Hunter Academy’s Battle God

The bone dragon’s breath and Kanina’s punch sent a storm of mana sweeping through the area, turning the swamp around them to ash from the sheer concussive force of the impact.

[Blin Academy's Elan has been eliminated.]

[Blin Academy's Ackman has been eliminated.]

‘I won…’ Sumire confirmed her victory, and the world around her turned white.

[All participants of Blin Academy and Munich Academy have been eliminated.]

[Shutting down the simulation.]

[All remaining participants will be removed.]

Sumire’s eyes widened. "H-huh?" It seemed that her other teammates had finished off their opponents as well.

Fwoosh—!

As soon as she exited the portal, she was greeted with a screen declaring their victory.

[Victory]

[Choten Academy (Japan)]

[Gaon Academy (South Korea)]

[Defeat]

[Munich Academy (Germany)]

[Blin Academy (Ireland)]

- WOAH!!

The audience erupted into cheers.

- Gaon and Choten Academy won!

- Even if they belong to the winning teams, any students eliminated in the match will no longer be able to participate.

[Team A Eliminated: Isshin]

[Team B Eliminated: Ackman]

[Team B Eliminated: Elan]

[Team B Eliminated: Verdandi]

[Team B Eliminated: Rakion]

"You two won!' Sumire checked the scoreboard with a dazed expression.

"Phew… The matchup was good." SiWoo sighed in relief.

"What~ Only Isshin was eliminated?" Sakura said while making a mean smile.

Paf—!

Beautiful streamers of colored paper poured down to celebrate their victory, and the International Competition was only a step away.

* * *

‘I can’t believe we lost like that.’ Verdandi reflected on the match as she returned to her party’s waiting room. The battle had taken place on a cruise ship, which should’ve been extremely advantageous for her magic bullets and their ability to go around obstacles.

[Bang!]

Somehow, SiWoo shot her magic bullets out of the air with his ordinary ones. She didn’t believe such a thing was possible at first and redoubled her efforts, but he successfully neutralized every shot.

For such a thing to be possible, someone would have to perfectly master and understand their position, the trajectory of the incoming bullets, and their accuracy. Though the situation had been favorable for her, SiWoo’s bullets had reached her first and caused her to lose.

‘What…? How did he do it? Does he have some sort of precognitive ability?’ She would’ve prepared for it if she knew SiWoo’s Trait was Clairvoyance, but he wasn’t as famous as the rest, and such information wasn’t readily available.

Meanwhile…

‘She made a hole in the floor…? I can't believe there was such a method…' Rakion looked just as flustered as Verdandi. Her wind simply hadn’t been strong enough to pierce his earth wall, and just when he thought his victory was certain, she’d collapsed the floor of the building he was standing in.

Verdandi hadn’t known her opponent’s Trait, and Rakion was caught off guard by a change in tactics.

Their party leader, Ciel, comforted the two with an indifferent look on her face upon their return to the waiting room. "It's okay… It's not like the number of people is important."

"I'd rather you scold us!" Verdandi exclaimed.

Ciel shook her head and smiled. "We have no choice but to bet everything on the next match since things have come to this.”

"Captain!"

"Please, blame us!"

Rakion and Verdandi found that attitude of hers to be even more painful than being scolded.

* * *

* * *

Back in Gaon’s International Competition waiting room, the team was ecstatic with their victory. Of course, the happiest among them was YuSung, their party leader.

"Sumire, SiWoo, you both did great," he said. Sumire and SiWoo had managed to defeat opponents from strong countries like Ireland and Germany while both surviving. It showed both the difference in strength and their potential.

Since Germany and Ireland hadn’t prepared a trump card beforehand, their team leaders would be the only ones participating in the next match. Thanks to that, the European alliance’s strength was already cut in half.

"Kyahang! A bone dragon? Mommy Sumire! You're amazing! As expected, dragons are the strongest!" Velvet seemed especially impressed by the bone dragon’s performance. "Victory's special fire breath! Kyarrr-" The little dragon girl poured fire toward the ceiling in celebration.

Clap, clap, clap, clap—!

They heard heartfelt applause, and EunAh turned her head upon feeling a strange gaze. There, she saw Adela watching Velvet from the doorway.

"What the…?" She couldn’t believe Adela was there after all the trouble she’d gone through to get Velvet back. "Hey, what are you doing here?" EunAh asked, her disbelief evident on her face.

ZZT—

Since EunAh was eying her as if she were a spy of some sort, Adela naturally entered the waiting room. "Ah… I came to congratulate you on your victory. It's only natural. I used to be a Gaon student as well, after all."

Even still, EunAh treated the other girl like a spy. "Hmph, now you've gone to Bianca Academy." She seemed to be scolding Adela, but there was a subtle emotion in her words.

YuSung, who’d been observing her for a bit, noticed. 'I see… EunAh is upset with Adela.'

Before he enrolled in Gaon, the two girls had been rivals. EunAh was a very competitive person, so she naturally gravitated toward Adela as her opponent until Adela suddenly left for Italy’s Bianca Academy. EunAh was bad at clearly expressing her feelings, but YuSung understood her—she secretly hoped Adela would return to Gaon.

As if their hearts were connected, Adela said, "That's right… I left Gaon and went to Bianca." She turned her head toward YuSung and gave him a serious look. “I wanted to compete against you, YuSung, with all my strength…”

Fights against strong opponents were very important to her. Whenever she entered a battle, her heart beat faster, the blood rushed through her body, and her mind analyzed things in a cool manner. Rather than it being about proving her skill, it was proof that she was alive.

"That thought… hasn't changed. I plan to give my all in my fight against you, but…" She looked at YuSung with a bit of a different expression than when she blindly pursued battles in the past.

Whether it was the memories she’d faced in Louin Castle, her emotional exchanges with YuSung, or the time she spent with Velvet, she was clearly different from her previous numb and lonely self.

"When all this is over, I want to return to Gaon." Adela gave YuSung a soft smile and softly said, "When that time comes… will you accept me into your party?" She’d subjugated the Ice Castle during the Hunter Association’s tournament without a party because she never felt the need for one, but things had changed.

Her emotions were gradually returning, and her vitality was coming back as well. Since she’d realized fullness, she understood what she was lacking. There was something that could quench her thirst within YuSung’s party…

"Yes, Adela…” YuSung said as if it were obvious. “You can always come back to Gaon."

"Wh-what? Really? You want to join our party?' EunAh gave Adela a surprised look.

"A-Adela's joining our party?! Wow… Our party will be the strongest!" Sumire exclaimed. Just as she said, Gaon would undoubtedly have the strongest party if Adela joined them after the competition.

SiWoo, who hadn’t spent much time in the club room recently, seemed genuinely surprised by Adela’s question. "Oh… Why do you want to join suddenly?"

YuSung smiled as if the answer was obvious and started to say, “That’s because—”

"It's because of Velvet," Adela interrupted without hesitation. Arden had been her only family member until then, so Velvet was precious to her. "Because I'm Velvet's mom." She truly intended to be Velvet’s mother.

"K-kyahang?!" Velvet’s eyes widened with emotion, and Adela gave her a tender look. “M-mommy Adela!”

"Velvet…"

"Kyahhaang! Mommy Adela!"

"Velvet!"

It was a touching reunion between a mother and daughter that transcended species. Adela seemed to have a strong attachment to the little dragon. Maybe it was because she’d cared for Velvet’s egg before the dragon hatched.

"Kyahhaang! I'm moved! Look at my special fire breath!"

"Amazing, Velvet… Your fire is even stronger now."

EunAh seemed unsure about whether she was happy with Adela joining or not. "Well, since you're coming back… I understand. Is it okay for her to join just for Velvet, though?"

YuSung didn’t even bother answering her question. ‘So it wasn’t due to the incident at Louin Castle…’

Since she would be joining them regardless and was one of the strongest students, the reason didn’t matter anymore.