Flying Heaven Kingdom (3)

Jeok Se-hwa, the second daughter of the Jeok family, was trying to figure out if the scene unfolding before her eyes was real.

It was bizarre enough that some outsider in strange attire had entered the martial tournament, but to use some weird sorcery to tear apart a man who was considered one of the top contenders for victory.

"Gaaahhh!!!"

Look at that. Another one had just lost consciousness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after having chunks of flesh torn off by the butterflies.

"Ahaha, it's been a while."

In her 19 years of life, Jeok Se-hwa had faced countless enemies, but she'd never seen anyone use sorcery like that—or anything even remotely similar.

And yet, Se-hwa still intended to fight. She might not have borne the full expectations of her family, but they were watching over her.

"...No, but that’s a bit..."

Flesh dropping to the ground in clumps, exposing raw muscle—it was honestly hard for her to watch. And the one who cast the spell was grinning innocently, which made it even creepier.

"...Should I forfeit...?"

No matter that this arena was protected by a special formation set up by the War God Jin-un himself, ensuring all wounds healed after the match, she had zero desire to feel her flesh being ripped off.

By now, Noel had taken out three more opponents and was slowly approaching Jeok Se-hwa, who had red hair and red eyes. Se-hwa let out a sigh and raised her sword forward.

"...Please, one exchange."

My estimate of Hojeopjimong's destructive power had been way off. Visually, it crushed the enemies' will to fight, making it especially effective against intelligent foes.

I had no idea how it had turned into such a brutal skill, but at this point, it didn't matter.

Only four of us remained on the battlefield.

I walked toward the girl with red hair and red eyes who held her sword at the ready.

"...Please, one exchange."

That red was probably the symbol of the Jeok family. No reason to be scared, though.

I smiled brightly and replied.

"With pleasure."

Their exchange was incredibly fierce. It felt less like preliminaries and more like a finals match.

The other two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠besides Jeok Se-hwa and me ended up taking each other out in a mutual destruction play, leaving just the two of us on the field.

A war of attrition would've favored Se-hwa for sure, but she was mentally cornered. Her family was watching, and the butterflies swarming from all directions were pressuring her hard.

'This won't do. I need one big hit.'

If she'd stayed calm and observed the battlefield, she might've noticed the number of butterflies Noel was summoning had decreased. But Se-hwa had no time for that.

Flames began to infuse her sword bit by bit, soon dyeing the blade red. Jeokyeomhwa, the technique symbolizing the Jeok family. A sword infused with extreme fire power that surpassed imagination.

"Haaah!!"

She swung, slicing through the butterflies effortlessly as they burned away. Noel didn't react, seemingly caught off guard.

Then, Noel pointed a finger forward, a small purple glow forming at the tip. Their distance had closed in an instant. Noel dodged the swinging sword and gently pressed the glow to Se-hwa's forehead.

Form 7, a variant of mental manipulation sorcery. It interferes with the opponent's brain using your mana, forcing them into sleep and dreams.

Se-hwa froze, then collapsed with a soft thud. Probably dreaming something happy.

"Sweet dreams."

Woooaaahhh!!!!!

I flashed a smile to the crowd and slowly exited the arena.

"...Whew, that was close. Thought I was done for."

If Se-hwa had dragged it out to deplete my mana instead of going for a desperate move, I'd have lost. She was a tough opponent.

The king's observation was supposed to start from the round of 16, but this guy must've been watching from somewhere.

"...Well, good is good."

I sighed and reopened the chat window.

Yeah. With viewers spouting nonsense about split personalities or mental issues, my acting must've been spot-on.

I couldn't say it was easy to put on that show, but it was kinda fun in its own way.

"Ahaha, what are you all talking about? I'm fine. Totally."

"Not split personality, not psychopath, not an actress... Wait, actress? No, not that either."

Honestly, I was surprised at my own mental fortitude, but good is good. Plus, I got some great footage out of it.

"Alright, enough of that. Managers, start banning those speculative comments from now on. Gotta head to the quarterfinals soon."

Maybe because I'd dominated the prelims so hard, I got a bracket that let me coast to the finals pretty smoothly.

From the quarterfinals on, everyone was a known name, judging by the murmurs from the crowd.

Crunch—

Krunch—

"Gaaahhh!!!"

I won the quarters easily. Same way I'd beaten that giant brute before.

Looks like he'd gotten lucky to survive and advance. The semis featured one from the Jeok family, two from the Cheong family, and me.

A man with red hair and eyes, and one man and one woman with blue hair. Fitting for heirs of the continent's top families—they were seriously strong.

If it weren't for me, the Jeok heir from prelims would've advanced, making it a 2v2 clan showdown.

My semifinal opponent was the Cheong family's second son, Cheong Seon-ho. He led with fluid, water-like swordplay, nimble and controlling the pace.

Tough matchup, but I still had my un revealed magic and curses as trump cards. I'd hide them unless necessary, but winning first was the goal.

I stepped back into the arena.

Woooaaahhh!!!!!

Woooaaahhh!!!!!!!!

I could feel how much people's perception of me had shifted. Even in a place that prized righteousness and chivalry, they cheered for the strong.

I extended my hand, and he seemed to grab it for a handshake. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But then.

"You think you're hot stuff just 'cause you beat some nobodies, outsider?"

"...Pardon?"

"I know all about it. You're just acting to get attention."

Hm. True, but no need to glare like that.

"Is that a problem?"

"Hilarious that you'd come to an important event like this to play clown. You look so pathetic."

He squeezed my hand hard, released it, and bared his teeth at me.

"I hate types like you the most. Look forward to it—I'll show you what a skill gap really is."

"Ha..."

Say stuff like that, and it just makes me wanna crush you. Make sure it never comes out of your mouth again. Brutally.

At the start, Seon-ho shot toward me with blinding speed, using lightness skill to close in like a flying arrow.

"Haaap!"

"...Threat."

Noel's expression hardened coldly, her purple eyes darkening as thick killing intent spread across the entire arena.

"...Kuh?!"

"I'm doing all this to save your damn continent... and you run your mouth without knowing shit?"

"...You're done."

Purple and black butterflies began summoning around Noel. She was prepping a technique she usually avoided.

"Once, Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly, fluttering happily, following his heart."

Seon-ho halted and backed away, tense for Noel's incoming attack.

"Yet he didn't know he was Zhuangzi."

The butterflies were gradually shifting from purple to red.

"...That's dangerous..."

Seon-ho quickly redirected his bitten body forward.

"Then suddenly he awoke—and astonishingly, he was Zhuangzi."

The reddening butterflies began emanating a perilous aura.

"Damn...! Fight me, you cursed butterflies!"

Swarms blocked Seon-ho's path; no matter how many he slashed, new ones filled the gap.

"Was it Zhuangzi dreaming he became a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming it was Zhuangzi?"

"Surely, there is a distinction between Zhuangzi and the butterfly."

Two red butterflies touched wings, forming a single sphere.

"Wh-what is that..."

"This is called 'things becoming things.'"

"Noel, I made it, but why name this spell something so weird?"

Noel smiled brightly at Asella.

"...It just came from that book. Too lazy to come up with something original..."

"Tch, lame. It's an ultimate, put some effort into the name."

"...The power is insane, though. Uses 90% of total mana, and the cast time is forever..."

"Ahem. Made by yours truly, of course it's OP. But the risk is huge, like you said. Can't block it, but if they dodge, you're toast."

"...This range?"

A small hill had vanished before Asella and me.

"...Well, teleport, aerial dodge... ways to evade exist."

"...Hit by this, most would die, right?"

"...Yeah, probably."

"Brace for impact!!"

Jin-un, who had been hiding and observing, revealed himself atop the arena and began reinforcing the barriers.

Mana surged wildly, soon flooding the entire arena in a massive wave.

"...Holy shit—"

Seon-ho's words cut off there. After the storm passed, the announcer cleared his throat to declare the result.

The crowd stared in disbelief for a moment before slowly starting to cheer, one by one.

"Whoa..."

Woooaaahhh!!!!!!

Thankfully, Jin-un's barriers restored the body just fine, and Seon-ho didn't die—another stroke of luck.