Yee Eun-chae's Fury
"W-wait!" Seo Moon-hyun cried out in panic, desperately parrying Yee Eun-chae's strikes with his sword. Yet he was quickly forced onto the defensive. Possessing the attribute-less Null affinity, he had no inherent weaknesses and could respond evenly to any ability. A prodigy in every sense, he had displayed protagonist-level talent from his very first days as a freshman, matching even active heroes in skill.
But he never achieved any real growth. Without the battles against the villains who had targeted Arian Liberin—especially the fight with Rotten Bendision—Seo Moon-hyun had never undergone the dramatic leap that would have come naturally. My interference had given Yee Eun-chae overwhelming momentum instead.
Eun-chae is still behind Arian and Min-hye because of her limited training time. Yet the work I had done to drastically raise her affinity with magic power had done far more than simply make her stronger. It had elevated her fundamental talent for mana itself. While her swordsmanship gained only minor synergy, her magic-related abilities had surged. On top of that, she had directly experienced and largely internalized the experience and senses of a higher-level expert.
"She's incredible."
"Eun-chae's skill was at this level?"
"How on earth did she get so strong so fast?"
"Even attending the National Hero Academy shouldn't allow growth like this."
The elders of the Yee clan murmured among themselves. The strength Yee Eun-chae displayed after only two weeks was astonishing. In truth, her rapid rise had occurred in mere days, but those unaware of my methods could never understand such an explosive leap. Seo Moon-hyun was equally bewildered.
"Ugh!"
Seo Moon-hyun's swordsmanship was abnormally refined for his age. Even Yee Woo-jin, who had always clicked his tongue at the boy's character, could not hide his admiration for his technique. Anyone would have rated his skill highly. Yet Yee Eun-chae's swordplay overwhelmed it completely.
"Kuh! Urgh!"
Seo Moon-hyun tried to deflect her attack at an angle, but the overwhelming aura wrapped around Yee Eun-chae's blade threatened to cleave through both his mana-infused sword and his guard. His mana was indeed being chipped away, steadily reducing his options. Blocking risked having his sword cut along with his power; focusing solely on deflection left him no room to counter.
Thud! Clang! Clang!
Each collision of mana-clad blades rang with a sharper, heavier tone than ordinary steel. Eun-chae's victory is certain. Even if Seo Moon-hyun achieved a miraculous breakthrough in this fight, he could never win. If anything, it would only fuel her growth further.
The overwhelming reversals Seo Moon-hyun had once achieved through his prodigious talent in the original story would no longer work against Yee Eun-chae. My assistance had raised her own talent to a level nearly equal to his, and she had already experienced higher realms of martial arts firsthand.
"Kuh!"
Seo Moon-hyun gritted his teeth and leapt backward. His priority had shifted from refusing the duel to suppressing her by any means. He wanted to win first and ask questions later. But Yee Eun-chae had resolved to defeat him here and now. Her violet eyes gleamed with cold killing intent as she swung her blade, a stark contrast to her usual bright and innocent demeanor. She looked every inch a ruthless swordswoman.
When she fights, she becomes a serious, beautiful swordswoman. Seeing it in person is even more striking.
Yet while I admired the sight, Seo Moon-hyun was truly suffering. Yee Eun-chae's sword showed no hesitation as it aimed for his arms, revealing the depth of her fury toward him.
"Damn it! Why?! Why is this happening?!"
Even now, Seo Moon-hyun refused to accept reality and tried to force his own delusions upon it. It was the worst kind of narcissism, and seeing it laid bare made his true nature painfully clear. That bastard would have killed me if I had been weak.
If I had remained powerless, he would have branded me a villain and eliminated me without hesitation. In the original story, even after Seo Moon-jin became a true villain and appeared before him, Seo Moon-hyun had shown not a shred of hesitation, declaring only that "a villain must be killed." Yet the same man had once said of Kang Mi-hyun, who had committed far greater crimes, "She has repented, so she deserves a chance to redeem herself!"
The real reason he had wanted to kill his own brother was simply that he could not tolerate any flaw in his own supposed perfection. With Kang Mi-hyun, he had been intoxicated by the image of himself as a righteous hero who could redeem even the wicked.
"Urgh!"
Seo Moon-hyun's left arm was finally grazed by Yee Eun-chae's blade. A shallow cut tore through his sleeve and drew blood. From that moment, he was visibly pushed back. Her black hair, tinged with violet, whipped about as she pressed her fierce assault. She succeeded in slicing his left leg as well.
"Kuh!"
With injuries to both arm and leg, Seo Moon-hyun had no chance of victory. Unable to maintain a stable stance, he suffered countless wounds under her relentless attacks. Since this was not a simple contest of skill but a punishment for his insults, her blade was merciless. Cuts opened across his body wherever her sword touched, and in the midst of the pain he finally realized she was deliberately inflicting numerous shallow wounds.
"Why?! Urgh! Why are you attacking me like this?! What did Seo Moon-jin say to you—khhk!"
"Shut your mouth!"
Yee Eun-chae struck his face with the fist gripping her sword, her voice trembling with rage. "Never—never—insult Cheon in front of me! He is not someone a worm like you has the right to mock!"
* * *
It hurt. It hurt so much. The wounds on Seo Moon-hyun's body pained him, but the fact that Yee Eun-chae was attacking him like this wounded him even deeper. What on earth did Seo Moon-jin do to her?
Yee Eun-chae had been a good friend who trained with him. She had clearly been in love with him—the future hero among heroes. He could not understand what trick Seo Moon-jin had used to change her heart. No, he did not want to understand. He must not think about it. Doing so felt like approaching a forbidden truth he was never meant to know.
"Never—never—insult Cheon in front of me! He is not someone a worm like you has the right to mock!"
Before he could even finish asking what Seo Moon-jin had said, her fist slammed into his face again. Gripping her sword, she struck him with raw fury, her eyes blazing with hatred. A worm?
The word ignited anger in Seo Moon-hyun as well. Me, a worm? The greatest and most noble candidate for hero? The absolute hero the entire world will worship? And this girl who had once yearned for his affection dared to say such a thing?
Normally he would have dismissed such thoughts as unworthy of a hero and forgotten them. But Yee Eun-chae's fury and perceived betrayal had stripped away his self-control.
"Eun-chae! You betrayed me! A lowly girl who was desperate to become my woman dares to—!"
His face twisted and ugly from the beating, Seo Moon-hyun spat venom, having lost all reason. He could no longer think clearly enough to realize that the proper response was to beg for her favor.
* * *
The members of the Yee clan ground their teeth at his outburst.
"That arrogant bastard!"
"How dare he look down on a direct descendant of our clan!"
They were furious not only at the insult to Yee Eun-chae but at the sheer audacity of belittling her status. I, too, stared at Seo Moon-hyun with icy eyes. After spouting all that, he'll later claim he never said such things and genuinely believe it himself.
That was the kind of man Seo Moon-hyun was—distorting anything inconvenient, overlaying it with his own delusions, and even rewriting his own memories. I will make sure you fall as a villain.
The insult to Yee Eun-chae had stirred genuine anger in me as well. Living alongside her these past days, I had apparently grown quite fond of her.
"I would rather die than become the woman of a disgusting man like you."
Yee Eun-chae answered coldly, pouring even more mana into her sword.