“Yerina······!”
Crash!
With a chilling sound, the icicle rose high into the sky, threatening to envelop the world in frost.
Jill shivered at the spreading cold, as if determined to cover the entire earth in ice.
She had believed it would be okay for a while.
Then Yerina exploded.
Her talent and curse, the frenzy, began to go out of control.
Was there a sign before this?
No. There was none.
Jill could definitively conclude that.
Yerina had already mastered her inner technique.
Now she had reached a level where she could operate her inner technique even while sleeping or unconscious.
Was Yerina’s strong mental state shaken?
Why would it be?
“How dare anyone······? How······?”
It was incomprehensible.
Who could possibly throw a stone into the calm lake of such a transcendent being?
Could it be possible for Jill?
She immediately shook her head at her own question.
It was impossible.
Even if Jill talked about Yoo Jin and shared memories with him, Yerina wouldn’t bat an eye.
Yerina was that kind of person.
The more pain she felt, the more numb she became to it.
The more injuries she sustained, the tougher she grew.
Yerina, having lost Yoo Jin, had become a transcendent being that no one could understand or approach.
In terms of power too.
And in terms of the charisma required to lead the alliance.
It wasn’t as if she had simply been subdued.
Was her mental state shattered, sending her into a frenzy······?
That was literally an impossible feat.
To exaggerate a little, the current Yerina was a being who couldn’t be shaken even if a god of transcendence appeared.
If there were to be any being capable of moving Yerina’s heart, it would surely be······.
“Huh?”
Jill’s eyes trembled.
She had thought of something absurd.
The only person who could shake Yerina.
The one and only person she had believed she would never see again.
If it were that person?
Thump.
Jill’s hand touched the cold, frozen wall of the building.
Within it, a subtle vibration seemed to be happening.
As if someone were rushing in a panic.
Thud thud thud thud······.
.
.
.
Yerina Frost.
The heroine who had boasted the highest difficulty in conquest since her design.
And the worst heroine, who would give the player a taste of hell the moment they chose the harem route.
If it were possible to clear the game through a normal route, I would have never even glanced at Yerina.
Who would dare to pursue a harem with such a sharp-witted, strong heroine, filled with obsession and suspicion, with no way to end it?
Unless one had to see the harem ending to escape, like me······.
So, it seemed that I became even more emotionless when dealing with Yerina.
I accepted everything about Yerina as a game.
Only focusing on raising the completion rate bit by bit, eliminating any grounds for suspicion.
But who would have thought?
In that process, it was I who fell into Yerina’s crystalline eyes first, rather than her falling for me······.
Ha······.
Crunch. Crunch.
I trudged through the mercilessly piled-up snow.
Continuing towards the towering ice spire that seemed to touch the sky.
It appeared to be close since it looked large from afar, but oh my goodness.
It felt like I would never reach the end.
If Mi Jeong hadn’t been by my side, I would have long since frozen to death.
‘Something feels similar to my inner world, yet······.’
While it seemed similar in the fact that it’s all a freezing snowy field, it was entirely different.
Yerina’s inner world was based on the real world.
Completely covered in snow and frozen, I hadn’t realized it at first.
But taking a closer look, familiar landscapes and buildings were visible.
This was indeed the headquarters of the alliance located in the southern region.
The very place where I had just sparred with Yerina.
The towering ice spire in that exact spot was further cooling a world where all life had been frozen to death.
‘Is this a future based on trauma?’
At first, I thought so.
I believed it was merely a scene that Yerina vaguely feared.
But then I realized.
This wasn’t just a world of imagination.
It was entirely possible.
If Yerina’s frenzy ran unchecked, and if the being capable of stopping it disappeared, then it could very well be.
All the conditions could have fit together perfectly.
Twelve times, at that.
‘Did all twelve rounds, where Yerina was abandoned, end up like this?’
I simply left without any sense of responsibility.
There was no way to know what happened afterward, nor did I make any effort to find out.
But now, seeing this chilling sight, I could finally understand.
This would be the final appearance of all the worlds I had abandoned.
And if I couldn’t restore my existence, this might also be the future of this round.
My fists clenched.
Finally, it appeared.
The transparent ice spire.
Inside it, Yerina’s blue hair peeked out.
Just that was enough to pump strength into my legs.
‘You frustrating girl.’
It was a thought I had every time I looked at Yerina.
Though she was the most carefree and reckless person, I often felt she was even more frustrating than Jill or Yulia.
The reason was that Yerina was a coward.
A coward who feared getting hurt and couldn’t move forward.
Countless memories that had ruined relationships had become trauma, lingering within her.
She wanted to be loved, but didn’t want to share love.
She wanted to monopolize, but didn’t want to express affection.
She desired more than anyone else, yet hated how desperate that seemed.
On the surface, Yerina appeared active and lovable, but internally, she was always ready to label me a betrayer and disappoint me.
I had suffered from this cowardice twelve times.
There were times I desperately wanted to give up.
Did this girl really like me? Did she even have a chance to like me in the future? Doubts plagued me constantly.
But even while groaning about it, I never once gave up on Yerina.
Back then, I just brushed it off as ‘stubbornness.’
Now, however, I believe I can say firmly.
I had already loved Yerina back then.
The more I understood her,
The more I learned about the wounds of that noble lone wolf,
The more I realized that she, who could only be alone, actually didn’t want to be alone, and I fell deeper for Yerina.
I wanted to tell her she was wrong.
I wanted to prove that not every relationship would end in catastrophe.
I wanted to wipe away Yerina’s tears by her side.
Presumptuously, I set out to tame the wolf that would become a ruler, trampling over all.
That attempt was shattered completely.
Now, with only one coin left, my resolve remained unchanged.
I couldn’t let go of Yerina.
I couldn’t suppress my feelings for her.
Now, Yerina had become a significant part of me.
Losing her meant losing the history I had built.
“Yerina.”
I finally reached the ice spire.
Up close, it boasted a grand stature like a wall.
Before it, the only thing I could wield was a small, pathetic sword made of sheer will.
Compared to this towering spire, it looked less than a grain of sand.
But in front of this, my sword gradually grew stronger and sharper.
A will layered upon will.
It was endlessly sharpened, flickering with red light.
“Let’s go back.”
Crash!
I thrust my will straight into the ice spire.
Despite shoving it with all my might, the ice spire didn’t budge.
But inside it, my will began to rage.
As the vibrations made the ice start to melt and water began to flow,
At the moment I twisted my sword, cracks spread across the entire ice spire.
Crack!
With the small ripple, the ice spire began to crumble.
In an instant, the base dropped down.
The ice spire slowly tilted toward me.
However, both Mi Jeong and I could only stare at the toppling spire.
We had no intention of dodging.
Once again, my fingertips gathered will, shaping the blade.
Yerina was still inside there.
That fact alone provided me the reason not to dodge, but to confront it head-on.
“Iron Blood Storm Slash!”
I moved my frozen body and shot the sword aura toward the sky.
It formed a net-like shape, striking the collapsing ice spire head-on.
Perhaps weakened by crumbling, the ice spire shattered and broke apart like ordinary ice.
And from within it, the figure I had been searching for began to emerge.
Blue fur, white skin.
The ice ruler was falling, surrendering to gravity without strength.
My body moved on its own.
Even though pieces of ice the size of buildings were still falling,
I dashed through the raining shards of ice and reached out my hand.
“I got you.”
“······!”
Finally.
Yerina entered my arms.
Facing the destroyer that had doomed this world.
Yerina’s eyes, void of everything as if she had given up on the world, turned towards me and quickly brightened, regaining focus.
“Yoo Jin······? Is that you?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
“How, how? Ah, no······. Why are you here······?”
“Why, you ask? I came to find you.”
She still seemed dazed.
Seeing her react to such a simplistic statement made me think so.
I held Yerina’s waist to support her, placing my hand behind her neck.
It seemed her body was still too weak.
All the while, the cold emanating from her body was freezing mine by the second.
Mi Jeong was beside me, already completely frozen, unable to move, only blinking her eyes.
“A dream······? No. This can’t be. Is it real? You’re alive, Yoo Jin?”
“Of course. I’ve been watching over you.”
“Then why······! Why now······. Why now that you finally come······?”
Yerina hugged me, suppressing her tears, as if holding back resentment.
That coldness was biting.
Yerina’s touch threatened to freeze my very bones.
“Yoo Jin······.”
“Yes.”
“This is enough now. I’ve seen your face, so I’m fine. Let me go.”
“······.”
“I hurt you too much······. I was too cold······. Now I’m letting you go······. Hurry and leave before you get frozen too.”
With an effortful smile, Yerina caressed my face.
With that single touch, my face began to freeze solid.
I couldn’t even make a facial expression; my muscles had stiffened completely.
Speaking required every ounce of strength I had left.
“You saw it, didn’t you? How the future unfolds. How I cause the world’s destruction. It’s already spiraled out of control. The moment I opened the door and started to love you······ my inner frenzy only grew and would eventually explode.”
“······.”
“But I don’t regret it. If I’d lived my life with barricades up, I would never have known this feeling, even until the day I die, even if that end were in apocalypse and death. No matter how it ends, I think it was worth loving you. To have the audacity to covet a destiny born to never love and never be loved, I ended up meeting this fate······. Still, I was happy. I tasted joy that was beyond my station. So now, leave me, Yoo Jin. You’ve really struggled to teach a girl like me what love is······.”
Tears streamed down her face as she pressed her lips against mine.
As my face froze entirely, magical energy flowed into me.
The mana was rapidly broken down into pure mana.
That mana transformed into demonic energy.
I was ready.
Ready to open space and return to the current world.
