As soon as Namgong Chang-cheon entered the arena, he clasped his fist and saluted politely toward the opposite side.
Dang Gyu-young lightly waved her hand in response.
Watching the two exchange greetings, Go Hyeon-woo remarked,
“Seems like they’re acquainted.”
“They’re both from great clans.”
On top of that, there must be some link through Jegal So-so as well, so it’d be stranger if they didn’t know each other.
Still, they didn’t seem particularly close—
– Hey, long time no see. How’s your closed-door training been?
– It went by well enough.
Just that level of formal small talk.After a few more words, the two of them each took their positions, and the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Dang Gyu-young 100%]
vs
[Namgong Chang-cheon 100%]
A shadow club appeared in Dang Gyu-young’s hand.
Then, the figure of a man in a lab coat suddenly rose up.
Go Hyeon-woo tilted his head in puzzlement.
“She’s not bringing out the Vine Queen.”
“Seems she’s saving it for later.”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the Vine Queen but the Shadow Lord that she was holding back.
Since it was assassin-type, revealing it openly wasn’t as effective as saving it for a decisive moment.
Next, butterflies began fluttering out of Dang Gyu-young’s shadow, one, then two.
Instead of controlling multiple undead, she was mixing in [Butterfly Flight].
Namgong Chang-cheon couldn’t just stand there watching the butterflies pile up.
With his long sword lowered, he began stepping forward.
When the lab director swelled his torso like a balloon to block his path, Namgong Chang-cheon’s longsword traced a blue arc.
It was his signature technique, the Limitless Clear Heaven Sword.
A thick arm was severed in a single slash, and the next strike pierced the crown of the head.
Baaang!
The lab director crumbled after losing his head.
The destructive power was just as fearsome as expected.
Dang Gyu-young clicked her tongue softly at the sight.
While the lab director was meant to buy time and open up a gap, being destroyed in just two sword strikes left no room for that plan.
Even so, she couldn’t just ignore an opponent closing in.
Dang Gyu-young scattered her shadow butterflies in every direction, then hefted the club over her shoulder and stepped forward to meet him.
Swaeek!
Two shadows launched throwing blades from Namgong Chang-cheon’s flank and rear.
At the same time, Dang Gyu-young swung her club.
For a brief instant, Namgong Chang-cheon’s figure wavered as if caught between attacks. But then, stepping neatly through the narrow gap in the offensive, he slipped free.
Immediately afterward, his longsword came down trailing a blue arc.
Bang!
The dented ground alone showed the force behind it.
And he didn’t stop there. Namgong Chang-cheon kept pressing forward, unleashing sword techniques in quick succession.
Dang Gyu-young tried to hold him back with shadow butterflies and counterstrikes from her club, but all she managed was retreat after retreat.
[Dang Gyu-young 97%]
[Dang Gyu-young 95%]
[Dang Gyu-young 93%]
Go Hyeon-woo let out a low murmur.
“Mhmm… Somehow, Senior Dang’s performance feels weaker than before.”
“That’s because her opponent uses heavy swordsmanship.”
Most martial arts of the Namgong Clan embody the principle of weight. The Clear Heaven-Extending Divine Art and Limitless Clear Heaven Sword that Namgong Chang-cheon was displaying were no exception.
Facing it, the opponent felt constantly crushed under pressure, unable to fully show their skill.
The longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would get.
That was why I had chosen to end my own match with Namgong Chang-cheon quickly.
Of course, Dang Gyu-young didn’t have a wild card like my tenfold Mutual Destruction Eyes.
“She’s not just going to keep falling back like this.”
“Indeed. Senior Dang surely has more moves up her sleeve.”
As expected, though retreating, Dang Gyu-young’s eyes were searching for an opening.
When the lab director slowly regenerated, piecing his body back together, she charged in alongside him.
Namgong Chang-cheon met them calmly with his sword technique flowing.
Baaaaang!
Within just a few exchanges, the lab director’s upper body was blown apart again, and the shadow club was cut clean in half.
Even so, Dang Gyu-young merely switched her weapon into twin daggers and kept attacking.
And at that moment—
Swaeeek!
Something shot forward at terrifying speed from behind Namgong Chang-cheon.
It was none other than the Shadow Lord, leading with a lance-like longsword.
Dang Gyu-young had scattered her shadow butterflies, and through one of them she had secretly summoned him.
“……!”
At that moment, even Namgong Chang-cheon seemed to feel a sense of danger with his expression hardening.
Even so, his response was swift.
Blue energy and golden light flared from his upper body.
The former was body-protecting energy, and the latter must have been a skill imbued in his armor.
Stepping in the opposite direction of the Shadow Lord—
Slash—!
[Namgong Chang-cheon 99%]
[Namgong Chang-cheon 86%]
His health dropped sharply, but he managed to avoid a fatal blow.
I let out a low sigh.
“What a waste.”
If it had landed cleanly, that would have been the end.
Maybe it’s because she only got the Shadow Lord last night. Her mastery still wasn’t there.
“There won’t be a second time.”
The first time, he had no idea the Shadow Lord even existed, so he was caught off guard. From now on, he’d be on alert.
Sure enough, Namgong Chang-cheon evaded the second ambush much more easily, and by the third, he even countered and blew the Shadow Lord apart.
He then went on to finish off the lab director, who had just finished regenerating.
Boooom—!
“……”
By this point, Dang Gyu-young seemed to sense it was time to play her trump card.
It was better to use her undead elsewhere than let them keep regenerating only to be destroyed again.
She raised the shadow club high above her head.
[Solitary Stand]
The two undead dissolved into black smoke with a faint sound.
Dang Gyu-young absorbed it, gaining immense combat power, and instantly kicked off the ground, shooting forward.
Booom—!
Unlike before, every clash now forced Namgong Chang-cheon back, leaving him at a disadvantage.
Go Hyun-woo let out a gasp of admiration.
“Oh, at this rate, she might really seize the advantage.”
“Perhaps.”
The problem was that things were never going to proceed so smoothly.
He still had cards left to play.
After trading a few more blows and falling back, Namgong Chang-cheon’s expression too turned determined.
Soon, vivid streams of blue energy burst forth from his body.
When he slashed his sword toward the charging Dang Gyu-young, a massive wave of sword energy swept across the arena.
Whoooooooooooosh—!
“At last, he’s brought it out.”
“Hooh, so that’s the Namgong clan’s supreme sword art.”
“That’s right…the Emperor Sword Form.”
It must be the first time he’s revealed it in this tournament.
Which also meant he had been driven into a corner.
Of course, once it was unleashed, a reversal of the battle was inevitable.
Whoooooooooosh—!
Dang Gyu-young was forced to focus solely on dodging the relentless sword energy.
But there’s a limit to how long you can just run.
The sword energy kept closing in, and the oppressive weight of the greatsword further restricted her movement.
Above all, the duration of [Solitary Stand] was five minutes.
After that, with no undead remaining, she’d be out of options.
Better to try something before it ends.
It seemed she was thinking the same, as she began preparing her final move.
The shadow butterflies that had been fluttering through the air slowly gathered into one place.
Namgong Chang-cheon noticed as well and raised his energy further while readying his stance.
“……”
“……”
For several seconds, the two locked eyes in silence.
Then, all at once, the shadow butterflies surged in, and club and sword swung against each other.
[Solitary Stand]
[Shadow Dream ]
[Emperor Sword Form]
Fwooooooooooooosh—!
Black explosions and brilliant blue light engulfed the entire arena.
When sight returned to normal, every last shadow butterfly had vanished.
Dang Gyu-young too was left empty-handed.
Namgong Chang-cheon raised his sword and aimed it at her.
Checkmate.
Whatever she tried now, the Emperor Sword Form would crush it.
Namgong Chang-cheon spoke as if offering counsel, and Dang Gyu-young gave a small nod of acknowledgment.
Then she raised one hand above her head.
Through the speakers, Seo Cheong-yong’s voice resounded.
“Player Dang Gyu-young has declared forfeit! The match is over!”
[Dang Gyu-young Lose]
vs
[Namgong Chang-cheon Win]
– Waaaaaah—!
The roar of the crowd filled the arena.
***
I met Dang Gyu-young in a quiet corner of the arena. Partly to grab a drink from the vending machine, partly just to talk for a bit.
“……”
Dang Gyu-young didn’t say a word for quite a while.
She just stared at me with a sulky expression.
After I waited a bit longer, she finally opened her mouth.
“…It’s a shame. I wanted to make it to the semifinals.”
“Yeah, it is.”
She narrowed her eyes and glanced sideways at me.
“Am I the only one who’s disappointed?”
“Of course not. I’m disappointed too.”
“You don’t sound like it.”
“Well, you know I’m not exactly the most expressive person.”
“……”
Her lips began to pout slightly.
A sign she was starting to sulk.
Then, in a probing tone, she asked again,
“Hey, aren’t you going to say anything?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to.”
“Then?”
“Things like this… if you get them too easily, they lose their value. We made rules, and we should stick to them.”
“……”
At that, Dang Gyu-young seemed at least partly convinced.
But her mood clearly hadn’t lifted. She turned sharply away.
A moment later, shadows wriggled at her feet, scribbling out a few words.
[Sulking] [Sulking]
[Cheer Me Up]
[Initiate]
Yeah, I should cheer her up.
There were probably several things motivating her in this tournament, but one of them had definitely been our “continuation”.
If not for that, she might’ve been content with just making it to the main round like I was.
She didn’t reach her final goal of the semifinals, but she did make it to the quarterfinals. I even won the bet with Song Cheon-gi because of it. That deserves at least a little recognition.
I stepped closer to Dang Gyu-young.
Just as she was about to turn away again, I grabbed her wrist firmly and spoke with a bit of force.
“Stay still.”
“……!”
Dang Gyu-young froze in place.
She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and for some reason, I could sense a bit of anticipation in her gaze.
I stepped in closer and placed a light kiss on her cheek.
Then whispered into her ear,
“Consolation prize.”
“……!”
“That’s all for today.”
“……!”
For a few seconds, she stared up at me with wide eyes.
Then, in an instant, her ears turned bright red, and she started laughing like a fool.
“Pffthhhahaha!!”
“Feeling better now?”
“Hehehehehe!!”
Instead of answering, she began drumming wildly on my arm with both hands.
Then suddenly, she got on tiptoe and kissed my cheek, too.
And burst out laughing again like a total goof.
“Pffthhahahaha!!”
“You’re completely broken now.”
It took quite a while before Dang Gyu-young finally calmed down.