Team Battle (2)
I thought I could talk my way out of it. But of all times to make my explanation, I had to do it while carrying Ran in my arms — there was not a chance in hell Seolha was going to listen.
Swish.
Just as I expected, Seolha lowered the hand that had been pointing at Ran and drew her wooden sword. It only looked like a real blade to me, right? Right?
Sensing the battle with Seolha was inevitable, I set Ran down. With anyone else it might have been different, but against Seolha, even I could lose if I got careless.
Once Ran was down, I told her to go join Hanmuk and Seonwu. Seolha watched me do it with a look of pure displeasure and fired off a single remark.
"How considerate of you? And here I thought you only ever roughed me up."
Roughed you up? That was not something I could let slide, and I shot back immediately.
"When have I ever roughed you up? Huh? Do you have any idea how good I've been to you?"
"Oh~ really? Then tell me exactly what you've done for me."
"Uh....."
Why couldn't I remember anything all of a sudden?
As I fumbled to retrieve my lost memories, Seolha's eyes narrowed into triangles and she shouted.
"Because there was nothing, that's why you can't remember! Shut your mouth and fight!"
'Uh-oh.'
She seemed genuinely angry this time.
Despite her own command to come at her, Seolha was the one who charged in first. For a moment I wavered — should I really fight her for real or not? — but then I quickly thought better of it.
Why had I once promised a sparring match with my hair ornament on the line, again? If I remembered that, then I absolutely could not go easy on her. And if I half-heartedly held back and bruised her pride on top of it?
That day would be the day of my funeral, that's what.
With my mind made up, I met Seolha's wooden sword using the subtle footwork of the Two-Defense Stance, just as I had against the other squad members.
Tung! Tter-tung!
Unlike the others, Seolha did not get caught up in my movements. She let herself be drawn along where I led, then immediately counterattacked. Rather than wasting effort resisting the Two-Defense Stance, she focused entirely on her next move.
Marvelling at her way of fighting, I kept my sword moving. Seolha's eyes went wide too, apparently startled by my modified version of the stance, but her hands and feet never stopped.
Maybe a quarter of an hour passed like that. I could feel my body growing sluggish.
'Of course. This is a difficult sword art to face.'
The art Seolha used was called the Heaven's Shadow Sword Art, one her mother had created with her own hands. From what I'd heard, her mother had been born with Yin-type qi as well.
Perhaps because of that, the Heaven's Shadow Sword Art was an art that channeled Yin-type qi to perfection. The cold that was dulling my movements right now was a perfect example.
'My body is getting colder and colder.'
At first it had been merely refreshing, but as time passed it grew cold enough to be hard to bear. The chill radiating from Seolha's body was making it harder and harder to swing my sword.
Certain that I'd lose the initiative if this went on, I pulled out my techniques from my past life and pressed the attack. Seolha flustered for only a moment at my barrage of varied strikes before snapping right back to form.
The martial arts I'd gained in my past life were simply too feeble. The ones that might have been useful I couldn't use for lack of internal energy. A sorry state of affairs.
Next, I brought out the Moyong Clan's arts. The Flash-Sundering Cloud Sword — one of the Moyong family's sword arts, its strength lying in blindingly fast, agile blade work.
Using the Flash-Sundering Cloud Sword's forms, I pushed forward again. The moment my sword settled into a fixed sequence of techniques, Seolha faltered.
My style was defined by unpredictable, formless swordplay with no set techniques. Seolha knew that fact well, so she grew wary the instant I suddenly began using forms.
My swift blade and Seolha's frost-laden sword tangled in a dizzying weave. When the cold began to cloud even my vision, I drove the Flash-Sundering Cloud Sword faster still, sweeping the chill away as much as I could.
But my sword inevitably slowed again. My body had grown too cold to endure any longer.
'If I get any stiffer here, I can't use the Flash-Sundering Cloud Sword.'
It made sense — the art was fundamentally built on a fast blade, so without speed it was meaningless.
And then one more problem emerged.
'She's growing.'
I'd noticed it before, back when Seolha and I trained through sparring matches: she always came out of them stronger than when she went in. And now that we were both fighting in earnest, that growth had only accelerated.
Just as Mujin thought this and hurried to prepare his next move, Seolha was focusing with such intensity that her earlier anger seemed to have vanished without a trace.
'The Young Lord's sword.'
His swordplay built on the Two-Defense Stance had been genuinely astonishing at first. Even if she had been the one to learn the stance directly, she doubted she could have wielded it that way.
And when that stopped working, the way he pulled out art after art had been equally remarkable. Not so much the power of the techniques themselves, as their sheer variety and the ingenuity of their application.
The next one had presumably been a Moyong Clan sword art. The shift to a set sequence of forms, so different from before, had thrown her off — but it, too, soon failed to threaten her.
Because the cold that formed the foundation of the Heaven's Shadow Sword Art had bound Mujin's body. Whether he had another move in reserve she couldn't say, but even if he did, his body could take no more.
Having calculated up to that point, Seolha pushed in more aggressively. Drag it out too long, and Mujin's body would grow so cold that things could turn dangerous.
"Haaap!"
With a sharp battle cry, Seolha brought her wooden sword down hard. Mujin barely deflected it, but his arm trembled violently. His muscles had frozen solid.
Seolha, judging he couldn't hold out much longer, slashed out in all four directions this time. And it was at that very moment — the moment she thought she'd won —
Tung! Ter-ter-tung!
"?"
Seolha blinked furiously, as if she were witnessing something she couldn't comprehend. Mujin had deflected every single strike. And now he was charging straight at her.
How?
The question hovered in her mind, unable to escape her lips. There was no breath to spare for words.
While Seolha struggled to absorb Mujin's sword, Mujin was rejoicing inwardly.
'Reverse Sense!'
At last, the Reverse Sense had activated. Strictly speaking, it was only a fragment of it — but even that was more than enough to turn this situation around.
No one had drawn it out of me since Moyong Hu, and now of all people it had to be Seolha. I could only guess that with my body weakening while hers grew stronger, my instincts had judged my life to be in danger.
However it had happened, with the Reverse Sense active, this fight was as good as won. As if to prove it, my body moved beautifully.
Yielding myself to the Reverse Sense, I could contemplate Seolha's Heaven's Shadow Sword Art as though gazing at it from afar. Understand the structure of the art, then dismantle it. That was always how it went once the Reverse Sense awakened.
As I traced that rhythm and began unravelling the Heaven's Shadow Sword Art, Seolha's face froze in shock.
Come right in. First time experiencing the Reverse Sense?
Having her art dismantled in an instant, Seolha stumbled backward. I didn't miss the opening and swung my sword even harder.
Still, perhaps because this was my first time touching Five Elements qi, even the Reverse Sense couldn't fully grasp its structure. But that too was only a matter of time. In my experience, there was no martial art the Reverse Sense couldn't understand.
So there I was, absorbing Seolha's Heaven's Shadow Sword Art bit by bit, when she suddenly dropped her wooden sword.
Huh?
Puzzled, I withdrew my blade. Seolha then raised both hands with an exhausted expression.
"I surrender."
"Why? You had the advantage."
"Do you take me for a fool?"
A faint hint of despondency was written across her eyes as she said it.
"Hmph. And I'd rather not get beaten by the man who's going to be my husband someday."
That was the Reverse Sense finally activating after so long — a shame it ended here. But when I thought about what would have happened if I'd actually struck her, my mood soured. Stopping here had been the right call.
'Just two years ago we were both desperate because we couldn't bring ourselves to kill each other. You really never can tell with people.'
What would the us of back then think if they saw the us of now? Probably ask whether we'd eaten something wrong up in the mountains.
"I'll be asking you about whatever that was just now later, so for now worry about your squad members. And you'd better explain yourself properly about that girl Ran, too."
With that, Seolha added, "Because I'm NOT done being mad yet!"
Resolving to treat Seolha better from now on, I turned away. I'd already wasted far too much time.
Rushing to the Wick Pavilion as fast as I could, I noticed the area had grown quiet. Considering that Wang Yeomsu would have already sent those judged to be eliminated to the main hall, the team battle seemed more or less wrapped up.
And yet — there they were. Two figures sprawled face-down on the ground, showing me all too familiar backs.
"Hanmuk? Seonwu?"
I'd expected them to struggle, but seeing my own squadmates lying there still didn't feel great.
I propped Hanmuk up first, but his internal energy was so completely drained that he simply crumpled back down where he sat.
"My apologies, my Lord."
"For what, you rascal? You did well. So where's Ran? Did the instructor take her?"
With great effort, Hanmuk raised a finger and pointed somewhere.
"Wang Ran is over yonder, my Lord. Suddenly declared herself bored and ran off toward another squad, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Got it. Rest here, and when the instructor comes, tell him to carry you to the main hall."
The moment my words ended, Hanmuk collapsed again. More than injured, it seemed he'd burned through so much internal energy that his body simply wouldn't obey him.
Hurrying toward the spot Hanmuk had pointed to, I had no choice but to rub my eyes.
What is this? Am I seeing things wrong?
"Play with me more! Why is everyone lying down? Big Brother Young Lord played with Ran so well, though."
Ran was massacring the other squad members — no, wait, pummeling them.
Wasn't she supposed to be unable to use martial arts?
As I stood there watching the scene with a hollow feeling, Ran spotted me, her eyes lighting up, and came bounding over.
"Big Brother Young Lord!"
"Hm? Uh, hey—"
She tried to throw her arms around me, and this time I dodged with firm resolve. It had been less than a heartbeat since I'd sworn to treat Seolha well — I couldn't break it already.
"Eep! Why'd you dodge!"
"Are you asking because you don't know? Or do you know and you're asking anyway?"
"Know what?"
"Hoo. Never mind."
I looked out over the flag bearer squad members sprawled across the ground. Roughly two squads' worth, all of it Ran's handiwork.
If I'd known this would happen, I'd have just left her alone.
As I was nursing my small regret, Wang Yeomsu arrived unnoticed at my side and declared the end of the team battle.
"Both your tactics and your combat were excellent, Young Lord. This team battle goes to your squad — first place."
Finally, it's over, I thought, and nodded.
"Thank you."
"Although."
"?"
"I would advise against beating your squad leaders like that."
When exactly did he see that?