The expectations were off.
No—only half right.
Or perhaps, they had gone astray.
In other words, the evil spirit didn’t just target the woman; it had begun to act in other ways as well.
It re-attacked the site where the miracle had occurred, staining it with curses, and created minions to watch over the woman’s approach.
The world, which had seemed on the verge of revival, was now heading straight back toward destruction.
As if mocking them, the evil spirit restored everything to its original state.
The result?
Everything began spiraling toward the worst possible outcome.
Yet the humans remained helpless, merely watching without taking any real action.
They despaired, and despaired again.
If anything, they seemed even more lifeless than before.
Perhaps it would have been better if they had never tasted salvation.
The miracle the woman had wrought had indeed offered hope, but that hope was swallowed whole by the despair that returned.
Having already accepted the apocalypse as an inevitable fact, the humans sat blankly, quietly awaiting their final day.
In a way, it seemed they had lost the will to resist.
…And that was something the woman simply could not tolerate.
—From the secret library of the southern city of Atlanta, “The Legend of the Dancer.”
Somewhere nearby, the sound of chattering teeth rattled against my ears. I forced my eyes open and struggled to lift my upper body. Glancing around the tent with difficulty, I realized the noise wasn’t from teeth grinding but from something else. Scattered among the sleeping bags were intermittent clacking sounds—probably teeth chattering from the cold.
I let out a soft sigh and crawled out of my sleeping bag. My body felt a bit stiff, but thanks to the shirt of hope I wore, it wasn’t too bad. Silently thanking the heavens, I was about to step outside when I gasped sharply.
Had it snowed overnight? The frozen ground was blanketed in thick white snow. But what caught my attention was a sleeping bag buried in the snow.
Why was this sleeping bag out here alone? More importantly, was someone inside it frozen to death? Concern gripped me. I brushed the snow off and tapped it with my foot, but the sleeping bag didn’t move. Only faint groans escaped from within.
I’d better check their condition first.
I pulled the sleeping bag out and slipped my hand inside, feeling something dry, cold, and stiff. Carefully tracing it, I realized it was frozen hair. Grasping what I assumed was a shoulder, I gently pulled the occupant out—and finally revealed the identity of the stubborn user.
“Jegal Haesol?”
Half-opening her eyes, Jegal Haesol let out a pitiful groan. Her face was pale blue, and her delicate lips trembled. For a moment, I found this pitiful sight strangely fitting for her mysterious beauty, and I couldn’t help but stare quietly.
Still, I was relieved she wasn’t dead. But why had she done something so reckless?
“Are you okay? Why did you sleep outside?”
“Uh… I…”
Jegal Haesol’s voice was weak, almost as if she were on the brink of death. I slapped her cheeks a couple of times, and she glared at me, gritting her teeth. Well, at least she was conscious.
She struggled to move her mouth, clearly struggling, then finally spoke.
“Yesterday, the clan lord told us to sleep together in the big tent…”
That was true. Human body heat is like a heater; sleeping together would at least keep us warmer.
“And…?”
“I… can’t sleep with others…”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’m extremely sensitive about sleeping arrangements… And there’s that saying, ‘Men and women should not sit together before the age of seven,’ you know?”
I wanted to scold her for such a trivial reason, but I held back and began removing her outer clothes.
“W-What are you doing? I’m going to scream!”
“Then try moving.”
Her eyes widened as she tried, but she could barely wiggle.
“See? You slept outside in this freezing mountain, and your body’s not frozen solid? It’s strange you don’t have frostbite. Consider yourself lucky you didn’t freeze to death.”
“B-But…”
“I’m not going to do anything weird, so just stay still. We have a long walk ahead today. Who told you to sleep outside anyway?”
“……”
Jegal Haesol bit her lip hard but said nothing. I carefully peeled off the cloth wrapping her feet, revealing toes stiff as boards. Cute toes.
“Oh no… my legs, my legs…”
Her voice sounded like a desperate plea not to be touched.
Ignoring her, I grabbed both feet firmly.
“Ahhh…!”
Jegal Haesol let out a heart-wrenching scream, like a maiden losing her virginity. Damn it, why did this feel like I was forcing something on her?
Shaking off the awkward feeling, I began gently massaging her feet. I summoned the power of Hwa-jeong, working my way from her feet up to her calves and thighs, kneading without mercy. When I massaged her waist, shoulders, and arms, Jegal Haesol finally let out a hot, breathy sigh. Her face flushed pink—much better than before.
“How do you feel? Much better, right?”
She glared at me with frustrated eyes, zipped up her sleeping bag, and wrapped her legs.
“Ugh. What can I do? I ended up getting beaten after all.”
Then she covered her face with both hands and burst into tears.
Yeah, put on a show. Go ahead. Honestly, if I’d touched your skin, you’d have every right to complain. But I only touched your bare soles—what’s with all the fuss?
Feeling a bit ridiculous, I pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Jegal Haesol glanced at me sideways.
“React a little. It’s embarrassing.”
“How am I supposed to react?”
“First, take a deep drag and flash the most devious smile you can muster. Then say this.”
“…?”
“‘Hmph, you acted all high and mighty, but in the end, you’re just the same kind of female. Still, you had a pretty nice body. From now on, I’ll take care of you and cherish you. Heh heh!’”
“…”
Who gave you the right to define my personality?
“User Jegal Haesol, I’m asking because I’m genuinely worried—do you happen to have masochistic tendencies?”
“Oh, you caught me. Yes, I’m actually interested in masochism. The technical term is femsub.”
Jegal Haesol smiled slyly without batting an eye, and I flicked her forehead lightly with my thumb and forefinger.
“Ow! Why’d you hit me?”
“Judging by your nonsense, you seem fully recovered. Anyway, behave yourself and get ready for transport. We’ll pack up camp and head down immediately.”
I said with a teasing tone, and Jegal Haesol pouted.
“Hmph. Can you stop treating me like a shuttle?”
I didn’t reply and stood up. One by one, the others were waking up and crawling out of their sleeping bags.
“…Thank you.”
A small voice came from behind me.
At least she said thank you.
After waking, the group unanimously agreed to eat breakfast down below. I suppose everyone wanted to get out of this mountain as soon as possible. So, borrowing Jegal Haesol’s transport ability, we moved downward and began a cold breakfast at a suitable spot.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single tree in sight below the mountain, so we had to eat dried meat stored in the Chaos Mimic.
While we were tearing into the meat, Jin Suhyun smacked his lips and spoke up.
“Now that I think about it, this is a big problem. There’s not a single tree or wild animal around here… Is water the only thing we don’t have to worry about?”
“True. But at least there’s plenty of dried meat. You kept gathering food from outside on the way here, right?”
Lee Yujeong muttered as she tore the meat. Her words stung my heart. She probably said it casually, but it was sharper than I expected. If Ko Yeonju were here, she’d definitely be suspicious. I debated whether to explain but decided to quietly continue eating. It’s better to let it slide than to react.
“So, what kind of place is this? It’s nice that the cold’s gone.”
Good. Baek Hangyeol changed the subject.
“Yeah. The icy wind is gone, but… this place feels like a snow desert. Or rather, a land of snow.”
Ha Seungyun nodded, turning his head sharply. Indeed, the area below was covered in snow as far as the eye could see. The vast snowfield sparkled under the morning sun, dotted with snowy hills—essentially a hilly terrain.
There were so many hills that it was hard to get a clear view, and their sizes varied greatly. Some were as large as buildings, blocking the line of sight in many places.
Lee Yujeong shrugged.
“It’s mysterious and eerie at the same time… too quiet. It’s much better than the mountain, but it’s still cold. And there’s no food in sight. Can anyone really live here?”
“Heh. Then maybe there are no monsters either?”
“Maybe?”
“Right? Right!”
Ha Seungyun clapped his hands like a seal, clearly overjoyed, while Lee Yujeong gave him a skeptical look.
“Well, I’m not so sure about that.”
At that moment, Kim Hanbyul cut in with a cold tone. Lee Yujeong’s right eye narrowed slightly.
“So, you’re saying it’s possible?”
“I don’t know for sure. But I think it could be.”
“Why?”
“Because both humans and animals have the ability to adapt to their environment. And we haven’t even checked everywhere yet, so it’s too soon to jump to conclusions.”
Lee Yujeong tilted her head, considering the clear explanation.
“Is that so?”
“Probably.”
“Yeah, well, honestly, it doesn’t really matter. By the way, Hanbyul, can I get some water?”
“Sure. Just a moment… What was that?”
Hanbyul reached out her hand but suddenly snapped her head around to glare at Lee Yujeong.
“Just kidding, just kidding. I told you, no ill will. Don’t react to everything, okay?”
Lee Yujeong laughed lightly and waved her hand dismissively, but no one else smiled. Soon, she scratched her head awkwardly as everyone else looked at her with curious eyes. I felt the same way. They seemed to ignore each other most of the time, so when did they start talking so casually? They weren’t exactly close, but it seemed they’d at least recovered to the level they were at during the initiation period.
I was curious how they’d mended their relationship, but either way, it wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, it was welcome.
“Hangbyeol.”
Just as I was about to slip in with a warm feeling, Kim Hanbyul shot me a deadly glare.
“…Ah, never mind.”
I cleared my throat awkwardly and mumbled, deciding it was better to keep quiet.
Then—
“Kim Suhyun.”
Heo Junyoung suddenly narrowed his eyes and called out to me. His usual hollow voice was replaced by a slightly tense tone. Just as I was about to ask what was wrong, a strange vibration rippled through the snow-covered ground. It lasted only a moment before fading away. No magical signatures were detected.
Ssshhh!
The sharp sound of a blade slicing through the air cut through the silence. Woo Jungmin drew his katana. That meant I wasn’t the only one who felt the tremor.
“Is it getting closer?”
“I don’t know. But it did weaken shortly after.”
In response to Nam Daeun’s question, Woo Jungmin glanced to the right. In that direction stretched a gentle slope covered in snow. If we stood at the bend, our current position would be fully exposed.
We quietly rose to our feet, drawing attention. Without a word, I motioned for everyone to get up and pointed to two nearby snow mounds. We could hide between those large hills. Since we’d just eaten a light meal, there was nothing to pack. After hastily erasing our tracks, we carefully muffled our footsteps and slipped safely between the hills. But one person was missing—Ha Seungwoo.
Ha Seungwoo was still crouched where we had been sitting moments ago.
“Ha Seungwoo…!”
I called out a little louder. He raised his left hand in response, then glanced toward the right slope before turning and sprinting toward the hill.
“What were you doing?”
Without answering, Ha Seungwoo quietly began chanting a spell.
“────. ────. Shut Out.”
Whoosh!
A light breeze swept through the gap between the hills.
“Shut Out magic?”
“Yeah. Clan Lord. Wait a moment.”
Ha Seungwoo glanced once more at the slope, his eyes tense. Then he grabbed me and lowered his voice as he spoke.
“I was a bit late because I was erasing our traces.”
“Traces? Didn’t we erase them earlier?”
“But not the heat signatures. So I cast a cold wind spell to match the surrounding temperature, but strangely, the magic didn’t work properly.”
“……”
I stared at him silently. Ha Seungwoo lowered his voice even further, barely audible unless you really focused.
“And… their approach method is similar to ours.”
“What do you mean?”
“When they got close to their prey, they deliberately suppressed their presence.”
“To stay hidden?”
“That, but also to confuse us. So we can’t tell which direction they’re coming from. Anyway, that’s not the important part. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“You don’t mean…”
Ha Seungwoo nodded slightly, then shifted his gaze a third time before speaking.
“The ones approaching now know we were here.”
Then—
Suddenly, at the edge of the slope, large shapes reflecting dazzling silver light began to appear one after another.
“That is…”
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Thank you all for your concern. Thanks to your kind support and honest feedback, I feel like I’m gradually improving. The heaviness has lifted quite a bit, and I’m regaining some energy. I think it might be temporary, but it seems that continuing to write was the right choice after all.
I’ll stop venting in the afterword after this chapter. From the next one onward, I’ll do my best to keep both the story and the notes enjoyable.
I sincerely thank you for believing in my imperfect self.
Wishing all my readers a peaceful night—or better yet, a fresh and energetic morning! :D