Semifinals (3)
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga!
Where the Phoenix's flames had swept through, scorched judges lay toppled in droves.
The momentum belonged entirely to Hikaru now.
All that remained was the finishing blow.
"Hyaap!"
Pususususuk!
A relentless barrage from the Taeguk Girl and the Wind Archers sent Olivia's summons tumbling back into their cards one after another.
"Haah."
Olivia let out a sigh, her expression faintly relieved.
Of course she'd hoped to win, but honestly, she hadn't walked in expecting to. This was the famous Five Emperor, world rank two, after all.
"You're definitely good, Hikaru."
She nodded and conceded with easy grace.
"But it won't be enough against our Unnie."
Hikaru simply smiled in response, choosing not to dignify the remark with an answer.
Hwa-rreuk!
He answered by wrapping Olivia's remaining summons in the Phoenix's flames.
"Haah!"
Hong Ari, who'd been watching the match with both fists clenched tight, exhaled hard.
It was the same Phoenix, but the power and the spectacle were on a completely different level from hers.
Hong Ari turned her head to look at Baek Jinwoo.
"Guild Master."
"Yeah?"
"Shouldn't I recruit a wind attribute too? A Wind Archer? I hear those things are insane?"
"They're decent, but you don't really need one."
"Why not?"
"Their weakness is too obvious."
Wind arrows from a Wind Archer?
Those only worked on novices with poor control.
If they fired one of those wind arrows at me?
Hungyo could neutralize it just by drawing his sword and swinging once.
What was the point of controlling it, anyway?
All you had to do was catch up to it.
"Personally, I prefer extreme fire over wind-and-fire."
"...What's that supposed to mean?"
"Rather than mixing in wind, I like fire that's just strong on its own."
In other words, the same philosophy as Pokryongi.
She didn't mix in a single wisp of wind either, and look how terrifyingly strong she was.
Our Pokryongi, soon to be the strongest in the world.
Baek Jinwoo ruffled the hair of Pokryongi, who was sitting pressed right up against his side.
"Gaining an edge through control has its limits. If you really want to see the end... you don't get there through control. You get there by being strong, period."
The Tower of Ordeal was exactly like that.
Up to a certain point, you could scrape by on control. But past that threshold, none of it meant a thing.
He remembered how much it had hurt, watching his summons get torn apart before overwhelming force.
"For now, just focus on fire."
"Got it. If you say so, it must be right."
The guild members' trust in Baek Jinwoo had reached one hundred percent.
After everything he'd shown them, doubting him would be an intelligence issue.
"Hyung! Over there!"
That was when Ki Jaehyeok pointed at the broadcast screen.
England's dice had rolled, and a woman's face appeared.
Rachel Rose.
"Rachel's up!"
"Oh."
"Ohhhhh."
The guild members, who had briefly been absorbed in the conversation between Hong Ari and Baek Jinwoo, turned their attention back to the broadcast.
Wow.
Even Baek Jinwoo was impressed.
Rachel right after Olivia?
Well, well.
This was going to be a good match.
For this one moment, at least, he forgot all about tomorrow's match against America.
He simply turned back into a spectator.
That was how highly anticipated the clash between Hikaru and Rachel was.
"Whew!"
Hikaru whistled as he watched Rachel make her elegant entrance.
"...Hikaru."
"Hey, don't call my name. There's no interpreter in here. I only speak a little English."
Unfortunately, the hastily constructed duel arena had no interpreter birds inside.
Times like this made him miss the old Battle of Summoners days.
Back then, you could always type in chat, and every language was automatically translated...
"You know? No hard feelings, ever."
Swoosh!
Rachel placed a hand over the red rose embroidered on her chest.
Hikaru smirked.
He could roughly guess what she'd said just from the feeling of it.
"Hard feelings? Nah. Just bad luck. Of all brackets, semifinals against you."
The two were that close.
Come to think of it, it was only natural that all Five Emperors were friends.
They'd kept a group chat running for five years in-game and four years in real life, staying in constant contact the whole time.
But.
Hikaru clenched his jaw.
I'm not going down easy.
He'd already completed every possible analysis of the Yellow Dragon she commanded.
It would be tough, sure.
But not unwinnable.
Summon grades obviously mattered in Battle of Summoners, but the real charm of this game was that wit and strategy could bridge that gap.
The Wind Archers get discarded. Boldly.
Having already expended all their wind arrows, they were nothing but empty husks now.
But that was fine.
He didn't need mob control against Rachel, who only used the Yellow Dragon anyway.
"Shall we begin?"
At Hikaru's question,
"Okay. Let's go."
Kugu-gu-gu-gu-gu...
A small Yellow Dragon coiled around Rachel's body and rose up.
After winding around her a few times, it settled above her head with its jaws spread wide — the image of an Eastern dragon!
What a magnificent sight.
Ta-at!
The first to charge was Hikaru's Taeguk Girl.
Hikaru had deliberately refrained from using MP on any summons other than the Wind Archers.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
The Yellow Dragon lunged with claws extended, but
"Hyaap!"
The Taeguk Girl, condensed with the energy of all creation, deflected its charge with the yielding softness of Taeguk Quan.
Shwip, shushushwip!
Even amid all this, the two Wind Archers kept up their bow fire as a distraction!
But.
"Kreuk!"
The Yellow Dragon slammed its claws into the ground, and golden energy began surging up from beneath the Wind Archers' feet.
Kwadeuk, kwadeudeuk!
The force of that golden energy was tremendous — it coiled around the Wind Archers' bodies and snapped their bones.
"Kkeok!"
"Uk-heuk!"
But.
"Nak-yeom!"
At Hikaru's shout, the Phoenix, roaring at full power, dove straight down from the sky toward Rachel.
Hwa-rururureuk!
It looked like someone grabbing a flamethrower in midair and firing it downward in a frenzy.
"Wow."
Rachel was genuinely impressed.
"You've already unlocked the Phoenix's latent potential?"
She was controlling the Yellow Dragon to block the flames, but... the damage output was staggering.
On top of that, the Taeguk Girl kept fanning the flames with fresh oxygen, making them burn even hotter.
Yellow Dragon.
Rachel's lips tightened.
The Yellow Dragon was less a summon and more a weapon.
It resided in Rachel's heart and moved exactly as she controlled it.
It felt similar to the puppets Song Yeonhee used.
As if the player themselves had become the summon.
Of course, not a single player in the world knew this.
Rachel had hidden that fact meticulously.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
The Yellow Dragon began circling Rachel faster and faster, sweeping away the flames.
But.
Swoosh.
Hikaru, his expression grave, raised his hand.
And with a soft swish!, a new summon appeared.
What's that?
Rachel's brow furrowed.
She'd wondered why he'd only brought out four summons. Was it to show that?
What Hikaru had produced was a green spirit.
An A-rank Tree Spirit...
It had no notable abilities.
But it was also the perfect counter to Yellow Dragon-type summons.
Because it possessed a skill that restricted the player's movement.
Suaaaaa!
The energy emanating from the Tree Spirit slowly spread toward Rachel.
"How did you know? Sugoi."
"...We've fought each other enough times, haven't we? I'd have been worried if you hadn't noticed."
"Fair point."
Rachel smirked.
She'd been using it for nearly three years. Of course it would get found out.
And she was one of the Five Emperors, no less.
But.
There was something Sugoi didn't know either.
The Yellow Dragon's ultimate skill!
Kkwa-ak!
Rachel clenched her fist.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"
The Yellow Dragon roared and began ascending into the sky.
In response, Rachel's body floated up into the air as well.
What is that?
Hikaru stiffened slightly at the unfamiliar phenomenon.
The Phoenix's Nak-yeom was nearly finished, so there was no longer enough flame to do anything to the Yellow Dragon.
"Tree Spirit!"
Suaa, suaaaa!
The Tree Spirit's paralysis poison, capable of piercing the player's protective barrier, was gradually stiffening Rachel's fingers.
But the ultimate had already manifested.
Yellow Dragon!
Ascension Breath!
Kukwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!
A colossal dragon appeared, having neutralized every attack and risen to the very edge of the sky.
Its size was on a completely different dimension from the one that normally coiled around Rachel.
At the same moment.
Jjeoeoeoeok!
The massive Yellow Dragon's jaws opened, and golden light poured down from within.
Swaaaaaaaah!
A breath with the force to delete everything in its path!
"Mi- insane."
"What the hell!"
Not just Hikaru — spectators around the entire world leapt to their feet in shock.
"...Holy."
Even Baek Jinwoo's eyes went wide as saucers, his body frozen.
The Tree Spirit had already melted away.
The Taeguk Girl, the so-called damage sponge?
What damage sponge?
It had been disassembled beyond recognition and reverse-summoned.
That single strike had ended everything.
The scene was so overwhelming that even the commentators, who hadn't stopped talking all match, fell silent — reduced to nothing but wordless gasps.
Before long.
"That's insane, though?"
"Hyung, are we actually going to beat England?"
"No matter how good the Guild Master is, going up against a monster like that is a bit..."
"Honestly, even Hungyo would melt against that."
Even the guild members who had placed infinite faith in Baek Jinwoo shook their heads at the sight.
That was how staggering it had been.
"Wow, look at Hikaru's face."
"His mouth's hanging wide open. He looks completely devastated."
"...Can't blame him. His entire summon got melted by one attack. When you meet an opponent you can't beat no matter how hard you train, the only emotion left is despair."
"..."
The breath ended.
Hikaru stood rigid, staring at the Yellow Dragon as it slowly shrank back down.
"No."
But one person.
Only Baek Jinwoo shook his head.
"Not over yet."
"Sir?"
"What do you mean 'not over yet,' Guild Master? Are you saying Hikaru might still win?"
The guild members wore expressions of complete confusion.
Calling a comeback here?
"...Look there."
Baek Jinwoo silently pointed below the screen.
Hwa-rreuk!
A small egg, burning brightly.
"The Phoenix."
Baek Jinwoo murmured and nodded.
The Phoenix, having become an egg, was in the process of creating new life.
There was only one way to end a Phoenix's immortality.
Kill it before it finished rebirthing.
But?
"Look over there."
This time, Baek Jinwoo pointed at Rachel.
The Tree Spirit's poison still lingered — she was fidgeting with a grimace on her face.
Even the Yellow Dragon coiled around her seemed to have exhausted its remaining energy, appearing smaller than usual.
"She can't move. How's she going to deal with that?"
Sugoi, my friend.
Looks like you came properly prepared this time.
You've grown so much.
Baek Jinwoo smiled with quiet pride.