Ch.15953. Glass Shield (3)

“Honey?”

I was momentarily flustered by Yuri’s exclamation.

Though I had regained my senses, I continued pretending to be unconscious while secretly observing Yuri’s reaction.

“Using that spell was… too reckless. I… I must restore your body back to normal, honey!”

Her voice was filled with intense determination.

No, more than her voice, that determination was transmitted through her body as she straddled me.

Yuri hurriedly removed my clothes. Then she took off her kimono as well.

Fortunately, neither of us removed our underwear, but our bare skin touched without any barriers between us.

“Your whole body… even your mana roads are burning hot. I must cool them down…”

With that, Yuri pressed herself against my body and continued caressing me.

‘Is she… trying to calm my chaotic mana roads?’

My body had become terminal because root mana was leaking from my damaged mana heart.

As a flame sorcerer, my root mana was also of the flame attribute.

So when Yuri’s cold mana directly touched my body, it began to create a temporary pain-relieving effect.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

Perhaps because she was absorbing my heat, Yuri’s breathing seemed to grow increasingly heated.

Opening my eyes slightly to check, I saw that Yuri’s gaze had transformed into one of ecstasy.

‘Has the snow woman’s instinct awakened again?’

If my body had been in normal condition, I might have misunderstood and thought she was taking advantage of me while I slept.

Yuri’s breathing sounded strangely sensual.

‘Well, that’s probably somewhat true.’

Just from the unfamiliar term of endearment “honey,” it seemed filled with Yuri’s personal feelings.

But feeling embarrassed, I deliberately pretended to be asleep.

If Yuri realized I was awake, she would be extremely embarrassed too. So I decided to let her do as she wished.

‘Anyway… this is closer to a massage than anything indecent.’

It would be troublesome if I became conscious of the soft sensation directly felt on my body.

I decided to focus on Yuri’s coldness instead. And I continued with what I had been trying to do before she began to straddle me—

No, before she started the massage.

‘There are areas where the burning sensation doesn’t subside quickly even with Yuri’s intense cold.’

Yuri’s coldness helped me.

The relatively intact mana roads were calmed by that coldness.

But I could feel dozens of areas where the burning sensation didn’t disappear despite her intense cold.

‘The contrast makes the damaged areas more noticeable.’

It was evidence that my body had been damaged beyond repair.

And since the mana leakage in those areas reduced the effectiveness of spells, I needed to repair all of them.

‘Even though it would be impossible with any special modern surgery…’

The old man Yun Munwoo whom I met in Hong Kong was a highly renowned expert on meridians, or mana roads.

Even he said that the damage to my mana heart and mana roads was irreparable.

‘He said it was strange that someone with damage in those areas was even alive.’

Just as I had been unconscious for a year, he said I should normally be unable to move due to my damaged body.

But I had found a way.

The power of the Black Tortoise that I had acquired. The Black Tortoise had power similar to Yuri’s.

As demonstrated by the blizzard that blocked the shrine, it had the power of cold and ice. Using that power, it was possible to repair the mana roads.

‘I’ll use the Black Tortoise’s power to restore the destroyed parts of the mana roads.’

I concentrated on the Black Tortoise necklace.

And I began repairing the damaged parts of the mana roads that I had identified earlier with the Black Tortoise’s power.

Meanwhile, Yuri embraced my body more actively. Unable to hold back any longer, she was moving to the next step.

‘If she realizes I’m awake now, her dignity would…’

Since Yuri was freely indulging her personal feelings while I was “asleep,” I was sweating profusely trying to maintain my act.

Still, the Black Tortoise’s power and Yuri’s freezing mana were similar types of power. Their synergistic effect accelerated the repair of my mana roads.

Time passed that way. Yuri collapsed roughly on top of my body.

“Haa… honey… I love you… you’re mine… I won’t give you to anyone…!!”

Yuri seemed to have exhausted all her strength. After holding her tightly as she slept on top of me,

I continued adapting the Black Tortoise’s power to my body until Yuri woke up again.

***

It was the last day of the three days.

The shrine’s power was gradually disappearing. The snowy field that had seemed so vast when we first entered the millennial barrier now had a narrower domain.

To be precise, rather than saying the power had disappeared, it would be more accurate to say that Yuri had absorbed it.

The shrine’s power was left solely for the snow woman.

Along with that power, Yuri, who had completed the three forms of Nivis, had entered a new realm as an awakened one.

The two people stood facing each other in the snowy field.

The shield of ice created by Yuri. The massive energy of that shield resonated with the surrounding atmosphere.

Woooooong-

Snow was swirling around the shield.

The millennial barrier. That absolute sealing power that Yuri could create. With that power and the snow woman’s will, the ultimate shield was now created before my eyes.

“Even you won’t be able to break through this shield now! This Millennial Ice Wall!”

That’s what Yuri named her new shield.

In reality, that shield, that ice wall, was extremely sturdy.

Even the Vermilion Bird’s fire, which had destroyed Yuri’s shields before, had been blocked by that ice wall three times already.

Yuri’s expression was confident. She looked like the Yuri from Ains.

Of course, if the Yuri back then was pretending to be nearly perfect,

Now I could feel her intense determination to block any attack with that Millennial Ice Wall she had created for me.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-

I shot the Vermilion Bird’s fire toward that shield once more.

The recoil and sound of the explosion echoed throughout the snowy field, but Yuri’s shield remained unchanged, protecting her.

‘Not even a scorch mark.’

Considering how Yuri’s kimono had been ruined when the two of them dueled with spells on the first day,

The current shield was perfect. Not even a bit of flame spell, not any attack was allowed through Yuri’s Millennial Ice Wall.

‘An absolutely impenetrable shield.’

Come to think of it, I remembered Yuri being called something like that back at Ains.

Not just the male students at Ains, but students from other academies in Seoul had confessed to Yuri countless times.

But Yuri had rejected all of them without accepting any man’s confession.

‘So I’m the ultimate winner.’

Still, I didn’t want to be a husband who was intimidated in front of his girlfriend—no, his wife.

“Let me try once more!”

Ordinary spells clearly wouldn’t work.

Of course, it would be nonsense to call the Vermilion Bird’s fire, resonantly compressed with the Azure Dragon’s power, ordinary.

The Millennial Ice Wall that Yuri had created now was the crystallization of all the talents of Yuri, a genius who might appear once in a century.

Then I too had to clash all my power against that shield.

‘It’s fortunate that my opponent is Yuri.’

It’s not that my Vermilion Bird’s fire lacks firepower. It’s that Yuri’s talent exceeded even my expectations.

But I had to surpass even that Yuri.

My flame spell had to become the key to finding the incantation Epitheus.

‘That’s how I can protect this world for my women.’

I didn’t have a grand goal of saving the world from evil gods.

Until now, I had been driven solely by a bitter grudge against the Red Lake. But now I had one more important purpose.

Even after my death, I intended to annihilate the evil gods so that the people I love could continue to live.

‘So my Vermilion Bird’s fire must be able to destroy even Yuri’s Millennial Ice Wall.’

And I had found a way to strengthen the Vermilion Bird’s fire one step further.

Resonant compression. Three-element resonance beyond the two-element resonance.

‘Solidification of flame!’

Yuri’s current shield couldn’t be completely destroyed by simple firepower alone.

Even if the shield collapsed from explosive power, she quickly restored it with her freezing mana.

‘So to maximize the destructive power of the Vermilion Bird’s fire…’

I needed to detonate the Vermilion Bird’s fire directly inside the shield, not outside.

Although it was an extraordinary shield that could withstand even the explosive power of the divine beast’s fire, it would be possible if I maximized the penetrating power of the flame spell.

‘I’ll harden the Vermilion Bird’s fire with the Black Tortoise’s power.’

Theoretically possible. But I had failed repeatedly in previous attempts.

Thanks to recovering some of my body’s durability with the Black Tortoise’s power, I could withstand the massive recoil of the three-element resonance.

But unlike ice, hardening burning fire into a concrete form was not easy at all.

But I had to do it.

‘Unlike the Azure Dragon’s wind attribute, fire and ice are opposites. Mixing those powers together…’

But just as the ice spear created by Yuri had high penetration power,

If the Black Tortoise’s power fused with the Vermilion Bird’s fire, it could surely create a spell capable of piercing through that Millennial Ice Wall.

‘Focus. I’ve completed all the spell calculations while here. All that remains is the mental image of the spell.’

I stared at Yuri’s shield and concentrated as if entering meditation.

The Black Tortoise’s power that flowed into me. While visualizing the form of that divine beast I had seen,

I continuously imagined the essence of that power in my mind.

‘If even formless burning fire… can be captured in form for a moment…’

I held the Wind Cutter in my left hand. And in my right hand, blue-white flames began to burn.

A terrible mana recoil surged from that Vermilion Bird’s fire.

But I endured it.

‘With my current body, it’s possible!’

And the Vermilion Bird’s fire, which until now had been just burning flames, began to concentrate in my hand with a specific form.

A blue-white spear.

The Vermilion Bird’s fire was transforming into the shape of a long spear. Not a temporary form, but a new spell with a definite shape.

‘I’ll send this spell against that Millennial Ice Wall!’

SHREEEEEK-

The flame spear flew, tearing through the air. The new Vermilion Bird’s fire with all my mana concentrated.

Finally, that Vermilion Bird’s fire penetrated Yuri’s Millennial Ice Wall.

***

At last, everything in Setsunomura came to an end.

The villagers were very sad to see the two leave.

But they knew what the two had to do, so all the villagers came out to bid them farewell.

“When everything is finished, please visit Setsunomura again! We will welcome both of you anytime!”

The village chief, with tears in his eyes, followed the two to the village entrance to see them off.

This was a place where memories with Yuri were made. It was my mother’s hometown, and Yuri, who had become a snow woman here, also seemed very sad about the current farewell.

“I was happier during this one week here than during the dozen years in the Slavia Kingdom.”

Yuri said, sitting in the passenger seat.

The two left Setsunomura and got back in the car.

Unlike her usual self, Yuri’s eyes were red. She seemed to have grown quite attached to the people here.

I said to Yuri:

“Let’s definitely come back. Together.”

“Yes! It’s a place with memories of you, Minsu… where we became husband and wife.”

I actually had a feeling that we would never be able to return to Setsunomura, but I didn’t show those feelings to Yuri.

So the two traveled for quite some time. The destination was Tokyo, where the allied forces would have arrived.

By car, it would take less than 4 hours via the shortest route.

But northeastern Japan was a region completely controlled by villains. So we had to set the safest possible route to move.

We drove continuously for about 3 hours.

During that time, Yuri, sitting in the passenger seat, accessed the secure communications of the allied forces. She checked the Japanese front lines, which would have changed in the meantime.

“The war situation seems to be in a stalemate. But the longer the war drags on, the more disadvantageous it is for the allied forces.”

Yuri was right.

The elite forces of the three-nation alliance are now gathered in Japan. The front line against the villains is not concentrated only here.

If time drags on, villains could attack from the rear of each country.

Any place on Earth except the Far East was being occupied by the Red Lake in real-time.

“I’ve connected to Flame’s line.”

Yuri checked the information on her smartphone. She suddenly fell silent.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to Flame?”

“No. Most of the guild members seem to be safe. But Soso…”

“Soso? What happened?”

“According to the message sent by Team Leader Seo Duho…”

Yuri hurriedly explained Soso’s recent situation.

It seemed that the blood demon inside Soso had awakened.