“······Yoo Jin.”
Thud.
Mi Jeong harshly grabbed my wrist.
The grip was strong enough to feel like it could break my wrist.
And her dilating pupils.
Her anxious expression was clear as day.
I instantly realized what Mi Jeong wanted to say.
“······If you go, you can’t come back.”
This area is completely dominated by Yerina.
All the mana and demonic energy are in her control.
If we waste all the demonic energy and mana we’ve gathered from outside, it means we can’t use any more.
Right now, we both have to gather all the remaining demonic energy in our bodies, and only then can we barely cross over this space.
It’s a one-way trip.
In other words, if we go over there, we can’t return on our own.
“······Is she that important that you would risk your life?”
Mi Jeong asked, looking straight up at me.
Maybe because she had once faced the danger of disappearing into the void, her gaze was filled with fear.
At that time, I had no choice but to jump in to survive.
But this time is different.
If I don’t jump in, I can survive.
As time passes, the mana under Yerina will gradually become freer.
The frozen walls will melt away, and we should be able to get back out.
But what about Yerina?
“Are you saying Yerina is that important?”
“······.”
Yerina hasn’t voluntarily entered her inner world right now.
It seems she can’t control her powers, and was dragged in.
So, instead of being able to control that world, she can’t even guarantee her survival.
It means that as time goes by, the danger only increases.
I have to bring her back no matter what.
Yerina’s inner world must be filled with mana or demonic energy, and the only way to escape is to charge up with her powers.
Isn’t that too much of a shot in the dark?
That’s right.
It’s uncertain whether we can escape or not, but…
Was there ever a situation that was certain?
I’m slowly getting used to it.
“It is important. It’s important enough that living in a world without Yerina would be worse than dying.”
“······.”
There’s no hesitation.
If I were to get scared and back down here, I wouldn’t have come this far.
I started this journey believing that a life unable to return to their embrace is meaningless.
Now that I’ve become greedy, I have to see it through to the end.
I can’t let even one of them slip away.
Compromise cannot exist.
“······Hmph. Okay, then we need to hurry.”
With that, Mi Jeong smiled and intertwined her fingers with mine.
The anxiety in her eyes had completely vanished.
Only an infinite trust and will aimed at me remained.
Looks like she was worried for me…
But now that I’ve made my decision, she follows me without any hesitation.
Where I go, Mi Jeong is there.
Wherever Mi Jeong is, I will go.
As we decided to die together on the same day, we were now at a stage where we understood each other’s thoughts without speaking.
“······If they are precious to Yoo Jin, then they are precious to me too.”
“Thank you.”
“······What is there to be grateful for?”
Krak!
The rough demonic energy gathered at my fingertips sliced through the frigid air.
A large crack had formed where Yerina used to be.
As always, we stepped inside.
“What?”
“······Huh?”
A dumbfounded sound slipped from both Mi Jeong and me.
From inside the crack, a chilling energy surged forth.
Suddenly, it felt as if our entire bodies were being seized, a strong force pulling us in as we were rapidly sucked inside.
.
.
.
“Ugh… Huh?”
A hill overlooking the Allied Forces Headquarters came into view.
There, a nameless figure crouched down, secretly spying.
It had already been 30 minutes since the uncle and the blood ghoul girl had teleported inside.
Since they had been quiet for a while, I thought they were doing well without being caught.
But at some point, a slight frost began to creep from the living quarters inside the headquarters.
People started to evacuate in waves.
Before long, the building was completely frozen, transformed into a palace of ice.
However, the transformation didn’t stop there.
“What’s going on…?”
Cold air surged up from the building, creating a whirlwind.
The fierce cold wind, resembling a tornado, solidified suddenly into a massive ice pillar.
Soaring dozens of meters high into the sky, it stood firm,
Resembling a gigantic spear of ice aimed at the heavens.
It was painfully obvious whose doing it was, like a beacon of ice.
“Hurry up and get out, Uncle!!!”
The nameless one shouted.
The uncle had caused some sort of trouble.
And it seems it was a seriously critical one…
.
.
.
For my whole life, I had lived without ever understanding what cold meant.
Of course, I knew that if the temperature dropped, body heat would fall, and people would die.
But that was merely knowledge.
I had never actually felt ‘cold.’
After all, ice and frost had always been on my side.
As the lone wolf of frost, I was destined to become a ruler of cold.
But why…?
Right now, I feel cold.
So very cold.
My teeth chattered.
My body trembled uncontrollably.
Every time I opened my mouth, it felt as if my insides were drying out and the taste of blood lingered in my throat.
It hurt down to my bones.
It felt as if a powerful grudge was seeping into me, wishing to kill me.
Ah, so this is what ‘cold’ feels like…
“Ah…”
As my mind cleared, my vision sharpened.
What surrounded me was ice.
Ice that felt more familiar than people.
Yet, this transparent ice completely encompassed me, not budging even a bit despite my efforts.
This was a first for me.
I couldn’t handle ice…?
Me, who was born as the ruler of frost?
I panicked, rolling my eyes and found myself gasping for breath.
This was clearly the Allied Forces Headquarters…
It was the view from above, looking down at the headquarters.
And below me, everything was frozen.
Buildings and people, without exception…
Some had frozen mid-escape.
Some were preserved while embracing each other.
I even saw a crowd that might have been pleading to be let in, all frozen against the door.
“Oh no…”
In the meantime, I saw faces I recognized.
Eyes devoid of life, looking hollow.
They were dead.
They were all dead.
The people who had just been smiling and chatting a moment ago.
All because of me…
Because I couldn’t suppress my frenzy…
“No!!!”
Tears flowed down.
But before long, they froze.
The pillar of ice grew larger.
Surroundings cooled further.
The kingdom of ice didn’t just engulf the Allied Forces Headquarters, it spread further.
Endlessly.
No, perhaps there may be an end.
If I swallow the current world and freeze it all, that would be the end.
“Ah, I didn’t want this…!”
Tears and turmoil didn’t cease.
The frenzy swelled wildly, without an end in sight.
Now that I’ve lost everything I once held dear,
I couldn’t find a reason, motivation, means, or method to stop this frenzy.
I could only freeze.
I could only do what I do best.
I could only freeze and destroy the precious things…
It was bound to happen, after all.
The Frenzy Method.
It did extend the time significantly, but I had anticipated that I couldn’t avoid this day.
Since the day I first met Yoo Jin, the timer began ticking towards today.
Since birth, I was a being meant to become a ruler.
Born to trample over others and dominate.
Whenever I heard those words from my father, I scoffed.
I thought, “Is there really such a person in this world?”
I can make friends, just like anyone else.
I can have a normal romance.
I firmly believed that and tried to prove it.
But as days went by, I could only confirm that my father was right.
My relationships twisted in strange ways.
Each time, they twisted in ways I didn’t want, becoming irretrievable.
At first, I thought it was just a lack of effort.
I told myself it was due to status differences.
That it was because of prejudice and preconceptions as I struggled to live like a normal person…
It was only later that I understood what my father meant.
I was born with a unique talent known as ‘Frenzy.’
Thanks to that, I have a strong body and an indomitable will.
But as a result, I can’t build relationships with people.
Equal relationships are instinctively repelled.
I always have to place my counterpart beneath me in some way.
Only then do I feel at ease, and I often found myself disgusted by that realization.
That’s why I gave up on romance long ago.
Just the collapse of shallow friendships hurt my heart so much.
If I were to hurt someone I loved, I don’t think I could bear that pain.
– I, Yerina Frost, will marry a man stronger than myself.
So, I decided to marry the state.
To kill my heart.
To kill the individual known as Yerina Frost.
To live solely as the Frost Duchess leading Palana.
I realized that was what I was born to do.
Designed to perform only that role.
I learned that if I strayed from that path, I would invariably hurt others and in turn get hurt myself…
That was the plan.
I had decided to shut my heart.
I never imagined that a crazy guy would break down this lock and come in.
“Huh…?”
Is it my imagination?
Way over there,
Inside my frozen kingdom, something seemed to be moving.
Just as I thought it was just a delusion and was about to look away.
It advanced without hesitation, pushing through the deep snow.
A robust man and a small girl…
As the silhouette revealed itself on the snowy field, my eyes widened slowly.
Someone who shouldn’t be here…
Someone who had died a long time ago appeared.
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