Chapter 61: Recognition
I wasn't the only one surprised.
Seo Mangyeong, who had been directly on the receiving end of Yu Seola's profanity, stared at her with a blank expression.
Then, as though finally coming to his senses, he stammered,
“Y-You bitch... do you even know who I am—”
“Who are you supposed to be?”
Yu Seola cut him off, her eyes flashing coldly.
“You're just some bastard who gets drunk and harasses young women in an inn.”
Her voice turned even harsher.
“Get lost while I'm still asking nicely.”
“Before I cut out that filthy tongue of yours.”
There was no room for me to intervene.
From the very beginning, Yu Seola was verbally tearing him apart with terrifying force.
Was Yu Seola... always this violent?
I turned my head and checked Hyeongwon and Myeongjeon's reactions.
Both of them were watching as though nothing unusual was happening.
Am I the only one surprised?
Apparently those two had known about this... forceful side of Yu Seola for a long time.
It really was true that you needed time to properly know a person.
Anyway, in this kind of atmosphere...
anyone with even a little sense would realize something was wrong and back off.
That was how you survived in the martial world.
But Seo Mangyeong clearly had no such sense.
No.
He was an idiot who practically carried his life around in his hands.
“You little bitch.”
Seo Mangyeong sneered and stepped forward.
“You really don't know how frightening the world is, do you?”
Then he placed a hand on Yu Seola's shoulder.
At that instant...
CLANG! THRUST!
Yu Seola's sword flashed from its sheath like lightning.
The sharp sword tip stabbed straight into the back of Seo Mangyeong's hand.
“AAAAAAGH!”
Seo Mangyeong screamed and staggered backward.
Blood dripped steadily from the hand he clutched with his other one.
In an instant...
the entire main hall went silent.
Every gaze turned toward us.
“I told you to get lost.”
Yu Seola's cold voice rang through the hall.
“Y-You crazy bitch!”
Seo Mangyeong screamed in rage.
“H-How dare you do this to me?!”
He turned toward his companions.
“What are you doing?!”
“Drag that bitch outside right now!”
One of them grabbed his sword hilt and began drawing it.
CRACK!
Hyeongwon's spear shaft came down like a hammer on the back of the man's hand.
“Aaaagh! M-My fingers!”
The man dropped his sword and stumbled backward.
Several fingers had already bent at unnatural angles.
Hyeongwon didn't stop there.
He twisted his spear shaft and drove it directly into the man's side.
THUD!
The man flew backward and crashed to the floor.
The moment their companion went down...
the others charged.
“You bastards!”
Raw killing intent spread through the hall.
Fists flew.
Sword hilts shifted.
The main hall was about to turn into complete chaos when...
Myeongjeon cut through the flow.
“Hup!”
With a short shout, his palm slammed directly into the chest of the man rushing toward him.
“Ghk...!”
The man flew backward and crashed noisily into a table behind him.
“You little—!”
Another attacker charged toward Myeongjeon's side.
I wasn't going to keep watching either.
These bastards aren't even worth drawing my sword for.
The moment the man rushing toward Myeongjeon crossed my vision...
I remained seated and extended one leg.
“H-Huh?!”
His foot caught against mine.
The man lost his balance and pitched forward.
I twisted my upper body slightly.
Then punched.
THUD!
My fist, reinforced with the Firm Golden Stage, drove straight into his abdomen.
“Ghk!”
His body jerked violently in midair.
Then he flew backward like he'd been launched.
BOOM!
The wall shook.
The man collapsed where he landed and immediately lost consciousness.
I dusted off my hands and spoke calmly.
“What was that?”
“He couldn't even take one punch.”
Only then did the people in the hall collectively suck in their breaths.
Seo Mangyeong's face had gone completely pale.
He dropped onto the floor.
Yu Seola slowly walked toward him.
She lightly tilted the sword in her hand.
Its tip lowered until it hovered in front of Seo Mangyeong's face.
“Now then.”
Mad Flower Yu Seola spoke coldly.
“Time to cut out your tongue.”
“W-What...?”
All color drained from Seo Mangyeong's face.
The sword tip lowered beneath his chin.
His Adam's apple bobbed violently.
Watching the scene...
I couldn't help being impressed.
Wow.
Yu Seola's temper really is no joke.
I had to admit the sheer pressure she was giving off.
In the dangerous martial world...
having that much ferocity wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Still...
the Yu Seola I knew was smart and rational.
Surely she wasn't reckless enough to cut out the tongue of someone she'd just met in the middle of an inn simply because she was angry.
...That was what I thought.
Then...
H-Huh?
What is she doing?
There was something strange in Yu Seola's eyes as she held the sword.
A faint madness.
And she showed absolutely no sign of stopping.
The tip of her sword moved from beneath Seo Mangyeong's chin...
toward his mouth.
“Hiiik...!”
Seo Mangyeong's lips trembled uncontrollably.
Wait.
She's actually going to do it?
I couldn't keep watching.
“Junior Sister Seola!”
At that exact moment...
Yu Seola's wrist flashed.
Shhk!
The sword tip shot toward Seo Mangyeong's mouth.
No.
It almost did.
“Ghk...!”
Seo Mangyeong fainted on the spot.
A thin red line appeared across the cheek beside his mouth.
I'd barely managed to knock Yu Seola's wrist aside with my fingertips.
Otherwise...
today Seo Mangyeong wouldn't just have lost his tongue.
The sword might have gone straight through his throat.
That was close.
This place almost became an actual bloodbath.
I looked at Yu Seola with a somewhat horrified expression.
The madness from her eyes had vanished.
She had already returned to the bright Yu Seola I knew.
“Why are you staring at me like that, Senior Brother Mujin?”
She looked completely innocent.
I stared blankly.
“You were just about to cut it.”
Yu Seola smiled.
“Oh my.”
