Ice Flame Emperor's Piercing Gaze

Cheonhwa was still staring at me with that incredulous look, the kind Han Seorin might give. I averted my gaze from her awkward stare. Anyway, hadn't everything turned out fine? We'd wiped out all the scorpions, and there was no civilian damage around. The only problem was...

'Ah... I'm fucked...'

My fingertips trembled uncontrollably—shiver shiver shiver—like I had some kind of palsy. It was beyond my control. Had that skill consumed way more mana than I'd thought? Dizziness hit me, along with all the side effects of mana depletion.

That's when I felt Cheonhwa's gaze.

"...Looks like quite the hefty skill, but are you alright?"

"Yeah, this is nothing—"

My stomach churned. Just as I was about to answer her, I thought the smoothie and butter cake from before were gonna come right back up. But I kept my expression unchanged. To act like it was no big deal. That was my cool factor, and it was worth a fortune to my inflated self-image.

"Of course I'm totally fine."

"...I see. Well, you're not that kid, after all."

I brushed it off vaguely to Cheonhwa and immediately turned to leave. If I stuck around here any longer, I really would hurl.

On top of that, the System window had been going nuts since earlier.

'I know, you bastard!' It had started bugging me relentlessly in red, vibrating like crazy in front of my eyes ever since I'd casually thrown up a peace sign to Cheonhwa like it was nothing. I swatted the System window away with my hand, and finally, my cluttered vision cleared up a bit.

"Anyway, our deal's done, so I'll be heading out."

I still had tons of stuff to research, this mana depletion to fix, and ways to cover its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weaknesses. In short, places to dump points were piling up disgustingly fast. Without waiting for Cheonhwa's reply, I turned straight toward home.

Or tried to.

Kieeeek—!!!

"What."

When had reinforcements shown up? At least ten or more scorpions swarmed right in front of me. I grabbed my knife to deal with them quick and get back on track.

But then.

"Hold your breath for a sec even if it chokes you!"

Whoosh—!

"What!"

Suddenly Cheonhwa grabbed me and draped something over me. Up close, it was a black cloak. Why the hell was she putting this on me out of nowhere with scorpions crawling everywhere?

"Guhk—! Not so tight...!"

"Shh—! It's a cloak that hides your presence, so stay quiet."

I wanted to demand why right then, but Cheonhwa slapped a finger over my mouth in a hush gesture, silencing me. As I stared at her, not getting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it at all...

Whoooosh.

Kabooooom—!

"She's here."

Something crashed down in front of the scorpions at insane speed.

Fwoosh—!

Flames crackled amid the ash and dust from the impact, with a pale blue light seeping through. And then...

Swish... Fwoomp—

As the dust and ash cleared with a soft spreading sound, the scene inside came into view. Standing there was none other than the famous Engwha Guild Master, the Ice Flame Emperor, Han Seorin.

'Whoa, brutal. As expected of an S-rank?'

Around her swirled ice-blue flames, surrounded by scorpion corpses you couldn't tell if they'd frozen solid or burned to death.

"Cheonhwa, I specifically told you not to leave your sector."

Her voice was coldly sunken, aimed at Cheonhwa—not angry, just utterly emotionless. My brain couldn't keep up with whatever was going on. Cheonhwa replied curtly, like this was routine.

"Don't be so uptight. I just stepped out for some air."

"Dodging again with that vagueness."

It was like she was saying, go ahead, try me. The leisure only an absolute powerhouse could afford.

"Haa..."

Han Seorin sighed at Cheonhwa's attitude, responding like she was used to it. How many times had Cheonhwa bullshitted her way out of stuff to get that reaction? It was popcorn-worthy drama.

"So."

Instantly, the Ice Flame Emperor's eyes chilled. The air grew heavy.

"And this is the result?"

She gazed at the charred, blackened street.

"So?"

"Got a problem?"

"......"

Cheonhwa ignored the dumbfounded stare. Han Seorin shook her head, figuring it was pointless.

"...No."

At those words, Cheonhwa smirked. Sly as ever.

As that subtle tension swirled between them again—

Bzzt crackle—

A signal sounded from the small walkie-talkie on Han Seorin's waist.

"...I stepped out to find the wandering Cheonhwa."

"........."

Er, sounded like they were in the thick of battle. The fighting noises carried over the walkie-talkie all the way to me. Han Seorin flinched at the colorful curses from Yunha but quickly regained her composure.

"...Got it."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

It felt like a storm had just passed. Yunha. At first glance, she seemed like a total klutz, but to talk to her guild master like that? You really can't judge a book by its cover.

"Then, at least be back in the sector by dinner time."

"...Hm, sure, got it."

Han Seorin nodded at Cheonhwa's reply, her face screaming exhaustion from even talking. She'd accepted the inevitable with a sigh and turned back the way she'd come.

That's when—

Chill—

'...She saw me?'

For a split second—just a blink—our eyes met dead-on. Han Seorin's gaze swept me up and down like she was scanning me. My heart, frozen for that moment, beat a beat late.

How? When? When she first appeared in front of Cheonhwa? Or after? Cheonhwa had cloaked me to hide my presence, and I'd held my breath, minimizing any sign amid my dizziness...

And why leave without a word after spotting me? I couldn't figure it out.

'Screw it, whatever. My head hurts.'

I clutched my pounding head and shed the cloak. She didn't seem like a bad person anyway. All she knew about me was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my face, so no point stressing.

"Here, returning the cloak."

I shook off the thoughts, handed the cloak back to Cheonhwa with a friendly smile.

"No, just take it as a gift."

"No way, it's yours—I can't just shamelessly keep it."

Even if she insisted it was a gift, I wasn't that money-grubbing without shame. I smiled warmly and offered it again.

"No need. It's not even that expensive."

"Oh? Well, can't be helped then."

What could I do if she said that? Refusing a personal gift from her would've been rude. I hugged the cloak tight and bolted home.

"See ya next time! I'll hit you up about the elixir—!"

"Wha—"

Cheonhwa gawked at my retreating figure like it was unbelievable. No way an S-rank hunter would take back something she'd offered. I clutched the cloak and ran without looking back, making it home without incident.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of some Incheon building.

"Yunha, you listening?"

Han Seorin spoke into her small walkie-talkie.

"We'll need to keep a close eye on Cheonhwa for a while."

Yunha questioned why Seorin suddenly wanted eyes on Cheonhwa. Seorin continued casually, like she got it.

"A new variable just showed up."

Yunha sounded confused again, but Seorin offered no more explanation.

"Just keep watch for now."

"Don't poke at her needlessly."

Beep.

Yunha didn't press further. It was trust and faith in her guild master. With the call ended, Seorin closed her eyes, lost in thought.

"Hope she doesn't drag herself into anything dangerous."

A short mutter. She said nothing more, her judgment complete. And with that, she vanished from the spot.