Chapter 058
After a brief silence, Han Sang-ah spoke in a dry tone.
"—This is a bit awkward. If the number of slimes increases too much, I'll be in danger. To be blunt, once it goes past about ten, I can't handle it."
If the number of slimes grew beyond what Han Sang-ah could manage, she would be pushed onto the defensive.
If Han Sang-ah was pushed back, it meant she wouldn't be able to kill the slimes—and if she couldn't kill them, I would die of hypothermia.
But if too many slimes were killed, my body temperature would rise too much and I'd die of a high fever.
"There might be a way on my end to control the number of slimes you're dealing with."
"—Yeah. Look for it."
What would I have to do to control the number of slimes? Thinking that, I dashed toward the monster sitting atop its throne. I dodged the ice spears pouring down like rain and came to a stop in front of the throne.
Around the queen's body, sharp stakes of ice shot up wildly, aiming for my life.
"—…Wait. The big slime stopped producing small slimes. No, it's still making them, but it's really slow."
I was puzzled by her words.
All I'd done was move closer. For now, I backed away again.
"How is it now?"
"—Ah, production sped up again."
Damn it. The closer I got to that monster, the slower the production rate of the slimes Han Sang-ah was fighting.
If slime production slowed, the number of slimes Han Sang-ah could deal with would decrease—and I'd freeze to death.
On the other hand, if I got too far from the monster, the number of slimes she had to handle would increase too much.
Then Han Sang-ah would be overwhelmed and fail to deal with them. In the end, I'd freeze to death again.
"There isn't a single thing I like about this…!"
As if reflecting my feelings, the Paradox Flame coiling around my body swelled larger. The problem was that the monster's magic resistance was extremely high, so until I completely burned through that resistance, I couldn't burn anything else.
Of course, I could just let the Paradox Flame grow out of control—like the sources of corruption on Gyodong Island or Tsushima—and turn it into a disaster like a forest fire.
'But I'm not alone in here right now.'
Sure, burning everything down would feel great in the moment. But after dealing with that monster and regrouping with Han Sang-ah—then what?
She wouldn't even have time to scream before being swallowed by the Paradox Flame. I didn't train her so hard just to use her once and throw her away.
"Hold out as long as you can."
I could last long enough—but how long could Han Sang-ah last? Unlike me, she used the mana stored in her body. Which meant it would eventually run out.
"—I didn't come in here to drag you down."
This was a corruption zone that couldn't be entered unless there were two people to begin with, and I was the one who decided the gains were worth it and brought Han Sang-ah instead of Lee Se-eun. Dragging me down, my ass.
I knew her total mana capacity and skill level inside and out. Considering the danger level of the slimes she was facing—
'She can hold out for three days.'
That is, if she didn't fall asleep and kept focusing on the fight. Thankfully, she'd already gone through that kind of training countless times. I figured she could manage.
"Wow."
A spectacular sight unfolded before my eyes. In the raging blizzard, spears crafted like fine works of ice rained down from the sky, while frozen earth surged up from below.
If I weren't the one being attacked—if I were just watching—I was sure it would have been incredibly beautiful.
"Damn bitch."
The curse slipped out on its own. As a blade grazed my skin, a chill ran through me, and frost bloomed across my body centered on the cut.
"A curse?"
This was something I could handle easily. I immediately burned the curse away with the Paradox Flame. But that wasn't the real problem.
"Keeping the distance is…"
Too far, I die. Too close, I die. The enemy is strong, and I'm constrained.
For once, cold sweat ran down my spine.
"At least… let's make this ice harmless."
I brought the blazing Paradox Flame to the ice spread all around. I couldn't burn the ice itself, but I could burn away the curses contained within it.
"—…."
The monster was glaring at me with a look of intense displeasure. Was it because I'd completely burned away the curses on its ice?
"Hey, sorry if you're mad."
Still, I had no intention of putting out the fire. It wasn't like it would spare me if it wasn't angry. On the transparent ice spreading out like a spider's web, pitch-black flames clung and burned, creating a bizarre scene.
In a world where ice and flame intertwined like serpents, I charged forward with my spear.
Han Sang-ah was in just as much hell as Yoo Chan-seok. The reasons were different, but the fact that both of them were suffering didn't change.
"…It's gotten a bit faster."
"—Yeah, got it."
Even so, Yoo Chan-seok and Han Sang-ah were adapting remarkably well to the situation. When you're fighting with your life on the line, it's usually enough for the other person to make even a small mistake for harsh words to fly back and forth.
But Yoo Chan-seok knew from long experience that this wasn't the kind of situation you could handle that way.
Han Sang-ah wasn't the type to trade harsh words with others to begin with. She swung her sword and cleaved the slime in front of her in half, then retreated while dodging the slime's tentacles that lashed out toward her body.
"—I'm cold. If you have any leeway, speed things up a bit."
At Yoo Chan-seok's words, Han Sang-ah immediately wrapped lightning around her sword and followed through with another series of strikes at the next slime. Five sword slashes, delivered in a split second, cut down another slime with beam-like speed.
An efficient attack that severed exactly one slime's lifeline, with not a shred of waste.
The result of repeating it countless times.
"How is it now?"
"—Yeah, it's a bit bet—ngh! Khaak!"
Something seemed to have gone wrong. But Han Sang-ah wasn't particularly affected by Yoo Chan-seok's strained-sounding voice.
If she died here, then she died. The only thing she could influence was the body heat she secured by eliminating slimes. Anything beyond that was out of her control, no matter how much she worried.
Ignoring Yoo Chan-seok's sudden scream, Han Sang-ah asked the question she needed to ask.
"Your body temperature?"
"—It's manageable. The slimes?"
Right now, Han Sang-ah was dealing with three slimes. She checked on the massive slime behind them, bubbling as it produced smaller slimes, then reached a conclusion.
"It's still okay. I can stick close for… about 20 seconds without a problem."
"—Twenty seconds? No, try to hold out until twenty-five."
"Okay."
Neither of them hesitated to make unreasonable demands of the other. And the one receiving those demands also did their best to comply. Sometimes Han Sang-ah pushed Yoo Chan-seok too hard; sometimes it was the other way around.
As those unreasonable demands piled up one by one, wounds multiplied on their bodies, and fatigue accumulated.
"Haa…."
After taking a blow to the stomach, Han Sang-ah rolled across the ground a few times, then steadied herself.
"Yoo Chan-seok, at this rate, it feels like this will never end."
"—I get that feeling too. But since I've got an alternative… kh! Since I've got an alternative, you brought it up, right?"
Han Sang-ah glanced toward the massive slime bubbling in the distance.
"I'll cut off the big slime that's spawning the small ones."
Dealing with the little ones wouldn't break this situation. If anything, they had to deal with that massive slime producing them.
"—Well, damn… That could mean we're throwing away our own method of keeping my body temperature stable."
"Do you want to die slowly, or die quickly?"
At Han Sang-ah's words, Yoo Chan-seok let out a cough-laced laugh.
"—That's a lovely set of choices. If I'm dying anyway, might as well die fast."
"Good. If I'm going to deal with that thing, managing your body temperature will be hard."
Even if she succeeded in killing the massive slime, if there was no way left to maintain Yoo Chan-seok's body temperature afterward, then he would die.
And if Han Sang-ah failed to kill the massive slime, then Yoo Chan-seok would simply die on the spot.
"—So that means I have to endure somehow even if my body temperature drops."
"Yeah."
Han Sang-ah replied dryly.
"—Alright then, let's shiver our way through it. Start."
"I'll quickly finish off the remaining slimes and get to work right away. When I give the signal, keep as much distance as possible from your monster and maintain it."
To prepare a powerful finishing blow, she couldn't let the small slimes interfere. First, she would quickly deal with the remaining ones and raise Yoo Chan-seok's body temperature to a dangerous level—then immediately prepare the strike that would smash the massive slime.
"—High fever followed by hypothermia, huh. Wow, are you planning to cook some noodles? Boil them in hot water, then cool them in cold water?"
Han Sang-ah didn't respond to Yoo Chan-seok's pointless joke. At this rate, the only outcome looked like slowly melting to death like shrimp inside a whale's stomach. Well—strictly speaking, not dying.
Drowning in debt, instead.
After temporarily pushing her mana output to the limit and eliminating the remaining slimes, Han Sang-ah spoke.
"From now on, widen the distance."
"—Got it. Hope it works out."
Han Sang-ah sheathed her sword again and took a deep breath. She had to draw it up to the absolute maximum. She pulled up every last drop of mana residing in her body, then planned to unleash all of it in a single strike.
If that attack killed the massive slime, it was a success. If not, it was a failure.
A hollow sensation washed over Han Sang-ah's body. She had emptied out all the mana that had filled her—it couldn't be helped. It felt like one of her internal organs had been ripped cleanly out.
"Haa…."
"—I'm freezing… to death."
Yoo Chan-seok's words meant hurry—but there was no choice. She had to draw out more. Even though her body felt empty, there was a saying: wring out a dry rag, and water will still come out.
She had to wring herself dry to the very limit. A single handful of mana could decide success or failure.
"Hang in there."
Squeezing water from a sponge soaked to the brim doesn't take long. With just a little pressure, water streams out. But forcing more water out of a sponge already wrung to its limit takes time and effort.
It felt as though every drop of blood in her body was being dried out completely.
"…"
Now there wasn't even time—or efficiency—to shout "just a little more." If this didn't work, it would only prove that the attempt had been reckless from the start.
Gripping her sword, Han Sang-ah charged toward the massive slime. As she sprinted forward, bluish-white sparks trailed behind her.
"Disappear."
One strike—the sword was drawn from its scabbard and swung.
Flash.
With a sensation like the world itself splitting apart, a blade of light flared and left behind a massive arc. As she drew and swung the sword, Han Sang-ah spun her body once and followed up with a vertical slash.
The cross-shaped slashes completed in that instant split the massive slime's body into four pieces. From that cross-shaped cut, an overwhelming amount of sparks spread out like a wave.
Electricity raced through the slime's viscous body with a crackling hiss. The incandescent, cross-shaped flash grew larger, engulfing and devouring the massive slime.
"Khah… hng…."
Han Sang-ah let go of the sword in her hand and collapsed to the ground. She didn't have the strength left to move even a single finger.
As if to prove she had drawn out her power to the absolute limit, portions of her hair were bleached white in that brief moment. To anyone else, it might have looked as though she'd deliberately dyed highlights into her hair.
Han Sang-ah couldn't tell whether her strike had landed properly or if it had failed.
Because the moment she delivered the slash, she collapsed—and immediately lost consciousness.