Hah, hah… ugh…!
Yeonhwa immediately sprang into action.
She had no idea how many monsters lurked in the dungeon, and staying still when tired was like handing over her life on a silver platter.
It was a disaster that the Dungeon Overbreak had occurred, but the fact that her A-grade dungeon had been upgraded to S-grade threw Yeonhwa into a panic.
Her growth was frightening, but she was still just a newly promoted A-grade Hunter.
Fortunately, she was able to maintain her composure thanks to the distant bellowing of the dungeon boss.
The roar filled with killing intent, rage, and hatred for humans shook Yeonhwa’s mind rapidly. Because of that, she was able to move her nearly collapsing body forward.
“AI, send a rescue request…!”
As she ran, Yeonhwa quickly requested a rescue signal from her support AI.
She had never once requested a rescue signal in her life, but…
[Request from the Hunter has been received. Request approved. Estimated rescue wait time… 1 hour…]
“What!?”
[There is a lack of available association personnel nearby. Dungeon Overbreaks have occurred in multiple dungeons. Hiding and going stealth is recommended.]
“…Cancel the rescue request.”
[Not recommended. The Hunter’s vital signal is…]
“Cancel it if I say cancel it!”
With that, Yeonhwa gritted her teeth and climbed up a tree.
The only fortunate thing was that this dungeon was a forest.
With plenty of places to hide and many tall, thick trees, if she stayed in the tree, she wouldn’t easily be spotted.
“…Hah, hah… If I encounter that Minokentaurus again, it’ll be a disaster…”
She truly couldn’t guarantee her life at that point.
It wasn’t even the dungeon boss or a core monster, just a lowly mob that had smashed her right hand before she had barely taken it down.
If she faced it head-on again, her health and mental strength already worn down, there was no way she could ensure victory.
She hadn’t slept for over 24 hours, pushing herself and depleting her stamina.
Of course, even if Yeonhwa was in tip-top shape, she couldn’t confidently say she could overcome the situation of the Dungeon Overbreak that had escalated to S-grade. Still, at least she acknowledged that the current situation was something she had indirectly caused.
What if… If only…
Get a hold of yourself.
No, thinking about “what ifs” held no meaning.
How many times had she ruminated on ‘If I had just been stronger…’ after her sister died?
To forget those memories, how much had her guilt over her weakness and inability to save her sister tormented Yeonhwa?
First, I have to conserve my stamina…
Taking out an emergency bandage, Yeonhwa wrapped it around her right hand and bit her lip.
Her right hand was essentially useless for combat.
Yeonhwa’s ability, ice magic, was primarily emitted from her hands.
One hand for freezing, the other for wielding her sword, slicing frozen enemies or spreading cold to devour the wounds gradually.
If Yeonhwa’s Hunter grade increased and she trained her abilities consistently, she might be able to gather cold in other parts of her body or even elsewhere in space, but for now, she could only emit cold from her hands.
Not being able to use her right hand was a huge loss, meaning her fighting power would be halved.
“I definitely can’t use my right hand; it’s not just cracked, it’s completely broken…”
She deliberately avoided looking at her right hand that was grotesquely bent.
The pain felt horrific, but she encased her right hand in ice as a temporary measure to prevent infection.
“Hah, hah… Hah…”
Yeonhwa took deep breaths to calm herself down.
If she hadn’t been detected, she needed to rest even a little to recover her mental and physical fatigue.
If the sensitive感知 of the dungeon boss detected her, hiding in the trees would be meaningless, and the situation would become dire.
At this point, according to AI, it wasn’t just the Nafthar Great Forest dungeon; nearly all dungeons in Korea had likely fallen into Dungeon Overbreak.
The mana concentration within the dungeons suddenly surged, causing all monsters, including the dungeon boss, to undergo rapid mutations, leading to a spike in the dungeon grade.
Countless Hunters likely found themselves in peril.
Perhaps the mutated dungeons had expanded and engulfed civilians or put many people in danger.
“I’m all alone compared to that…”
Yeonhwa easily understood where the association’s rescue teams would be dispatched during this anomalous situation.
More people would have gone to more dangerous dungeons first.
For C to D-grade dungeons, many low-grade Hunters often formed parties to tackle them.
If such dungeons suddenly mutated into B-grade or higher, many lives far more at risk than hers would be on the line.
“It’s just like when my sister was around…”
It dawned on her that the situation now was oddly similar to when she had been trapped in a dungeon with her sister during the Second Great Rift.
Giving up on the rescue teams that were coming for her to save more people… However, back then, she lost her sister helplessly, but now it was different.
The walls of an S-grade dungeon were certainly high, but Yeonhwa knew she was no longer a little kid.
She had no intention of giving up her life.
Yeonhwa spoke to her sister, who wasn’t here.
I’m sorry, sis.
I won’t cry anymore.
I promise I won’t be helpless…
But here I am, doing something foolish without even knowing my place, about to lose my life…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The booming sound reverberated.
With each step of the immensely heavy footsteps, it felt as though the world itself were shaking.
Yeonhwa gripped her sword with her aching right hand and froze it solid.
It would surely ruin her right hand entirely, but if she didn’t do this, her fighting power would plummet drastically. And with diminished fighting power, her fate would be to be swiftly snuffed out by the dungeon boss.
[Urrrrrraaaahhhhhh!!!!]
“It’s coming…!”
Feeling the trees shaking and the vibrations drawing closer, Yeonhwa braced herself, ready to leap from the tree at any moment.
And…
“Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Uh…?”
Contrary to her expectations, as she witnessed a blood-soaked woman cackling horrifically while ripping apart the massive body of a monster with her bare hands, Yeonhwa couldn’t believe her eyes.
What is this? Who are you?
○○○○
It’s okay. Everything will be alright.
Goodbye, Menelapie.
Goodbye, Teresa.
I’m fine.
Where are you?
Goodbye.
I can’t see you.
It’s dark.
Goodbye?
Ah, I’m hungry.
I’m all alone.
I’m hungry.
I’m hungry.
It hurts.
I’m hungry.
I’m so hungry.
I’m hungry.
I’m hungry. So hungry.
I’m horrifyingly hungry. Disgustingly hungry. Really hungry. Nauseatingly hungry. Painfully hungry. Excruciatingly hungry.
I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry.
Ah, I’m fine.
No, I’m not fine.
I’m not fine.
I’m hungry.
It’s high.
It’s falling.
It hurts. I’m hungry. Again, I’m hungry. I’m hungry again.
Ah, ah. Ah. Meat.
I want to eat meat.
So hungry.
I want blood.
It’s painful.
I want to eat intestines.
It smells good.
Where am I? I’m lonely.
Menelapie. Menelapie.
Teresa. Teresa.
Where are you, guys?
I’m not fine. Ah. I miss you.
In truth, I’m not fine at all. I miss you guys. I want to see you.
I’m hungry.
I want to eat. I want to see you again.
Where am I?
I’m hungry. I’m huuungry!?
So hungry…!
[Mooohhhh!!!]
“Ah………”
Food?
Is it food?
It’s food.
I can eat!
I will eat!!!
Crack!
I tore off a thick arm.
It’s in the way.
Trying to punch me away.
Don’t be ridiculous, I’m stronger.
Why do you keep blocking me when I want to eat you, cow?
Don’t scream. It’s annoying.
Should I tear out your vocal cords? Just stay still.
Let’s make this easy. Okay?
Crack! Snap. Crunch. Swallow.
Tentacle, help me.
Catch that dumb cow for me.
That black-headed cow will taste good. Yum!
Beef tastes good.
I love the smell of meat. The smell of blood and flesh is great.
More than anything, I love the smell of malice.
It’s rich and nice.
My hunger is fading.
I’m happy.
I want to eat more.
Let’s eat then.
Shall we eat?
Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat.
Squish, crunch!
Crunch, crackle!
[Urrrraaaahhhh!!]
Don’t run away.
I just ate one arm.
Don’t resist.
Don’t resist.
I’ll hit you if you resist. I’ll kill you. Come on, a bit more. A bit more.
Eat. Let’s eat. Let’s eat.
Let’s put an end to the hunger.
Let’s dive into ecstasy with this splendid and delicious meat.
Crunch! Swallow! Munch, munch, munch!
Ah, it’s delicious. It’s good.
Beef is so tasty.
It melts in my mouth.
The flesh, the muscle, even the bones are delicious.
I, my tongue, my mouth, my throat, my stomach, my tentacles, my soul are all satisfied.
Delicious.
Don’t move. Don’t move. The more you move… it’ll hurt more.
Cow, oh cow, black cow. Just let yourself be eaten. Just be torn apart easily.
Don’t worry. I’ll eat all your malice.
Don’t worry, your flesh, soul, malice, I’ll eat all of it.
Hehe, it’s delicious… Hehe. Hehe… Hehehe… I’m full.
Now I’m okay.
Now my stomach doesn’t hurt.
Now I’m not hungry.
Hehehe, my stomach is fine…
Hik… hick…
Uh… who are you?
“Th… thhh…. th… uh…”
Oh, dear…
Seeing the trembling girl looking at me finally brought my sanity back.
Anyone could tell from my appearance that I seemed like a demon.
I was completely drenched in blood, my face painted red.
Moreover… it seemed I had devoured the black-headed monster alive.
Oh dear, I’m so sorry.
What a hideous sight I’ve shown.
What should I do about this…?
I thought I was dead, but now I find myself in some strange world again.
Furthermore, the girl in front of me had an oddly familiar outfit.
It wasn’t the medieval fantasy attire that Menelapie and Teresa wore.
Rather, it felt like modern clothing from my original world. The kind worn by humans like Isia.
Could it be… have I returned…?
Lost in those thoughts, the blue-haired girl, who had been trembling before me, finally gathered her courage and spoke.
“B… B… ing… goo…”
“Ice… goo?”
“…..!?”
In an instant, the word “bingoo” twisted the girl’s expression weirdly.
“Who, who’s Bingoo?! Who is it!!?”
“…….”
But “bingoo” and… the language she was using was Korean.
Though it was a language I hadn’t spoken in decades, my body hadn’t forgotten Korean, so I understood what the girl was saying.
Wait, so if she’s calling me “bingoo”…
“B…b-ingoo is not… no…”
The blue-haired girl mustered the courage to approach me again.
“That, that’s… it must be delicious if you cook it with butter, right?”
“………Oh.”
Thus began the strange and awkward first encounter between Icicle Nine Yeonhwa and the Undead Saint Shia.
