Campfire in the Middle of Winter -3

It was an unfamiliar ceiling.

Normally, the ceiling I should be seeing would have been green.

But why am I now seeing an orange ceiling that shouldn’t be there?

There was one more strange thing.

Originally, my tent was meant for one person.

After all, I couldn’t possibly share a tent with girls.

“Hmm-hmm~”

There shouldn’t be humming sounds coming from beside me.

But despite my thoughts, the humming continued unabated, tickling my ears.

Whoever it was seemed quite happy.

“Noah, are you that happy?”

“Of course.”

“Sigh… I should have brought the Demon King…”

There was a reason I couldn’t bring the Demon King.

It wasn’t because I had impure intentions of sharing a tent with a female student, but purely because space was limited.

Even though the other tent was large, it would be difficult to fit three female students and one adult.

Hence this situation.

The very dangerous situation of sharing a tent with a female student!

Whether she understood my feelings or not, the said female student slowly crawled over to my side.

“Why are you doing this to me…”

“We’ve already crossed the line by sleeping in the same bed before.”

“That was unavoidable… and the Demon King was between us then.”

This situation is quite different.

Damn, I should have prepared the tents myself.

‘Sigh… it’s too late now…’

What’s the use of regretting now?

I accepted my fate and opened the tent door.

As cold air rushed in, I could see a large lake and the frozen bones of an ancient dragon on it.

“It’s really huge. Even seeing it again.”

“Well, it’s a dragon.”

Noah nodded and shifted her gaze.

For a few minutes, a light silence continued.

Since we couldn’t keep quiet forever, I spoke up.

“Let’s go take a look before we eat.”

“Before eating?”

“Yeah, shall we go to the other tent?”

Nod.

We crossed over to the opposite tent.

Everyone was gathered together, waiting for my explanation.

I opened my mouth.

“We’re going to the dragon’s bones.”

“The dragon’s bones?”

“Yes, that’s the dungeon.”

Everyone tilted their heads, as if they couldn’t believe it.

I decided to select one representative to check directly.

“Yul, let’s go.”

“Me first?”

“Yes. I have a predetermined order. Yul, Jin-ah, Taehwa, Noah. We’ll go in this order. To prevent any unforeseen issues, we’ll send one person every two days.”

The reason for going this way is simple.

‘If things go wrong, we need to stop Black Heart. After everyone gets stronger, we’ll send Noah last. We’ll all need to stop Noah together.’

It was in case of an emergency, to stop a magical girl who might go berserk.

We’ll test first with Black Heart, who is the second strongest.

Stella and Natalia are in the middle.

Iris is last.

If anyone goes berserk, we all need to work together to stop them.

“You need to stay sharp. If you make a mistake, you might fail.”

“What happens if we fail?”

“You’ll have your magical power taken instead.”

In other words, it’s like getting caught by a homeowner while stealing. In that case, punishment is natural.

Instead of a fine, you’ll have your magical power taken.

But still.

“Don’t be too tense. It’s like trying to steal from an empty house.”

It shouldn’t be much of a problem.

After all, they’ve all accumulated plenty of experience.

“Today Yul will go first, and if everything is fine, we’ll move on to the next person.”

“Can’t we all go together?”

“Only three living beings can enter that place at maximum. Me, Kkomul-i, and Yul. That’s it.”

Yul, who had been quietly listening to me, nodded.

“Okay. I’ll try it.”

She agreed to go first.

I took her with me and headed outside.

I left an additional warning to be prepared just in case.

Outside, we walked briefly on the frozen lake. We reached the spot right in front of the dragon’s bones.

Seeing it up close, it was even more enormous.

“Now, let’s climb to the top of the skull.”

+++++

“Yul, if you’re scared, we can stop.”

“N-no. I’ll try it.”

Yu Yul transformed into Black Heart and followed behind Shin Hyun.

He likewise transformed into Kraken and led the way.

Thud, thud.

The strange experience of walking on another creature’s vertebrae.

Black Heart’s gaze, which had been looking down at the ground, shifted to the front.

After reaching the top of the skull and settling down, she closed her eyes. Slowly inhaling, the residual magical energy tickled her nostrils.

She took a deep breath.

Concentrating her mind, she drew the floating residual energy into her body.

The act of absorbing essence was similar, but…

“I feel strange…”

Suddenly, Yul mumbled.

Transformed into Kraken, his eyes showed signs of confusion as he looked around.

“Why suddenly? Yul?”

“I don’t know… I’ve been feeling… strange…”

As she spoke, her heart suddenly pounded.

Feeling it, she clamped her mouth shut.

If she opened her mouth, something might surge up from inside.

“Ugh…”

“Has it already started?”

This is faster than expected.

Kraken quickly extended his tentacles to restrain Black Heart’s arms and legs.

Shiver-

Goosebumps rose.

“Keep your wits about you.”

“Ugh… yes…”

“One wrong move and there’ll be big trouble.”

Yul felt as if a giant reptile’s eyes were directed at her.

A reptile that might devour her if she made the slightest mistake.

Its name would probably be dragon.

An unpleasant voice spoke to her.

‘How interesting… your magical power would help with my revival…’

“Hik!?”

‘No need to fear… yes, hehe, just… become my friend…’

“Stop, stop it…!!”

Black Heart struggled, unable to bear the sensation of being constricted.

Watching the situation quietly, Kraken extended his tentacles and quickly shook Black Heart’s head.

“Aaak…!”

“…Keep your wits about you.”

“But… but…!”

“If you can’t overcome this, I’ll train you from the beginning again. Do you want to suffer for a few hours? Or would you like to see that hell again for months?”

“Ugh… ughhhh…!”

Hearing those words, Black Heart began to suffer for a different reason.

It all came back to her.

Getting hit by Kraken, becoming slimy from those disgusting tentacles, being tied up in strange positions-

“N-nooooooo!!!”

Slash!

‘Graaah!!!’

Black Heart, with her eyes tightly shut, swung her sword.

A terrible ringing and screaming tore through the air, and only after feeling hands grabbing her did Black Heart open her eyes.

“Are you okay!?”

“Yes… yes… I’m okay…”

And what entered Black Heart’s eyes was.

Wriggling, wriggling, wriggling, wriggling.

“Hik… hiiik!!!”

A black tentacle placed on her shoulder.

+++++

“Yul, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m doing fine.”

Looking at Yu Yul lying in the sleeping bag, Noah placed a hand on her forehead.

“No fever. That’s a relief.”

“I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.”

Yul turned over while speaking.

It was a silent expression that she wanted to rest.

“Kyukyu, please look after Yul.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

“Ten… tentacles no… tentacles no… ugh… no…”

“She’s really okay…?”

“I’ll watch over her, so please don’t worry.”

“Okay…”

Understanding this, Noah didn’t speak further and stood up to go outside.

Outside, fishing was in full swing.

Even though there was a reason like “getting stronger,” the essence was still camping.

To do something fitting for that, Noah joined the scene.

However, someone’s voice filled with shock could be heard from there.

“It’s cold, I tell you!”

“Just bear with it a little longer! I’ll make you something delicious!”

“This is animal abuse! There’s an animal abuser here!”

“You’re a monster, not an animal!”

“This is monster abuuuuse!!”

The noisy commotion caught her eye.

For a few seconds, her mind went blank at the unbelievable sight.

“It’s too cold…”

“Hang in there…! We just got a bite…!”

Splash!

A long, black tentacle shoots out from the ice hole.

With its tip shaped like a fishing hook.

In front of it, a fish was skewered and flopping around.

“We… we… caught one, so that’s enough, right?”

“What? We need to catch more. Did you think we’d be satisfied with just one?”

“What!?”

“We need to catch enough for spicy fish soup today and some to dry for later. You think we can survive on the food we brought?”

“This isn’t camping, it’s survival…!”

Eight tentacles spread out around him.

Each was going through ice holes to fish.

Others were also drilling holes and fishing with fishing rods.

“Ice fishing, huh…”

“It’s Noah. How’s Yul doing?”

“She’s fine. She said she wants to rest a bit.”

“That’s good then. Oh, do you want to fish too?”

“Fishing…”

“What? Is it your first time fishing?”

Noah nodded.

It wasn’t just fishing that was new.

“Actually, this is my first time camping at all.”

Camping itself was a first.

Noah had rarely gone on trips anywhere.

Reflecting on her childhood, she had thought it was because her father was busy, but looking back now, there was no particular reason for that.

Because she wasn’t his real child to give affection to.

Thinking about her father made her slightly depressed, but she quickly shook off those feelings.

She came here to have fun.

Not to brood over problems that couldn’t be solved.

“Okay. Please give me a fishing rod.”

“Taehwa will give you one over there.”

“Yes.”

She walked with small steps on the slippery ice.

Upon reaching Taehwa, she handed Noah a fishing rod.

“Break the ice and fish.”

“Break… the ice…?”

“Yes, break the ice.”

Noah nodded.

So I just need to break the ice.

“Transform.”

Whoosh-

“Noah, why did you suddenly transform-“

Thwack!

Crack.

BOOM!!!

“No, no, no, Noah… what’s wrong, did something upset you? Are you upset that Yul went first?”

“Uh…”

“Let’s talk it out! Okay!?”

“I thought… if the hole is bigger, wouldn’t it be easier to catch fish?”