Frustration Forges a Man - 4: The Elf
When the elves were discovered not long after the gates first opened, the entire world erupted in celebration. A fantasy race made flesh. The image of elves etched into the human psyche could be summed up in three words: forest-loving, noble, and beautiful.
Countless novels had been written about humans falling in love with elves, so it was only natural that people on Earth would welcome them with open arms.
But the welcome was answered with a storm of arrows.
The moment the elves stepped out of the gate, crowds flocked to see them. Journalists desperate for a headline, soldiers convinced they could contain the situation, and ordinary citizens hungry for spectacle all gathered in one place.
The Pope at the time had looked upon the gate that opened directly in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and declared it the arrival of new friends.
That was the very beginning of the Great Awakening. Awakened individuals were still extremely rare across the world. And they were nothing like the graceful beings people had imagined. They were cruel, vicious invaders from another dimension.
Arrows punched straight through soldiers’ helmets. Live reporters had their hearts skewered on camera. Thirteen blades turned toward the screaming crowd. Just thirteen blades were all it took to butcher them in a matter of minutes. The sight of blades floating through the air on their own, massacring civilians while their blood soaked the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, was broadcast live to the entire planet.
The perpetrator of that massacre had been a single elf.
After that day, every elf that appeared in human history left behind a trail of chaos. Petty crimes like theft, assault, and arson on the small scale. On the large scale, they became the main culprits behind tragedies that would be recorded in history books.
And the one standing in front of me right now was also an elf.
Fuck. I’m screwed.
I had charged in first, yet that single thought was all that flashed through my mind.
Why the hell is an elf here? What the fuck were those Hunter Association bastards doing?!
The Hunter Association had a duty to explore gate interiors first, gather information, and disseminate it. If they discovered any dangerous elements inside, they were obligated to take immediate action.
The fact that this elf had come from this gate meant either the Association had completely neglected their responsibilities… or this thing had been hiding.
Given the circumstances, it was unlikely the Association had simply failed in their duties. They would never have let civilians enter a gate they hadn’t properly investigated.
I had no weapon in my hands. No matter how skilled I was in martial arts, rushing an armed opponent head-on was basically suicide.
Under normal circumstances, the smart choice would have been to retreat without engaging. But doing that might create more casualties. There was no guarantee the uncle wouldn’t be among them.
I had to hold out as long as possible and wait for reinforcements.
The one piece of good fortune was that I had practiced bare-handed knife defense several times while sparring with Professor Baek Seol-hee. She had warned me to avoid situations like this at all costs, but…
Within my narrowing field of vision, the elf’s dagger moved. A straight thrust aimed at my chest. The movement was lightning-fast, but my eyes caught every detail.
“Thank you, Professor Baek Seol-hee!!!”
I twisted my torso to slip past the blade, then tried to slam my hand down on it. The searing pain of my palm skin tearing open forced me to hurl her away instead.
Even as her body flew through the air from the force, she twisted mid-flight, regained her balance, and landed gracefully.
Fucking insane.
In the brief moment before she landed, I glanced at my palm. It was a disaster. The skin had been completely ripped away. Blood poured out in streams.
I grabbed her arm, but it feels like I ran it across a belt sander?
She twirled her dagger with casual ease, the motion screaming absolute confidence that she could kill me whenever she felt like it.
I raised my arms and settled into a fighting stance. The strength I had felt in her arm was far beyond what I had imagined. But I could see her movements.
All those daily beatings from Professor Baek Seol-hee weren’t for nothing.
I couldn’t be sure about her raw power, but her speed was clearly slower. Slow enough for my eyes to track. If that was the case, I still had a chance.
“Come on, you fucking bitch.”
I had no idea if she understood Korean, but the meaning behind my beckoning finger seemed to get through.
The moment she lowered her stance, the entire atmosphere shifted. The sound of her kicking off the ground rang out as she shot forward.
She kept the dagger in her right hand tucked close to her body and charged in a straight line with no flourishes. I dodged the razor-sharp thrust. The sound of fabric being sliced rang unnaturally loud in my ears.
I immediately seized her wrist and hammered down on her shoulder with everything I had, hoping to make her drop the weapon.
With a heavy thud, the dagger flew from her right hand.
Got it!
I made the mistake of taking my eyes off her for a split second. She spun in mid-air, caught the falling dagger in a reverse grip with her left hand, and slashed it toward my face.
“Crazy bitch!”
I jerked my head back desperately. Cut strands of my own hair drifted across my vision.
I shoved her away with both hands to create distance. The unexpected counter had sent a chill down my spine. Her flexibility was on another level. And the sheer nerve it took to catch a spinning blade. There had been almost no gap between catching it and attacking.
She rolled her struck shoulder once as if loosening it, then began walking toward me slowly. The look in her eyes made it clear she wasn’t interested in peace talks. The way she twirled her dagger and the sharp gleam in her eyes practically screamed I’m going to kill you.
I lowered my stance, and she…
Pfft.
…She’s laughing?
She threw the dagger in a perfect straight line. It flew like a stake, impossible to miss.
I ducked. The moment the dagger passed overhead, the sole of her leather boot filled my entire field of vision.
“?!”
I threw my guard up just in time. Her fist, clenched tight as a rock, slammed into my stomach.
My body bent backward against gravity as I was launched upward. Through my violently shaking vision, I saw her hand raised high.
Her fingers spread wide like a predator’s jaws clamped around my throat.
My vision spun as I dangled in the air by my neck.
THUD.
“Keheuk?!”
My body slammed into the ground. Her grip on my throat never loosened.
Beyond her arm, I caught a glimpse of the tree-branch ceiling before her face filled my view. She pinned me down completely, one hand crushing my neck like a vice while her knee drove violently into my solar plexus.
A perfect mount position.
I instinctively raised my guard to protect my face. She was already cocking her free fist.
Maybe it was my imagination, but through the gap in my arms I thought I saw her smiling with pure white teeth.
This crazy bitch…!
The thought didn’t last long.
Her fist came down like a siege ram, smashing into my guard with a deafening BANG.
Just one punch. A single blow landing cleanly on my arm made me feel like the limb had disappeared entirely. The shockwave rattled my trained muscles and the bones beneath them. The impact traveled straight to my skull.
The bile that rose in my throat couldn’t escape past her crushing grip.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Her fists rained down relentlessly on my desperate guard. A sickening crack echoed. One side of my two-armed defense collapsed like wet paper.
Fuck, it’s broken!
There was no pain yet. Adrenaline was flooding my brain. But the moment that rush faded, agony would come crashing down.
She looked at my dangling, broken arm with a bored expression and unclenched her fist. She reached out into empty air, and the dagger I had knocked away flew straight back into her hand.
So that knife trick earlier was an application of the same technique.
I had heard that the elf responsible for the Saint Peter’s Basilica Massacre had controlled thirteen blades simultaneously. She seemed to have learned the same type of skill.
She spun the dagger once in her grip, then drew two clean arcs in the air.
What the—?!
Where the blade arcs passed, the other side of my guard disintegrated. A beat later, droplets of blood sprayed across my face.
Only then did I understand what she had done.
This insane bitch had sliced the tendons in both my arms. All so she could enjoy punching me without interference.
With my guard completely destroyed, she looked satisfied and drove her dagger into the ground beside my head. The shining blade reflected my pathetic, bloodied state.
She grabbed a fistful of my hair, released my throat, and clenched her fist again.
Looking down at me, she smiled with a brightness I hadn’t seen on her face before.
My blood-soaked hair. The droplets of blood on her pale skin looked like red paint splattered across pure white canvas. The curve of that detestable smile and the emerald eyes within it were drenched in sadistic glee.