As the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering drew near, the streets began to fill with people, creating a festive atmosphere.
Originally, it was supposed to be a martial arts competition involving the orthodox sects, where the disciples of each school would compete to gauge their skills.
‘…In my novel, I wrote that anyone could participate, whether they were from an orthodox faction, a heretical faction, or from the Western Region.’
I thought this setting was the best way to bring characters from different stories together without any issues.
Even though it was a competition to bestow the titles of Dragon and Phoenix, how the plot device would be utilized ultimately lay in the author’s hands.
“Master! Are all these people here to see us?”
Verdandi exclaimed, gazing at the crowd filling the arena. It was a fitting display for her character as a traditional hero who thrived on people’s admiration.
I always thought that a hero should step forward first and sacrifice themselves the most.
Even if it was similar to real life, where someone gets kicked out of a party for not matching in personality or fighting style and later regrets it.
“Yes, technically, only one person from each sect should be participating in the gathering… but so many places put in requests this time around.”
I scratched my chin. It seemed like this gathering was far bigger than the last one, almost as if Bing Seolhwa had pulled some strings.
Right now, my first love, a well-read character, was someone who wouldn’t hesitate to use any means necessary to eliminate the final bosses.
‘Seolhwa knows the setting of this novel just like I do.’
No matter how much I missed Seolhwa, I had to momentarily set my feelings aside and think of a way to protect these kids.
“Each preliminary match will feature one person, but for the finals, we need to send out three from each sect.”
The rules had changed as if they were aiming for Bi Wol, Verdandi, and Azazel. I couldn’t even estimate how many characters had been met ahead of time to plan this stratagem.
They had attached a grand reason to justify a heretical faction winning in a competition led by the orthodox factions, but the least they had cooked was the martial arts league master’s favor.
‘Originally, I had considered deliberately losing in the preliminaries…’
But the grand prize was an elixir infused with extreme yang energy, which looked like a cure-all for me. It was the last bastion that could save me, living on borrowed time with the Nine Pulse Meridians.
Wolfram said something strange was blocking my blood vessels, but with this, there was at least a slight chance to seek the truth.
“Girl, I will definitely win the elixir at this competition!”
Bi Wol firmly grasped my scarred hand and smiled gently. Her confidence seemed to overflow, perhaps because she had properly learned the Three Talented Sword Method under me.
“Senpai! Please make sure you reach the finals! Create an opportunity for the hero to shine!”
Seeing Bi Wol’s excitement, I could practically hear Verdandi waiting for her turn to fight, her enthusiasm was barely contained.
I planned to send Bi Wol out for the preliminaries and then let the other disciples compete in the finals. Showing the strongest card first would create a calculation error for the opponents.
In my view, Verdandi was the unpredictable variable for this martial arts competition.
The Holy Armor that appears when a hero gets critically injured; there couldn’t be a better place to acquire the ultimate defense gear than here.
‘…There’s no guarantee that Azazel will win after meeting Kang Si Woo. She still misses him.’
Just like I couldn’t touch Seolhwa, Azazel might choose to forfeit if it meant hurting the man she loves.
Knowing this, I planned to strategically send out Bi Wol, Azazel, and then Verdandi in that order to find opportunities for a reversal. Even by conventional methods, it could be a provocation for the opponent.
“What will you do if you meet Kang Si Woo, Azazel?”
“I’ll definitely ask why he chose to abandon me for my sister first. I’ll also question if the word ‘love’ can really be that trivial.”
Azazel replied with a slightly trembling voice. She still believed that Kang Si Woo had lingering feelings for her. Even after being betrayed once, she wanted to trust him again.
“…Even if he never truly loved you?”
He’s just a game character. Sure, there might be someone who sacrifices everything for a game in this vast world, but the Kang Si Woo I wrote didn’t carry that weighty sense of responsibility.
I thought about the protagonist who lost their parents in a fire as a child and lived with guilt until saved by the saint in the game,
“Perhaps he was just a puppet reciting predetermined lines. If his feelings had been genuine, he wouldn’t have been swayed by your sister.”
That didn’t fit with the harem genre. If [I Got Trapped in a Game] had focused on pure love, wouldn’t Azazel’s future have been different?
“From your perspective, it might just seem like another common unrequited love story. But…”
Azazel trailed off as if her emotions were stuck in her throat, unable to spill out into words.
“…Because I love him, I can turn a blind eye to that fact.”
She was chosen as the Saint, but because she bore the blood of a succubus, she hadn’t been officially recognized. Kang Si Woo, the player, had saved her.
But,
“Such lingering feelings aren’t love. They’re just the obsession of the one left behind.”
I knew well the outcome of such emotions. I had seen many who loved unreturned, ruining themselves in the process.
The girl who sent a love letter and then spread rumors about me when she didn’t get a response, the upperclassman who approached my friends to get my phone number,
And even the father who tried to tear me apart from Seolhwa, claiming I was unworthy of dating his daughter.
“What I consider love is two people looking in the same direction. Understanding one another, despite having different viewpoints, and adjusting their gaze.”
That was a quote from Saint-Exupéry’s [The Little Prince].
Seolhwa and I shared a dream of being ‘novelists’. Our reasons for dreaming were different, but we supported each other’s steps and breaths, without regard for who started first.
Being with her helped me learn what true love was. It’s more like discovering a beautiful flower by the roadside and instead of plucking it, choosing to protect it.
“…You speak as if you truly understand love.”
“Well, it’s only natural that I know better than you lot here.”
Love, at its core, is a complex emotion intertwined with hatred, sadness, happiness, and jealousy, making it difficult to express in mere words.
“…Is that really true, Master?”
As I spoke with Azazel, Bi Wol suddenly turned sharply to me, glaring with piercing eyes.
“I thought I had successfully kept all the foxes from encroaching on you, Master. Are there still some I haven’t dealt with?”
With her breath quickening and her tone rising, Bi Wol looked as if she were about to draw her sword and place it at my throat.
“Don’t tell me the one who left a mark on your body and foretold the future was a woman? One whom you had a bond with before I became your disciple…?”
I quickly covered Bi Wol’s mouth with my hand. I couldn’t let her rampage escalate, especially considering the identity of that person was Seolhwa.
“Enough! Bi Wol, stop it. She’s a lifesaver to me.”
She was also the creator of the final bosses, after all. I might have lost my will to live long ago if Seolhwa hadn’t saved me.
Ironically, her death became the reason I couldn’t bring myself to die.
“We never shared anything deep. At least not with this body.”
“It seems the truth comes out! Senpai!”
Knowing Verdandi was there, I chose not to lie and instead eased Bi Wol’s heart with the truth.
“Hmm… No matter how I think about it, it seems suspicious. Someone who left marks on the master’s body and possesses prophetic abilities…”
Bi Wol traced her fingers along my body with an insatiable gaze, while I could only gulp nervously, hoping she wouldn’t cross any lines.
Engaging in a narrative spurred on by a well-read character from a game.
My life before being trapped in the game.
And the reasons why the final bosses had such gloomy pasts.
To explain all of these would take far too long with all the tangled threads involved.
“I will trust you just this once. It would be too unfortunate to lose the chance to care for your health over such trivial jealousy.”
Bi Wol smiled faintly at me, confidently striding towards the tournament hall.
*
The roar of the crowd erupted, and I could see the grand stage where everyone’s gaze converged.
“The martial arena where the disciples of each sect compete for supremacy! I believe all of you have been eagerly waiting for this moment!”
The announcer, utilizing sound waves, boomed his voice; he was from the Snow Mountain Sect, located near the Yunnan Province’s Longyun Mountains.
Similar to the North Sea Ice Palace, this sect could use ice and sound techniques within the Central Plains martial world.
“I am the announcer, Cheoncheonmu!”
He introduced himself before politely presenting a venerable old man with a long beard beside him.
“This Dragon and Phoenix Gathering has been specially supported by the North Sea Ice Palace!”
‘…The head of the Ice Palace.’
A figure with blue eyes like mine and Bing Seolhwa’s sat next to the man bearing the martial alliance’s emblem.
This person might explain why I hadn’t been welcomed when I visited the Ice Palace. I frowned as I looked at him.
“Now, let us hear from the Martial Alliance Leader about the dedication to this Dragon and Phoenix Gathering!”
“Although I have heard rumors that a sect from the Western Region has taken in disciples this time, one must always face the unknown in the martial world.”
Clearing his throat, the large man dressed in the Martial Alliance’s emblematic robe was the Martial Alliance Leader, Go Tae-ho.
“Martial arts represent strength for the weak, and chivalry means not to overlook the vulnerable. To uphold this, a minimum level of strength is necessary.”
Known by the nickname “Strong Tiger,” in the original novel, he was the leader of the Martial Alliance, who was defeated by the Heavenly Demon, Bi Wol.
Somewhere, I remembered a phrase from martial arts tales, the definition I had previously mentioned was taken from his lines.
“I hope the disciples competing in this round pay heed to that point.”
As the Martial Alliance Leader concluded, the crowd erupted into cheers, signaling the start of the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering.
“Then, without further ado, let the awaited Dragon and Phoenix Gathering commence! The first participant is Kim Hyul from the Sunlight Sect!”
The first to emerge was none other than Kim Hyul, the protagonist of the original [King of Diamond Fist].
