Atra lifted his gaze.
He saw the flames.
The fire, which had been quite distant, slammed into him in the blink of an eye.
A massive shock, breaking through his defense, shook his body. Calmly shaking off the shock, Atra moved his arms.
From within the flames, limbs protruded. An attack was coming.
Fists struck, elbows and shoulders used for body slams flew toward him. His legs weren’t idle either. His limbs moved organically, sending free-flowing attacks.
Fists and kicks infused with Gyeobhwa. Each carried immense force. Most armaments would crumble or tear apart after just one hit.
Atra stubbornly blocked and deflected them.
He kicked away the hands engulfed in flames.
A fist shot upward from below—blocked. With a thud, the shock from the punch struck his forearm, lifting his body into the air. The attack was heavy. Atra furrowed his brow and extended his arm.
KWAANG! Without hesitation, Hong Yeon-hwa, who had punched the attack away, kicked up her knee. She extended her palm to block the knee strike.
THWACK! Again, her body lifted into the air. In the meantime, Hong Yeon-hwa spun her body. The flames spun like a windmill. A fist, emerging from the swirling fire, was swung like a club.
The blow struck, sending Atra flying backward. His hair, torn at the ends, whipped in the wind, and after landing, Atra stared ahead.
Hong Yeon-hwa, her body wrapped in flames that clung to her like sticky tar, charged forward. The Gyeobhwa covering her wasn’t chaotic, but calm. However, beneath the calm exterior, an intense, ferocious energy emanated.
The fierce emotion leaking out from underneath the static expression only made the Gyeobhwa more intense.
‘The expanding ability of Gyeobhwa, evolution.’
I had experienced it in the past, not in the present.
Hong Jin-seon, the current head of the Gyeobhwa family.
I had seen the flames he wielded on the front lines. Those flames were so deadly that I couldn’t help but think they could only belong to Gyeobhwa.
Even high-tier monsters, when they became engulfed by those flames, screamed as the world seemed to shake with their agonizing cries, the ground trembling beneath them.
Monsters ranked three tiers higher on the front lines treated Gyeobhwa as a serious threat they could not underestimate.
I had also encountered it outside of the front lines.
I didn’t remember his name. He had been banished by the Gyeobhwa family and sentenced to immediate execution as a disgrace. His Gyeobhwa flames had been especially terrifying, and even though I didn’t remember his name, I could still recall his deadly flames.
A regretful memory. I could have caught and killed him, but interference prevented me from doing so. He was someone whose unique ability made blades sprout from his body. It was somewhat laughable, but he had been skilled enough to escape my grasp.
The flames of those who had truly succeeded. They overlapped with the image of Hong Yeon-hwa before me.
TAP! Hong Yeon-hwa landed on the ground and twisted her body. She twisted her waist and pulled one leg back. Gyeobhwa surged through her body.
The ability to evolve and expand.
Her physical strength was drawn out more strongly than ever. The flames of Gyeobhwa, all of it stored in her body, surged as she pulled back her arm.
Turning her twisted body in the opposite direction, she swung the leg she had pulled back with immense force.
KWAARRRR! The kick tore through the air with a special intensity. It was unmistakably unique, radiating from her like an expression of her distinctiveness. It seemed the extension of her skill-based abilities was beginning to manifest.
But her movement was large.
If it hit, it would be a powerful attack, but there were plenty of opportunities to dodge. There was also a lot of counterattack potential. Atra could easily exploit the opening to land a powerful counter.
But Hong Yeon-hwa was well aware of this weakness. If this were a real battle, such a large move would rarely be used. Even so, she took the risk.
"Hmm...!"
This time, it was an attack meant to land.
Just as expected, Atra didn’t evade or counterattack. He simply stood firm and fortified his defense.
If this were a typical sparring match, he would have countered and knocked her out, but that wasn’t the goal here. He couldn’t strike back, as he was in no position to make such a move while also accepting the release of her anger.
“BACK, YOU—!”
With a roar that seemed to unleash everything she had been holding back, the trajectory of the attack overlapped with Atra’s defense.
It was as if a meteor wrapped in flames had crashed down. The impact reverberated, and something sharp jolted through Atra’s arms, sending a strange sensation through his limbs.
The attack barreled through the defense, striking Atra’s face. His head snapped to the side.
KURURUR! The ground beneath the two fighters cracked like a spider’s web, and the floor crumbled as if made of sand.
The fighting area, built to withstand superhuman combat, collapsed like a sandcastle.
Both of their bodies were buried in the dust cloud.
“Phew...”
After a while, Atra rose from the dust cloud, rubbing his sore neck as he exhaled deeply.
His body was covered in dust, and an unpleasant sensation gnawed at his neck.
Atra furrowed his brows—not because of the dust, but because something else was bothering him.
His neck was stiff. When he wiped his mouth, blood stained his hand.
Looking at the arm that had blocked the attack, Atra found his forearm had swollen considerably.
Though he hadn’t wrapped it with Gyeobhwa, the attack had been incredibly powerful. Even a monster would have had trouble withstanding that level of shock.
“So, do you feel a little better now?” Atra asked as he wiped the blood from his mouth and turned his gaze forward.
Hong Yeon-hwa, wrapped in Gyeobhwa, glared at Atra with sharp eyes.
“Do you think that was enough, you bitch?”
“I knew you’d say that.” Atra shrugged, unfazed by the harsh words.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face twisted in anger at Atra’s nonchalant response.
The sparring—no, the venting of anger—had reached its climax.
The sudden, uneasy meeting. The place, a quiet sparring hall.
And the words spoken, as if there was no need for hesitation, were what Hong Yeon-hwa herself had already anticipated.
Iha-yul is fundamentally cautious.
His mental barriers are high and firm, and anyone who fails to breach them faces rejection.
Naturally kind, he behaves politely and kindly to those outside the barrier, but if someone acts rudely, he cuts them off and ignores them completely.
But once someone crosses that barrier, things change. Once someone enters, it’s nearly impossible to force them out.
Superhumans are unique in their worldview and personality. In a world where individuality is a source of power, such a worldview is particularly pronounced.
This kind of barrier was also Iha-yul’s unique worldview, and such worldviews are difficult to change.
Hong Yeon-hwa realized this too late. By the time she understood it, several people had already made their way inside the barrier.
And after confirming whatever mysterious force had attached itself to Iha-yul, she could no longer push them away.
The anticipated problem.
Without hesitation, she threw a punch. Atra didn’t resist, allowing it without a second thought.
For a while, she vented her fury.
“Damn it, that’s so hard. Are you made of iron?”
Her twisted expression didn’t ease up. Though it was her fist that struck, it seemed like she had received the brunt of the damage.
Of course, the blood flowing from her lips did help alleviate her anger, but most of it remained unresolved.
No matter how much she beat on Iha-yul, it seemed like her frustration wouldn’t be fully gone.
“An ordinary body is naturally hard. Especially the body of a superhuman who engages in melee combat shouldn’t be soft.”
“Bitch.”
Hong Yeon-hwa, shaking her aching wrist, continued to complain, and Atra shrugged indifferently.
Her nonchalant response only made Hong Yeon-hwa more furious.
With narrowed eyes, Hong Yeon-hwa thought for a moment, then grinned.
“Is your body that hard? Then I guess your breasts are as hard as iron plates, too?”
The crude and vulgar remark made Atra narrow his eyes.
“...The heir to the Gyeobhwa family sure speaks in a crass manner. Didn’t anyone ever correct your way of speaking?”
“What’s wrong with what I said? I’m not hard. That’s why Ha-yul likes me so much. Ah, don’t tell me you don’t like the iron plate body of yours?”
“....”
Atra’s expression crumpled. She briefly smirked before turning her head sharply, not saying another word.
Finally, Hong Yeon-hwa got the reaction she wanted. With a slight sense of relief, she chuckled.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, an alert sounded in Hong Yeon-hwa’s ear. It was a familiar sound—her smartwatch’s alarm.
The source of the sound was from the debris nearby. She had been fighting with the floor half-destroyed, and the alarm must’ve fallen when the ground caved in.
After clearing some debris, Hong Yeon-hwa found the smartwatch and quickly dusted it off before strapping it to her wrist. The hologram popped up in front of her.
She read it with a blank expression.
...
“This...”
Her indifferent face twisted. A chilling crushing sound echoed from her clenched fist.
“This...!”
Her entire body trembled as the Gyeobhwa inside her stirred.
“This little shit... AAAAAH!!!”
“This is...”
This content is taken from freёwebnovel.com.
KRRRRAAACK! Gyeobhwa erupted.
A stunned Atra quickly blocked the Gyeobhwa.
The court, by its very nature, is a cold and solemn space.
It is a place where the guilt of the accused is judged, and if found guilty, the severity of their punishment is administered.
The accused hopes that their crime will remain hidden, while the victim wishes for the full uncovering of the offender’s deeds.
How could such a space ever be filled with warmth and camaraderie?
I had once visited a court.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, after being torn to pieces and becoming a shadow of my former self, I was summoned to the court due to an incident that happened during that time.
As I passed through, the atmosphere was exactly as it should be, full of tension. There was a special kind of gravity that enveloped the place, an aura of seriousness that made everything feel unnervingly solemn.
Though I barely spoke, the lawyers and prosecutors handled the matter, the air filled with a sense of restrained dread.
It wasn’t a positive atmosphere. There was a palpable feeling of anxiety, tension, fear, and even desperation—it was a far cry from anything encouraging.
[Anxiety]
[Tension]
[Fear]
[Despair]
[Melancholy]
Now, I felt that very same energy again.
The injury to my arm had been dealt with well enough.
The injury where my arm had split into two. I had been disoriented, but Baize’s quick response had stopped the bleeding faster than I could react.
The severed part of my arm had been quickly aligned and frozen with cold to stop the bleeding. Then Baize used healing magic to speed up the recovery. His quick and precise actions were impressive, and I couldn’t help but admire him for a moment... but then, I was scolded by him for being distracted.
Anyway, after the emergency treatment, I received a diagnosis and healing from the resident healer, and my arm was wrapped up with high-grade bandages.
Fortunately, the wound was clean, and Baize’s first aid had been so effective that there were no further complications.
But this wasn’t where it ended.
I was dragged back to the dorm like a criminal, surrounded by a growing crowd of people who had heard the news.
In the living room of my dorm... it became a courtroom and a selection process.
At the center of it all, I knelt quietly, a sinner in the eyes of many, with several pairs of eyes glaring at me—those eyes, they were the judges...
Hong Yeon-hwa, Baize, Elia, Seoyul, Master, Professor Riana... When did they all gather?
“Ha-yul, why don’t you take care of your body properly, huh?”
It was at that moment. Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been quietly observing me, finally spoke up.
I slowly lifted my gaze.
But when I saw her glaring at me with eyes full of disdain, I instantly ducked my head, muttering, "Hick," as I recoiled.
“I-I was trying to take care of myself—”
“Trying? You almost lost your arm! Are you a robot? Can you just detach and reattach your limbs whenever you want?”
“No, no...”
“What? You didn’t take care of yourself? So you intentionally treated your body like trash?”
“I’m sorry...”
The harsh gaze and the sharp words made me shrink back involuntarily.
Hong Yeon-hwa, filled with fury, glared at me, while Master sighed deeply. Baize and Professor Riana sighed with disbelief.
Elia had tear tracks on her face, and Seoyul was still sobbing.
‘Ugh...’
The pressure of their gazes and emotions felt so sharp, like needles piercing my skin.
Especially seeing Seoyul’s face broke my heart. The protector—why had I made the child cry?
This situation was far more painful than any monster’s claws or venom could ever be...
"Sigh..."
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been glaring down at me, sighed deeply and then crouched beside me.
I cautiously lifted my head, and Hong Yeon-hwa met my gaze and spoke.
"Should I try cutting off my arm as an experiment? Maybe then Ha-yul will understand how I feel?"
"No, don’t—!"
Her next words hit me like a wave, and I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me.
I tried to think about it from her perspective—swapping places in my mind. Just imagining it felt like my head might split open.
I would have no problem if my arm was cut off, torn, or damaged. I could handle the pain.
But for others, that should never happen.
After that, my memory became blurry.
"I’m sorry..."
I cried out uncontrollably, clinging to Hong Yeon-hwa, tears streaming down my face...
[Player Adjustment System: Affection Measurement]
...
▶ Title
"Precious One"
...