The little giant Momo, exhausted from helping Rick and Elia, had fallen into a deep sleep. She woke up to a rumbling vibration rocking her up and down and a cold sensation on her cheek.
"What the heck is squid ink ice?!"
She stepped onto her master's shoulder and turned her head downward.
The Black Sea, shaped like the narutomaki swirling in ramen, was now somehow frozen solid.
"Whoa! It's frozen naruto!"
Slap, slap, slap!
She smacked her master's head and shouted.
"Master! It's naruto shaved ice!"
"Jiji. You can't eat that."
He didn't know what naruto shaved ice was, but regardless.
Momo snorted for a while, then lowered her head to stare at her pitch-black stained clothes.
"What the heck is Black Momo?!"
"You were helping Elia rummage through fish, remember."
"You said you'd wash me while I was sleeping! Where's that lying old lady?!"
"I'm right here, you little chubby one."
Elia, equally stained black, waved her hand.
"I really was going to wash you, you know? If the sea hadn't risen. It's all the sea's fault!"
"Hmm! I totally get it! The sea is totally to blame!"
"As expected, our little chubby one is smart."
"What do you think of Smart Momo!"
Was it experience, perhaps?
After casually gaslighting her, she gave a thumbs-up.
"Anyway, that immortal friend is really something. Freezing such an unbelievable area."
And that was a polluted sea where even electricity couldn't flow properly. Cold energy shouldn't have been an exception either.
Yet, freezing the entire sea surrounding Pamiran was a sight that made you doubt your eyes no matter how many times you saw it.
"Thanks to that, we bought some time."
Camilla, carried by Seira, leisurely blew out a puff of smoke.
Normally, she would have unsummoned her manifestation and reappeared at the top, but she was currently surveying the terrain to see if there were any variables that could disrupt the ritual.
Her stamina was too weak for her to run herself.
"I've caused trouble again. Thank you, Seira."
"Whenever you need, just say the word. I will be your feet."
Camilla smiled. She truly couldn't ask for a more kind and reliable knight.
"Master."
Seira, who was in the lead, narrowed her eyes.
Someone was standing at the path leading to the top.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?"
Raghar, leaning on his staff, looked down at them. He stared at the approaching Seira and lowered his stance.
He hadn't climbed the tower by luck. Even if his opponent was a monster or something, he could at least hold them back.
"What's with this walking stick grandpa blocking the path he told us about?!"
Just as Momo said. This place was the one Raghar had told Jinhyuk about. The optimal location where the island's energy was concentrated, allowing them to remove the corruption.
But he had only told them at the cost of their lives. That was separate from letting them pass freely.
"Camilla, pass Momo!"
Whoosh!
"What do you think of Flying Momo?!"
Fortunately, Camilla caught her without dropping her. After giving a thumbs-up, Jinhyuk wrapped aura around his feet.
Koooom!!
He shot past Seira towards Raghar.
Raghar stared at Jinhyuk and let out a low breath.
"Your courage is admirable, but you alone won't be enough."
He knew well that victory wasn't decided solely by the energy one possessed. But even considering that, the gap between his energy and Jinhyuk's was far too...!?
Less than a second before Jinhyuk reached him, Raghar's eyes widened.
The moment Jinhyuk launched his attack, his energy exploded outward. Raghar quickly focused his power and extended his palm.
A tremendous roar and a massive shockwave spread outwards.
Raghar, pushed back significantly, looked down at the hand that had just clashed. If he had been even a little late in focusing, he would have been turned to powder.
"Heh."
He let out a hollow laugh and looked at Jinhyuk in front of him. To think he had hidden this much energy the entire time they had been facing each other. Honestly, it was absurd.
How was such control even possible?
"Raghar, was it?"
Seira, who had come nearby, spoke.
"Our master is strong. So, do your best. Unless you want to be killed in an instant."
With that, Seira passed by Raghar without a second glance.
Raghar's lips twitched. A monster who left as if he wasn't even worth a second thought. Normally, his pride would have made him grab that ankle. But he couldn't now.
The energy, sharply honed and glaring at him, was warning his instincts. Don't get distracted unless you want your limbs torn off.
Swaaaaah...!
He took his stance and spoke quietly.
"I am Raghar von Edillen."
"I am Yoo Jinhyuk."
"I bear you no ill will, but I cannot allow you to go any higher. I will stop you, even if it means killing you."
"Good. I was planning to trample you and go up anyway. This makes me feel a bit better."
They stared at each other for a moment.
Then, as both their figures vanished.
Kwaaaaaaang!!!
The two formidable powers began to clash.
---
"Bring me something shaped like a star!"
"Here it is!"
"Now something like a bugle cone!"
"Is this it?!"
"That's a triangle!"
"Bugle cones are also triangles!"
"The one next to it! That's it!"
Kancho, running around with his feet on fire, and Rick, sweating profusely but continuing his work without rest.
No one had come to tell them the current situation. But they weren't fools. They could tell. They needed to finish it as quickly as possible.
Rick threw off the blanket covering him.
Prick?!
"What are you doing?! You'll freeze to death! Dark's cold is dangerous!"
"No, it's fine now."
Even though it was quite far from the Black Sea, it had been terribly cold just a moment ago. But not anymore. It wasn't just because his body was heating up.
The cold was weakening.
Swoosh.
He raised his head and stared at the Black Sea beyond. The sea, which had been frozen solid until just now, was slowly melting. Thanks to that, the whirlpool of the Black Sea, which had completely stopped, was showing movement again.
Prick!
Kancho, following Rick's gaze, swallowed dryly.
Time was running out. The masters of the Black Sea would surge back even stronger after being suppressed. The moment that ice melted, the situation would deteriorate instantly.
'It's like a time bomb!'
He clenched his fluffy little fist desperately, trying to think of a way to survive the time bomb.
And as a result of this deliberation...
Click!
"Huh?"
A bomb collar was placed around Rick's neck. It was the one Toto the grandfather used to put on him so he wouldn't fall asleep while reinforcing the Yodel Compass.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.
From Rick's perspective, it was a terrifying sound. Of course, this clock wasn't actually linked to a bomb collar. It was just the Yodel Clock he usually wore.
As Rick stared blankly, Kancho made a sad expression.
"Forgive me. This is the only way. The collar will explode the moment that sea melts!"
"What crazy talk is this, you little bell?! Then why aren't you wearing it?!"
"There's only one!"
"Then you should wear it!"
"Don't talk crazy! How can I wear something so dangerous?! There's no time for this! Make it quickly!"
"Ugh... ugh... Uwaaah!!!"
Gritting his teeth, Rick increased his production speed. He couldn't tell if Kancho was serious or joking. But he had a feeling that if it was that crazy raccoon, he might be serious.
"Raccoon."
"I'm not a raccoon, I'm a Yo... Chief! Deputy Commander Kancho of the Yodel Rangers!"
Kancho, realizing it was Renya who called him, saluted loudly. Without stopping his hands, Rick thought, 'What a sly, bullying coward of a raccoon.'
"Don't leave. Guard him well. I'll be back shortly."
"Understood!"
Renya, who had stood up, looked towards the top of the island. Even from a considerable distance, he could clearly feel it. The clash of two powerful forces.
How fiercely must they be fighting for the vibrations from the backlash to reach all the way here? A smile crept onto his lips.
How could he just sit still when he could feel something like this? He had to go see it right away.
Koom!!
He kicked off the rock face and advanced towards the top. Let's see this. The moment our master smashes through the wall.
---
A fist flew in from an invisible angle. He noticed it in time, thanks to his aura. But he made a decision. Not to dodge.
Kwang!
A heavy pain landed on the left side of his face. He felt himself being pushed back, then lifted into the air, his body cutting through the void. He flew straight and crashed into a rock behind him before finally stopping.
"Hoo...!?"
Raghar, who had been exhaling, frowned. Based on his movements and senses so far, it was an attack he could have easily dodged. But he didn't dodge and took the hit because...
Throb!!
He had been trying to cram the attack into a bad spot. The pain, flowing belatedly through his nerves and joints, nearly made his body buckle.
'What is this sense of dissonance?'
No matter how well-built his body was or how excellent his martial arts were, his opponent was a rookie of the new era who had just shed his youthful appearance. So, in terms of experience and tactical maneuvering, he should have been overwhelmingly superior. Yet, strangely, he felt like he was losing ground even there.
The decision he had just made wasn't a careless one. In that brief instant, he had meticulously calculated the opponent's power and his own durability, then chosen the best option to end the fight as quickly as possible.
'It feels like fighting a thousand-year-old serpent.'
He gritted his teeth. What did he usually train with to be capable of such judgment and tactical thinking at such a young age? It wasn't the monster knight he saw earlier. She wielded a sword. Swordsmanship and martial arts were completely different types of combat.
As an unbelievable monster, she would have trained in martial arts to some extent, but what Jinhyuk was showing now was not on that level. It was something only someone who had reached a certain realm in martial arts could teach.
"Wow."
Jinhyuk, pulling himself out of the rock debris, rubbed his chin. His whole body felt like it was ringing from the direct hit. But he wasn't panicking or freaking out. Because it hurt much less.
Compared to Renya's fists, which beat him almost every day. If it had hurt more than Renya's, he might have put the Karak ring, which he had boldly taken off before the fight, back on.
'I'll worry about living first.'
He nodded and moved forward. Raghar's balance was broken from the attack that had landed properly. This wasn't a friendly match. It was a battle staking their lives. He had no intention of giving him time to recover.
Koom!!
He immediately kicked off the ground and advanced. As if waiting, Raghar unleashed a barrage of attacks. Attacks poured out with full intent to kill each other. His already heated body seethed, and a transparent heat haze rose.
Kwa-gagagagagagak!!!
In the midst of the life-and-death brawl, fear should have been the natural feeling.
Swaaak!
But strangely, a smile crept onto his lips without him realizing it.
And on the opposite side, Raghar, who was facing him, widened his eyes.
'In this situation... he's smiling.'
Into Raghar's mind seeped a memory from a long, long time ago, one that had faded with age.
----------
T/N:
Just for being a free member, you'll get 5 advanced chapters every week!
Access 35 chapters in advance on my Patreon:[email protected]//towerup