The Hero Returns

Wham, wham—

Whoosh—

Ifrit was thrown into the air by Su-hyeun's punch, then hurriedly spread his wings made of fire. He tried to keep his balance in the air and brushed his one cheek with his hand. Su-hyeun had punched him in the face. It was unbelievable.

<<How the hell…?>>

Ifrit looked at Su-hyeun with puzzled eyes. Su-hyeun had hit fire, which was immaterial. That was supposed to be impossible. Hitting or cutting space was a really high-level skill. Ifrit, who had been very confident a moment before, became very confused. Su-hyeun drew his sword and walked toward Ifrit.

"Give up…"

Thump, thump—

Su-hyeun's steps were very leisurely. He lifted his sword and went on, "…or my next move will be to cut your neck."

"Bullsh*t!" Ifrit spread his arms.

Whoosh—

At the same time, his body turned into flame again. The devil that appeared from the fire had wings on his back and flew into the air. Su-hyeun just stood still and watched him. The air around Su-hyeun became hotter, as if it would burn Su-hyeun down.

Snap—!

Whoosh—

Su-hyeun snapped his fingers and a dark blue flame swept through the stadium. Soon, Ifrit's red flame trembled.

"You aren't the only one who can use fire," Su-hyeun said.

[Flame - Phoenix.]

Caw, caw—!

Dozens of huge dark blue birds flew into the sky.

"I can, too."

Flap—

The dark blue birds pecked at the red flame. The red flame shook as if it was about to go out. The phoenixes that had jumped into Ifrit's red fire were swallowing his flame. Ifrit's flame expanded to cover Su-hyeun's body.

Whoosh—

"Is that your last shot?"

Stab—

Su-hyeun stabbed the floor with his sword. And, at that moment—

"Aaargh!"

—with a scream, Ifrit's body was revealed about ten paces away from Su-hyeun. His foot was bleeding.

"I touched you again."

"Damn it…"

"Just accept that you're not suited for me because I can see all. I can see where you are and where to attack."

Crack—

Su-hyeun's third eye opened. And when Ifrit met that eye, he finally realized…

<<He…can see me?>>

And it wasn't just simple sight. Su-hyeun could see beyond appearances and attack him. Above all, Su-hyeun was very fast, so Ifrit didn't even have enough time to run away. He held his breath.

[Third Eye - Predator.]

Rumble—

Behind Su-hyeun, a huge snake appeared.

<<Is that a skill?>>

But that wasn't it. Highly-concentrated magic began to swallow Ifrit. And Ifrit remembered that Su-hyeun had stabbed the top of his feet, instead of cutting his neck.

<<If he wanted to, he totally could have cut my neck that time>> Ifrit thought.

Thump—

"You pounced on me first before, right?"

Rumble—

Su-hyeun just took one step, but Ifrit felt like the whole stadium was shaking. Su-hyeun's presence was so significant.

Flop—

Ifrit stepped back unwittingly and fell on his buttocks.

"Oh…no…"

"I'll go this time," Su-hyeun said and took his feet from the ground.

Swish—

"S-surrender!" Ifrit shut his eyes tight and raised his arms. Su-hyeun's sword, which was rushing toward Ifrit's neck, stopped midswing.

"The third game of the quarterfinals is over. Siegfried is the winner!"

The host declared Su-hyeun the victor. It was an overwhelming victory.

***

Su-hyeun came down from the stage. He couldn't see Chun Ha-jin, but Luslec was waiting for him.

"Did you really mean to kill him?" Luslec asked, grinning.

He was asking if Su-hyeun would really cut Ifrit's neck if he hadn't surrendered. Su-hyeun didn't answer. It was obvious.

"I thought I knew you," Luslec said, "but I guess I didn't. You're usually so kind, but you change when somebody oversteps the line. And what just happened was the same. You tried to not kill him…but you changed your mind quickly."

"I guess you do know me well."

"I'm good at reading people."

"I need to rest. Let's talk about it later," Su-hyeun said.

"From the stage?"

"…Yes."

Su-hyeun turned his body. Then, he sat on one chair, put on a blindfold, and tilted his head back. He tried to empty his head. He had no time to think about Luslec.

Su-hyeun pictured Chun Ha-jin in the dark under his blindfold. He thought about the other players that had died because of Chun Ha-jin and his hand. He didn't feel any particular ill will toward Chun Ha-jin. Moreover, it wasn't like Su-hyeun felt pity for the other players that had died, or he had been fond of them or something.

<<But still…>> Su-hyeun was only thinking one thing. <<I don't need to keep the bad guy alive.>>

He could hear the host announcing that the final game of the quarterfinals would begin. And, after more than a half-hour of fighting, one person was left standing. The quarterfinals ended.

***

"Gasp, gasp—"

Puff—

From his naked upper body, a hot dark smoke soared. All the lights were broken and scattered on the floor, as was the furniture. In the corner of the dark room of broken things, Chun Ha-jin was sitting cross-legged.

Puff, puff—

Sizzle—

The sweat that flowed down Chun Ha-jin's body turned black and evaporated into the air.

"Cough!"

All of a sudden, Chun Ha-jin spat up blood. It was dark-red. Chun Ha-jin, who spat out the poisonous blood, smiled.

"Awesome!"

He was taking the energy and vitality he had taken from his opponents and making it his own. And, in the process, he sweated off the energy that didn't suit him or spat it up as blood. Usually, he could absorb about 50% of the power, but this time he was able to absorb about 80%. That meant that his Force Absorption's Proficiency and his own ability was getting higher.

Chun Ha-jin got up from his seat and looked around. There was a decorative flowerpot in the corner. Chun Ha-jin looked at the plants, as tall as an adult man, and reached his hand out to them. At that moment…

Rustle—

The moisture from the plants began to disappear. Soon, they turned to sand and scattered on the floor. Chun Ha-jin smiled at the instant change.

<<Soon, I will attain greatness.>>

Force Absorption was a new skill that he had learned in his later years. Even before he had learned the Force Absorption skill, he had been proud and considered himself the best. And this skill gave him wings. Chun Ha-jin was sure that, once his skill reached the highest level, he would become a great man.

<<If I can eat up that man…>>

Chun Ha-jin put his clothes back on, thinking about his next opponent. And it was at that moment…

<<If I can eat up that man…?>>

It was as if some sort of a wall appeared in his thinking. He could feel a tingle in his head. Chun Ha-jin staggered and put his hand on the wall.

<<Why?>>

Chun Ha-jin, who leaned against the wall for a moment, muttered with a blank face, "What was I thinking?"

He thought something was weird. But soon, he thought he must be getting absentminded in his old age, and shrugged it off. He didn't think about it seriously and went back to the arena.

***

Four people were left after the quarterfinals: Su-hyeun, Chun Ha-jin, Luslec, and Arthur. The players were given about an hour's rest. They all rested where they felt comfortable. Su-hyeun and Chun Ha-jin were supposed to play the first game.

"If a player does not arrive within 10 minutes, you will be disqualified. Let me repeat it. If a player does—"

In the middle of the stadium, the host announced the rules in a loud voice. Su-hyeun was standing on one side and looked at Chun Ha-jin's waiting seat. Chun Ha-jin hadn't yet arrived at the stadium.

<<There's no way he ran away…>>

Chun Ha-jin had been looking forward to fighting against Su-hyeun. He had even threatened Su-hyeun to not run away.

<<It wouldn't make sense if he ran away.>>

Moreover, this was the trial. Even though Su-hyeun was already qualified to move on to the next trial, it didn't make sense for his opponent, Chun Ha-jin, to escape. And, as Su-hyeun thought—

Thump, thump—

—the sounds of heavy footsteps came from the waiting room. It was Chun Ha-jin.

"Hey. You're early," Su-hyeun said sarcastically.

At his comment, Chun Ha-jin grinned as he walked up to the stage. "You should thank me. I gave you more time to breathe in this world."

He seemed very confident, still. Su-hyeun could figure out the reason.

<<It looks like he made the power he absorbed his own.>>

Chun Ha-jin got stronger and stronger through the games. He absorbed the other's magic and made it his own using the Force Absorption skill. And he could expand his total amount of magic in the process. Force Absorption was surely a great skill.

"Then, please get ready," the host said and stepped away.

Su-hyeun and Chun Ha-jin stood in their preparation positions. Su-hyeun drew Balmung, and Chun Ha-jin drew a red sword he was wearing on his belt.

"The first game of the semifinals will begin!"

The start of the game was declared.

Swish, swish—

Crack—!

Rumble—

The two people's bodies moved quickly, leaving afterimages in their place. Their magic hit each other in the middle of the stage.

Crack, crack—

The ground in the middle of the stadium began to crack. Soon, the same shock happened again in many spots around the stage.

Clang, clank, clang—!

Craaack—

The floor of the stadium was cracked and cut in several places. Su-hyeun and Chun Ha-jin appeared and disappeared repeatedly.

Whiz—

Slash, slash—

The swords hit each other and cut through the air.

Swish—

Su-hyeun stabbed Chun Ha-jin's shoulder. When Chun Ha-jin's body began to tilt, Su-hyeun stretched his fist out to him.

Boom—!

Chun Ha-jin blocked Su-hyeun's fist with his hand and aroused his Force Absorption. Su-hyeun could feel the sensation of the magic in his body disappearing. And, at the same time, he also could feel his body begin to weaken.

Whack—

Su-hyeun hit Chun Ha-jin's hand away. Chun Ha-jin grinned under his mask and chased after Su-hyeun.

Clang, clank—

Crack, crack—

"You're really something!" Chun Ha-jin laughed happily.

He enjoyed the fight. And he was pleased by the fact that soon he would eat up Su-hyeun's power.

Whoosh—

A dark blue flame rose between Su-hyeun and Chun Ha-jin.

Rumble—

A high concentration of magic surrounded Chun Ha-jin. It was a skill called Energy Barrier, a skill that people used a lot Chun Ha-jin's world.

Whoosh—!

Chun Ha-jin wrapped his body with Energy Barrier and broke through the Flame skill.

Slash—

Su-hyeun's sword cut deep into Chun Ha-jin's waist.

Grab—

And, at the same time, Chun Ha-jin grabbed Su-hyeun's wrist. He gave up protecting his waist to grab Su-hyeun's wrist. If this were a usual fight, that would be a significant loss. But Chun Ha-jin didn't think it was a loss at all.

<<I win!>>

He sucked Su-hyeun's power through his hand. But something weird happened.

"…What?"

Chun Ha-jin's body was staggered by the intense dizziness in his head.