“She’s definitely good at handling things.”
The obsession formed from the gumiho’s malicious nature boasted effects beyond imagination.
With that demon, it wouldn’t be strange if corpses were involved.
In fact, it was impossible for a demon not to think of such an idea, so Si-woo decided to use this flame to his advantage.
It was clear that this demon wouldn’t even spare its own corpses.
The blue flames that rose from the demon worshipper’s sharp edge also affected the demon that had dared to eye the corpses.
‘Well, it doesn’t seem to have much effect, though.’
Still, it stopped the demon worshipper from being resurrected.
That alone made this flame fulfill its purpose.
By the way, did the flames hurt that badly?
There’s a thick murderous intent coming from the demon’s gaze.
If it overflowed with mana, the murderous intent would easily claim the life of any ordinary person.
The constant release of such murderous intent from the demon made Si-woo briefly question.
-!!
Im So-yeon appeared.
Even with her entrance starting the battle with the demon, Si-woo wasn’t flustered.
‘As expected, she didn’t leave the gate.’
When the allure spread, all the snow women around were taken. Even so, Im So-yeon had come here.
“So-yeon followed me, so it’s not surprising that Saria isn’t here, right?”
Si-woo didn’t harbor any negative thoughts about the two who didn’t keep their word.
They hadn’t shown up during the crucial moments.
He might have been disappointed if they appeared during the act, but So-yeon had shown up at just the right time.
Moreover, if they had thought of solving this on their own, it would have been foolish.
If that were the case, there would have been no need to form a party, nor would he have accepted Saria’s partnership proposal.
“By the way, where did Saria go?”
Whooosh!!
As soon as Si-woo voiced the question, Saria answered him.
Not with words, but with action.
The owner of the space that opened in front of him didn’t need to be asked.
The distance was too far for him to use teleportation magic, but as long as he could pinpoint the exact coordinates, a one-way portal was possible.
He was able to open the spatial portal.
Si-woo reached into the space and drew out the familiar hilt of his sword.
“When did he prepare this again?”
He infused the spare iron sword he had prepared with blue flames.
Swinging flames in the shape of a sword wasn’t inefficient, but if this could act as a core, the mana consumption efficiency would increase several times over.
“Plus, with a blade, it’ll be much easier to deal with them.”
He turned his head toward the remaining two demon worshippers.
Despite clearly witnessing his kind split in half, those demons didn’t fear him.
If they had any sense at all, they should have hesitated.
“The intelligence of these guys has degraded since we first met.”
‘Is it because so much time has passed, or is it because the demon, the original one, is controlling them?’
He wasn’t sure of the reason, but if they continued to behave like this, it would be easier for Si-woo.
He charged toward the demon worshippers, enveloped in blue flames, before Im So-yeon could kill Glacia.
Im So-yeon’s attack pattern was simple.
Like Si-woo, she had no proper teacher, and unlike Saria, no real support, relying entirely on self-study.
Using only the knowledge left on her engraving, she had established her own combat style.
Even Saria, a magician, would have to avoid or block Im So-yeon’s movements if she saw them.
It was a problem that could only be solved through time and effort after entering the Academy.
Im So-yeon doubted that method.
‘If it’s all about seeing and reacting.’
Wouldn’t it be enough to just make it impossible for them to see?
And so, Im So-yeon presented her own solution in her unique way.
Scratch-!
Crack-!!!
An indelible scar appeared on the impenetrable ice wall that had been protecting the demon.
It was hard to believe that such power was achieved with only a single dagger.
The demon created ice fangs and launched a delayed attack in the direction where the scar had appeared.
Im So-yeon’s speed was not at a level that the demon could not respond to.
The weakened parts of the demon were only its ability to control ice and the total amount of mana.
Other than that, it was still the original Glacia.
It had inherited the physical strength of a monster with at least B-rank danger.
“Dammit.”
No matter how impressive Im So-yeon’s speed was, if the demon had inherited Glacia’s physical strength, it would have been able to react.
As long as the demon didn’t vanish in front of him.
It disappeared and reappeared.
Even if Im So-yeon used magic right after swinging her sword from an unexpected direction, it was already too late.
Im So-yeon was already erasing her existence from this world.
Attacking the remnants would not deal any damage to Im So-yeon.
However, the demon did not have the ability to track a vanished presence.
‘If it comes as the original body, maybe I could react, but…’
It was all speculation, and entirely unpredictable.
Crack!
The ice barrier could not withstand and collapsed.
Im So-yeon’s attack wasn’t particularly threatening.
The demon itself had taken that attack before, and thought that if it set up a full-body barrier to protect itself, it wouldn’t matter how fast or effective her erasure technique was.
Scratch-!!
If it weren’t for the curse imbued in that dagger!
A curse so terrible that even demons would recoil in disgust.
A deadly curse combining the Curse of Decay, the Curse of Destruction, and an Unhealable Curse mixed together created a lethal weapon that even she, who had lived alongside demons for so long, would applaud as something shockingly fresh.
“Really, nowadays, humans are worse than demons.”
Clang!!
The hastily created ice barrier crumbled after just one hit.
Rather than thinking of spending time and stamina, it was the demon’s mana that was being drained.
Even if it continued to spread the ice barrier, its mana would run out before So-yeon’s stamina.
That would be the end.
If the battle dragged on and Si-woo joined in, it would be over.
‘Those guys don’t seem useful anymore.’
He checked on the demon worshippers crawling on the ground after being beaten by Si-woo.
They were still alive.
But they were alive, in the most literal sense.
They were still breathing, but their bodies were torn apart, dying in real-time, and it seemed impossible to use the demon worshippers any longer.
If it weren’t for the gumiho’s flames, I might have tried to save them somehow.
“Really disappointing. I’ve never even gotten to see that face of despair until the very end.”
If Si-woo had been the typical hero type, he would have fallen into despair by now.
The demon layered the ice shields one after another, preparing for suicide.
This wasn’t the demon’s original body, but rather a clone.
The demon, possessing Glacia, a human broken into fragments, had descended into the world like this, and for this demon, this meeting was nothing more than a game.
Yet, the pain was still felt, and the demon sought the safest, painless farewell.
To commit suicide, the demon spread cold throughout its body.
‘Really too bad.’
Even if the demon committed suicide along with Glacia, Si-woo would not despair.
That man wasn’t the type to fall into despair.
‘Maybe he’ll even forget me as an enemy in his memories.’
He wasn’t that cold-hearted, but he wasn’t the type to be swayed by his memories either.
As the demon felt death approaching, it smiled regretfully.
‘I’ll give them the second-worst ending, if not the worst.’
The demon’s internal organs were already completely frozen.
A normal human would have died by now, but Glacia’s strong body didn’t let death come easily.
However, it seemed like it couldn’t last much longer.
A futile ending, where the boss commits suicide on its own.
Unable to provide the worst despair, the demon accepted death, intending to at least offer them a sense of futility.
Thud!
“Hmm?”
The body moved on its own.
The demon’s eyes widened in disbelief at a sensation it had never felt before.
But soon, the golden light returned to the demon’s previously white eye, and its consciousness sank beneath the surface.
“It’s done…!!”
It was truly just a fleeting moment.
In the moment the demon had resigned itself to death, Glacia, who had emerged, gasped for breath.
“Now I… remember…”
‘Isn’t it too late to get up?’
At the demon’s mocking words, Glacia shook her head.
No, it wasn’t late at all.
No one had died yet.
And… this time, she had properly made up her mind.
“This is enough.”
The ice barrier the demon had set up collapsed.
The assassin’s blade didn’t fly toward Glacia’s neck.
“Sorry, hero.”
There was a man who blocked the assassin’s path.
With tears in her eyes, Glacia made her final request to Si-woo.
“This time, I’m really ready.”
She spoke those words not as a whisper from the demon, but with true sincerity.
“Hero.”
Please, kill me.
