Chapter 49: When A Villain Falls, Gigantification Is The Norm (2)
On Sejong Island, a hero going berserk happened regularly once a day, but turning into a devil didn’t happen as often.
However, when they became a devil, an emergency call went out to all S-ranked ability users on Sejong Island.
Just in case it turned into a very powerful devil while going berserk.
Of course, even for S-rankers, they did not have to be on standby for 24 hours a day. The message would be sent at 5-minute intervals, so it took at least 10 minutes to arrive at the scene, even if they prepared quickly.
[Heroes who can organize the situation are like fire trucks.]
They always rushed in to catch the golden time, but sometimes they were blocked by illegally parked cars, or there were people who did not move out of the way even when a fire truck was rushing.
If they missed the golden time and arrived late, the number of casualties increased accordingly.
Fortunately, our S-rank hero arrived just before the devil started making a fuss.
[Screech…?]
The giant Doppelganger raised its head toward the sky.
It was the weekend in early March, just after the entrance ceremony, but snow was falling from the sky.
At first, one might wonder, ‘Why is it snowing at this time?’
But if you added a few more pieces of information, you could quickly figure out what that snow really was.
There was no way it could snow on an island in the East Sea at this time of the year.
There was magic power in that snow.
And that there was ‘Snow White’ on this island.
[Roar!!]
The giant Doppelganger roared toward the snowflakes.
It tried to repel the ice crystals containing mana with a sonic boom, but the ice crystals had already lodged themselves into the body of the giant Doppelganger.
“Freeze.”
The white-haired woman, dressed in a black suit, descended while scattering white snowflakes and then lightly flicked her fingers forward.
Splat!
As soon as the ice crystals touched the giant Doppelganger, frost began to form on its surface, and the giant Doppelganger’s body began to slow down.
[Roar, Roooooar!!]
The Doppelganger ran, trying to escape the snowflakes.
Coincidentally, it was heading in my direction, and I stepped forward again in front of Yoon Iseon, carefully taking a deep breath.
“It’s dangerous!”
[Not at all.]
I counted to three inwardly, then stomped on the ground with my left foot and swung my right foot to deliver a side kick to the Doppelganger.
Whoooosh!!
Like poking with a club, my side kick created a gust of wind, halting the Doppelganger’s charge.
The trajectory of the energy released from my kick accurately hit the monster’s vitals, and the giant Doppelganger was forced to kneel on the ground.
[Kueh, Krrrk….]
The Doppelganger started spewing a purple liquid from its mouth.
What probably should have been red blood had completely lost its original color upon its owner transforming into a devil. Dark purple blood that couldn’t possibly come from a human body started to flow out.
Splat.
As the ice crystals touched the Doppelganger’s body, the ice started to cover its entire body. Snow White, who descended from the sky, landed right in front of me.
“So, we meet again here. Goblin.”
[A relationship this negative really is tenacious.]
Snow White smirked at my words and shrugged her shoulders.
Unlike when she usually met me and was a bit stiff, she seemed quite relaxed now.
[Is that a new skill?]
“…Hehe, as expected, I knew you would recognize it. You have a keen eye.”
Snow White puffed up her chest and wore a proud smile.
“It’s a skill my ‘partner’ whom you don’t know created.”
Me?
Was there someone other than me who gave advice about that skill?
Since when did I become Snow White’s partner?
‘Is she also trapped in her own world?’
This was a problem.
If Snow White became a devil, it would be a huge problem.
If the protagonist’s corruption brought about the end of the world as we know it due to a meteor crash, Snow White would likely plunge the world’s temperature down by 18 degrees, ushering in an ice age.
Then, humanity would naturally live in an era of severe cold, a time of neither cyberpunk nor psychopunk, but an ‘ice-punk’ era.
[That partner… Seems dangerous to have helped you make such a skill. Who is it?]
“I’m sorry, but you’ll never find them. Because I’ll protect them.”
[Is that so? I’ll find out by observing every single person around you.]
I moved forward, wielding my club.
Now, completely frozen and unable to move, was the time to send this devil packing in one shot.
“Stop.”
[Planning to stop me?]
Baek Seol-hee, who approached me from behind, stood by my side, exuding coldness.
[Just a while ago, someone acted exactly like you. And that person had their chest pierced by that devil.]
I could see Red receiving treatment in the distance.
Fortunately, his vital parts were missed, and with the healer’s superhuman recovery ability, he barely clung to his life. Still, the high likelihood was that the future where the second generation Red would step in was near.
[Don’t stop me. I’m right. I need to destroy that guy now.]
“…Just wait a moment.”
As Baek Seol-hee moved her hand as if conducting an orchestra, the fallen ice crystals stirred up a snowstorm and headed toward the Doppelganger again.
Splat.
The Doppelganger’s whole body was frozen solid.
Moreover, ice piled up around the Doppelganger’s body, creating a giant ice sculpture as if the Doppelganger had been put inside a massive block of ice.
Only ten seconds had passed.
The Doppelganger, perfectly sealed in ice, didn’t move an inch.
[Impressive indeed. So, is this a demonstration for me?]
“No. It’s a perfect suppression of the villain.”
Baek Seol-hee pointed to the ice statue with a confident expression.
“The ice prison, ‘Ice Jade’, keeps someone captured inside it for life. This ice doesn’t melt under sunlight, and it doesn’t melt under the power of a powerful pyrokinetic as long as I’m on Sejong Island.”
[A powerful… skill indeed.]
Being turned into an ice sculpture like that, one might be trapped inside the ice for a lifetime unless they managed to escape from the inside.
Who was this ice prison meant for?
It probably wasn’t meant for me.
If it was and should I be affected by that skill, I would tear out the magic from the area I touched and vacate the spot.
To begin with, I probably wouldn’t even be touched by it.
[But it’s a pity. I can see its limitations.]
“What….”
[Is it a targeted skill? It appears to freeze only one target, not a multitude of unspecified ones. And it seems to freeze only targets that you have clearly recognized.]
“…….”
I didn’t know the secret.
[So, it cannot be used as an area of effect skill without designating a target. Unless you want to freeze everything around you when you are surrounded by villains.]
But when looking at the mass of ice crystals falling from the sky, touching both the ground and others without freezing them, this skill had a clear effect but a significant downside.
[Your friend-or-foe identification is lacking. You still need training, Princess Snow White.]
“Hmph…!”
Snow White openly scowled.
“Who are you calling a princess…!”
[And there is one thing you overlooked. That monster isn’t completely frozen.]
“What did you say?”
[It’s a prison that restricts the whole body to prevent escape but can’t penetrate deep into the organs with mana.]
Inside the Ice Jade prison created by Baek Seol-hee.
The Doppelganger, which seemed to be hardened in place, certainly seemed to be frozen still.
[What you overlooked is that this demon is not a Doppelganger or a Yook Gibong now.]
“Then what is it?”
[A demon.]
I was not referring to a fallen demon.
[The demon that will leap out from inside after eating the corpse of the Doppelganger Yook Gibong. Since there are three seeds… probably three will jump out.]
Crack, crack, crack.
A strange sound was heard from the back of the frozen Doppelganger.
That sound was too clear, like a mouse gnawing on a wall.
“No… It can’t be!”
Snow White hastily extended her hand upwards, pouring out more ice crystals.
A thick pile of ice crystals built up in the direction of the sound, but as if waiting for that, the sound started from the front this time.
Crack!
Drawing vertical scars, something similar to the shape of a human leaped out from the inside and extended its fist toward the ice.
Crash!
Like shattering glass, the Ice Jade prison broke, and the demon crawling out from inside was a new alien entity that reached 3 meters in length.
It looked more like an alien than a demon.
[I thought three would pop out, but it turns out the three have become one.]
Flash.
The Doppelganger, which looked like an alien, had one head in the middle with two heads sprouting from the shoulders on both sides, and its eyes flashed like a human’s.
“That’s… something I’ve never seen before…”
[You would have never seen it before. Because it’s my first time seeing it, too.]
It felt like looking at an alien lifeform that had mutated from a corpse.
But I was not worried.
[Watch closely, Hero.]
I gripped my bat tightly.
[This is how you kill an enemy in one shot.]
Power in my toes.
Mana in my fingertips.
[Just like this.]
I dashed forward, running at the speed of light toward the alien entity of a demon glaring at me.
And then-
Whoosh!!!
I put all my strength into the bat and swung it horizontally with all my might.
[If it has three heads, then enough to blow up all three.]
Boom!
[I kill it with overwhelming power.]
With a full swing of my bat, all three heads of the demon were separated from the neck as if spores had exploded, and purple blood fountains burst out from the three stumps.
[Listen well, Hero.]
I whispered softly so that only Baek Seol-hee and the dumbfounded Yoon Iseon standing next to me could hear.
[A demon can only be killed by blowing up its core. Remember that.]
Boom!!
With all three of its heads blown up, the demon fell backward and collapsed, never to rise again.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢