He hadn’t expected it to be easy. It had been a long time since he’d had a fight against a person, not a monster, that could hold his interest. Sa-yoon straightened his body, which felt twice as heavy as usual, and drew his Half-Belief. The Formless Dagger skill had been sealed, but it wasn’t a major skill, so it was fine.

Even if he couldn’t telekinetically pull the dagger to him, as long as his attacks landed, that was all that mattered.

“You guys won’t be able to stop him, so just tie up his feet. Until I take down Jin Fen and render him unable to fight.”

“I’ll help.”

Just as he was about to dash forward, Geon-joo spoke up. Sa-yoon scoffed, pressed a finger into his chest, and then glanced over his shoulder.

“This is my fight. You worry about them.”

Keep the others from getting pushed back.

Mi-jeong, Ho-cheol, Dong-ju, Taeseok, and even Yi-han, the Awakeners representing Korea—they were all skilled, but they were no match for Jin Fen. He was, after all, a man who vied for the title of the strongest alongside the other top-tier Awakeners.

No matter how much Han Geon-joo had grown through his dozens of life-and-death struggles, he was still not in the same league as him and Jin Fen, who had awakened twelve years ago.

We’re in different ponds.

Sa-yoon warned him with his eyes, pushed Geon-joo toward Jaehee, and tossed his Half-Belief into the air. The dagger spun once, and he caught it smoothly. At the same time, his body shot forward like a fired bullet.

“Mr. Jin Fen!”

The distance closed in an instant, as if he had used a high-speed movement skill. Just as the blade was about to reach, he swung. The Crimson Flame guild members, who had belatedly tracked his movement, were shocked. The blade, carrying all the force from his forward momentum, slammed into its target. The sword, aimed at Jin Fen, rang out with a zeeeeeng!, as if it had struck a steel bar.

So it’s still not enough.

Jin Fen possessed the Diamond Body. The moment he realized his attack had failed, a fist flew toward Sa-yoon’s face. Sa-yoon dodged the ki-infused fist by leaping into the air and rotating his body. He then bent his toes and struck Jin Fen’s head.

THWACK!

The kick, which could not have been weak with the added rotational force, landed squarely on his temple. Or so he thought.

“It seems you haven’t been idle. Your eyes have gotten better.”

A thick wrist had blocked his foot. For a moment, their gazes clashed. Sa-yoon retreated, putting about ten meters between them, and brushed the dust from his clothes.

“Mr. Jin Fen! Are you alright?”

“We’ll provide support immediately!”

“No need.”

Jin Fen raised his left hand, calming his fussing guild members, and ordered them to fight their remaining opponents. Sa-yoon, in turn, glanced at the other Noah members, his eyes asking if they were just going to stand there and watch. The others, who had been stunned by the sudden clash of the two leaders, now rushed at each other. The real battle began. The clash of steel, the explosions of colliding abilities, the shouts and groans became a backdrop as Sa-yoon and Jin Fen kept their eyes locked on each other.

“A remarkable speed, even with your body weighed down by Murim Reconstruction. Has your agility stat increased again?”

“I’m an assassination specialist. If I’m not agile, I might as well be dead.”

“Your speech is as flippant as ever.”

“I suppose it’s my identity.”

Sa-yoon smiled and coated the surface of his Half-Belief with frost. Jin Fen, who was not ignorant of what that meant, slammed his fists together and assumed a martial arts stance. A tense search for an opening filled the silence.

“Come.”

The moment the words left his lips, Sa-yoon’s body vanished again. Moving with incredible speed, he appeared to Jin Fen’s left, then his right. Jin Fen narrowed his eyes, allowing the shallow attacks to land, and acknowledged that it was a speed even high-level Awakeners would struggle to follow. He closed his eyes.

He would rely on his instincts to find his enemy, rather than his fallible sight. He reacted to the flow of ki. As he turned to his left and extended a hand, Sa-yoon, his eyes slightly widened, appeared and tilted his head back, dodging a palm strike.

Fwit!

The force, which he hadn’t completely avoided, grazed his face, and a cut opened on his cheek, blood trickling down. Despite the wound, which looked painful, Sa-yoon fearlessly pushed in closer. He smiled, reversed his grip on his sword, and precisely aimed for the delay after the skill was used, plunging his blade in.

K-K-K-KAANG!

The Diamond Body blocked the blade, sending vibrations through it, but it wasn’t over yet. Sa-yoon’s lips curled upwards as he put more strength into his grip. He gritted his teeth, drove his elbow forward, and shoved the sword in. The frost-coated blade did not get blocked as easily as before.

K-K-KRAK!

With a sound like crushing ice, the once-impenetrable skin was pierced. The Half-Belief sank in about a finger’s length, biting into Jin Fen’s body. Jin Fen, stifling a groan, immediately kicked Sa-yoon in the abdomen. A foot as large as his massive frame covered his entire abdomen and struck with a burst of ki. Sa-yoon coughed up blood and was sent flying backward.

“…Incredibly persistent.”

Even in that split second, Sa-yoon had twisted the blade, gouging the wound before he was sent flying. As a result, the wound on Jin Fen’s neck was gaping, and blood was gushing out. He glanced at it from the corner of his eye.

Using potions during a match was against the rules. He had no choice but to fight on. Deciding on a swift conclusion, he launched himself from his dignified stance. BOOOOOM! A simple movement, yet the ground shook, and a fist carrying his full weight flew toward Sa-yoon. Sa-yoon, who had been coughing and wiping blood while propped against a wall, rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the blow, and extended his leg.

His spinning foot struck the back of Jin Fen’s head. Not stopping there, Sa-yoon hooked his leg behind Jin Fen’s knee and bent it. Jin Fen, caught like a fish on a hook, grabbed Sa-yoon’s foot. The pressure from his hand was immense, as if it would crush his bones at any moment.

Then I’ll go first.

Ignoring the pain, Sa-yoon rotated his body, deliberately breaking his own bone, and slammed the surprised Jin Fen to the ground. They both crashed, creating a deep gouge in the stadium floor. Amidst the dust, Sa-yoon, sword in hand, was about to plunge his blade into the exposed, bronze-colored neck.

But Jin Fen, twitching, roared back to life.

“……!”

Drrrrrk!

The entire stadium shook, and Sa-yoon and the other Noah members froze. It was only for an instant, but in a battle, an instant could be fatal. Jin Fen, quickly recovering and avoiding the crisis, swung his fist at Sa-yoon.

The damn Alliance Leader’s call.

One of the annoying things about Jin Fen’s Murim Reconstruction was that accursed call. All enemies, with the exception of his allies, had to obey the Alliance Leader’s call for one second. In a battle, that one second could mean death. Sa-yoon narrowly dodged the fist aimed at his face and kicked Jin Fen’s abdomen as he tried to get on top of him.

“…Gah!”

Jin Fen flinched for a moment, then puffed up his cheeks and vomited a torrent of dark red blood.

“What…!”

“What do you think? It’s poison.”

“…A needle sharp enough to pierce my skin must be made of orichalcum. Are you insane? Using a consumable item…”

“Unfortunately for you, I have a lot of money.”

“…Tsk.”

Jin Fen clicked his tongue and spat out more blood. He shot him a look that said he was a coward, but Sa-yoon just shrugged.

“Who told you to let your guard down? Did you forget who I am?”

He chuckled and pulled the now-bent needle, its purpose served, from the sole of his shoe. Keeping a poison-laced needle hidden in case of an emergency was an essential trait for a villain, wasn’t it?

Oh, right. I’m not a villain anymore.

But old habits die hard. Sa-yoon, unable to shake off the habits of the past few years, pressed his advantage as Jin Fen retreated from the blow. The frost energy caught at his weakened opponent’s feet. A swift series of sword strikes followed, viciously cutting his skin. He decided to test the limits of his speed in a debuffed state and pushed himself. Soon, hundreds of small cuts covered Jin Fen’s body. Even if the attacks were shallow, when they piled up by the dozens, the hundreds, the burden on the body was immense. Sa-yoon watched the staggering Jin Fen, a drop of sweat falling from his brow, and took a breath.

“Dooong-juuu!”

His call echoed through the stadium. Dong-ju, who had been dealing with the Crimson Flame guild members, frowned. Sa-yoon gestured to the air with his chin, and Dong-ju, despite his hardened expression, dutifully created water and moved it above Jin Fen’s head. Sa-yoon froze the spear-shaped water. Crack, crackle, crack! As the blue water froze into a blue ice spear, Sa-yoon spoke.

“Care for a bet?”

“…”

“Whether your Diamond Body can be pierced by that, or not.”

Jin Fen’s Diamond Body was truly formidable. Even Sa-yoon had to concentrate his frost energy to its maximum, get up close, and plunge his sword in with all his speed and strength to pierce it. Or use a sword made of a material that was a symbol of wealth, like orichalcum. But now that Jin Fen was weakened and exhausted, how would he fare against a spear of that size?

Especially a giant spear infused with his maximum frost energy.

As a delighted smile spread across his face, Jin Fen, who had been groaning and staring at the spear above his head, reached into his coat. He pressed a remote he was holding, and a beep echoed through the stadium. The Murim Jin Fen had created vanished.

“With the Crimson Flame Guild’s surrender, the Korean team is the winner!”

The referee announced the result. It was an expected outcome. Sa-yoon shattered the ice spear he had created, and Jin Fen approached him.

“…You’ve gotten stronger.”

At the pure compliment, Sa-yoon was about to grin when he felt a strange sensation and looked down. Han Geon-joo, who had come over at some point, was pouring a potion on his broken foot.

“How could you think of moving with a foot like this? Are you crazy? This isn’t even a real life-or-death battle. Why are you fighting so recklessly in a match…?”

The nagging began. Sa-yoon groaned. “You got hurt too, so why are you acting like you’re the only one who didn’t?” he said, only to be met with a scolding, “Are a few scratches on my face the same as a broken leg?” Geon-joo ordered him to lie down so he could set the bone and grabbed his foot. Sa-yoon sighed and lay down. Jin Fen watched the strange scene before returning to his guild members.

The other Noah members rushed over and checked on Sa-yoon’s condition. Mi-jeong reprimanded him with a smack to the head that Geon-joo had missed, and Jaehee advised him to reflect on his actions. Just then, Association staff came up and guided Team Noah to the ready room. As he was dragged away by Geon-joo, Sa-yoon looked at the cheering crowd and let out a small laugh.

The Korean team had won their second match as well, becoming a contender for the finals.

With this, no one would be able to ignore Noah’s power any longer.