Just Enough
The next morning, a call came from the Association.
They had a few things to confirm regarding the Mujin Association incident.
When Sihyuk opened the front door, the door next door cracked open as well. Through the gap, Riel’s light green eyes peered out.
“Going to the Association?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t say anything unnecessary.”
“I’m not exactly the talkative type to begin with.”
Riel stared at him for a moment.
“That’s true, but you say weird things sometimes.”
“When have I ever?”
The door closed.
Apparently it wasn’t even worth answering.
The investigation wrapped up faster than expected.
Sihyuk explained that the Mujin Association men had forced him into a van and attacked first when they demanded money. The traces at the scene and the survivors’ statements lined up closely enough. As for killing Kwon Taeseok, he said he had offered to spare him if he stopped—only for the man to come at him again.
What the investigators really wanted to know was something else entirely: how a man registered as a Non-Awakened had single-handedly subdued more than twenty Mujin Association members.
That part was settled on the condition that Yeomhwa would take responsibility for verifying Sihyuk’s identity and abilities. Any further checks would also go through Yeomhwa.
The investigators looked less than pleased, but they didn’t press further.
When Sihyuk stepped out of the interrogation room and started down the hallway, Do Ha-gyeong pushed herself off the wall she’d been leaning against. She wore a black tracksuit under a dark red jacket.
“Finished sooner than I thought.”
“Thanks to someone.”
“Is that a thank-you?”
“Not yet.”
Do Ha-gyeong jangled the car keys hooked on her finger.
“Then I’ll just have to make you grateful.”
“How?”
“We’re going to keep that promise.”
The car left the city and headed for the outskirts. Do Ha-gyeong focused on driving while Sihyuk watched the scenery slide past the window. Tall buildings gave way to low factories and warehouses.
“How far are we going?”
“Yeomhwa Private Training Ground.”
“Empty place, right?”
“Cleared it for today. Recording devices are all off too.”
“Vice-Guildmaster can just do that?”
“That’s what the title’s for—moments like this.”
Sihyuk glanced at her.
“Nice position.”
“Want it?”
“No.”
The answer came fast. Do Ha-gyeong gave a small laugh.
A short while later the car stopped in front of a facility ringed by high soundproof walls. The entrance bore Yeomhwa’s large flame crest. When Do Ha-gyeong swiped her card, the steel gate slid open.
Inside was an open lot wider than a soccer field. The entire floor was covered in ash-gray alloy plates, and red crystals were set into the surrounding walls at regular intervals.
Sihyuk looked around. He could feel the flow of mana wrapping the whole space.
“Barrier?”
“Keeps shock and heat from leaking out.”
“Holds up well?”
“No problem even if I go all out.”
Sihyuk eyed the red crystals embedded in the walls for a moment.
“If you go all out, it’d be cutting it close.”
Do Ha-gyeong’s steps stopped.
“We haven’t even started yet.”
“You can tell roughly just by looking.”
“Guess I can’t win with words.”
She set her jacket and phone aside, tightly wrapped black bandages around her wrists, and walked to the center of the lot.
“Rules are simple.”
“Let’s hear them.”
“Ends when the other side surrenders. No killing.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Do Ha-gyeong yanked the bandages tight and tied them off. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“Let’s see if you can still say that in a bit.”
Her amber eyes already shone as if the fight had begun.
Sihyuk walked to the center as well, still in the black tracksuit he always wore.
“Weapons?”
“None.”
“Bare hands?”
“You’re bare-handed too.”
“These are my weapons.”
Do Ha-gyeong lightly knocked her fists together. Flames bloomed. The red fire didn’t spread wildly; it clung thinly along the backs of her hands and wrists, wrapping all the way to her elbows. The air around them heated rapidly.
“I’m going first?”
“Suit yourself.”
Before the words finished, Do Ha-gyeong vanished. The alloy plate under her feet dented. A red afterimage streaked across the lot, and a flame-wreathed fist appeared right in front of Sihyuk’s face.
He tilted his head. The fist grazed his cheek and scattered hot wind.
Do Ha-gyeong didn’t stop. She pulled the extended right arm back while dropping low; a kick aimed at Sihyuk’s knee followed. He stepped back. Her toes slammed the floor.
Bang!
The alloy plate crumpled like paper. Through the flying fragments her left fist came flying. This time Sihyuk raised an arm to block.
Flame-wrapped fist met forearm. A heavy vibration rolled through the training ground. The red crystals in the walls lit up all at once. Do Ha-gyeong’s body was shoved backward. She twisted in midair and landed lightly on both feet.
“Tougher than I thought.”
“You’re faster than I thought too.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Yeah.”
Her smile deepened. She kicked off the floor again—this time not head-on. She detonated flames underfoot to change direction, slipped to Sihyuk’s side, and swung an elbow. When he dodged, a knee shot up immediately. Fists, feet, elbows chained without pause. When blocked she rode the impact into a spin; when dodged she burst flames to close the gap in an instant.
It wasn’t simply fast and strong. It was a style honed through countless battles.
Sihyuk let each attack slide past. He ducked under a fist aimed at his jaw and pushed aside a kick that dug for his ribs with his palm. Red hair filled his vision. A hand slipped through and brushed the tip of his sleeve. Sparks flew; the fabric scorched black.
Sihyuk’s gaze dropped to the sleeve. Do Ha-gyeong put distance between them.
“Expensive clothes?”
“Support gear.”
“Then it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine.”
For the first time Sihyuk stepped forward. Do Ha-gyeong’s eyes widened. Somehow his hand already held her wrist. She immediately swung her free fist. Sihyuk twisted the arm he held and lifted. Do Ha-gyeong’s body, center of gravity gone, rose into the air.
Just before she slammed into the floor, flames exploded from her back. The blast shoved her upward. She flipped once in the air, then slid a long way across the floor on landing.
“You move like that too.”
“Like it?”
“Useful enough.”
Do Ha-gyeong’s eyebrows rose.
“You talk like you’re grading me.”
“Didn’t you bring me here to check?”
“I was the one who was supposed to be checking.”
She dropped into a lower stance.
“Attack this time.”
“I just did.”
“That was a throw.”
“You’ll get hurt.”
“That’s what I came to find out.”
Do Ha-gyeong crossed both arms over her face and chest. Flames gathered over them. The red light brightened until the core turned white.
“Come.”
Sihyuk watched her for a moment. She didn’t seem to be bluffing. She truly meant to take it.
He walked up to her and rested a palm on the crossed arms.
“Here I go.”
He pushed lightly.
The smile vanished from Do Ha-gyeong’s face. The flames wrapping her arms flattened in an instant. With a booming blast her body flew backward—ten meters, twenty. She drove both feet into the floor but couldn’t stop. The alloy plates tore open in long furrows and buckled upward on both sides. Only when she reached the barrier itself did she finally plant herself upright. The red crystals in the wall flickered uneasily.
Do Ha-gyeong slowly lowered her arms. Her fingertips trembled faintly.
“Crazy…”
She stared at Sihyuk for a long while. Then she laughed.
“Nice.”
“What is?”
“You’re way stronger than I expected.”
Flames rose from her body again. This time they didn’t stay on her arms. Fire spread across her shoulders, waist, and legs. Through the heat-warped air her amber eyes shone vividly. It was different from before. Flames coiled around her entire body; even her red hair flickered like fire. The alloy plate under her feet began to melt.
“Still going?”
“I haven’t properly checked yet.”
“Feels like we’ve done enough.”
Do Ha-gyeong grinned.
“I don’t think so!”
She kicked off the floor. What crossed the lot wasn’t a red afterimage but a single streak of light. The fist that appeared in front of Sihyuk was compressed with white flame. The barrier shuddered as if screaming.
This time Sihyuk didn’t dodge. He raised his right hand. Black magi seeped between his fingers. The magi slowly rotated in front of his palm, forming a vortex the size of a hand—black dense enough to dim the surrounding light.
White flame and black vortex collided.
No explosion came. The fire wrapping Do Ha-gyeong’s fist stretched long. White flame starting from her fingertips unraveled like thread and was sucked into the black vortex. Her eyes flew wide. The fire was vanishing—from the back of her hand to her wrist, from her wrist to her elbow. Even the red flames that had coiled around her body were being dragged upward in reverse.
She tried to yank her arm free, but it was already too late. The last ember disappeared into the black vortex.
In that instant Sihyuk twisted his palm sideways. The magi that had been spinning inward reversed direction.
Kwaang!
The swallowed power erupted all at once together with the magi. Do Ha-gyeong’s body was flung back the way she had come. She flipped several times in the air before driving both feet into the floor. The alloy plates split open in long cracks. She braked with both legs but only managed to stop after being shoved dozens of meters.
Her right arm hung limp. Thin smoke rose between the bandages. Do Ha-gyeong gasped roughly and stared at her own hand.
“Just now… did you eat my flames?”
“Looks that way.”
“‘Looks that way’?”
“It’s been a while since I used it like this myself.”
Do Ha-gyeong lifted her head. Faint black magi still drifted around Sihyuk’s right hand. His breathing wasn’t even disturbed—as if he had been standing there from the start.
“You absorbed my power and sent it straight back?”
“Not all of it.”
“How much did you return?”
Sihyuk looked over the cracked floor and the uneasily flickering barrier.
“Just enough so this place wouldn’t collapse.”
The corner of Do Ha-gyeong’s mouth slowly rose. Her arm was still trembling, but her amber eyes shone brighter than before.
“…Are you a monster?”
She gave a short laugh.
“You’re seriously fucking strong. And I’m S-class myself.”
She tried to settle into stance again. The moment she put strength into her right arm, her knee buckled slightly.
Sihyuk spoke.
“We’re done now, right?”
“I haven’t surrendered yet.”
“You just took your own attack right back.”
“You said it wasn’t all of it.”
“If I return all of it, this place comes down.”
Do Ha-gyeong opened her mouth, then closed it. Looking around, it was hard to argue. The alloy plates were torn in places, and several of the red crystals in the walls had fine cracks.
In the end she dropped her stance.
“Fine. That’s enough.”
The black magi around Sihyuk’s hand vanished without a trace. He immediately started walking toward the exit. Do Ha-gyeong called after him.
“One more time.”
“No.”
“I’ll book a different training ground.”
“You said once.”
“Aww, come on, pleeease.”
“Not happening.”
Do Ha-gyeong picked up the phone she had left on her jacket. At that moment it vibrated. The guildmaster’s name lit the screen. When she hit the call button, a low voice came through.
“Did you confirm it?”
Do Ha-gyeong looked down at the cracked training-ground floor—the black vortex that had swallowed her flames and sent them back. Even that hadn’t been full power.
“Yes.”
“How strong?”
Her gaze turned toward the exit. Sihyuk was walking away looking no different from when he first arrived.
“That’s what I fought to find out.”
“And?”
Do Ha-gyeong slowly clenched her still-trembling right hand.
“I couldn’t confirm it.”