“!!”
Randell bit his teeth so as not to bite his tongue. Stepping and bouncing lightly between the crevices of the cliffs, Nina ascended at terrifying speed towards the peak of the mountain.
He found out how much Nina has endured. If Nina was alone, she might have reached the peak before the sun went down.
The higher she climbed, the colder it got. Randell pulled out his pendulum.
‘I’ll make sure to make flying magic later.’
As he chanted a small spell, warm energy enveloped the two of them.
By the time an ice and snow wall came out in front of them, Nina called the Frost.
The spirit of Frost made a small scaffold against the ice wall. Stepping on that footstool, Nina climbed up and up.
“We’re here!”
Nina shouted a hurray. Randell, who was suffering, strapped at her back, also cheered inside. The rope dug in his legs, his hips, and shoulders, making everything hurt, but he had no choice but to endure it.
In the darkness, countless stars in the sky were shining and twinkling.
The peak of the mountain was completely covered with snow, and the stars seen from the high peak were different from those seen from far below.
Randell rubbed his legs and looked around.
Every time Nina exhaled, a white breath came out, she shivered and said.
“I feel bad.”
“Corrupted Spirit Fragment?”
“Oh, there must be a barrier.”
She felt bad, but it was somewhat bearable. Probably because there was a barrier that blocked it to some extent.
“That’s interesting.”
Nina muttered.
“How did no one know there were fragments here until now? The Violet Forest was such a mess all the time.”
“Isn’t this piece smaller than the one in the forest? Besides, there is a barrier, and the location is like this.”
In response to Randell’s explanation, Nina tilted her head and said, “I see”.
“Let’s find the entrance.”
At Randell’s words, she nodded her head.
The two quickly found a crevice in the rocks. Nina used her strength to roll the rock, revealing a black hole underneath.
“We should jump, right?”
“I guess so.”
Randell mumbled with an even more tired face and pulled out his pendulum.
Small spheres of light appeared one after another and fell down. The two stared intently at how far the light had fallen.
“Oh, there must be water down there.”
“How can there be such a big space underground?”
“After all, I guess the answer is to jump in.”
“If the water is shallow, we can’t even pick our bones after.”
“It’s okay, we can fall slowly.”
Nina smiled broadly in the dark.
“I have a spirit after all.”
Before Randell jumped in, he asked what he was curious about.
“Nina.”
“Yes?”
“Why did you ask me to come?”
“That’s-.”
“Not for all the reasons you already said.”
Randell’s blue eyes looked at Nina.
Oh my God, how can this man shine so brightly even in the dark?
Nina thought so and slowly opened her mouth.
“I want to cool my head…?”
“That’s a question?”
“Because I don’t know either.”
Randell cast his gaze far away and looked back at Nina.
“I see.”
He nodded his head. Nina asked back “What did you pick from that?”, and he smiled faintly.
“That I am not yet your daily life.”
Randell’s words left her speechless.
“Hm… is that good?”
Randell said “Well…”, and pointed down.
“Let’s dive.”
Nina grabbed Randell’s hand and counted.
“One, two, three!”
They both jumped down at the same time. They first felt the discomfort of the sudden force of gravity, and then they felt the wind.
The wind pushed them up and slowed them down. Like a dandelion spore, the two landed gently on the edge of the cave and Randell clenched his teeth.
“Cold.”
“It’s The North wind…I’m sorry.”
“If it wasn’t for the magic I put on earlier, I would have been frozen.”
“I don’t think it was that bad.”
At Nina’s words, Randell raised only one eyebrow, but she quietly ignored him and turned her gaze away.
The place the two of them landed looked much bigger and wider than when viewed from above.
“It’s really spacious. Ah~!!”
A voice echoed in the cavity as Nina shouted with both her hands around her mouth, like a megaphone.
“Noisy.”
She smiled at Randell’s words and folded her hands.
Nina looked around and stopped when she fixed her eyes in one direction. Randell floated a few more spheres of light and saw a man walking toward them.
A large man with light brown hair was walking slowly with an expressionless face.
“Looks like an empty-headed idiot with no wits and no brains.”
Randell, who had no reaction to her words, turned his head towards Nina.
“Anyone you know?”
“Benzel.”
Nina ground her teeth.
Benzel accelerated his pace and started running as if responding to Nina’s call. He ran on two legs, then on four legs, and then he transformed.
“Bellac.”
Randell pulled out his pendulum.
“No! Don’t attack.”
“What?”
He turned back to her ready to throw a fit.
“Winter!”
Kirrorng!
In an instant, the lake froze and all four legs of the Bellac were tied down. But Nina knew it was only temporary.
‘That’s why I told you not to pick up any death flags!’
Nina screamed inside, roughly pulling her long coat out of her bag and putting it on.
“Nina, that’s ridiculous. Even if he’s human on the outside, he’s not human anymore, don’t be fooled.”
Randell said calmly.
His pendulum, a gleaming golden sphere of cloth, made a gigantic figure under the ceiling of the cave.
Slowly rotating stars lit up and brightened the area.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to kill it. I will do it.”
“No, there is still a chance.”
Nina spoke in a grim tone and looked at the Bellac.
She could feel it.
The spirit of The Sun inside him. The power of her spirit that she had imparted on a crystal seed was shining faintly from within.
I’ll have to get very close to wake him up though.
Nina took a deep breath.
The black leopard-like Bellac broke the ice of the lake that had bound his paws. Nina said while running head-on.
“Hold him so he can’t move!”
“Nina La Dell! Damn it!”
Randell threw all kinds of abusive language at her, but he couldn’t let her die.
She untied her cumbersome sword and threw it away.
“The Sun.”
Nina called her. A spirit with infinite power and beautiful golden horns.
Running over the icy lake, she did not slow her speed nor did she slip. The Frost crest was splendidly engraved on the ice.
“Your glow, your warmth, your heat that warms up the skin.”
Bellac showed his teeth and opened his mouth to Nina. Flames poured out of his throat.
“O fair grace pouring out on all things, the source of life, the perfect light that casts out all darkness!”
Nina tumbled and jumped up to avoid the flames while climbing onto the Bellac. The spirit crest engraved on her wrist shone in five colors.
The Bellac raged and pulled her off its back.
“Ugh!”
Focusing on using the power of the spirit, she couldn’t pay attention to the fighting part, so she just rolled down.
Bellac’s mouth, which was wide open, brushed past her body by a hair’s length because its body slid backward as if a giant had grabbed it by the tail.
“Thank you, Randell!”
Nina shouted, but Randell didn’t answer. The anger could be seen going to the top of his head.
As the distance increased, the light from Nina’s wrist dimmed.
“Ah, damn it.”
Nina, grumbling, got up from her seat again and ran towards the Bellac.
────── •❆• ──────
Benzel was standing in front of a gray sea. The sand was pale white, and the sea was a bluish-grey.
There were dark clouds in the sky as if a typhoon was coming from afar.
He stood blankly, watching the waves rush in, wet his feet, and retreat.
Since when has he been standing there?
Why was he standing?
He didn’t remember any of that.
Then something warm touched his back.
He turned around slowly and saw the light of the sun breaking through the dark clouds. He was dazzled and narrowed his eyes.
“There you are!”
Someone screamed, and Benzel was startled.
Looking closely, it was someone he knew well.
I know well.
I.
But he couldn’t remember the name of the person. Only that she had silver hair tied in ponytails and sparkling golden eyes.
“Get a hold of yourself. I’m sorry, but I can’t stand it any longer.”
At her blunt remark, Benzel was confused.
He barely remembered the name.
“Nina.”
Nina smiled.
“Are you finally awake?”
“!!”
Randell bit his teeth so as not to bite his tongue. Stepping and bouncing lightly between the crevices of the cliffs, Nina ascended at terrifying speed towards the peak of the mountain.
He found out how much Nina has endured. If Nina was alone, she might have reached the peak before the sun went down.
The higher she climbed, the colder it got. Randell pulled out his pendulum.
‘I’ll make sure to make flying magic later.’
As he chanted a small spell, warm energy enveloped the two of them.
By the time an ice and snow wall came out in front of them, Nina called the Frost.
The spirit of Frost made a small scaffold against the ice wall. Stepping on that footstool, Nina climbed up and up.
“We’re here!”
Nina shouted a hurray. Randell, who was suffering, strapped at her back, also cheered inside. The rope dug in his legs, his hips, and shoulders, making everything hurt, but he had no choice but to endure it.
In the darkness, countless stars in the sky were shining and twinkling.
The peak of the mountain was completely covered with snow, and the stars seen from the high peak were different from those seen from far below.
Randell rubbed his legs and looked around.
Every time Nina exhaled, a white breath came out, she shivered and said.
“I feel bad.”
“Corrupted Spirit Fragment?”
“Oh, there must be a barrier.”
She felt bad, but it was somewhat bearable. Probably because there was a barrier that blocked it to some extent.
“That’s interesting.”
Nina muttered.
“How did no one know there were fragments here until now? The Violet Forest was such a mess all the time.”
“Isn’t this piece smaller than the one in the forest? Besides, there is a barrier, and the location is like this.”
In response to Randell’s explanation, Nina tilted her head and said, “I see”.
“Let’s find the entrance.”
At Randell’s words, she nodded her head.
The two quickly found a crevice in the rocks. Nina used her strength to roll the rock, revealing a black hole underneath.
“We should jump, right?”
“I guess so.”
Randell mumbled with an even more tired face and pulled out his pendulum.
Small spheres of light appeared one after another and fell down. The two stared intently at how far the light had fallen.
“Oh, there must be water down there.”
“How can there be such a big space underground?”
“After all, I guess the answer is to jump in.”
“If the water is shallow, we can’t even pick our bones after.”
“It’s okay, we can fall slowly.”
Nina smiled broadly in the dark.
“I have a spirit after all.”
Before Randell jumped in, he asked what he was curious about.
“Nina.”
“Yes?”
“Why did you ask me to come?”
“That’s-.”
“Not for all the reasons you already said.”
Randell’s blue eyes looked at Nina.
Oh my God, how can this man shine so brightly even in the dark?
Nina thought so and slowly opened her mouth.
“I want to cool my head…?”
“That’s a question?”
“Because I don’t know either.”
Randell cast his gaze far away and looked back at Nina.
“I see.”
He nodded his head. Nina asked back “What did you pick from that?”, and he smiled faintly.
“That I am not yet your daily life.”
Randell’s words left her speechless.
“Hm… is that good?”
Randell said “Well…”, and pointed down.
“Let’s dive.”
Nina grabbed Randell’s hand and counted.
“One, two, three!”
They both jumped down at the same time. They first felt the discomfort of the sudden force of gravity, and then they felt the wind.
The wind pushed them up and slowed them down. Like a dandelion spore, the two landed gently on the edge of the cave and Randell clenched his teeth.
“Cold.”
“It’s The North wind…I’m sorry.”
“If it wasn’t for the magic I put on earlier, I would have been frozen.”
“I don’t think it was that bad.”
At Nina’s words, Randell raised only one eyebrow, but she quietly ignored him and turned her gaze away.
The place the two of them landed looked much bigger and wider than when viewed from above.
“It’s really spacious. Ah~!!”
A voice echoed in the cavity as Nina shouted with both her hands around her mouth, like a megaphone.
“Noisy.”
She smiled at Randell’s words and folded her hands.
Nina looked around and stopped when she fixed her eyes in one direction. Randell floated a few more spheres of light and saw a man walking toward them.
A large man with light brown hair was walking slowly with an expressionless face.
“Looks like an empty-headed idiot with no wits and no brains.”
Randell, who had no reaction to her words, turned his head towards Nina.
“Anyone you know?”
“Benzel.”
Nina ground her teeth.
Benzel accelerated his pace and started running as if responding to Nina’s call. He ran on two legs, then on four legs, and then he transformed.
“Bellac.”
Randell pulled out his pendulum.
“No! Don’t attack.”
“What?”
He turned back to her ready to throw a fit.
“Winter!”
Kirrorng!
In an instant, the lake froze and all four legs of the Bellac were tied down. But Nina knew it was only temporary.
‘That’s why I told you not to pick up any death flags!’
Nina screamed inside, roughly pulling her long coat out of her bag and putting it on.
“Nina, that’s ridiculous. Even if he’s human on the outside, he’s not human anymore, don’t be fooled.”
Randell said calmly.
His pendulum, a gleaming golden sphere of cloth, made a gigantic figure under the ceiling of the cave.
Slowly rotating stars lit up and brightened the area.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to kill it. I will do it.”
“No, there is still a chance.”
Nina spoke in a grim tone and looked at the Bellac.
She could feel it.
The spirit of The Sun inside him. The power of her spirit that she had imparted on a crystal seed was shining faintly from within.
I’ll have to get very close to wake him up though.
Nina took a deep breath.
The black leopard-like Bellac broke the ice of the lake that had bound his paws. Nina said while running head-on.
“Hold him so he can’t move!”
“Nina La Dell! Damn it!”
Randell threw all kinds of abusive language at her, but he couldn’t let her die.
She untied her cumbersome sword and threw it away.
“The Sun.”
Nina called her. A spirit with infinite power and beautiful golden horns.
Running over the icy lake, she did not slow her speed nor did she slip. The Frost crest was splendidly engraved on the ice.
“Your glow, your warmth, your heat that warms up the skin.”
Bellac showed his teeth and opened his mouth to Nina. Flames poured out of his throat.
“O fair grace pouring out on all things, the source of life, the perfect light that casts out all darkness!”
Nina tumbled and jumped up to avoid the flames while climbing onto the Bellac. The spirit crest engraved on her wrist shone in five colors.
The Bellac raged and pulled her off its back.
“Ugh!”
Focusing on using the power of the spirit, she couldn’t pay attention to the fighting part, so she just rolled down.
Bellac’s mouth, which was wide open, brushed past her body by a hair’s length because its body slid backward as if a giant had grabbed it by the tail.
“Thank you, Randell!”
Nina shouted, but Randell didn’t answer. The anger could be seen going to the top of his head.
As the distance increased, the light from Nina’s wrist dimmed.
“Ah, damn it.”
Nina, grumbling, got up from her seat again and ran towards the Bellac.
────── •❆• ──────
Benzel was standing in front of a gray sea. The sand was pale white, and the sea was a bluish-grey.
There were dark clouds in the sky as if a typhoon was coming from afar.
He stood blankly, watching the waves rush in, wet his feet, and retreat.
Since when has he been standing there?
Why was he standing?
He didn’t remember any of that.
Then something warm touched his back.
He turned around slowly and saw the light of the sun breaking through the dark clouds. He was dazzled and narrowed his eyes.
“There you are!”
Someone screamed, and Benzel was startled.
Looking closely, it was someone he knew well.
I know well.
I.
But he couldn’t remember the name of the person. Only that she had silver hair tied in ponytails and sparkling golden eyes.
“Get a hold of yourself. I’m sorry, but I can’t stand it any longer.”
At her blunt remark, Benzel was confused.
He barely remembered the name.
“Nina.”
Nina smiled.
“Are you finally awake?”
