novelraw Chapter 179 : Dark Star (5)
Chapter 179 : Dark Star (5)
Dark Star (5)
Due to the fight between Kian Rogers and Soo-ah, the original stadium was completely destroyed.
Because of that, the match couldn't continue immediately, and everyone had to quickly move to a new stadium.
As a result, the second match, which was supposed to proceed right away, was delayed by about two hours.
"Commentator Hwang Sung-yeon, what do you think about this match against UK?"
"It's truly an astonishing achievement. No one could have imagined that a Korean Hunter would defeat the Sun King!"
Hwang Sung-yeon, a current Hunter, sounded much more excited than commentator Hong Byung-woo.
'Who would've thought Lee Soo-ah would beat Kian?'
A Hunter barely in her twenties had defeated a Hunter ranked among the world's top five.
It wasn't as if Kian had been careless, either; Lee Soo-ah had purely overwhelmed him with skill even as he fought with all his might.
Did this even make sense?
"Community forums online are buzzing right now. You can feel that it's drawing huge attention, even from those unfamiliar with Odyssey."
"Of course. If we win this, it's the finals. In the past, Korea never won even a single victory, but now they are on the verge of making it to the finals. Moreover, I hear there's good news even in the team battles among A-rank Hunters?"
"Yes, it's been reported that both Team Point and Team Ghost from Korea have advanced to the quarterfinals. We can expect good results in the team competitions as well."
The newly-established team competition hadn't attracted much attention due to the ongoing winner-stays tournament, but since there would be a gap between the end of the semifinals and the start of the finals, there was a high chance public interest would shift toward the team matches during that time.
"Ah, it seems the second match is about to begin. The second opponent is... Adeline Hurst."
"It's her first appearance in this tournament, but she's not someone you should ever take lightly. If you ask, 'Who is the strongest female Hunter in Europe?' she is the first one everyone mentions."
"Korea is sending out Hunter Lee Soo-ah again."
The Korean and British representatives, having moved to the new stadium, appeared once more in the arena.
With the crowd's cheers continuing, Adeline's stern face was captured on the screen.
Lee Soo-ah seemed relatively calm, but the bandage wrapped around her wrist stood out.
"I am concerned about Hunter Lee Soo-ah's injury. Since Korea still has two Hunters remaining, there's no need for her to overexert herself."
"The two remaining Hunters are..."
Reacting to Hwang Sung-yeon's words, Hong Byung-woo ran his eyes over the roster and swallowed dryly.
While it made sense for Baek Hojun to go last, he was uneasy that the next in line after Lee Soo-ah was Hwang Yeon-ji.
'I know she's a talented Hunter, but...'
After just watching the battle with Kian, the uneasiness only intensified.
This probably wasn't just his feeling.
After beating Kian Rogers, reputed as UK's strongest.
For Korea, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Yet in a situation like this, putting out an A-rank Hunter?
It was practically throwing away a precious asset.
"I trust Coach Park Jung-woo's tactics. I'm sure he has some strategy in mind."
Hwang Sung-yeon quickly added, noticing Hong Byung-woo's hesitant tone.
But even he was confused as to what kind of strategy could be made with an A-rank Hunter like Yeon-ji.
He knew Park Jung-woo was an extraordinary person.
After all, he was the one who discovered Lee Soo-ah, who just beat Kian Rogers.
Park Jung-woo's achievements in Odyssey were astounding—he'd go down in Korean history.
But why include Yeon-ji this time, of all times?
【Didn't they just want to give her some experience since they thought she would lose anyway??】
【lol so true, no one thought Kian would lose to Lee Soo-ah lol, seemed like they just wanted to give her a shot at UK's ace, but now Lee Soo-ah actually beat him lol】
【We finally get a chance to beat UK and they're going to waste it. They've done well so far, but now they're blowing it at the last minute? What's up with that?】
【Baek Hojun must be exhausted from all he's done. If Lee Soo-ah loses, it's basically a guaranteed defeat for Korea, right? Who can beat Adeline or Sol Mayer?】
The public's response was about the same.
Many people couldn't understand why Yeon-ji was included in this roster against UK, and some even criticized Jung-woo, saying he was ruining Yeon-ji's good image.
【Still, wasn't Park Jung-woo the one who found both Lee Soo-ah and Alencia??? I doubt he put Yeon-ji in without thinking. I think he included her specifically to go against Sol Mayer.】
【lol Mages are way more dependent on ranking than warriors lol, even Baek Hojun isn't great against mages, so I guess Korea is in trouble for the UK match】
【But Hwang Yeon-ji already beat Sol Mayer once during the event match. 〈Link〉 She has a chance.】
【It was an event match, he wasn't trying. Didn't you see Sol Mayer's interview? Said he didn't use Conceptualization Technique and went easy on her.】
Although there were a few voices defending Yeon-ji, the majority of netizens pushed back, refuting and attacking those who tried to support her.
As such, while the internet buzzed with talk about Hwang Yeon-ji—
"Then we will begin the second match: Korea versus UK, UK versus Korea!"
The second match between Soo-ah and Adeline began.
***
"I won't let Soo-ah fight any further."
The match between Soo-ah and Adeline was concluded much more easily than anticipated.
Adeline, regarded as the strongest female Hunter in Europe, was a master of defensive swordsmanship and expert in shield techniques.
But that ultimately worked against her.
Defense was useless against Soo-ah's Life Lantern Ignition.
"What?! B-but—look at Lee Soo-ah. She hardly seems to have used any stamina going against Adeline."
"No."
I shook my head.
Admittedly, it didn't look like Soo-ah used much stamina in her match against Adeline.
That's how it appeared.
As soon as the match started, Soo-ah unleashed her Life Lantern Ignition, and Adeline, face tense, raised her shield.
Watching warily the blue flames blooming on her chest.
But that was a mistake.
Just as with Kian earlier, Soo-ah burst forward explosively and thrust her sword toward Adeline's shield.
And pierced straight through it.
Soo-ah's blue flames burned magic power.
In other words, even if Adeline reinforced her shield with magic power, if she aimed and burned that magic power away with her slash, the shield was little more than a flimsy sheet of paper.
If Adeline had been a bit more cautious of Soo-ah's blue flames, she might have blocked it.
If she'd focused even stronger magic power on her shield than what the blue flames could burn away, she might've been able to reinforce it enough.
But maybe because she thought Soo-ah would be tired after fighting Kian, or maybe she just wasn't ready for Soo-ah's blue flames—either way, Adeline lost her shield to that single strike.
For a master of shield techniques, losing her shield was a death sentence.
Unable to display even a fraction of her true skill, Adeline was quickly defeated by the ensuing onslaught from Soo-ah.
Even so, the fact that she managed a few counterattacks showed Adeline's considerable skill.
"It isn't that Soo-ah didn't use any stamina—she had no choice but to end it quickly."
When I signaled to Soo-ah, she quietly began unwrapping the bandage from her arm.
Her right arm, badly swollen, was revealed.
"Oh..."
"I mean, it's her left arm, but if it gets any worse it could turn into a serious injury. Considering the finals against America, Soo-ah shouldn't fight anymore."
"I... see."
Gong Je-hun nodded, resigned.
He looked back and forth between Yeon-ji and Baek Hojun, then sighed.
"Next up is Hunter Hwang Yeon-ji. But we should maintain momentum, so perhaps Hunter Baek Hojun..."
"Director Gong Je-hun."
This time, it was Hojun who replied, not me.
"To be honest, I'm not in any condition to go up against Sol Mayer."
At Odyssey, while Shin Yu-baek and Hong Ji-hak did a lot of the hard work, it was mostly Baek Hojun who handled the toughest opponents. Naturally, he'd expended a lot of stamina, and Sol Mayer was a poor match-up for him anyway.
"Plus, Sol Mayer is a mage known as the Trickster. He uses unique magic and has a high win rate against swordsmen."
Sol Mayer wasn't called UK's pride for nothing.
He had created and used his own original spells, not simply elemental magic, and unlike other mages, he was especially formidable against swordsmen.
'That's why the Sol Mayer Yeon-ji fought was a fake.'
Although public perception was that "he held back," the truth is, it was a fake.
And the Sol Mayer in this Odyssey was no different.
'The real one...'
I didn't know exactly what had happened, but I doubted it was a good situation.
The real Sol Mayer was known for his vanity—someone like that would never let a stand-in appear at Odyssey in his stead.
"Yeon-ji can beat Sol Mayer."
I spoke with conviction, and Gong Je-hun alternated his gaze between Yeon-ji and me, then nodded.
"If it's you, coach Park Jung-woo, I'll trust your judgment."
"Don't worry too much, Yeon-ji. Even if you lose, I'll take care of the rest somehow."
After exchanging glances, Gong Je-hun and Baek Hojun left the waiting room.
Soo-ah also quietly slipped away.
She probably thought that Yeon-ji and I had something to discuss privately.
Which made sense, since Yeon-ji hadn't said a single word up to this point.
"Do you not regret it?"
Once we were alone in the waiting room, Yeon-ji spoke quietly.
"What?"
"If I lose here, the one people will blame isn't me, but you."
Normally, Yeon-ji would have said this with a crooked smirk and a sneer, but today was different.
"A-rank can never beat S-rank. That's common sense, even for people who don't know much about Awakener. Naturally... the audience watching Odyssey will think so, too."
Slowly, Yeon-ji's black eyes looked up at me.
Her forehead, where the jewel had once been, now showed no trace.
The horn, the forehead jewel—everything had been perfectly concealed with magic.
But if Yeon-ji fought at her full strength, there was a chance it might all be revealed.
"The public knows nothing about demons. If, by chance, something gets exposed—"
"It's bound to come out eventually anyway."
For all I knew, the 'fake' Sol Mayer might be the first to reveal it.
"... There's not even anyone to cheer for someone like me."
"You're popular though, why?"
"Ugh, are you being serious? How is that the same thing?"
Annoyed by my nonchalant reply, Yeon-ji shot me a look with sparkly eyes.
I could feel her voice trembling slightly, different from usual.
"I'm not S-rank."
S-rank... what does that even mean.
Hand on her chest, Yeon-ji exhaled.
Inside her was an enormous well of magic power—far surpassing even when she was Ji Yeon-hwa in the past.
"But you still think I can win?"
"I don't ask someone to do anything they can't actually do."
"Like Lee Soo-ah or Alencia?"
I nodded.
Yeon-ji looked at me in silence, as if studying whether I was just saying empty words.
【The third match is about to begin. Once again, the third match is about to begin, so please prepare to enter.】
"... It's time."
Rumors must have spread that Lee Soo-ah, who defeated Adeline, wouldn't be participating in the third match.
With the third match about to start, it was time for Yeon-ji to prepare for entry.
"How funny."
So Yeon-ji turned her back to me, grasped the doorknob to leave the waiting room.
"It's ridiculous, but when you say it, I feel like maybe I really can do something."
She glanced back and smiled softly.
"You'll be cheering for me, right?"
"Of course. Who else would I cheer for?"
"Well, there's that. Not sure if I can cover you with gold like Lee Soo-ah did, though."
Tsk.
Yeon-ji opened the door.
Heading toward the soon-to-begin third match.
"I'll do my best."
That must have been one of the rare times Yeon-ji showed bravado.
***
"Hwang Yeon-ji."
Chester Mayer—or rather, the one who now called himself Sol Mayer—grinned as he thought about the upcoming match.
He'd worried for a moment that Lee Soo-ah might step up, but to think that she would voluntarily withdraw.
Thanks to that, his opponent changed to the easiest mark—Hwang Yeon-ji.
"Excellent."
It was finally time to pay back that humiliation.
There was no more Chester Mayer, who'd lost so pathetically before.
He was now Sol Mayer.
UK's—no, Europe's genius.
'Trickster', the great mage of deception: Sol Mayer.
"Don't lose to some half-demon."
At his manager's words, Sol Mayer glanced over.
Right, a half-demon, that's what she was called.
That was why he'd lost before. But now it was different.
"After all, you possess the power of the Great Duke."
The power that now filled his heart—this was not something that a mere half-demon could even dream of rivaling.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Hmm, so the fake got the heart of the Great Duke Henate?
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】