Ch.7626. The Heart of the Caldera (2)

The moment I heard Yuri’s words.

My mind went blank. My legs trembled. In any situation, even when my body froze, it was my habit to never stop thinking.

But right now, I couldn’t think of anything.

Chae Min-ah. Siwoo and Arin’s childhood friend, and Siwoo’s girlfriend. The other protagonist of Aka Hunter, which was a pure love story.

And Min-ah died trying to protect me alongside Siwoo.

“That’s impossible…”

I unconsciously muttered and created a spell. A freezing spell. Since it wasn’t my main attribute, it wasn’t very powerful.

Like Yuri just moments ago, it was a simple magic that created a lens. Through that lens, Min-ah was indeed at the center of the caldera.

“Is that really Chae Min-ah…”

Soso also spoke in surprise. Users of the Heavenly Horse Divine Technique experience dramatic physical enhancements, so it seemed she could see it too.

A lake covered in ice. In the center stood a woman of average build. Kind eyes that drooped like a puppy’s. It was unmistakably Min-ah.

With her gentle and caring personality, Min-ah had been popular among both male and female students. Her appearance was also beautiful enough to be compared to Yuri or Senior Ha-eun at that time.

However, male students had given up on her early on because Min-ah had a boyfriend. A student who, like Min-ah, had perfect character and skills. Kwon Siwoo.

“That’s impossible. Min-ah is already dead! Yes… it might be a hallucination! Our MCI has reached the limit. Everyone, snap out of it!”

At Yuri’s words, I instinctively checked my in-ear device.

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[Party Members / MCI / Limit]

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* Yuri Tarkovskaya(W): 83/83

* Yeon Soso(S): 87/87

* Lee Minsu(O): 67/81

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[Ambient MCI]

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*Within 50m radius: 410

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As Yuri said, both of their mental contamination had reached the limit. And my MCI was also rising close to the limit.

But the MCI displayed on my in-ear device is a disguise. There’s no need to inform the Association about my unique constitution. I’ve artificially raised my MCI through mana stones.

In other words, I don’t experience any mental contamination even in boss areas like this where the ambient MCI exceeds four times the normal level.

‘No. Yuri is wrong. This isn’t a hallucination.’

I was someone who never succumbed to the curse of doubt demons or illusions. And I got goosebumps at the conclusion this fact implied.

‘Min-ah is alive?’

But that shouldn’t be possible.

Min-ah, who consumed a large amount of divine power to heal me. And Siwoo, who depleted massive amounts of mana while blocking the doubt demon.

The source of my PTSD. The scene of their deaths replayed in my mind once again.

Every night when I close my eyes, that scene appears behind my eyelids.

I was about to be struck by the doubt demon’s attack. The two of them stood in front of me to save me, and both died.

‘So… she couldn’t have survived.’

No, the truth is, I’ve been wishing they had survived, even in my dreams.

When I regained consciousness after a year, the first thing I checked was whether the two were alive. But they had indeed died. And more than anyone else, I couldn’t deny that fact.

‘Someone whose head was severed… cannot survive.’

I saw that scene right before my eyes.

When I close my eyes, or in my dreams at night, that nightmare still repeats. My panic always begins with that memory.

Whoosh—

But at that moment, I came to my senses. Mana Heart. The flame burning around it. A flame that seemed to burn even my panic awakened my senses.

‘Hong-ok? You…’

I could feel Hong-ok’s will. I temporarily set aside the numerous emotions and questions spreading in my mind.

I had something to do first.

“We need to confirm the boss and get out of here immediately!”

At my words, the two who had been frozen also snapped back to reality. And at that moment, the caldera began to shake as if an earthquake had occurred.

***

Boom boom boom—

The volcanic crater caldera. As if the volcano was erupting again, the area began to shake.

“A sudden earthquake?”

Yuri shouted in surprise. But it wasn’t a volcanic eruption. The ice lake was cracking.

Of course, Min-ah, or whatever resembled Min-ah, still maintained a calm expression.

“Wings…”

And the three of us simultaneously saw Min-ah rising lightly above the cracked ice instead of falling through.

“Demon wings…”

Soso exclaimed in a surprised voice. Min-ah, who was nicknamed the Saint or Angel of Eins. But now, demon wings had grown on her back.

At that moment, her eyes met mine. I saw it.

That seductive smile that couldn’t possibly belong to the Min-ah I knew. And from the center of the vibration, she opened her mouth.

“Lee Minsu. How have you been?”

It was like hearing an auditory hallucination. But it was exactly the voice of Min-ah that I remembered.

“Is Chae Min-ah, no, is that monster speaking?”

“It seems to be amplifying its voice through magical energy.”

Soso and Yuri heard the voice too. The three of us waited for Min-ah’s next words with tense expressions.

“I’ve been lonely since Siwoo died like that. Being alone is lonely, so I’ve missed you a lot. You, Minsu.”

With an increasingly sultry smile, the magical energy around us surged.

Crack—

And the oscilloscope was destroyed. It seemed to have exceeded the measurement limit due to the surging magical energy.

‘No. It’s dangerous. We need to get out of here quickly.’

I had a mountain of questions for Min-ah, or rather, the monster presumed to be Min-ah, that demon. But both Yuri and Soso had already crossed the limit line.

It’s like being near an exploded nuclear power plant without radiation protection suits. I shouted to the two:

“We need to get out of here!”

Boom boom boom—

And with another shake of the caldera, something massive was rising from the ice lake.

Kwaaaaaaak—

It was something enormous. Scales flashing blue. Grotesque demon wings like those on Min-ah just moments ago.

A dark blue dragon. It was a monster that looked so bizarre that the word “demon” came to mind rather than “dragon.”

‘Rather than a dragon… a giant snake?’

I quickly captured its image in my in-ear device and mind. I looked at Soso and Yuri. Despite my shout, the two were hesitating on the spot.

‘Damn. Are those two seeing hallucinations or illusions right now?’

Having crossed the limit line, it wouldn’t be strange if such symptoms occurred at any time. And the curse of a boss monster always persistently digs into a person’s weakest point.

I embraced both of them simultaneously and shouted:

“Yuri Tarkovskaya! Yeon Soso! Both of you, snap out of it!”

Even though they were both women, I held them tightly enough that they could feel my body heat.

“M-Minsu?”

“Minsu? Wait…”

Fortunately, both of them came to their senses. After releasing them, Yuri shouted:

“If we cross here, a blizzard will hit again. I’ll clear the visibility! Soso… take Minsu.”

Soso nodded. I quickly got on her back. The three of us rapidly fled the caldera. The dark blue snake that had emerged from the ice.

It seemed to have just awakened and hadn’t yet left the ice lake. Of course, even if we escape this place, there are plenty of monsters elsewhere.

My instinct warns me. Compared to the boss that Chae Min-ah awakened, even those monsters are nothing.

“From now on, listen only to my voice. Don’t fall for any other illusions!”

And the curse that the boss emits, the illusion, is extremely dangerous. Soso and Yuri could become like those Hellhound hunters at any moment.

I cast spells on the two trembling individuals.

Hoping they would be conscious of me through that fire, I placed hot fire on Soso and a small fire on Yuri to make her aware of me.

“Warmth… yes… Minsu is… by my side.”

Fortunately, it seemed to work for Yuri. She seemed to have escaped the illusion. While being carried, I tightly embraced Soso.

“I, I am… no, this lady is fine!”

And Soso also seemed to have come to her senses. Leaving the two moving, I prepared another fusion spell.

“Don’t think about anything else! Both of you, trust me! I’ll open a path with another spell!”

Through the visibility Yuri provided, I could see the horde of monsters again. I sent not a butterfly of flame, but a bird of flame toward them.

Boom boom boom—

And with a loud explosion, I fainted while being carried on Soso’s back.

***

I opened my eyes.

And simultaneously felt a terrible sensation throughout my body. I was shivering with chills.

At the same time, my Mana Heart was so hot it felt like it was melting. I think I know why. It’s as if my mana roads have become twisted like a tangled knot.

“Ugh…”

I involuntarily groaned at the pain. I’m usually good at enduring pain, but the feeling of two different sensations twisting my entire body was unbearable.

‘Is this the backlash from… using fusion spells twice?’

So I tightly closed my eyes again, but this time, inevitably, the scene from that day appeared. The scene where Siwoo and Min-ah stood in front of me.

‘Min-ah?’

And memories began to resurface. That damn symptom where my breath gets caught and the world seems to spin.

But biting my lip hard, I forcibly opened my eyes and tried to check the time.

‘A barracks… is it?’

It seems to be the same barracks where guild members waited before embarking on the reconnaissance mission.

That gives me some relief. The fact that I survived like this means Yuri and Soso are likely safe too.

As I tried to get up, I felt my body was unusually heavy. Opening my eyes and looking down, I saw someone lying on top of me.

“Arin?”

It was Arin. And she woke up at the sound of my voice.

“Hmm? Senior… are you awake?”

Arin’s face was drowsy. And her eyes were swollen.

‘She must have… cried herself to sleep.’

But seeing me conscious, Arin smiled with relief.

“Senior!”

And as I raised my upper body, she embraced me. I patted Arin’s back and quickly asked about the situation.

“Is this the barracks in Paju? Are Yuri and Soso safe?”

“The Guild Master and Team Leader Yeon are fine. They were resting until yesterday, and today they went into an emergency meeting with people from the Association.”

“Then how many days have…”

“The time when the three of you joined me and Father Stefato and returned here was late yesterday afternoon. And now it’s noon the next day.”

Fortunately, not much time seems to have passed. And Arin’s body, embracing me, glowed green.

“Senior. Lie back down. Your mana roads are… in such a mess.”

Arin seems to have quickly assessed my condition. Her divine power began to seep into my body.

Like a mix of cold and hot baths, I could feel my chaotic body calming down. But as my body settled, the scene just before I fainted became even clearer.

‘How could Min-ah be alive?’

Someone whose head has been severed absolutely cannot survive. Despite the existence of mana and divine power on this Earth.

No one with high divine power, not even the Pope of the White Cross Society, can resurrect someone who has died like that.

‘If only… she were an angel instead of a demon…’

A talent with such high divine power that even the Vatican had taken notice. If such a Min-ah had returned to the embrace of the White Cross Society’s God and become God’s apostle, I could at least understand.

But the demon wings clearly protruding from her back. And seeing her awaken that ominous and terrifying monster presumed to be a demon.

Of course, it has nothing to do with the original content. After all, Min-ah in the original work didn’t die.

Despite Arin’s divine power calming my body, I found myself trembling involuntarily at this incomprehensible mystery.

“Senior. It’s okay… it’s okay, don’t be afraid.”

And Arin, who had followed Min-ah like an older sister, was instead comforting me.

“Huh? Senior?”

I embraced Arin and, as if trying to forget my fear, kissed her.