Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Song Hwa-rin quietly muttered,

"White Lotus Sword Style, Falling Petals."

Then,

[BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!]

A series of high-speed sword strikes, with dozens of thrusts and slashes delivered every second.

The Yeti King's thick ice armor was reduced to icy powder that scattered in every direction.

"Urgh...!"

The Yeti King staggered backward in pain.

Even though the elemental matchup was terrible for her, these were still attacks carrying the full strength of an S-rank Hunter.

But at that moment,

"KRAAAAAH!"

The Yeti King roared.

The eternal snow beneath its feet began to stir.

"You don't have time to stand around screaming, do you?"

Song Hwa-rin swung the White Lotus Sword horizontally toward the monster.

[SLASH!]

Her sword energy split the snowstorm and sliced the Yeti King's enormous forearm in half.

However,

[CRUNCH. CRUNCH.]

Snowflakes floating through the air clung to the severed surface like iron filings drawn to a magnet.

The severed arm was instantly reattached, and even thicker, sharper ice spikes grew over the wound.

"I-is it multiplying? You... you monstrous bastard!"

Song Hwa-rin leaped forward again and stabbed at its chest.

The tip of her sword pierced the area near its heart, but it was useless. Instead, the ice armor around the wound swelled and tried to swallow her blade.

The more she attacked and the more wounds she inflicted, the larger the monster grew, until it was as enormous as a mountain. Its armor thickened into an impregnable fortress.

"Haa... Haa...!"

Song Hwa-rin created some distance and breathed heavily.

The white mist leaving her mouth instantly froze and struck her cheeks.

The murderous cold made it impossible to fight normally.

Every breath sent intense pain through her heart and lungs. Even the mana flowing through her body was beginning to freeze and slow down.

No matter how powerful an S-rank Hunter was, she could not swing her sword endlessly in such a hellish environment.

[Grrrr...!]

The Yeti King made a strange sound and looked down at her, as though showing off its swollen body.

Song Hwa-rin tightened her grip on the White Lotus Sword and thought,

'At this rate, this fight will never end...'

As though reading her thoughts, the Yeti King gave a sinister grin and spread both arms.

The eternal snow piled on the ground rose like snakes and wrapped around Song Hwa-rin's ankles.

"You think this is enough to stop me?!"

Song Hwa-rin released her mana and shattered the icy vines.

But the Yeti King used that opening to bring its enormous fist down toward her head.

[BOOOOM!]

Song Hwa-rin quickly blocked the attack with her sword, but the impact sent her sliding violently backward.

"Damn it..."

Her hands slowly began to tremble.

The light of the White Lotus Sword was growing faint.

'I'm using up several times more mana than I would in another dungeon... I need to finish it with a single strike, but there doesn't seem to be any way to do that... This is bad...'

It was at that moment.

The red eye on the Yeti King's chest flashed, and the monster opened its mouth wide.

[INHAAAALE!]

All the cold energy in the surrounding area was sucked into its mouth.

It was the same technique that had blown Kang Jae-min and Lee Yu-han away earlier.

But this time, the scale was completely different.

The monster was gathering every last trace of cold energy accumulated in the abyss.

Hong Man-gi shouted,

"D-dodge! Master! You can't take that attack head-on!"

But she was in no condition to escape.

The space around her had already been frozen by the monster's mana, making it impossible for her to even lift her feet.

Song Hwa-rin bit her lip.

'I'm trapped... Damn it.'

Her pupils widened.

[WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!]

The Yeti King released its breath.

"WHITE LOTUS FULL BLOOM!!!!!!"

Song Hwa-rin squeezed out her remaining mana and activated her defensive skill, White Lotus Full Bloom.

White lotus petals formed a shield to block the freezing breath.

[CRACKLE! SHATTER!]

But it was not enough.

The lotus petals made of sword energy instantly froze under the Yeti King's overwhelming attack and began shattering like pieces of glass.

"Ugh...!"

The white storm swallowed Song Hwa-rin.

"MASTER!!!"

After the storm passed,

Song Hwa-rin stood completely still, as though she had been frozen in place.

Hong Man-gi bit his lip.

'She got hit...'

From the tips of her feet to her waist, and even her entire right arm holding the sword, she was trapped inside hard, transparent blue ice.

The environment and the Yeti King's skill were too much for even an S-rank Hunter's body to endure.

Song Hwa-rin gritted her teeth and tried to break the ice, but it would not budge.

Instead, the more she struggled, the deeper the cold penetrated her bones, paralyzing her entire body.

"Urgh... Uhhh..."

Her lips began turning purple.

The Yeti King approached her at a leisurely pace.

Then it raised its enormous ice club high into the air.

"No...!"

Hong Man-gi desperately searched his surroundings.

Then his gaze suddenly stopped on something in his hand.

The dungeon core Kang Min-hyuk had protected at the cost of his life.

'The Heart of the Snowfield...'

As though sensing its owner's danger, the jewel vibrated violently in Hong Man-gi's hand and released an intense heat.

'This...'

An idea flashed through Hong Man-gi's mind.

'The Yeti King is the embodiment of this dungeon. The source of its power is the snow and ice here... In that case...'

What if he turned the dungeon's own power against it?

No, he could go even further.

What if he could cook the power of the dungeon into his weapon?

Meanwhile,

[BOOOOM!]

The Yeti King's club struck Song Hwa-rin's shoulder.

"Urgh!!!"

Song Hwa-rin endured the pain with all her strength, but she was in no position to counterattack.

Hong Man-gi quickly raised Full Moon from his waist.

The pitch-black sword.

The vessel that held souls.

"Ingredient preparation."

Hong Man-gi muttered quietly.

He made the Heart of the Snowfield float in midair.

Then he spread his mana as thin as a blade and wrapped it around the floating jewel.

[Sssssss...]

Like removing the poison from a pufferfish or peeling the skin from a piece of fruit, Hong Man-gi carefully cut away only the violent cold energy and wild power contained within the jewel.

They were impurities that were unnecessary for cooking and would ruin the flavor.

Once those impurities had been removed, the jewel transformed into pure, clear blue liquid energy that gently rippled in the air.

It was the essence of Kang Min-hyuk's devoted love and noble sacrifice.

"And now... combining it with the tool."

Hong Man-gi slowly poured the liquefied Heart of the Snowfield over the blade of Full Moon.

It was like pouring sauce over a steak or drizzling sesame oil over freshly cooked rice.

[Sssssizzle.]

When the blue liquid touched the black blade, steam rose, and a reaction began.

Full Moon started humming and vibrating.

"Mix together. Become one."

Hong Man-gi reached out and gently touched the blade.

Like a chef kneading dough, he carefully blended the darkness of Full Moon with the cold energy of the Heart of the Snowfield.

Kang Min-hyuk's will merged with Hong Man-gi's philosophy.

A combination of contradictory powers, cold yet warm.

[BAAAANG!]

A dazzling light erupted from Hong Man-gi's hand.

The Yeti King, which had been about to crush Song Hwa-rin's head, stopped moving for a moment.

[Grrrah?!]

The monster staggered and covered its eyes.

As the light gradually faded, a completely new weapon appeared in Hong Man-gi's hand.

The original slender black sword had disappeared.

In its place was an enormous Chinese-style cleaver, boasting an overwhelming size and thickness.

Blue frost sparkled across the blade like the Milky Way.

[Full Moon: Snowfield Cleaver]

[Grade: S (Growth-type)]

[Additional Attributes: Absolute Freezing / Thawing]

[Characteristics:]

[1. Subzero Severing: Instantly freezes anything the blade touches, weakening its molecular bonds before cutting through it. Ignores physical resistance.]

[2. Warm Will: At the user's discretion, the blade can be covered in the flames of Thawing, which melt anything that has been frozen.]

[3. Dungeon's Master: When used inside the Hellish Snowfield, all stats increase by 200%.]

Hong Man-gi tightened his grip on the now heavier handle.

'This is it.'

The handle fit perfectly in his hand.

It felt as though the blade had become an extension of his own arm.

And through the blade, he could almost hear Kang Min-hyuk's voice.

'Protect her... Protect my woman.'

Hong Man-gi looked in turn at Song Hwa-rin, who was staring blankly at him, and the visibly startled Yeti King.

Then he moved as quickly as though he were flying.

The sound of his footsteps against the snow seemed unusually loud.

"Now... shall we begin the real cooking?"

He raised the cleaver high.

'You're nothing more than an ingredient.'

Hong Man-gi kicked off the ground and leaped.

[Tap, tap.]

In an instant, he appeared directly in front of the Yeti King.

Without hesitation, he swung the cleaver downward.

A single strike from above.

The moment the blade made contact,

[Sssssizzle.]

Song Hwa-rin, who had been on the verge of death, opened her eyes wide.

"Wh-what...!"

The Yeti King evaporated instantly, like butter falling onto a scorching frying pan.

"I-it's... over!"

The tyrant that had ruled this snowfield.

The absolute terror that had devoured countless Hunters, including Kang Min-hyuk, and trapped Song Hwa-rin in a living hell.

Everything was erased by a single slash.

[Whoooosh.]

Only white steam rose along the path Hong Man-gi's sword had traced.

At the same time, the raging snowstorm came to a sudden stop, as though it had never existed.

The dark clouds cleared, and brilliant sunlight poured through the gaps in the dungeon's ceiling.

Hong Man-gi put away Full Moon, which had now gained the additional form of the Snowfield Cleaver.

The enormous cleaver returned to its usual, compact Chinese-style cleaver form and settled at his waist.

"Hoo..."

He let out a short breath and turned around.

With the Yeti King dead, Song Hwa-rin had returned to normal.

But her legs seemed to have lost their strength, and her body staggered.

"Master!"

Hong Man-gi quickly approached and supported her.

Leaning against his arm, Song Hwa-rin slowly sank to the ground.

"How could you finish it... with just one strike? Is it really over...?"

She muttered as though she were dreaming.

Hong Man-gi nodded gently.

"Yes. It's over. Now... there's nothing left."

At those words, tears once again streamed down Song Hwa-rin's face.

They were tears of relief and liberation, the kind that could only come from someone who had finally awakened from a terrible nightmare.

She tightly gripped Hong Man-gi's clothes.

"Thank you..."

She buried her face in Hong Man-gi's chest and began to sob.

"Thank you so much... Hong Man-gi..."

Hong Man-gi silently patted her back.

Some distance away, Lee Yu-han and Kang Jae-min, who were still injured and barely able to move, also exchanged sighs of relief.

They were alive.