Chapter 248: Blood Rain Three Elders-2
Chapter 248: Blood Rain Three Elders-2
While Seonwoo Jin defeated First Elder Chakhwaseup in their stealth technique duel and even dragged away Third Elder Nusantu, Jin So-eun knew nothing of this. She focused solely on Gok Mussang, who stood just outside six jang from her.
Though her Mind's Eye had grown terrifyingly in a short period, it was still too much for her to detect Chakhwaseup or Seonwoo Jin's stealth.
She was now completely focused on her opponent, simply waiting for him to draw closer.
In her current state, she felt that even if throwing weapons came flying from a much closer distance, she could somehow block them all.
'My body and mind are so light and clear. Even with my eyes closed, everything is being perceived so vividly and distinctly. How is this possible? Has Seonwoo Gongja always lived in such a world?'
Thinking that, a sense of purpose suddenly surged within her.
Things like physical exhaustion didn't even register—rather, a desire was boiling up to test her own limits through this opponent before her eyes.
'Come closer. I'll block everything. I can do this!'
Jin So-eun captured her opponent's every single move within her mind's eye, focused like the tip of a blade.
But that was when she had been waiting for a moment.
For some reason, the opponent wasn't coming any closer.
'...What is this? Why isn't he approaching?'
Jin So-eun felt puzzled for a moment.
But soon she thought it didn't matter.
'If you won't come, then I'll just go myself.'
With that thought, Jin So-eun took a single step toward her opponent.
Then an immediate reaction came.
The opponent flinched, then hurriedly retreated the same distance Jin So-eun had advanced.
Only then could Jin So-eun realize why the opponent hadn't approached.
'That man... he's afraid. Of me closing in.'
And she could guess the reason right away.
'This distance was his safety line. A safety line where he could throw his projectiles without receiving a counterattack. That man has no confidence in close combat.'
And through that realization, Jin So-eun came to understand something else.
'If that's the case, then if I can just block this next volley of throwing weapons...'
If his safety line was at this distance, then blocking these throwing weapons would carry a different meaning than before.
Because these throwing weapons would likely be his last.
If she could block just those, it meant this fight could end in her victory.
Jin So-eun let out a deep breath.
"Huuuuu!"
Her mind focused to a single point, to the degree that it couldn't concentrate any further.
Very thin and sharp.
In that state, she slowly began to approach her opponent.
Seueuk!
Meanwhile, Gok Mussang, who had flinched involuntarily at Jin So-eun's approach, was grinding his teeth.
He was, by all accounts, one of the mightiest in the Blood Rain Assembly, the greatest assassin group under heaven.
Yet he, such a man, had retreated in fear from a young girl like her...
It could be nothing other than utterly shameful.
'How dare she!'
Ppudeudeuk!
Gok Mussang ground his teeth.
He hadn't spent all these years honing his throwing weapon arts just to be looked down upon by a mere young girl like her.
Didn't he pride himself that in throwing weapons alone, he was superior even to Am Hyeol-hyang, the greatest assassin under heaven?
So if he just concentrated properly, a girl like that could never be his match.
Gok Mussang no longer dismissed Jin So-eun as an amateur.
He focused his entire mind as if facing a lifelong nemesis, and began to target her.
His momentum was like a venomous snake coiled and waiting for one final strike.
'Go on, come closer!'
At that, the advancing Jin So-eun halted for a moment.
Because she could immediately feel that her opponent's momentum had shifted in an instant.
'His momentum has sharpened.'
This was nothing like the careless momentum from moments before.
It was like the momentum of a scorpion preparing its venomous sting, waiting for that final opening.
That hedgehog-like prickly momentum was enough to make her skin sting.
Jin So-eun could perceive it instinctively.
The fact that her opponent no longer looked down on her, nor was he afraid of her.
'Now it's for real.'
Swallowing hard, Jin So-eun stopped in place, waiting without closing the distance any further.
She felt that if she rushed even a little or showed any opening, her opponent's throwing weapons would pierce through her body in an instant.
It was a suffocating feeling, as if her whole body was bound tightly in vines and unable to move.
She had no choice but to stand still like a stone, her wooden staff extended forward.
On the other hand, Gok Mussang, who had been waiting for her movement, was equally immobilized.
The current distance between them was between five and six jang. This would inevitably be his final chance to throw his weapons.
So he absolutely had to land a hit.
But no opening had yet appeared in his opponent.
It seemed the opponent had also realized that the one who moved first would reveal an opening.
Gok Mussang now felt pure admiration.
'Indeed, she's no easy foe. So young, yet what remarkable senses.'
Having fully acknowledged his opponent, Gok Mussang now decided to wait for her to move first.
That young girl was a strong enough foe to be worth it.
And waiting was what he, an assassin, did best.
The duel between the two was now converging into a contest of endurance.
***
"Ka-aak! Ka-aak! Ka-aak!"
A crow flew noisily overhead, passing above the two of them.
A rabbit, unaware, paused briefly between the two before fleeing in a startled dash toward the brush.
But the two still didn't move a muscle, pouring razor-sharp focused attention at each other.
How much time had passed?
Both their faces began to grow drenched with sweat.
And in truth, the two were in a far more exhausted state than what was visible outwardly.
Because this situation—facing off with their entire minds concentrated on each other—demanded an immense amount of stamina and mental fortitude.
But the two's conditions weren't entirely identical.
Jin So-eun suddenly thought,
'At this rate, I might suddenly pass out.'
The hardship was the same for both, but the probability that she would be the first to collapse seemed high.
It was just that she had momentarily forgotten due to her awakened state, but her stamina had already been depleted before the standoff even began.
Furthermore, her opponent was an assassin.
A veteran assassin at that.
So in a situation requiring this kind of patience, he would undoubtedly be far more accustomed to it than her.
In the end, the conclusion was clear.
At this rate, it would be her defeat.
Gulp.
'What should I do?'
Jin So-eun agonized.
She couldn't maintain this situation as it was.
If more time passed and her stamina was completely exhausted, she wouldn't even have a chance to try anything.
So the answer was obvious.
It was time to take a gamble.
'But... how?'
It was clear that she had to take a gamble.
But that didn't mean she could just recklessly close in on her opponent as things stood.
If she approached without a plan, it was obvious she would be finished on the spot.
If she had to close in, she absolutely had to somehow shake her opponent first and create an opening.
'Create an opening. What method is there?'
But no matter how much she thought, no suitable means came to mind.
Her opponent could attack from long range, but she, who used a staff, absolutely had to close in on her opponent to do anything.
It was a troubling situation.
Jin So-eun bit her lip.
'What can I do? And I can't exactly throw my only staff away...'
She was thinking such thoughts while feeling a creeping sense of despair.
Then a thought suddenly surfaced in Jin So-eun's mind.
It was the kind of thought she would absolutely never have entertained in the past.
She swallowed hard and thought,
'But that's truly absurd, isn't it? Yet I can't just stay still either...'
After agonizing briefly, Jin So-eun finally made her judgment.
Now was not the time to agonize over whether to do it or not.
If she didn't want to die without even attempting anything, she had to execute that one remaining method with the utmost focus.
"Huuuuuu."
Jin So-eun let out a deep breath.
Her momentum was gradually growing fiercer.
At that, Gok Mussang could immediately feel that Jin So-eun's momentum was intensifying.
It seemed the opponent could no longer endure and was planning to move first.
'As expected.'
A triumphant smile spread inside him.
He knew better than anyone that in this situation, the one who moved first was doomed to lose.
As expected, no matter how great a genius she was, the gap in experience could not be faked.
That was the moment.
Jin So-eun finally moved.
Shuhaak!
"?!"
Gok Mussang was briefly horrified.
Jin So-eun's attack came in a manner he had never anticipated.
Jin So-eun's wooden staff flew at him as a beam of light.
She had launched the staff she was holding straight at him.
'What a foolish...?!'
Gok Mussang urgently shifted his upper body and barely avoided the staff shooting toward his head.
Shweeik!
The staff, moving at incredible speed, grazed past his head, and shattered strands of hair scattered into the air.
Even to him, a master of throwing weapons, the speed was undeniably and considerably threatening.
But that was all.
Gok Mussang was now certain the fight was over.
During a battle against a strong foe, releasing one's strongest weapon from one's hand was far too foolish an act.
'This is the end!'
Gok Mussang's eyes fixed upon Jin So-eun.
Having launched the staff, she was now flying toward him.
The distance between them now was three jang.
'Hup!'
Gok Mussang attempted to throw his projectiles.
At this distance, Jin So-eun without her staff could not possibly block his throwing weapons.
But in that instant, Jin So-eun's movement changed again.
Seuseuseuk!
"!"
Gok Mussang's eyes wavered.
Her figure split into three in a single moment.
It was the Three Illusionary Steps.
The Three Illusionary Steps, having reached the realm of mastery, had momentarily split Jin So-eun's figure into three.
Unable to pinpoint her position in that instant, Gok Mussang had no choice but to hesitate briefly.
The distance between them now was two jang.
But no further confusion would work.
Because Gok Mussang's eye techniques as a master of throwing weapons also transcended imagination.
When the distance between them finally became a single jang, his eyes succeeded in identifying Jin So-eun's true body.
'Caught you!'
He threw his projectile without a moment's hesitation.
Shaak!
Jin So-eun could see the opponent looking straight at her as he hurled the projectile.
It happened while she had yet to close the gap of a single jang.
A ray of light faster than sound reached right before her forehead in a split second.
The next moment, a sound rang out.
Per-seok!
It was the sound of something bursting.
Then, as her legs gave way, Jin So-eun slumped down.
And she collapsed onto the ground just like that.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
Even if they beat her to death now, she could not move another inch.
If anyone threw a projectile at her, she would simply have to take it.
"Hah, hah, hah!"
She could not even control her breathing.
Her whole body felt as if it were melting into a liquid state and sticking to the ground.
Lying spread-eagled on the ground for a moment, Jin So-eun suddenly turned her head and looked to the side.
She then confirmed the body of Gok Mussang, his head burst open, belatedly and slowly collapsing.
Tumble!
Jin So-eun let out ragged breaths and stared at his corpse with a dazed mind for a moment.
Somehow, it did not feel real.
But after a long while, seeing his corpse still not moving, she could finally open her mouth.
"I really... won."
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
"Ha, haha, hahahaha."
Suddenly, the final moment from just before flashed through her mind.
The instant when the opponent's projectile nearly pierced through her head.
In that life-or-death moment, Jin So-eun had managed to very slightly graze the projectile with her prepared index finger.
And that faint contact saved her life.
The trajectory of the projectile shifted slightly, grazing past the side of her forehead instead of its center.
Thanks to that, the side of her forehead was split sharply as if sliced by a blade and blood was still flowing out, but that degree of injury was perfectly fine.
At least compared to the opponent whose head had burst open from the Three Illusionary Kicks right after.
Jin So-eun let out a hearty, masculine snicker and muttered.
"Keukeukeukeu, this actually works?"
The thought to abandon the staff in that critical moment and use her fingers had come from the Brawling Technique she learned from Seonwoo Jin not long ago.
When she was learning the Brawling Technique from him, Jin So-eun had easily learned to use the staff alongside the Three Illusionary Kicks, but she could never get accustomed to releasing the staff from her hands and engaging in barehanded brawling.
Because letting go of the staff felt far too awkward.
Seeing this, Seonwoo Jin had suddenly asked her:
'The sword force finger techniques of high-level swordsmen are sometimes as threatening as a true sword. What about you, sojeo? Can your hand not serve as a substitute for the staff?'
Upon hearing those words, Jin So-eun felt dazed, as if struck on the head.
Because she had never once considered that her hand could substitute for the staff.
But she could soon realize that it had been a problem of her own fixed mindset.
She could unfold the Natural Staff techniques regardless of whether the staff was long or short.
For someone like her, it could not possibly matter whether it was a finger or a forearm.
And once she realized that, she soon succeeded in using her hands and fingers as an extension of staff techniques rather than brawling techniques.
That had happened just two days ago....
'But that realization ultimately decided the match, didn't it? Good heavens.'
Recalling that thought, Jin So-eun let out another hollow laugh.
Did this not mean that even just two days prior, she would have absolutely been unable to defeat him?
It was astonishing that the match was decided by a mere two-day gap in time.
'Is this what they call destiny?'
Thinking that made her feel slightly energized for some reason.
It was because she felt as though she had been chosen by destiny.
But then another thought occurred to her.
'Destiny? Seonu Gongja?'
For some reason, the word "destiny" drew the image of his face.
And that thought was sufficiently convincing.
'Come to think of it, the Mind's Eye, the Three Illusionary Steps, the Three Illusionary Kicks, when I think about it, isn't it all thanks to Seonu Gongja?'
It was true.
Except for the Natural Staff, everything used in this fight had been learned from Seonwoo Jin.
The thought even crossed her mind that perhaps she had learned more from Seonwoo Jin than from her grandfather Jin Sa-mong.
'.......'
As such thoughts ran through her head, the current situation she found herself in suddenly felt a bit peculiar.
Why had Seonu Gongja, who would help her in times of danger, deliberately vanished from her side?
The answer to that question did not take long to surface.
Because the things she had gained from this fight were the answer.
'I mastered the Mind's Eye, completed the Three Illusionary Steps, and harmonized the staff with the Brawling Technique? Furthermore... I defeated a transcendent peak master, didn't I? What is this?'
Thinking about it again, it was an absurd situation.
Until not long ago, she had been struggling, unable to defeat even a peak-level master.
Jin So-eun suddenly snapped her upper body upright.
Somehow, lying down comfortably as if she had accomplished something made her feel ashamed.
And as she looked around, she saw the assassins who had fled far away now carefully approaching her again.
"Huuuuu!"
Letting out a deep sigh, Jin So-eun rose to her feet again.
Her entire body was screaming, but still, she could not allow herself to die at the hands of such lowlifes.
Because then she would not have the face to see Seonwoo Jin, who had helped her grow to this extent.
Jin So-eun suddenly realized her hands were empty and looked at her wooden staff far away, deeply embedded in a tree where it had flown.
To fight, she would need to go pull that out again.
But after staring at the staff for a moment, Jin So-eun soon turned her head and began trudging barehanded toward the assassins.
For some reason, she felt it might be okay even without it now.
She rotated her stiff, aching body around loosely and muttered.
"Now, shall we start again?"
It was time to fight again.
But this time, it did not seem like it would take as long as before. And it would not be as difficult as before either.
In her heart, composure and confidence were surging up.