Ch.104Ice Dragon Sword

The ice fortress, which looked massive from the outside, was incredibly spacious inside as well. Alien mana flowed through it, warping the space itself. This was a phenomenon Sae-rin had seen before in the past.

‘It’s similar to the Fairy Forest…’

“Looks like there was intense fighting even as they entered.”

“From here to here. The traces are short. That pattern repeats several times.”

“It seems more like they were keeping each other in check. They weren’t fighting properly.”

While Sae-rin was lost in her own observations, the other members examined the traces of battle that extended from the entrance. As if slashed by sharp claws, blade marks were carved along the wide corridor.

Occasionally, there were also marks where the ground had been smashed or cracked, as if something had struck it forcefully.

“No bodies, and not even a drop of blood. Everyone must have hurried toward the inner area.”

With those words, everyone moved together as if by unspoken agreement. They continued sprinting along the wide corridor.

The interior of the ice fortress was like a complex maze. Since it wasn’t built for human habitation, there were many paths leading to inexplicable spaces.

“Another dead end.”

“If only we could extend our ki perception…”

Reynard muttered with disappointment. After entering the ice fortress, one problem had emerged: it became impossible to extend their sensing range through mana.

This was due to the strange flow of mana that was warping the space itself.

‘It’s my turn to step up.’

Sae-rin stepped forward. If they couldn’t rely on mana, they could utilize physical abilities instead. She began sniffing the scattered scents around them.

“Sae-rin?”

“What, did you smell something strange?”

“I’m looking for the reincarnators. If I track the scent of other people, especially the reincarnator we missed last time…”

*sniff sniff sniff*

The subtle body scent dispersed on the cold wind stimulated Sae-rin’s sense of smell. Immediately after, a path visible only to her unfolded. Handel’s scent was flowing straight toward a specific location.

“This way.”

As Sae-rin began running with a confident expression, the rest of the members who had been watching carefully followed behind. Everyone in the Blue Wing knew that her senses were superior to those of ordinary people. However, many didn’t know she could track someone far away by scent alone.

But their doubts soon disappeared. As they began following the path Sae-rin was taking, new traces of battle appeared everywhere.

Large ice walls were split apart, or human limbs were scattered about haphazardly. These were signs that people hadn’t been able to retrieve their body parts due to the intensity of the battle.

“Isn’t she even better than the imperial hounds?”

One senior member muttered in a low voice. Everyone silently nodded in agreement.

As Sae-rin ran forward, focused only on what was ahead, she spotted a sword clutched in a severed arm. It was an ordinary sword without any special decorations. However, it showed signs of having been used for many years.

Without stopping her run, she reached out her hand. Simultaneously employing the Formless Flying Sword technique, the sword embedded in the floor rose by itself and flew into Sae-rin’s hand.

As she caught the sword, she shook off the arm that was growing cold. At that moment, Sae-rin let out a brief groan. An enormous amount of memories surged like a wave through her hand that was touching the sword.

“Why did you take that?”

“Just a hobby… and it’s always good to have more weapons.”

Sae-rin answered the question calmly. Within the Blue Wing, it wasn’t a special secret that she had a hobby of collecting swords. Everyone present also knew that the Formless Flying Sword technique she was learning required many swords.

‘Yeonhwanhwahwageom’

It was a sword technique based on the principle of illusion swords. It scattered unpredictable feints to confuse opponents. It was said that when one reached the ultimate level, all feints would gain substance. This too was a memory from another dimension. Sae-rin barely suppressed the chaotically mixing memories.

It was a sword technique she couldn’t use right away. But there were many aspects she could adapt. Just adding small variations to her direct swift sword style would yield decent results. Each time she absorbed the memories of a master swordsman, the theoretical domain she could grasp expanded.

Sae-rin was growing stronger in real-time.

CLANG-!

As they passed through the long corridor and turned a corner, a sudden loud noise erupted. Simultaneously, a rough wave of energy exploded, exhaling cold wind.

KWAAAA-!

“What’s that?”

“What’s…”

Everyone was startled. Until they turned the corner, no one had realized that a fight was taking place right in front of them. Even Sae-rin, who had been tracking by scent, was the same.

The Blue Wing group had no choice but to stop briefly.

At the center of the fight were a woman and a knight wearing full plate armor. Each time the woman’s hand swung quickly, whip-like slashes poured out, sweeping away the surroundings.

The knight receiving all the attacks at the center couldn’t advance forward. The woman using the flexible snake sword had the upper hand in the fight. But she couldn’t win either. The knight’s full plate armor was protecting his body.

It was Karnok who stepped forward. He sensed the unique inner force of a Central Plains martial world reincarnator from the woman. There was no hesitation in his motion as he drew his sword.

*step*

“…?”

“You are…!”

A life-and-death battle was in full swing. A sudden intruder appeared in the middle of a battlefield where people were killing each other. He stepped in, ignoring the violent energy waves as if they were nothing. Both fighters’ gazes focused on Karnok.

“Ah, perfect timing! Blue Wing! I need your help…!”

The knight’s words were not completed. Karnok’s sword flashed more quickly. A slash that seemed to push away space itself cut through the wildly rotating snake sword and deeply sliced across the woman’s chest.

“A woman in her late thirties… with black hair, they said. And using a unique flexible snake sword… Yul-rang of the Red Death Sword. Why are all the ones our members missed gathered here?”

Yul-rang of the Red Death Sword collapsed. Karnok’s sword had completely cut through her upper body. Red blood belatedly burst from the gaping wound.

Karnok turned around, looking at his sword. Because he had coated the blade with mana, not a single drop of blood stained his pure white sword. He recovered his composure with a belated breath. Then, Karnok’s mouth opened.

“There are more reincarnators than expected. It seems…”

His slowly flowing voice scattered. Karnok stared blankly at the scene unfolding before his eyes. The members who had been looking at him just moments ago were nowhere to be seen.

Not even their presence could be felt.

“Guys?”

“Th-thank you very much! If it weren’t for you… No, I am Kalops. A knight of the Kingdom of Dolores. I’d like to repay your kindness…”

Only the knight wearing full plate mail answered Karnok’s question. Following his surging emotions, blue mana flowed around Karnok’s body like rippling waves.

“Hey.”

“Wh-why are you calling me?”

“The people who were standing at the entrance just now… did you see where they went?”

Heavy footsteps advanced toward the cold ice fortress corridor. Thick boots mercilessly trampled the solid ice. Even so, the disappeared members did not return.

As Karnok frowned and muttered a small curse, the knight, Kalops, who had been watching carefully, opened his mouth. His attitude was extremely cautious.

“Well… it seems they’ve been caught in the spatial distortion of this fortress.”

“Spatial distortion?”

Light dawned in Karnok’s gaze. His eyesight, enhanced by mana, detected things that were normally invisible. Along the transparent air, mana crystals emitting cold chill were slowly dispersing.

***

“What? Where’s the Deputy Commander?”

“Deputy Commander! Where are you!”

“Was it someone’s magic? I think I felt a slight flow of mana just now…”

The Deputy Commander of the Blue Wing, Karnok, disappeared right after drawing his sword. He wasn’t the only one who vanished. Both the knight who was facing the reincarnator and the reincarnator who was swinging her sword at him disappeared as well.

The location itself had changed. Realizing this fact, everyone, including Sae-rin, drew their swords.

*shing*

“Sae-rin. Can you track the Deputy Commander’s scent?”

*sniff sniff*

Sae-rin, who had been sniffing the air, shook her head. The scent itself was cut off. If time passed and wind blew from elsewhere, it might be different, but tracking Karnok’s position right now was nearly impossible.

“This is maddening…”

Unlike some panicked members, Sae-rin remained calm. There was nothing more useless than worrying about someone stronger than herself. Rather than concerning herself with Karnok’s safety, Sae-rin focused on Handel’s scent, which she could currently detect.

‘The scent is stronger than before. That means we’re getting closer.’

The distance had shortened. But they couldn’t move rashly. Their companions had disappeared right before their eyes. It was hard to be certain that such a thing wouldn’t happen again.

“The Deputy Commander will be fine. Everyone knows what kind of skills he has. Still, we should proceed carefully…”

Sae-rin couldn’t finish her sentence. She witnessed with her own eyes the space itself beginning to distort more rapidly. It happened in a split second.

FWASH-!

The air split open, and two men emerged. They were swinging their swords at each other, glaring as if they wanted to kill one another. They seemed more focused on each other than on the spatial distortion phenomenon.

The energy wave they emitted was tremendous. Just before being caught in the fight, Sae-rin twisted her body. Mana erupted from beneath her feet, wrapping around the storm with a biting chill. In that state, she stomped her foot down.

KWANG-!

An explosion that seemed impossible to have originated from such a small foot occurred. The erupting wind, laden with cold air, pushed away everything around. The two men approaching from directly ahead were no exception.

The posture of the two men with their swords crossed became disrupted, and their momentum weakened. Simultaneously, Sae-rin had to experience another strange phenomenon.

Everything around her starting point began to distort, and the surrounding scenery transformed instantly.

“What…?”

The members who had been with her disappeared. Only Flora remained standing by her side.

It was a phenomenon similar to what happened with Deputy Commander Karnok. Sae-rin hurriedly reached out and grabbed Flora’s hand. Her small fingers burrowed between Flora’s fingers and interlocked tightly.

“Sae-rin? Why are you holding my hand… No, more importantly, where are we…?”

“Don’t let go no matter what. It seems this place continuously shifts spaces.”

Flora stared blankly down at Sae-rin, who was looking up at her as she spoke. And unconsciously, she tightened her grip on their joined hands.