It was already a well-known fact that Kim Ho mainly used wind magic.
She had experienced this firsthand whether she faced him as an ally or an enemy. And just in the recent sticker duel alone, the contribution of his wind magic had been significant.
The skill adeptly supported Hong Yeon-hwa in moments of danger and effectively disrupted Dang Gyu-young’s movements which only went to prove how useful it could be.
However, since wind wasn’t visible to the eye, it was difficult to gauge its true power.
It seemed more about Kim Ho’s excellent control that allowed him to use it effectively when needed rather than the inherent strength of the skill itself.
So she thought she could withstand the wind magic, but then—
No matter how hard she tried to hold her ground, she couldn’t withstand it.
After shaking Hong Yeon-hwa a few times, Kim Ho approached.
Even in her current hectic state, Hong Yeon-hwa flicked her finger and activated a magic circle.
Kim Ho retreated to avoid the rising pillar of fire.
Then he skillfully avoided several large fireballs flying toward him and lightly traced his spear in the air.
If she continued to be dragged around , she would only get further from the area where she had set up her magic circles.
That would render her defensive position meaningless.
Hong Yeon-hwa was determined to hold out. She scanned her surroundings and spotted a nearby tree. And then an idea suddenly flashed through her mind.
A tree that was deeply rooted does not sway even in strong winds!
Using her enhanced physical abilities from Overheat, she deeply embedded one foot into the ground.
Surprisingly, her improvised idea worked well. Although Hong Yeon-hwa’s body swayed, she was not pushed back.
Just as she was about to shoot out her fire balls and arrows while balancing her staggering body,
The wind blew even stronger.
Then, as her body swayed violently, Hong Yeon-hwa tilted heavily to one side and fell flat on the ground.
Hong Yeon-hwa who was lying face down like that thought to herself,
Someone, please cover me with dirt…
I’d like to use this place as my grave. Thıs content belongs to 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩•𝗳𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝕟𝕖𝕥
And perhaps her tombstone might read,
‘Hong Yeon-hwa, here lies in shameful rest.’
Unfortunately, her wish was not granted.
Kim Ho seemed to be waiting patiently without launching any further attacks.
This only doubled Hong Yeon-hwa’s sense of humiliation.
He might as well come and take the crystal…
However, lying face down was just as embarrassing, so eventually, Hong Yeon-hwa staggered to her feet.
Kim Ho, as always, looked on with an impassive face but this time his gaze seemed tinged with a hint of sympathy.
There was only one way to escape this awkward situation.
The quickest solution was to resume the battle immediately.
As soon as Hong Yeon-hwa launched her fire arrows, Kim Ho also began to move.
Hong Yeon-hwa checked her position and realized she was quite far from where she had initially set up.
Laying down many magic circles was useless if she wasn’t at their center to be protected.
Being outside the fortress essentially defeated the purpose of having built it in the first place.
As such, while Hong Yeon-hwa continued to shoot fire arrows and tried to return to her original position,
As if to mock her efforts, the wind blew against her and made her take a step back.
Returning was already out of the question, so Hong Yeon-hwa activated the magic circles nearby to keep Kim Ho in check.
Each time the pillars of fire erupted, the number of magic circles continued to decrease until they were all depleted.
Now if Kim Ho approached, she would have no choice but to engage in close combat.
Upon checking the scoreboard suddenly, she saw that the charging was nearly complete.
It had been unintentional. But even as Hong Yeon-hwa writhed in humiliation from having fallen flat on her face, the crystal continued to charge,
If I can just hold on a little longer…?
And with just 27% more to charge, wouldn’t that mean victory for her?
It felt as if a dying ember of hope was rekindled.
Meanwhile, Kim Ho also glanced at the scoreboard and seemed to realize that he didn’t have much time left.
He then started to glide across the floor with his Thief’s Steps while closing the distance.
Hong Yeon-hwa furiously threw fireballs and lashed out with a lava whip, but Kim Ho narrowly dodged them all.
And then he closed the distance in a flash and lightly grasped her forearm.
Soon, Hong Yeon-hwa felt herself floating off the ground, and she saw Kim Ho rapidly moving away.
As it turned out, it wasn’t Kim Ho moving away but herself being flung backward.
So much for holding on a little longer.
That was never going to work—
Hong Yeon-hwa flew backward for a while longer until her momentum gradually decreased and she landed lightly on the spot.
She didn’t end up rolling around. This was likely due to Kim Ho’s considerate use of wind magic.
The problem was that the light of the sanctuary no longer shone on her.
Because she had moved out of range, the connection between the sanctuary and the crystal had been severed.
The energy stored in the crystal leaked out, and the light it held quickly faded.
The charge dropped in real-time.
The rate of discharge was several times faster than that of charging.
Hong Yeon-hwa desperately tried to return to the sanctuary, but Kim Ho who had followed her at some point blocked her way.
Kim Ho’s gaze conveyed a challenge.
If you want to pass, you’ll have to get through me.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face fell.
He expects me to get past him?
Somehow, it felt like the sparring was becoming more and more difficult.
But the outcome had been predetermined from the start.
Even if she were to lose, she would gain and learn something from it.
If she had intended to give up, she would have done so even before the duel battle began, right when Dang Gyu-young had paired the two of them together.
Hong Yeon-hwa firmly resolved herself once again.
Think of it like the sticker duel battle.
Dang Gyu-young was an opponent she couldn’t possibly beat, but hadn’t she managed to take advantage of a tiny gap to remove a sticker?
Perhaps, this time might be no different.
A small gap might just appear.
In one hand, Hong Yeon-hwa held her wand transformed into a lava whip, and in the other, she conjured a fireball.
After throwing the fireball and lashing the whip at the same time, she kicked the ground.
Her plan was to divide Kim Ho’s attention and then escape through the side where his guard was down.
Kim Ho effortlessly dodged the incoming flames and kicked the ground as well, blocking their path.
Hong Yeon-hwa immediately stopped and changed direction before continuing her barrage of attacks.
With both hands, she unleashed her magic,
With her feet, she moved quickly left, right, and diagonally,
And with her eyes firmly fixed on Kim Ho, she desperately sought a way through.
That’s when she noticed it,
Hong Yeon-hwa noticed that Kim Ho’s openings were slowly becoming more apparent.
His movements also felt strangely unnatural.
As her attacks continued, the area gradually became engulfed in flames, and Kim Ho moved to avoid the flames.
This was in keeping with the unspoken agreement they had made when he accepted her tactical play on the assumption that he would be affected by her fire magic.
The gap was widening.
Hong Yeon-hwa kept a watchful eye on it as they exchanged blows and finally caught the perfect timing.
She forcefully kicked off the ground before shooting diagonally towards Kim Ho.
At that, Kim Ho swung his spear as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Had he intentionally shown an opening again?
When she thought about it, there was no way that monster-like person would have shown any opening just because there was a little fire nearby.
Hong Yeon-hwa, in her haste, had fallen right into a simple trap.
A gust of wind filled with physical force shook her violently as it blasted out.
She stumbled and, carried by her momentum, ended up hitting her head against a large tree.
Hong Yeon-hwa cradled the spot where she was hit and crouched down.
Kim Ho approached her quickly and asked,
“Sorry, are you okay?”
In truth, she was far from okay.
Tears welled up slightly on her eyes but Hong Yeon-hwa forced herself to act as if nothing was wrong.
“What’s going on here?”
Dang Gyu-young deactivated her stealth and revealed herself.
She had intended not to intervene until their sparring was over, but she felt compelled to show herself due to the absurdity of the sudden situation.
Dang Gyu-young crouched next to Hong Yeon-hwa and examined the spot where she had been hit.
“Let’s see your head… Ah, that’s quite a bump.”
She then narrowed her eyes and glared sharply at Kim Ho.
In truth, the incident was purely accidental, and Hong Yeon-hwa’s own excessive movement was more to blame for the injury to her head.
But to Dang Gyu-young, it seemed clear that the ruthless wind magic was at fault.
Therefore, in her view, the blame was entirely on Kim Ho. 100% his fault.
Dang Gyu-young made a decision as she watched the bump swelling more and more.
“This won’t do. Get out. Go to the infirmary, and tell Song Cheon-hye and Kwak Ji-cheol to come in.”