete’s mention of “blind love” made him pause.

“You’ll understand once you see him fight.”

“Ugh. Fine. I’m tired, so I’ll take a nap here. Handle everything without me.”

Hayaete sprawled out on the dirt again. Xiao Lin hesitated whether to leave this pitiful youth lying there.

♪♪

Suddenly, Hayaete’s communicator chimed. The cheerful, lively tone was uncharacteristic of Hayaete, causing him to sit bolt upright.

“What, what is it?!”

[Big Brother! What are you doing right now?]

“Me? Just resting.”

[Why do you look so beat up? Who did you fight?]

On the screen, a girl who looked exactly like Hayaete glared daggers at him. Xiao Lin quickly stepped beside Hayaete and waved politely.

“Hello, Miss Himeji Hikari. I’m Xiao Lin from the Round Table.”

[Eh, hello…?]

Hikari covered her face while bowing slightly, clearly shy. Xiao Lin felt awkward, while Hayaete frantically gestured for him to turn the screen around.

“Just had a friendly sparring session with a Round Table member. How often do you get to fight an SS-Rank?”

[…Really? You didn’t just charge in recklessly, did you?]

“Do I look like someone who’d do that?”

[Yep.]

Hikari’s assessment was firm. Xiao Lin also wrinkled his nose and muttered under his breath.

“Who’s calling who two-faced…”

“Cough! Anyway, dear little sister, why aren’t you sleeping at this hour? If you don’t sleep properly, you won’t grow tall or develop properly!”

[That’s not the point! Don’t you know there’s a Black Scorpion extermination operation happening right now?!]

Hikari shouted, her face turning red. Hayaete dug in his ear with his pinky to remove dirt.

“I know, but what can I do by going?”

[Can’t you catch a few for me? I desperately need cores right now!]

“How many?”

[Um, at least 50 A-Rank cores! S-Rank ones would be even better, about 10 should do!]

Hikari’s massive request left Xiao Lin’s jaw hanging open.

Equivalent in monetary value to billions, she asked for such quantities without hesitation,

“Got it. I’ll go soon. No guarantees though – might be too late by the time I arrive.”

Without hesitation, her brother readily agreed to her request, leaving Xiao Lin impressed.

“Are you really siblings…?”

“Want to die? Of course we’re real siblings. Can’t you tell just by looking?”

“……Wow. Really siblings? Seriously?”

Xiao Lin remembered his childhood with Bonghyo-Baek Cheongyoung.

– I wish Baek Cheongyoung would die! Why are you barging into my room without permission?!

– Hey! I told you not to walk around in your underwear! Do you want to die?! Where are you looking with your eyes?!

– Then gouge them out!

– You crazy woman?!

They weren’t actual siblings but grew up like siblings until being taken by Mo Taegyeong, constantly hating each other like mortal enemies. Though they were quite young back then, Xiao Lin clearly understood what sibling relationships were like.

“Alright, let me prepare briefly before heading out. Why do you need so many cores?”

[I’m making a Core Weapon! The boss keeps blocking me, so I want to secretly make one! I want to custom-make it to order, but the boss keeps insisting on downgrading it for mass production! Pfft, all the boss cares about is money!]

“Got it, got it… Wait. Can you make…those too?”

[Yeah? Transparent weapons?]

“Hey!”

Hayaete’s face turned red as he shouted. Hikari covered her ears and squinted her eyes, while Xiao Lin turned away, stifling laughter.

[If you have a sample? Hmm, is it about Master Yunjang’s SS ability transparent weapon? That sounds interesting!]

Hikari’s voice sent shivers down Xiao Lin’s spine. Despite being far lower ranked, his instincts warned him against getting involved in something he shouldn’t.

“Hey, Yunjang. Can you…?”

“Ack! I hear Him calling! Gotta go!”

Xiao Lin fled. Hayaete chuckled at how fast Xiao Lin disappeared using his light-stepping technique.

“What to do now that the sample ran away.”

[Well, guess there’s nothing we can do. Fine. If you fought Him, just tell me roughly how it felt when you visit Seoul next time. I’ll make it immediately if inspiration strikes.]

“Got it, thanks. Should I go collect cores then?”

[Understood. Thank you, Big Brother~♡]

“Love you too, little sister.”

Click. The call ended. Hayaete pulled out his sword again and stood it vertically.

“Xiao Lin did it this way earlier…right?”

Hayaete focused his magic into the sword. Green magical energy surged intensely above the broken blade, and soon he formed a magical blade above it.

“Alright, done!”

Hayaete grinned broadly as he swung his sword around.

“They mentioned Black Scorpions, right. Let’s check it out.”

Confirming the location on his map, Hayaete leaped high into the sky toward Qinghai Lake in the northwest.

“All I need to do is wipe them all out, right?”

The logistics of core distribution and settlement through the Round Table meant nothing to him. Hayaete had only one thought in mind – collecting cores for his younger sister.