Chapter 34 : Banquet(3)
Yoo Soha couldn’t suppress the surge of glee as she watched Seo Euna’s expression twist.
Where mockery once stood, a clear, joyful laugh now took its place.
The more Seo Euna’s face hardened, the brighter Yoo Soha’s expression became.
Everyone in the banquet hall could see it, and their faces inevitably showed bewilderment.
Of course, a few wore amused expressions.
“What did you just say? Pathetic mental victories?”
“You heard me right.”
Yoo Soha nodded cheerfully, and Seo Euna let out a disbelieving scoff.
“Hah, that’s rich. How’s that a mental victory? I was just stating facts. You were a half-baked nobody without a guardian, weren’t you?”
“And yet, even with your oh-so-great guardian, you were just an A-rank like me, a half-baked nobody. Hiding behind your guardian without doing anything yourself?”
“I saw you at the Hwanryeong Grand Tournament. You weren’t exactly holding back either.”
Seo Euna brought up the recent tournament in response to Yoo Soha’s jab.
But it was a mistake she’d have been better off avoiding.
After all, Yoo Soha had only summoned Eclipse against Yoo Danha, an A-rank elite, and Shin Sungmin, an S-rank. She had faced all other opponents alone.
“Oh my, what are you talking about? I didn’t even call my guardian except against my sister and Shin Sungmin. You, who can barely scrape by as an A-rank without your guardian, have no right to say that to me.”
A sharp sneer was directed at Seo Euna.
It was the expression Yoo Soha often wore when looking at someone whose abilities didn’t match their pride.
Seeing that look, Seo Euna gritted her teeth.
“…Without your guardian, you’re just as useless.”
“And yet, every time I challenged you to a fight, you tucked tail and ran. That’s what’s ridiculous.”
“…”
Seo Euna’s mouth shut.
Yoo Soha’s words were true.
At the last banquet, when Seo Euna’s constant taunts about being a half-baked nobody had pushed Yoo Soha to her breaking point, she sought her out to settle things. But Seo Euna, cunning as ever, had quickly slipped away, and Yoo Soha couldn’t resolve their conflict.
In truth, Yoo Soha hadn’t been idle. She had considered media strategies or other countermeasures, and Hwanryeong’s capable personnel would have acted if she’d given the word.
The reason she had let Seo Euna be was simple.
Seo Euna’s father, Seo Do-hyun, had personally apologized to Yoo Soha, admitting he had failed to raise his daughter properly and humbling himself.
Seeing Seo Do-hyun like that, Yoo Soha couldn’t help but feel pity for him.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Yoo Soha shot a remark at Seo Euna.
“And you have the nerve to call me useless?”
“I just didn’t think a half-baked nobody like you was worth my time. What would I gain from beating someone without a guardian? I’d be too embarrassed to even mention being associated with you.”
Seo Euna responded, struggling to maintain her composure.
Her excessive pride eliminated the option of apologizing to Yoo Soha.
Not that Yoo Soha would have accepted it anyway.
Hearing Seo Euna’s words, Yoo Soha smiled faintly.
‘Got her. Dealing with people like me is so easy. I should’ve done this ages ago.’
People who live by their pride are inevitably sensitive to having it trampled.
Even the pettiest provocation would force Seo Euna to react.
Because…
‘I’d have done the same.’
Yoo Soha was the same kind of person as Seo Euna.
The type who lived and died by their pride.
“Oh, I see. Then I must be worth your time now, right? Since I have a guardian.”
As Yoo Soha spoke with a grin, Seo Euna realized she had crossed a point of no return.
‘Damn it.’
All the things she had said about Yoo Soha were coming back to haunt her like a spear of karma.
Given how much she had belittled Yoo Soha, it was only natural.
She couldn’t back down now. Doing so would shatter her pride, leaving her in a state worse than death.
Of course, losing here wouldn’t look good either.
“…Fine.”
In that moment, Seo Euna racked her brain.
‘If her guardian shows up, I have no chance. How could I beat a guardian who defeated Shin Sungmin? So if I make an excuse out of that…’
Yoo Soha, of course, could see right through what Seo Euna was thinking.
‘She’s already assuming she’ll lose and looking for excuses. Then I’ll just take that excuse away.’
With that thought, Yoo Soha made a proposal to Seo Euna.
“But, as you know, my guardian is so strong that you wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“Nonsense? Could you beat Shin Sungmin in a fight?”
“…”
Seo Euna’s mouth snapped shut. No matter how prideful she was, she couldn’t even mention Shin Sungmin.
Seeing her silent, Yoo Soha couldn’t help but sneer.
To think she bragged about guardians being part of an awakener’s strength, yet refused to acknowledge Yoo Soha, who summoned Eclipse.
Was her pride so inflated it bordered on childish regression?
Then again, if she had any sense, she wouldn’t have run her mouth so recklessly.
“So I’ll fight without my guardian. How about it? That’s fair enough, right?”
“…You’re completely underestimating me.”
“Because you’re worth underestimating. So, what’s it gonna be?”
“Fine.”
Seo Euna nodded. Her pride, thoroughly provoked, could no longer withstand Yoo Soha’s taunts.
‘If it’s come to this, I’ll just have to thoroughly crush her without her guardian.’
“Great. And how about a little bet?”
“A bet?”
“The loser grovels on the ground, begging for forgiveness, while the winner looks down on them smugly. Sound good? Neither of us cares about money anyway, right?”
“…That’s a good one.”
For the first time today, Seo Euna thought Yoo Soha had made an appealing proposal.
The news of Yoo Soha and Seo Euna’s fight spread rapidly through the banquet hall.
The Hwanryeong family looked at Yoo Soha with expressions that said the inevitable had come, while the Taehwa family turned to them with faces full of dismay.
As if desperately hoping they’d stop the fight.
“Uh, Former Chairman Yoo, we can’t let this ruin the atmosphere of the banquet, can we?”
“It’s just a kids’ fight, what’s the big deal? Sometimes, old grudges need to be aired out.”
“…Isn’t there something we can do?”
Seo Do-hyun was quite desperate.
No matter how troublesome his daughter was, what father would want to see her publicly humiliated?
Moreover, after this, his daughter might become mentally unstable.
Yoo Hyuk spoke coldly to Seo Do-hyun.
“It’s all karma, Chairman Seo. No matter how much you apologized to Soha, the resentment she feels remains. If an apology was to be made, Seo Euna should have done it herself.”
“…”
He was right.
And so, Seo Do-hyun had no words to respond with.
Yoo Soha looked at Seo Euna, who had hurriedly changed into a suit.
The ill-fitting clothes, probably borrowed, looked ridiculous.
It was as if they symbolized Seo Euna herself—pride that didn’t match her abilities. Yoo Soha couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smirk.
Seo Euna, perhaps aware of how absurd she looked, twisted her face further.
Shin Sungmin, unexpectedly tasked with refereeing their duel, looked at the two with a troubled expression and spoke.
“Begin.”
With Shin Sungmin’s declaration, Yoo Soha enveloped her hands with mana.
The solid metallic mana quickly formed a refined sword.
Thanks to Lumern’s teachings, the sword gleamed in her hand, far sturdier than before.
In the brief moment Yoo Soha formed her sword, Seo Euna summoned her guardian.
“Tenia.”
The water spirit Tenia.
The primary reason Seo Euna, whose innate abilities were somewhat lacking, could become an A-rank awakener.
Tenia could freely manipulate water, and with a high-level awakener’s mana, it could unleash a tsunami or manipulate blood pressure to literally make an opponent explode.
Of course, that required overwhelming mana capable of tearing through an opponent’s defenses like paper, so it wasn’t an option for Seo Euna, who lacked sufficient mana.
Even so, Tenia was a formidable guardian simply for its ability to control water.
Moreover, Seo Euna’s mana attribute was ice.
Through cold, she could transform Tenia’s water mana into ice.
As soon as Tenia was summoned, it directed hostility at Yoo Soha, unleashing a torrent of water mana.
Several streams of water shot toward Yoo Soha like snakes, their tips frozen into sharp points by Seo Euna.
Ice spikes surged toward Yoo Soha, but she deflected them all in an instant.
Blocking Tenia’s attack, Yoo Soha smirked mockingly.
It was far easier than she’d expected.
‘This is all it takes to be A-rank?’
It was almost laughable. She wondered if Seo Euna had lobbied her way to that rank.
Yoo Soha charged forward, stomping the ground. As she ran, she enveloped her body with mana.
Metallic mana wrapped around her, forming armor.
Ignoring Tenia’s incoming attacks, she charged straight ahead.
Just like how Eclipse had broken through Yoo Danha’s fire net to reach Hidelicious.
Tenia’s attacks, powered by Seo Euna’s relatively weak mana, naturally couldn’t pierce Yoo Soha’s mana.
In a panic, Seo Euna summoned mana in front of herself, forming an ice barrier.
‘What is that?’
Seo Euna felt that Yoo Soha was even stronger than she had been at the Hwanryeong Grand Tournament.
It was only natural.
While Seo Euna had relied on her guardian and neglected her training, Yoo Soha had relentlessly honed herself.
Moreover, having learned how to use her body effectively under Eclipse’s guidance, Yoo Soha was now far stronger than before.
She was no opponent for Seo Euna, who had been idling.
Yoo Soha swung her sword with full force at Seo Euna, who was protected within the ice barrier.
Crack.
The sound of the sword piercing the ice echoed.
Shatter!
The ice barrier broke apart.
Seeing the sword now inches from her, Seo Euna could only panic.
Having shattered the ice barrier, Yoo Soha grabbed the now-defenseless Seo Euna by the throat.
“Urk!”
“You’re pathetically weak.”
At Yoo Soha’s mocking words, Seo Euna could only let out pained groans.