Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Crossroads
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Something... something was happening.
Normally, I would've shot back at Eoduk-i with, "Yeah? And what exactly is that something?"
Unfortunately, Bi-hyung shared the exact same impression, so he couldn't bring himself to say it.
And that made sense.
Just moments ago, they'd been quietly resting in the nurse's office beds. Now, suddenly, they were visiting the academy's indoor training hall.
"As fellow members of the Hundred Ghosts, you mustn't put each other's lives in peril. Do I make myself clear?"
By the way, Du-eok-i was standing at the center of the training hall, officiating as the referee.
The way he especially emphasized those words toward Liliet was somewhat reassuring, all things considered.
Bi-hyung turned to Galaxy Senior, who was seated beside him.
"Is she gonna be okay?"
"Huh? Oh, Liliet said she'd hold back, so she should be fine, I think..."
"No, that's not what I mean."
More like, was it really okay for something summoned from her own body to fight her?
Galaxy let out an "aha" at the question and nodded.
"Basically, it's using power borrowed from me. Think of me as the signal tower and Liliet as the phone?"
As such, the limit of Liliet's current usable power was exactly equal to Galaxy's achieved Hierarchy Rank.
The same went for the amount of energy she could wield.
Even so, Liliet was a yokai who had forged a myth. No—a demon king.
Her presence, backed by ancient legends, was overwhelming even against those of the same rank. Against higher ranks, she could even claim superiority.
'Mi-na.'
As Bi-hyung gazed worriedly at Mi-na Hwang, Galaxy Senior asked,
"Worried about that junior of yours?"
"...It'd be a lie to say I wasn't."
"Heh heh. Worried about your lover?"
Whoosh! The pointed question shut Bi-hyung right up.
Liliet was one thing, but why did people with similar personalities always know exactly how to leave him speechless?
"...She's not my lover."
Galaxy smiled slyly at Bi-hyung's denial.
"But you've heard how that girl feels about you."
"Well..."
Bi-hyung fell silent once more.
Fair enough.
The way Mi-na Hwang had acted in the hospital room reeked of 'affection' far too strong for mere friendship.
Bi-hyung wasn't enough of an idiot to miss that.
But.
'I still... don't really know.'
The pounding in his heart?
It existed.
Was she rationally attractive?
Yes.
Taking all those factors together, Bi-hyung might see Mi-na Hwang as more than just a friend.
However,
'My situation.'
He was a being summoned from another world by those who had goals of their own.
He didn't know what they wanted, but if even the heavenly divinities desired it, it couldn't be anything simple.
With duties like that weighing on him, Bi-hyung couldn't easily bare his heart or make rash moves.
Especially since this world still didn't fully feel 'real' to him.
A world he'd encountered through a game.
A place that had grown slightly closer upon becoming reality.
Bi-hyung stood in that awkward limbo.
'Is it right for me to approach people who like me for the wrong reasons?'
Friends were one thing, but lovers were a whole different story.
As Bi-hyung wrestled with those thoughts,
Galaxy smiled at his lack of response.
"So you're saying she's not your lover yet? In that case... this senior still has a shot?"
"...!"
"Hee hee. There's the smile—your stiff expression's finally gone."
Seeing her grin playfully like that only made Bi-hyung's heart feel even more unsettled.
Around that time,
the duel began.
"Hah!"
With Mi-na Hwang's spirited shout, a spell manifested in her grasp.
The most basic 1st Hierarchy spell.
A fire bullet from the five elements' fire attribute.
Boom!
The refined spell, born from polished spiritual power, shot forth like an arrow and struck the target—Liliet.
Or so they thought.
"Hee hee. Not bad power for a basic spell. What a talented child."
Piercing through the smoke and dust from the fire bullet's impact, Liliet emerged unscathed.
Click.
─Click.
Her signature high heels struck the training hall floor, exuding an extraordinary air of dignity.
The moment Mi-na Hwang heard it, her spirit seemed to shrink.
"Oh? To withstand my presence, even if just a little. An impressive feat. You must hail from an excellent bloodline."
"...Shut up."
"Feisty, aren't we? But that's a delight in itself."
Liliet spread her arms wide and declared toward Mi-na Hwang.
"Do as you please. If you breach my defenses and land even a single blow, I'll concede defeat."
In other words, no matter how hard you struggle, you can't harm me.
An arrogant proclamation.
'......'
Grind...!
Mi-na Hwang's teeth ground together fiercely, as if they might shatter.
"Fine, then. Try blocking this."
The moment she said it, Mi-na Hwang's form began to change bit by bit.
Fox ears sprouted atop her golden hair, and three tails rose from her waist.
Bi-hyung's eyes widened at the sight.
'Three tails? She's reached the 3rd Hierarchy?'
Just moments ago, she'd felt like only 2nd Hierarchy strength.
But the instant the three tails appeared, her aura matched the 3rd Hierarchy perfectly, as if that's what it had always been.
Bi-hyung realized she'd been suppressing and hiding her power until now.
'...Before arriving at the hospital room, she sensed something suspicious and immediately sealed her power.'
To have an ace up her sleeve for the crucial moment.
And now, with all that suppressed power unleashed, this was her full strength.
"Oh?"
Liliet eyed the three tails sprouting from Mi-na Hwang's back and smiled with her eyes.
"Now I see—you're of the yokai fox clan."
She who had forged legends of desire knew well of the kindred nine-tailed foxes.
"Different from us succubi, who sate ourselves on essence through lust—you gather human livers to bolster your yang energy?"
They said that upon gaining nine tails that way, one could forge the fox orb and awaken eternal truths.
Yet this young fox before her.
'She already has a fox orb. Immature, but she's forged it.'
What events had transpired when this young fox created her orb?
Unknowns sparked curiosity, which in turn birthed the desire to explore.
The myth of desire—Liliet's eyes sparkled.
Unaware or uncaring, Mi-na Hwang closed her eyes quietly and focused on the yokai power within her.
Bzzz!
The fox orb trembled faintly in response to the swirling yokai power in her body.
That tremor became melody, then waves, infusing a thread of change into the raging yokai power.
Roooar!
The once steady flow of energy surged like a river in flood.
At the same time, the might of her yokai spells strengthened.
"Yokai Fox Arts."
Earth, water, wind, fire, void.
All five great elements infused her spells as mist began to spread around her.
Rumble!
And that was the beginning.
The training hall subtly shifted, shadowy greenery spreading through the surroundings.
'This is...'
Bi-hyung had seen it before.
Well, more precisely, not this exact landscape, but this situation.
'The space shown by Mi-na's ancestor before.'
Illusion arts.
The yokai spell that beguiled others, toyed with senses, and mocked perceptions had been unleashed.
'When?'
It was astonishing.
How much effort must one pour into a single month to achieve something like this?
But more shocked than Bi-hyung was the referee, Du-eok-i.
"Great Vessel Yokai Completion! She's already mastered it!?"
Just as one with affinity to all five elements is called Five Breaths Converging at Origin, mastery of affinity to all five great elements leads to Great Vessel Yokai Completion.
It was what Du-eok-i had mentioned before—a new path opening for Mi-na Hwang.
And she'd cleared it in a mere month.
Bi-hyung was utterly dumbfounded.
'...Does she level up just by breathing?'
Was this what happened with two or more talent-related bloodline abilities?
He'd thought she was at her peak already. Nope. She'd punched through the ceiling, and Mi-na coins were blasting off into space!
Grrr...!
A beast's growl echoed from the misty mountain's edge.
The moment Bi-hyung whipped his head around, a single fox emerged from the fog.
'No, not just one.'
One became two, then four.
Dividing and multiplying, the foxes soon formed an entire mountain.
Atop that fox mountain's peak, Mi-na Hwang glared down at Liliet with sunken eyes.
"Yokai Fox March."
With that short command, the illusory yokai foxes, each bearing one of the five great elements, charged forth.
Hundreds of spells in a barrage.
Yet to Liliet,
"Hee hee."
They meant nothing.
Simply raising her hand lightly spread a crimson mist around her.
It draped over her like a silken garment while blocking the onslaught like a massive shield.
Mi-na Hwang's brow furrowed at the sight.
'She's going easy on me.'
An expected outcome, perhaps.
From their first encounter, she'd instinctively known her presence couldn't even reach this yokai called Liliet.
Even so,
'......'
Mi-na Hwang gritted her teeth.
It wasn't about proving herself superior to him.
She had no desire to become the woman blocking Bi-hyung's path out of jealousy.
Yet the flames of competitive spirit roared in her heart for one reason alone.
This woman had hurt 'Bi-hyung'.
'That smug attitude pisses me off.'
But Liliet was a fellow member of the Hundred Ghosts, someone she'd have to coexist with.
She couldn't harbor these feelings forever.
Besides, Mi-na Hwang hadn't yet seen Liliet mount any real 'offense'.
She wasn't so dense as to miss what that behavior implied.
'She's probably doing this to help me vent my frustrations.'
In that case, as wished.
Mi-na Hwang drew the Divine Beast Fan.
One single attack.
She'd pour all her emotions into it.
'Yokai spells are fundamentally powered by yin energy. Spells are the opposite.'
So what if she used both energies at once?
An idea born from ignorance of worldly principles, an inspiration from a once-in-a-generation genius.
'Let's try—gah!'
But the instant she attempted it, she understood why it didn't work.
Yokai power and spiritual power clashed violently upon contact, tearing at each other.
She couldn't unify the energies.
'...Is there no way?'
If possible, one massive blow.
She wanted to pierce Liliet's defense and land a hit.
'I have to. If I want to stand by Bi-hyung's side.'
She wanted to stand beside him, walk together always, become partners who could aid each other.
That resolve struck her mind like lightning.
'...Ah!'
Crackle!
Like an electric current, enlightenment flashed in her brain.
'Why try to use it inside my body? Just balance the ratios externally and let them collide.'
For Bi-hyung, with his Yin-Yang Transformation physique, it was unnecessary—only causing energy loss.
But for an ordinary half-yokai like Mi-na Hwang, it was the key to enlightenment.
Fwoosh!
The moment she fully unfurled the Divine Beast Fan, the five great elements' fire blazed along its folds.
And in the direction she faced, the five elements' flames ignited.
Great Vessel Yokai Completion.
Five Breaths Converging at Origin.
The pinnacle of her dual constitutions unleashed.
"Hah!"
She swung the Divine Beast Fan fiercely.
Flutter!
The yokai flames on the folds shot forward, colliding with the five elements' blaze.
Rumble!
They repelled each other with a thunderous explosion.
Yet the flames, slightly weighted toward yokai arts, broke through the five elements, devouring the backlash to forge even fiercer fire.
In that instant,
her flames burned purple.
"Huh?"
Liliet's surprised chuckle rang out as she watched.
"Such potential from this child..."
Bi-hyung couldn't hear the rest.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion filled the training hall.
"...What."
Bi-hyung stared in utter disbelief.
"Is that what genius looks like? Colliding yin and yang in that moment to forge a path for growth?"
In fact, right before his eyes floated these messages.
[Night Parade of One Hundred Yokai member, 'Mi-na Hwang', reaches the wall!]
[Preparing to advance to the next Hierarchy Rank!]
Reaching 3rd Hierarchy in just a month was miraculous enough.
Now she was surpassing that, dipping her toes into the 4th.
...Anyone who'd climbed through sheer fortune and racial advantages would die of envy.
'Whew.'
As Bi-hyung sighed inwardly,
Ding!
The messages continued.
'Huh?'
[Member 'Mi-na Hwang' confirmed to possess 'Great Vessel Yokai Completion' and 'Five Breaths Converging at Origin'!]
[Qualifications acknowledged!]
Qualifications?
What qualifications?
[A crossroads appears before her!]