The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

From Now On, Call Me Master (4)

A massive whirlwind raged around Sang-ah.

As the air was intensely heated, shimmers rose inside the barrier.

A red wind coiled like a snake, burning everything within.

The grass lining the ground turned pitch black, and any tree unlucky enough to be pulled in was reduced to ash like firewood.

"Kh...!"

Eunseol defended herself by wrapping her body with her wings.

But, since she had blocked it hastily, like raising a guard in panic, she didn't have time to protect herself with magic power.

"Agh!"

In pain from the heat, Eunseol let out a moan.

Since the wings were also part of her body, she couldn't avoid burns.

Fortunately, they were the toughest part of her body, so they didn't get seared easily.

"Sang-ah, are you serious?"

"Of course. You understood what Seongjin just said, right?"

Sang-ah suddenly attacked and created a barrier dome that trapped the two of them.

—The final trial.

Even just considering the situation, it was clear enough for even young people to sense what it meant.

However, Eunseol had less experience with the secular world than her peers.

She understood, but accepting it all at once was difficult.

"There's nothing better than real combat to demonstrate the strength you've trained for."

"But..."

"But we don't even have hunter licenses; we can't just enter a gate without permission."

There had been kids who entered the Golden Gate before, but that was just more like a field trip.

If someone snuck in without permission and killed monsters, it was immediate expulsion.

"...."

Ultimately, Eunseol accepted the reality and gripped a spear in her hand.

As a spear formed from gathered light particles, Eunseol's expression instantly changed.

"Alright."

Steeling herself and getting into position, Eunseol was already sweating.

She was nervous, but mostly it was the heat wave Sang-ah had produced that made the inside as hot as mid-summer.

In contrast, Sang-ah didn't shed a single drop of sweat.

It was only natural that her own attack wouldn't affect her.

KWAANG—!!

The two suddenly vanished from sight, and in the next instant, their spears and scales clashed.

If an ordinary person were watching, the speed would make it look like they'd both teleported simultaneously.

The power of the collision sent a shockwave crashing through the inside of the dome.

Without the barrier, the surrounding trees would have been uprooted, and the nearby waterfall would have stopped flowing for a moment.

"Kh...!"

Eunseol was gradually overwhelmed by strength, and when Sang-ah swung her arm forcefully, she was knocked back.

"Urk!"

Eunseol flew and crashed into the wall, collapsing.

Sensing Sang-ah's strength directly, Eunseol was greatly shocked.

There was no student in Class 6, year 2 stronger than Eunseol.

Sang-ah was in the same class, so she assumed it would be the same.

Even if, like her, Sang-ah was being taught by Seongjin, it was hard to grasp the actual level.

So, she'd adjusted her strength when swinging the spear.

"So strong...!"

It was not a level one would expect among middle school students.

Was it because she was Seongjin's first disciple? Her strength was equal to—or perhaps beyond—Eunseol's.

"...!"

But without even time to think, Sang-ah quickly closed the gap and swung her flaming fist.

KWAANG—

Eunseol barely flapped her wings to evade, but where the fist landed, a giant crater appeared.

The destructive power looked as if a missile had fallen.

Since her molting, Sang-ah's physical power had clearly surpassed Eunseol.

On top of that, Sang-ah wasn't just specialized in close combat.

FWOOOOOSH—!

Magic power boiling in her throat erupted through her mouth.

Sang-ah fired a dragon's breath, but Eunseol flew into the air to avoid it.

She continued to fire her breath, but Eunseol evaded each attack with-nimble movement.

'Even if I'm losing in strength...'

At least in mobility, she had the upper hand.

Eunseol used that advantage, quickly orbiting around Sang-ah.

Being able to fly was Eunseol's sole privilege, and since she was just flying like a bird, it didn't consume magic power.

'I've practiced changing direction more times than I can count.'

The Angel guild, specialists in the Heaven Up skill.

Having received their training, Eunseol didn't lose her sense of direction no matter how fast she flew.

So, even at higher speeds, there was no problem, and she could attack from range at the same time.

SHWAAA—!

Around the flying Eunseol, countless beams of light were generated.

The beams, shaped as orbs, shot at Sang-ah like bullets.

Sang-ah barely managed to defend herself, but Eunseol never stayed on the same trajectory.

She would come from behind, next from the side, repeating the pattern.

"...!"

Sang-ah's body was increasingly peppered with wounds from the golden barrage.

With golden afterimages trailing, Eunseol's speed was too much for Sang-ah's eyes to follow.

In the end, Sang-ah had to focus all her effort on blocking with both arms.

'Now!'

Catching that chance, Eunseol charged at Sang-ah's back.

Sang-ah couldn't match that speed, and at best, could only defend the front.

So, when Eunseol's spear, streaking in like a flash of lightning, was about to stab into Sang-ah's back—

CRACK—!

"Huh...?"

The moment the spear touched Sang-ah, it shattered on its own.

Though startled by the sudden incident, Eunseol realized it was due to a skill Sang-ah had activated.

〈Wind, forest, fire, mountain〉

A skill Sang-ah had recently acquired.

It gave her the agility of wind, the silence of the forest, the savagery of fire, and the toughness of a mountain.

Her spear, meeting Sang-ah who had toughened herself like a mountain, ended up breaking instead.

"... Plus."

〈Counter〉

The energy from the light bombs Sang-ah had just endured was gathered in her hands.

Sensing that something big was coming, Eunseol hurriedly wrapped herself in magic power for defense.

But Sang-ah, now as fast as the wind, struck before she could finish.

"Kuhk!"

Eunseol was hit by exactly the same attack she'd just launched and crashed into the wall again.

Even her pride in her speed was outmatched.

"Cough!"

Eunseol coughed up blood, but had no time to hesitate.

Another huge jet of flame approached from the front.

She racked her brain for a way out, but was soon engulfed in the fire.

—But at that moment.

SHHHHHHH—!

A violent gust blew away all the flames enveloping Eunseol.

Eunseol, released from the fire, stood with a changed appearance.

Her hair and wings, which had been white, had turned black, and her irises changed from blue to red.

"...."

Watching Eunseol's transformation, Seongjin felt a sense of déjà vu.

It was the same as when he'd first met her.

However, Seongjin had been waiting for her to enter this state.

This was the form that allowed her to absorb others' magic power.

When they first met at the gate in Yong-in, Eunseol had always been in this state, brainwashed, killing intruders.

In fact, when she first attacked him, she'd looked just like this.

'The true value of this form is...'

It allowed her to use the opponent's absorbed magic power as her own.

That was why this form was especially aggressive.

However, Eunseol hadn't been able to use absorbed magic power until now.

She used to have such strong agoraphobia that her body would instinctively reject it.

So she had been trained here all this time.

Now it was time to see the results.

"This is..."

Eunseol muttered quietly.

Though she could not see, she could strongly sense every aura.

Apparently, she'd transformed unconsciously.

With her blood-tinted eyes, she now looked like a veritable angel of slaughter.

She had always killed and absorbed in this form, so it filled her with aversion.

Whenever she became like this, she felt as if something floated in the air.

She soon realized that these were vengeful spirits of the dead.

"...."

Facing those souls again, Eunseol's heart pounded wildly.

It felt like confronting those she had killed, and she was inevitably tense.

And, as expected, the pressure from those spirits left her unable to move.

It was just like the suffocation she had felt when meeting others.

Ultimately, unable to move herself, Eunseol's body was possessed by the vengeful spirit.

Magic power flowing from others in her body began to move with a will of its own, using the girl's body as a vessel.

The soul, filled with the injustice of its death, inevitably sought destruction.

—Or at least, that had been the case before.

One spirit dwelled in Eunseol's heart.

Unlike before, it softly seeped in, not forcefully intruding.

Because her heart had been strengthened, it allowed that magic power to merge completely with Eunseol.

To her, it felt as if someone was accepting her.

Of course, it was not all of them, just a single soul.

But even that held great meaning for Eunseol.

'I was wrong. And...'

—Thank you for your help.

A power stronger than ever overflowed from Eunseol's body.

It was thanks to making one person's magic power her own.

At the same time, she could sense Seongjin smiling at her.

Seongjin's mention of the final trial—now she understood what it truly meant.

"Are you ready?"

Additional scales appeared all over Sang-ah's body.

Perhaps riled up by the fight, Sang-ah began to draw out even more magic power.

Once the fighting instinct, a dragon race trait, was triggered, it wouldn't stop.

The ground around Sang-ah melted, forming lava fields.

Unwilling to lose, Eunseol conjured a dark red spear as crimson-black sparks crackled over her body.

"...."

"...."

It was a still, silent moment.

In an instant, the two shot forward at each other again.

Blindingly fast aerial maneuvers and acceleration with the Wind, forest, fire, mountain skill—

Since their speeds were nearly identical, the clash happened at the same moment.

A fist wrapped in flame and the tip of a dark red spear collided.

KWA-A-A-A-AANG—!!!

A shockwave, incomparable to before, swept the inside of the dome.

The ground cracked, and wild winds raged uncontrollably.

Their strength was almost evenly matched, neither showing any sign of giving ground.

As their perfectly equal powers met, a strange current began to flow between them.

"...!"

"...?"

The power, looking almost like an aura, became visible around them.

It combined with the force of their collision, amplifying the impact even more.

"Huh...?"

Seongjin, who had been watching with satisfaction, suddenly had a change of expression.

"Don't tell me...!"

Objects between them started to transform under the mysterious energy.

Shards of ground that had been thrown up by the impact turned into grains of light or flame in the air.

Seongjin watched, stunned, as this continued.

CRACKLE—!!

A huge explosion erupted between the two.

The dome they hadn't been able to break no matter what they did was finally shattered.

—And that wasn't all.

"Ah..."

"Huh?"

Eunseol and Sang-ah both collapsed onto the ground, staring up at the sky.

They saw a beautiful star-filled night sky above.

Next to the sea of stars, the clouds were split open.

The sky, filled with dark clouds just moments ago, had been torn apart by the impact!

"Wait... did we do that?"

"Maybe...."

Even the two who caused it found it hard to believe.

Especially Ma Seongjin, who was supervising them, hadn't expected such a phenomenon.

'Was it just coincidence?'

Tearing open the sky was one thing.

But what Seongjin was truly focused on was the strange energy he had sensed during that sky-splitting moment.

'No way...'

Seongjin looked at the magic power flowing in his hand.

It wasn't ordinary magic power, but a special force that only 'those like Seongjin' could use.

He looked over at the two girls lying inside the shattered dome.

Now, he couldn't sense that power anymore—

It was gone without a trace, leaving him to wonder if it was really a coincidence.

'Well, there's no need to figure it out this instant.'

Even the girls looked dazed and confused; asking wouldn't accomplish anything.

Still, it wasn't as if nothing had been gained.

'Ha... To think this is the power of middle-schoolers.'

Seongjin chuckled wryly as he gazed at the torn sky.

He engraved the stars revealed between the scattered clouds into his memory, feeling a surge of excitement for what was to come.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

The sky splitting apart after two forces collided will never be not epic...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】