Chapter 42
Seo Gyeoul was running desperately, her mind tangled in torment.
‘…Should I have stayed behind instead of Kang Siwoo?’
‘No, that would’ve led to an 80% chance of total annihilation.’
‘It was the right call for the most experienced one to take care of the wounded.’
She felt disgusted with herself for abandoning Siwoo — even if she knew logically it had been the best choice for the party’s survival rate.
‘Focus! First, survive this!’
Guilt clawed at her — not only for leaving him behind, but for failing to sense the enemy’s ambush despite being the highest-level member of the team.
“Woof!”
“Woof! Woof!”
“…Ah.”
The barking of Gerry and Freki, who were running ahead, snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts.
The end of the corridor was in sight.
Swish—!
All three instinctively picked up their pace.
The moment they reached the end of the long hallway—
‘…!? Danger—’
Seo Gyeoul’s instincts flared.
Her sensitivity to magical flow let her sense it before anyone else.
“Frost Barrier!”
She cast her defensive spell reflexively.
A fast, excellent response—
—but the matchup was the worst possible.
“—!?”
Whoosh—! BOOM—!!
Her vision went black for an instant.
A massive shadow flew past her, crashing and skidding across the floor — Gerry.
Seo Gyeoul rushed to his side.
“…Are you okay?”
Pant— pant— pant—
The wolf-beast’s entire body was charred black, his breath ragged.
She immediately released cold energy to suppress the burn’s aftereffects.
“Not again…” she muttered bitterly.
Then—
A loud, mocking voice echoed through the chamber.
“Hahaha! Rebecca, you’re getting old. Look at that — it’s still breathing!”
The voice came from a burly man wielding twin axes.
“The memory’s been incinerated. I don’t remember what I ate for lunch,” replied a girl in a flat, emotionless tone — like a doll with no expression.
“Oatmeal porridge, idiot. You eat the same thing every day! Whatever, just watch me fight!”
“Cradder, you’re weaker than me.”
“What?! You senile little brat—!”
Cradder and Rebecca.
It was clear at a glance — they were part of the same group as Sibel, whom they’d encountered earlier.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
‘There are too many of them…’
They weren’t alone.
Behind the pair stood dozens of silent followers.
Even without counting, Seo Gyeoul could tell the power gap was enormous.
‘There’s no way to escape—’
“Grrrr…”
Just as she started thinking, Freki crouched low, ready to pounce.
Fwoosh—!
His fur flared up like living fire, crimson mane blazing with fury that refused to stay contained.
“Woof—!”
Gerry, barely conscious, lifted his head.
He forced his battered body up — one step, then another — and stood in front of Freki.
“…”
Freki froze.
He stared at the wounded Gerry, torn between rage and restraint.
“Wait.”
A voice whispered through Seo Gyeoul’s mind.
“Take care of them for me.”
The primal beast that could only obey instinct — yet was holding itself back — that was Siwoo’s influence.
‘Siwoo…’
He wasn’t here, but his presence still lingered — like the shade of a vast tree, sheltering both beasts.
“…Woof.”
Freki bared his teeth, eyes closed — and finally turned to stand beside Gerry.
“…”
Fwoooosh—! Crackle—!
The two beasts released their powers in opposite auras — a wordless declaration: We will not retreat.
‘Damn…’
For a moment, Seo Gyeoul thought she saw Siwoo’s back — the sight of him standing against Sibel.
‘Even without their tamer, they still fight to fulfill their duty…’
She’d served long enough in public office to know — no beast should have been capable of that.
The enemies seemed just as shocked.
“Oh-ho, what’s this? These mutts wanna go at us two-on-one? What’s that saying in this dimension? ‘A dog who doesn’t fear dragons for a day,’ or something?”
“It’s ‘A dog that doesn’t fear tigers,’” Rebecca corrected.
“…You sure remember the useless stuff.”
Cradder scoffed, raising his axes.
“Cradder. Stop stalling. Finish this. Sibel’s waiting.”
“Bah, that bastard can wait! Let’s have a little fun—guah!!”
BOOM—!
Cradder lunged mid-sentence — straight at Gerry, the wounded one.
“Of course. Typical Cradder — always a coward,” Rebecca murmured, launching fire magic at Freki.
Their followers moved at once — splitting into three groups:
Team 1 to aid Cradder.
Team 2 to aid Rebecca.
Team 3 to pressure Seo Gyeoul.
In an instant, the vast chamber turned into chaos.
The sounds of explosions, screams, and shattering filled the air.
Freki’s body burned with flame; Rebecca fought back by burning her memories.
Gerry raised ice walls; Cradder tore them apart with brute strength.
And at the center stood Seo Gyeoul.
“Frost Corridor.”
The ground froze over.
Cradder lost his footing — allowing Gerry a brief reprieve.
“Icefall.”
An ice boulder formed above Rebecca — but her fire spell shattered it instantly.
Still, Freki managed to maul several followers.
“Huff, huff…”
Seo Gyeoul kept moving, protecting Kim Pyeongon’s unconscious form while blocking blows from priests and cultists alike.
She read both fronts — the battlefield of Gerry and Freki — at once.
“Damn it! Why won’t you die?!”
“I’m running out of memories to burn.”
Cradder cut off his own fingers, flayed his flesh — but couldn’t pierce Gerry’s frost.
Rebecca sacrificed her memories — yet still couldn’t overwhelm Freki’s flames.
‘Stay focused. You can’t give up yet…’
Seo Gyeoul’s body was exhausted, but her eyes remained sharp — dissecting the flow of battle.
‘Siwoo said five minutes… but realistically, I can’t count on that. I need my own breakthrough.’
If Gerry fell, their fragile balance would collapse like a broken dam.
‘I have to find a way to turn this around — fast.’
The clash raged on.
“Argh!”
“Block her side!”
“Good, just keep wounding them!”
Amid the frenzy, Seo Gyeoul felt something off.
‘Wait… why is she reacting only to me?’
Rebecca.
Even while fighting Freki, she always responded to Seo Gyeoul’s spells — especially those cast in a certain direction.
Seo Gyeoul narrowed her eyes.
‘There’s something there.’
She followed the direction — and saw faintly carved lines of a six-pointed star on the wall.
‘Let’s test it.’
She pretended to slip, firing an Ice Spear “accidentally” toward the wall.
A deliberate miss.
“I offer my memories. Wall of Flame.”
Rebecca immediately blocked it.
‘Knew it. She’s hiding something.’
Fragments of memory and clues flashed in Seo Gyeoul’s mind — Blue Stone, High-ranking Executives, Custom Terminals…
And one odd word Siwoo had mentioned before:
“Julie Pearson.”
Those clues could point to her — though not exclusively.
But—
‘If the missing person really is Julie Pearson…’
‘And the cult is keeping her sealed here…’
It was all just conjecture.
But now, she had no choice but to bet everything on that hunch.
‘If I keep stalling, we’re done anyway.’
Her analysis was finished.
Seo Gyeoul whispered softly—
“Let’s gamble.”
Ordinary attacks were useless.
She needed deception.
Her eyes swept the battlefield one last time.
BOOM! CRASH!
Flames clashed with frost.
Ice pillars shattered, scattering shards like rain.
‘The whole field is covered in ice and fire… I’m a cryomancer. Then…’
Her gaze fixed on one of the ice pillars.
She began double casting.
In one hand — a massive Frozen Orb.
In the other — a tiny, hidden Ice Bullet.
‘Good thing Siwoo gave me that teacup. Otherwise I couldn’t do this.’
Double casting was a technique only masters could perform — impossible for her, until his gift amplified her control.
“You’re persistent,” Rebecca hissed.
A wall of fire surged — consuming the Frozen Orb.
“Got you,” Seo Gyeoul murmured.
Outside Rebecca’s line of sight, in her blind spot—
Fwip—!
The Ice Bullet silently struck an ice pillar behind the enemy ranks.
Then Seo Gyeoul whispered a command—
“[Frozen Shift].”
Her body split into translucent fragments — and vanished.
She reappeared behind enemy lines, beside Gerry’s ice pillar.
“—?! What the hell?! Stop her!!”
“Too late.”
Shhhk—
Seo Gyeoul skated across the frozen ground toward the wall marked with the hexagram, a sphere of condensed frost in her hand.
“[Glacial Shell].”
She slammed the orb into the center of the sigil.
“…?”
No explosion.
Only silence.
The entire cavern held its breath.
Cradder broke it first.
“Ha! I almost got scared for a sec—”
Crackle—!
A sharp, crystalline sound — not stone shattering, but glass breaking.
Shatter—!!
The barrier collapsed.
A tremendous surge of mana flooded out.
Its sheer presence distorted the air like a shimmering mirage.
“Huff…”
Through the rising dust, a silhouette emerged.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The battlefield froze.
Everyone stared at the figure.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Golden hair gleamed.
Amber eyes glowed with mystic light.
Red lips parted slightly.
“…Thank you. Whoever you are — you’re on our side, right?”
Julie Pearson.
Her voice flowed through the air like a divine echo — as though a long-sealed goddess had just awakened.
