Where the Hell Did He Go?
Of course, the danger mentioned here had nothing to do with Na Sua’s tastes being outright criminal. What was truly in danger right now was none other than Kang Sian’s fragile life.
The academy had been struck by a pillar of fire. Countless knights had poured through. Corpses lay scattered everywhere and ruins stretched across the grounds. In a situation like this, the odds of an examinee surviving were painfully slim. Even if someone did survive, they would most likely be suffering fatal injuries and slowly dying, or already dragged off by the knights to some horrific fate. An eternal parting.
That was why Na Sua wasn’t simply worried about Kang Sian—she was terrified. If he was truly gone… she wasn’t sure she could endure the rest of her life. The ugly desires that had festered inside her for six years disappearing would be no different from death itself. It was something that absolutely could not happen. It was something that could not even come close to happening.
“Please… please…!”
She crossed the gate and ran. She kept running. Hadn’t she already decided that in fifteen years they would date, have several children out of wedlock along the way, marry after two hundred years, and begin raising them in earnest after a thousand? Even if that decision had been entirely one-sided, to Na Sua it was an event that simply had to occur. Because that event could not be allowed to go awry, her rough, icy footsteps continued without pause.
And it was then.
Two groups appeared in her vision. Hunters. Knights. They were clashing fiercely. All kinds of magic rained down as sharp weapons surged upward. There. He might be there.
Ice Pillar
A massive magic circle bloomed in the sky. It was large enough to blot out the sunlight, so the instant the knights looked up, the circle unleashed long spears of ice. There were many. They were precise. And they were devastating.
Knights crumpled as they were crushed beneath the pillars. Blood sprayed in every direction, and even internal organs were strewn across the ground. A few tried to evade by moving frantically. They possessed evasion skills, but such things were meaningless before high-tier magic.
Guide
The ice pillars fell from the sky once more, chasing after those who fled. Their desperate escape was nothing but futile thrashing. The pillars twisted and burst their bodies. They lost all form, and the follow-up attacks flying in erased them completely. All that remained were red, translucent ice pillars embedded in the earth.
The hunters shuddered as goosebumps rose across their skin and looked back.
“Wh-what the…”
The words “I almost died” seemed to hover in the air. It was understandable. However, Na Sua was not someone who couldn’t even control her power at that level. Delicate and complex magic manipulation was as easy for her as lying down and eating macarons. She had the talent, the education, and the time. For someone raised in such an environment, lacking even this degree of control could only be called dereliction of duty.
Amid the growing sharpness in everyone’s gazes, Na Sua scanned her surroundings and withdrew her wide-eyed stare.
He’s not here.
Kang Sian was not in this place. She had even hoped Cheon Mari might be here, at least.
“Aaaack! Somebody help!!!”
Still, there were plenty of opportunities left. The fighting wasn’t limited to this area. There were multiple battlegrounds, and if she searched them one by one she would surely find him. After all, for the examinees on the outskirts to reach the World Gate, combat had been unavoidable. Even if he was hiding in some corner, that would actually be fortunate. At least the chance of him dying physically would be far lower.
Na Sua set off again. However, she did not choose the safe route. She took the fastest, most dangerous path—straight toward the direction from which the knights had poured in.
“W-wait! That direction is dangerous—”
“I will take responsibility for my own safety. Let go.”
She shook off the hunter’s hand that tried to stop her. The hunter froze, unable to say another word beneath her ice-cold gaze.
Na Sua stepped boldly into the dangerous zone. As was only natural, she soon encountered the enemy. A group of knights heading out to provide reinforcements—roughly twenty of them. It was a large number, yet at the same time, it was easy. There was no warning.
The moment they saw her, she cast her magic. Once again, countless ice pillars rained down and crushed the frail squires.
“F-fuck?! That mage bitch!!!”
However, not all of them died like before. Some of the outstanding ones—Experts—had endured by shattering the ice pillars.
They were strong. They had survived until now. It was absurd, but she judged that they might know something about Kang Sian.
Na Sua walked slowly toward the tense Experts.
“Just in case, I’m asking—”
“Fuck off, you bitch!”
They charged at her immediately. She had no information to give to unbelievers. She swung her weapon next. Since she was merely a mage, they thought the attack would connect.
Clang!
It was actually deflected by a transparent barrier. The Expert retreated, looking utterly confused about what he had just struck. It felt exactly like hitting ice after seeing ice. That was only natural—Frozen Shield was one of the most bizarre and difficult barrier spells.
“Damn it! Everyone attack!”
He shouted the words, but moving at all was already impossible.
Frozen Road
The ground froze over in an instant. Ice surged from the frozen earth and wrapped around the knights’ feet.
“What the hell is this…”
“That bastard! Just how many circles is that mage?!”
“Aaaack!!”
They struck at their ankles with their weapons, but nothing happened. They couldn’t break free. They couldn’t move. They were horrified, wondering where such magic even came from. It was right when they were screaming in agony that she spoke.
“Have you perhaps seen my husband… No. Have you seen a boy elf with short silver hair, blue-green eyes, and sharp features?”
“You crazy bitch! How the hell would I know?!”
“You really don’t know? You’re not hiding him, are you?”
“Fuck!!! I don’t know! I don’t know!! Save me!!!”
The conversation took place in a foreign tongue, yet the other party’s reaction was excessively violent. Rather than calm or fear, pain seemed to take priority. That was only natural—the ice was digging into their feet and blood was flowing.
She needed to make them a little more obedient.
Na Sua grabbed one of them by the nape of his neck.
“Freeze. Calm down for a moment.”
Cold energy flowed from her palm and spread across his neck. The Expert trembled violently as he stared at her. His face looked as if even breathing might stop. It was magic that seemed capable of stopping his heart.
“Ah… aaaack…!”
“You really don’t know? It really doesn’t come to mind?”
The winter mage was desperate. This was an effort not to lose the value of her life, an effort to seize a happy future. Even if it could be called evil, she had no choice once her lover was involved. If her future husband was in danger, how could the woman who would become his wife simply stand by? It was tender, justified self-defense. One could even call it justice.
Assuming they were truly lovers, of course.
“I d-don’t know!!! I really don’t knooooow!!!”
What could be taken into consideration was only when it came to being lovers with Kang Sian. In their current slightly distant, extremely wholesome and bright relationship, it was not the case at all.
“…Then it can’t be helped.”
It was an overreaction born from that. On one hand, it was also the aggression of her desire. At the claim that he knew nothing—a claim whose truth was uncertain—Na Sua gripped the Expert’s nape even tighter. She increased the intensity of the magic. The Expert froze at an alarming speed. Then she struck with her delicate fist. The man-shaped ice shattered into pieces.
Na Sua lifted her head before the cold death. Frozen teardrops hung coldly beneath her eyes.
“Next… who knows?”
Words spoken while captured by calm fury. The result of a certain great-grandmother selling her precious great-grandson to an excellent disciple was a continuous stream of terror.
“You don’t know? How unfortunate.”
“You really do know? Though your expression says otherwise?”
“I must find him. I must find him.”
She had to find her one and only fiancé, the one she herself had decided upon. Even without Kang Sian’s consent, as his fiancée, Na Sua continued the search with ruthless intensity.
Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian. Sian.
Where the hell did he go? Please, just appear.
With those feelings, she endlessly circled the front lines. But no matter how much she searched, he did not appear. In the end, she returned to the safe zone in utter despair. Both body and mind were exhausted, so she collapsed onto a half-destroyed bench.
Na Sua prayed desperately that Kang Sian was hiding well. That was her only salvation.
“No, are your eyes fucki—”
Then, after who knows how much time had passed, an all-too-familiar voice reached her ears. She hurried toward the voice she had heard nearly as often as Kang Sian’s. There stood a female high school student, badly injured yet still recognizable.
“Cheon Mari…!”
Kang Sian’s friend. The child she and Kang Sian had looked after together. That child had not died. She was still alive.
“No!!! It’s my stuff, so why can’t I take it?!”
“The currently issued guidelines and basic regulations state exactly that. Bodies and parts of bodies cannot be brought in.”
“This isn’t a body part, it’s a trophy and a decorative item! You can tell just by looking! It’s a household ornament with five heads stuck on a stick!”
“Regardless, the guidelines are clear. If you wish to use the World Gate, please return it first.”
“Ha, fine. If you’re going to be like that, I’ll just sue you in U.S. federal courts!”
Arguing with what appeared to be a police officer was of no concern. A ray of hope had descended—what did such trivialities matter? Na Sua moved to approach Cheon Mari. But her footsteps halted before she had gone far.
Beyond Cheon Mari. There, a man and a woman were staring intently at her. One was a beautiful dragon beastkin woman. The other was unmistakably Kang Sian—the one she had been searching for everywhere. He was alive. Covered in blood, but alive!
Soon Kang Sian patted the beastkin woman’s shoulder. Fortunately, he seemed to have no serious injuries. Na Sua let out a sigh of relief. Then, with her usual expression, she began to approach them—
Wait. A beastkin woman?
Something felt wrong. A woman she had never seen before was acting familiar with Kang Sian? Moreover, the woman’s expression didn’t look particularly bad.
……
An instinctive sense of rejection surged through her. She had to act immediately. Na Sua ran straight toward the pair.