Freeze and Shatter: Seola's True Power Unveiled
Really... At times like this, being a half-baked swordsman who couldn't cut living beings made me want to tear my hair out in frustration. My own sword was useless in this situation...
'My sword...?'
While searching for a way out, a thought struck me. Elsid muttered to himself and reached into his robes, pulling out the item he had kept safely tucked away throughout the fight.
What Elsid retrieved was a beautifully radiant, pure white dagger. It was Seola, the sword forged by Vandel and handed to him by Shin Yu-na just before the battle began. Lacking any edge, it looked more like a decorative art piece than a weapon.
But this was no ordinary blade. It was one forged by Vandel himself.
'Vandel would never make something like that.'
Elsid trusted Vandel's skill as a blacksmith without a shred of doubt, even after nearly ten years apart. The idea of him crafting a useless decorative sword was absurd.
'Even if it was before, I don't need it now.'
Yu-na had said those words when she gave him Seola. From Yu Jing-gwang, Elsid had also learned that Vandel had come to the northern region in search of materials imbued with cold energy.
Recalling that story, Elsid gazed at the pure white dagger in his hand, its chill already seeping into his palm.
'Haha, Vandel... what kind of sword did you make?'
After turning the thought over in his head, Elsid couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. If his guess was right, continuing this journey to find Vandel might lead him to even more ridiculous swords in the future.
"Follow me, Luke."
"That smile... Did you think of something, hyung?"
Apparently, his inner amusement had shown on his face. Luke, who had approached while Elsid was thinking, tilted his head and asked.
"What else? We're going to freeze it solid and smash it to pieces."
"What do you mean...?"
Luke tried to ask again, but there was no time to explain. Perga, who had been drawing Dreadnote's attention at the front, was starting to be pushed back. One eye was swollen shut, both arms were bruised purple, yet he kept fighting with those injured limbs. Shin Yu-na was busy regulating her breathing to recover and couldn't assist in the fight.
So Elsid and Luke had to step in. If they could draw its gaze, they might at least create an opening. That would let Perga—who had transformed his body through his aura technique called Overlord—switch from defense to offense and deal massive damage to Dreadnote, just as Yu-na had done earlier.
'I believe in you, Vandel...'
While thinking that, Elsid had already reached Dreadnote's massive leg. Even as he told himself it was impossible, he felt a strange certainty that Vandel would have made such a sword. Trusting that feeling, Elsid swung the pure white dagger Seola at Dreadnote's leg.
Clang!
The edgeless Seola struck Dreadnote's steel-like black fur, leaving not even a scratch on the leg. However...
Crack!
'Just as I thought!'
A one-meter area centered on the point of contact suddenly froze solid. His guess had been correct, and the sight was impressive. Seola's true power was the ability to freeze anything it touched.
But there was no time to marvel. Once his theory was confirmed, it was time to act without delay.
"Luke! I'm counting on you!"
"I don't know what kind of trick this is, but I just need to break it, right?"
At Elsid's words, Luke threw a punch at the frozen section. Crash!
With a sound like shattering glass, ice fragments flew in all directions. Naturally, mixed among the broken ice were pieces of Dreadnote's steel-hard black fur and skin.
"Kuaaah!"
For some reason, Dreadnote, which had been focused solely on Perga, twisted its body and turned its gaze toward them. Its fist trajectory was still aimed at Perga, but the primary goal of drawing its attention had succeeded. Even in its berserk state where pain was dulled and senses were blocked, the monster's instincts seemed to recognize the threat.
"Let's keep going!"
"Leave it to me!"
Now that he knew it worked, Elsid continued swinging Seola at the creature's legs. There was no need for powerful strikes—just quick, light touches. Circling Dreadnote's massive legs like the Eastern Continent's game "Ganggangsullae" that he had heard about from Shim Cheong long ago, he struck with the dagger again and again. The legs gradually froze over, and Luke followed behind, smashing the frozen sections. Each time, black fur and skin peeled away, revealing pink flesh reminiscent of a butcher's shop.
"Explosive Aura - Great Explosive Fist!"
Seeing the exposed flesh, Luke didn't just punch—he activated his aura technique and struck. Boom!
The familiar thunderous roar echoed. Yet even after taking Luke's immensely powerful fist, Dreadnote's flesh itself seemed harder than steel. Only a slight dent remained, with not a single drop of blood.
"Then how about this..."
This time, Elsid aimed Seola at the exposed flesh rather than fur or hide. Whether it would work or not, his goal was to draw Dreadnote's attention away from Perga and disable at least one of its massive legs.
"Now! One more time!"
"Explosive Aura - Great Explosive Fist!"
Once he felt it was sufficiently frozen, Elsid called out. Luke activated his technique again and drove his fist into the towering leg before them. Boom!
But the leg remained intact, and Dreadnote stayed standing.
"Damn it, one more time! Luke!"
Spitting out a curse, Elsid froze the leg once more and shouted.
"How about this! Take it!"
This time, Luke used a slightly different technique. Until now, he had stepped forward with one foot, concentrating aura into a single hand for a straight punch. But now...
"Explosive Aura - Great Explosive Killing Fist!"
With both feet planted firmly on the ground, he extended both aura-infused arms simultaneously, unleashing a rapid barrage of punches. Boom! Boom!
The moment Luke's fists connected with Dreadnote's leg, two distinct explosions rang out at once. And in the next instant—Thud!
Dreadnote dropped to one knee, half the flesh of one leg torn away in a gruesome mess.
"Kuaaah?"
Unable to understand why it had fallen, Dreadnote let out a strange cry. And apart from the strangely appetizing smell of cooking meat...
"Grr, now it's my turn, Dreadnote!"
Perga, who had been on the defensive until now, finally launched his attack. The tide of battle had turned. One fang shattered, a wrist injury, one leg partially ruptured—these were the cumulative damages inflicted on Dreadnote so far.
"Haha, how's the taste, you oversized monster?"
Meanwhile, Luke grinned at the kneeling Dreadnote. Though exhaustion was clear on his face, his mood was bright.
'So this is what it feels like to be a sidekick...'
Elsid thought to himself, having never landed a decisive blow. But there was no time for such thoughts.
"Kuaaah!"
Dreadnote swung its uninjured right arm toward them. Elsid and Luke quickly dove to either side to dodge. However, the wind pressure from the massive arm sent a cloud of snow flying, obscuring their vision.
"I'm right here. Where are you looking?"
A moment later, as the snow settled and the surroundings became visible again, Elsid had already reached Dreadnote's other intact leg.
"Grrrr!"
Dreadnote growled in fury. Normally, it could have stomped to chase him away, but with one leg crippled, it couldn't spare its remaining leg to support its enormous body while doing so. Its upper arms were occupied fending off Perga, who had switched to offense.
Clang! Crash! Clang! Crash!
Thus, Elsid could freely attack Dreadnote's remaining leg without worry, alternating between the freezing dagger Seola in one hand and his beloved wooden sword in the other.