Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Hill Where Ice Flowers Bloom (6)
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Seol Yu-bin, having successfully rescued just over fifty students, was leading them swiftly toward the rally point where she had erected the ice fortress.
-Grrrraaak!
-Kraaaak!
The undead's rotten black hands and feet smashed into the ice barrier protecting the fleeing students, shattering into pieces.
But Seol Yu-bin didn't stop her hands for even a moment, continuously manifesting magic to guide the children while guarding the rear.
"Keep looking ahead and run!! The rally point is just a little further!"
"O... Okay!"
Amid the frantic screams and shouts, Seol Yu-bin closed her eyes briefly, sensing the undead presences around her noticeably increasing.
She immediately raised both hands and activated her unique skill—one of her magics—Frigid Radiance Full Bloom.
Frigid Radiance Full Bloom
Whirlwind of freezing gales pulverizes the undead horde
Pazzik—!!
A raging storm of frigid air overturned the undead swarm in an instant.
As ice shards scattered like smoke, the students who had been hiding behind them revealed themselves, gasping for breath.
Seol Yu-bin swept her gaze over them once, then looked down at her own hands.
"… Mana is still sufficient… Everyone, move quickly! There's no time to rest!!"
As she urged the students to hurry and run again, Seol Yu-bin suddenly sensed a foreign energy and turned around.
Far off, she spotted several students running toward them, protected by a mage and a saintess.
"Huh…? That's—"
A student she didn't recognize widened their eyes and shouted.
"It's Amelia!! And Sophia!!!"
In that moment, dozens of students buzzed and turned their heads. Likewise spotting the students, Seol Yu-bin involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.
Covered head to toe in blood, they had herded 13 children to their right while blocking the horde of pursuing undead on their left—the two female students leaping through the madness.
Each of them was supporting a staggering student in their grasp.
"… Damn, there are even more over there?"
Seol Yu-bin's lips stiffened for a moment.
Like crossing through hell itself, the two female students and the children charged through the undead horde with its gaping maws.
And the moment they drew near Seol Yu-bin, Sophia nearly collapsed to the ground as she laid the student she was supporting on the floor and cried out.
"Seol Yu-bin sunbae-nim!!!"
Her voice was cracked and hoarse.
Amelia immediately followed up.
"Hyun-sol oppa—!"
Sophia gasped for breath as she continued.
"Hyun-sol oppa, Wol Ha-yeon, and Yoon Seo-rin… they went to the center!! We were instructed to rescue 13 and escape, so that's what we…!"
"……."
Seol Yu-bin's expression hardened in an instant.
"The center…?"
Her gaze sank very slowly, deeply.
Amelia nodded as she swallowed hard.
"Yes. They said something… extremely dangerous could be felt from there. And that if they went now, they could save the students who hadn't died yet."
The surrounding students flinched and murmured upon hearing that.
Sophia swept a trembling hand across her face and continued.
"Hyun-sol oppa… thought we'd just be a hindrance if we were there. We were to escape with the students while the three of them went to block the boss. We really… tried to stop them…."
"……."
Seol Yu-bin said nothing.
She merely quietly stared at the traces of black mana staining the back of Sophia's hand.
And she silently watched for a long while as the children around them sobbed and clung to each other.
"……."
Seol Yu-bin stood motionless in place, gazing toward the dungeon's center where an aura of death and a storm of mana raged wildly, as if a festival were unfolding.
Deeper than ever before, her eyes swirled with hesitation-filled contemplation.
Should she head to the center right now?
Or trust them and protect the hundreds of students still alive?
A decision that no one else could make in her place.
Sophia spoke very cautiously, her breath trembling.
"… Seol Yu-bin sunbae-nim. What… will you do?"
The moment the question was asked, Seol Yu-bin closed her eyes once, then slowly opened them.
An icy, freezing silence.
'Hyun-sol, you… warned me like that, yet you end up making the exact same choice.'
Ten years ago, the Apostle Descent in Incheon.
The ten-year-old boy who had watched his parents die with his own two eyes began training rigorously with himself without fail, not even for a single day after that shock.
But Hyun-sol, an ordinary child with no awakening or talent, couldn't even manage a proper fight even after years of training.
Of course, he never gave up.
He had a goal he had to achieve himself.
And it was probably from then on.
Whenever someone was in danger, he'd rush in heedless of fire or water, not caring at all if he got hurt, always trying to save people.
'So even two years ago… no, that's not what's important right now.'
What mattered was that this time too, Kang Hyun-sol had thrown himself into the monster's maw.
To save students whose lives hung in the balance, uncertain if they were dead or alive.
To save his 13 friends.
Even with the far stronger child from the Wol family and the guild master's granddaughter at his side.
Then, in this situation, there was only one thing Seol Yu-bin herself could do.
Having finished her contemplation, she slowly parted her lips.
"First and foremost, as the person in charge and protector of this guild experience event, I must ensure all of you are safe. So…."
Seol Yu-bin whipped her head around to gaze at the undead surging toward them like a tsunami in the distance, then raised both hands.
"… First, I'll secure the safety of these 65 students here, then head out alone."
Crack—craaaack!!
Mana began to gather at her fingertips, soon manifesting into a colossal flower of ice that filled the sky.
And.
"Full Snow Hundred Flowers Formation."
Full Snow Hundred Flowers Formation
Hundreds of ice petals surge forth, overwhelming the undead
The flower of ice burst into hundreds of ice petals that surged toward the undead.
Chains made of jet-black mana sprouted from the ground like growing plants.
Cerserion remotely manipulated the black chains rising at his feet, swinging them wildly in all directions.
A blue, flame-like glow flickered intensely within the empty sockets of his skull.
"Now, humans. Experience the end of the path you yourselves chose."
"Seo-rin, right side!"
Before I could even shout, Yoon Seo-rin was already moving.
As if she had predicted it in advance, she twisted the tip of her foot slightly and dove straight into the surging chains.
Bang—!! Bang—!
She rapidly fired dozens of mana bullets engraved with six runes each, aiming straight for Cerserion's forehead.
However, with a single gesture of his hand, a black curtain abruptly rose before them.
Splat—!!
The moment the mana bullets embedded themselves, the curtain dispersed, releasing a burst of deathly dust.
"… On par with at least a 6th-circle defensive spell. This'll be tricky."
Quickly analyzing the curtain's strength, she began forming new mana bullets—even more powerful than before.
Cerserion slowly tilted his head, observing our movements.
"Intriguing. Mana bullets that even the mages of the magic towers over countless ages failed to perfect… evolving in a new direction. A mere human forging such intricate mana patterns. But—"
He raised his right hand and began chanting a spell.
"—I wonder if you can stand your ground before the Gate of Death."
Dong—
A bell-like toll reverberated.
A eardrum-shaking vibration spread in all directions.
At the same time, the space behind Cerserion warped, and a massive black door took form.
"That crazy bastard's going straight for his ultimate."
Gate of Death.
The supreme curse that forcibly links the realm of death to reality.
One of Cerserion's S-rank skills—something he'd normally only unleash as a final desperate struggle right before death….
No, no time for that now. The important thing is, if that door fully opens, it won't be us in danger—it'll be Wol Ha-yeon, who's locked in a 1v1 with the Dullahan.
Decision made, I immediately activated Rose Field and deployed a multi-layered protective barrier using Star Mana, completely sealing off the area around Cerserion and the Gate of Death.
But as if utterly unconcerned, he seized the handle of the black door and pulled.
The door's hinges screamed as it slowly began to creak open.
Kuuoooooo!!!!
Beyond the door, dozens of arms and legs—twisted forms—endlessly writhed and crawled out.
"Kuh!!"
As the angle of the opening door widened, my heart tightened in sync.
From the cracks in the black doorframe peeked torn hands, elbows with bones half-protruding, twisted shapes indistinguishable as head or limb, all subtly vibrating and squirming.
Ku… kuuk…
The sheer presence spewed waves so repulsive they induced vomit.
"Seo-rin!! If that door opens fully, Wol Ha-yeon—!"
"Got it."
Uncertain of its nature but instantly grasping the dire situation, she was already forming new mana bullet patterns in both hands simultaneously.
Pazzizik—!
Attributes layered upon one another, mana intricately infusing into each and every rune engraving—each bullet becoming so precise it resembled an individual spell formula rather than mere ammunition.
Cerserion watched our preparations with interest and spoke.
"Excellent. Go ahead, struggle. The Gate of Death has begun to open. Soon, the chains linking these three realms will form a complete passage."
"Enough bullshit—"
I clasped my hands together, condensing the barrier toward the door.
"—close."
It was right then.
Crack—!!!
The barriers I had created shattered completely, like glass windows breaking.
Black chain-vines behind Cerserion writhed madly, tearing into the barriers from dozens of points all at once.
The door shook violently as the twisted entities trying to crawl out began clawing at the door—no, the edge of the dimension itself.
Kurrrrrrr—!!!
And for the first time, Cerserion fully raised his hand, beginning to draw a proper curse magic circle in midair.
Blue flames spewed from his skull as dozens of magic circles layered atop one another in the air.
"Opener of the Gate of Death—"
"King of the Undying—"
"Hear my summons."
"Descend to this place. Now."
⟨ Gate of Death Summon ⟩
"Seo-rin!!"
"… Yeah."
A calm reply devoid of even a hint of tension.
At the same time, a mana bullet with all its engravings fused into one completed at her fingertips.
A single shot.
But denser than ever—engravings intertwined like bones, a monstrous bullet.
"Erosion · Tracking · Scatter · Penetration · Acceleration · Explosion… and Purification on top. Seven layers."
Yoon Seo-rin muttered softly as she pulled the trigger.
"This'll… block the door for now."
Bang——!!!
Seven-Layer Mana Bullet
Erosion · Tracking · Scatter · Penetration · Acceleration · Explosion · Purification
The instant it was fired, the mana bullet crossed space very slowly, flying toward Cerserion.
And just before it reached him, the bullet separated into spheres of light and mana.
"!!!"
Sensing something amiss, Cerserion reflexively erected a barrier.
But then, Yoon Seo-rin's second pattern activated.
Pazzizik—!!!!!
Dozens of mana spheres split apart in midair, diving precisely into the space around Cerserion like a staggered bombardment.
Cerserion flinched for the first time, staggering back.
"…!!
Human filth—
How… dare you wound the realm of death—!"
The door creaked and bent, some chains snapping.
The forms trying to crawl out shrieked as they were sucked back inside.
The black door twisted and shook, as if preparing to close.
But Cerserion did not yield.
On the contrary, his soulfire flickered far more ferociously than before.
"Yes… that's the bare minimum.
Only then does it have meaning for the king to tear you apart personally.
Entertaining, humans.
In that case—"
The Gate of Death began to shake once more, as blue flames rose engulfing his skull like a blaze.
"—now it begins in earnest.
See if you can endure.
The likes of you.
Against the wave of death that I unleash."
At last, Cerserion assumed a full battle stance.
With the Gate of Death half-open, black chains and twisted limbs clawed at everything around, the battlefield shaking madly.
I gritted my teeth and steadied my gun barrel.
And inwardly, I screamed desperately.
'Fuck, Vow of No Retreat, you piece of shit—why the hell aren't you activating!!!'