Ice Queen (3)

“Thanks to you, I survived. Ice Queen-nim..”

Maker mumbled, buried in Ice Queen’s large, soft embrace.

Even at this sight of Maker, Ice Queen didn’t think much and just stared at her own hand.

“..What is this?”

The use of her ability felt somewhat awkward.

Zzzap..

Ice freezing, her ability that she had used naturally from birth until now and was familiar with.

But now it was different.

An awkward sensation as if a new organ had sprouted.

It felt unfamiliar, like a newborn taking its first steps.

Woong woong woong!

‘Ugh. This ability..’

Moreover, the mana was rampaging inside as if it were alive.

“It looks like they’re about to attack us, what will you do?”

The beasts were slowly closing the distance, making the situation even worse when she was already struggling to control her ability.

“Seeing you use your ability earlier, it seems like you could freeze them all and escape.”

“..It’s impossible.”

She didn’t know how such power had come out just now.

She wasn’t sure if such power would come out in her current internal state.

And to begin with, it was impossible to freeze this many at once even with her original ability.

“..If only it would rain.”

“Rain, you say?”

“Yes, it’s impossible without that.”

Ice Queen bit her lip with a frustrated tone.

Maker silently looked at her before opening his mouth.

“Who decided that?”

“..What?”

“How do you know without even trying? You’ve been steadily growing until now.”

Even compared to when they first met, she could now freeze without touching water to her skin and instantly change shapes, couldn’t she?

“But, to create ice right away..”

“Can’t you pull it from the air? Can’t you freeze the moisture in the beasts’ bodies?”

“That’s obviously impossible..”

“Why do you think it’s impossible?”

A tone that seemed confident, similar to before.

Ice Queen turned her gaze to look at her own hand.

..What was the original ability like?

She didn’t know. The awkward sensation instantly dotted her and she lost her sense of it.

“You are someone who controls water and ice, not someone controlled by it.”

Because she was none other than a ‘Queen’.

Maker once again denied her thoughts and believed in her.

“If you set your own limits, you can only stop there.”

“……”

“Try believing in me.”

His serious and intense gaze.

For some reason, when Ice Queen saw Maker’s face, her head naturally moved.

Her face was full of the warmth that Maker had transferred from his hand.

“Imagine.”

Maker smiled brightly, grabbed Ice Queen’s wrist, and placed it on the ground.

“Don’t try to forcibly handle the power inside. It’s also a part of you, so even if it seems free-spirited, it will follow your will.”

Ice Queen closed her eyes tightly.

“Imagine.”

The first thing that came to mind was ice.

She imagined it shining like a jewel and easily breaking.

“Imagine.”

And that ice soon shattered into many pieces and changed.

‘Imagine.’

There was a cold that could freeze even burning flames.

‘Imagine.’

There was a cold that made even the surrounding air settle heavily and freeze.

‘Imagine.’

A pure white land that could return everything to nothingness existed there.

Kuwooooo-

Cold flowed through every part of her mana circuit, and it came out along her skin, emanating an icy chill from her entire body.

Grrrr..!!!

And at the instinctive sense of threat, the wolf pack that had broken free from Maker’s control and started charging in an instant.

In this critical moment, Ice Queen chanted in a calm tone.

“ㅡFreezing of All Creation (萬象凍結).”

Whooosh-

In an instant. Everything around turned pure white.

---

“This is..”

“Beautiful.”

The area was covered in ice along with a quiet cold wind.

Everything except Maker and Ice Queen was frozen.

“This seems to be about a 1km radius.”

Ice Queen lowered her head to look at her two hands.

It was strange. Despite covering the surroundings with cold, she was strangely overflowing with power.

Woong..

A feeling of elation as if her body was floating and a strange sense of omnipotence.

A refreshing feeling like breaking through a ‘wall’ that had been blocked all along and looking at the clear sky.

Although it was her first time experiencing this phenomenon, Ice Queen instinctively knew its name.

“Awakening..”

She had awakened.

Woooong-!!

A cold wind started swirling around her.

Ice Queen closed her eyes and let herself go with the flow, like when she used her ability before.

Maker began to appreciate the sight without any restraint.

Zik- Ziiiik-

Her clothes started to loosen in the strong wind.

However, before Ice Queen’s pure white skin was properly revealed, clothes that looked like blue silk were newly overlaid.

From that point, Ice Queen’s outfit began to change gradually.

‘Oh SailoX Moon.’

For a moment, Maker was reminded of the magical girl transformation scene from an old girls’ anime, but soon he just went along with it and continued watching.

Ice Queen’s outfit gradually changed from androgynous white shirts and leather pants to something like a dress you might see at a party.

Instead of the clunky shoes she wore before, sharp translucent ice heels and a light blue dress that sparkled as if made by weaving jewels.

While emphasizing her figure like a qipao, the side slit seemed to allow for easy movement without much discomfort.

And finally, as if emphasizing that she herself is a woman, the feminine curves revealed by various cutouts.

While it felt embarrassing, the strangely dignified appearance suited Ice Queen very well.

Overall, an appearance that suited the name of Ice Queen even more.

“Phew..”

Ice Queen descended from the wind, her hair ends now gradating to white fluttering.

And after opening her eyes and examining her outfit, Ice Queen.

“..Kyaaaaaaah!!!!”

She hurriedly covered the exposed parts of her bare skin, then crouched down and glared at Maker.

Apparently misunderstanding that Maker had done something strange again.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s a misunderstanding.”

Maker quickly raised both hands and began to clear up her misunderstanding.

“That’s what you wanted.”

“What nonsense!!”

Perhaps the explanation was a bit lacking.

Maker explained the circumstances of how that outfit came to be a little more carefully.

“The clothes you’re wearing now are like a byproduct of mana clumps put on during the awakening process.”

Awakening of an ability.

Although it’s called awakening, it could be seen as reconstruction, or deletion and creation.

Until now, ability users went through learning and adapting usage methods to match their ability, but this time the ability was newly reconstructed to match the ability user, discarding unnecessary parts and strengthening necessary ones.

The user’s will is reflected and imbued in that process of change, so even in the case of mana that leaked out during the transformation process, the user’s tastes and tendencies are strongly reflected.

And in her case, it was none other than clothing.

“In other words, that appearance is what you desired.”

“The appearance I desired..”

Maker draped his coat over Ice Queen’s shoulders as she was feeling embarrassed, then created a full-length mirror to show her appearance.

“..Is this me?”

And Ice Queen let out a short exclamation at her reflection in the mirror.

Ice Queen was immersed in various impressions as she looked over her appearance.

Beautiful.

Perhaps because she didn’t often use such descriptions, nothing else came to mind.

Although she felt a little ashamed since she was saying it about herself, anyway, that’s how it was.

“You look beautiful in a skirt as well.”

“B-Be quiet..”

Ice Queen heated up at Maker’s words.

She gave Maker a small scolding, and after a while, asked about the doubt she had felt in his words.

“..How do you know such things?”

Awakened ability users are very rare.

In a situation where accurate awakening information is almost unknown, how does Maker know information about awakening?

“Hmm..”

Ice Queen wanted to ask him everything right away, but

unfortunately, Maker had no intention of telling Ice Queen.

Woof woof woof!!

Yap yap yap!!

Squawk!!

And just then, beasts started swarming again.

“Isn’t saving people with your new power the priority?”

“..I guess there’s no choice.”

Ice Queen had no choice but to end her conversation with him, leaving her regrets behind.

“Don’t die. Ice Queen-nim.”

“You don’t die either, Maker. I have.. many things I want to say to you.”

With that, Ice Queen turned her back on Maker and ran towards the direction of the crying sounds, her coat fluttering.

‘Well then. The urgent matters with Ice Queen are all finished.’

I was thinking of returning to the control room to release the last third cage and wrap things up.

Swoosh-

“Hm?”

A chilling sensation felt at that moment.

Maker looked around, but there was nothing around.

“..It felt like someone was here.”

“Oppa, are you done with work?”

“Yes, Polia-nim.”

Oh well.

Thinking it was probably nothing, he began to return to where he was originally with leisurely steps.

---

If I had to describe this terrorism in one word, it would be worthy of being called a disaster.

“Medical team! Treat severely injured citizens and heroes first!”

“Dammit, desperately stop them from crossing over to other districts!!”

Terrorism targeting an entire district that even large organizations wouldn’t easily attempt.

Especially since terrorism in B District could affect A District, which can be considered the current capital of South Korea, they were trying even harder to handle the situation without letting it spread further.

And disasters originally do not discriminate between people.

“Oh shit! I hoped the information would be wrong about this one!!”

“You fucking bastards!! This is our business area, so get out!!!”

Villains were also desperate in the face of disaster.

Villains who set up businesses in B District, villains who lent money to citizens here, and villains who unintentionally got trapped in the center of the terrorism.

Regardless of whether they were villains or heroes, various people were resisting this disastrous terrorism.

Because B District was also an important area no less than A District, numerous villains and heroes from South Korea had gathered in B District.

As such, it was perhaps natural that a meeting that could be called a fateful encounter occurred somewhere.

“Mister.”

“……”

“Who is that lady?”

Alpha patted the child’s head as they whined.

And right in front of them, looking at them with her veil on, was the Queen of Hearts.

Alpha and the Queen of Hearts.

The long-standing ill fate between the two continued even in this wartime situation.

“..Little one, please step aside for a moment.”

“Huh? But..”

“I’ve cleared this whole area, so don’t worry about attacks.”

At Alpha’s firm words, the little child soon nodded and left.

The Queen silently watched this scene, then glared at Alpha as if he was utterly detestable.

“You’re acting like this even though you’re not a hero.”

“Because someone has to do it.”

“Ha.”

Alpha dealt with the last remaining stage 2 beast nearby, then spoke calmly.

And the Queen let out a hollow laugh at that sight.

It was an ironic laugh that flowed out unable to contain her anger.

“What was that child just now? Do you want to imitate the past?”

Imitating the past.

At those words, Alpha momentarily stiffened.

He turned his head and looked at the Queen.

“……”

Resentment, hatred, contempt, all sorts of negative emotions.

“..Say something, will you?”

While the Queen harbored many negative emotions towards Alpha, her face also held a hint of sadness.

Seeing such an appearance, what words could one dare to utter?

‘When it’s all my fault.’

Instead of saying anything, Alpha just moved forward.

“I.. you-“

And then he ran desperately at a speed she couldn’t perceive.

Bang-!!

He attacked the group of beasts that were trying to ambush the Queen from behind.

A group of beasts with an even more monstrous appearance than before.

They were the beasts from the third and final cage that Maker had opened.

Crunch..?

Kiiiing-

Kuwoooong-!!

Alpha thus dealt with the beasts aiming for Heart’s back in one blow.

“..I’m sorry to you.”

Alpha offered a quiet apology, then left for another place with the child who had been hiding nearby.

“……”

A speed at which she could follow immediately if she wanted to.

But the Queen just blankly stared at Alpha’s retreating figure.

---

“It seems to be wrapping up roughly.”

Peace that came after overcoming various crises (mainly women issues) today.

‘Now that I’ve sent out all the beasts from the third cage, my job is done.’

I should be able to escape when people are about to catch them all.

So I checked the situation by looking through the CCTV for any unusual occurrences during the remaining time.

“B-22.. no problem. B-35 and 17 also fine. And.. hm?”

While looking around like that, I saw a woman.

Thud!!

“That’s..!”

Surprised by the woman’s appearance, I jumped up from my seat and stared at the screen.

-Kyahahahaha!!

A hero causing havoc here and there with the electricity she controls while bursting into laughter.

-Zap! Zzzzzap!!

The woman had ominously flickering black lightning and eyes with the whites and blacks reversed, as if possessed by something.

In addition, her hair swayed as if it were ‘alive’.

“B-class hero Spark..?”

I couldn’t help but be surprised because I knew those physical characteristics very well.

“Why?”

No, the character Spark is supposed to change like that originally. I should change my question.

“Why so soon?”

The power that Spark was spewing out while rampaging here and there.

It was clearly that of the final boss.