Poison Versus Poison
“Lucky us. At least he doesn’t look like a pure speed type.”
Un-rang offered his commentary on the opponent.
“A mercenary who works with poison daggers and all sorts of toxic hidden weapons. She takes plenty of shady private contracts, and she always leaves a green mark at the scene.”
“Weird one. Still, better than the guy who put everything into his arms, I suppose.”
“Something like that. All right! It’s about to start—step forward! Fighting, Gong Ryun! And whatever you do, do not use footwork techniques!”
Thud. Thud.
Gong Ryun walked forward, step by step.
The other mercenaries drew far back, clearing a generous ring for the fight.
He could hear the excited breathing of the crowd.
Word of a life-and-death duel had packed the tavern full.
The first floor was all mercenaries. Too crowded for seats, they stood shoulder to shoulder to watch, needling the other side the way hype men do at a rap battle.
The second floor held the overflow from the crush below. They looked down on the first-floor fighters and offered their critiques. Most were ordinary people, though a few real powerhouses were mixed in here and there. Everyone stood at the railing with the house specialty in each hand—a skewer of takoyaki and a mug of draft beer.
The third floor, farther from the arena, had a more leisurely air. People had ordered proper meals. Plates of the house famous Hydra-tail carbonara sat on the tables. An elderly couple out for drinks was there too, nursing highballs and enjoying a quiet date in their twilight years. The third floor belonged to people with money and composure to spare; they sat in their seats and watched the floor below with easy interest.
And off to one side of that third floor sat a striking young man and woman in excellent clothes—unmistakably refined scions of the Orthodox faction.
Namgung Hyeong and his colleagues. The Orthodox Four.
They had only just arrived in the city that day and had come to the restaurant for a meal. A local favorite, the internet maps had recommended it—nothing more. Then, midway through dinner, the incident exploded.
“Hmm… This is awkward…”
Hyukryeon Wiseol muttered under his breath.
“We only meant to eat and leave. Then it got loud, and suddenly there’s a life-and-death duel… Just our luck, showing up on market day.”
“Ugh! It’s a total bazaar down there! It’s only going to get louder! We should go while we can!”
“You’re right, Karina. It’s only going to get noisier. Best we leave. Just checking—anyone actually want to watch this duel?”
“As if! Who wants to watch a shabby fight like that!”
“Ahem. Fair enough. It’ll be at the level of children scuffling. Since no one seems eager to watch, we should simply—”
That was when Namgung Hyeong opened his mouth.
“I want to see it…!”
His eyes sparkled.
Hyukryeon Wiseol and Karina stared at him in dismay.
“Huh? Namgung Hyeong—of all people, elite Namgung Hyeong wants to watch a street brawl?”
“Brother Namgung. Looking at that will only hurt your eyes.”
“Ha… But… but…”
Namgung Hyeong spoke with the purest, most curious face in the world.
“A scrap between nobodies… I want so badly to see it…!!! You can’t see anything like that on Terra…! I’ve never once seen one in person in my whole life!! I’ve always wanted to watch!!”
“Ahh. The Demon King of Curiosity strikes again…”
Namgung Hyeong’s inability to leave a curiosity unsatisfied had fully activated. He looked at his companions with bright, retriever-like eyes, pleading.
“Um… I don’t think it would be so bad either… He’s a poison user, so I’m a little interested…”
Even Bernoulli, melted by Namgung Hyeong’s pitiful gaze, joined the yes camp. In the end the party decided to stay and watch the duel.
They sat back down and ordered more drinks.
“Fight! Fight!”
“Crush him, kihihi!”
“San-gong-dok Freaaaak! Wreck him!!”
“Poison Dagger Woman!! Don’t you lose!”
“This is a big matchup!!!”
The tavern audience was fully fired up.
Under the roar of cheers from every direction, the Green-Marked Poison Dagger Woman and Gong Ryun faced each other a few meters apart in the center of the first floor.
Where her eyes glittered with anticipation, Gong Ryun’s expression was closer to sulky.
That damn San-gong-dok nickname…
He hated the absurd moniker stuck to him. Was eating a little San-gong-cho salad really such a crime? The world was going to hell.
Anyway.
Gong Ryun circulated a modest amount of inner energy as a warm-up and prepared for combat. The Poison Dagger Woman gave her daggers one last check and fixed him with a hard stare.
Right on cue, the waitress stepped between them like a referee and recited the rules.
“Glad you switched to one-on-one! No problem at all! Poison arts are fine too! They’re a legitimate branch of martial arts! But as you all know, in a public place you cannot use instant-death biochemical-terror-grade substances! That is a flat violation of the house rules, and if someone stabs you for it, it’s self-defense—got it?”
At the waitress’s warning, the Poison Dagger Woman nodded in agreement.
“Understood.”
Gong Ryun opened his mouth to agree as well—then the waitress’s head snapped around toward him.
“Especially you!!!!! San-gong-dok Freak!!!!!!”
“…Me?”
“Yes, you!!! San-gong-dok is absolutely!!!!! off-limits, so remember that!!!!!”
“I can’t use it anyw—”
“San-gong-dok is worse than an instant-death toxin!!! It’s a biochemical-terror-grade malignant substance that still doesn’t count as an instant-death poison, so it sits in a gray zone for the tavern’s insurance coverage!!! We might not even get reimbursed for repairs!! If you set off San-gong-dok I will literally kill you!!!!! Do you understand?!!!!!”
“…All right. I won’t use it.”
“That’s not enough!! Swear on your house!!!”
“What!!! You want me to stake my mother?!!!”
“What are you talking about!! Stake the honor of your clan!! Swear on the name of the Sichuan Tang Clan that you won’t use it!”
“…?”
“Swear it already!! Don’t even think about claiming you’re not Sichuan Tang! The Hao Clan knows everything!”
“…”
“Now!!!”
“…Fine. …I swear on my Sichuan Tang Clan.”
“Good!!”
There was no lie in it. He couldn’t use the stuff anyway. No reason to feel sorry for the Sichuan Tang Clan either.
That said—what did the Hao Clan even know, really? Gong Ryun decided then and there to filter them out from now on. Better to just search online.
“All right! Rules delivered, so I’m out!”
The waitress slipped off the stage and returned to her corner of the first floor, switching into watch mode.
She allowed herself a little self-congratulation.
Perfect handling!
Orphaned young and raised by her grandfather, she had grown up with this tavern. Every sibling and relative had left for the big cities, and her grandfather was too old; she was the only one left to take responsibility for the place. Even though she had graduated at the top of a prestigious high school, she had chosen to stay in her hometown instead of leaving for the metropolis.
If that was how it was going to be, she would rather be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon—and she had thrown herself into learning how to run the tavern. There had been a minor incident recently when a samurai went berserk and wrecked the place, but she had worked the angles hard in her grandfather’s place, wrung a fat insurance payout out of it, and renovated the whole shop. (The shady Hao Clan lawyer she had cultivated as a contact had been useful for advice.)
This life-and-death duel had looked like a small crisis at first, but the waitress believed it would ultimately become the foundation for the tavern’s revival.
“Waaaaah!! South Gate wins!!!”
“Kiyoooooh!! North Gate wins!!!”
While the waitress drifted in her thoughts, the crowd before the duel burned hotter.
“Poison Dagger? Just the name sounds weak!! Wipe her out!!!”
“Kwahaha! San-gong-dok Freak! This place is your grave! A poison master who can’t use his main poison!”
“The San-gong-dok Freak with San-gong-dok sealed?! Is he going to be okay?!”
“Kihehe! A San-gong-dok Freak without San-gong-dok is just mint chocolate without the mint!! You’re finished!!!”
“Wrong!!! Big Bro San-gong-dok is a hard-mode pervert who likes to seal his own poison arts and dance on the edge of death!!! You’re finished!!!”
“That’s just a lunatic!!”
“Shut it!! The foundation of poison arts is lulling the enemy into carelessness!! He’ll definitely breathe out poison the second someone drops their guard!!!”
“Anyway—Poison Dagger wins!”
“San-gong-dok wins!!!”
Leaving the roaring cheers behind them, both fighters walked slowly toward the center of the stage.
They looked at each other and wrapped their bodies in inner energy.
Even so, house custom still called for a little pre-fight banter.
The Green-Marked Poison Dagger Woman opened first.
“San-gong-dok Freak. I’ve heard a lot about you. The most vicious poison master in this city.”
“Says who…?”
“Heh. Handling a poison that deranged—the title suits you. But! Starting today, the name of this city’s most vicious poison master will be mine. After I break you!”
“That ‘most vicious’ thing—that’s not an actual title, right? You’re joking?”
“Kikikik. Truth is, I’m kind of a fan of yours. I came here just to fight you. And then you step up as the representative for the duel—it’s destiny. It’s a destiny…! I’ve prepared a special gift just for you!!!”
The Poison Dagger Woman lifted her mechanical right arm a little so he could see it. Poison was probably hidden inside.
“Though of course they had to ban San-gong-dok of all things… Can’t be helped. Kikikik. A real shame. But the result doesn’t change. I will break you… and stand as this city’s most vicious poison!! Kihahahahahaha!!!!!”
Gong Ryun pressed a hand to his forehead.
Apparently the “most vicious” whatever title was real.
Drained, he answered flatly.
“Right. Well. Looking forward to it.”
“Hmm? That’s it?”
“I’m a gentleman.”
He meant it. Gong Ryun was a civilized man who understood manners and respect. At least, that was how he saw himself.
He had no desire to drop some low-rent villain line like, Ki-hehehehehe, I’ll jam San-gong-dok straight up your nasal cavity!!! The unorthodox crowd around them was already making enough of a racket with their filthy mouths. It had been fun to watch from the stands; standing on the stage himself was just mortifying.
So Gong Ryun kept it gentle and simple.
“Heeeh~~ What a total bore. You don’t even know how to hype a fight. Guess a Orthodox softie really is just a softie. Kind of disappointing?”
The Poison Dagger Woman sneered.
Gong Ryun didn’t particularly care. A life-and-death duel was fought with the body in the end, wasn’t it?
Then the jeers came from the North Mercenary Gate side.
“Booo~~~ Dead boring!!”
“And you call yourself a martial artist!! Gutless worm!!!”
“Don’t you even have basic social skills!!”
What was this.
Sure enough, Un-rang’s voice floated up from behind him.
“Gong Ryun!!! You need to crush his spirit!! Trash-talk him!!! Trash-talk!!!!! Personal attacks!!!”
That was not something a monk should be saying. Don’t go around claiming you belong to any religion. Gong Ryun’s head hurt.
He decided to stick to his own principles.
“…Let’s both give it our best.”
“Kihahaha!! The most boring bastard on the planet!! Fine!! No more stalling—the match starts now!!!!!”
And with that, the start of the fight was declared.
Start declared. From this moment it was real combat. Either of them could charge, throw hidden weapons, spray poison—anything. A single spark away from explosion.
Both fighters’ internal energy boiled up. Each calculated the first move.
“Kikikik. To think you were this clueless about the world. After I beat you, I’ll carve a green mark on your forehead that never fades!!! I wonder how it feels to chew up a Orthodox young master!! Kihahahahaha!!!”
The Poison Dagger Woman’s wicked laughter rang through the tavern.