The Freezing Wave — Seolpa
But he couldn't know how long he would be able to swing his sword safely. Considering the possibility that Per's current state might end or that Dreadnought might still be hiding some strange trick, Elsid swung his blade. Freezing with Seola and shattering with the wooden sword, he stripped away as much of Dreadnought's black fur and hide as possible, exposing raw flesh beneath.
While Elsid fought desperately alone, the others around him were not idle either.
"Yuran, cast the spell of oblivion on me right now. And don't forget to cast it on that little brawler kid from earlier too."
"What? But that spell isn't a healing art—it's only meant to temporarily make the body forget pain and fatigue..."
"I'm asking because I know that. And the little brawler won't refuse either, so hurry up."
"Honestly, no one can stop Big Sister's stubbornness! Fine, I got it!"
Seiran asked her younger sister, the shaman Yuran, to cast the spell on her. After a moment's hesitation, Yuran reluctantly channeled her spiritual power and invoked the art.
"Forget the pain your body cries out. Body Oblivion!"
A green light seeped into Seiran's body. Her ragged breathing steadied, and she sprang to her feet with a calm, pain-free expression.
"Thanks. Now then, shall we get ready?"
Yet instead of charging forward as everyone expected, Seiran simply stood still, gazing at Dreadnought.
"KRRAAAAAHH!!"
Meanwhile, Dreadnought roared and swung its fist at Per. Per dodged by a hair's breadth and counterattacked with razor-sharp claws. Even as this unfolded, Elsid pushed his stamina to the limit, swinging his sword to draw the monster's attention. Attacks came from two different directions, and Dreadnought's instincts wavered, unable to focus. The wounds on its body steadily multiplied.
"Hyung! I'll help too!"
Another fighter joined the battle. Luke, now able to move thanks to Yuran's spell, came running.
"Explosive Aura — Great Explosive Fist!"
Targeting the exposed flesh on Dreadnought's leg where fur and hide had been stripped away, Luke drove his fist forward. With a thunderous boom, his strike left a charred mark on the monster's flesh. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to inflict any meaningful damage.
"Damn it, not enough aura."
Having used too many aura techniques in succession, Luke frowned as he pulled his fist back, realizing his power had fallen short.
Just then—
"Can't let the youngsters show me up!"
"We'll show you the true strength of the Ice Palace warriors!"
"Take this, you monster brat!"
The Ice Palace warriors who had rushed over focused their attacks on the same spot Luke had struck, swinging swords and axes, thrusting and twisting. Slashes and stabs proved effective where blunt force had not. Blood streamed down as the wounds grew larger with every strike.
"Looking at this reminds me of when we took down the Giant Ice Bear."
"You went hunting something like that without telling me?"
"Well, yeah. And that was probably the first time Per and the other Snow Wolves met us. We joined forces and beat that ridiculously huge bear."
Seiran, still standing motionless and merely observing, muttered to herself. Her younger sister Yuran chimed in. While the two women conversed, the fighters clinging to Dreadnought's leg continued their assault. Because the leg's surface area was so vast, there was still plenty left to freeze. Elsid swung Seola to encase more fur and hide in ice, while Luke relentlessly smashed the frozen sections with both fists. The Ice Palace warriors hacked and stabbed alongside them, forcing even more blood from the monster.
"KRRAAAAAHHH!"
"Let's see who wins this!"
Dreadnought let out an enraged roar, clearly displeased that they were all working together to inflict damage. Elsid shouted back at the top of his lungs.
Dozens of Snow Wolves had already fallen in the snowfield, and more than a few Ice Palace warriors lay injured or unconscious. Thanks to them, they had managed to deal significant damage to Dreadnought. If they gave up and retreated now, they could never again call themselves warriors—or swordsmen. That was something he absolutely refused to accept.
"KRAAANG! Well said, human swordsman! Let's go win this!"
Perhaps sensing that fighting spirit, Per let out a single roar. Though the aura radiating from his entire body was growing faint and several of his claws had already broken, he pressed the attack without losing his will to fight. His body, still enhanced by the not-yet-fully-dissipated aura technique Overload, struck the exposed flesh on Dreadnought's leg dozens of times with devastating force—far more than Luke's earlier Great Explosive Fist had managed. Blood poured out in far greater quantities than before, staining the snow-covered ground red.
A moment later, Dreadnought's massive body began to tremble. It staggered, suddenly unable to move properly.
"Finally on the brink of death, huh... Staggering around like a drunkard."
While everyone watched warily, wondering what was happening, Seiran—who had approached unnoticed—gazed at Dreadnought and murmured to herself.
"Huh? When did you—"
"Thank you. For holding out until now... And could I borrow that sword one last time?"
Seiran pointed at Seola in Elsid's hand.
"Here."
Though slightly doubtful, Elsid handed it over, assuming she had her reasons.
"I'll return it soon. Just wait a moment."
Taking Seola in the hand that wasn't holding Longsword, she spoke.
"Now then, before you leave my hand... dance with me one more time."
In the next instant, a chilling blue aura overflowed from Seiran's entire body. Simply standing near it made one feel an intense cold, forcing Elsid to step back.
"When an aura swordsman reaches the level of Sword King or higher, they gain a special sense that surpasses ordinary perception. That sense varies greatly depending on the swordsman. And for me, who has reached that realm..."
The freezing aura pouring from her body compressed and gathered in her eyes.
"By focusing aura into both eyes, I've obtained the Eyes That See the Flow of Air."
Her originally blue eyes filled with aura, turning pure white. Then, holding Seola in her left hand and Longsword in her right, she swiftly swung both blades through the air.
Freezing Aura—with each swing, the surrounding air was drawn toward her as if being sucked in.
"Seolpa."
The moment she thrust Seola forward, the gathered air was released all at once, engulfing Dreadnought. That was why she had swung through empty space—to scatter and control the surrounding air. Then, by gathering that air in one place and releasing it in a single direction...
Crack.
In an instant, the technique completely froze Dreadnought's enormous body, over ten meters tall. That was the ultimate strike—Seolpa.
"What a boring ending."
A massive block of ice now encased every inch of Dreadnought's colossal frame. With a light flick of the Longsword in her other hand, Seiran tapped the ice.
The sight of her freezing a monster over ten meters tall in a single strike was already unbelievable. Yet what happened next was even more astonishing.
Crack. Crack-crack. CRACK!
Clang!
The moment the sword touched it, the enormous ice block covering Dreadnought fractured. It shattered far too easily. Not a single piece of the corpse remained—only snow and ice. If not for the blood-red snow covering the ground, it would have looked as though nothing had happened at all.
A heavy silence fell over the cold, snow-filled space. The Ice Palace warriors, the Snow Wolves, and everyone else present stood speechless.
"Krrrng... As expected of the strongest."
The first to regain composure was Per, king of the Snow Wolves. He looked at Seiran with an expression of admiration and muttered.
Then there was Seiran herself—the one who had created this unbelievable scene.
"Haa... I'm exhausted. I knew using that technique even once would be too tiring."
Still holding Seola and Longsword, she grumbled with a fatigued face. Her eyes had returned to their normal blue, the pure white from earlier gone. She looked like an ordinary person again, as if the superhuman feat she had just displayed had been a lie.
"..."
"...That display earlier feels like it was all a dream."
"That's Big Sister for you."
Everyone present reacted differently as they looked at her—some still dazed by the sight of Dreadnought's massive body being frozen and shattered, some smiling lightly at her now-ordinary appearance, and Yuran, her younger sister, simply relieved that Seiran was back to her usual self.
Thus, they all gazed at Seiran in their own ways.