Ranking Match (3)
That bastard! You have to win this time. No, kill him!
She had said it the fourth time.
Jeon Chayeon had received the same request four times now.
After the qualifying round and on the day of the main match, the moment she stepped toward the arena, a girl she had never seen before appeared and bowed her head to plead with her.
<>
“You’re right,” Chayeon murmured, her voice low and steady.
How many victims were there that she had been asked this four times already?
The actual number of victims was surely far higher.
Leaving such trash running free like this.
She wondered what kind of capital and power he possessed to act with such impunity.
Public opinion was overwhelmingly negative, yet it remained hazy.
Although many had suffered, and the victims themselves had kept their mouths shut, the majority of students at Jindal Academy still only saw Ju Jihyo as an outstandingly skilled freshman with a cruel hand.
“Yes, I’ll win.”
“I-it’s a request!”
The girl spoke and vanished in a hurried rush.
[Announcement for the main ranking match mock combat will begin at 11:00 a.m. Please take your seats once again. In a moment…]
Chayeon had barely arrived at the auditorium when the announcement rang out.
The stands were already packed with other students.
It was only natural; this was one of the most famous matches inside the ranking tournament.
A clash between two second-year students who had skipped a year, fighting in the main round to decide who would claim A-rank.
The atmosphere inside the arena was already scorching.
It felt as if she had stepped into a sports stadium.
Five minutes before eleven, Chayeon and Ju Jihyo stood facing each other in the center of the hall.
“There are no restrictions on combat style, but if either of you appears to be in serious danger, the match will be stopped. Just like the qualifiers, there is no concept of surrender. The match continues until the referee declares it over. Both of you understand, right?”
Surhee, who had been selected as referee, asked the two for final confirmation.
Chayeon nodded once.
Ju Jihyo only smiled, his eyes glittering like a snake’s.
Twenty seconds before the start of the match.
All eyes were on them.
Chayeon lightly gripped her neck and glanced toward Surhee.
[It’s certain. I saw him drink it earlier. The effect will appear very soon.]
Telepathic confirmation from Surhee.
Three… two… one…
“Begin.”
The moment the starting signal sounded, Chayeon’s body was instantly hurled forward.
But it was immediately yanked back by an overwhelming force.
Her body tossed up and down like a roller coaster gone wild, flailing helplessly like a broken doll.
“Ah…”
Some spectators let out suppressed sighs of disappointment at the sight of the small girl being toyed with so mercilessly.
Kaboom!
“Kuk!”
Chayeon crashed to the ground and let out a pained cry.
Ju Jihyo’s eyes gleamed with delight.
“What’s wrong, Chayeon? Nothing’s changed, huh?”
With a casual wave of his hand, he yanked her body straight toward him.
A sharp crack echoed as her face slammed into his.
This was the torture method he had shown her once before.
“Huh? Nothing changed. Nothing changed at all! Fight back harder!”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
……
The body of a small girl was being casually toyed with by a massive man.
Yet the referee watched silently, unmoved.
Sighs, long breaths.
Some spectators squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear the sight.
The match was already decided.
As the spectators watched the helpless girl, their tolerance finally snapped.
“What… is that?”
“He’s insane, Ewande.”
—Whoa—
The murmurs spread through the crowd.
Even those who had once despised Ju Jihyo and those who had defended him now stared with wide eyes at the scene unfolding before them, which felt utterly out of place in this arena.
Right in the center of his lower body, a massive hill had formed beneath his pants.
A truly colossal tent.
His junior was clearly on full display even through the fabric.
“…What the—?!”
Ju Jihyo himself suddenly panicked when he realized his own erection was rising without his consent and let go of Chayeon.
Her hips were still awkwardly positioned behind him.
“…Insane pervert.”
“Heh, is he getting off on how he’s torturing her? A little girl like that?”
“No way. Is he on some drug or something?”
“He’s famous for harassing girls and getting excited about it.”
“For real? Wow…”
“I never saw it like this before… it’s kind of…”
“Ah, he’s a man.”
Though some odd opinions mixed in, most could only stare in horror at his condition.
—What is this? Why?
—Whew~
—We have to give it back with medicine. I haven’t tried it, but I hear Viagra works really well?
—Let’s mix in Cialis too.
—…Cialis?
—It’s just another erection-inducing drug.
—I see. Teacher, can you help with this?
—Teacher, what happened?
—Yeah, I dissolved the medicine into the water bottle he always carries. I checked that he finished it all just now.
—How long until the effect shows?
—Probably around ten minutes after the start, just like you said?
“Hah… you bitch…!”
Ju Jihyo realized Chayeon had discovered his cheating and gnashed his teeth.
He brushed off his clothes with a careless flick of his wrist, as if nothing had happened, and stood up.
“Pervert.”
Chayeon let out a cold, disdainful laugh.
“Your dick is small.”
“Damn you! I’m going to kill you no matter what!”
Ju Jihyo unleashed his power in a fury, his black eyes flashing red.
……
Nothing happened.
“Huh?”
“Ah, my neck hurts from twisting it around.”
Chayeon rolled her neck forward and backward and walked right up to Ju Jihyo.
After completing Adaptation, her senses now perfectly captured the energy flowing from him.
She understood exactly how he manipulated physical force.
The direction and intensity of his power were crystal clear.
If the surrounding energy tried to pull her body, she only needed to release a tiny bit of her own inner energy to cancel it out.
It was as easy as breathing.
“What the… you piece of shit!”
Ju Jihyo froze in shock when he realized his ability had failed completely.
His talent was great, but he was an amateur in this area.
The arena was even better than he was.
Chayeon stared steadily at her target.
Her first goal—killing him thoroughly—had already been achieved.
Even if no one saw her from behind, no one would openly defend Ju Jihyo in front of everyone now.
He was nothing but a crazy pervert who got excited harassing a girl smaller than him during the ranking match.
Now it was time for the second goal.
And the target had become even more tempting.
Slash!
Not even Surhee could follow Chayeon’s movements.
Chayeon had already slipped around Ju Jihyo’s side and raised her neck high above his head.
—This is how you cut it, right?
—Yeah, Chayeon is amazing at this. They call it dicing.
—Whoa, dicing!
The childhood memory of household practice class in elementary school flashed through her mind.
The cucumbers were diced.
“……!!!”
“Huh!”
Even the audience gasped as if they had heard the scream of a beast, the sound so heartbreaking it echoed through the auditorium.
Some who had been watching unconsciously recoiled, leaning back as if in pain.
Chayeon brought her knee crashing down toward Ju Jihyo, who had been kneeling and quivering.
“Kuk!”
His face was once again fully exposed as he collapsed forward.
—You slice the tip like this. Go ahead. Like that!
—Whoa, I want to try it too!
—Sure sure. Oh my, Chayeon is really good!
—Hehe.
A distant memory resurfaced: helping her mother separate the mushroom stems when she was little.
Now it was a cherished memory.
She used the same technique.
The only difference was that this time she was using a sword instead of her hands to slice off the stem.
Mother, thank you.
Snick—
The tip of her neck, sliced diagonally upward, struck exactly at the top of the tent with perfect precision.
Even through the fabric, the blade carved a clean path through the gap between the enormous pillars, leaving Ju Jihyo with an unforgettable memory.
This neck was sharper than it looked.
“Kuuuueeeek!!”
The sound that tore from his throat was nothing like the relaxed one from before—an animal-like scream that would have been unimaginable.
It sounded exactly like a pig being slaughtered.
It suited him perfectly.
His eyes rolled back, but he quickly regained his senses and clutched his middle, forcing his balance.
At the same time, an entirely different, overwhelming force slammed into Chayeon.
<>
“You’re right.”
Chayeon floated upward and landed lightly on the ground.
Even more powerful than before, yet Adaptation had already completed during the flight.
Ju Jihyo realized his maximum output was useless.
“Haa, hah, hey, referee! You’re not stopping the match?! Either one of you is still fighting!”
“From my eyes, neither side has lost combat capability. Continue.”
Surhee answered coldly, refusing to be swayed by Ju Jihyo’s screaming.
“What are you staring at? We need to become close.”
At that exact moment when Ju Jihyo turned his gaze toward Surhee, Chayeon had already appeared right in front of his nose again.
“You… piece of…”
A blade sprang from the sleeve of his right arm.
It was not an ordinary sword—a silver knife specially forged for battling demons.
In a ranking match, unless it was a power restriction, such weapons were forbidden.
Ju Jihyo ignored the rule and swung the blade at Chayeon.
Clear foul play, yet Surhee watched silently.
Whisk—
Chayeon moved faster than the swing itself, ducking low to burrow straight into Ju Jihyo’s arms.
Her small frame lowered her torso, and her body ended up beneath his waist.
The position was perfect.
Keeping the hand holding the sword, she extended her left.
This was unpleasant, but there was no other choice. She could wash her hands later.
—Teacher! Chayeon broke another egg!
—Chayeon! You weren’t supposed to hit it that hard. When cracking eggs, you tap gently.
—Waaah! I can’t do it, Teacher.
Chayeon had never been able to crack eggs since childhood.
She always put too much force, smashing them instead of cracking them open.
Today’s attempt had clearly failed.
“……”
“Oh… my lord…”
A sigh born from grief, lament, and second-hand pain filled the auditorium, turning the entire space into a heavy silence.
Bubbling—
Ju Jihyo’s eyes rolled back as foam poured from his mouth and he fainted.
The impact had been too severe.
“S-stop! Chayeon! Stop!”
Surhee hurriedly stopped Chayeon before she could demonstrate her final technique—the mortar and pestle of the moon rabbit.
From that day on, Chayeon became a legend.