Chapter 89

# Chapter 089

The dim light that had been fading suddenly erupted, right after that.

The strength that had been ebbing from the warlord's convulsing body returned in an instant.

At the same time, a foreboding resonance of magic power was transmitted.

‘Damn it.’

Ian, frowning, kicked the creature's chest and leaped backward.

“Grr… Ohhh-!”

Kwaahaa-

A cold storm began to rage from the warlord's entire body.

Kagagag-

The swirling barrier that had momentarily held back the cold was torn apart.

Chjerjer, ice flowers bloomed on Ian's entire body as he tumbled and rolled on the ground.

Even as he frowned, Ian roared and looked at the warlord who had risen to his feet. The warlord had drawn the massive battle hammer from his back.

‘...So, he’s finally pulling that out.’

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Ian’s mouth.

In the game, the warlord’s combat phases were divided into three major stages.

The initial phase right after breaking the seal, where he fought bare-handed. The second phase, where he drew the twin swords from his waist and unleashed cold blades and shockwaves.

The final phase was with this battle hammer.

Approaching players while enveloped in a cold storm, slowing their movements, and then striking with the hammer.

A simple yet powerful pattern that was difficult to break.

Because a direct hit from that hammer meant instant death.

Given the size of the battle hammer, it was unlikely that the outcome would be different even in this reality.

Kung.

The warlord took a powerful step forward.

Ian, who was trying to stand, realized that his legs were not moving smoothly.

Frost had spread around, covering his boots, greaves, and even the surface of the gauntlets he was standing on.

A numbing cold sensation followed.

‘Damn, really.’

Just as Ian was shaking off the ice that had formed on his limbs, the warlord’s gaze suddenly turned to the side.

His eyes burned with rage.

Tatatat-!

Charlotte was charging forward.

She seemed to be trying to draw the warlord’s attention to herself.

But the situation was different from before.

“Stop!”

Ian shouted, but it was clear that Charlotte didn’t hear him.

She had already entered the swirling ice storm surrounding the warlord.

Chjerjer-

Charlotte’s charge gradually slowed down.

Her entire body was freezing.

Not only the surface of her armor, but even her black hair was covered in frost.

“Grr- Aaaaah-!”

Charlotte roared and continued her charge.

The ice covering her body shattered.

‘She fights as if she wants to die.’

While thinking this, Ian continuously cast glacial barriers.

The warlord was raising his battle hammer above his head.

And Charlotte showed no intention of retreating or dodging.

In fact, she probably knew that it was impossible to do so.

If the warlord struck with that hammer, the next moment would leave only frozen meat fragments that were once Charlotte.

Chjerjer-

Ian extended his hand between Charlotte and the warlord.

A thick ice barrier began to rise instantly, but it didn’t seem to have enough time to fully protect Charlotte from that blow.

Parrarar-!

A surging, silvery mass shot out in a flash.

Only then did Ian realize that he wasn’t the only one who thought Charlotte would die.

Kwajijij-!

The warlord’s hammer, swung with all his might, shattered the still-rising glacial barrier and fell. Tesaia, who had caught and thrown Charlotte, did so almost simultaneously.

During this process, Tesaia’s body, which had momentarily slowed down, was grazed by the hammer as it fell.

Kuuuung-!

A shockwave erupted from the hammer hitting the ground. It was powerful enough to pin a vampire fairy to the ground and send her flying into the wall.

Kwaduk-!

A terrifying sound erupted from Tesaia, who was pinned to the wall as if she had been embedded in it.

“Tesa…?!”

Charlotte, who had also been pinned to the wall but only received a minor shock, finally opened her eyes wide.

Tesaia, who had been embedded in the wall, slid down in a tattered state.

The blood splattered in all directions, but unlike usual, it didn’t immediately gather back to her and just dripped down, proving the severity of the impact she had suffered.

Without hesitation, Charlotte ran towards Tesaia.

She couldn’t have failed to realize that Tesaia had just saved her life.

Chwaak-

Charlotte, who had stopped as if sliding, picked up Tesaia.

Her entire body was a horrific sight, with bones shattered and flesh torn.

She seemed to have lost consciousness, and the only movement was a brief twitch when Charlotte grabbed her.

“Damn….”

Charlotte, sighing, drew a dagger from her waist.

Without hesitation, she cut her own hand and let the blood flow into Tesaia’s crushed lips.

She already knew that Tesaia wouldn’t die even in this state. It would take a lot of time, but she would eventually return to her original form.

But this was a matter of debt. For a siren who had lived her life being treated as a demon, the real demons were even more repulsive. And Tesaia, despite being a fairy, was almost an enemy.

Because of this, she couldn’t just leave Tesaia to die, even if she owed her a life debt.

Tesaia’s crushed neck twitched.

But it was just an unconscious reflex.

Her consciousness had not yet returned. Even if it had, with her eyes burst and her entire body shattered, there would have been no other way to express it.

Kwaah-

A scorching heat, which would not dissipate, made the area behind her as bright as midday.

“…?!”

Charlotte’s eyes widened as she turned around.

The warlord, who had already struck his hammer once more, and the wave of bright yellow flames surging from Ian’s sword, which had narrowly avoided the hammer.

The flame tsunami collided with the warlord’s cold storm, transforming into a flame storm that raged.

Ian’s face, standing in the midst of it, was as expressionless as usual, but his eyes, glaring at the warlord, were more menacing than ever.

Kwururur-

The cold that had frozen the area had completely turned into heat.

“…!”

As the surging waves of fire approached her, Charlotte, eyes wide, picked up Tesaia and leaped away.

She took cover behind the farthest pillar from the warlord and Ian, peeking out to survey the battlefield.

This was no longer her domain.

Kwaahaaa-

Ian, holding his sword engulfed in flames, rose up, letting the flame storm rage freely.

***

‘This works.’

Despite his expressionless glare at the warlord, Ian was inwardly surprised.

The flame tsunami, which he had improvised to counter the cold storm, was having a greater effect than expected.

Not only did it neutralize the cold, but it also transformed into a flame storm.

The flames swirling around his sword were no different.

They surged along the wind blades, transforming into a sword of fire.

‘It didn’t work well before.’

Ian had tried something similar before.

He had attempted to make flames adhere to wind blades or swirling barriers by adding fireballs or flame emissions.

Of course, back then, the flames would dissipate or the wind would scatter, so he stopped trying.

But the flame tsunami was different.

‘Was it due to a lack of firepower? Or a different nature of the flames?’

Perhaps it was due to the difference in the amount of magic power contained in the spells.

Either way, it didn’t really matter.

“Surprised, aren’t you, bastard.”

Ian, glaring at the warlord’s eyes, which were now close, thrust his sword towards the exposed eye socket.

Kwurururur-

The flames on the sword blade consumed the cold emanating from the warlord’s body, burning fiercely. The glowing eyes shattered, and the blade pierced the warlord’s eye socket.

The warlord’s resistance was irrelevant.

The fact that he had drawn his battle hammer was proof that his life force was nearly depleted.

“Ooooh-”

A pained scream erupted from the warlord’s mouth. This time, Ian didn’t let his guard down.

The blade, deeply embedded in the warlord’s eye socket, glowed red.

Kwaahaaa-

A bright yellow flame burst out. A chaos-infused flame emission. The flames didn’t burst out from the back of the warlord’s head but extended into his body, burning him alive from the inside.

Kwurururur-

No scream came from the warlord’s open mouth, but flames surged like a tongue.

The cold that had been spreading from his entire body was no longer felt.

Ian poured the last of the flames into the warlord.

Pusus…

The flames subsided. The flames that had raged with the cold storm shattered, scattering countless sparks into the air.

What remained was the red-hot Sword of Judgment and the smoke rising from every orifice of the warlord’s body.

Chukrung-

The battle hammer fell from the warlord’s grip.

The warlord’s body, which had been standing, tilted forward like a log.

Ian quickly leaped backward and rolled on the ground.

Kuung-

The warlord fell. Ian, who had risen, approached the warlord’s side, still gripping the still-hot Sword of Judgment.

He raised the sword with both hands.

Kwajik! Kwajik!

Ian struck the warlord’s neck repeatedly. The sensation was like cutting down a large tree.

Kwaduk-

Finally, the warlord’s head was completely separated from his body. Puu, a blue magic power erupted from the warlord’s entire body, extinguishing the surging flames in the air and evaporating. A chilling cold swept over Ian’s body and dissipated.

“Haa… Haa….”

Ian, who had been holding his breath, straightened his bent back.

In the center of the now relatively darker field of vision, a quest completion window appeared.

A level-up confirmation window followed.

After nearly a year and a half since he had fallen into this world, his level had finally increased.

At the same time, this meant he had taken the first step into the realm of high-level magic, which he had never been able to reach in the game.

But Ian didn’t feel a great joy or excitement.

“…”

He just regulated his breathing, closed his eyes, and focused all his attention on his hearing.

He was worried that the giant army, upon realizing the warlord’s death, might awaken.

In this damn world, it was a plausible backstab.

Fortunately, no roar or footsteps of giants were heard.

All he could hear were his own pounding heart and the breathing of the siren hiding behind the pillar.

“Phew….”

Ian, finally retrieving his sword, staggered.

The aftereffects of maintaining concentration for too long and expending magic power finally caught up with him.

In the game, when a level was gained, health and magic power would recover to a certain extent.

Now, he couldn’t feel any such signs. Just an intense fatigue.

“…It’s over. Come out.”

Ian, staggering, said.

Charlotte’s tall and sturdy silhouette appeared as if she had been waiting.

Her low voice followed.

“Ian, earlier-”

“You tried to save me. I know. Tesaia?”

“…She seems to be recovering. But she’s still unconscious.”

Ian sensed worry in Charlotte’s low voice. It was very faint, but clearly different from her usual cold tone when dealing with Tesaia.

Perhaps she had developed some affection.

“Alright. We’ll set up a camp. She needs to recover… and I’m at my limit.”

As he spoke, Ian reached into his subspace.

The large tomes that almost filled the subspace tumbled out. He also took out the branches he had prepared for firewood from the corner of the subspace.

Hwarak-

The fireball Ian threw landed on the tomes.

The research records of the giant queen, which would have been of great value to scholars and mages, were engulfed in flames.

Next, Ian took out a chest from the subspace and roughly removed a blanket, bandages, and preserved food, handing them to Charlotte.

Charlotte, covering Tesaia with the blanket, said,

“I’ll take the first watch. Rest, Ian.”

“Wake me if that door opens or if something approaches.”

“Alright.”

There were many things to think about, but he had no energy left.

True to his word, Ian lost consciousness as soon as he lay down.

A dream of endlessly falling into the abyss awaited him.

***

Ian opened his eyes silently.