episode_0159

Lee Seo was a soldier. Though not officially affiliated with the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, she was clearly a member of a government organization.

Given the role of the Border Defense Unit, she had experienced numerous battles even at a young age.

How many crises had she overcome through those experiences? The countless battles she endured had forged her current status.

But… no matter when it was.

“H-Hyunjin…”

Seeing a critically wounded comrade made it impossible for her to maintain her composure.

Lee Seo’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.

Blood flowed out, and Lee Hyunjin coughed. His mouth was also wet with dark crimson blood, and above all, at that moment, his side had been torn open.

“…Ah, ah.”

It was literal. A wound as if he had been mauled by a beast.

Perhaps it would have been better if it were, but this was a wound seared by an unknown laser shot from the giant’s eye.

The flesh around a certain area had cleanly burned away.

Wouldn’t ‘vanished’ be more fitting than ‘torn off’ or ‘ripped open’?

‘H-how.’

Lee Seo felt her mind go hazy from the smell of burning flesh.

She was in absolute panic.

‘How, what should I do about this…?’

To her, Lee Hyunjin’s wound was unequivocally fatal.

If things continued like this, it wouldn’t be strange at all for him to die from excessive bleeding.

Should she stop the bleeding? But the wound was too vast. Not only did she not know if she could cover it all, but she also feared that applying pressure carelessly might induce shock.

Lee Seo trembled, unable to even think about restraining the giant, and merely fumbled for Lee Hyunjin’s hand and grasped it.

A will or a message… She couldn’t even utter the words commonly asked of dying awakened individuals: if there was anything they wanted to leave behind.

And indeed, Lee Hyunjin was still very young. He was just a child who had recently become an adult.

When you thought about it, he had ended up in this state because he took on the role that the Border Defense Unit should have handled.

How could she say such a cruel thing? Lee Seo was not that cold-hearted.

Her emotions changed sequentially. First was panic and fear. This was because she felt the scent of approaching death.

Second was acceptance. Even with her disheveled reason, she could be certain that Lee Hyunjin’s breath would not last long.

‘…It’s my fault.’

Next was finding someone to blame.

Lee Seo thought with a terrifyingly stiff expression. Strictly speaking, wasn’t Lee Hyunjin in this state because she had been negligent during her watch?

She shouldn’t have. It was true that fatigue had accumulated, but if she was going to doze off like that, she should have at least woken Lee Hyunjin first.

“—Ah.”

For that reason, the last emotion that arose was rage.

Terrible hatred towards the giant, added to her self-loathing.

‘Kill it.’

That was all she thought. Lee Seo rose as if possessed, clutching her dagger, and just as red flames were about to ignite on its tip.

“Cough…!”

Lee Hyunjin spat out blood. Lee Seo, startled, her body tensed, turned her head with an expression that was impossible to tell if she was crying or angry.

And then she realized. What good would it do to repay the culprit with her life?

“…Hmph.”

Even so, Lee Hyunjin would die, and she would have to carry that guilt for the rest of her life.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry…’

Her mind was filled with terrible self-reproach. A trickle of blood flowed from between her lips, which she bit down on as if chewing.

“Haa… Hoo.”

Lee Hyunjin composed his breathing.

He slowly focused his mental power.

Regardless of Lee Seo’s state… now was the time to disregard it and do what needed to be done.

Shhh-. A faint chill shimmered from his fingertips. Magic power he could draw upon because his life had not yet been extinguished.

“…Gasp!”

Lee Hyunjin immediately took action before the chill could possibly vanish.

What was that action?

Crack!!

“Huh…?”

He slammed his hand down, covering the laser-torn wound with ice.

The cold air that spread instantly stopped all bleeding, leaving not a single drop.

Crackle…!

“…”

Lee Seo blinked blankly. What was he suddenly doing, stopping the bleeding? No, before that.

…It was a wound where it wouldn’t be strange for him to die instantly, so how was he already moving?

“G-get a hold of yourself, Lee Seo-ssi.”

It was then that Lee Hyunjin painfully managed to speak. The focus returned to Lee Seo’s greatly agitated eyes.

“…I’m not dead yet? Don’t make that scary face, treating me like a dead man, and let’s assess the situation together.”

Lee Seo didn’t know, but the reason Lee Hyunjin could act so normally (?) and speak despite his critical injury was simple.

Super Regeneration ability. The top-tier close-combat power he had obtained through the S-rank villain, Violet.

Even at this very moment, Lee Hyunjin’s wound was slowly attempting to return to its original state. His nerve tissues were rejoining.

Perhaps with enough rest, he would be able to return to his daily life without needing to be bedridden for long.

“…That’s how it is. I have a few different abilities, you see? So don’t just stand there stunned like that-. Cough.”

Lee Hyunjin’s attempt to finish his explanation and return to the main topic was thwarted.

Before that, Lee Seo, who had practically headbutted him, enveloped him in a tight hug.

“T-thank goodness. H-huff, thank goodness…”

If before it was impossible to tell if she was crying or angry, now her voice made it impossible to tell if she was crying or laughing.

Lee Seo clung to Lee Hyunjin, clutching his collar tightly, and Lee Hyunjin winced at it.

“No, why are you doing this? You’re acting so strange, this Nuna. Was me almost dying really that shocking?”

Lee Hyunjin pushed Lee Seo’s head with his palm as he asked. Lee Seo sniffled and mumbled in a small voice.

“I-I’m sorry… because of me…”

“…Ah, because of that?”

Although her voice was garbled and hard to understand, Lee Hyunjin roughly caught the underlying meaning.

In other words, she meant that this had happened because she had dozed off.

“Ahyo.”

Since that was certainly true, Lee Hyunjin didn’t offer any particular words of comfort.

On the contrary, he felt like giving her a good thwack on the head, as he would to Baek Ayun or Ryu Seeun, but…

“Hmph, sniffle, aww…”

“…”

Since she was bursting into such tears, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Lee Hyunjin sighed with a sour expression.

“…That’s enough now, please listen to me, Lee Seo Nuna.”

The appellation had changed naturally, but neither Lee Hyunjin nor Lee Seo paid it any mind.

Lee Seo wiped away her tear stains with her sleeve and nodded twice weakly.

“We need to sort out the situation.”

It was the moment Lee Hyunjin’s gaze sharpened. Lee Hyunjin, who had subtly turned his head, stared menacingly at the giant still blocked by the ice-wood.

That S-rank monster, who had completely obliterated his side with an unexpected strike.

Its appearance was already unlikable, but now his hostility had doubled.

Lee Hyunjin calmly continued.

“That guy, it seems that laser earlier isn’t an ability it can use repeatedly.”

“…Y-yes.”

Lee Seo also diligently wiped her eyes as she replied. Certainly, if it were an ability that could be fired in succession, they would have been wiped out long ago.

Either the previous strike was its best… or, at the very least, there must be a cooldown.

So they had to get as far away as possible. Deep into the cave, to a place where the laser shot from the rolling eye outside couldn’t reach.

At his words, Lee Seo nodded vigorously, then hoisted Lee Hyunjin onto her back and crawled along.

Soon, the two of them entered a passage so narrow they almost had to squeeze themselves in.

“…This should be enough. At least we won’t have to worry about laser attacks.”

Lee Hyunjin sighed in relief, but his expression still held a sense of helplessness.

The reason was nothing else.

“That tree, you see.”

The ice-wood that blocked the cave entrance.

Lee Hyunjin frowned.

“It probably won’t last that long. It’s also a clear example of an installed spell with a limited lifespan.”

“…That means…”

Lee Seo asked back with a dark expression, and Lee Hyunjin replied after some thought.

“Probably about 30 minutes to an hour? By then, the ice-wood will melt, and that giant will just wait and then poke its finger in again. It’s obvious.”

Lee Seo looked back outside with a dismal expression. Although not entirely visible from their angle, the giant was still pushing its eyeball into the entrance, trying to peer at them.

Meeting its gaze was unpleasant, so Lee Seo quickly turned her head back.

“I-isn’t there a way…?”

She then asked.

“Well… there is a way.”

At the surprisingly immediate positive reply, her eyes widened.

Lee Hyunjin let out a small chuckle at Lee Seo’s reaction.

“We just need to reinforce it. That’s how all installed spells are. If you blast it with some cold air, its duration will naturally extend.”

“Ah…!”

Wasn’t that a simpler and easier method than she’d thought? Lee Seo’s face brightened immediately, and she turned her back towards Lee Hyunjin.

It was clearly a posture indicating she would carry him.

“…”

“…”

But Lee Hyunjin did not entrust his body to Lee Seo’s back.

Lee Seo, feeling awkward, awkwardly turned her head and spoke.

“You’re… not getting on?”

“Why would I get on your back…?”

“Huh? B-but to inject the cold air, Lee Hyunjin would naturally have to move…”

“I can’t use magic anymore.”

Lee Hyunjin’s sudden and shocking declaration. Lee Seo’s expression crumbled dramatically as she stammered.

“N-no. Then what do we do?! I’m not an ice mage, and no, I’m not even a mage to begin with…?”

“Exactly. That’s the key.”

“…Huh?”

As if that was precisely the point, Lee Hyunjin snapped his fingers and wore a subtle smile.

And then he slowly reached out and lowered his pants.

Lee Seo blinked.

“Um, Lee Hyunjin?”

“Yep.”

“What are you doing?”

At her question, Lee Hyunjin turned his head. Meeting her gaze head-on, Lee Hyunjin casually tossed out a single sentence in a serious voice.

“Preparing to make you an ice mage, Lee Seo Nuna.”

“?”

Lee Seo had a question mark floating above her head, and Lee Hyunjin calmly added further explanation.

“You heard about my special ability, didn’t you?”

“…!”

And only then did Lee Seo understand what Lee Hyunjin was trying to say.

The memory she recalled with a stiff, frozen face was Lee Hyunjin’s ‘Imbuement’ ability.

…He could supposedly temporarily transfer his ice magic to women he had been intimate with?

She had thought it was a truly strange ability, but could it possibly be for situations like this…?

“…Hoo.”

Although there was bewilderment, her judgment of the situation was swift. Lee Seo adopted a resolute expression, shook off her brief hesitation, and began unbuttoning.

“I understand what you mean, Lee Hyunjin.”

“Hmm.”

“You said 30 minutes to an hour, right? Until that ice tree melts.”

“Yes, well.”

Lee Hyunjin no longer needed to struggle to pull down his pants. That was because Lee Seo, who had already climbed on top of him, extended her hand instead.

“Be prepared.”

Lee Seo, who had subtly pulled down Lee Hyunjin’s underwear, declared, licking her lips.

“What 30 minutes? I’ll finish you in 10.”

“…Uh…”

“I’ll send you to heaven.”

*****

And 30 minutes passed.

“Ugh, hack, m-mngh…!?”

Lee Seo, still riding atop Lee Hyunjin, naked after shedding her military uniform, shaking her hips, had still not sent Lee Hyunjin ‘to heaven’.