Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Chapter 157 – Seoul Restoration (8)

A dark silhouette cast its presence across the gloomy heavens, which were currently being whipped by a violent snowstorm.

Although the heavy blanket of white snow severely limited visibility, the colossal outline stretching from the horizon of the dim sky sent a wave of dread through anyone who saw it.

It possessed the unmistakable shape of a massive, winged creature.

This was a tangible, approaching catastrophe. Its mere arrival seemed to rewrite the seasons, carrying an oppressive aura. However, the most alarming aspect was the intensifying, freezing gale that trailed in its wake.

Swirling frantically as though intent on burying the earth, the heavy snow carried a piercing frost that grew more severe by the second as the creature drew near. In the northern districts closest to its position, the temperature plummeted far below the worst of a typical winter.

A singular stroke of luck remained: the bitter chill was entirely unable to breach the boundaries of the sanctuaries established around Seoul Station and Sindorim.

‘What is my best course of action?‘

Summoning his sworn vassals was a simple matter, yet there was no viable method to transport the massive crowd of survivors currently stranded in the northern district into the safety of the protected zones.

‘Opening the North Gate wouldn’t solve this either, since only those registered as citizens among my vassals can pass through.‘

At present, merely a few hundred individuals in the northern area possessed formal citizenship. The tens of thousands of remaining residents were locked out of utilizing the North Gate.

‘Guiding a crowd of that scale across such a distance is simply out of the question.‘

The decision had to be made instantly.

[All personnel, retreat to the closest secure area at once! Move now!]

To begin, he broadcasted an urgent evacuation directive to everyone near the borders of the domain.

[If the distance is too great or the path is blocked, seek shelter in the nearest subterranean space immediately! Make haste!]

Instantly, a wave of panic and activity swept through the populace of the northern sector.

“Get everyone underground! Move quickly!” shouted the organizers.

The commander overseeing the northern district proved highly capable in this crisis. Conveniently, South Korea possessed an abundance of subterranean structures, ranging from extensive subway terminals to deep multi-level parking garages.

“Keep moving!” came the cries.

The subordinates and officers under his command operated with impressive coordination.

“Calling Alpha One! All units, direct everyone below ground! Focus all efforts on the civilian evacuation first!“

Barking instructions through a military-grade transceiver, he established immediate order. Under the guidance of their officers, the populace retreated below ground in an orderly, rapid fashion. Their seamless movement made it seem as though they had rehearsed this exact disaster drill countlessly. To make matters easier, a significant portion of their shelters lay in close proximity to the local transit stations, streamlining the entire migration.

[Provide maximum support and assist in guiding the people to safety!]

He commanded. The strike force sent to the northern region consisted of Kim Min-ho’s squad, the sibling duo of Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon, and the formidable Kim Geon.

Addressing the latter directly, he instructed:

[Go and identify our target.]

“On it,” Kim Geon replied.

Without wasting a second, Kim Geon, who was currently merged with Kkamang, unfurled a pair of obsidian wings and leaped into the turbulent air. At this point, his recent promotion in power was complete, the agonizing growth pains had faded, and the passive influence of his Tranquil Mind ability had finally dissipated.

‘I can’t tell what sort of beast is coming, but…‘

A spark of excitement flickered within him.

‘Could this be another chance to raise my level?‘

Given how smoothly the campaign in Seoul had run so far, his confidence in his subordinates’ capabilities was absolute. He believed that by pooling their talents, they would easily be able to bring down whatever beast lay ahead.

‘Given its massive scale, it must be at least level 60. Actually, it could easily be past level 70.‘

If those estimations held true, he stood to gain several levels in a single fight.

‘The skill points would be immense as well.‘

Not to mention the massive payout from the system’s clearing rewards.

‘I recall pulling in close to 1 trillion during the Jinjo crisis.‘

With high expectations, he observed Kim Geon’s ascent. To ensure the scout could pierce through the blinding tempest without resistance, he channeled his own energy to bolster him.

‘Enhancement.’

An ink-black shroud of energy wrapped around the flying warrior, instantly repelling the freezing winds and falling snow. Supported by this protective shell, Kim Geon sailed through the sky, quickly climbing several hundred meters.

As he climbed higher, the ambient temperature plummeted drastically. Yet, the dark barrier held the frost at bay—and frankly, even without it, the ambient chill could hardly bother a level 50 warrior.

Upon ascending several kilometers into the upper atmosphere, the true nature of the looming threat finally came into view.

‘…This is insane,‘ Kim Geon thought, instantly paralyzing in place.

His reaction was entirely justified; looming directly ahead of him was an absolute abomination.

【Ice Dragon (Lv. 87)】

A heavy silence fell.

His initial thought upon witnessing the aerial behemoth was that it resembled an intricate sculpture carved from a colossal glacial peak. Its wings stretched incredibly wide, spanning well over a single kilometer from one edge to the other.

Thick, freezing vapors rolled off its massive body like a dense fog, while tiny crystalline shards caught and refracted the light, giving it an almost divine, ethereal glow. It felt less like a beast and more like the living incarnation of winter itself.

He reached a rapid, grim conclusion:

‘We can’t fight this.‘

This creature existed far beyond the realm of targetable prey. But as Kim Geon remained frozen in awe, the situation took a sudden, perilous turn.

Creak—

“What the…?” he gasped as a pale layer of rime instantly coated his limbs.

Then, with a sharp Crack!, his entire form was encased in solid ice.

The source of this sudden freezing became immediately obvious.

‘Dammit!‘

The Ice Dragon had cast its eyes in his direction. The moment those cold, unfeeling pupils locked onto Kim Geon, his body solidified into a glacier.

The beast harbored no active ill intent; it had merely noted his tiny presence and looked. Yet, that simple glance was enough to produce this terrifying effect. Heavy and completely frozen, Kim Geon’s ice-bound form began a rapid, dead-weight plunge back toward the earth.

‘Vassal Summon: Kim Geon!’

With a sharp buzz of spatial distortion, Kim Geon was instantly pulled back to Seoul Station. He was in a miserable state, looking like a gargantuan block of ice preserving a face twisted in pain.

‘He still has a pulse,‘ his lord realized.

Instantly, roaring blazes erupted around him, rapidly liquefying the dense icy prison.

“Inhale!“

Gasping wildly, Kim Geon tumbled onto the floor the moment his frozen shell dissolved.

“Can you stand?” his master asked.

“pant… pant…“

Examining his own hands, Kim Geon nodded weakly.

“I’m… still in one piece, I believe. Whew.“

Only his advanced level and the enhanced physical resilience that came with it had saved him from shattering into pieces. Even so, he had not escaped unscathed. Severe, crimson patches of frostbite marred his skin in several places.

Even the protective black enhancement aura had failed to fully shield him from the absolute zero temperatures. A few more seconds under that draconic gaze would have spelled his demise.

‘Defeating it is out of the question,‘ he realized.

The Ice Dragon was less an enemy and more a roaming force of nature. Their sole saving grace was that the beast’s freezing presence could not penetrate the protective barriers of his territory.

‘The real danger lies with the refugees we haven’t managed to secure yet…‘

Having witnessed the creature firsthand, the reality of the situation became painfully clear. This initial storm freezing Gangbuk-gu was merely the opening act. An unimaginably harsher frost was on its way.

Despite the prompt response and organized efforts of the local leaders guided by Lee Kang-hyun, they had barely managed to relocate half of Gangbuk-gu’s population. The disaster had simply developed too quickly.

The howling winds blew harder, and as the snow piled up, navigating the streets became exponentially harder with each passing minute.

“Follow me!” a voice cried out.

A few of the survivors were using cryokinetic skills to carve stable paths through the drifts, ushering people along. Everyone scrambled to apply their unique powers to aid the retreat.

Yet, a dark thought loomed:

‘If this cold seeps into the basements and subways, they will freeze anyway.’

Subterranean shelter alone was no guarantee of survival. Fortunately, the cryomancer twins, Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon, were stationed nearby. Turning to them, the leader spoke:

[Moon Ji-hoon, Moon Sang-hoon. Can you block the cold from reaching down into the shelters?]

“We’ll do our absolute best…!” they shouted back.

Blessed with a natural resistance that bordered on absolute immunity to freezing temperatures, the siblings moved with relative ease through the raging storm. Furthermore, when boosted by his ‘Enhancement’ magic, their powers surged instantly.

“Hnn!”

With a sharp rushing sound, a massive wall of solid ice began to rapidly construct itself around the perimeter of the major evacuation station.

Crucially, the overwhelming chill in the air served as a perfect fuel source for their magic, multiplying their control and causing the frost to expand aggressively. Soaring dozens of meters skyward, colossal columns of ice erupted from the earth.

These frozen pillars branched outward like crystalline blossoms, weaving together to form a gigantic protective canopy. A monumental igloo was taking shape, its structure reinforced by the very blizzard trying to destroy them.

Once the colossal shelter was sealed, the twins poured their entire concentration into maintaining a thermal barrier, keeping the subterranean refuge perfectly insulated.

Their performance was truly spectacular. The estimated ten thousand survivors huddled within that primary subway hub would survive the frost.

Unfortunately, those scattered across various residential cellars and parking garages remained highly vulnerable to the deadly cold.

‘I have to find a solution…’ he muttered.

Right then, a familiar voice drifted over.

[Hey you.]

It came from a certain entity that wandered around Seoul Station as it pleased, yet never failed to seek him out at regular intervals.

[Feed me.]

It was Sallyon, the Fire Spirit King. The entity habitually showed up without warning, demanding a share of the World Tree’s life energy. Staring at the glowing spirit, an idea struck him.

“Sallyon, you mentioned earlier that your power was absorbed by me, correct?”

[Indeed, it was.]

“How do I actually wield that strength? Explain it to me clearly.”

He pleaded, gripping onto this sudden sliver of hope. If he wanted to protect the populace, he had to exhaust every possible avenue.

[And why should I explain it to you?]

“Because if you don’t, your meals are cut off permanently.”

[…Fine, it’s quite simple. My essence grants the right of absolute dominion over every fire spirit in existence. It is essentially an ultimate command that they must obey unconditionally.]

“And how do I invoke that command?”

[Well, it goes like this…]

Initially, Lee Kang-hyun hadn’t paid much attention to the unusual snowfall. In a world that had already descended into complete chaos, a bit of summer snow felt relatively minor. Before the monsters appeared, he might have simply written it off as some bizarre manifestation of climate change.

But as the tempest grew to deafening volumes and an ominous shape materialized on the horizon, he realized his mistake and scrambled to mitigate the fallout. Unfortunately, his efforts were far too late.

Watching the summits of nearby high-rises shatter under a thick, crackling sheet of ice, Lee Kang-hyun felt a heavy weight of hopelessness settle in.

‘This is the end.’

This unnatural, lethal frost wasn’t a danger that could be evaded by merely heading below ground. Short of having a heavily fortified, deep-seated military bunker, surviving this freezing assault seemed impossible.

‘What will our casualty rate be?’

Half the population? No, the vast majority would surely perish. The only individuals possessing a shred of hope to endure this weather were the awakened.

‘…Was their arrival a blessing in disguise?’

He thought of the mysterious faction that had recently emerged in Seoul. The representatives who had offered integration alongside a massive cache of survival goods all possessed terrifying strength. Individually, each of them seemed to rival his own combat capability.

‘Should I have accepted their offer?’

He wondered about their heavily fortified sanctuary. Perhaps within those borders, a cold of this magnitude could be kept at bay.

‘Maybe my suspicions were misplaced.’

He had assumed there would be some hidden price to pay. Life in the apocalypse had taught him that true altruism did not exist. He had been convinced that Kim Jae-hyun’s followers were hiding some dark secret. There was a faint whiff of mental conditioning in how eagerly those who earned citizenship sang the praises of their new home.

Suspecting they had a hidden motive for gathering survivors, he had decided it was far safer to keep them at arm’s length—trading for supplies while maintaining independence.

‘But I never anticipated a disaster of this scale.’

Because of his overcaution, the innocent people who had placed their faith in his leadership were now facing certain death. Turning to the representative standing at his side, Lee Kang-hyun spoke.

“Kim Min-ho.”

“Yes?” the envoy replied.

“Is the sanctuary you spoke of truly capable of weathering a storm like this?”

Without a trace of doubt, Kim Min-ho nodded.

“Absolutely. It remains entirely untouched by this chill.”

“I understand. Then, shouldn’t you and your people retreat to safety immediately?”

“Our path back is always open. We intend to stay and provide whatever aid we can until the last moment.”

“…My thanks.”

Even with those reassuring words, Lee Kang-hyun felt only despair. In the face of this absolute freeze, words felt hollow. The oppressive sky, choked with heavy storm clouds, seemed to signal their impending doom.

But right at that moment—

Flicker!

A single spark of light pierced the gloom. Then…

Flicker! Spark!

A multitude of glowing embers ignited across the cityscape. From miniature wisps to towering salamanders forged of pure heat, and majestic avian beasts composed entirely of flame, an impossible spectacle began to banish the dark.

“What in the world is happening…?”

The warmth of countless fire spirits swept over the city, systematically pushing back the deadly frost.