43 . Everything Froze (6) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
People from old times, and even the upperclassmen from school PE, used to say that if something was truly hard enough, the sky would look yellow.
But probably, none of them had ever had it as hard as I did.
“Haa……”
After the wager ended, I collapsed flat onto the ground and stared up at the sky. The blue sky hummed and vibrated.
It felt as if the whole world were spinning in circles, and my vision flickered as though it might cut out at any moment.
Honestly…… I thought I was dying.
For an ordinary human, even running a marathon nonstop for two hours would be exhausting and difficult.
And I was human too, so even if my mana leakage constitution gave me slightly better stamina than most, hard was still hard.
But this place was a space where everything had frozen.
My body was already half-dead, and the concept of stamina no longer had any real meaning here.
I just had to endure.
No matter how hard it was, I would not die from it, and though I might experience the limits of my stamina, I would not grow more exhausted than that or collapse.
The real problem was mental strength.
As long as my will allowed it, I could keep running forever without stopping.
Forever.
Here, I finally made proper use of the Blessing of Crimson Spring March. I had never truly used this special ability that granted unbreakable mental fortitude against anything, and I had never imagined I would end up using it in a place like this.
[Crimson Spring March is watching over you.]
If I had to compare the blessing of Crimson Spring March to something…… it felt like she was pushing me from behind while I climbed an uphill slope.
That beautiful Crimson Spring March—benevolent, yet alluring—was practically clinging to my back, whispering things like, Keep going, or, You can do it, so how could I possibly give up?
‘Three months…….’
Thanks to that, I climbed and climbed for ninety days, and at last I won acknowledgment from Blue Winter December.
Thud…!
The blue giant approached with heavy footsteps and spoke to me.
—State your name.
“……Baek Yuseol.”
—Very well. Since you have won the wager, I shall grant your wish.
At those words, I forced my body upright with difficulty. Blue Winter December formed an ice crystal in midair and handed it to me. It might have looked like nothing more than a small icicle, but this was actually an Ancient-grade artifact.
[Aigirix’s Orbit]
A key capable of undoing the curse of eternal ice. It was single-use, yes, but it was still the first Ancient artifact I had obtained in this world, so no matter what, it felt significant.
—Apart from that…… you are the first human in a thousand years whom I have truly liked.
I met Blue Winter December’s gaze. I had no ability to read the facial expressions of one of the Twelve Divine Months, but the unusual light in his eyes made it seem as though he was in a very good mood.
—Therefore, I shall bestow my blessing upon you. Your abilities are pitifully lacking, so you cannot properly accept my blessing yet…… but if you continue to grow, you may one day draw out its true power.
Immediately after, a pillar of blue light came crashing down upon me like lightning.
Kugung!!
……And then something like a massive tidal wave.
An overwhelming power poured into my entire body.
“Urgh!”
The pain was so absurd it made me want to close my eyes and die on the spot……
But I endured.
I had endured for three whole months already. There was no way I could collapse from something like this now.
I bore it, endured it, and accepted every bit of that force without ever falling to my knees.
[The Blessing of Blue Winter December has been bestowed upon you!]
At last, I was able to witness with my own eyes the greatest blessing and gift of all.
“Huff, huff…!”
—Hm! I knew you would endure it.
He nodded.
—How many humans beneath the heavens have ever received the blessings of two of the Twelve Divine Months? Indeed, perhaps you may one day guide my siblings into their proper ‘form.’
“Proper… form……?”
What was that supposed to mean? Words I could not understand at all had suddenly come out of nowhere, but before I could ask, Blue Winter December smiled and spoke.
—You should return now as well. I think I vaguely understand why you asked that favor of me.
I silently nodded, though to be honest, I wasn’t confident at all.
Since time in this place had likely been frozen, not much time should have passed outside.
But Hong Biyeon should soon be at the point of accepting the Fire Spirit Flower, so I absolutely had to get to her somehow……
And yet my body simply would not hold up.
My legs had long since given out, and crossing that dreadful sea of ice again hardly seemed possible.
—I know your physical state better than you do. There is no need to force yourself.
“……What?”
—I happen to greatly prefer fast, refreshing developments and dramatic staging!
‘What the hell is he talking—’
The moment I tried to ask what he meant, the ground caved in beneath me, and my body dropped, seized by gravity.
‘……Huh?’
I was so startled that I could not even resist. Watching me fall, Blue Winter December flashed a row of white teeth and gave me a bright thumbs-up.
—Good luck!
Good luck, my ass, you damned Divine Month!
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
And just like that, I fell.
Toward the end of the story.
The coast of Levian, the frozen whirlpool.
Above the sinking pirate ship, five enormous airships flew in.
Krrrmmm…!
Without warning, thunderclouds gathered in the sky, roaring as they drank in lightning.
As if to declare that no further approach would be permitted.
Queen Hong Seryu gazed quietly up at the sky, then parted her lips and spoke softly.
“They’re coming.”
Kieeeeeek!!
The moment her words fell, translucent blue figures began pouring down from the thunderclouds in droves. Most of them took the form of skeletons and wore torn, shattered armor, but the weapons they wielded were crude cutlasses from the ancient age a thousand years past.
Even so, their fighting spirit was real. Powerful mana filled their entire forms, enough that ordinary shields would be torn apart like paper, and simple magic would never be enough to drive them off.
“They are not undead.”
Beings that returned from death as revenants were called undead, and everyone knew how notoriously difficult they were to exterminate.
But those things were not undead. They were merely unnatural beings whose souls had frozen just before death.
“So do not fear. Burn every last one of them!”
At Hong Seryu’s shout, vast crimson magic circles began to form in sequence atop the five giant airships.
The layered magic circles being drawn by groups of mages above 5-Class, working in perfect coordination, each held power exceeding 7-Class.
“Fire.”
At the queen’s command, tremendous explosions rang out from the magic circles, and the specters circling through the sky were instantly engulfed in flames and annihilated.
But there was no sign whatsoever that the ghosts’ assault would end. Before they could even prepare magic again, another legion of specters had begun attacking the airships.
The mages intercepted the ghosts with individual spells, but they were far too few in number.
“Your Majesty! The airships are freezing!”
“……Use the Flare.”
“We’ve already used five of them!”
Hong Seryu looked down at the ground. Even now, grotesque monsters in the frozen sea below were roaring up at the airships.
The sea route teemed with well over thousands of monsters, and piercing through that horde was close to impossible.
That was why she had not chosen the sea route. Instead, she had opted for an aerial crossing through the extreme cold.
“Then there is no help for it. We cannot land on the ground right now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! We’ll use the Flare!”
Adolevit’s special technology, Flare, prevented the mana-stone engines from freezing even amid this extreme cold that could freeze everything solid. But their supply was absurdly limited, so they could not endure for long.
Then there was only one best option.
Hong Biyeon had to carry the Fire Spirit Flower to the heart of the whirlpool as quickly as possible.
“Third Princess. Are you prepared?”
By now the airship had come within immediate reach of the pirate ship. Adolevit’s magical warriors had admirably held back the ghost army that had survived for a thousand years, but they would not be able to last much longer.
Hong Biyeon looked at the frozen whirlpool and nodded with a hardened expression.
“Let us begin at once.”
“……Very well. A proper decision.”
She clutched the box containing the Fire Spirit Flower tightly to her chest. Wearing a pure white robe, Hong Biyeon stepped up firmly onto the prow, and three priestesses knelt behind her and began to pray.
……Woooooong!
The barrier sealing the box that protected the Fire Spirit Flower began breaking one by one, and fierce heat spread outward.
With careful hands, Hong Biyeon placed both palms upon it.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, the blazing heat wrapping around her entire body nearly made her lose consciousness, but she forced herself to endure.
Startled by the pain searing her skin, she hurriedly rubbed at both arms, but it had only been an illusion.
‘Ah…….’
The flames had not even risen yet, and merely being wrapped in its aura hurt this much.
“Aah…!”
The pain, like suffering burns, grew worse and worse, traveling from her limbs over her head, chest, and thighs until finally it felt as though her whole body were on fire. It did not stop there. When a horrible sensation followed, as though even her internal organs were being roasted, she truly thought her legs would give out.
But she endured.
‘……This is familiar.’
Childhood.
The sensations of those times when she drank fire, showered in fire, ate fire, and wore fire came back to her once more.
More than familiar, it was almost comforting now.
Even as her whole body seemed to burn, tear apart, and melt away, Hong Biyeon did not scream.
I can endure this.
Something like this, easily.
—Well, now. You’re interesting.
……At that moment.
A voice came from somewhere.
Hong Biyeon slowly opened her eyes and looked at the Fire Spirit Flower cradled in her arms.
A thick, low voice, yet somehow bright and lively in tone.
—Hm? Doesn’t it hurt? Why are you forcing yourself to endure it like that? Just accept it! If you become the flame yourself, pain like this will be nothing at all!
“……Shut up.”
Hong Biyeon tried to ignore the voice.
But gradually, the sensation of burning changed. It became comfortable……
And then slowly, it began to turn into pleasure, and she was deeply shaken.
‘What is…… this?’
—Isn’t it fascinating? This is what a true flame is! I can tell. You are special! More special than that old woman behind you, pretending to be a descendant of Adolevit when she didn’t even inherit the blood properly!
“Urgh!”
She staggered back a step, but the strange sensation did not disappear.
—Yes, this is what you wanted! Such fresh, rich blood from Adolevit’s line… haa! I like it. Come with me. Don’t you want revenge on the woman behind you? You know it too, don’t you? That woman was trying to drive you to your death. Even though she fully knew what it would mean for you to accept me!
Now she understood.
The owner of this voice…… had to be none other than the legendary Incarnation of Fire said to sleep within the Fire Spirit Flower.
‘……Shut up. I won’t fall for your words.’
—Haha, that won’t be easy.
“Hngh!”
In an instant, flames surged up, and pain and pleasure slammed into her whole body.
—Be angry! Accept my power! You can do it. You can take revenge on everyone and fulfill every one of your dreams. You know it too, don’t you? The world is hostile to you. Then shouldn’t you face it with hostility of your own?
From somewhere deep inside her chest……
the emotion called rage flared up like fire.
Burn them.
Everything that made me suffer.
Everything that tormented me.
If I burn it all away, then I can be happy.
“Aah……!”
Even if she desperately shook her head to cast it off, she could not endure. The swelling fury birthed more sparks, and they spread in every direction until at last they reached the ignition point and exploded.
Fwoooosh! Kugung!!
“Ugh!”
Watching from behind, Hong Seryu hastily cast up a shield and blocked the flames. Even an 8-Class mage like her was shaken in an instant by that explosive eruption of mana.
‘Th-This is the Incarnation of Fire……!!’
Dropping to one knee and bracing herself with her staff, she raised her head and felt the true force of those flames.
Every skeletal soldier melted away in an instant, and the pillar of fire that shot upward, piercing even the clouds in the sky, was enough to create the illusion that the sun itself had thrust its face into the world.
“Ah, ahh……!”
One by one, the mages fell to their knees.
The cloud-packed sky wrapped itself in flame, and then began raining fire upon the frozen sea.
‘The catastrophe of fire has begun.’
It was something no human power could ever resist, and equally impossible to overcome.
‘Just touching it caused a disaster like this…!’
She had known the Fire Spirit Flower was unstable, but she had not expected it to run wild so suddenly.
“Your Majesty!”
“Once the catastrophe of fire begins, there is no turning it back!”
But……
What could Hong Seryu possibly do?
There was no way.
Once the Fire Spirit Flower began to rampage, it could no longer be controlled.
‘Wait.’
Would it really be safe…… if flames of that magnitude erupted near the heart of the whirlpool?
That fundamental question occurred to her, and just as she hurried to look toward the pirate ship—
something huge and blue placed a hand upon it.
That enormous hand, as though it were grasping a miniature toy, held within it a demonic aura powerful enough to make even Hong Seryu’s legs give out.
Then, at last, that thing revealed its face.
A blue skull.
Red light burning in the hollow emptiness of its eye sockets.
And……
a gigantic body that seemed as if it might reach the heavens, dressed even now in the old uniform of the Pirate King.
“Ah, ahh……”
Hong Seryu finally collapsed where she stood, dropping her staff from her hand.
The Pirate King, Black Belize.
His vengeful spirit had awakened after a thousand years.
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