Chapter 30

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 30

Chapter Title: An Angel Tumbled Down

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Crunch, crunch—

In the midst of the quiet echoes of footsteps trudging through the snowfield.

Over the already existing tracks, fresh footprints from one woman were being imprinted.

- Kueeeek!

"Get lost."

Slash—!

Monsters appearing midway were sent flying by a single strike of her sword.

Gazing at them tumbling away with eyes filled solely with hatred, the Sword Empress resumed her silent march.

She finally arrived at a certain place.

It resembled a fortress carved from ice, or perhaps a massive circular arena.

Since the iron gate was already open.

She entered without a hint of caution.

At the end of her gaze appeared a half-collapsed wall, with a path stretching alongside it.

"That must be it."

It matched exactly what she'd heard from Titan Guild Master Choi Geonwoo.

Having located her objective, the Sword Empress moved her legs once more.

After walking a few minutes, she reached a dead end.

Woooong—

Before the obstructing wall, only rippling light greeted her.

Intuiting it as the portal to the third layer, she stepped inside without hesitation.

"Hm…?"

Her vision flipped in an instant.

The stone wall that had blocked the cold wind just moments ago vanished without a trace.

Suddenly, a vast snowy plain unfurled, backed by towering mountains piled high with eternal snow.

"Strange. It should be here."

Her longstanding Detection skill activated, but.

Oddly enough, the surroundings remained eerily silent, detecting nothing at all.

The moment she sensed something off about that fact.

Whiiiing—!

"……!"

Something plummeted from the sky above, over the mountaintops.

No, "appeared" was the more fitting word.

From head to tail, it was at least thirty—no, forty meters long.

A colossal creature, like a lizard draped in an intricately carved ice scarf, beat its enormous wings and materialized without the slightest presence.

"Ice Dragon!"

Whether it truly deserved the title of dragon, she wasn't sure.

But Han Yuseol decided to call it that anyway.

Even with her exceptional eyesight, it felt incredibly distant.

The gap between her and the Ice Dragon perched atop the mountains was dizzyingly vast.

Under normal circumstances, sensing a threat from someone at this range would be absurd.

"Ah…!"

Yet for some reason.

Her instincts—honed through countless solo brushes with death—screamed at her.

No, they warned her.

It wasn't even a warning.

Death.

The instant that curt two-syllable word embedded itself in her mind.

Kwaaaaaaaa—!

Without any prelude, the Ice Dragon's maw unleashed a breath of ice that devoured the entire area in a flash.

Radial attacks like that typically had defined start and end points.

But this one defied physics entirely—the moment its jaws parted, the Sword Empress's body was already engulfed in the frigid beam.

'Did the Yeohae raid team fall to this too!'

The instant she intuited her death.

Grind—!

Han Yuseol clenched her teeth until they threatened to shatter.

Somehow forcing her freezing arms to move, she reached for her waist.

Clang!

At that moment, the turquoise gem embedded in her necklace oxidized in a brilliant flare.

Glancing briefly at the floating messages, Han Yuseol kicked off the ground.

Boom—!

It was less a leap or charge and more akin to teleportation.

Her figure closed hundreds—no, thousands of meters to land directly above the Ice Dragon's head.

'Five seconds. I'll end it within that.'

Her eyes, sword now drawn, burned colder than the eternal snows of the mountains.

"Thousand Swords."

The blade in her grasp and thousands more materialized behind her back.

Shrrrrrak—!

- Grraaaaaaaa—!

An S-Rank hunter.

One of the two deemed utterly transcendent.

As that divine aura manifested in full, the Ice Dragon let out a guttural roar and thrashed its body.

'It's working!'

Eyes gleaming, Han Yuseol swept her cherished sword downward in a grand arc, murmuring softly.

"One Sword."

One of her skills, bound by the outrageous limiter of once per day.

But its power matched the restriction—a cataclysmic might.

A colossal slash, vast enough to blanket half the Ice Dragon's massive frame, formed and rent through its body.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Slash—!

- Krraaaaaaaa—!

Still reeling from the prior damage, the Ice Dragon screamed once more, this time crashing clumsily atop the mountains.

A scene ripe for declaring victory outright.

Yet Han Yuseol's gaze betrayed no complacency whatsoever.

'It can't be that easy. Finish it in this opening.'

The Guardian Necklace's effect had expired long ago.

Give it even a moment's respite here, let it unleash another breath like before, and it was over.

"Extreme Sword."

Unlike the previous massive slash.

Silver sword aura, which had spread calmly, converged to a single point.

The target: naturally, the Ice Dragon's nape.

No creature could function without its neck intact.

Swoosh—!

As her blade sliced through the air with a piercing whistle, aiming for the killing blow.

- Groooooooo—!

"What…?! Urk!"

The Ice Dragon bellowed a roar that shook the entire mountain range.

Simultaneously, a colossal snowstorm hurtled forth, swallowing Han Yuseol whole.

The winds were so ferocious that.

Her ironclad body, which shrugged off paltry monster attacks barehanded.

Was flung into the air like a scrap of paper, her left fingertip freezing over in seconds.

"Damn it!"

No helping it—Han Yuseol broke free of the snowstorm, forced to widen the gap from the Ice Dragon.

The closer she got, the fiercer the winds; it was unavoidable.

Thud—

She managed a safe landing on the ground, fortunately.

But her frozen left arm was numb, sensation gone.

Moreover, razor-sharp ice crystals riddled the snowstorm, leaving her body torn in places.

Still, she'd undoubtedly inflicted far more damage.

Clinging to that rationalization, she reached for a potion—then froze.

Dimensional Distortion Device.

The item Choi Geonwoo had handed her upon leaving Association headquarters.

A priceless treasure even elite guilds revered like a sacred relic.

He'd urged her not to push too hard, just scout and return alive, before giving it to her.

"Guess I can't keep that promise."

She let it drop from her hand without a second thought and downed the potion.

Her gashed wounds knit closed in moments.

Unfortunately, the frozen left arm remained unchanged.

Seemed like a status effect this potion couldn't handle.

Even so, with her right hand intact, she might manage mutual destruction. She scanned the mountaintops again.

"Ah…!"

The Ice Dragon was gone.

Nowhere in sight.

As she frantically swept her gaze around.

A pale shadow fell over her feet.

Too late.

Her mind reacted faster than her body.

"Breath! Dodge! To the corner!!!"

"……!"

A shout from somewhere compelled her body to move against her will.

Kwaaaaaaaa—!

Another massive ice beam flooded the area.

But by then, the Sword Empress had already vacated the spot.

"Haa, haa…."

Her body had drawn on every ounce of strength too abruptly for her mind to process.

Han Yuseol panted raggedly, repeating intake and exhale as she surveyed her surroundings.

That's when her Detection skill picked up an approaching presence from afar.

She slowly raised her head to check.

"Ugh, even with this item, walking's still kinda tough…."

There, dragging a longcoat that was burdensome despite being shortened.

Step by step—

Approaching with adorably tiny strides was a white-haired girl.

Age around ten? Generously, eleven or twelve at most.

Her cute, baby-cheeked face contrasted sharply with her striking red eyes.

Han Yuseol's eyes widened in blank shock, blinking repeatedly.

Right after she'd entered this place.

The gate had surely sealed shut—no one else could have followed.

Then who the hell was this girl?

'A goddess?'

Such a ridiculous thought crossed her mind unbidden.

Her head was a whirlwind of confusion.

Against the pristine white snowfield.

A pure-white girl trudging along with cute grunts and energetic steps looked every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit the goddess—or her angelic emissary.

So entranced was she.

Han Yuseol didn't react even as the girl drew right up to her face.

- Krraaaaaaaa—!

The Ice Dragon's raucous cry soon filled the snowfield.

Yet Han Yuseol remained stock-still.

The moment the Ice Dragon's gaze fixed on them.

Frustrated by the Sword Empress standing like a statue, the girl.

Smack—!

"What are you doing! Run for it first!"

"Ah…!"

Slapped both her cheeks with a sharp crack.

Only then did focus return to Han Yuseol's eyes.

Lucky break.

Jeong Yujin's item storage—I'd forgotten to return it.

Somehow, it turned into a prescient move.

Ugh, without it, I'd have frozen solid the moment I stepped in.

Storing Choi Geonwoo's coat and boots alongside was a smart call.

Man, so this is the Sword Empress up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠close.

Inflicting wounds like that on a behemoth single-handedly.

Maybe she didn't even need my help.

But jumping in at the perfect moment saved her skin, so I'll call it a win.

Curiosity about her stats piqued anew, so I pulled up her status window right away.

"…Huh?"

A dumb noise slipped from my lips in that moment.

Not that her stats shocked me or anything.

No, they were overwhelming—truly befitting the world's second-ranked S-Rank, even compared to Choi Geonwoo.

What really snagged my attention was the skill right below.

'Her unique skill is inactive?'

Did this woman conquer all those dungeons without ever using her unique skill?