Semifinals (2)
The semifinals began with the match between the UK and Japan.
10 a.m.
All members of the South Korean national team had gathered in a large VIP room.
High-level matches themselves served as training just by watching, so they decided to watch the broadcast together and analyze it.
"Wow, the UK lineup is insane."
"Japan's crazy too, but honestly, they can't handle the UK."
"You think they won three straight league titles for nothing?"
Japan competes with the United States for 2nd and 3rd place in the world, but there is still a massive gap between them and the UK.
To understand that gap, you only need to look at the top-tier rankings.
[UK Top Rankers, Three]
World Rank 1, Rachel Rose
World Rank 6, Olivia Abernathy
World Rank 7, Gareth Bale
The UK has three single-digit rankers. All within the top ten in the world.
And Japan?
[Japan Top Rankers, Three]
World Rank 2, Yoshida Hikaru
World Rank 14, Shirato Sakura
World Rank 30, Takahashi Shusuke
It already felt like a drop in class.
Especially Shusuke—they had faced him once in a friendly match.
'He got completely crushed by our monster guild master.'
'Still… there's only one reason Japan is strong.'
'Same reason Korea is strong.'
Since this was a tournament, it was inevitable.
No matter the lineup—all that mattered was having one overwhelmingly strong player who could hold the line.
And Japan had him.
'Yoshida Hikaru.'
A master of control.
A man said to possess unrivaled ability in understanding summons and exploiting their weaknesses.
'In the end, it's about how long Hikaru can hold out.'
More precisely—whether Hikaru could break through Rachel or not.
"Everyone, grab an iced Americano while you watch!"
The one who had brought coffee from outside was Hwang Jiwoo.
Was she feeling sorry for not being able to participate even once since the Battle Royale? She seemed unusually attentive toward the guild members.
"Ohhh, where'd you get this?"
"Yeah, it's hard to find iced Americanos in London."
"Thanks, I'll enjoy it."
As they each took a cup, Hwang Jiwoo smiled brightly.
"They have them at franchise stores. Oh, here! Guild Master, yours is the biggest!"
It wasn't the same for everyone. Only Baek Jinwoo's was specially ordered in a big-big size.
"…Why mine?"
"Of course! You're our boss!"
Was this… admirable?
As the other guild members glanced over, Hwang Jiwoo suddenly frowned.
"What? What is it? I paid for it and stood in line myself! If you've got complaints, go buy it yourselves!"
Ah.
So she wasn't being polite—she was just being bold.
Young, but with a pouty face that still said everything she wanted.
"N-No, it's fine."
"We were just looking."
"We have no complaints, noona!"
The guild members awkwardly turned their heads, sweating nervously.
"Thanks."
Baek Jinwoo accepted it with a smile.
It seemed like her way of expressing gratitude, and the thought behind it was quite touching.
"Alright, it's starting!"
"Who's going first?"
Everyone looked on with interest.
Baek Jinwoo leaned forward in his chair and focused on the screen.
* * *
As expected—
The match was explosive.
And the atmosphere in London heated up just as much.
"Olivia! Olivia!"
"Win! Crush Hikaru!"
"Woooooo!"
Even inside the well-soundproofed VIP room, the roaring cheers outside echoed loudly.
Both sides initially sent out their lower-ranked players.
'Lower-ranked', they said—but in Korea, they would already be top-tier.
Everything was relative.
After several matches—Olivia from the UK began her solo domination.
Her 'Judicator' (A-rank) wielded a dark whip that tore through the chests of Japanese rankers and shattered their mental state.
"Lightning Strike."
Crackle—!
When the Judicator's ultimate skill, Lightning Strike, fell—all summons froze, paralyzed by electric shock.
At the same time—
Thwack!
The flying whip pierced vital points, dropping their HP to zero.
ㄴOlivia Abernathy continues her winning streak!
ㄴIncredible control! This looks like a completely different level from the Judicator I know!
The Judicator was a well-known PvP-focused summon.
It appeared occasionally in the World League and was extremely expensive.
But Olivia's version was on another level entirely.
No one knew what runes she had equipped, but it was fast, powerful…and her control was exceptional.
ㄴJapan has no answer for Olivia!
ㄴCould she really clean them all up on her own?
ㄴWill this end without Rachel even appearing?
The UK commentators were hyped.
Their players were already overwhelmingly strong, so victory was expected…
But wouldn't a more dramatic win make it even more exhilarating?
In other words—if Olivia wiped them all out, the rankings would change after the World League.
World Rank 1: Rachel Rose
World Rank 2: Olivia Abernathy
Like that.
That was the scenario the UK was envisioning.
But Japan wasn't going to sit quietly.
ㄴNext up is Yoshida Hikaru!
ㄴOne of the Five Emperors!
ㄴThat's right! Japan's true final boss is stepping in!
Step.
One of the Five Emperors. A Japanese man with a sharp jawline appeared on stage.
'Finally.'
Baek Jinwoo's eyes gleamed as he focused.
'Sugoi.'
He had seen Hikaru in videos many times, but this was his first time seeing this year's version.
In the ranker scene, best decks changed constantly.
Past Hikaru and present Hikaru were entirely different beings.
Unless someone had an EX-rank summon like Baek Jinwoo or an S-rank like Rachel—
If you were using only A-rank summons, the standard approach was to raise many and adjust your deck depending on the situation.
'What did he bring this time?'
Swoosh!
As Hikaru extended his arm, a summon appeared.
The commentators quickly announced it.
ㄴTaiji Girl! An A-rank Taiji Girl!
ㄴA tanker, right? A martial artist summon based on Chinese Tai Chi!
ㄴNot exactly just a tank. More of a bruiser tank! Hikaru's Taiji Girl deals significant damage too!
'Oh?'
Baek Jinwoo's eyes sharpened.
A wind (earth) attribute Taiji Girl.
It was a combination Sugoi often used back in Battle of Summoners.
'That means…'
He immediately predicted the next summon.
'Wind Archer.'
ㄴYes! The next summon is Wind Archer! A wind-type archer! Is he going all-in on wind attribute?
No—there was no way.
Baek Jinwoo smirked.
Taiji Girl and Wind Archer weren't true damage dealers.
There was only one purpose—they were for grouping enemies.
To gather five summons at once and wipe them out…
'You need a high-damage fire-type summon.'
Wind (earth), Fire.
Anyone experienced in Battle of Summoners knew how well those attributes synergized.
And the strongest fire-type summon he knew was—
ㄴPhoenix! It's Phoenix!
ㄴHikaru has brought out Phoenix!
"What?!"
Hong Ari shot to her feet.
She hadn't expected Hikaru to use the same type of summon she did.
"Watch carefully."
Baek Jinwoo muttered,
"You'll be able to broaden your understanding of how to use Phoenix."
Gulp.
Hong Ari swallowed hard.
And then—
Kugagagagagagaga!
The real battle between Olivia and Hikaru began.
* * *
"Die!"
The moment Olivia shouted, the Judicator unleashed lightning.
Pazzzzzzt!
A vicious bolt of lightning, obviously high-voltage at a glance, shot toward Taiji Girl.
-Ngh!
It looked as if Taiji Girl would easily dodge by stepping aside, but because of the whip bending like a snake, she ultimately took the hit.
Splurt!
Blood burst out.
Before anyone knew it, Taiji Girl was covered in blood.
But—
-Haaah!
Taiji Girl, controlling the energy of yin and yang with both hands, endured the attack with a shout.
She was pushed back about two steps, but she did not fall.
At the same time—
Ping!
Wind Archer drew and released the bowstring, sending out a formless wind arrow.
"Damn it."
Olivia's eyes widened.
She had already anticipated even that move through countless training sessions.
"Judicator!"
Olivia had a total of three Judicators.
The other two Judicators that had been waiting kicked off the ground and rushed forward.
She absolutely could not let that arrow through.
Wind Archer's arrow displayed tremendous suction power, dragging everything back to its point of origin, but…
It had a very clear weakness.
The arrow itself only had 1/1 HP.
'Which means…'
You just had to locate the arrow itself and destroy it.
Swaaaash!
The moment the Judicator sensed the arrow's energy and swung its whip, it was as if time slowed for both players.
Incredible concentration!
Just as the Judicator's whip stretched out to cancel the wind arrow, the arrow's trajectory suddenly changed.
It was Hikaru's control.
'Not happening!'
Olivia glared and put strength into her left foot. In sync with that, the whip's trajectory bent as well.
Sssst!
But then, in response, the arrow returned to its original path.
'What the hell. That was a fake?'
Olivia was aghast.
It was one thing for a swordsman to use a body feint, but an archer using a trajectory feint with an arrow?
It was truly incredible control—and archery skill.
But Olivia still had one more Judicator left.
'I knew that would happen, so I swung the whip late on purpose.'
Swaaaaaash!
The whip of the Judicator in the back collided with the wind arrow.
Pask!
The wind arrow shattered in a single hit.
'Got it!'
Olivia cheered inwardly.
For the first time, she had blocked an attack from Hikaru, the man famous for his control.
'And that wind arrow is the ultimate of ultimates, one that burns 70% of MP.'
That meant that Wind Archer had already served its purpose.
And that meant?
'This time, I might really win!'
Olivia's eyes filled with desire.
But then—
Wheeeeeeeing!
A fierce vortex suddenly began to rise in Olivia's formation.
"What?"
Whip!
She turned her head—
And there, stuck in the ground right behind her, was another wind arrow.
"H-How?!"
How could there be two wind arrows?
She looked toward Hikaru with eyes wide as lanterns.
He was grinning and waving at her.
"Bye-bye, Olivia."
Beside him stood another Wind Archer.
'You damned bastard!'
He had brought in two more, anticipating that the first would be blocked.
Kwa-dududududuk!
The vortex rising from the wind arrow began dragging in all five of Olivia's summons.
And then, one after another—
-Haaah!
Taiji Girl launched a whirlwind attack.
And for the final finish—
-Kiiirururururururu!
Phoenix spewed flames into the center.
Fwoosh, fwoooosh!
The fire stream was already scorching hot, but riding the wind attribute, it swelled to a crazy size.
Naturally—
The HP of Olivia's summons rapidly plummeted.
A single move.
That one difference caused tremendous losses.
As expected of Hikaru.