Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Succubus's Dream (1)
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The stairs leading underground were far longer than I'd imagined.
Whether it was the emptiness after the battle or the lingering pressure... my breathing kept growing ragged.
It was after we'd moved Sophia, Seol Ye-eun, and Yoon Seo-jun—all three of them—to Seolga's dedicated recovery room and finished basic first aid.
Now, all that remained was to identify the source of those ominous waves still rising from deep underground.
Seol Yu-bin and I supported each other, practically clinging together, as we descended step by step.
"Hyun-sol, any injuries... you okay?"
"Me? ...Seems fine. My awakened trait is holding my body together well."
I tried injecting some humor to lighten the mood, but my legs were already trembling uncontrollably.
But behind me, the Vow of No Retreat kept giving me a subtle push on the back.
As if to say: Don't collapse yet. Your role isn't over.
Seol Yu-bin was no different.
Her breathing came in short gasps too, and her fingertips trembled faintly.
I glanced at her condition for a moment before cautiously speaking up.
"But, noona."
"Yeah?"
"If... the Frost Core really goes berserk, what happens?"
"... ."
No immediate answer came.
Yu-bin gripped the stair railing tightly.
Only after a while did she force her mouth open.
"... At worst, the entire Seolga freezes over at near-absolute zero."
I swallowed hard.
"And the absolute worst?"
"... The whole Republic of Korea turns into an eternal winter."
She trailed off.
"If the ground's temperature drops permanently and the chill from the Frost Core spreads across the entire capital region...
No matter how much mana you use to defend, survival would be nearly impossible."
"Eternal winter..."
Just hearing it made my body shiver.
Maybe it was because the chill rising from below had grown stronger.
Seol Yu-bin, who had trailed off, slowly shook her head.
"Still, that probably... won't happen."
"Any basis for that?"
"Hundreds of top-grade magic stones are absorbing all the mana the Frost Core emits.
They've performed that role perfectly for over 200 years now."
Yu-bin exhaled heavily.
"If it had truly gone berserk... even these stairs we're on would be gone by now."
"Then what's this pressure we're feeling?"
"Not a berserk... something's directly tampering with the mana near the Frost Core."
"Monarch-grade demon?"
"Probably. Or something equivalent."
As the stairs neared their end, frost that had formed coldly overhead dropped with a plink.
Was this place... always like this?
I'd come to Seolga many times and reached near the underground vault entrance,
but the temperature had never dropped so low that frost scraped stiffly off the walls.
"Noona."
"Yeah."
"The path seems kinda long. Wanna recap on the way?"
Yu-bin let out a small chuckle.
"Didn't feel like a fight worth recapping?"
"Nah, it was pretty awesome."
For a moment, strength entered her steps as she descended.
"Without Seol Ye-eun, we'd have been disintegrated in Azator's first wave,
and without the Association Chair, we'd have been overwhelmed mid-fight..."
"And without you... both of them would be dead."
"You're too kind."
"Not at all."
Yu-bin shook her head.
"I don't know who you learned barrier arts from, but you learned damn well. Thanks to that, we survived several crises."
"That's just me learning well. Not because I'm anything special."
"Still a fact you helped, right?"
Yu-bin said very quietly.
"And if you hadn't kept up with my magic so well from the start, even enduring would've been tough."
"... What's that mean?"
"You controlled the Cryo-Core Circulation faster and more perfectly than I expected, so you could match my fighting style."
"Really? I just used magic as it came."
Instead of answering, Yu-bin gently took my hand.
Over that hand—a faint blue aura spread like frost forming where there'd been none.
"You're absorbing a bit of the Frost Core's mana right now too, Hyun-sol."
"... Wait, isn't that dangerous?"
"It is."
Yu-bin continued calmly.
"Dangerous, but the Cryo-Core Circulation makes it safe for you."
"Oh... so ultimately, it's good for me?"
"Yeah."
She smiled faintly.
"We'll finish talking after everything's over. Feels like I'm about to pass out for real, noona."
"Right. Survive first."
We descended the final steps.
Before the underground vault door.
The massive iron gate was half-buried in ice.
"Noona... the door's open, right?"
"... Yeah."
A bluish frost sealed the gap in the iron door.
"What the hell happened down there?"
"We'll know when we go in."
Yu-bin raised her hand, and I loaded a mana bullet into the chamber beside her.
Then—we shoved the iron door open.
Kreeeeak.
As the door opened, a frigid wind sliced across our faces like a blade.
With the door fully open, the interior unfolded—a world utterly different from outside.
Not an underground vault, but a winter mountain chamber blanketed in snowfall.
Frost cascaded from the ceiling like a waterfall, and snow piled ankle-deep on the floor.
In the center of that majestic scene, where the blizzard was dying down.
The moment I saw it, the blood in my entire body ran cold.
"... Noona."
"Yeah."
"That’s..."
Near the entrance, a demon estimated to be monarch-grade had taken position, mana scattered around it.
Excluding Azator, already dead per the system message, Raes who fled, and Pasara who somehow died alone suddenly—the last one remaining.
The Lord of Obsession, Kalius.
But her current state was so wretched it was hard to believe she was a lord.
One arm severed completely from the shoulder, abdomen deeply torn with blood flowing onto the snow.
Her legs swallowed by ice up to the knees, frozen in place as if part of the Frost Core itself.
And most crucially—her face.
Pale red eyes.
Rose-pink lips.
Slightly darkened hair, perhaps from reverting to her true form.
And the broken horns—one of the sources succubi store power in, now snapped.
No one else.
"... Chae Yeon-hwa."
I recognized her instinctively.
True form or any shape—she'd changed into... that unique gaze, lip line, presence were unmistakable.
Hearing my mutter, she slowly raised her head.
Those eyes looked at me, barely clinging to life.
"......I'm truly delighted you recognized me right away."
Her voice, dusted with frost, trembled in a completely different timbre than before.
And at that exact moment—the Millennial Frost Core vibrated once more.
This time... it felt like something entirely different was awakening from within the Frost Core.
I swallowed.
"What the hell is that... ."
Seol Yu-bin gripped my hand tightly beside me.
Kalius—no, Chae Yeon-hwa—saw us and laughed while vomiting blood.
"My barrier stopped the immediate berserk, but in about 10 minutes, it'll break and the Frost Core will go wild."
"... Why are you here before that?"
When I asked as if I knew nothing, Chae Yeon-hwa barely mustered her signature seductive smile and tilted her head.
"Oh? I thought you'd already suspected me plenty... guess not yet?"
"... ."
"Anyway, long story short: I came pretending to raid Seolga on orders,
then betrayed the demons and took out one lord with my own hands."
I froze solid looking where her fingertip pointed.
There lay what seemed to be the corpse of the Lord of Indulgence, Pasara Nebrigos, a greatsword impaled in its chest.
I stared at the unbelievable sight for a moment before turning back to gaze down at Chae Yeon-hwa.
And asked in a slightly trembling voice.
"What the hell are you thinking?"
"What I'm thinking... somehow, it seems Student Hyun-sol doesn't plan to kill me—a monarch-grade demon—right away even after seeing me?"
"... ."
That was true.
Normally, as she said, I'd have sliced her throat or pierced her heart without talk or mercy and killed the demon.
But for some reason, something held me back.
Killing Chae Yeon-hwa.
...Did meeting once a week to learn barrier arts affect me that much?
Whether it was the time spent with her or the barrier arts I still had left to learn.
Finding the reason wasn't important right now.
What mattered was one thing.
Hearing the truth directly from her about why this situation happened.
With my thoughts sorted, I told Seol Yu-bin to check the Millennial Frost Core first, then had some alone time with her.
"Fine. No plans to kill you right now, so let's hear your story."
As I lowered myself to meet her gaze, Chae Yeon-hwa seemed to organize her thoughts, lips moving slightly.
Smack!
Suddenly, she grabbed the back of my head lightly, pulled my face toward her, and kissed me.
"!!! What the— what are you doing!?"
「Mmm~ Even better than I imagined.」
Stunned, I quickly pulled away and checked my restraints.
'Fuck, the Vow of Purity didn't disappear, did it?'
Fortunately, the constraint remained intact in my status window.
It said it'd take it away if I formed a certain level of relationship... but a kiss doesn't count?
No, before that—what the hell happened when I made contact with a woman?
I couldn't understand a single thing, but continuing the conversation took priority, so I put a bit more distance than before and asked again.
"Why the sudden kiss?"
"Just... might die soon, so I wanted to try some skinship with a man before that?"
"... Pardon? You're a succubus. Obviously one. You've never had skinship with a man?"
As I widened my eyes in confusion, Chae Yeon-hwa giggled as if my reaction was hilarious and continued.
"That's related to why I betrayed the demons."
"Skinship? I don't get it."
"As you said, Student Hyun-sol, I was born a succubus. A race that can only grow stronger through sexual contact with men, and thus can never surpass our racial limits no matter how much we train our whole lives."
Her face lost its smile, as if preparing for a serious talk.