Chapter 189
Everything Frozen (2)
Night fell.
The evening at Leviang’s Coast was bitterly cold and desolate, but Hong Bi-yeon, who quite enjoyed cold weather, put on her outer garment and went for a night walk.
Every time the knife-like cold wind brushed against her cheeks, her distracting thoughts died away.
Standing at the outer edge of the sharply descending castle walls, she gazed at the distant sea reflecting the moonlight.
It was a beautiful spectacle.
To the point where she wondered if there could be any scenery more beautiful than this in the world.
Hong Bi-yeon captured the ocean view in her ruby-colored eyes. As if staring at it long enough might cause the frozen sea to melt.
‘Your role is very simple.’
The words Queen Hong Seriu had told her echoed in her mind.
‘Contain the Flower of Fire within your body, and resonate with the eternal ice heart. That is the only thing you can do for this country.’
She spoke so easily.
There was no need to explain the meaning at length.
It was telling her to go and die for the sake of the country. Saying it was the duty of royalty to protect the people.
It was utterly ridiculous.
Even though she knew full well the true intentions behind those actions, the fact that she acted that way meant she had calculated that Hong Bi-yeon would not be able to refuse.
Whooosh…!
T h is w a s c o p i ed f r o m k i n gm tl. or g
Her hair fluttered in the blowing wind. The freezing temperature seemed to have numbed her ears and nose.
“Oh my, little sister~ What are you doing here at this hour~?”
Most annoyingly, she ended up running into Hong Si-hwa who was ‘coincidentally’ passing by.
Hong Bi-yeon silently stared at her. For some reason, Hong Si-hwa’s footsteps were as lively as a child’s.
“Aren’t you cold? What if you catch a cold~!”
The Adolevit royal family does not catch colds.
Not feeling it was worth responding to, Hong Bi-yeon turned her gaze away, but Hong Si-hwa thrust her face in that direction.
“How can you ignore your big sister’s advice~?”
“Please go back inside.”
“So cold~”
Thinking there was no point in staying here any longer, Hong Bi-yeon moved her feet. She felt it would be better to just go get some peaceful sleep rather than have her pleasant walk ruined.
“Little sister.”
However, Hong Si-hwa suddenly lowered her voice and called out, causing Hong Bi-yeon to stop in her tracks.
“…What is it?”
“Why didn’t you refuse~?”
“What a strange question.”
You really die.
All of the life she had desperately worked for until now would crumble in a single moment.
Yes, if it had been me before entering Stella, I might have refused. Because I couldn’t possibly let go of everything I had enjoyed, and would continue to enjoy in the future.
Before that…
Because I was so terribly afraid of dying.
But now it’s different.
Hong Bi-yeon looked straight into her eyes and said:
“Because I’m different from you, sister.”
As if saying she didn’t care what plans she had schemed or what she was thinking.
Hong Si-hwa firmly pressed her lips together.
“The weather is cold, so I’ll be going now.”
Even as she watched her younger sister walk away with slow but composed steps, Hong Si-hwa did not stop her in the end.
‘Hmm… she’s grown up a lot, hasn’t she?’
At this moment, why did the deceased Hong Erin suddenly come to mind?
‘Ugh, useless thoughts again.’
Hong Si-hwa shook her head and took quick steps.
In any case, the choice had been made, and there was no way to stop what was about to unfold… Now it was time to leave everything to fate.
‘If she dies here, it just means that was her destiny from the beginning.’
Hong Bi-yeon will die before reaching the age of twenty. Just like her eldest sister had.
So even if she dies now, it’s only hastening that fate by about 3 years.
Nothing will change.
Black Matale.
As a descendant of the legendary Pirate King who had conquered all the seas of the world long ago, and now the lord of Cheonhwa Ice Palace who had sworn loyalty to the Adolevit royal family, he had never once defied the queen until now.
However, this time was different.
“Calamity will come.”
Kneeling before the queen, Black Matale murmured quietly. His deep voice resonated throughout the vast royal audience chamber.
“…Is that all you have to say?”
“Please believe my words, Your Majesty. You must not disturb the Black Cross under any circumstances.”
“Ha, are you afraid of some ghost sleeping in that pirate ship?”
At those words insulting his ancestor, Matale’s eyes flashed with anger before he quickly lowered his gaze. Fortunately, it went unnoticed as he had bowed his head just in time.
“He… was a man who once ruled the seas. If the Progenitor Mage and his twelve disciples ruled the land, then Pirate King Black Bellize ruled the seas. Do not disturb his spirit.”
“That was a thousand years ago. We’ve sent seven expeditions over the past hundred years, yet the spirit hasn’t budged.”
“It is merely sleeping. The Pirate King’s spirit is trapped in an eternal curse, so it will never disappear!”
Thud!
When Matale shouted, the queen stomped her foot hard. Pillars of fire exploded in the air all around the palace.
“You dare raise your voice before the queen.”
“Do you not understand why I am trying so hard to stop you? The reason our family has been loyal to the Adolevit royal family is because you promised to return the seas of Leviang to us someday. This… is a violation of that covenant!”
“So?”
The queen spoke in a gentle voice.
“What difference does it make if someone like you defies my orders?”
Matale swallowed hard and lowered his head. She was right. The queen was a fearsome 8th class mage, and even her royal guard was composed of 6th to 7th class mages.
Truly befitting a superpower nation.
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m tl . or g
In contrast, Black Matale, who had lost the seas, had no power to oppose the Adolevit royal family.
Now, even if they broke their promise… there was no way to stop them.
“Our ancestors… and the Pirate King’s spirit will be angered.”
Even after saying this much, the queen would not listen. Black Matale closed his eyes tightly and accepted the despair.
‘If his soul is angered, calamity will come.’
T h is w a s c o pi e d f ro m k i n g m tl. or g
A story his grandfather used to tell him often as a child.
‘The soul of our ancestor Black Bellize made a contract with the ice incarnation.’
‘A contract?’
‘That on the day he awakens again, he will freeze this entire world.’
‘Why doesn’t he do that now?’
‘Heh heh, who knows? Perhaps he’s just resting until the time comes. So remember this. No matter what, you must never disturb the ancestor’s soul.’
Not all legends are false.
Black Matale understood this fact all too clearly, which made it so painful that he could not stop the queen’s reckless actions.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“…Yes, that is all.”
“I don’t understand why you’re so sensitive about some old legend. Legends are just legends, and modern magic technology has developed far beyond that. Even if a dragon appeared, we could hunt it down, so what is there to fear?”
“Your Majesty… knows nothing.”
“Well, fine. But who knows? Perhaps the Flower of Fire of Adolevit really can melt the seas.”
The descendants of Black Bellize are born with the innate blessing of the sea god, and endlessly yearn for the ocean.
Th i s wa s c o pi e d f r o m k in g mt l. o r g
But for over a thousand years, not a single one of them has been able to set sail on the seas.
Due to a special curse placed on their bloodline.
‘Until the Black Cross ship of the Pirate King awakens, no one can board a ship or go out to sea.’
All the ancestors who violated that rule… were swept away by the calamity of the sea and met their deaths. Without even leaving behind a corpse.
The pirates of the Black family lived their entire lives praying for that eternally frozen sea to melt, only to fade away like that.
“You may leave now.”
Long after the queen had left the hall, Black Matale finally rose from his seat. Then he gazed out the window at the sky and… helplessly hung his head.
‘…Calamity will occur.’
The current queen is foolish and tyrannical. Despite not being fit to be a ruler, she became queen thanks to inheriting the strongest flame blood.
‘In the end, all the rules our ancestors have kept will be broken in my generation.’
He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists.
He had no thoughts of running away.
If this was to be their fate…
He would witness everything from the midst of the calamity.
T h i s w a s co p i e d fr o m k in g m t l . or g
For that was the only courtesy the last descendant of Black Bellize could offer.
“This can’t be…!”
I trembled as I held my fork.
“It’s even more expensive than Stella…?”
To think there exists a city where the average food prices are higher than Stella, which is already known for being expensive.
Is this a city of nobles? Or has there been a serious problem with the value of currency?
T h is w as c o p i e d fr o m k in gmt l .o r g
When playing Aether World Online, my character didn’t need to eat, so I never paid attention to these minor details and had no idea why this was happening.
“Hey, how expensive is it that you’re being so stingy, kid?”
“It’s 500 credits more expensive than Stella. How does that make any sense?”
“You’re making such a fuss over just 500 credits…”
The passing mercenary chuckled in disbelief and walked away.
Lisbond Port Branch, Mercenary Office.
A thousand years ago, in the distant past, the massive Lisbond Port served as the heart connecting the entire world, but it has long since lost that function.
However, after the sea froze over and mysterious monsters and dungeons began appearing, this place became a mecca for adventurers and mercenaries. As a result, the mercenary office developed quite well and the building had a rather refined appearance.
While the royal court attendants were granted permission to stay in a small palace attached to Cheonhwa Ice Palace, there was a separate reason why I specifically came all the way here to eat.
‘While the royal family carries out their plans, I need to do my part as well.’
The moment Hong Bi-yeon goes to the heart of the whirlpool with the Flower of Fire contained in her body, the spirit of Black Bellize sleeping in legend will awaken.
There’s another absurd part about this.
If things proceed smoothly here, players would be happily enjoying the summer vacation event at the academy, only to suddenly encounter a [Bad End] out of nowhere.
A truly baffling development that makes you want to spam question marks. Just as you’re starting to make progress in your relationships with Ma Yuseong and Hae Wonryang and trying to raise their affection, the world suddenly gets covered in ice.
It wasn’t a common occurrence, and was an event experienced by only one in tens of thousands of players, so it didn’t become a major topic of discussion…
But I happened to be that one player out of tens of thousands.
T h i s w a s c opie d f r om k in gm t l . o rg
‘It was fun back then.’
At the time, I used every means and method possible to resolve this situation.
An endless summer vacation.
Repeating a world where everyone dies over and over… I was finally able to prevent the ending where the world freezes over because of Hong Bi-yeon.
Back then, I wasn’t really trying to save her, but rather to protect my game data…
But now it doesn’t matter.
Thanks to that, I knew about a hidden piece that no one else was aware of.
“Phew…”
But honestly, this is a bit scary.
One wrong move and I could really die.
There are two ‘bad ending flags’ for this episode.
Either the fire spirit sleeping in the Flower of Fire goes berserk and engulfs the Adolevit Kingdom in flames.
Or the ice spirit sleeping in the pirate ship goes berserk and covers the world in ice.
It seems hopeless, but… I just need to proceed according to plan.
‘Sigh… what’s the worst that could happen? Death?’
I’m a bit scared, but if not me, no one else can do this. So, it’s something I absolutely must do.
T his w as c op ie d f ro m k in g m tl. o r g
With that determination, I was able to move without hesitation.
After finishing my meal, I stood up on the table.
“Huh? What’s that kid doing?”
“Oh, it’s a Stella student.”
T h i s w as c op i e d from k i n g mt l .o r g
“I’ve never seen him before.”
After drawing the mercenaries’ attention to me, I shouted:
“Hidden dungeon discovered in the Swirling Ice Valley! First come, first served for 20 people! Recruiting mercenaries! Those with all limbs and organs intact are welcome!”
Of course, that doesn’t mean…
I wasn’t planning to resolve everything with just my own strength.
T h is w as c o pi e d fr o m k i n gm tl . or g
Sometimes you need to deceive and use people to take the easy way, right?
I’ve noticed that protagonists in novels and comics often try to solve everything on their own…
But I’m not a protagonist, so I can’t be bothered with such troublesome things.
End of Chapter