---
Space split apart. The expansion did not stop at the boundaries of the first arena; it continued to widen and expand, as if the universe itself was being born anew. The ground, once made of solid black stone, began to stretch, crack, then fuse back together differently. Mountains rose from nothing, their peaks touching clouds that had not existed seconds before. Forests spread at the edges, their trees strange in shape, their leaves blue and silver, as if from another planet.
In the center, the plain remained.
It was vast, stretching almost endlessly. Dry golden grass covered it, swaying with a wind that had no known source. The sky had been blood-red, but now it began to change to a dark purple, like a bruise on the body of the universe.
The expansion stopped suddenly.
A large blue screen appeared in the sky.
```
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ [SYSTEM ALERT: Expansion Complete] ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ■ Total Area: 70,000 square kilometers ║
║ ■ Terrain Type: Central plain, forests, mountains ║
║ ■ Spatial Stability: 99.97% ║
║ ■ Expected Duration: Unlimited ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
```
In the stands, everyone watched the giant screens displaying the subspace clearly.
(Egyptian Ambassador (whispering to Saudi Ambassador)
"Seventy thousand square kilometers... that is the size of a small country."
(Saudi Ambassador (in an astonished voice)
"All of this for one battle?"
(American Ambassador (dryly)
"This is the true SS level."
---
In the heart of the golden plain, Ji-won stood. Her fiery red hair flew with the purple wind, and her golden eyes sparkled like two stars in a dark sky. She was smiling.
Kilometers away from her, the three opponents were spread across the corners of the plain.
But Li Wei was the closest. And he was the fastest.
He did not run. He did not jump. He flew.
FWOOOSH!
He launched himself at ten times the speed of sound. The air split before him, leaving a white trail behind like a giant arrow. In less than a second, he covered the distance between him and Ji-won.
Ji-won felt him before she saw him. Not with her eyes, but with the sixth sense she had developed during months of training in the desert. The movement of the air, the change in pressure, the trembling of the ground. All told her: He is coming.
She turned to face him at the right moment.
He stood before her, his sword drawn, his eyes burning.
(Li Wei (in a sharp voice)
"Begin."
(Ji-won (with a smile)
"Begin."
They used no skills. Only swords, fists, and will.
An emerald green aura covered Li Wei's sword, as if the wind itself had materialized in the blade. At the same moment, a golden fiery aura covered Ji-won's fist, as if a small sun had embraced her hand.
SHING!
The sword met the fist.
KRA- KOOOOOOM!
A tremendous shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping across the plain for kilometers. The golden grass was uprooted, small rocks flew like bullets, and the trees at the edges of the plain shook violently.
(Whispers in the stands)
"What power is this? Just one strike without skills does this?!"
Li Wei stepped back a step, then launched himself again. He struck. She blocked. He struck. She blocked. Each strike released waves of energy that destroyed everything around them. Craters formed in the ground, then filled with dust, then formed again.
(Li Wei (between strikes)
"You... are fast!"
(Ji-won (laughing)
"And you... are not slow!"
Then she hit him.
A direct punch to his chest.
WHAM!
Li Wei flew backward like a rocket. Air collided with his body, the ground passed beneath him at insane speed. But he regained his balance before touching the ground, striking his sword into the earth to stop his momentum. His sword sank into the rocky ground, carving a trench for hundreds of meters before he stopped.
He looked at Ji-won with wide eyes.
(Li Wei (to himself)
"How strong is she... without skills?"
But he did not hesitate. He launched himself at her again, and this time, he used a skill.
SHING!
[SS] Time Slice
His sword moved at an invisible speed. Ji-won did not see it, but she felt it. The sixth sense again. She raised her hand.
CLANG!
She deflected the sword with her fiery gauntlet. The golden fire clashed with the emerald wind, and a massive energy explosion erupted between them, creating a deep crater a hundred meters wide.
Li Wei stepped back two paces, his eyes unbelieving.
(Li Wei (in an astonished voice)
"How... how did you block [Time Slice]?! That is my fastest strike!"
(Ji-won (with a smile)
"I did not see it. But I felt it. That is the difference."
He attacked her again. And again. And again. Each strike faster than the last. Each strike more violent. And Ji-won blocked them, sometimes with her fist, sometimes with her forearm, sometimes with her shoulder. With each collision, the craters widened, the earth cracked, and rocks flew like lightning.
But suddenly, Li Wei stopped attacking.
He retreated at extreme speed, moving away from her hundreds of meters in a fraction of a second.
(Li Wei (telepathically to Pierre Dubon)
"I have reached the position. Get ready."
(Pierre Dubon (telepathically)
"How much time do I need?"
(Li Wei (telepathically)
"Only thirty seconds. Hold on until then."
But Ji-won was not waiting.
She raised her hand, and dozens of golden fireballs appeared around her. Each the size of a small car, glowing like the sun, orbiting her like moons.
(Ji-won (with a light laugh)
"Telepathic conversation? That is rude."
SHING! SHING! SHING!
She launched the fireballs. They shot toward him like meteors, leaving golden trails in the air.
Li Wei dodged the first with a quick crouch. He dodged the second with a sideways jump. The third passed a centimeter above his head. The fourth almost hit him, had he not twisted his body in the air impossibly.
But the fireballs did not stop.
Twenty. Thirty. Forty. Each time he dodged one, two more appeared in its place. He was panting, sweating, dodging with great difficulty.
(Li Wei (shouting)
"How many of these do you have?!"
(Ji-won (laughing)
"They never run out."
Inside herself, she was feeling something she had not felt in a long time.
(Ji-won (to herself)
"This... this is wonderful. Even Beros did not make me this excited. Perhaps because I was afraid for Nayun then. But now... now I can play freely."
Her smile widened. Her golden eyes blazed.
(Li Wei (shouting)
"Now!"
Pierre Dubon suddenly emerged from beneath the ground. He had not been there a second ago, then he was. He jumped from the earth's depths like a volcano, his massive mace pulled back, every muscle tense.
He struck.
WHAM!
He struck Ji-won on her shoulder with tremendous force. Not just a strike, but [SS] Reversal Impact was hidden within it, reflecting part of her own power back at her.
Ji-won flew like a rocket toward the ground.
KRA- KOOOOOOM!
She crashed into the earth at incredible speed, opening a deep crater a kilometer wide. Dust rose like a cloud, and rocks flew in every direction.
Silence fell for a moment.
In the waiting room, Nayun stared at the giant screen. Her small hands were clenched tightly on her chair, her face pale, her eyes wide.
(Nayun (whispering)
"Mom... Mom..."
But she did not cry. She did not scream. She only bit her lower lip and continued watching.
(Nayun (to herself)
"Mom is stronger than this. I know."
In the stands, a similar silence fell.
(Japanese Ambassador (whispering to Chinese Ambassador)
"Has she fallen?"
(Chinese Ambassador (coldly)
"I do not think so."
From the crater, dust rose. Then everyone heard something.
A laugh.
It was not an ordinary laugh. It was a soft laugh at first, then it rose, then rose higher.
The dust cleared.
Ji-won stood at the bottom of the crater, her red hair covered in dust, her purple dress slightly torn at the shoulder, but her eyes sparkled like stars.
She flicked the dust from her hair with a simple motion, then raised her head and looked at Pierre and Li Wei.
(Ji-won (in a clear voice, filling the space)
"This... is wonderful."
She jumped out of the crater at tremendous speed and stood before them.
(Ji-won (in an excited voice)
"I have not felt this excited in a long time. Even when I faced Beros Flaminis, I was not this entertained. Back then I was afraid for Nayun. But now... now I can play freely."
She smiled widely.
(Pierre Dubon (heavily)
"She is... enjoying herself?"
(Li Wei (astonished)
"It seems so."
Ji-won launched herself at them.
She attacked Li Wei first. She struck him with a fiery fist, and Pierre blocked for him with his massive shield. Then Li Wei attacked her from behind with his sword, and she turned quickly and blocked him with her gauntlet.
(Pierre Dubon (telepathically to Li Wei)
"We will not last long this way. She is faster and stronger than us."
(Li Wei (telepathically)
"I know. That is why we will use our skills."
Pierre raised his mace.
[SS] Eternal Wall
A transparent barrier appeared before him, five meters long and three meters high. It moved with him, protecting him from frontal attacks.
At the same time, Li Wei raised his sword.
[SS] Eye of the Cyclone
He focused his gaze on Ji-won for three seconds. He saw her weak points: her right shoulder where Pierre had struck her, her exposed neck slightly, her waist where the dress was torn.
(Li Wei (to himself)
"There... and there... and there."
They attacked together.
Pierre from the front, striking with his mace, heavy blows that shook the earth. Ji-won blocked them with her arms, but each blow pushed her back a step. And Li Wei from behind, striking with his swift sword, aiming for the weak points he had seen.
A blow from Pierre on her right shoulder. She blocked it, but she felt pain.
A blow from Li Wei on her waist. She blocked it at the last moment, but the sword cut her sleeve.
A small wound appeared on her right arm. A drop of golden-red blood flowed slowly.
Ji-won stopped. She looked at the wound.
(Whispers in the stands)
"She has been wounded! The Phoenix has been wounded!"
(S-rank hunter (in an astonished voice)
"These three... they are real. They are not like the S-rank hunters she faced before."
(Director Kang (sitting in his seat, his eyes unmoving)
"This is the true SS level."
But Ji-won was laughing.
It was not a light laugh this time. It was a laugh closer to madness, but not true madness. It was the laugh of someone who had finally found what she was looking for.
(Ji-won (loudly)
"Even Beros Flaminis could not scratch my body. You... you are truly wonderful."
She looked at the wound again. In a moment, it healed. The wound disappeared as if it had never been. The drop of blood vanished. Even the torn sleeve returned to its normal state.
(Pierre Dubon (stepping back)
"What... how?!"
(Li Wei (eyes widening)
"The wound healed in an instant... without any visible healing skill..."
(Ji-won (smiling)
"This is [SSS] Fire Regeneration. As long as I am alive, I will heal. And the fire around me heals me faster."
She launched herself at them.
This time, she used a skill.
[SSS] Fire Fist
Her right fist ignited with dense golden fire, as if she held the sun itself in her hand. She shot toward Pierre at tremendous speed.
(Pierre Dubon (shouting)
[SS] Eternal Wall!
The transparent barrier appeared before him.
The Fire Fist struck the barrier.
KRA- KOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion, more violent than any before. Circular shockwaves swept across the plain for ten kilometers. The mountains at the edges cracked, and the forests caught golden fire. The earth split deeply, and lava rose from the planet's core.
But the barrier held. It cracked slightly, but did not shatter.
(Pierre Dubon (sweating profusely)
"It held... barely..."
(Li Wei (beside him, his face pale)
"Retreat! Retreat now!"
The two withdrew at extreme speed, moving kilometers away from her.
(Pierre Dubon (telepathically to Ethan Kruger)
"Ethan! Where are you?! We need you now!"
(Ethan Kruger (telepathically, his voice calm)
"Wait. Five minutes. Just five minutes."
(Li Wei (telepathically, angry)
"We will not last five minutes! She is far stronger than us!"
(Ethan Kruger (coldly)
"You will hold on. I have a plan."
In the arena, Ji-won chased them. Every time they moved away, she caught up. Every time they hid, she found them.
(Li Wei (shouting)
"We have no choice! Let us attack her with everything we have!"
(Pierre Dubon (heavily)
"Agreed!"
They stopped suddenly and turned to face her.
Li Wei unleashed [SS] Sword Storm. Thousands of illusory swords shot toward Ji-won from every direction.
Pierre unleashed [SS] Mace Quake. The earth shook violently, cracked, and tried to bring her down.
At the same time, Ji-won unleashed two skills.
[SSS] Fire Arrows – a thousand fiery arrows shot in every direction, colliding with the illusory swords and destroying them.
[SSS] Fire Wall – a wall of golden fire twenty meters high rose around her, protecting her from Pierre's earthquake.
The fire devoured the swords. The earthquake rebounded from the wall. Pierre and Li Wei retreated again, panting.
(Pierre Dubon (tiredly)
"My mana... my mana is running out..."
(Li Wei (pale)
"I know. My mana is almost gone. I have only enough for one more attack."
(Pierre Dubon (looking at the sky)
"Ethan... where are you?!"
Suddenly, Ji-won felt something strange.
She did not see it. She did not hear it. But she felt that something had changed.
She looked around. She was still in the plain. Nothing different. But her instinct screamed: Something is wrong.
(Whispers in the stands)
"Look! She has stopped! Why has she stopped?"
(SS-rank hunter (sharply)
"Something is happening. The third opponent has not appeared yet. Where is the Canadian?"
Suddenly, the plain disappeared.
No, it did not disappear. It changed. Ji-won was no longer in the golden plain. She was somewhere else.
A dark, gloomy place. The sky black, the ground black, the air black.
Then she felt something wrap around her body.
Threads. Invisible threads, but they touched her skin.
(Ethan Kruger (telepathically to Li and Pierre)
"Now."
Ethan Kruger appeared from nowhere. He stood fifty meters away from her, his hands raised, his eyes glowing purple.
(Ji-won (to herself)
"When... how did he get this close without me feeling him?!"
She tried to move, but could not. Her body was bound by invisible threads.
(Ethan Kruger (quietly)
"Do not try. [SS] Death Threads cannot be seen and cannot be broken except by SS+ power."
He raised his hand, and a black magical circle appeared beneath Ji-won's feet.
(Ethan Kruger (coldly)
"And now, [SS] Toxic Cage."
A transparent cube of poison appeared around Ji-won, three meters by three meters. It enclosed her, trapping her.
At the same time, Ethan threw two small glass vials toward Li and Pierre.
(Ethan Kruger (quickly)
"Drink."
Li and Pierre caught them quickly and swallowed their contents in a moment. Their health and mana returned to about half.
In the waiting room, Nayun had stood from her chair. Her small hands were clasped to her chest, her eyes fixed on the screen.
(Nayun (whispering)
"Mom... Mom... she cannot move..."
But she did not cry. She only bit her lip harder.
In the stands, everyone had fallen silent.
(American Ambassador (in a low voice)
"They have trapped her. All three together. They used a clever tactic."
(Chinese Ambassador (coldly)
"The Canadian was hiding from the beginning. This was planned."
(Canadian Ambassador (with faint pride)
"That is my son."
At the highest section of the stands, in the SVIP section, Saif bin Hamoud Al Busaidi and Lukas Steiner sat. They did not speak. They only watched.
As for Anas, he sat beside them, his face calm as a lake. No worry, no anger, nothing. Only his gray eyes followed the screen.
(Lukas Steiner (telepathically to Saif)
"Is she in danger?"
(Saif bin Hamoud Al Busaidi (telepathically)
"No. She is only playing."
(Lukas Steiner (telepathically)
"How do you know?"
(Saif bin Hamoud Al Busaidi (smiling slightly)
"Because she has not yet used her true power. Look at her eyes. She is smiling."
In the subspace, Ji-won was trapped.
The threads bound her body. The toxic cage closed in on her. And Ethan was raising his hand to do something else.
(Ethan Kruger (loudly)
"And now... [SS] Shadow Venom."
A thick black cloud of poison erupted from his hands and covered the entire area. The poison was so deadly that the golden grass turned to black ash in seconds. The air itself began to corrode, and stones crumbled.
Then Li and Pierre joined him.
They raised their hands together and began drawing a massive magical circle in the sky. Its diameter was kilometers, covering the entire horizon. Its colors were poisonous: light green, deep purple, sharp black.
Energy gathered. It absorbed all the mana around it. Even the air became dry, lifeless.
A giant acidic sphere formed.
It was the size of a mountain. Its diameter was ten kilometers. It glowed with poisonous green light, and the smell of death emanated from it.
(Li Wei (exhausted)
"This... this is our last energy..."
(Pierre Dubon (tiredly)
"If this does not finish her, we are done."
(Ethan Kruger (coldly)
"It will finish her."
The sphere shot toward Ji-won.
It did not fall. It floated slowly at first, then increased in speed, then became like a rocket. The ground beneath it corroded, the air ignited, and light disappeared.
KRA- KOOOOOOOOOOM!
The sphere struck Ji-won.
A massive explosion, more violent than anything that had happened in the subspace. White light covered everything. The heat wave melted rocks for fifty kilometers. The earth split to its core. The mountains at the edges collapsed. The forests evaporated.
The subspace itself shook. Its invisible walls cracked, and black fissures appeared in the air.
In the stands, everyone had stood up.
(Japanese Ambassador (voice trembling)
"Has... has she died?"
(French Ambassador (face pale)
"No one could survive that..."
(Director Kang (fists clenched)
"Ji-won..."
(Song Ji-ho (had risen from his seat, his face losing its color)
"No... no..."
(Nayun (in the waiting room, crying silently, but not taking her eyes off the screen)
"Mom... you are stronger than this... I know..."
In the SVIP section, Anas still sat. His face calm. His hand held a glass of water, drinking slowly.
(American Ambassador (looking at Anas in astonishment)
"Is that not her husband? How can he remain so calm?"
(British Ambassador (coldly)
"Either he is confident in her, or he does not care."
(Lukas Steiner (whispering to Saif)
"He did not move. He did not flinch. He did not blink. This man..."
(Saif bin Hamoud Al Busaidi (smiled)
"This man knows his wife better than we do."
The dust cleared. The smoke cleared. The light cleared.
Ji-won appeared.
She stood at the bottom of a crater kilometers deep. Her purple dress was torn in several places, her red hair covered in dust, and her face and body had many superficial scratches. Some bled slightly.
But she was standing. And she was laughing.
(Whispers in the stands)
"She survived... how?!"
(SS-rank hunter (in an astonished voice)
"That attack could have erased a small country... and she is still standing?!"
(Korean Ambassador (had nearly fainted)
"Thank God... thank God..."
Ji-won looked at her body. At her torn dress. At the scratches on her arms.
Then she laughed.
It was not an ordinary laugh. It was a soft laugh at first, a whisper barely audible. Then it rose slightly. Then rose higher. Then rose until it filled the entire subspace.
She laughed loudly. She laughed hysterically, madly. She laughed like someone who had not laughed in thousands of years.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The earth cracked beneath her feet from the intensity of her laughter. The distant mountains shook. Even the purple sky cracked slightly.
(Li Wei (stepping back)
"What... what is wrong with her?!"
(Pierre Dubon (face pale)
"Has she gone mad?!"
(Ethan Kruger (eyes narrowing)
"No... she is... she is enjoying herself."
Ji-won stopped laughing suddenly. She looked at them with eyes shining like the sun.
(Ji-won (in a clear voice, filling the space)
"Finally... finally I have felt pleasure."
She disappeared.
She did not move. She did not fly. She simply vanished.
Then she appeared before them.
They had not seen her coming. They had not felt her. She was suddenly there, between them, just a few meters away.
(Ji-won (warmly)
"Thank you."
She looked at Li Wei, then at Pierre, then at Ethan.
(Ji-won (sincerely)
"You truly made me enjoy myself. I have not felt this in a long time. Thank you."
The three stood in shock. Not only because she had survived, but because all the scratches on her body had vanished. The torn dress returned to its normal state. The dusty hair returned to fiery and shining.
As if nothing had happened.
(Li Wei (whispering, his eyes unbelieving)
"We were... just a game to her? She was not serious from the beginning?"
(Pierre Dubon (in a broken voice, shaking his head)
"All those strikes... all that battle... she was playing? She was testing us?"
(Ethan Kruger (coldly, but with bitter acknowledgment)
"She was not fighting with her full power. Not even close. This is not a defeat... this is a lesson in humility."
Ji-won smiled.
(Ji-won (clearly)
"It is time for the end."
She raised her hand.
[SSS] Great Fireball
A golden fireball appeared above her head. It was not the size of the acidic sphere they had launched. It was smaller. But its heat... was unbearable.
The sand beneath her feet turned to glass. The air around her ignited. Even light seemed to bend away from its heat.
(Whispers in the stands)
"What is that heat... we can feel it even here?!"
(S-rank hunter (falling to his knees)
"I cannot... breathe..."
(Egyptian Ambassador (covering his face with his hands)
"This fire is unlike anything I have seen in my life... as if it is fire from another world."
Ji-won launched the sphere.
She did not just launch it. She pushed it with all her power.
KRA- KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion, greater than anything that had happened in the subspace. White light covered everything. The heat wave swept across 70,000 square kilometers in seconds. The mountains melted. The forests evaporated. The earth itself split into layers.
The subspace began to collapse.
Black cracks appeared everywhere. The purple sky shattered like glass. The ground crumbled like burning paper.
In the stands, everyone had stood up. Some screamed. Some cried. Some fell to the ground.
(Director Kang (in a trembling voice)
"The subspace... is collapsing..."
(Song Ji-ho (face pale)
"She destroyed the subspace... with one strike?!"
(Kim Tae-son (true SS+, had risen from his seat, his eyes unbelieving)
"This power... is not SS+. This power is..."
He looked at Saif and Lukas at the top of the stands.
In the SVIP section, Saif bin Hamoud Al Busaidi and Lukas Steiner exchanged glances.
(Lukas Steiner (telepathically to Saif)
"She is not just SS+."
(Saif bin Hamoud Al Busaidi (telepathically)
"I know. She is a candidate for SSS rank."
(Lukas Steiner (telepathically)
"Along with the other seven candidates?"
(Saif bin Hamoud Al Busaidi (smiled)
"Yes. There will be an eighth now."
(Lukas Steiner (looked at Anas)
"And her husband?"
(Saif bin Hamoud Al Busaidi (also looked at Anas)
"Her husband... that is different."
As for Anas, he still sat. He took another sip of his water.
---
The subspace dissipated. Everyone returned to the real arena.
Li Wei, Pierre Dubon, and Ethan Kruger stood on the ground, their faces pale, their bodies trembling. They had died inside the subspace. Even though they returned alive, the memory of death was still present in their eyes.
(Whispers in the stands)
"They died... then returned..."
(A-rank hunter (in a trembling voice)
"This is the safety protocol... but I cannot imagine the feeling..."
Ji-won approached them. She smiled warmly, sincerely.
(Ji-won (gently)
"You fought bravely. You are stronger than any opponents I have faced before. Thank you for this pleasure."
She bowed slightly, as a sign of respect.
The three looked at her. Then, one by one, they bowed as well.
(Li Wei (tired but sincere)
"You are far stronger than us. We did not know that anyone at this level existed outside the SSS rank."
(Pierre Dubon (heavily)
"You taught us a lesson we will not forget."
(Ethan Kruger (quietly)
"It was my pleasure to lose to you."
Ji-won smiled.
(Ji-won (warmly)
"And it was my pleasure to fight you."
She shook hands with each of them. Li Wei with a strong grip. Pierre Dubon with a heavy handshake. Ethan Kruger with a quick, light handshake.
Then James Carter stepped forward, holding the microphone.
(James Carter (formally)
"The first round: Park Ji-won wins."
He paused for a moment.
(James Carter (looked at the space where the subspace had been, then back at the audience)
"But, as you can see, the subspace has been severely damaged due to the intensity of the battle. It will need time to repair itself."
He looked at Anas at the top of the stands, then at the remaining three opponents (Takahashi Rin, Jackson Ford, Mohamed Adil).
(James Carter (clearly)
"Therefore, the second round is postponed until tomorrow. We will give the subspace time to recover, and give Anas Sharif Yazeed and his opponents time to prepare."
(Whispers in the stands)
"Tomorrow? We will wait until tomorrow?"
(S-rank hunter (excitedly)
"If the first round was this spectacular, what will the second round do?"
(Japanese Ambassador (looked at Takahashi Rin)
"Our countryman will fight tomorrow. I hope he is up to the challenge."
In the waiting room, Nayun sat alone in front of the giant screen. Her tears had dried, and a small smile appeared on her face.
(Nayun (whispering to herself)
"Mom won... as I expected."
Suddenly, she heard the door open.
Anas entered. His face was calm as usual, but his eyes were slightly warmer.
(Nayun (rose from her chair and ran to him)
"Dad! Dad! Did you see? Mom won! She was amazing!"
(Anas (lifted her and hugged her)
"I saw, little one. She was indeed amazing."
(Nayun (placed her head on his shoulder)
"I was afraid at first... but I remembered that Mom is stronger than anything."
(Anas (patted her back)
"That is true. Your mother is stronger than you imagine."
(Nayun (raised her head and looked at him)
"Dad... tomorrow is your turn."
(Anas (smiled faintly)
"Yes. Tomorrow is my turn."
(Nayun (clenched her small fist)
"You will win. I am sure."
(Anas (set her on the ground and took her hand)
"Let us go. Let us see your mother."
(Nayun (walked beside him)
"Dad... I am proud of both of you."
(Anas (looked at her)
"And I am proud of you, Nayun. You are the strongest of us all."
(Nayun (laughed)
"That is not true! Mom is stronger!"
(Anas (also laughed)
"Perhaps."
They left the waiting room and headed toward the stands where Ji-won was waiting for them.
In the arena, the audience was still applauding. And everyone's eyes remained fixed on tomorrow, where the second round awaited them.
—