The Frozen Hunt

The area around the Frozen Shelter was nothing but frozen wasteland. We had scouted it thoroughly with drones beforehand. Even the thermal radar showed no signs of life. That was why I had moved the team to the dungeon's center—a relatively open flat called the Cold Line.

There was no time. No time at all. We had to get out of here, and fast…

"Haa… huff… haa, haaa…"

My breath clouded my vision. I couldn't keep my breathing steady.

"Huuup… huff, cough… ugh…"

Every cough felt like my lungs were being torn apart. A trickle of blood spilled from between my blue-tinged lips.

"Team Leader…!!"

"…Haa… huff… Forget it. Open the portal first… Hurry…"

The woman called Team Leader—Yoo Seolah—brushed away the hand offering her the portal control panel. Worrying about others in a situation like this? How stupid. The only thing that mattered right now wasn't me. Irritation surged through me. Just lifting my arm unnecessarily had torn the wound in my chest open even wider.

"Sssshhh… huuup, uuuugh…"

She caught her breath and clutched her stinging chest. But the wound froze over again almost instantly. It was bitterly cold. The harsher her breathing grew, the more the sharp, freezing air scraped at her lungs. It felt like swallowing needles.

Yet even the pain couldn't stop her body from trembling. Yes, she was shaking so violently it was pathetic. But this trembling wasn't from the cold, nor was it from her injuries. It was nothing more than a small gesture from prey that had tucked its tail and fled, signaling its terror.

In this moment, the woman with her fox ears drooping low looked like a wounded, fragile animal. In other words, easy prey to be torn apart. Before the supreme law of survival of the fittest, the memory burned clearly in her pain-filled mind.

Blue fur. Enormous, razor-sharp fangs. A body so massive it matched those demonic teeth. It was surely still chasing her in utter silence.

"Hurry… hurry… before it gets here…"

"…System, display my profile status."

"…Enough. Show me the debuff status."

"Damn it… There are so many. Ugh…"

For a moment, her vision blurred. Her body had been swaying from blood loss for a while now. She could feel her body temperature dropping rapidly. This had to be fear. She was reaching a limit she had never experienced before. The bite wounds kept freezing over. If she didn't escape this place soon…

"…Control team, when is the portal opening?"

"It's almost ready. Damn it… the threshold device is frozen… Anyway, it'll open soon."

"Ugh… Hurry up, damn it…"

"J-just hold on a little longer, Team Leader… Just a bit more…"

"…How long do I have to wait… Wait, did you hear that?"

"Ah! Output settings complete! The portal is about to open…"

Crack…

Crack… crack… craaack…

Crrrrrrack… craaaaack…

Yoo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seolah felt uneasy at the sound reaching her ears. Cracks began spreading across the ice pillars and walls rising around the flat ground. Even the floor split slightly. What entered her vision in an instant was a narrow, deep crevasse formed by splitting glaciers. A bottomless black crevasse flickered into view.

"…What… what the hell is this…?"

"W-what's happening? Why is everything shaking all of a sudden?"

"…Shut up. Control team, focus only on the portal."

"Y-yes… Understood."

"And, 1st Team…"

Yoo Seolah frowned deeply. This was clearly an omen. They had been running and avoiding it until now. With the portal installed, this place had become a dead end. But she wasn't used to situations like this. Being reduced to a fugitive. Even though she herself was terrified and afraid, she had to make a judgment.

She turned her eyes to check on the condition of her 1st Team members. They were all covered in blood, clutching wounds just like her. Those whose regeneration had dropped significantly were already exhausted. But everyone standing here knew it. There was nowhere left to run.

"1st Team, prepare for combat…"

No one answered. They simply turned their backs on her.

"System, how many minutes until the portal opens?"

She could feel the team members, who had been swallowing nervously with their backs to the portal device, suddenly focusing. In this moment, they desperately needed hope. Because in this unconfirmed dungeon, the Frozen Shelter, there was no hope to be found.

The only known information about this dungeon was that the boss monster was dragon-type. Yes, that was really all of it. Being an unconfirmed dungeon, nothing else was known. Still, they had to enter. Because we had always succeeded before. Because any previous failures had simply been mistakes.

Her instincts had been right. Fortunately, they had succeeded in the raid. There had been many sacrifices, but they had succeeded nonetheless. She had even shoved her hand into that damned dragon's head.

But the problem came on the way back. No biological signals had been detected at all. So they had opened the portal right at the raid point. She hadn't known back then… that a level 10 boss-class wolf monster would burst through the ice on the floor. And not just one—three of them.

Fenrir. A colossal wolf of frost whose size couldn't be measured. Its upper jaw seemed to touch the sky, its lower jaw the ground. In that instant, they lost half the team and the large portal device. All that remained was a small portable portal device with significantly reduced output. And the wounds from its bite.

Those wounds were a cold, freezing hunting mark. She could still feel it. A silent, ferocious pursuit was closing in on her. The closer that wolf got, the more her wounds froze over.

"Sssshhh… So annoying, annoying, annoying!!"

If only she had thrown that fox bitch away, this wouldn't have—

A welcome message appeared before her eyes. A sliver of hope emerged.

"Right… Ten minutes… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If I can hold on for ten minutes… Ugh… cough…"

Was it because she had gotten irritated despite her deep wounds? A hot liquid suddenly surged up her throat. Yoo Seolah staggered and dropped to one knee on the ground.

"T…Leader…!! Team… Leader…!!!"

Her ears were ringing. Are you o■□? Team□■!! Look ■□!! Yu□■Team□der! □■s■ound□■!! Team■■!! Je■ ■■ise□!! The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tinnitus dragged on.

"Team Leader!!"

She barely managed to refocus her blurring vision. A puddle of blood had pooled heavily on the floor. She had barely regained her senses, but the urgent voices of her team members carried clear anxiety. The sound of ice pillars towering around them shattering echoed.

"It's Icebound!!!! Give the order now!!"

Icebound. Monsters trapped in ice. This was an unexpected variable. There was no time to check their traits. Yoo Seolah looked up in disbelief. And there they were—gray-furred wolf monsters, Baukalaks, tearing their way out of the ice pillars. The first pack to break free bared their fangs ferociously and charged.

It was so absurd she almost laughed inwardly. They had opened the portal here because there were no biological signals on this flat ground. The thermal scan hadn't picked anything up, so they had let their guard down. They had walked right into a trap.

For a moment, Lee Siyeon flashed through Yoo Seolah's mind. Ever since that bitch disappeared, nothing had gone right. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was like she had been cursed.

"…Ugh… Fuck… No… The team is fine…"

Yoo Seolah spoke while tasting the blood in her mouth.

"Team Leader?"

"1st Team. We will defend the portal…"

"Understood."

"Excluding the exhausted members… ugh, huup… Hold the front for ten minutes. I'll support from the rear, so don't worry… ugh…"

Yoo Seolah clutched her head as she spoke. Their conditions were too poor to attempt any proper tactics. Even she had just vomited blood, and her body's condition had worsened further. Ten minutes. Just ten minutes until the portal opened. If they could somehow hold on, that would be enough. Her team members thought the same.

The moment her words ended, the ability users in black uniforms charged toward the Baukalaks in front. The sounds of flesh being sliced and bursting rang out everywhere.

Yoo Seolah touched the communicator in her ear.

"Special Operations Team. How many rounds do you have left?"

— A total of 58 Redeye rounds remain. One tactical support possible.

A team composed of sniper specialists equipped with various hyper-alloy bullets. They had no abilities, but thanks to the raid team's buffs, they possessed superhuman strength and reflexes. They were positioned on a glacial cliff thousands of meters away, but thanks to the system linked to the 1st Team, predicted firing points appeared as laser markers. Those points felt like lifelines.

With the 1st Team's injuries this severe, their importance was immeasurable. That was why Yoo Seolah had contacted them with hope. But the reply that came back fell far short of her expectations. Everything was twisted. Horribly, disgustingly twisted.

One magazine held four 25mm Redeye .416 Barrett rounds. There were sixteen Special Operations members capable of operating right now. In the current situation, they needed to receive support at least three times per engagement. But only 58 rounds? Even calling it insufficient was an understatement.

"…Ha… Didn't we receive supplies at dawn…?"

— The supply quantity was minimal.

"Why? Why, why, why… Why is it so short!!"

— It was less than the requested amount…

"Shut up!!! Didn't you idiots just waste them all?! Are you joking? One time? Are you telling us to all die here?!!"

— …

"Aaaaaagh… Fuck… Seriously…"

Blood surged in her throat again. A slight ringing rose in one ear. But she didn't take her eyes off the battle unfolding before her. Normally, Grade 7 monsters would be nothing but small fry to the 1st Team. But right now, even the movements of the ones charging ferociously felt different. Each and every one in front of her looked overwhelming. As the battle dragged on, they began attacking all at once from behind, the sides, and below. They were now cleverly targeting only the most severely injured team members. Their level was completely different from the small fry they had been cutting down until now. It had to be because they were receiving Fenrir's buff.

"Damn it… At this rate… System, how much time until the portal opens?"

"Ha… At least it's soon…"

"…What? Behind…?"

Yoo Seolah turned her head. It seemed another pack had broken through the Icebound on the hill.

"…Damn it…"

The team members who could still move were barely holding the front line. She looked around. Non-combat personnel busy operating the portal device. Team members already collapsed and breathing raggedly from exhaustion. No matter how she thought about it, the only one who could fight from the rear was herself.

For a moment, it felt like her blood vessels were clogged; even her breathing caught in her throat. If they lost the portal device too, there would be no hope left. If that tragedy occurred… it would be despair, despair, and more despair.

There was no choice.

"I have no choice but to lure them away…"

Yoo Seolah frowned deeply. Then, as if reluctant, she spread one hand. White fur sprouted between her slender fingers. Her neatly trimmed nails extended into long, sharp beast claws. She couldn't use her full power. If she wasted strength like that now, she would clearly collapse. She couldn't even transform into the nine-tailed divine beast; all she could manage was transforming one hand. Even that seemed to lack power—her wrist trembled violently. It really was pathetic.

"Team Leader!! They're coming!!!"

"…Control team, don't look this way and focus…!! Huup, I'll handle it…"

While she hesitated, the pack of Baukalaks had approached right up to the portal device. Yoo Seolah clutched the gaping wound on her chest.

"I'll handle it… ugh… I'll take care of it myself…"

No matter how she thought about it, it was too much for her alone. But she couldn't allow them any more distance. She didn't even have time to dwell on this irritating dilemma.