#33 Serena's Ice Palace (4)
I stretched, yawning widely. Nothing had happened overnight. Well, rushing things at the start of a raid wasn't a smart move anyway. If someone wanted to wipe out a party like this, they could just take out all the porters—but that would make clearing the gate impossible.
Gates didn't reveal their exits until they were conquered. Fail the raid, and everything inside got trapped for good.
So the prime time for an ambush was right before or after the clear. But if the attacks in the past had hit then, the raid never would've failed. The attackers—whether on purpose or not—had timed it for when success was off the table.
And they'd either gotten stuck and died here themselves, or...
'The second raid party held out until they finished the job.'
Was that even possible?
Maybe in other terrains, but this was a frozen wasteland that killed anything alive. No native plants or animals—just spirit-type monsters without physical forms, as I'd learned from Han Seohyun yesterday.
Food had to be an issue, at least.
From what I knew, it took months before the second raid party even formed and headed in.
Assigning blame, investigating the failure, stripping the gate's ownership from Sirius Guild—that whole process took time.
'Possible, but...'
No evidence yet. Baseless speculation was just conspiracy fodder. Better cut it off here.
Stepping outside, the leader's voice boomed across the camp.
"Everyone, break down the shelters and regroup!"
No rest for the weary. I ducked back in and shook Han Seohyun awake from his dead sleep.
Slapped the mask back on him too. That grim face sent chills down my spine for no good reason.
I knew the real Han Seohyun was under there, but damn, it wasn't a face you wanted close.
Today, we were still at the tail end of the march.
But things had changed: we'd finally descended the snowy ridge, no more teetering single file on the edge.
Even clustering a bit closed the gap with the vanguard. We'd spaced out more before to avoid chain-falls, so the leaders had been miles ahead.
Now I could actually watch the fights up front in detail.
An ice spirit popped up ahead of the lead group. A massive thing—Will o' the Wisp. The ice wisp, like a frozen will-o'-the-wisp, shattered under someone's punch.
Kim Daegwon, the 7-star hunter dispatched with us. Nice work.
More big and small attacks followed, but he handled them all. Saving Yuseonje's strength? Who knows—Yuseonje stayed out of it. I'd have liked a peek at his skills, but oh well.
After mowing down the ragtag spirits, we reached our goal.
Serena's Ice Palace.
True to its name, a colossal ice palace loomed before us, nestled inside towering walls that enclosed a decent-sized village. The gates stood wide open—no entry issues there—but we halted at the walls anyway.
And set up camp right in front.
They'd probably hold the base here through the extermination. Porter time again.
We hustled to pitch tents and divvy rations, then grabbed a quick break for chow.
"Looks like a vampire village."
I perked up at the mutter. A bearded guy in his early thirties slurped stew, chatting with his neighbor.
Curiosity piqued, I sidled over.
"You were on that vampire village raid last time?"
"Ah, yeah. Haha."
Veteran porter for sure. He'd been in that gate! Reading the shock on my face, he grinned.
"Layout's pretty similar. 'Course, no signs of life here."
"Yeah."
No human presence at all. Like a city buried and killed by ice.
Leave it abandoned for a decade in an ice age, and it'd look like this.
"Feels off, though. Back then, you just knew to hit that spot. But here..."
Did we even go inside? I narrowed my eyes. Weird, yeah. We'd approached the walls, and no monsters?
He continued.
"Scouts are heading straight for the palace."
"We wait here till then?"
"Pretty much. Same as last time—leave minimal guard for porters, rest raid the palace."
This spot as temp base. Smart—no dragging porters into the castle.
Time to say bye to the porters, then.
Our job: stop the ambush ahead.
Leave mana traces to rule out desertion. This place screamed "ghosts wouldn't be weird."
Porters'd stress, but unavoidable.
That evening, in the shelter, I asked Han Seohyun.
"Learn anything?"
He nodded gravely at my question.
"Support team's got 'em. Those guys."
"Sure?"
"Yeah."
Han Seohyun added cautiously.
"At least three."
"How'd you spot 'em?"
"Saw faces change. Couldn't during meals. Explains the all-day pretending."
I memorized the faces from him.
One: early-20s woman with black-and-white twintails.
One: gaunt early-30s man.
One: shady guy, face shadowed.
Three infiltrators in support. The guys were iffy, but the woman? Clear.
"Gemini."
"Gemini?"
"Yeah. Headache's here. From the Tower."
I explained her powers to Han Seohyun.
"Dual personalities, dual talents. Aggressive one's fire—melts surroundings into magma attacks. Other's absolute defense. Perfect offense-defense combo. Real pain."
"Damn, two personalities."
Gemini was well-known. New to the Tower, but her debut crime was infamous.
"First kill: burned her whole family. Twin sister too."
"What?"
"Dunno why the sister didn't use absolute defense. Anyway, that's what I know. Whether she hauls all the charred family or just sis, point is: both powers."
The other two? No clue. One felt familiar, though.
"Illusions scream Trickster."
Skinny early-30s guy? Nada. Maybe not Tower—outside merc.
No idea how they slipped into support (team leader traitor?), but enemies inside meant we hustle.
"We're outta here tonight."
I packed my gear. Shame about porter stuff, but leaving it sells the story. Not desertion—something in the gate took us.
Slipped out carefully, sprinkled ice and earth mana.
Disappearance reports tomorrow; investigation finds the traces.
Had to stick with Han Seohyun. Wanted to leave him outside, but monsters anywhere—better together.
Traces set, we crossed the empty village into the ice palace.
As expected, no monsters in town.
Palace different? Scoped it—dead quiet too.
"Can use powers from here."
The palace hummed with mana.
Been cautious before, but here? Blame monsters or palace mana. Fine now.
Tougher post-raid party entry, though.
Han Seohyun channeled mana into his staff at my cue.
Black sand slithered up the ice stairs. Shared senses, he said. Scatter wide, faint mana—perfect scouting.
Hide, wait for enemies.
Found a spot; Han Seohyun beckoned.
"Here."
He touched bricks; hidden nook appeared. Sand sense only—no way otherwise.
"Hole up here."
Not fully concealed, but I ringed it with prepped items. Stealth circuits etched in mana—temp hideout.
Fused with local mana; not invisible, but free enough.
Now wait.
For what happens inside.
"Brother-in-law!"
Porter leader Oh Junsik yelped in shock. Morning check—brother-in-law missing from shelter. Empty.
"No way. Missing?"
Porter accidents happened, but vanishing overnight? Rare. He reported up immediately.
"Porter gone?"
As leader, Oh Junsik met Lee Hyewon direct. He steadied his nerves.
"Yes. Two."
"Not desertion?"
"Gear all there. Faint mana traces..."
He hadn't sensed it, but scout confirmed.
Lee Hyewon's eyes darkened.
"Tighten perimeter. Tonight, huddle shelters closer."
"Search for—"
"No porter search. Palace today. Can't spare more."
Porters' reality. Nobody cared. Expected—they weren't "forces."
Oh Junsik bit his lip.
He'd seen it before, but his own kin? What to tell the wife?
He trudged back, defeated.
"Something wrong?"
Lee Hyewon shook her head at the voice.
"Two porters missing. Leftover monster, probably."
"Huh. Weird. Felt nothing yesterday."
"Handling to prevent more. Don't worry."
Kim Daegwon nodded.
"Real raid starts now, eh."
He grinned, teeth flashing with anticipation.
"Dunno what's in that palace."
"Eh, some monster named Serena, probably."
Kim Daegwon shrugged.
"Whatever. Smash it."