Returnee's S-Ra Chapter 178 : Dark Star (4)

Dark Star (4)

"Amazing."

Ryan Knox purely marveled at the sight before his eyes.

The blue flas that Lee Soo-ah had obtained by overcoming the magic power fission phenonon were impressive, but the most astonishing thing was her Conceptualization Technique.

"Normally, the Conceptualization Technique manifests in the form of the weapon one uses."

If you use a sword, it's related to swords; if you use magic, it's typically related to magic.

Because it reflects your accumulated effort, talent, and ntal image.

Kian Rogers's Conceptualization Technique was also extraordinary.

He was a man who aid to lead UK into its most glorious era.

Thus, his Conceptualization Technique resembled the sun.

Above all, his scorching, intense Conceptualization Technique would not allow ordinary Hunters to even co near.

Especially for Hunters who specialized in close combat—it was unthinkable to lay a hand on Kian.

In fact, even Ryan Knox himself knew that when facing Kian, the key to victory was how to overco those flas.

But for Lee Soo-ah, there was no need to overco the flas from the start.

All she had to do was confront him with her own blue flas—and she had a strong resistance to heat.

If Kian Rogers ignited flas to emulate the sun, then for Lee Soo-ah, flas were life itself.

Of course, Kian's flas could never burn Lee Soo-ah.

"Life Lantern Ignition."

That was what Lee Soo-ah had just said.

"With what kind of heart, and what was she wishing for, to manifest sothing like this, I wonder."

A lantern was lit.

Long ago, when he had visited the East, it was a lantern he had seen in a Buddhist temple.

Life Lantern (命燈)—the Lantern of Life.

In other words, the fla representing a person's life, or lifespan.

"Wow, it's beautiful."

The audience involuntarily exclaid at the blue flas blooming everywhere,

Blue flas brightly illuminating the otherwise dark arena, floating in the air.

'What is this...'

Kian inspected his own body.

There was a fla burning on his chest.

'If Lee Soo-ah's attack touches this, it's dangerous.'

He instinctively knew.

Even without being slashed or stabbed by a sword, if any attack touched this fla, it would be fatal.

Also, he could feel that this fla steadily burned away at his magic power, and rapidly sapped his stamina as well.

"Sothing like this..."

Kian gripped the sword in his hand and glared at Soo-ah.

There stood the embodint of fire, clad head to toe in blue flas.

Her long hair was afla, wrapped in blue.

The flas ford a blue band, flowing with the movent of her garnts.

With every step she took, the ground lted and the scorching heat pricked at her skin.

'So this is how it feels.'

How other awakeners must have felt fighting him.

'Still...'

He could not lose.

Standing here as UK's representative, he must not be defeated.

"Are you still not going to use your Conceptualization Technique?"

Soo-ah looked at him and spoke.

If you don't use your Conceptualization Technique now, you'll lose, she was saying.

"Don't underestimate ."

The heat from the flas encircling Kian's body began to intensify.

Flas burning from gold to white.

"Whatever this lantern is, it'll be over quickly once I end it."

Kian's green eyes focused on Soo-ah.

"Little Hunter."

Kian had never thought he'd have to go all out in this fight.

After all, his opponent was just an Awakener a little over twenty.

He himself had lived as a genius counted among the best in British history, and had sat at the top for a long ti.

But that thought was arrogant.

Thinking he needed to conserve his strength for the match against Arica—that was a mistake he shouldn't have made.

"I just hope you won't die."

Slowly, Kian's body rose into the air.

Kian's sword, burning the ground as he flew up, pointed at Soo-ah standing on the ground.

If he attacked head on, even with a protective barrier, it would surely affect the audience.

"... Lee Soo-ah!"

KWAANG!!

Fiery flas began to erupt violently from Kian's entire body.

White flas poured out, as if he wore armor of fla, lting the arena and softening the ground.

The heat spewing from his entire body, like flowing lava, had the crowd holding their breath.

If not for the protective barrier, just being present here would have been enough to burn them all to ashes.

'Sun Sword Kian Rogers.'

Or, the Sun King.

Soo-ah watched Kian and caught her breath.

The heat he exuded now surpassed Soo-ah's own.

Frankly, if she hadn't experienced magic power fission and if her flas hadn't devoured his, she might have lost her life to this heat.

【Personally, I think Kian is a good textbook for Soo-ah-ssi to take one step further.】

That's what Jung-woo had told her.

That ant he trusted that she could defeat Kian, no matter what.

Many audience mbers were watching her.

He might not care, but if she were to lose here, it could tarnish Jung-woo's na as well.

Conversely, if she won, she could further elevate his reputation.

Because, truthfully, she was practically the only Hunter raised solely by him.

"Hoo..."

She grabbed her sword.

Holding her breath, Soo-ah crouched low, watching the spreading tides of white flas.

Through the white flas, blue fire showed her the path.

The path to her opponent's death.

The life lantern was lit.

"I won't kill you."

After all, this was simply a duel.

Soo-ah's blue flas existed to burn away anything in her way.

They weren't ant to necessarily kill her opponent.

The sa was true for her Life Lantern Ignition.

"...!!"

Kian's cry rang out.

Suddenly, her vision went white; the earth flipped, and the sun's flas engulfed the entire field.

As if to burn everything that existed here.

This was Kian Rogers's full strength.

He, with a human body, had created a small sun—an achievent worthy of awe.

If Soo-ah's blue flas hadn't resisted those flas, she'd have been gone in an instant.

'But...'

Within the flas, Soo-ah moved her sword.

Blue fire streaked inside white lightning.

Life lanterns blood one after another, rising above the waves of fla, guiding Soo-ah's path.

Soo-ah dashed along that path, slashing her sword in the trail of fla.

She cut through the fire.

A feat so absurd, anyone would scoff in disbelief.

Yet, Soo-ah's sword, blazing with blue fla, cleaved through the onslaught of searing fire.

Where her blue blade cut the white fla, blue lacerations widened, consuming the white blaze.

As if devouring the opponent's fire.

"Kh...!"

Kian's eyes widened.

He tried with all his might to burn away the oncoming blue flas, but it was useless.

Instead, his own magic power seed to make the blue fire burn even stronger.

'Magic power fission...!'

Finally, Kian realized the principle behind the blue flas.

It was precisely the magic power fission phenonon that Lee Soo-ah had overco.

A fla that, when using magic power, instead burns the user's own body.

So, trying to block it with more magic power only fuels the flas further.

KWAAANG!!

In that mont, Soo-ah shot out through the white flas.

Scorched here and there, but not seriously hurt.

KAANG!!

Soo-ah's blade, approaching right in front of him, struck Kian's sword upward.

Then she reached her left hand toward the empty spot on Kian's chest.

"Disappear!!"

Pouring out the last of his magic power, Kian unleashed blue flas that montarily stopped Soo-ah.

"...!"

But only for a mont; an even more powerful blue fla surged from Soo-ah's body, pushing back Kian's fire.

Slowly.

Very slowly, Soo-ah's left hand pierced the white flas, drawing near the life-lantern burning on Kian's chest.

"You...!!"

Kian yelled at her, bloodshot eyes blazing.

His desperate refusal to lose was palpable.

"Thank you."

So Soo-ah gave her thanks.

Just as Jung-woo had said, he had beco a great textbook for her.

GRAB!

Soo-ah's hand grasped Kian's life lantern.

CRAAAAASH!!!

She didn't stab or destroy it with blue flas.

She simply grabbed it, and with that alone, Kian sensed every ounce of magic power left in his body being burned away.

WHOOSH!!

At the sa ti, blue flas exploded explosively from Soo-ah's back, accelerating down to the ground with her hand pressing on Kian's chest.

KWAANG!!

Kian's body drove into the lted earth, shattering the ground on impact.

"I... might... lose...!!"

As Kian struggled to escape Soo-ah's hand pressing his chest, the stadium floor, cracked like a spider's web, shook and broke apart.

An arena that would've remained unscathed even against dozens of ordinary Awakeners attacking full force now crumbled and lted to heat and Kian's struggles alone.

Such was the overwhelming might of an S-rank Awakener—it was akin to a natural disaster.

"You..."

Kian grabbed Soo-ah's right forearm, which was pressing his chest, glaring at her with burning eyes.

The trendous grip made Soo-ah grimace in pain.

With each surge of blue fire pouring from her, Kian's body sank further into the earth.

But even under such imnse pressure, Kian didn't let go of her wrist.

He could not lose.

He was the pride of UK; he had to remain its top Hunter.

He could not lose to anyone.

Not even Arica's Owen McGregor.

Absolutely not.

"I... cannot... lose..."

With even the last white ember burning out, Kian's movent stopped.

DROP.

Kian's hand, clutching Soo-ah's wrist, slipped away.

Soo-ah checked, then slowly released her grip.

She could finally breathe a sigh of relief at the pain in her bruised wrist.

Had Kian held out just a bit longer, her wrist would have broken.

"Ah..."

The audience fell silent as they watched.

So did the referee, injured in the fierce battle.

An incident had just occurred.

Sun Sword Kian Rogers was defeated by a young Korean Hunter.

Not by carelessness, but after a fierce clash where both gave their all.

Moreover, their battle was fiercer and more terrifying than any previous S-rank fight in Odyssey.

Seeing the unchecked power of S-rank Awakeners, all words died away.

All that remained of the arena was a field of blazing molten earth.

"Th-the winner is Korea's Hunter Lee Soo-ah!!"

Thus ended the match between UK and Korea with a powerful impression—Lee Soo-ah's victory.

***

"Good work."

At my words, Soo-ah, resting in the waiting room, lifted her head with difficulty.

"I'm exhausted."

"That's understandable."

"I did well, right?"

"Of course. You were amazing, really."

"Hehe."

Soo-ah gave a bright smile at my praise.

It was an adorable smile, impossible to imagine from soone who had just unleashed such devastating flas.

This battle had been fiercer than expected.

Kian Rogers hadn't held back at all against Soo-ah's Conceptualization Technique.

"You've improved a lot since you fought ,"

Baek Hojun, also in the waiting room, said with admiration.

"But..."

Soo-ah glanced with disappointnt at her wrist, now deeply bruised.

Her left hand, left with intense pain from Kian's grip, would likely take quite so ti to heal.

'I hope she recovers before the match against Arica.'

At least it wasn't broken.

"I think I can only go one more ti."

Her next opponent would likely be Adeline.

With her wrist injured, it would be difficult for Soo-ah to fight beyond that.

"So..."

Soo-ah glanced at Yeon-ji.

As planned, Yeon-ji would likely fight Sol Mayer.

Unlike the others, Yeon-ji had watched Soo-ah and Kian's fight repeatedly from a slightly distant spot.

"It'll be okay."

"Huh?"

"I an Yeon-ji."

Apparently, Soo-ah was worried about Yeon-ji.

Since Yeon-ji was A-rank, and Sol Mayer was S-rank.

"R-right? Sol Mayer is still a young Hunter, after all..."

Though he was young, he was still older than Soo-ah.

At any rate, Soo-ah was worried about Yeon-ji after experiencing firsthand the level of the British representatives.

'Kian turned out to be stronger than expected...'

Still, Sol Mayer was weaker than Kian.

Or rather, he used to be.

Now... I'm not so sure.

'In the end, I suppose I did get involved.'

I let out a small sigh and shook my head.

Still, there was nothing bad about it.

In fact, I thought it might be a good thing.

The current Sol Mayer, rather than the "real" one, might serve as a good stimulus for Yeon-ji.

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

Fake vs Fake round 2!

【????????(??????)】