The Ranking Match Main Tournament Finally Begins
Kang Seohee's four purple tentacles writhed as usual. The three weeks since the Ranking War prelims had been a whirlwind for her. She'd been all fired up, ready to put the bratty Four Heavenly Kings in their place. Then she'd felt a pang seeing two fallen stars tumble just like her own past. And now, one of those fallen stars—Yu Eunha—had ascended to the ranks of the next generation's sole deity, leaving her flustered all over again.
Evaluations of Yu Eunha had swung wildly back and forth over those three weeks, so she had to check what the verdict was this week. Kang Seohee bit her nails while scrolling on her phone.
"Well, she's got a bit of something, I guess…."
Still, that arrogance grated on her. The kid talked down to her, who was at least ten years older. And especially! She used that ridiculous polite-but-cutesy speech with Monica, who was over twenty years her senior.
'The Queen of Water is soooo gentle.'
There were just too many things about her that rubbed Kang Seohee the wrong way.
"Yeah, she needs a good thrashing once."
Kang Seohee knew exactly how characters like that ended up.
"That obnoxious brat's gonna end up in deep shit later with no friends if she keeps that attitude."
She glanced around her empty waiting room and snorted. Even without projecting her own issues, kids like that always met the same fate. Park Yuhye, the one who'd caused that horrific incident this time, was a textbook case. Cocky about her talent until she hit a wall where it didn't cut it anymore, then she turned dark.
"She needs to realize she's not all that starting now if she's gonna grow."
Of course, Kang Seohee herself was judging based on nothing but the girl's speech patterns. But at eighteen, she was too young to realize it.
As she steeled herself and entered the waiting room, a dialect voice echoed down the hall.
"I'm tellin' ya! Who the hell are ya! Ya ain't that Yu Eunha I knew, no way!"
At the mention of Yu Eunha, Kang Seohee narrowed her eyes and crept down the corridor. In the lobby, a redheaded Hong Jiyeon stood with a girl sporting that weird gradient hair.
"Who're you callin' me? I'm the same Yu Eunha you've always seen. What's up, sis…?"
The girl spoke in stiff, robotic polite speech—that insolent Yu Eunha, no doubt. Kang Seohee's eyes widened.
"Who the hell are you?"
The two young mages turned to her. And in the midst of it, Yu Eunha even bowed deeply at the waist.
"Hello, senior."
"Se-senior???????"
Kang Seohee stumbled back in shock, and Yu Eunha's cat-like eyes went wide. Her previously icy expression suddenly looked like that of a pure eight-year-old girl—like a kitten, really.
"I figured since my body's changed, maybe change my mindset too. Honestly, no matter your circumstances, talking down to your elders just makes you look like a punk kid with no future, right?"
Yu Eunha turned her head and muttered,
"Stagnant water rots. Gotta change before it festers…."
Then someone grabbed her shoulder.
"No way. That rude little shit's all polite now? Who are you?"
"Exactly! That's what I said, sis Seohee! Who the heck are ya! Ya possessed or somethin'? Ya ain't our Yu Eunha! Who's in there!"
As Kang Seohee and Hong Jiyeon pressed her, Yu Eunha bit her lip.
"Well…."
Under their combined assault, the Demon King revealed her true colors.
"Agh! So what, my soul changed or somethin'? Cut it out! Cut it out! If I'm tryin' to change, you should support me, you fools! These damn kids these days!"
Her signature archaic speech poured out like a waterfall, and both Kang Seohee and Hong Jiyeon relaxed, stepping back with sighs of relief.
"Phew, scared me."
"Yeah, possession? That ain't happenin' in real life."
Yu Eunha glared at them.
"Why ya interruptin'?"
Hong Jiyeon put her hands on her hips.
"Gotta have one character ruder than me so I don't get buried, kid."
"…Huh."
Yu Eunha shot Kang Seohee an exasperated look.
"You too?"
Kang Seohee's tentacles twitched reflexively, and she shook her head on instinct. She'd thought it, sure, but more than that….
"Nah, I was just surprised. Was gonna pick you based on that mouth anyway."
Hong Jiyeon's eyes went wide.
"Wait, sis? For real? Ya pickin' me?"
Kang Seohee turned away.
"Hmph, get ready good. Whatever happens, I'm pickin' you. Yu Eunha, you need a lesson."
Yu Eunha just stared at her, expressionless.
*
Meanwhile, Hajieun—who'd defended Yu Eunha to the bitter end—was reaping sweet rewards.
Over ten thousand—an insane number. Back in the day, she'd needed the entire Junior Four Heavenly Kings collabing just to break it. Now she did it solo.
'Key is keepin' it steady now.'
Even if half dipped, she'd have six thousand regulars. In this country, that was chaebol-level, beyond big corp.
'Now the real fight begins….'
Hajieun clenched her fists, steeling herself.
"Guys, you keep sexually harassing, okay?"
Hajieun sighed, pouting. The fruits of defending Mawang Army to the end were sweet indeed. Fan comics about her were floating around communities, and she'd even snagged the title of Mawang Army cadre. She wasn't just some hanger-on dependent on Yu Eunha anymore.
'Oof. But….'
Hajieun eyed the chat flooded with boob talk. People treated her less like a capable cadre and more like a ditzy mascot who'd lucked into the role.
'Why can't I get a cool image?'
She'd aimed for intellectual and sexy, and it stung a bit.
"Heard Kang Seohee-nim's targeting our Demon King—what guts, huh?"
"But she gotta fight someone, and better than Iron Blood Lord, right?"
Iron Blood Lord. Current 2nd Army #1, basically 1st Army level without global points. No one wanted to face him in these finals.
Hajieun watched the chat while gripping the starting match broadcast tightly.
"Thinkin' about it, tentacle girl's better than Iron Blood. Eunha-nim wins anyway. Let's see the picks first."
Hajieun smacked her lips at the chat.
"Eek! Really? Mage Kang Seohee, so sorry! Quick apology. Under ten seconds. Cool?"
As Hajieun hastily apologized, the screen switched, and the commentators' voices rang out. The finals' first order of business—opponent nominations—had begun.
Iron Blood stepped onto the arena stage. Towering at nearly 190cm with a solid muscular build and square jaw that screamed "Korean?", he named an unexpected pick.
As Iron Blood stepped down, a lanky man followed—the Triad's Daniel, picking easy prey: Seong Jiho at 106th, a newbie boosted by the recent incident.
"Ah, Daniel went safe pick. Kinda lame, right?"
After Daniel, up came Mage Kang Seohee. Rumors had spread, so commentators dove into Yu Eunha talk.
"Pls no, not our Demon King pls."
Against everyone's wishes, tentacle-waving Kang Seohee pointed casually.
"Ah."
In the chaos, a redheaded girl stepped up.
"Ah, Hong Jiyeon!"
Yes—right after the Triad, #4 Hong Jiyeon took the podium. She took a deep breath.
"Nee?!"
The Ranking War finals kicked off amid the rollercoaster nominations. Whether from the shocking picks or the massive incident two weeks prior, this year's finals drew unprecedented attention as the first match curtain rose.