Chapter 60 - The Duel [1]

Both Shin Daerin and Oh Sookyung stood at the forest clearing— opposite to each other. While Shin Daerin stared fiercely at the man standing opposite to her, Oh Sookyung had a casual expression upon his face.

The sun was beginning to rise, and the sky above them was tinted with various shades of colours. Cries of the birds could be heard, and the morning breeze blew by them.

A yawn left Jiwoo's mouth, and squinting her eyes, she turned towards Min Hyungwon, who stood at the right to her.

"Why are you staying silent after bringing me here so early? Can't we do this later on? I am really sleepy," Jiwoo vocalised.

"The lack of sleep would not be killing you," he pointed out, "Since the two of you bȧrėly have any time, you will have to utilize all the time possible in order to practice."

"Nice to know that the lack of sleep would not be killing me," Jiwoo sarcastically spoke out. 

The lack of sleep made her feel irritated, and raising her hand, she ran them through her hair. Although this seemed to be annoying, it was not like she was able to do anything against it.

Ignoring those words from Jiwoo, Hyungwon spoke out, "The two of you will be on a duel at each other. Sookyung and Daerin, both of you will fight each other with all you got, and if you win, Shin Daerin, you will be getting a present. Sookyung, I have already unlocked your powers, and now, all of this depends on your determination to use those powers."

Those words of Hyungwon caught Moon Jiwoo's attention, and perking up her ears, she questioned, "Present?"

"Yes if you are able to beat, Oh Sookyung, I will be more than willing to give you whatever you dėsɨrė, but there are certain limits to it."

Moon Jiwoo nodded and clapped both of her hands together as a wide smile formed on her face. She had already thought of one thing she wanted to get, and if she had to defeat Oh Sookyung for that, she was more than willing for it.

"I can attack that guy in any way I want, right?" she raised one of her eyebrows.

"Yes, as long as you don't try to kill him, everything is fine," he stated.

"Alright, I am ready for this. Oh Sookyung, I will be beating the crap out of you today," she vocalised.

Letting out a chuckle, he said, "Aren't you being too proud of yourself, Daerin? Since my abilities are unlocked, I have a fair chance of beating you."

Hyungwon then vocalised, "Both of you will be fighting today without your powers. Later on, I will be teaching you two how to use those powers of yours. Currently, I want to see what parts of combat you need improvement in. It will be easier for Daerin, as it is an instinct for her, but for the Prince, it will be needing more effort."

"Did you hear that? I am definitely winning this," she smugly spoke out, "You need to work hard while I am naturally talented."

"No, this will be harder for you, Shin Daerin. Your instincts are to protect the Prince, and going against that is tough. It will lead you to make reckless decision, just like what happened at that hotel."

Widening her eyes, Moon Jiwoo turned her head to stare at Hyungwon and questioned, "You were there, Old Man?"

"You can say that. It is normal for your mind to go blank each time Sookyung is in danger, and as for the rest of the thing, you will understand once you fight with him," he vocalised, "Your instinct is much stronger than your will."

"This is really crappy, but it's not like I can fight against it, I guess," she vocalised.

By this point, Moon Jiwoo had accepted that she would not be able to change whatever is going on, and that's why, she should try to make the best of it. Although thinking optimistically might seem difficult in this situation, she was putting in her effort in that way.

Extending his hand towards her, Oh Sookyung placed it on top of her head and rubbed it softly, catching her by off guard. Raising her head, she stared at him with widened eyes.

"You have grown to become really mȧturė. I thought you would start to cry about this matter," he pointed out.

Moon Jiwoo's eyes then directed a glare at him, and raising her hand, she slapped his hand away. She then spoke out, "Are you some pervert who can't keep his hand to himself? You really creep me out."

"Are you some kind of violent monster, who can't keep her hands to herself? You won't be liked by others if you keep on picking a fight with others."

"It's funny hearing those words from a pervert. I thought it was normal to get violent with a pervert."

"I can report you for defamation. I haven't done anything perverted to you. Aren't you thinking too highly of yourself? I have no such interest towards you."

"As expected, you have a fetish for the police. You—"

Before Moon Jiwoo was able to continue, Hyungwon spoke out, "The duel did not start yet. Only then, both of you will be able to begin fighting."

Looking at Hyungwon, she spoke out, "Old Man, I am starting to like you more now. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to beat the crap out of this man."

°°°

"Can't the two of you take this more seriously?" Hyungwon questioned as a sigh left his mouth. Raising his hand, he rubbed the top of his head due to pain that was forming.

Oh Sookyung laid on top of the ground, and Moon Jiwoo was above him. She supported herself above him with her knee and palm.

Sweat dripped down her face while she glared at the man before her and her other hand was around his neck. She wanted to use more strength and snap his neck, but something within her was stopping her from doing so— probably the instinct Hyungwon spoke of.

Oh Sookyung, on the other hand, gripped on to Jiwoo's neck as well with one of his hand while his other hand was on her shoulder. The two of them used more or less similar strength at grasping other's neck.

"Yah! You bastard, if it was not for this bloody instinct, I would have fuċkɨnġ killed you!" Moon Jiwoo exclaimed— disregarding Hyungwon's words.

Oh Sookyung scoffed and spoke out, "Do you think you would have those abilities if you were not destined to protect me? You would have been a powerless little girl then."

Squeezing into his neck tightly, she voiced out, "What do you mean by powerless little girl? I curse you to get betrayed and killed by your own subjects after you get to become the Prince."

"You can't say that, Shin Daerin! That's treason!" Hyungwon exclaimed.

However, his words or seriousness did not faze the two of them, and the two of them continued to glare at each other.

"I curse you to single forever. All the boys you will be falling for will be dumping you for a better girl than you," Sookyung voiced out, catching her to be off guard for a moment.

Seeing how she was caught in a shock for a second, he tightly grabbed on to her shoulder in order to flip her, and now that she was lying on the ground, he was on top of her with both of his hands on her shoulder.

Those words of his reminded Moon Jiwoo of her past, and this managed to successfully anger her. Clenching her hand into a tight fist, she raised and directed it at his jaw.

"I curse that you genitals will be rotten away, so that you will be able to have kids for your entire life!" she exclaimed, "And you would not be able to able to have sėxuȧŀ ɨntėrċȯursė!"

From the impact of that punch, his face turned slightly to the left, and then managing to compose himself, he brought his face closer to her.

As he opened his mouth to bite on to Moon Jiwoo's shoulder, Hyungwon decided to intervene into this, and holding on to Oh Sookyung's shoulder, he stopped him before he was able to make his move.

The force that Hyungwon used was immense, and Sookyung instantly raised his head to look at Min Hyungwon, raising one of his eyebrows.

"Stand up the two of you," he vocalised— his voice holding authority. 

Instantly, Oh Sookyung got on his feet and brushed his hair with his hand in order to fix the current messy state. Moon Jiwoo, following after Sookyung, immediately stood up as well, and using her hand, she brushed off the dust off of her cloth.

Although it did not effect her during the fight due to the rush of adrenaline, she found the dust in her clothing being disturbing currently.