“Are you talking about me?”
A playful tone, matching her appearance, burst forth.
With a mischievous smile, she shook her body impishly.
Erina gazed at her with a cold, piercing stare.
There was a hint of menace in her voice.
In the tense atmosphere, conflicting reactions emerged.
“Why is a dragon here?”
“Hmm, it’s a bit difficult to answer that~”
She tilted her head and pouted her lips.
She shrugged her shoulders, fidgeting slightly.
It wasn’t an act; it came naturally, like a habitual gesture.
At her response, Erina’s eyes turned red.
The atmosphere froze with silence.
‘Why is a dragon here…?’
I had never heard of a dragon living in the snowy mountains.
In fact, the only dragon I knew was Kayla.
But now wasn’t the time to ponder the reasons.
Surrounded by countless monsters, there was no time for leisurely contemplation.
I gripped my sword and shield tightly.
It had only been less than a month, but my sword was already chipped.
Stains of blood marked it here and there. Daily maintenance didn’t help.
How roughly had I used it during this time?
It was also evidence of my efforts.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
Erina gripped her longsword with both hands.
She pointed her sword at the enemy in front of her, assuming a battle stance.
“All we have to do is kill them all.”
Her words elicited contrasting reactions.
The Snow Maiden’s face froze over, while the dragon’s expression turned into an exaggerated laugh.
“You’re confident! But can you handle so many?”
Amidst the scorn and arrogance, Erina remained unfazed.
Then she spoke quietly.
“Seo-Hyun-nim.”
“Yes?”
“Please don’t come too far forward.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished from sight.
In the moment everyone was bewildered, the Snow Maiden let out a scream.
“Ugh…?!”
A massive bolt of lightning struck from the sky.
Sparks exploded everywhere, threatening to electrocute everything.
The monsters’ encirclement collapsed.
With a thunderous roar and a shockwave, their formation disintegrated.
The Snow Maiden’s previously calm face now showed signs of agitation.
The confusion didn’t last long.
After the initial attack, the monsters quickly charged at their target.
And they came for me as well.
“Ugh…!”
The Frost Giant’s club swung towards me.
Just as I was about to counterattack, lightning struck from the sky.
The Frost Giant’s body charred black from head to toe.
At the same time, the nearby golem suffered the same fate.
A massive sword strike cleaved its body in two.
Even while surrounded by monsters, Erina kept her eyes on me.
But she couldn’t block all the attacks.
“Watch out!”
A huge chunk of ice flew towards me.
It was a massive magical shard created by the Snow Maiden.
Even a single direct hit could be fatal.
I immediately raised my shield to block it, but the chill numbed my arm to the fingertips.
My body was pushed back, losing balance.
Fortunately, I didn’t fall.
I almost got pushed off the cliff.
Seeing my struggle, the dragon smiled menacingly.
“You’re quite weak, aren’t you?”
I steadied my stance, remaining calm.
There was no reason to be swayed by such a feeble provocation.
With my shield up, I thrust my sword forward.
There was only the cliff behind me.
It was better to charge first than to be cornered.
I charged with a shout, aiming for the chest.
The dragon dodged easily, twisting her body.
It was expected.
I tried to bash her head with my shield.
But she stepped back again, creating more distance.
Something felt off.
There was no counterattack or any sign of preparing one.
She just stared at me blankly.
“…?”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
Something was strange. But there was no time to ponder.
I quickly swung my sword horizontally at her waist.
Clang, the sound echoed as my sword was blocked.
The sharp blade stopped at her forearm.
Embedded in her skin were sharp scales.
I threw myself forward with my shield up.
The light impact pushed me back.
Still, there was no sign of a counterattack.
She was only focused on blocking my attacks.
Finally, I spoke.
“Why aren’t you fighting back?”
I continued my assault, thrusting my sword repeatedly.
She dodged effortlessly, twisting her body.
Even while evading, she replied leisurely.
“Well, if I have to say, there’s no reason to fight?”
“What are you talking about?”
Her passive demeanor, despite being an obvious enemy, made me hesitant to attack recklessly.
We continued our cautious standoff.
Suddenly, she jumped into the air, soaring upwards.
A strong gust of wind swirled around us.
But it wasn’t a threatening move.
It was a barrier to protect herself.
She really had no intention of fighting.
“Well, it’d be best if both of you died.”
She muttered, looking around leisurely as if enjoying the scenery.
“All I need to do is survive.”
Behind her, chaos reigned.
Monster corpses flew, and blood flowed.
Then her gaze shifted to Erina.
She was a literal monster.
Surrounded by monsters, she wasn’t being pushed back at all.
Instead, with each strike, multiple monsters were being sliced in half.
She was in a state of total concentration.
At that moment, something blocked the sunlight from above.
A massive iceberg was descending from the sky.
“…?!”
Meteor. This was dangerous.
Even Erina needed to evade it.
But she didn’t move.
She glanced upward, then swiftly sheathed her sword.
A blinding flash of light streaked through the air.
A colossal sword slash shot toward the sky.
The sharp and precise strike collided with the falling iceberg.
In an instant, the massive chunk of ice split in two.
The chunk of ice that fell to the ground rushed down under the heads of the monsters.
Countless monsters screamed helplessly and were crushed by the chunk of ice.
The monsters’ screams of agony echoed, reminiscent of a scene from hell.
“That’s too strong…”
I chuckled in disbelief.
Even as an ally, I was taken aback by the overwhelming sight.
I had always thought Erina was incredibly strong.
But I never imagined she could create such a vast disparity in power.
Even the dragon, who had appeared so relaxed, now wore a grimace of fear.
The monsters charging at me froze in their tracks, overwhelmed by her display.
Amidst the chaos, I carefully observed my opponent’s intentions.
Her actions were clearly non-hostile, so I hesitated to move rashly.
However, asking questions wouldn’t likely yield any straightforward answers from her.
An uncomfortable silence lingered as I monitored the situation.
Then the Snow Maiden’s gaze shifted to the dragon.
“What are you doing?! Stop fooling around and kill that b*stard!”
Despite the furious outburst, the dragon remained unfazed.
She maintained her sly smile and smirked.
“Alright, got it~”
She leisurely looked at me.
Wrapping herself in the wind, she soared into the sky.
The fierce gusts made the air around us turbulent.
She launched a Wind Cutter at Erina.
I couldn’t just stand by and watch.
I leapt into the air, aiming my sword at her wings.
Naturally, I couldn’t reach her. But as she twisted to evade my attack, I thrust my shield forward.
“What the hell! Stop interfering!”
For the first time, the dragon shouted.
But it wasn’t genuine.
She was feigning annoyance, still not showing any real threat.
***
I fell endlessly.
The fierce wind made my body float. The frozen mountains were dizzyingly high.
I was falling from an unfathomable height.
Calmly, I deployed a protective spell.
I focused on crafting a barrier to ensure I wouldn’t be injured upon impact.
How much time had passed?
Finally, I saw the ground approaching.
I steadied myself and braced for landing.
“Ugh…?!”
With a powerful crash, I collided with the ground.
Unlike last time, I didn’t take the impact head-on.
My legs tingled, but I wasn’t severely injured.
However, my safety wasn’t the primary concern.
I looked up at the cliff above.
The height was dizzying, shrouded in clouds.
“Seo-Hyun!”
I shouted my master’s name into the sky.
But there was no response.
Only the hollow sound of the wind returned.
‘…He’ll be alright.’
Even without me, Erina was by my master’s side.
Considering her combat prowess, she wouldn’t be easily defeated.
But I couldn’t stand by idly.
I had to hurry back to join my master at the summit.
I calmly surveyed my surroundings, searching for a path.
But all I saw was an expanse of snow-covered terrain.
‘Where am I…?’
This wasn’t the path I had taken on the way up.
I decided to head upwards.
I moved my feet, determined to find a way to ascend.
Cold, granular snow brushed against my skin.
As the wind penetrated my robe, I shivered.
Suppressing the groans that threatened to escape, I continued my climb.
“If only I had wings…”
I might not reach the summit immediately, but it would certainly be easier than this.
No, if I had wings, I wouldn’t have fallen off the cliff in the first place.
I would have flown back without incident.
But it was too late. All I had left were the torn remnants of my wings.
I cursed my own inadequacy.
But what could I do? It was all a consequence of past mistakes.
There was no time to regret.
Reflecting on my failures, I trudged on.
Suddenly, I sensed an unusual presence.
Someone was nearby. At first, I thought it was a monster.
I immediately prepared a magic circle.
But an unexpected voice reached my ears.
“Have you been well?”
“…?!”
A confident, female voice.
A voice so familiar it sent chills down my spine.
There was no mistaking it. It was the voice of a woman from my memories.
A woman from a long past I never wanted to remember.
The countless dragons who had joined to fight the Demon King.
Among them, there was one person who stood out.
I turned around. There she was, the one buried deep in my memories.
“Lily…!”
She smiled broadly and waved.
“How have you been, Bianca?”
