Part 1 Chapter 4 (14)

“…!”

The first greeting was light. Phoenix gathered mana and shot fireballs with a time delay. Seok Harang immediately spread a wall of ice, blocking the fireballs’ path.

Boom! Boom!

The fireball exploded, shattering the ice shield. Fragments of the destroyed ice shield scattered, but Seok Harang, hidden behind it, took no damage.

“If something comes, something must go!”

Seok Harang raised her right hand. In just over a second, ice spears embroidered in the air assailed Phoenix like crossbow bolts. Phoenix did not dodge from his spot but flicked a finger.

Flap-

Behind Phoenix’s back, translucent blue feathers unfurled. Seok Harang clearly saw the flames burning within those feathers with her own eyes.

“Is this it! Are you showing off your abundant mana?!”

Phoenix folded his wings forward, setting them up as a shield. The ice spears pierced the wings’ protective barrier.

Crackle!

The ice spears pierced halfway through the blue feathers and lost their penetrating power. The wings of flame were impaled with ice spears like a hedgehog’s quills. Phoenix destroyed all the ice spears by burning his wings.

“That’s quite something?”

[…….]

Phoenix remained silent. Seok Harang pretended to be calm, even as she broke out in a cold sweat.

The opponent before her was clearly a strong one. Someone from a world far above Seok Harang’s level.

“Who are you? You’re from the Round Table, aren’t you? That’s why you’re hiding your identity, right?”

The strongest individuals in the world. Perhaps one of them was taking on that appearance with the help of an ability that changes their outward form.

‘If it’s a purpose, then it’s naturally a check on Korea.’

The emergence of a new S-rank and the feat of defeating the Fire Dragon in a single blow would surely make even the Round Table nervous.

“Right? I’m right, aren’t I?”

[……A foolish deduction.]

Flames flickered within the eagle helmet. Seok Harang felt annoyed, as if it were mocking her.

“What? You can talk, can’t you? Why aren’t you talking?”

[Do you want to know who I am?]

Phoenix spread his arms. At the same time, gigantic wings of flame unfurled behind Phoenix’s back, as if a peacock were displaying its feathers.

“……Hmph!”

Harang also extended both hands to her sides, releasing mana. The moisture in the air reacted to Harang’s mana and froze.

“Pieres!”

With Harang’s declaration, chunks of ice began to take shape. With a white glow, the ice transformed into butterflies emitting cold.

Dozens, hundreds. The ice butterflies fluttering behind Harang scattered snow dust as they awaited her command.

“Whoever you are, one thing is certain!”

Harang raised her right hand. In her hand was an ice baton, as if she were conducting an orchestra.

“One who blocks a Hero’s path! If you are a Villain, be arrested by me! If you are a Hero, help me!”

[Ice Butterfly Pieres. It’s the signature technique of Seolhwa Princess. A unique technique that manipulates ice-type abilities to their extreme, which no one else in the world can replicate.]

“……What are you suddenly talking about?”

Blue flames erupted from the joints of Phoenix’s black armor. Phoenix, scattering flames around, raised a hand to provoke Seok Harang.

[It’s flashy, but it lacks substance. Don’t you agree?]

“You!!”

Seok Harang roughly lowered her hand. The ice butterflies, having received the signal, scattered snow dust as they flew towards Phoenix.

[It’s slow, and its destructive power is low. It’s a technique that freezes where the butterflies touch. All one has to do is dodge.]

Phoenix moved his wings, gracefully slipping through the butterflies. As if a mermaid were swimming in the sea, Harang directly controlled the butterflies towards Phoenix, who was evading them.

“You talk too much!”

The butterflies quickly chased after Phoenix. Drawing vertical trajectories that defied inertia, the ice butterflies blocked Phoenix’s path.

Crackle, crackle!

The sound of freezing was heard along with white smoke. Seok Harang did not let down her guard and repositioned the butterflies all around.

[If they don’t touch, they’re utterly useless.]

Around Phoenix, tiny flames blocked the ice butterflies, solidifying them into crystals. Seok Harang gritted her teeth, watching Phoenix block the attack without taking any damage.

Pieres, the ice butterflies that freeze anything they first touch. Phoenix rendered Seok Harang’s signature technique useless simply by spreading tiny embers around him.

“You really…!”

Seok Harang held her left hand like a blade and swiped it horizontally.

Shatter!

The ice butterflies that had surrounded Phoenix from all 360 degrees charged towards him. The attack of hundreds of ice butterflies rushing in from all directions left no openings.

[One more thing. It consumes a lot of mana overall, but the mana used per butterfly is very small. So.]

Phoenix brought his hands together as if in prayer. Centered on Phoenix, gigantic blue flames surged in all directions.

Boom!!

“Kyaa!”

Due to the aftermath of the explosion, Seok Harang, who had stumbled on the ice path, fell straight to the ground.

“Ugh!”

She tried to quickly create an ice path with her hands, but her body was already plummeting towards the ground. In the end, Seok Harang enveloped her entire body in mana to cushion the impact as the ground approached.

Grab.

“…?”

When her body didn’t hit the ground, Seok Harang raised her head in confusion.

[Dangerously. Tsk.]

“……?!?!”

Unbeknownst to her, Phoenix had flown all the way here and was holding Seok Harang as if she were a princess.

[When facing an enemy with powerful explosive force, they break easily, like now. Reflect on this.]

Phoenix threw Seok Harang far away. Seok Harang quickly performed a breakfall and landed on her two feet.

“Are you out of your mind?!”

Seok Harang’s face ripened red like a persimmon.

Rage at her ability not working.

The humiliation of her signature skill being effortlessly countered and its weaknesses pointed out.

The humiliation of being saved by an enemy.

And the shame of being unreservedly held by a strange man.

Seok Harang, with all sorts of emotions mixed together, unconsciously blurted out harsh words, then snapped her mouth shut.

[……Heh.]

He laughed. He definitely laughed. Seok Harang’s anger rose to her chin, but she barely managed to suppress it and spoke politely.

“Hey! Is fighting a joke?”

[I corrected you because you couldn’t use your ability properly. Engrave it in your bones, student Seok Harang.]

“Wow, you’re really pissing me off. Who are you to lecture me?!”

Seok Harang yelled loudly and shot an ice spear. Phoenix subtly tilted his head, dodging the ice spear.

[Honest. If you’re aiming for a vital spot, you should shoot several, not just one.]

“Wow. Mister, you’re really getting on my nerves. Are you my master or something? Why are you giving advice on someone else’s technique?!”

[……I know. I know very well.]

Phoenix chuckled softly. Seok Harang’s face twisted as Phoenix put his left hand behind his back and flicked his right hand, as if beckoning her to come.

[Then try to hit me if you can. A half-baked Ice Art User can be dealt with using just one hand.]

“You’re dead by my hand today!”

Seok Harang created dozens of ice spears in the air. Phoenix stood in his spot and conjured blue flames in his right hand.

“Dieee!”

[Tsk.]

Ice and flame clashed spectacularly on the ridge of Gwanaksan Mountain.

***

Gaeul bit her nails in anxiety.

“Will he be okay?”

Phoenix had turned into a monstrous human and gone to face an S-rank. He said he would be fine, but Gaeul didn’t yet know the extent of Phoenix’s power. Even though he had killed the S-rank monster Tentacle Toad, he had done so too easily, making it feel even less real.

“He will be fine.”

Jihwa lowered her hand for a moment. She blinked several times, as if her eyes hurt.

“There is no one in Seoul who can defeat him. Rest assured.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Jihwa gave a bitter smile.

“Ability users can gauge how much mana their opponent has. In our terms, we call it ‘getting an estimate,’ but I can’t even dare to estimate Phoenix-nim’s power.”

Jihwa spread her arms out to her sides.

“If you consider the amount of mana an ability user can sense to be the distance their two hands can reach, then he is truly a person with mana like a vast ocean. So, please don’t worry. Even now….”

Jihwa covered one eye with her hand again. The demon eye, with the help of Mini Phoenix, relayed the scene from the summit of Gwanaksan Mountain.

Whoosh!

A gigantic ice flower bloomed in the sky. A rose-like flower, as if made by joining snow crystals.

The white-haired woman on the petals moved her hand. Simultaneously, the ice flower began to fall towards the ground.

“Seolhwa Princess Seok Harang!”

Gaeul covered her mouth with both hands. Seolhwa Princess unleashed her ability without reservation, throwing the ice flower at her opponent. At Phoenix.

Ooooh–!

The ice flower fell like a meteor. Beneath it, Phoenix stood with his left hand behind his back, extending his right hand.

“Why aren’t you dodging?!”

Even as an ice flower dozens of times larger than his body fell, Phoenix did not move. Rather, Phoenix raised his right hand and spread it towards the ice flower, as if he had no intention of dodging.

Hummm!

The blue mana gathered in Phoenix’s palm was shot towards the ice flower. The sphere of mana, fired like a cannon, flew very slowly towards the ice flower.

Tap.

The moment the ice flower touched the mana sphere, a massive explosion occurred on the outer wall of the ice flower. A quarter of the ice flower exploded, scattering fragments from the summit of Gwanaksan Mountain.

Shatter!

The fragments impaled the ground like thorns. Phoenix took the fragments flying towards him directly with his body.

“Kyaa!”

To Gaeul, it looked as if he were committing suicide. However, the ice fragments that flew towards Phoenix inflicted no injury on him whatsoever.

Crackle. The fragments that hit his armor couldn’t even leave a scratch, and the fragments that pierced his joints turned into water droplets in the flames and fell to the ground.

Seolhwa Princess on the ice flower shouted something with a reddened face. Phoenix simply responded by flicking his hand once more.

“…What is she saying?”

The video was playing, but there was no sound. Gaeul turned her head to Jihwa.

“Excuse me, Jihwa-ssi. Can’t we get the sound for this?”

“…….”

Jihwa was speechless, looking elsewhere. Beside her, visual information converted into digital data through her ability was displayed on a screen.

It was entirely red. The sticky, crimson liquid made Gaeul instinctively feel sick.

“What is this…?!”

Jihwa’s vision shifted dramatically. An unspeakable tragedy was unfolding on the screen.

“What is this?!”

Blood splattered again. Human blood, not monster blood.

A massacre was taking place at the entrance of the National Cemetery, where the spirits of the deceased should be honored.

* * *

“Aargh!”

The elderly man in his early sixties spat blood with a dying groan. The old man in tattered clothes collapsed on the stairs, bleeding from his chest.

Thud!

The man, like a robot given orders, shot the refugees coming up the stairs with a gun. Towards people.

Bang! Bang!

Each time a magic bullet was fired, a person died. The refugees in the waiting room below the stairs hesitated. Inside the platform, a mad killer was already rampaging.

“Hahaha! That makes 30 days!”

The woman threw a dagger at the fleeing man’s nape. The man died instantly as he was running, struck by the blue blade imbued with mana.

A pine tree tattoo was etched on the woman’s neck.

“……This isn’t right.”

Jeok Song clenched his two fists and shook his head. The pungent smell of blood seemed to carry the screams and pain of the refugees.

“Ahaha, Jeok Song. You’re only A-rank in ability, but a complete coward, aren’t you? You said it was your first time, right? You can’t be like this if you want to reduce your sentence!”

The woman drew her dagger and leaped into the crowd of refugees. Even though the woman’s rank was C, she was an unmanageable killer against ordinary people.

Stab, stab stab!

“You have to kill this diligently. Don’t forget, okay?”

“They’re civilians! How can you do this?!”

Jeok Song was dumbfounded, then she cackled and tapped her smartwatch.

“Kihikihi. What are you talking about? Civilians, you say.”

The mission given to them appeared on Jeok Song’s screen: Eliminate spies lurking in Seoul.

“We’re currently dealing with ‘spies’ from an enemy nation, you know?”

“Don’t talk crazy!!”

Jeok Song shouted, but he couldn’t interfere at all. The pine tree emblem embedded in his neck. If he didn’t follow orders, his sentence would increase, and if he was judged to be resisting, he would be immediately executed.

“What kind of spies are these people?!”

“You haven’t experienced society, have you? Even if your superior speaks indirectly, you have to understand and follow it yourself. Got it? If you don’t want to die, kill the spies. If you want to resent someone, resent Seonui Cheol.”

The woman licked the sticky blood flowing on her dagger’s blade. Jeok Song closed his eyes.

The veterans Cheolpyo spoke of.

They were experts in murder and massacre.