The Mage (1)
"Ugh..."
"Persistent. You're really damn persistent."
Once again, Jung Ayeon had barely managed to block an incoming attack. She couldn't even remember how many times she'd done so by now. After the twentieth block, she'd stopped counting. In that same span, the number of attacks she'd barely landed on her opponent was four. The number of effective hits? Zero.
Still, she had to keep fighting. Because becoming the partner of trash like this was the one thing she absolutely refused to accept.
Meanwhile, Rick casually pointed his wand at Jung Ayeon as she tried to stand back up.
"Stay down."
"Not a chance!"
Sharpened blades of mana sliced rapidly toward her ankles. They came from every direction. Jung Ayeon instantly summoned tiny creatures all around her feet to block the assault. But she couldn't completely nullify the impact. The small explosions that erupted when her summons collided with Rick's magic made her stagger and collapse on the spot.
Damn it!
She rolled across the ground in an undignified tumble to avoid the follow-up attack she knew was coming, then scrambled back to her feet. But Rick wasn't moving at all. He simply stared at her with an expression of pure annoyance.
"Disgusting. You're just pathetic."
"...Shut your mouth."
"Why are you struggling so hard?" He even yawned, openly showing how bored he was with the whole situation. "Haven't you realized yet that escaping me is impossible?"
"Not yet."
"You could just obediently become mine and be done with it."
"......My life belongs to me alone."
Jung Ayeon staggered but forced herself upright again. Exhaustion was clear on her face, yet her eyes stared straight at the enemy before her.
"It is something precious that you cannot simply wield as you please."
"Hmph! If I win, you'll listen to me like a good little girl anyway."
"That will never happen."
"Shut up."
With a wave of his wand fueled by real emotion, a blue spear shot straight for her throat. Her remaining mana was nearly depleted. Instead of using a summon to block it, she ducked low and dodged. Seeing this, Rick sneered.
"All that bravado, and in the end you'll become a puppet just like your father."
"......What... are you saying?"
The sudden remark made Jung Ayeon frown in confusion. Rick's face twisted with the realization that he'd slipped up.
"Tsk. Forget it."
"What did you mean just now?! You clearly said my father—"
"Get lost!"
Before she could finish, a burst of mana exploded from Rick and hurled her backward. Caught off guard, Jung Ayeon couldn't react in time and crashed to the ground.
"Once you're mine, you won't need to think about any of that nonsense anymore."
"...The match isn't over yet."
Jung Ayeon rose again, her body trembling. "Why are you clinging to this so pathetically? Do you really think you can win?"
"The young master will come to help."
"Ha! That idiot?"
Rick clutched his stomach and began laughing like a madman. He laughed so hard tears formed in his eyes, then started coughing as if he'd choked on his own breath.
"Kuhahaha. That guy is a total moron! Of course he's going to lose to the Black Dragon!"
"He will not."
"What the hell do you mean he won't?! Are you seriously trying to tell me he's not an idiot?"
Jung Ayeon answered with complete seriousness.
"No. The young master is indeed an idiot."
"Uh... is that so?"
The unexpected reply actually left Rick speechless for a moment.
"However, the young master will not lose."
"What kind of basis do you have for that? How can you be so certain?"
"Well."
Jung Ayeon thought for a moment, then gave a small smile.
"He kept his promise."
"What?"
Her mind drifted back to a few days ago. Kim Shinu had kept the promise he'd made during the final match of the tournament—that he wouldn't lose. Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face without her realizing.
"Unlike you, he kept his word to me."
"That's it?! That's your reason?!"
"Yes."
To Rick, a promise was nothing more than words. If you kept it, fine. If you didn't, oh well. Just simple words. But Kim Shinu had bet everything he had and stubbornly kept even that simple promise until the very end. So she believed. She believed that this time too, he would win no matter what and come for her.
Rick's face twisted with rage before settling back into a sneer.
"If you believe in him that much, why don't you just ask him to solve all your problems while he's at it!"
"......"
"Ha! Guess you don't have the guts for that, huh?"
At that moment, a faint memory surfaced in Jung Ayeon's mind. The image of Kim Shinu reaching out to Elsia as she cried in the Great Forest. Back then, and even more so now, she felt it deeply.
She was jealous. Jealous of Elsia, who could show her emotions without hiding them and openly ask for help. And jealous of Kim Shinu, who would help her without the slightest hesitation. Everything about it made her envious.
On the other hand, Jung Ayeon could never be as honest as Elsia. Even up until the moment she was taken away, she hadn't been able to say a single word asking for help. Yet she was grateful to those who had forced their way to her anyway. She had been moved by how Kim Shinu stood against her father without backing down even an inch to protect her. Above all, Kim Shinu fighting to set her free had, for the first time, looked truly cool in her eyes.
It was shabby, dirty, and faint. But to her, it looked like a tiny star shining with all its might in the dark night sky, declaring I am here.
That was why she felt too guilty to ask for anything more. She had given nothing, yet kept receiving. She didn't want to burden him any further. Of course, if Kim Shinu heard that, he would probably say, Don't talk crap. But the kindness given without expecting anything in return felt far too heavy a sin.
Meanwhile, Rick aimed his wand at Jung Ayeon, who had fallen deep into thought. He had no intention of killing her, but if necessary, losing an arm or a leg wouldn't be a problem. He could heal her with a potion, or if it was too much trouble, he didn't even have to bother. After all, all he needed was her body.
"Scatter!"
"Ah!"
The blue mass of mana fired from Rick's wand split into countless small fragments that shot toward her. Only then did Jung Ayeon snap back to her senses. She tried to dodge at the last second, but her ankle—still throbbing from the earlier explosion—wouldn't move properly. Yet the merciless mana shards didn't stop. They flew straight at her.
They weren't fast. But with her ankle in this state, it was an attack she couldn't avoid. She had let her guard down. She had been distracted by other thoughts. No matter what excuse she made, it wasn't enough.
Rick sent her one final sneer.
"You truly are a pathetic, worm-like creature."
The situation felt utterly hopeless. It was infuriating that it would end so meaninglessly. It was like slowly sinking into thick, pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen.
And at that moment.
From within the darkness.
"You introducing me to your mom or what?"
A star appeared.
A little unhinged. But right now, brighter than anything else.
I sprinted forward to stand in front of Jung Ayeon, adding some much-needed tension to this otherwise loose story.
Jung Ayeon looked like she couldn't move her leg properly after injuring it. On the other hand, the mana shards Rick had fired were flying toward her at a speed that was neither particularly fast nor slow.
I formed a mana longsword in my right hand and sliced through every single one of the incoming fragments. After confirming there were no more coming, I turned my gaze to Jung Ayeon.
"Did I show up at the right time?"
"Young master..."
Jung Ayeon stared at me in silence. That was when I noticed a slight graze on her left calf.
"I didn't block them all, but you didn't get hurt too badly, right?"
"Y-yes, that is correct."
For some reason, Jung Ayeon answered with a slightly awkward expression. Right then, one of the succubi shouted out.
"You hit her even though you didn't have to! Miss Ayeon got scratched because of you!"
"......"
"......"
Both Jung Ayeon and I fell silent, staring at each other sheepishly. As if trying to lighten the mood, the succubus added something she really didn't need to.
"It's okay! Compared to the Great Mother, Miss Ayeon is much slimmer, so she only got a tiny scratch!"
"Someone go get that bastard's matchmaker too."
Two more aerial bombardments were added beside Lilith.
Meanwhile, the awkward atmosphere was driving me insane, so I apologized to Jung Ayeon.
"...Sorry."
"It is fine."
Just as a warm mood was starting to form between us, a blonde, blue-eyed punk barged in.
"What the hell did you just say?!"
"You didn't hear? Your! Mom! Can you hear me now?"
Rick's face twisted into a sneer instead.
"Speak at a level appropriate for you!"
"A level appropriate for me?"
"Ah, right. Your level was only about that much, wasn't it?"
The sudden mockery was starting to piss me off. Even Piece got angry after hearing it.
[That’s way too low! We’re on a completely different, much lower level than that!]
Fucking hell.
Anyway, since the other guy wanted words at his level, I had to give him words at his level. I sneered right back at Rick and said,
"Your fiancée was insanely good in bed, by the way?"
"......What?"
The sneer on Rick's face cracked. And that sneer quickly turned into pure hatred.
"Don't spout bullshit!!! She's obviously a virgin!!!"
"She was riding me pretty hard and reacting like crazy though?"
"Stop talking crap!!!!"
Rick's fists shook as he glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
"No way! No way! Did you actually do it?! Did you go through with it?!"
"You're not a kid, so stop being so damn loud. You said you already have ten wives, didn't you?"
The moment Rick faltered, I charged forward and condensed mana into my palm. While he panicked at the sudden approach, I stepped on his foot and slammed my palm into his solar plexus. As his face filled with shock, I pressed a finger to my lips with my other hand and gave him a wink.
"Shh. Sex should be quiet."