I opened the door to the banquet hall and moved inside. Sand that had appeared suddenly blocked my back.
Boooom!
The ice chunks that had rushed at me shattered, unable to catch me.
“Thanks, Seo-hyeon.”
I almost died from a moment’s carelessness. I inhaled and dashed forward.
While the awakened witch can’t be caught in the banquet hall, it can block the enemy for a moment. I instantly moved forward using the slippery floor of the banquet hall. Han Seo-hyeon’s sand floated around me like satellites.
“I’m fine.”
—Fine my foot, you’re bleeding profusely!
As Ray pointed out, blood had flowed enough to make my clothes damp before I knew it. The sharp ice shards easily pierced through armor, and it was impossible from the start to avoid all the ice shards that split into hundreds and thousands of pieces.
Even the tiniest ice shards that fell from the ice spears were enough weapons to kill a person.
“Just scratches, just scratches.”
Still, there are no fatal wounds. My body could still function perfectly. Even as I was saying that, the mana around the banquet hall was moving fiercely.
“Ugh!”
The banquet hall shook greatly. I knelt down and endured the shock. What on earth… The chandelier made of ice fell right in front of me.
Boom!
“Crazy!”
Next, the windows began to shatter. I opened my mouth forgetting the situation at the huge shadow visible outside the window. What is that? Does it make sense for something as big as a building?
—Move!
Ray’s words woke me up. I immediately bounced off the floor like a spring. I need to get out of here right now.
At that moment, goosebumps rose on the back of my head.
‘It’s big.’
I hastily wrapped Shield around my body.
Boooom!
The banquet hall was ‘pierced’. As the banquet hall collapsed, its debris began to pour down on me.
What I saw between my arms was a huge fist.
Yes, a fist.
That fist, which seemed to be easily a hundred meters, pierced right through the banquet hall. What’s desperate is that there isn’t just one of those ice hands. Through the torn roof of the banquet hall, three hands were visible.
“Damn it.”
I clenched my fist and sent mana to my legs. If I space out here, I’ll die. Whether torn apart or crushed. Now is the time to come to my senses. I kicked off the ground and ran with speed. The banquet hall that had been empty without any obstacles was now a mess with debris.
The hands began to tear apart the banquet hall alternately. The huge banquet hall began to be torn apart as easily as paper.
It means it’s not safe even inside the building.
—You’re going to bring that witch into that room? Are you serious?
‘We have to do it somehow.’
I told Ray while avoiding ice shards flying from behind.
‘Tell me the way.’
—Alright, go 10m forward and then turn right immediately. Climb up the stairs above.
I kicked off the ground and moved my body right up the stairs as he said. I heard the sound of the witch’s ice hands smashing the banquet hall again.
Boom—!
Finally, the banquet hall couldn’t withstand and completely collapsed. With this, the tower, garden, and banquet hall were completely pulverized under the witch’s hands.
It goes without saying, but this corridor isn’t safe either.
Shwaa—!
As the wall was torn off entirely, the witch appeared. The ice hands immediately became thousands of awls at the witch’s gesture. After using mana repeatedly, the mana left in my bracelet was barely hanging on. There were mana stones in my pocket, but it’s not a situation where I can leisurely charge mana stones.
I reduced the Shield small.
Somehow just block the vital parts.
Whoosh, shwaa—!
There was the sound of wind. The ice spears that filled the corridor rushed towards me standing in the corridor just like that.
The Shield made by squeezing out insufficient mana was far from enough to cover my body. The Shield only covered my head and torso. Ice shards inevitably pierced into parts not covered by the Shield.
“Ugh!”
A spear grazed my thigh that stuck out beyond the Shield. The flesh was torn off by the sharp ice surface. This is better at least. An ice spear penetrated my calf that wasn’t protected.
My posture faltered from the pain.
“Kuh!”
Cracks began to form on the Shield with a cracking sound. Damn, if I just get out of the corridor, that room will appear soon.
At that moment, Han Seo-hyeon’s black sand began to block in front of me. When the sand first appeared, the ice spears easily penetrated the sand. But the sand blocking in front of me gradually increased. One, two, the ice spears began to break and shatter in front of the sand.
And before I knew it, a huge wall made of sand was standing in front of me.
“Thanks.”
I don’t know how many times Han Seo-hyeon has saved my life today. I really have nothing to say. To end up like this after boldly saying I could lure. I’ll get scolded a lot again.
Now there’s really not much left. I limped along. A red trail formed drip by drip where I passed.
“Haa, haa…”
My head was dizzy, perhaps from losing too much blood. I reached the destination and opened the door.
As I picked up the bottle I had placed on the table, a cool breeze from behind enveloped my body.
I sent mana to my hand holding the bottle.
The talent Do Chae-hee has. The talent to definitely hit whatever is shot.
I had a degraded version of that.
3-stroke Marksman.
Hits the target with about 90% probability.
I immediately threw the bottle with all my might.
“Haah…”
I slowly exhaled. My eyes followed the trajectory of the bottle. Slowly the bottle flew towards the witch. Unfortunately, although the trajectory was accurate, the bottle didn’t reach the witch. It shattered on ice shards floating around the witch.
But the antidote inside was different.
The letter said this. Unlike potions that need to be drunk, the antidote works just by being sprinkled.
The liquid that spilled from the broken bottle covered the witch’s face just like that.
Keu, keuaaak!
The witch’s scream of agony, and simultaneously, a tremendous wind pushed us.
Boom!
My body was instantly pushed back by the wind. I gasped for breath as I was slammed into the wall. My body is already a mess, really.
Fortunately, the wind soon disappeared. And everything became quiet.
“Huk, huk.”
All that could be heard around was my breathing. I slowly raised my head and turned my gaze to the witch.
The witch was looking at me with a confused face. Her eyes that had been dyed red slowly returned to blue.
“Ah, ah.”
The woman in the tower looked at me. It was a face so different that it was hard to believe it was the same person as the witch who had tried to tear me apart just earlier.
The woman who saw me moved her mouth.
[‘Serena’s Ice Palace’s new…]
Before I could read the window that appeared in front of my eyes, a huge lightning bolt fell in front of me. A light so strong it momentarily blinded my eyes covered my vision.
“Ugh!”
—That crazy bastard!
Ray cursed. There’s only one person who can drop lightning of this magnitude.
“Yoo Seon-je!”
I called that guy’s name. I rubbed my eyes. Yoo Seon-je’s voice stabbed down at me.
“If you don’t want to get hurt, you’d better move away from there.”
Through my blurry vision, I saw Yoo Seon-je with his pupils dyed white stretching out his hand.
A second lightning bolt struck down. It was an incomparably larger and more powerful lightning bolt than just before.
If Han Seo-hyeon hadn’t pulled my body with sand, I would have been hit too.
“Stop, stop it!”
My eyes couldn’t see properly. Even while I was rubbing my eyes, lightning fell incessantly. I could feel the air getting hot enough.
What on earth are you doing? I shouted towards Yoo Seon-je.
“The hostility is gone! And just now a system window appeared. There’s no need to fight…”
“That’s a monster. And the way to conquer the Gate is only to kill the monster. I have no intention of playing along with your childish games.”
Hearing those words, I realized.
From the beginning, Yoo Seon-je had no intention of following my conquest method at all.
Despite the narrow space, Yoo Seon-je showed no hesitation in spreading lightning. His lightning even showed arrogance that not even a speck would fly elsewhere.
One Point.
Although a few strands still flew to the surroundings, it was almost perfect. And to receive that lightning with one’s body…
“Keu, keuaaak!”
It must be an extremely painful thing. Every time Yoo Seon-je flicked his hand, lightning sparked. Skin burned pitch black and all the hair on the body crumbled to dust.
“Damn it.”
Seeing that sight, I clenched my fist.
—Give up. He’s not someone who will listen if you try to stop him.
Mana is at rock bottom. My whole body is covered in wounds. I’ve lost so much blood that my fingertips have gone cold. But, even so. I steadily got up.
As if reading my thoughts, Ray quickly continued speaking.
—This world here is fake anyway. You know that. That this is a destroyed world. That child has probably been dead for a long time too! Besides, he’s right.
I know. I know, but why does it make me feel so sick.
I gritted my teeth and looked at Yoo Seon-je.
The one born with tremendous talent backed by this world’s favoritism was different. Born with immense magical power, he made violent lightning his ally without much difficulty, operating mana as easily as breathing.
Even in this narrow space, the lightning crafted with mana was completely controlled and struck the target as Yoo Seon-je desired.
I can’t stop him.
Not in the past, not now.
At some point, even groans stopped being heard.
All traces of a living person had disappeared. After the final lightning, nothing remained where the woman had been.
The woman who was branded a witch and lived confined all her life was only used to the end by someone’s intentions and scattered as black dust. Looking at that dust, I tightly closed my eyes and then opened them.
[Congratulations on clearing ‘Serena’s Ice Palace’!]
I gritted my teeth at the window that appeared as if mocking me.
I got up. The moment I saw Yoo Seon-je’s face looking down haughtily, I couldn’t contain my anger.
“You…”
You really are!
Just as I slowly moved my steps towards Yoo Seon-je.
A new window appeared in front of me.
[You have learned a new conquest method for ‘Serena’s Ice Palace’!]
[Special benefits are given to you who have learned the hidden path.]
Special benefits? What benefits?
As soon as I muttered that, my vision began to turn black.
Looking at the face of Yoo Seon-je, who was like an enemy, I said:
I need to punch that guy’s face right now.
As if it wasn’t the time, my consciousness flowed somewhere.
And when I opened my eyes again, standing in front of me was that woman who had scattered as black dust just earlier.
My breath stopped.