Chapter 100
Song Hwa-rin's mouth fell open at Hong Man-gi's calm answer.
"Ingredient... preparation?"
Her gaze moved toward the perfectly severed bodies of the Frost Giants.
'Those cuts are absurdly clean...'
It truly looked like a master chef had sliced through radishes.
"Haa..."
Song Hwa-rin looked so stunned that words failed her.
Her eyes moved between her own White Lotus Sword and Hong Man-gi's Full Moon.
'When we get back, I'm definitely investigating that bastard properly.'
Her pride as an S-rank Hunter had just suffered a small scratch.
But at the same time,
she felt an incredible sense of reassurance.
"You monster. I thought cooking was your only skill, but your knife work isn't bad either."
She chuckled and shook her head.
"Fine, I'll admit it. This time, you were better than me."
She narrowed her eyes.
"By a tiny bit."
At her tsundere-like compliment, Hong Man-gi smiled.
"It was only because you seasoned them well first, Master."
Their gazes met.
Song Hwa-rin turned toward the path ahead.
"Let's go. The real end is finally in sight."
She took the lead.
A short while later.
"Haa..."
Hong Man-gi looked ahead.
"We're here."
Below towering black cliffs was an enormous basin formed from eternal snow that never melted.
The deepest region of the AX-rank dungeon.
The Frozen Abyss.
A land of death where every sign of life had stopped.
"Ah..."
A small sound escaped Song Hwa-rin.
"This place..."
Her pace suddenly quickened.
Her feet sank deeply into the snow, but she did not care.
She kept pushing forward.
"Master, slow down. The ground is slippery."
Hong Man-gi called after her.
But she did not seem to hear him.
Lee Yu-han and Kang Jae-min silently followed.
Soon, all of them reached an enormous pillar of transparent ice.
Inside that ice,
a man was sleeping.
Kang Min-hyuk.
Exactly as Song Hwa-rin had seen him for the last time.
His battle suit was torn.
His hair was disheveled.
Blood still marked the corner of his mouth.
Everything had stopped on the day he died.
He was curled forward, carefully holding something against his chest.
'The Heart of the Snowfield...'
The treasure he had risked his life to obtain.
And protect.
Kang Min-hyuk's expression was peaceful.
Perhaps in his final moment, when he fell from the cliff, he had confirmed that the woman he loved had survived.
Perhaps that relief had remained on his face.
He did not look like someone who had died in terrible pain.
He looked like a man sleeping deeply.
Yet that peaceful expression somehow made the loneliness of the scene even more painful.
Song Hwa-rin slowly approached the ice pillar.
Her hand touched its surface.
"Oppa..."
Her knees began trembling.
"I'm here."
Her voice broke.
"I'm sorry..."
She pressed her forehead against the ice.
"I'm sorry I took so long."
The dignity of an S-rank Hunter disappeared.
The authority of a Guild Master disappeared.
All that remained was the grief of a woman who had lost the person she loved and had finally found him years too late.
Then,
Kang Min-hyuk's spirit slowly walked forward from beside Hong Man-gi.
He looked at his own body trapped inside the ice.
Then at the woman crying in front of it.
[......]
He knelt between his body and Song Hwa-rin.
Then he tried to wrap his arms around her shoulders.
But his transparent arms simply passed through her.
He lowered his head helplessly.
Song Hwa-rin continued crying.
Kang Min-hyuk lifted one frozen hand and mimed wiping away her tears.
[Don't cry... Hwa-rin.]
No one else could hear him.
But Hong Man-gi could.
[I'm not cold. You came here, didn't you? When your warm tears are melting me like this... how could I still be cold?]
He smiled at Song Hwa-rin.
The same gentle smile he had worn while alive.
His face might have been pale and his throat torn, but the smile itself was warm.
[I missed you. I really... missed you.]
Kang Min-hyuk's spirit pressed his forehead against the ice pillar.
His spirit.
His body.
And the years separating the two.
The heartbreaking sight made the others quietly lower their heads.
The cheerful atmosphere from earlier vanished.
In its place came a solemn sadness.
Joy and grief.
Life and death.
Reunion and farewell.
All crossed at this frozen place.
'Now... it's my turn.'
Hong Man-gi took a deep breath.
He approached Song Hwa-rin.
"Master."
Song Hwa-rin turned toward him through wet eyes.
"You should... stop crying for a moment and move aside."
"...What?"
"Kang Min-hyuk is probably hungry."
Hong Man-gi continued calmly.
"He hasn't eaten anything for years. He's been trembling in this freezing place all that time."
He gave a faint smile.
"We should at least serve him one warm meal."
Song Hwa-rin stared at him.
Then she slowly wiped her tears.
"...Yeah."
She forced herself to stand.
"You're right."
Song Hwa-rin looked at the frozen man again.
"Please, Hong Man-gi."
Her voice trembled.
"My man... make sure he isn't cold anymore."
"Leave it to me."
Hong Man-gi stood and gestured to the two men behind him.
"Yu-han, bring the burner."
