The Disaster of Ice (2)

Taking the ice spear in Lee Jihye's place and activating Battle Continuation finally raised the skill's level.

Confirming the system message, I rolled my eyes and glared at the Disaster of Ice — the Bingmyeonggwiryong — that was slowly, inexorably closing in on us.

Just as I was about to activate Flight Maneuver to properly draw its aggro so Yoo Joonghyuk could freely pour attacks into the thing—

Snap.

From somewhere, a very quiet, concise sound of fingers snapping rang out across the battlefield.

The moment that sound echoed, the Bingmyeonggwiryong's massive body — which had seemed like nothing in the world could stop it — began to gradually grind to a halt.

"That sound… a dokkaebi's…?"

I knew that sound. I had heard it, experienced it, more than a few times already. That snap of their fingers was unmistakable.

I tilted my head back and looked up at the sky. High above, a mid-grade dokkaebi I had never seen before — black fur, dressed in a neat black suit — was looking down at us.

Confirming its appearance, I muttered under my breath as I stared up at it.

"A dokkaebi?"

Perhaps conscious of our gazes, the mid-grade dokkaebi continued speaking with its head bowed at a perfectly measured angle — neither excessive nor insufficient.

What?

Hearing the mid-grade dokkaebi's words, I couldn't help but scrunch up my face. I already knew what it was trying to say.

The mid-grade dokkaebi trailed off mid-sentence, shot me a sidelong glance, then drifted closer and began speaking again with its head bowed deeply and politely.

"What?"

Yoo Joonghyuk and I spoke at the exact same time. With my face twisted hard, I snapped at the mid-grade dokkaebi.

"Hey. So you're telling me that monster bastard came out stronger because of your Bureau?"

"Then slap more penalties on it, or swap it back for the Frost Giant that was supposed to show up in the first place."

"What? Why the hell not? This whole mess is your fault!"

At my question, the mid-grade dokkaebi answered with an ambiguous expression that was neither quite a sneer nor not one.

"What? Me? What the hell did I do this time?"

I scrunched my face into a look of pure frustration at the mid-grade dokkaebi's cryptic remarks.

The mid-grade dokkaebi studied my face for a moment, then began explaining how this whole mess had come about.

The mid-grade dokkaebi took a small breath and continued its explanation.

Shit?

At the mid-grade dokkaebi's explanation, the color drained from my face until it went deathly pale. Seeing my expression, the mid-grade dokkaebi let out a small sigh and pressed on.

The longer the mid-grade dokkaebi's explanation went on, the more cold sweat poured out of me. My back was already soaked through, and the sweat running down my face eventually reached my chin and dripped toward the ground.

Grit…!

From beside me came the sound of a beautiful yet extremely terrifying woman grinding her teeth. Then, from the beauty at my side, a contemptuous gaze and a contemptuous voice arrived together.

"So in the end, this entire situation is all your fault?"

"N-no. I'm seriously being framed here, Joonghyuk! This time I'm genuinely being framed!!"

Come on — just because I burned a little Probability, a truly tiny amount, for the party members who were struggling because of that otherworldly divinity, the scenario difficulty shoots up like this?

That damn Star Stream…

Why the hell did it set the scenario difficulty based on me? Wasn't this just pure bullshit? I use a little Probability and a Frost Giant turns into a dragon-turtle? Are you kidding me, you bastard?

I deliberately ignored Yoo Joonghyuk's contemptuous stare and urgently addressed the mid-grade dokkaebi.

"Hey, hey! Can't you at least slap one penalty on that thing? The difficulty is no joke!!"

The mid-grade dokkaebi answered my question in a calm tone, but in its eyes I could glimpse, just a little, the emotion of serves you right.

I had forgotten it for a while while I was busy screwing over the dokkaebis lately, but originally dokkaebis respected the Constellations, captured their attention, and ran their channels that way.

No matter that I had become a Constellation myself — if a majority of Constellations on that side took the dokkaebi's side, there was no way my opinion would ever be reflected.

Grit.

So in the end we have to handle this ourselves?

Having read my expression, the mid-grade dokkaebi continued with a surface-level look of apology.

Snap!

"You've got to be kidding me… Difficulty S++?"

At a scenario difficulty that surpassed every main scenario, hidden scenario, and sub scenario we had cleared so far, both my expression and Yoo Joonghyuk's visibly hardened.

Confirming our reactions, the mid-grade dokkaebi spoke with a good-natured look on its face.

Snap!

When the mid-grade dokkaebi snapped its fingers again, a massive screen appeared beside it, and on that screen a map of Seoul was displayed.

The mid-grade dokkaebi moved one of its tiny hands, pointed at the map of Seoul on the screen, and continued its explanation.

Snap!

A list of various items flashed rapidly before our eyes, and then portions of the western autonomous districts on the Seoul map on the screen lit up a vivid red.

"…And this is supposed to be a Hidden Piece?"

This is absolute bullshit. Goddamn it.

No matter how helpful the items might be for subjugating the Disaster of Ice, I had no intention of wasting time hunting for random items in random locations.

The longer time dragged on, the more people would suffer exponentially, and the penalties on the Disaster of Ice would only ease further.

I examined the districts that had turned red on the Seoul map.

Gangseo-gu. Yangcheon-gu.

Not even concentrated in one place — random items scattered across two whole districts. I was genuinely curious which dokkaebi had decided to shove something like this in as a Hidden Piece.

Having finished speaking, the dokkaebi vanished from midair. Watching it go, I turned my head toward Yoo Joonghyuk.

"Joonghyuk. Let's get started, then."

"…………."

But where I turned, only Yoo Joonghyuk still stood, staring at me with that same contemptuous expression. I let out a small sigh and spoke.

"The difficulty going up like this was genuinely not intentional. That much I can say for certain."

"…Once we kill the Disaster of Ice, you're next."

"…Would it kill you to say something encouraging at a time like this?"

Activating Flight Maneuver, my body slowly began to rise. That strange sensation I always felt.

My feet, which until moments ago had been touching the ground, left the earth and soared into the air. Feeling that powerful sense of liberation, I looked at the Disaster of Ice before me with a confident smile.

"I'll properly pull its aggro with a full mosquito concept."

Whoosh!

After that, I seriously kicked up my speed and flew straight toward the Disaster of Ice.

Sssrrrk.

Mid-flight toward the disaster, dozens of ice spears once again appeared soundlessly in midair.

Papapat!

Then dozens of ice spears poured down on me in a concentrated barrage. I twisted my body and dodged the first spear.

With calm movements I avoided the second, then immediately dodged the third that came flying right after, and dodged again.

Just as I was gradually closing the distance toward it, its attack pattern suddenly began to change drastically.

Whirrr!

The spears I was certain I had dodged suddenly stopped dead in midair, spun their bodies, and reoriented themselves toward me.

You've got to be kidding me…

The spears I had already avoided shot toward me all at once again. At the Disaster of Ice's behavior, the thought that I currently looked like cornered prey naturally flashed through my mind.

Shiiing.

"Guess this won't be an easy clear!"

Slash!

I cut down and destroyed the first ice spear charging in a straight line for my heart. Then I pulled four kunai out of My Room.

I sneered as I glanced at the ice spears flying in to kill me.

"But the pattern's way too obvious. Show me this kind of pattern twice and it's just a basic pattern now!"

Whoosh!

I threw one kunai toward the Disaster of Ice, two more into the surrounding empty air, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and the last one near Yoo Joonghyuk, who was charging toward the Disaster of Ice with her True Heaven Hegemony Blade drawn.

Hiraishin no Jutsu!

I activated Hiraishin no Jutsu toward the kunai that had flown right up to the Disaster of Ice's nose.

Shuk!

Krrrk?

When I, who had been struggling against ice spears far away, suddenly appeared right in front of its snout, the Disaster of Ice's eyes went wide for the first time, as if it were genuinely flustered.

"Eat a faceful of this, you monster bastard that crawled out of outer space!"

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!!!

The Flames of Destruction erupting from my hand punched straight through the blizzard thickly wrapping the Disaster of Ice and shot in a straight line toward its face.

KAAAAAANG!!

The tremendous heat of the Flames of Destruction melted the surrounding blizzard into steam that scattered away. When the Disaster of Ice took a direct hit to the face from the Flames of Destruction, the scales and ice crystals that had tightly armored one of its eye sockets shattered into pieces.

KWAAAAAAAK!!

Immediately after, a monstrous roar that seemed to tear at the eardrums spread in every direction. The Disaster of Ice seemed greatly flustered by the searing heat and impact on its face; its massive body staggered.

KUUUUNG!!

Even a brief stagger from a creature with a bulk so overwhelmingly greater than other monsters made the surrounding ground tremble slightly and kicked up a cloud of dust.

Krrrk…!

And a moment later, the Disaster of Ice glared at me — the one who had given ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it pain — with eyes full of hatred and rage. Then its monstrous roar rang out from the very center of Gangseo-gu in Seoul.

KWAAAAAAAK!!

Sssrrrrrk.

The moment its roar echoed, ice spears immediately began to surround me on all sides. Even at a rough glance there were hundreds of them. My expression hardened as I glared at the thing.

Papapat!!

"Hooo… so you're going all out, is that it?"

Glancing at the ice spears pouring down on me all at once, I stowed Barisada into My Room and pulled out kunai made from monster parts.

Then, as I freshly inscribed the Hiraishin markings onto the kunai, I spoke.

"I'll show you properly why humans utterly despise mosquitoes and gnats."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

I flung the Hiraishin-marked kunai in random directions, and right before the ice spears reached me, I activated Hiraishin no Jutsu.

KAAAAANG!

Multiple ice spears slammed into the spot where I had just been standing, raising a tremendous crash. After watching that for a moment, I activated Hiraishin no Jutsu again and began scrambling its brain.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

"Hahahahaha! Slow! So slow! You think you can keep up with me at that speed?!"

KWAAAAAAAK!!

Deliberately throwing kunai near its head, torso, and legs to get on its nerves, I drew a rough roar from its maw that shook the surroundings.

Sssrrrk!

Apparently high-rank monsters really did possess considerable intelligence — the Disaster of Ice scattered ice spears in every direction, cutting off my escape routes.

However.

"Even so. No matter how crazy you are, you won't attack your own body."

I was already positioned at its underbelly. Then I activated Flames of Destruction toward its plastron once more.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!!

KAAAAAANG!!

The Flames of Destruction racing fiercely toward the Disaster of Ice's underbelly scored a clean hit on its plastron. Then the Disaster of Ice's roar, mixed with pain and rage, rang out once more.

KWAAAAAK!!

Looking up, I saw the plastron section that had taken the Flames of Destruction was blackened and scorched. Even after taking that powerful Flames of Destruction, it had only suffered scorch-level damage. My face twisted.

Even without chaining other skills into the attack, only scorch-level damage?

This thing's a genuine monster bastard.

Pop!

Mid-thought, I spotted ice spears flying toward me, activated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hiraishin no Jutsu again, and vacated the spot.

Moving to a rooftop higher than the creature's body, I caught my rough breath for a moment and looked down.

"……………."

There, I could see Yoo Joonghyuk using Breaking Heaven Force, striking down at its head, then hitting and withdrawing in a repeating cycle.

This is a real headache. Being a Rank 4 beast-type, its raw power is one thing, but its defense is no joke.

We had to subjugate that Disaster of Ice to clear the scenario, but at this rate there was no way we could clear it at all…

Wait a second.

Something suddenly flashed through my mind. I stared straight at the Disaster of Ice and reexamined its body.

"Hard… hard shell… the outside is hard? The outside is hard?"

Flash!

A method to reliably put the Disaster of Ice down had come to me.

I inscribed Hiraishin markings on the kunai again, left one on the rooftop where I currently stood, and began throwing the rest near the Disaster of Ice — all of them toward its mouth.

To realize the method I had just thought of, I needed to force its mouth open. And for that, Yoo Joonghyuk's cooperation was absolutely essential.

As luck would have it, Yoo Joonghyuk was struggling to block the Disaster of Ice's attacks with a strained expression. To help her, I activated Hiraishin no Jutsu and moved to her side.

Arriving beside Yoo Joonghyuk, I found hundreds of ice spears shooting toward her. Confirming that, I wrapped an arm around her waist and activated Hiraishin no Jutsu.

"Joonghyuk!"

Grab!

"……?!"

Shushuk!

It was the first time I had used Hiraishin no Jutsu while touching another person's body, but fortunately she and I successfully avoided the ice spears surrounding us on all sides and put distance between ourselves and the Disaster of Ice.

Then, as if her mood had soured, Yoo Joonghyuk's growling voice brushed past my ear with a twisted face.

"…How long do you intend to keep holding on."

"Ah, sorry. I forgot."

Startled by her warning, I still did not release the arm around her waist. Instead, I moved my hand and felt her belly.

At the contradictory texture of Yoo Joonghyuk's belly — hard yet soft — I wore a lecherous smile and said,

"Heheh… Joonghyuk's belly, hard-soft, soft-hard…"

Thud!!

"Puhk…!"

Yoo Joonghyuk's elbow slammed into my face. At the pain, I clutched my face, hurriedly released the arm around her waist, and put distance between us.

Then, from the Yoo Joonghyuk before me, a voice mixed with contempt, rage, and murderous intent spilled out.

Shiiing.

"You've gone mad wanting to die. Fine. I'll kill you first before I kill the disaster."

"W-wait…! Joonghyuk…! Calm down! Calm down!! It was just a slightly crude joke! The atmosphere was too tense!"

I urgently shouted at Yoo Joonghyuk, who was about to walk toward me with murderous intent, then quickly continued speaking.

"I figured out how to kill that thing!"

"What?"

"I said I figured out how to kill that thing!"

Hearing my words, Yoo Joonghyuk twisted her expression and opened her mouth.

"What is it?"

"As you know, its exterior is insanely hard. Even with your swordsmanship, even with Breaking Heaven Force, it's hard to leave so much as a scratch. Even my Flames of Destruction, which have a type advantage against it, only manage scorch-level damage."

"And?"

"If the outside is hard, we go for the inside."

"The inside? You don't mean…"

Yoo Joonghyuk's expression hardened as if she had realized what method I was talking about, and she stared blankly at me.

Confirming her expression, I grinned and answered.

"Yeah. We go in through its mouth and bring it down from the inside."

Just like Kim Dokja and I had done a month ago — slowly starving the Sea Commander to death from inside its stomach.