novelraw Chapter 108
Chapter 108
Chapter 108
In a way it was obvious, but people generally liked brutal things.
Gladiator fights, bullfighting, cockfighting, cow fighting… people enjoyed watching bloodshed as long as they were not the ones bleeding.
Even in mixed martial arts, people preferred knockouts over decision wins. You could tell by how often people argued about real-combat effectiveness in fighting sports.
It was never about whether someone could win a match. People cared more about whether the fighter could beat the opponent into a cripple.
“Hunters fighting each other are no different.”
Of course, a duel between Hunters, people who could practically be called superhumans, was interesting by its very nature.
But tight rules designed to protect a Hunter’s safety could never fully satisfy the public.
The duel between me and Choi Yeoreum was not like that.
“That is why everyone is this excited.”
After checking the time, I stood up and headed toward the conference room.
This meeting was for discussing the detailed matters related to my duel with Choi Yeoreum.
Not long after I arrived, Choi Yeoreum entered as well. She glanced at me once, then sat without a word.
“Everyone is here. Then we will begin.”
There was a lot to prepare for my duel with Choi Yeoreum.
For example…
“The current stage we use is nowhere near enough for the duel.”
Choi Yeoreum responded to my words.
“Yes, what he said is true.”
If the two of us fought on a flimsy stage, it would collapse in less than five minutes. We needed an appropriate location.
“There is no point in building a special stage. It will break anyway.”
“I also oppose gathering spectators nearby.”
Wherever we fought, the entire area would be devastated.
“What about the plains near Anseong Stream?”
It was the Association President’s suggestion. The planning committee whispered among themselves for a moment.
“It seems fine. The space is wide, and the only nearby residents are foreign workers.”
“Foreign worker settlement?”
I asked, and the Association President explained.
“Mostly Chinese. Foreign workers who work in the industrial complexes of Anseong.”
“That area barely has any infrastructure anyway. Even if damage happens, it will not be much.”
Korea was strictly maintaining a citizen-first system.
Foreigners without Korean citizenship could not live outside designated zones. Those zones did not receive utilities such as electricity or water.
“Besides, most of the buildings in that settlement are 3D-printed houses mass-produced by the Geumyang Group.”
If the area got destroyed, the only ones suffering would be foreigners. There would be almost no other consequences. Not pleasant to hear if you were a foreigner, but this was the world now.
Korea had become an international police force and a bully. Even if foreign residents died, no country would dare file a diplomatic protest.
“What about the broadcast coverage?”
“We plan to use helicopters and observation drones.”
Choi Yeoreum made an unimpressed face.
“Do you think those will survive?”
“The equipment is made using monster by-products.”
Choi Yeoreum still looked doubtful, and I felt the same.
“I still don't think they will last long.”
“They should endure up to five hours.”
See? The problem was serious. Five hours was nowhere near enough.
“You will need several units ready.”
These people did not yet understand how I fought it seemed.
“You should also secure enough personnel so the broadcast crew can rotate.”
Choi Yeoreum snorted at my words.
“How many hours do you think you will be fighting?”
Hours? I was expecting more than a week. I intended to fight long enough for people to get sick of watching.
I did not know much about her personality, but I could not deny Choi Yeoreum’s skill. And I always took my time when fighting a powerful opponent.
“You must keep the conditions I listed.”
Sufficient replaceable observation equipment, and enough broadcast staff to rotate. Essential for a smooth duel.
“…Alright. We will do as you say. Hunter Choi Yeoreum, do you have any additional requests?”
With her chin propped on her hand, Choi Yeoreum looked at me and smiled.
“I’m not sure honestly? I guess prepare a coffin that brat can fit into.”
A coffin, huh. I smiled back at her.
“Then please prepare a bottle of champagne for me to drink after I win.”
We stared at each other for a moment. Then Choi Yeoreum stood up, still looking at me.
“Handle the rest yourselves. This is your specialty.”
After she left, I stood up as well, smiling.
“Same here. In the end, Hunter Choi Yeoreum and I put on the show and the Association takes the money, yes? I trust you will prepare everything well.”
After a brief farewell, I left the room.
A few days later, the preparations were finally completed. I could tell even without a report from the Association.
[The rendezvous of red and black. A clash of raging flames!]
[A reigning legend, a challenger legend.]
The screen doors and giant billboards of Seoul were filled with flashy ads showing me and Choi Yeoreum.
Online, people talked about nothing else. The TV was the same.
Everyone had enormous expectations.
“The imagery matches perfectly, don’t you think?”
Jung Oh-hoon pointed at the TV with his fork while eating pancakes.
“Choi Yeoreum uses flame-type mana. And Chan-seok, you use that black fire or whatever it is.”
So our images complemented each other in other people’s eyes huh. I had not planned that, but it was amusing how it turned out.
“For now, people think Choi Yeoreum will win.”
I nodded at Han Sang-ah’s words. Of course. Rank three was no joke. Aside from that senior Hunter in second place, only one person outranked her.
“What is the ratio? Around eight to two?”
Han Sang-ah shook her head.
“Seven to three.”
“That is better than I thought?”
It meant expectations for me were higher than I thought.
“You have already done several things people thought were impossible. So many want to see that again.”
I picked up my spear for practice, thrusting it toward a steel armor plate as I replied.
“My goal is the crown anyway.”
Rank did not matter. Yes, beating Choi Yeoreum would officially make me rank three, but…
“There are always crazies in the world.”
There would be powerful Hunters who remained unknown, hiding themselves. I had met several in my old world.
Besides…
“Even if my name reaches the upper ranks of the List of Hope, I cannot fight the Great Eight alone.”
I still remembered Seonghong, the low-level officer of the Undying Legion. Making the list was not the end.
It meant you were among the strongest Hunters, but it did not mean you could swallow the Great Eight whole.
“Alright, alright. I think it is time to go. What do you think?”
Jung Oh-hoon checked the time and spoke.
“Yeah, time for me to leave.”
After confirming my condition, I picked up my things and stood. When I stepped outside, countless people were gathered, waiting for me.
My car was ready beyond the crowd. I walked slowly through cheers and applause, then got in.
“Worry and fear don't help with anything.”
Muttering that, I rode toward Anseong. I expected the trip to take a while, but it was surprisingly fast.
Saying I was not nervous would be a lie. I had to win here.
And tension made time pass quickly. Before I knew it, I was standing on the vast plains, facing Choi Yeoreum.
Choi Yeoreum floated slightly above ground, a blazing flame burning in one hand.
“Kid, I trust you prepared to get beaten into a cripple.”
“You too.”
I answered shortly and raised my spear. The black flame spread along the shaft and soon engulfed the entire weapon.
I had fought Lee Se-eun and had a good match. I wondered what Choi Yeoreum would be like.
“I am curious how many minutes it will take before you regret what you said at the ceremony.”
With her words, a massive horn blast echoed across the plains.
“Oh, maybe you will not even last that long?”
She flicked the riding whip in her hand, and hundreds of red magic circles formed around her.
It was an overwhelming sight. The surge of mana was so immense that even my body tingled.
“As expected.”
I already guessed she was not the type to fight up close.
She would never allow an approach and would crush opponents from range with overwhelming firepower.
“Come on. The place where you stand is your hell.”
“We will see about that, miss lighter.”
It was crude and clear. A carpet-bombing aimed at me began. Adakawa Nanami could do bombardments too.
But this was different.
House-sized fireballs flew toward me at supersonic speed, twisting their path endlessly. It felt like they were alive.
“This is,”
I could not tell if I was fighting a person or playing a bullet-hell game. The number of fireballs Choi Yeoreum created was monstrous.
It looked like a Milky Way made of flames!
And that Milky Way rained down endlessly onto me.
To make it worse, Choi Yeoreum burned like a sun, shooting crimson rays in every direction. Like Superman’s heat vision.
Except Superman fired from his eyes. This woman fired from her entire body.
“What are you, a glowing mirror ball?”
She looked like a mirror ball scattering red beams everywhere. She was not aiming precisely.
“If I cover the entire world in fire, you will get hit eventually!”
Yes, that was exactly her mentality. Her entire barrage was built upon that idea.
Even while she wasted mana in every direction, her energy hardly decreased.
The quantity of mana inside her body was clearly beyond standard limits. If there were a goddess of the sun, she would look like that.
“Now do you understand. You messed with the wrong opponent. And realization always comes too late.”
With a relaxed voice, Choi Yeoreum sat in midair with her legs crossed, looking down at me.
“Sorry, but I have not done anything yet, lighter.”
Being too confident too early would lead to disaster.
The Paradoxical Flame surged and wrapped around my body. I poured eighty percent of my mana into it.
With this level of intensity, even shapes could be burned. But right now, the only thing my Paradoxical Flame was burning was one thing.
Heat. At this intensity, her fireballs disappeared before they exploded.
The red beams she scattered everywhere vanished as well. Her flames could not harm me.
“Three nights and four days will not be enough. Let’s have fun for a while, shall we.”
I lifted my spear and charged straight toward Choi Yeoreum.