Episode 75: Yang energy (5)
Predicting the winner and loser before the duel was not difficult.
‘The winner will be Yu Hana.’
It wasn’t just intuition—it was a rational judgment.
I had personally taught her the Flower-Butterfly Sword, and she had even obtained Dongbaek Sword, her unique weapon.
More than anything, she had faced death itself in her battle against the Apostle.
She had taken that experience, refined it during her closed-door training, and reached a new level of enlightenment.
Both combatants had immense potential, but at this moment, their levels of mastery were vastly different.
And now, the scene unfolding before me was not far from my expectations.
Yoon Chae-ha’s combat style was clear.
A head-on breakthrough.
At the core of her approach was her ability to compute magic.
She could simultaneously deploy numerous magic circles, layering firepower to overwhelm her opponent.
“Alo Sum!”
With a short chant, orange magic circles formed in concentric layers around her.
Seven in total.
A perfectly arranged formation without a single misalignment.
A level of simultaneous magic deployment beyond what one would expect from a mere student.
Her Authority, A Priori, made this possible—
An ability that allowed her to construct magic circles instinctively, faster than calculations.
Then, from the magic circles, a storm of fireballs began to rain down.
—BOOM!
—BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Explosions rippled through the training ground, shaking the air.
‘Impressive.’
Even I, as I watched, found the word overwhelming surfacing in my mind.
However—
Despite the onslaught, Yu Hana did not take a single step back.
Her fingertips moved in quiet precision.
Her sword was drawn so smoothly that even the sound of it leaving the sheath was imperceptible.
Her foot turned ever so slightly, as if stepping on air.
As her body lifted into a spinning motion, her sky-blue hair, cascading down to her waist, traced an arc through the air.
Following that arc, the tip of her blade carved a line.
“First Form—Spring Thunder Blossom (春雷花).”
The very first technique I had taught her—the most fundamental form of the Flower-Butterfly Sword.
At that moment, from the tip of her blade, crimson petals scattered into the air.
Her movement was like a butterfly’s flight, tracing elegant trajectories in midair.
The petals soared toward the fireballs.
The instant they made contact, the flames warped, as if doused with water.
The fireballs lost momentum, veering off course and either exploding midair or fading away.
Then came her second step, seamlessly following the first.
“Second Form—Pear Blossom Rain (梨花片雨).”
The petals, having shredded the fireballs midair,
Now descended upon Yoon Chae-ha—like a sudden rain.
“……”
Yoon Chae-ha’s eyes widened slightly.
The battle was already decided.
Her abilities had far exceeded expectations.
But Yu Hana had far surpassed even that.
I had expected the duel to end within a few exchanges, given the difference in skill.
But I hadn’t anticipated such an overwhelming gap.
Even so, Yoon Chae-ha did not give up.
She hurriedly summoned additional magic circles.
The orange light of her circles deepened into crimson.
Her eyes glowed red in sync—
A sign that her computation ability had reached its peak.
“…!”
With a short chant, the floating magic circles began rapidly absorbing the surrounding heat and mana.
The sheer concentration of energy was strong enough to cause visible vibrations.
And then—
“…What the hell.”
A strange sensation swept over me.
The yang energy overflowing within me was being drawn toward her.
It resonated with her magic circles, gently swaying in response.
It wasn’t being forcibly pulled away—
It was flowing naturally, like a magnet attracting metal.
I could feel my energy streaming toward her, yet I wasn’t experiencing any depletion.
It felt like only the unnecessary excess had been quietly stripped away.
Resonance and amplification.
Yoon Chae-ha’s magic circle gradually deepened into a rich crimson, its shape becoming clearer and growing larger.
Up in the air, Yu Hana’s eyes widened.
She looked straight at me, then the next moment, shifted her gaze to Yoon Chae-ha.
She had sensed it too.
Her movements changed. Like a gust of wind, she closed the distance in an instant.
The tip of her sword struck the axis of the magic circle.
-Clang!
A sharp, piercing sound echoed through the training ground.
The crimson magic circle that Yoon Chae-ha had been on the verge of completing shattered into pieces.
At the same time, the heat and yang energy that had been flowing out completely halted.
“Ugh….”
Yoon Chae-ha’s knees hit the ground with a dull thud.
Her shoulders trembled slightly, and her breathing was rough.
“Hoo….”
Yu Hana also let out a short breath.
There were some unexpected variables, but in the end, the result was as predicted.
However, there was an unforeseen gain as well.
“You both did well.”
“Yeah.”
“…”
I carefully approached Yoon Chae-ha.
Her eyes were completely dyed red.
“Ha… haa….”
“Just hold on a little longer.”
Yoon Chae-ha was gasping for breath.
I placed my hand on her back, quietly aligning my energy with hers.
Gradually, the yang energy within me melted into her flow.
My energy was firm, while hers was hot and soft.
‘This…’
It was something I could share.
I began transferring a portion of my elixir energy to her.
For me, it was an excessive surplus, something I had planned to purge anyway.
I had unexpectedly found a use for it.
Under my palm, Yoon Chae-ha’s breathing gradually stabilized.
“Take a deep breath.”
“Hoo….”
Realizing that I was doing something, she wordlessly followed along.
As she adjusted her breathing, her energy also began to settle.
Her inhales and exhales grew steadily more even.
Matching her change, my own energy also organized itself into a calm state.
‘No need to do anything more, huh?’
There was no need for further adjustment.
Like that, I managed to transfer some of my elixir energy to Yoon Chae-ha while also tidying up my own internal energy.
“Yoon Chae-ha.”
“…Huh?”
She slowly lifted her head.
I extended my open palm toward her.
She must have noticed the new energy flowing within her.
Drenched in sweat, Yoon Chae-ha stared at me.
-Tap.
She hesitated for a moment, then hesitantly lifted her hand to meet mine.
“Nice.”
I said with a smile.
Leaving behind Yoon Chae-ha’s bewildered expression, I rose to my feet.
Then, I turned toward Yu Hana, who was steadying her breath.
“That was perfect.”
I spoke naturally.
“Your understanding of the Flower-Butterfly Sword… I don’t think I’m in a position to evaluate it anymore.”
It was the truth.
That swordsmanship might as well have been created specifically for Yu Hana.
At some point, it was inevitable that her skill level would surpass mine.
Yu Hana smiled slightly and shook her head.
“No, not yet. I still need your help.”
So humble.
Her gentle tone made me chuckle involuntarily.
I gave a brief nod and quietly shifted my gaze elsewhere.
The atmosphere inside the training ground remained heated.
Before long, Yoon Chae-ha had also risen to her feet. Her eyes burned with a crimson glow.
Now, the real battle was about to begin.
“Shall we start?”
I lifted my head and smiled at the two of them.
The training had only just begun.
The night still seemed long.
***
Late at night, in a dormitory room with the lights turned off.
On the bed.
Rustle.
A figure squirmed beneath the blankets.
The cozy sensation, the gentle warmth, the overflowing scent—it was all deeply satisfying in this moment.
Ding.
Just then, a notification sounded from the watch placed beside the pillow.
“Ugh….”
It was such a nice moment, too.
Only an arm emerged from the blanket as Sion reached for the watch.
This was Jung Haein’s dorm room.
All of Sion’s plans had gone down the drain, and the culprit was currently still at the training ground, staying late with Yu Hana.
At first, Sion had panicked and wanted to leave immediately, but fortunately—or unfortunately…
Yoon Chae-ha was also there.
They were probably undergoing some hellish training session.
Sion narrowed her eyes at the watch’s screen.
[1000_y]: Don’t talk to me, I’m depressed.
That was a message from earlier in the day.
[OnE]: Haein completely suppressed her energy.
A message from Yu Hana, who was in training.
[1000_y]: Really? Already?
[OnE]: It’s a bit ambiguous, but yeah, seems like it.
[1000_y]: How though?
The next message was annoying.
[OnE]: Someone just devoured it all.
“Ah…”
Sion immediately understood the situation.
She had a rough idea of Yoon Chae-ha’s magical properties.
Now she could picture exactly what had happened.
A stray cat must have gobbled up the fish.
The chat was now filled with a string of curses.
Sion quietly contemplated.
Yu Hana never touched her watch during training.
Which meant…
[Sion]: Is training over?
[OnE]: Yeah, we just parted ways.
[Sion]: Okay.
“Ugh…”
She stretched her body.
At least she had gotten some good rest.
Now, all she had to do was leave before the room’s owner returned.
[1000_y]: Why are you asking that?
As expected, their instincts were sharp.
Sion stood up and carefully tidied up the blankets on the bed.
She didn’t forget to take out the air freshener and spray it around.
A soft hum filled the room.
Sion walked over to the window and watered the potted plant.
With that, everything was ready.
“I’m heading out~”
With those words, Sion stepped out of the dormitory room and walked lightly down the hallway toward the edge of the balcony.
Then, without hesitation, she leapt down.
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