Sword Saint Yeo Seon-hui
Yeo Seon-hui didn't consider herself some paragon of justice or moral superiority. Sure, people around her fawned over her as a hero or whatever... but she figured that role belonged to the old man holed up in that 60-story building smack in the middle of Seoul. All she had was a basic sense of conscience—the simple rule that nothing in this world comes free, and if you take something, you give back just as much.
S-ranks enjoyed immense privileges. They could live in luxury without lifting a finger, without spilling a single drop of monster blood for a whole year. It wasn't written in any law, but the unspoken perks and deference they received made them modern-day royalty. That was because society recognized their mere existence as a contribution to stability and security, thanks to the efforts of senior hunters who'd devoted themselves to ordinary people since the early days of the Gate incidents. The world kept turning, society chugged along, and S-ranks reaped the rewards. It wasn't just because they were strong.
Of course, if the world ended in some apocalypse, an S-rank could probably rule like a king. But a throne built on the ruins of civilization? Would that really be better than the comforts of a functioning society? She didn't think so. That's why Yeo Seon-hui saw repaying what she'd received—what society afforded her—as the bare minimum of conscience. Not even repayment, really. Getting paid for work was the fundamental principle of life, from ancient times to now.
So when someone failed even that basic standard, she couldn't help thinking: That's not a human—that's just a beast. Yeah. Like Shin Ye-hwa.
Yeo Seon-hui still remembered it vividly. About three years ago, roughly a year after Shin Ye-hwa graduated from the academy and became an S-rank. A monster wave broke out—not huge in scale, but hitting multiple regions simultaneously. Worse, it featured an unusually high ratio of elite and high-tier monsters, making it tough for standard military firepower to handle.
Shin Ye-hwa, already grumpy about wielding an A-rank weapon instead of S-rank gear, used it as an excuse to blow off the military's support request and drag her feet. The association president Jeong Beom-ho and Yeo Seon-hui herself were tied up elsewhere with high-tier monsters, leaving Shin Ye-hwa as the only one available. It nearly turned into a disaster.
Luckily, the monster Yeo Seon-hui was handling turned out to be a regular high-tier one overrated due to a scouting error, so she wrapped it up fast. Her mobility outclassed any other S-rank, letting her plug the gap immediately. If not... well, even years later, just thinking about it made cold sweat trickle down her back.
And what pissed her off even more? Shin Ye-hwa got her S-rank exclusive weapon out of the mess she'd caused. Yeo Seon-hui believed firmly: if you get perks, you earn them. But Shin Ye-hwa had shirked her duty and still gobbled up the rewards. In her eyes, after that incident, Shin Ye-hwa wasn't just the worst kind of person—she was no better than an animal.
That's why she shot sharp glares at Seong Ye-han too, the guy who'd rolled around with that bitch, sucking and fucking to his heart's content. Birds of a feather flock together, after all. People naturally gravitate toward those who match their vibe.
So Seong Ye-han's profanity felt predictable, almost fitting. Trash had to act like trash, right? Still, for Yeo Seon-hui—who'd lived as an object of reverence for so long as an S-rank—having someone spew curses right in her face was downright unfamiliar.
"What did you just say?"
"Pretending you didn't hear, auntie? Alzheimer's kicking in already? Huh?"
"..."
It was profanity she'd never heard, not even back in her pre-S-rank days as a plain telekinetic. Yeo Seon-hui was momentarily speechless. Then, as if realizing something, she let out a pfft of laughter.
"Strutting like that in front of your bitch, huh? Got some pride, I see."
Even as Seong Ye-han growled, Yeo Seon-hui smirked.
"Gutsy, I'll give you that. But a bit too cocky?"
"No need to show manners to someone acting like an asshole first, right? Honestly, using polite speech this much is me holding back plenty."
A fierce wind whipped between them, mana clashing in a turbulent backlash. It felt like a fight could erupt any second, but neither was dumb enough to brawl in the heart of the city—especially a high-end residential district.
"Guess I need to teach you a lesson... Kids like you, if you don't straighten 'em out early, end up yapping like that bitch over there."
"You need one too. Enough to learn basic manners. Wouldn't want you looking ugly if it's too late, right?"
After the Gate incidents, urban overcrowding—already bad—got even worse. The more people crammed into a city, the fewer gates popped up there, and it was easier to get protection from the military and Awakeners. So the outskirts were full of empty fields, barely touched by humans.
They'd sown grains like rice, wheat, beans, potatoes, corn for food production, but with few caretakers, weeds overran the paddies and plots. Right in the middle of one such field, Seong Ye-han, Shin Ye-hwa, and Yeo Seon-hui faced off.
Yeo Seon-hui lounged cross-legged on her single sheathed sword, floating lazily as she looked down at Seong Ye-han. He gripped his new spear—made from a Golden Horn Drake's horn, courtesy of Lee Yun—standing firm and meeting her gaze.
It was dawn, the red sun rising unlike yesterday's sunset when they'd first locked eyes, just starting to illuminate the world. Amid the boiling mana and surging battle intent between them, Seong Ye-han spoke first.
"If I win, you grovel and apologize to me and Ye-hwa, and no more bullshit from here on out?"
His initial fiery rage had cooled into rationality over time. Seong Ye-han proposed reasonable terms.
"Fine. But if I win, you follow my orders diligently on all monster responses from now on."
Yeo Seon-hui didn't push for anything excessive—S-rank duels to the death were rare and precious, after all—so she kept it fair in her mind. Victory conditions: opponent surrenders, or the judge calls a clear win.
And the judge? Shin Ye-hwa. It might seem biased at first glance, but Yeo Seon-hui didn't care. She had zero doubt about her victory. If Shin Ye-hwa dragged her feet to favor Seong Ye-han, it'd just put him in more danger. Assuming the bitch had any shred of humanity, she'd judge properly before her boyfriend got wrecked.
"You can still beg for mercy now. What do you say?"
"Don't probe. Just start already, Sunbae-nim."
"Hm? Sunbae-nim?"
"Seniors are usually total assholes to juniors, y'know."
Surprised by his relative meekness, Yeo Seon-hui raised a brow—but his follow-up made her click her tongue. Like attracts like.
"Right... Guess I gotta live up to expectations then."
With that, no signal needed, they moved.
Boom! Seong Ye-han's foot slammed the earth, shaking the ground. He shot forward like a cannonball, so fiercely it created an optical illusion of stretching. As a natural physical-type hunter, closing distance on a psychic-type was basic tactics.
Yeo Seon-hui knew it better than anyone, so her response was swift. Shing! A streak of light flashed from the four sword wings behind her, meeting him head-on.
Kaboom! An explosion like a bomb rocked the earth with a rumble. Dust and debris billowed from the clash. The blue shockwave from raw power lit the dawn world like afternoon.
"Hm... Fun."
When the dust cleared, Seong Ye-han stood unscathed, not a step back. His golden spear steady in hand. Equilibrium. He hadn't fully closed the gap with his charge, but hadn't been pushed away either.
It wasn't full power, but a deliberate strike with clear intent—and not a scratch on him. Yeo Seon-hui swallowed her inner surprise.