Crash!
The Ice Tower is collapsing.
As if a strong heat were applied, the Ice Tower melts away helplessly.
People hurried to evacuate, but by the time the remnants of the Ice Tower touched the ground, it had already melted into cold rain.
Wow…!
“Did the rampage… stop…?”
The nameless one’s eyes widened.
He heard that back in the day, when the Frost Duchess was young, she couldn’t control her frenzy and rampaged uncontrollably.
Every time it happened, the Frost Duchess would go into the Ice Cave and rampage for a week before finally calming down.
But this rampage ended in less than 30 minutes after it started.
No, it wasn’t that she stopped it herself.
Someone must have stopped the rampage.
But who?
Thump Thump Thump!
“Oh, this guy for real…!”
Scratching his head, the nameless one rushed out.
Starting a rampage and then stopping it?
Sure, it’s better than not stopping it at all, but…
He had no clue what was going through that guy’s mind.
Didn’t he just say he’d take a quick look?
How could he have provoked someone who couldn’t even recognize him?
“Stop! Stop!”
“It’s me, Nameless! Open the door!”
“Oh, yes, Nameless-sir. Please come in.”
“Thanks!”
“Uh, sure… Nameless-sir? When did you come back?”
Having easily passed through the inspection, the nameless one quickly entered HQ.
He didn’t know what had happened, but he needed to get that guy out right now.
With the rampage and all, the security was tense, and it was complete chaos.
At this rate, the HQ would be entirely sealed off.
The nameless one splashed through the shallow water on the road created by the melted Ice Tower and threw open the door.
The very first thing that caught his eye was the witch, Yulia, slowly waking up, seemingly just regaining her senses.
She looked like she was struggling with a hangover, grimacing while holding her head.
“Uh…? N-Nameless?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m back.”
She looked perfectly fine.
The nameless one casually replied and stepped further inside.
And then…
“…What’s that guy doing?”
He spotted the guy.
With a tired expression, the Frost Duchess slept soundly, held tightly like a precious treasure by that guy.
The expression of the nameless one decayed in real-time.
Stupid, stupid!
She’s alive.
A few scars remained, but the broken and severed parts were all stitched back together.
My body is functioning perfectly normal.
Thanks to not moving since freezing, Mi Jeong looks flawless and completely healed.
‘This is Frost-style Martial Art Secrets.’
Here, Yerina’s will has blossomed.
The culmination of Yerina’s training, hardship, and contemplation.
The great ambition of the Frost Duchess, her martial art was manifested by melting the ice and giving life.
I can feel that essence flowing into me right now.
Of course, perfectly replicating it is impossible.
But I’m convinced that through this essence, I can give birth to my own Frost-style Martial Art Secrets.
Just like I combined Landgrid and Iron Blood Storm Slash to create Cheonra Blood Armor.
“Good job.”
Wheeze Wheeze
Yerina is asleep and breathing heavily.
Her face seems a bit troubled, but there are no signs of a rampage.
She calmed perfectly.
Of course, I don’t believe that this peace will last forever.
Yerina’s frenzy will never disappear.
I can’t fully trust Yerina either.
But, so what?
No one can be trusted besides themselves.
Just look at Mi Jeong and me.
We say we’re like one body, but honestly, at any moment, we’re just looking to stab each other in the back to sacrifice for the other’s sake.
Humans are that selfish.
Unconditional love?
Sounds beautiful when you say it.
But when you think about it, isn’t that a love that requires nothing and expects nothing in return?
Isn’t it just one-sided love?
Neither Yerina nor I are people who can be in such love.
We’re always doubting, demanding proof of love, scattering possessiveness and wearing the other down…
But now it’s time to get used to it.
Yerina is ready to not cross a certain line.
And likely, Yerina’s completion rate will never exceed 95 percent.
But is that really so bad?
I’m not sure.
The day Yerina’s completion rate hits 100 percent will be the day I’ve completely deceived her…
I wouldn’t have the gall to call it love after thoroughly tricking the one I love.
A relationship that’s 5 percent short.
Not perfect, and a relationship that will never fill that last 5 percent, constantly struggling to do so.
If it’s just that kind of relationship, then I think I’d be satisfied.
“…What’s that guy doing?”
Slide.
At Nameless’ voice, I slowly let Yerina down onto the ground.
Both Yulia and Yerina seemed fine, and it looks like there were no casualties.
There’s a minor issue of flooding, but that’s just a matter of time to resolve.
Having gained everything I wanted without much fuss, it seems it’s time to head back now.
“Let’s go back.”
“No! I’m not joking, what are you really doing…? Don’t you know touching them is a death sentence? Have you lost your fear? Do you have a brain stuck in your lower half or something?”
“So what?”
So what. Between people who love each other.
At that, the nameless one pretended to vomit and looked at me with scornful eyes.
“I’ll get you for this once I regain my existence… I saw everything! The Frost Duchess’ kiss on the forehead. I’ll tell everything today!”
“Go ahead.”
“No, wait! This isn’t good, you know? It’s a crime to mock a national leader! You should try harder to convince me! Shouldn’t you be begging me not to tell?”
“I’m telling you, so do it.”
I boldly came out, causing the nameless one to look taken aback.
In his eyes, it seemed to wonder, ‘Huh? This isn’t how it’s supposed to go?’
What an innocent kid.
I ruffled the nameless one’s hair, who was freaked out and went outside.
“Hmm…?”
I had expected the outside would be peaceful.
But contrary to that expectation, there was chaos.
Soldiers with serious expressions were running around everywhere.
Jill was under a hastily set up command tent, receiving reports one after another, her eyes twitching.
“News from the missing flagship 1st fleet suggest they are still sailing.”
“What? Sailing? Where to?”
“To here, the Alliance HQ. It’s not just that the engines are left on, but they have been altering their course and are heading straight here…”
“Priestess! Urgent report! We’ve been in contact with the crew! They’re currently escaping the flagship! It’s navigating on its own, disregarding all navigation system manipulations!”
“…?!”
What in the world is going on?
Jill and the executives looked confused, just staring blankly.
But soon another report came, turning Jill’s expression to one of horror.
“We’ve received communication from the Gallia Royal Family. The Gallia naval fleet encountered the 1st fleet and are in battle! Four battleships are severely damaged! Two are retreating!”
“W-What?! In battle? How did this happen?”
“The Gallia fleet fired upon seeing there was no response from the 1st fleet, and as soon as the main cannons were aimed at the sky, heavy fire rained down… Due to range differences, they couldn’t even retaliate and were hit unilaterally while retreating.”
Jill brought her fingers to her lips, but flinched and quickly lowered them again.
She has a habit of biting her nails when nervous, but it seems she’s trying to restrain herself in public.
By the way, the naval and aerial fleets are battling?
Given the 1st fleet’s main guns perform exceptionally well, and the reconnaissance capability in the sky is far superior, it’s only natural that there’s no chance for victory for the naval fleet.
Are the pilotless airships moving on their own, crushing the naval fleet that gets in their way and advancing this way?
There’s no terror greater than this.
“We received communication from the allied anti-air defense base! One by one, they’re under fire, and contacts have all been lost!”
“This cannot be… Everyone, switch to defense mode! All non-battle personnel evacuate!”
Just when I thought Jill was panicking, she quickly regained her composure and began issuing commands.
There’s quite a distance from the coast to here.
That means there’s still enough time to respond.
“Relay orders to anti-air positions! Cease hostilities, and hide all anti-aircraft guns in the bomb shelters. With the range difference, they won’t hit us anyway, and even if they do, the barrier will prevent it. By the way, how many completed airships are there in the 2nd fleet?”
“Only one flagship is completed and ready for action; two are in trials, and three are still under assembly.”
“The ships in testing, finish safety checks and deploy them urgently. We will form the task force for 1st fleet centered around the three 2nd fleet airships. We must neutralize them before the 1st fleet hides away-”
“Whoa?!”
Boom!
At that moment, the sound of something like thunder tore the sky apart.
The startled Jill and the executives all turned their gazes to one point.
A normal sky.
A blue sky adorned with white clouds.
Yet everyone’s eyes were not normal.
Something about the sky was off.
It flickered like a mirage, and the sky trembled.
Jill’s face turned pale as she shouted.
“Fire! Fire!”
“Cannoneers! 12 o’clock! Fire one shot aiming at my fingertip!”
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion from behind, a flare shot skyward.
The shell that seemed to break through the heavens exploded halfway, as if it had hit something.
Slowly, the wavering sky that felt strange began to intensify and reveal its contours.
The curtain draped across the sky lifted.
The camouflaged airships, now losing their concealment, began to reveal themselves one by one.
“Gasp…!”
Nine airships comprising the first fleet.
The entire fleet was hovering above the HQ.
Jill stared blankly, speechless at what she saw in shock.
But the moment I lightly poked her from behind, the focus returned to Jill’s eyes, and she began to bustle again.
“Deploy the emergency barrier! Hurry into defensive mode! We’re about to get attacked!”
“Y-Yes!”
“How can they reach us from that far so quickly…?”
“We received a communication from the witch! A large amount of demonic energy was detected released into the atmosphere just now…!”
“Spatial movement?! That feature doesn’t exist in airships!”
Shivers!
I felt goosebumps rise.
Even I, who am sensitive to demonic energy, came to the same conclusion.
That’s definitely evidence of using demonic energy to split the space for transition.
But the airship doesn’t have that function.
Is a function that was never designed for the airship now in place?
Are these pilotless airships suddenly endowed with a will?
A self-aware machine.
The only thing I know is…
“Priestess. Could it be that-”
“Yes. It seems Linda has betrayed us.”
Linda has even taken control of the airship fleet.
Before we could dwell in horror, one by one the airships began to open their cannon ports.
Perhaps in disbelief after hearing the battle news, they began to tremble once they faced the mouths of the cannons directly.
The anti-aircraft guns had already been vomiting shells towards the sky, but none had inflicted any significant damage.
As if mocking, from the side of the airship, they looked down at us with eight mouths each.
Adding it all up, that’s a total of 72 barrels!
“Fire! Brace for impact!”
Kaboom!
With a chain of explosions, the sky was instantly colored with smoke.
Falling like shooting stars, the shells covered the barrier of the HQ.
The concentrated fire from 72 main cannons hammered every angle of the barrier, creating the illusion of an earthquake in an instant.
I let out a sigh of relief, thinking we held on.
But Jill and the executives showed no sign of improvement in their expressions.
“B-Barrier output. Report!”
“The 1st and 2nd barriers have been destroyed. The 3rd barrier has around 20 percent output remaining…”
Does that mean the HQ will be completely obliterated with just one more barrage?
The airships were maneuvering in place, turning their cannons toward us again.
It was not a matter of far-off future but rather an impending attack just one minute away.
“Priestess! Evacuate immediately! There’s no way to stop it!”
“Let go of me! I’ll use my magic to reinforce the barrier first!”
“What difference does enduring one more concentrated fire make!”
“I can buy time for the people on the ground to evacuate! If I’m not helping, then don’t hinder me and run!”
“…”
Jill’s judgment was quick.
Giving up on shooting them down altogether.
The operation was beginning to focus on evacuation.
But can so many people really evacuate just by surviving one more shot?
Can the bomb shelters accommodate all these people?
In the position of being responsible for countless lives, Jill had no choice but to turn her gaze to a realistic response.
But unlike her, I couldn’t give up on shooting down the airships yet.
“Mi Jeong. Do you think you can hit them?”
“…No. Too high.”
It’s too high for Mi Jeong’s magic to reach.
Even if I fired my Half Moon Slash, by the time it reached that height, it would be weaker than the anti-aircraft fire.
No, even if I were lucky enough to take down one, it’s impossible to intercept all nine.
The only way to make that possible is to restore my lost traits.
“Nameless… get ready for Great Magic. We have to start right away.”
“…”
“Hey!”
I wondered why there was such silence.
The nameless one was staring blankly at the sky, lost in thought.
Did she zone out in fear?
What is wrong with her?
Anyway, it seems there’s no way to make the nameless one use magic right now.
All the other materials are ready.
But the framework to reconstruct ‘My Inner World’ isn’t prepared yet.
“Oh crap…”
The cannons that had completed their rotation began to align toward the ground.
Just when it seemed like it was truly the end.
In my hand, I felt flowers brush softly against me.
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