Swish!
With a blink of an eye, Suho returned to reality.
The first thing that came into view at that moment was none other than a pure white lotus flower, or rather an ice flower made of frost.
A single ice flower blooming above the hot spring with steam rising from it.
Sirka’s soft voice could be heard from within.
“… … Suho. I think I just saw Grandpa.”
“what?”
‘Could it be that Sirka was the granddaughter of the Lord of the Cold…?’
At that time, Soo-ho was expressing his doubts.
Damn it!
Suddenly, the ice flowers surrounding Sirka bloomed and scattered in all directions.
At the same time, the ice crystals swirled and condensed in Sirka’s hands.
Tiring.
[The King of the Snowmen, the Lord of the Cold, passes on the ‘Item: Ice Tree Spear’ to his successor, ‘Sirka’.]
Kkwadduk!
At that moment, a long sliver of ice stretched out from Sirka’s hand.
And a trident made of the generated ice.
[Keyhak! Could this energy be?!]
Verga, who had no idea what Suho had just experienced, quickly stood in front of him to protect him.
“are you okay.”
Suho held Ber in his arms and patted him.
“Because you’re on our side.”
[Keeec?]
Ber tilts his head in his arms and looks at Suho’s face.
But when I saw the confident look in Soo-ho’s eyes, I quickly realized what the situation was.
At that moment, Sirka’s eyes, which had been blankly staring into space, came into focus again.
She opened her mouth and looked away.
“I can see it now.”
Sirka swung the ice tree spear she was holding in her hand and pointed beyond the blizzard that was blocking her vision.
“… …where there is a car.”
Swish.
At that moment, a blizzard that had been swirling through the forest enveloped the Trident of the Cold.
The energy swirled around Sirka and Suho’s bodies, lifting them up.
Sirka smiled confidently, her eyes sparkling.
“Hold on tight. You’re going to fly away.”
Hoooow-
A single ray of light cut through the echoing forest.
* * *
Kuwaaaaang-!
The scavenger hunters were floundering in fear and despair.
A natural disaster was happening right before our eyes.
A bitterly cold forest where the earth howls and the sky shakes as if it is going to fall.
The Scavenger Guild is the undisputed strongest guild in America, having conquered many notorious dungeons that other guilds would not even dare to challenge.
However, the sight that was unfolding before their eyes could not be compared to any of the dungeons they had conquered.
I never thought I’d be able to return from here alive.
The despair they felt now was impossible to express.
‘A dragon… …!’
Suddenly, dragons appeared in the middle of the forest and were engaging in a fierce battle.
The hunters caught up in the aftermath were like shrimp in a fight between whales, desperately running away.
“Ah, what on earth is going on!”
“Oh, please! Guild Master! Guild Master! Where the hell are you!”
“If only Thomas Andre had been there… … !”
They were just waiting for one person with a slim hope.
Thomas Andre, humanity’s strongest hunter!
If only he would come here, all this would be solved.
There was nothing they could do except pray earnestly to God.
But Thomas Andre, whom they desperately wanted, showed no sign of coming no matter how long they waited.
Even though the entire forest was shaking like this.
With his intuition as a S-class hunter, he should have noticed the current situation long ago.
“Oh, please Thomas! Thomas!”
But there was something they didn’t know…
It’s not that Thomas Andre doesn’t come, he’s been here from the beginning.
They didn’t even dare to guess.
And there was one person here who had noticed that fact from the beginning.
“Huh!”
That’s right, Cha Hae-in.
“How did that guy get here… …!”
Cha Hae-in had a puzzled expression on his face throughout the fight.
Cha Hae-in, who was exploring the strangeness felt in the Echo Forest with Hanchang Kaisel, suddenly turned in that direction when he saw an enormous presence appear in the Echo Forest.
And what I discovered was that demon, the Ice Dragon.
The identity of that huge and terrible thing was actually a type of ice golem created by the spirits.
Forbidden by the Ice Elves.
Another name for the Echo Forest is ‘Forest of Trials’.
The spirits living here seek out those who invade the forest and give them appropriate trials.
So, as someone with strong power enters the forest, more and more spirits will gather to balance out that power.
And those who fail to overcome the ordeal end up being possessed by spirits and have their bodies taken away.
This means suffering forever in a frozen state, unable to live or die.
Of course, that only applies to ice elves.
Ice elves were a race with excellent affinity for spirits, so they could easily manipulate spirits.
Conversely, it was easy for spirits to take over one’s body.
But humans are different.
From what Cha Hae-in has experienced so far, humans have a fundamental lack of affinity with spirits.
So at least I didn’t have to worry about losing my body to the ordeal.
Of course, it was the same as having a number of spirits rushing in to match that power.
‘But why on earth?’
So, Cha Hae-in had been quite flustered since a while ago.
Cha Hae-in, who was fighting the Ice Dragon closest, was able to notice something.
No, I could smell it exactly.
Another, more alien smell than what you feel from an ice dragon.
Cha Hae-in, who was observing the Ice Dragon with narrowed eyes, soon discovered something absurd.
The presence of a man frozen in the innermost part of that ice dragon, made of solid, frozen ice!
An old man with white hair.
The strongest man on Earth, with an incredibly muscular physique regardless of his age.
Cha Hae-in recognized his face right away.
‘Thomas Andre! Why is that guy turned into an ice dragon in a place like this?!’
Quaoooooo-!
At that moment, the ice dragon holding Thomas Andre near its heart roared and struck the Kaisel that Cha Hae-in was riding.
Kookwakwang!
[Grrrrrrrr… … !]
A rather tired sound of crying escaped from Kaisel’s mouth as he confronted him.
“Kaiser… … !”
Cha Hae-in looked at Kaisel with a pitiful expression.
We’re in big trouble.
The power I felt from Kaisel was gradually weakening.
Even if it weren’t for today’s battle, Kaisel had been weakening in real time for a long time.
It was because I had grown so far away from Sung Jin-woo that I had no way to replenish my lost strength.
But now that I started fighting against equal opponents, the speed at which I was weakening was increasing at an incredibly fast rate.
‘If we delay any longer, Kaisel will disappear!’
Of course, if Sung Jin-woo was nearby right now, instead of returning to Mu, he would be summoned back as Sung Jin-woo’s shadow and would have to work on recovering in the shadow world.
But now even that was impossible.
‘The only answer is a quick one. I have to do it.’
Cha Hae-in jumped down from Kaisel’s back and brutally stabbed the ice dragon’s massive body with two daggers imbued with black energy.
Kagagagagagak!
The Ice Dragon’s body shatters and splits apart with a loud cracking sound.
However, the wounds that were created in this way were completely healed when a nearby snowstorm blew by.
New spirits are inhabiting the Ice Dragon’s body and restoring it.
‘If we keep fighting like this, it will only end up as a war of attrition! In the end, is the only way to attack Thomas Andre directly!’
The problem was that even that wasn’t easy.
The body of that giant ice dragon is not made of ordinary ice, but rather of thick ice imbued with immense magical power.
The defensive power coming out of there was truly tremendous.
No matter how much you smash and destroy, new spirits will appear and fill the gaps.
If that guy was a normal ice golem, it could have been completely destroyed before the new spirits could come in.
But that guy was so big that partial attacks were useless.
By destroying the other side and attacking another area, the other side will soon be restored.
‘So, you have to put all your effort into it and pierce the heart with one blow.’
Cha Hae-in, who climbed onto Kaisel’s back again, quickly crossed the two daggers.
And he pulled up the magical power he had.
Gooooooo!
Skill ‘Sword of Light’.
A technique that can only be used as a last resort because the magical power consumed is so great.
The two daggers in Cha Hae-in’s hands began to shine brightly.
‘You only get one chance!’
Cha Hae-in’s eyes shone coldly.
“Kaiser! Make a gap!”
[Kyaoooo!]
Since Kaisel had been working closely with Cha Hae-in for a long time, he was able to understand what she was saying right away.
Kkwaduk!
Kaisel clung to the body of the ice dragon, which was much larger than himself, even at the risk of taking damage.
The ice dragon breathed out cold air and wounded Kaisel’s body, but Kaisel never backed down.
The sole purpose is to prevent Cha Hae-in’s all-out attack from missing!
[Kyaaaaah!]
‘Thank you, Kaisel.’
In time with Kaisel’s roar, Cha Hae-in’s skill flew straight to the heart of the Ice Dragon, where Thomas Andre was sleeping.
Kukwaaang-
With that power at the center, a tremendous wave of magical power spread out in all directions.
‘I’m sorry, Thomas Andre.’
At that moment, a variety of emotions crossed Cha Hae-in’s mind.
Thanks to Sung Jin-woo, Cha Hae-in, who had memories of the time period that disappeared, knew very well who Thomas Andre was.
At one time he was a national power level hunter in the United States.
As one of the strongest humans in the world, he was a warrior who struggled to save the Earth from being invaded by other worlds.
But that is only a story of a time that has disappeared.
Now he had to be just an ordinary human being.
The fact that he suddenly appeared here.
And the sight of heavily armed hunters nearby.
With just this information, Cha Hae-in was able to infer quite a few facts.
‘People with magical powers? Could it be that the Earth has changed again while I was here?’
then…….
What happened to her husband, Sung Jin-woo?
For a moment, Cha Hae-in thought back to the last thing she saw before falling into this place: the back of her husband.
he is…….
‘Are they still fighting?’
still.
Are you fighting alone there?
Kagagagagak-!
At this moment, Cha Hae-in’s sword of light was digging through the giant ice dragon.
Just a little further on.
The attack will reach Thomas Andre, who is frozen in his heart.
just a little.
‘Just a little more!’
But at that time.
Flash!
Suddenly, Thomas Andre’s eyes, which had been frozen and covered in pure white frost, opened wide.
“… … !”
The moment when Cha Hae-in’s eyes widen when he sees the blue ghost in those empty eyes.
Thomas Andre raised the corners of his mouth wickedly as he looked at the brilliant swordsmanship of Cha Hae-in, who had just come within arm’s reach.
[Itarim, guide me.]
―――――――!
That moment.
A burst of light accompanied by a loud crackle.
And the light began to spread out like waves at a rapid speed, engulfing the surroundings.
