Chapter 58
Mandy thought of herself as an ordinary human.
And that was only natural, for when she was young, she possessed an appearance no different from others.
Even then, she had heard that she was pretty, but she had not stepped outside the bounds of humanity.
It was after puberty that Mandy realized she was a half-elf.
After puberty, the characteristics of an elf began to appear.
One of them was her ears.
Not completely pointed like an elf's, yet not blunt like a human's.
They looked exactly like something mixed between the two.
After that, Mandy questioned her own identity. And she learned the truth.
The fact that her mother had been raped by an elf and had conceived her.
The thought of being a seed of misfortune made Mandy withdraw, and she gradually became introverted.
She became extremely sensitive to the gazes of others, and day by day, she ate away at herself.
To protect such a girl, Eloy was created.
Another personality was formed.
The temperament of the newly emerged Eloy was the exact opposite of Mandy's.
Eloy was rough and violent like a demonic beast.
If she thought someone was an enemy, she would charge without hesitation and bite their throat out.
Eloy's destructive temperament caused many problems.
As the situation grew worse and worse, Mandy's personality, which had been lurking beneath the surface until now, raised her head.
She stepped forward to calm Eloy, and as a result, she became far more active than before.
Mandy made a pact with Eloy.
In Neo Seoul, Mandy's personality would mainly be in control, and when there was no need to worry about others' gazes, Eloy would be the one to act.
Eloy judged that now was the time for her to act.
A spear was already in her hand.
It was no ordinary spear.
It was an item excavated from a dungeon.
A weapon of tremendous power with the ability to automatically summon itself to its owner.
The appearance of its blade, split into nine branches, was reminiscent of a gumiho with nine tails.
Therefore, the spear's name was also "Mad Gumiho."
The Mad Gumiho was a weapon that had been passed down as a legend even in Kurayan.
That such a weapon had ended up in Eloy's hands was perhaps, in a way, fate.
For Eloy, too, was born with half-elf blood running through her veins.
Vrrrrm!
The Mad Gumiho was vibrating in Eloy's hand.
The Mad Gumiho was reacting to her fighting spirit.
Eloy grinned and spoke.
"What'll it be? Torn to shreds and fed to the demonic beasts? Or will you listen to me quietly?"
"If I don't listen, I'll become food for the demonic beasts?"
"Hoho! Why ask the obvious? Ah, there's a third choice too."
"What is it?"
"Kill that bastard, and you and I become intimate. Then everyone can be happy."
The "bastard" she spoke of was none other than Gim Sangsik, riding the two-humped camel.
Knowing this fact as well, Gim Sangsik's face turned pale white.
"W-why kill me? I haven't done anything."
"You know Mandy's secret."
"I won't tell anyone. I'll absolutely keep the secret."
"Hah! Who'd believe that? It's cleaner to just kill you and shut your mouth."
"Please spare me."
Gim Sangsik got down from the two-humped camel and knelt.
Running away was not even a dream he could have.
Since he would be caught immediately even if he ran, begging was the better option.
Gim Sangsik looked up at Eloy with tears and snot running down his face.
At that, Eloy scoffed.
"Ugh, a filthy man bawling his eyes out..."
Her gaze turned back to Jeon.
"What should I do with you? Choose. It's your call."
"None of them are to my liking. I think it would be better to speak with Mandy. Please call her out."
"That won't do. That girl's too soft-spoken."
"Even so, I'd like to meet her. How can I meet her?"
"Simple! Beat me. If I get crushed, she'll come out. Of course, that won't happen."
"Simple. Fortunately."
"You have the confidence to beat me?"
"I have a question. Are you so arrogant banking on that spear alone?"
"What?"
"Aside from being a half-elf, you don't seem particularly special. I think your confidence is excessive."
At Jeon's words laden with amusement, Eloy's expression hardened stiffly.
She gripped the Mad Gumiho tightly and said,
"Fuck! I'm being nice and you don't know your place. You need to get hit to come to your senses."
"I agree."
"Hah! I'll wipe the floor with that mouth of yours, you fucking bastard!"
Eloy's rage exploded.
She swung the Mad Gumiho.
In an instant, phantasmal spears made of mana appeared in the air.
It was one of her skills, Rain Spear.
The power of the Rain Spear unleashed through the Mad Gumiho was tremendous.
KWA-KWA-KWANG!
The sand where the Rain Spear detonated erupted continuously as if a volcano had blown.
Sand shot up like pillars before scattering in all directions, completely overturning the area.
But nowhere could Jeon's figure be seen.
Eloy's eyes flashed as she searched for Jeon.
Soon she found him.
He had moved twenty meters to the left before she knew it.
Not a single wound from the spear could be found.
"Cheap tricks..."
Eloy charged at Jeon like the wind.
The Mad Gumiho extended, thrusting at Jeon.
The moment before being pierced, Jeon swung his gauntlet-clad fist.
CLAAAANG!
With a metallic sound, the Mad Gumiho was deflected.
"What?"
Eloy was startled.
As expected of an item excavated from a dungeon, the Mad Gumiho possessed tremendous piercing power.
Ordinary weapons or armor could be torn apart like sheets of paper.
Yet a mere-looking gauntlet had blocked the Mad Gumiho.
"So that's a dungeon item too, I see."
"It's something a friend made for me."
"Fuck! A mere human made something like that?"
"You're half-human yourself. Aren't you looking down on them too much?"
Jeon smirked.
It was understandable that Eloy was bewildered.
The gauntlets he currently wore were made by Keili, whom he had met in the past.
Combined with the eye of a Red Dragon, the masterpiece of the rare enchanter Keili evolved into the Gauntlet of Blazing Heat.
The Gauntlet of Blazing Heat had become something completely different from when Keili first made it.
Its power was in no way inferior to the Mad Gumiho.
"Diiie!"
Eloy flew into a rage.
She swung her spear like a madwoman and took something out from her bosom, scattering it around Jeon.
It was a kind of trap.
A trap made for hunting demonic beasts in Neo Seoul.
Naturally, it was no ordinary item.
If a creature bearing mana was in the area, it would pull them in with tremendous suction and bind them.
Once caught in the trap, no matter how strong a demonic beast was, it would be unable to move for a moment.
Eloy had scattered over ten such traps.
With this, she blocked all of Jeon's escape routes.
She attacked Jeon with ease.
But every one of her attacks was blocked by Jeon's gauntlets.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
Sparks flew with metallic sounds.
Eloy charged forward and attacked, while Jeon stepped back and defended.
It is easier to charge forward than to step back.
Furthermore, one could put more power into an attack, making it more powerful.
Naturally, the one charging forward had the advantage.
Eloy thought so too.
But the situation unfolding was the exact opposite.
Jeon slid backward as if hanging from an invisible string, and Eloy struggled to catch up with him even at her speed.
What was more infuriating was that Jeon had not used any skills yet and was observing her every move.
As if gauging just how strong she truly was.
"Where do you think you're going, you fucking bastard..."
Eloy flew into a frenzy and swung the Mad Gumiho.
Each time, skills of tremendous power poured down on Jeon.
BOOM!
Sand burst forth, and blade-like winds whipped in all directions.
Jeon's head too fluttered in the wind.
But behind his hair, his eyes did not waver in the slightest.
The Mad Gumiho split into nine.
Not an illusion, but truly nine separate spears.
At Eloy's gesture, the nine spears rose high into the air.
From the mana connecting the nine spears, an intensely fierce light burst forth.
"Die! Nine Spear Strike."
Eloy's strongest skill unfolded.
Jeon's retinas were filled with a burst of light.
Suddenly, a smile formed on his lips.
"This is fun!"
It had truly been a long time since he had met an opponent who bared their fangs and charged at him like this.
Since the battle with Leviathan in that distant southern place, most demonic beasts avoided Jeon altogether.
Because of that, he had hardly had a proper fight until now.
Seeing an opponent throw themselves at him with full strength after so long put him in quite a joyful mood.
Jeon infused mana into the Gauntlet of Blazing Heat and unleashed a blow.
FWOOOOSH!
In an instant, flames shot up from the Gauntlet of Blazing Heat.
The crimson flames spun like a waterspout and flew, colliding with the Nine Spear Strike.
KWAAANG!
"Kuh!"
A stifled groan flowed from Eloy's lips.
Her face was pale from the strong impact.
Far from felling Jeon, she had been struck by the recoil instead.
The nine spears scattered in all directions, and between them, she saw Jeon rushing in.
The red-hot gauntlet particularly caught the eye.
For a moment, she thought the red gem shining on the back of his hand looked like the eye of a gigantic demonic beast.
In that time, Jeon reached Eloy's side and unleashed a powerful punch.
BAM!
"Ugh!"
Eloy was flung backward with a scream.
She had barely managed to cross her arms and block the attack; had her reaction been even slightly slower, her breastbone would have caved in completely.
It felt as if both arms would break.
But Jeon's attack was not yet finished.
CRACK!
His knee struck her face.
This time, she couldn't even scream.
Her nose broke, and her mind grew hazy.
Even so, Eloy tried to come to her senses and counterattack.
But Jeon did not leave it at that.
BAM!
Jeon's fist crashed into her abdomen.
Eloy vomited all the food in her stomach and rolled across the ground.
"Fuck!"
Eloy reached out her hand.
The Mad Gumiho was summoned into her grip.
But she could not swing it in time.
Because Jeon pinned her chest down with his knee and grabbed her wrist with his strong hand.
Eloy gritted her teeth and tried to shake off Jeon's arm, but it was no use.
Maintaining his posture pinning her down, Jeon opened his mouth.
"Bring out Mandy."
"Fuck you!"
BAM!
In an instant, Jeon's fist crashed into Eloy's face.
Her cheekbone broke and blood spattered.
"I said bring out Mandy."
"Ngh!"
"If you don't want to die..."
Eloy glared at Jeon with venomous eyes.
But the moment she met Jeon's eyes, she unknowingly swallowed dry.
"What kind of eyes..."
Dry black eyes from which no emotion could be read.
It felt as if she were looking into the eyes of a demonic beast, not a human.
"I'll say this one last time. Choose whether you die as Eloy, or send out Mandy."
"Y-you... bastard!"
With those final words, Eloy's expression changed in an instant.
The defiant feeling completely disappeared, and a face full of fear appeared.
It was Mandy.
Sob!
Tears fell from Mandy's eyes drop by drop.
Seeing such a Mandy, Jeon smiled.
"Now we can finally have a conversation."