Southwest of Gyeonggi Province.
From there, an enormous number of monsters began marching north.
-WE MUST DYE THIS LAND IN OUR WINTER ONCE AGAIN...!
In the last battle, many brothers were completely erased.
A tremendous loss.
The Belsnickels had no choice but to panic—they hadn’t known the native species could even possess the power to cut souls.
...But.
CRUNCH.
-KRRRRGH...!
A giant that exuded cold from its body
grabbed a monster’s body with one hand and stared into its eyes.
-GRRK....
For a moment, it stayed that way.
Then the light vanished from that monster’s pupils.
-TAKE THIS BODY, BROTHER.
Inside that monster’s body,
a new soul took residence.
Inside the [Gate], there were still many souls who had not yet found a suitable body and wandered the Frost-Laid Royal Castle, frozen.
The reason they wandered the royal castle
was because they still had not obtained bodies they could enter.
They had increased the number of brothers, but
they couldn’t endure the heat and could not push north beyond a certain point,
and even if they obtained a body,
subduing that soul and infiltrating its place was a task beyond difficult.
Not anymore.
‘So this is the power of the great brothers...!’
Now that mighty lords who had once ruled the continent had opened their eyes,
that problem was all but gone.
Suppressing other monsters was easy to begin with,
and suppressing souls as well—
for those who held mighty souls, it was something they could do easily, without even performing a special ritual!
And so.
As the number of brothers who obtained strong bodies increased,
as the power they possessed increased—
-A LITTLE MORE... THE HEAT HAS LESSENED.
The cold they had lost due to the destruction of the lords
was returning, little by little.
Their purpose was to turn this sweltering land back into a winter suited to them,
then recreate an environment like their homeland.
-STEAL MORE BODIES, AND REPLENISH THE LOST STRENGTH.
And.
What needed to be done for that purpose was already decided.
-WE MUST FIND THE KING. THE KING WHO HAS GONE MISSING.
-WE MUST DEAL WITH THE ONE WHO KILLED OUR BROTHERS....
The adversary who obstructed their purpose
and stole the king’s soul.
Remove him, reclaim the king’s soul, and then—
-WE MUST RECLAIM THE BODIES OF THE NATIVE SPECIES!
The native species possessed tremendous potential.
They had to regain those bodies.
THUD....
-FOLLOW BEHIND THE GREAT BROTHERS!
Behind the twelve enormous giants,
the army of winter advanced.
“Stop them!”
“Other regions still haven’t fully withdrawn. We have to hold here for at least a day...!”
Those weak native species tried, somehow, to stop them,
trapped inside a cage-like pen and resisting, but—
“Damn it, a day my ass...!”
“Everybody run!”
Before the power the giants unleashed,
they all collapsed helplessly.
-NO MATTER HOW YOU RUN, YOUR FATE IS TO BE CAUGHT....
As they advanced, they seized the bodies of every monster they saw,
and marched toward where the humans had fled.
And then.
-THIS PLACE IS....
-IT’S HOT.
Suddenly.
A location appeared where the temperature rose sharply.
-THAT BLACK WALL IS SPEWING HEAT.
-I’VE HEARD IT FROM THE BROTHERS WHO TOOK NATIVE SPECIES BODIES. IS THAT THE END OF THIS LAND?
Even if the cold of the twelve lords was neutralizing it to some extent,
this was a place that radiated fierce heat.
A place where their power weakened.
-SO THAT’S WHY THEY EMPTIED ALL THE PENS AND RAN.
-DID THEY RUN HERE, AIMING FOR THIS HEAT?
An environment of extreme burden for [Belsnickel], who were vulnerable to heat.
But.
-TO THINK THE RESULT OF STRAINING THEIR BRAINS IS ONLY THIS.
-THEY’RE PITIFUL....
Mighty giants.
The grand lords of [Belsnickel] possessing those bodies were on a different level from the other brothers.
When they took a single step—
even this place, close enough that the black wall was visible,
this place filled with heat—
HISSSSS....
The ground froze over,
and frost settled down.
The stronger the soul, the more powerful the cold it could summon.
They were the ones who had created Gyeonggi Province’s abnormal climate with only twenty.
If twelve of those remained,
no matter how strong the heat the black wall spewed,
it was impossible to drive out all the cold their souls emitted.
-STILL, DO NOT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN.
-THE NATIVE SPECIES’ GUARDIAN FROM THEN HAS NOT YET APPEARED. WE MUST NEVER LET OUR GUARD DOWN AGAIN.
With power like this, it would be easy to grow careless, but
the grand lords decided to face the enemy
with full strength, thoroughly.
-I CAN FEEL YOUR SOULS. AND THE SOULS OF THOSE BLOOD-STENCHED THINGS YOU STAND WITH!
The knight commander who, during the conquest war of the “Frozen Kingdom,”
had achieved the greatest results and toppled the most kingdoms stepped forward,
to crush the enemy’s morale.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOO-!!!
As the twelve grand lords combined their power,
they released a cold so intense it looked like it could reach even the native species’ cage far away.
‘No matter how strong that guardian god is.’
‘If the morale of the native species it seeks to protect hits rock bottom, what it can do will inevitably shrink.’
Strategy was originally created for the weak to defeat the strong.
But not now.
Now the strong—[Belsnickel]—were using strategy to deal with weak humans,
pressing them down without a single gap.
By their calculations,
the native species’ force, no matter what means it employed,
could not defeat them...
-...BE CAREFUL, BROTHER!
...If there was one thing they failed to account for.
It was this.
The enemy they had to face
was not only the native species.
-!?
While the knight commander focused on the work of crushing the morale of the native species entrenched in that fortress,
his concentration had no choice but to loosen slightly.
In the instant the giant’s attention was pulled elsewhere—
CRUNCH!
-KRRRRGH...!?
-...!
-LORD!
There was a strange shape
that tore at the knight commander’s throat.
-HOW DARE...!
Smaller than the giants,
but still enormous—
-NOT ONLY DID YOU STEAL OUR FREEDOM, YOU EVEN COME TO STEAL WHAT LITTLE LAND REMAINS...!
...Not on the level of the giants,
but carrying a presence the other brothers would not even dare covet—
-I WILL CHEW YOU UP AND CLAIM THAT BROAD GRASSLAND!
A beast with snow-white hide.
And.
It wasn’t only that.
-...I SEE.
Before the gigantic black wall that had suddenly appeared.
From there—
-...SO ALL THE BODIES WORTH USING WERE GATHERED HERE.
Countless monsters were bursting out from the Inhuman Demon Realm,
near the black wall.
*****
-INSOLENCE!
-QUEEN, WE RESPECT YOUR STRENGTH AND YOUR DOMAIN. BUT.
Deep in the dark forest.
In one place, the strongest monsters of the Inhuman Demon Realm gathered.
-THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN SUMMON US AND DISMISS US AS YOU PLEASE!
A new powerhouse that had taken root in the Inhuman Demon Realm.
Because they had received the invitation of the Blood Queen,
forces equal to her had come here.
Not only had she taken the domain of [Black Claw],
she had also subjugated [Black Claw] beneath her feet.
Every monster acknowledged it in its heart.
That her force
was likely the strongest force in the Inhuman Demon Realm right now.
That was why,
despite the rude invitation, they had moved their feet and come.
“What nonsense.”
-What?
As if she had no intention of showing them respect,
the Queen looked down at them with a contemptuous gaze and spoke.
“Fools who don’t know reality. You’re so desperate over what’s right in front of your eyes that you can’t even think to respond to the enemy approaching.... Well, that’s why you’re stuffed into this narrow Inhuman Demon Realm, fighting among yourselves.”
-How dare....
In response to the Queen’s provocation, Light Scale expressed its anger,
and—
-IS IT NOT THE SAME FOR YOU, QUEEN?
White Mane opened its mouth in a refined tone.
-IT IS NOT ONLY US WHO PREDICTED WE COULD NOT ENDURE THAT SEVERE WINTER AND FLED INTO THIS CRAMPED INHUMAN DEMON REALM.
“You’re mistaken about something.”
At White Mane’s remark,
the Queen casually raised a hand—
SLASH!
—and raked her wrist with her nails,
scattering her blood onto the ground.
-That blood....
-It’s cold.
It was sudden self-harm, but
the monsters with strong power understood the meaning contained in the act.
“I can move without issue even within that cold. Unlike lowly trash like you.”
-THEN WHY DID YOU CRAWL INTO THIS INHUMAN DEMON REALM? IF YOU ARE QUEEN, YOU COULD HAVE MOVED IN A MUCH WIDER WORLD.
“For you.”
-...?
“I told you I came to inform you of reality.”
She looked at White Mane, who had asked her, and said:
“You ask why I came here when I could have acted in a broader world? Then what about you. You, who should have roamed that broad land—why are you trapped in this narrow land, fighting to gain even a little more domain?”
-...Because of that cold.
“Right. And... you know there is a being that created that cold, don’t you.”
The monsters of the Inhuman Demon Realm fled here to avoid the cold.
No matter how powerful a monster was,
it could not be perfectly free from the influence of environment.
“Do you not resent the culprit?”
-...Do we not resent it?
At that.
The white lion with a refined dignity on its face—
White Mane’s face split wide open,
and—
-I RESENT IT, I HATE IT. IF THEY APPEARED BEFORE MY EYES, I WOULD WANT TO CHEW THEM UP THIS INSTANT!
“Hoh?”
From inside,
the face of a demon-like fiend popped out.
-My kin must roam the broad grassland. That cold that stole that grassland... I hate it beyond measure!
Following White Mane,
Light Scale flicked its tongue and said:
-...I sought the widest river, but the river itself was frozen cold. In a cramped land, my children cannot grow large either.
The monstrous bird with massive wings,
Torn Wing, also—
-It was the first time I felt the sky itself being restricted....
All life in the Inhuman Demon Realm
had no choice but to hate that cold.
“Good. You may be idiots, but you don’t seem to be losers who can’t even feel anger.”
Ariella looked down at them and said.
“So, what do you think. Do you believe the being that brought winter to that broad land will stay still?”
-...I know they will not.
“Right. Before long, they will come to steal even the heat of this Inhuman Demon Realm. No....”
Her red eyes glinted coldly.
“At most, within a day or two, they will come for the Inhuman Demon Realm.”
-What...?
“You act surprised. You felt it too, didn’t you? That winter... is approaching this Inhuman Demon Realm.”
-....
Once monsters surpass a certain level, they gain spirituality.
All the mighty monsters seated here
could feel that cold approaching.
“They are coming for us. To covet even this narrow land we have left!”
-Grrrr....
“I came here to tell you that reality. This is no time to waste fighting among yourselves. Is there not a true enemy elsewhere?”
Recently, there had been a time when the cold weakened sharply,
but the source of that winter was still approaching them.
“They have lost much of their power for some reason.”
-...I know. I, too, have been considering leading my tribe southward. I hesitated because I did not know whether this was temporary or long-term.
“That is exactly why they are heading for the Inhuman Demon Realm. They fear that while they are weakened, others will invade their domain. Therefore....”
-They are bringing an army here.
At that moment.
Torn Wing opened its mouth.
-I saw them beneath a sky where the blizzard had cleared.
-...!
-Twelve giants were approaching, carrying winter. Their army is far too numerous. They are not enemies I can defeat.
“Then what about us?”
-ARE YOU SUGGESTING AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE QUEEN AND GREAT WING? EVEN SO, IT WILL NOT BE EASY TO OVERCOME THEM. THE POWER OF THOSE GIANTS LOOKED THAT GREAT.
At those words,
Ariella laughed bitterly and said:
“If you can’t win, what are you going to do? Do you think they’ll spare you because of your circumstances?”
-...We will leave this forest and move our nest to avoid them.
“So you’ll be robbed again, and run again.”
-....
She looked around at the monsters and said:
“They have no intention of sparing you. In the end, they will seize even this narrow Inhuman Demon Realm and try to create a world where no one but them can live. If so... there is only one way.”
-Fight them?
“Yes. What are you hesitating for?”
She rose,
and shouted as she released magic power from her entire body.
“The being that created this winter and stole your freedom is approaching. This place is land where the wall of heat shelters us— the only place where those who make cold their power become weakest!”
-...What do you want from us?
“Lead your packs and stand with me against them. And you will have to mobilize all the riffraff clinging to your lands as well.”
-If they refuse?
“Threaten to eat them and chase them from behind. Force them onto the battlefield no matter what!”
Against the Queen’s magic power,
the gathered monsters raised their own.
-This place is our last refuge....
-This will be the greatest domain war we have ever faced in our lives.
It wasn’t enough that the giants had appeared before their eyes.
The moment they scattered that cold deep into the Inhuman Demon Realm—
-How dare...!
The beasts of the Inhuman Demon Realm
decided to bare their fangs at the enemies who came to steal even their last land.
*****
-Grrrr...!
-Pathetic beasts...!
The enormous white lion leapt at a giant
and tore at its throat.
-You dare touch the knight commander!
Another giant rushed to support—
WHOOSH...!
With the thunderous sound of massive wings, a monstrous bird appeared,
then dove from the sky and drove the giant into the ground at terrifying speed.
KRAAAAK!
The giant’s body, slammed down onto the ground like that—
a gigantic snake that burst from the forest began to constrict.
And when the giant’s movement was locked—
-Follow the Queen’s command!
-Give eternal death to that winter!
The red-eyed monsters charged all at once,
and began to shatter the giant’s body that had seemed impossibly hard.
“That is....”
“There’s no doubt. Those are the monsters they said wiped out the Chair’s [Assault Team].”
“But... why are the Inhuman Demon Realm’s monsters attacking those guys?”
As the Inhuman Demon Realm’s monsters suddenly began fighting their enemy,
people were flustered, not understanding why, when—
“I told you.”
“...!”
A red-eyed human.
Lee Beomjae appeared among the people,
looked at the battle in the distance, and said:
“As much as the living beings of the Inhuman Demon Realm... there are no beings who hate the ones who brought that winter more.”
“...!”
“And that isn’t only our story.”
Only then did people realize.
‘The Inhuman Demon Realm is the territory of monsters who fled to escape the cold.’
‘To them, those cold giants are... the enemies who drove them into this narrow land!’
Those frozen souls
had made too many enemies.
...Gulp.
“W-We can’t defeat the giants by ourselves, but....”
“Still.”
For the humans of Gyeonggi Province,
if you ask them to name the most terrifying existence, two names come up.
One is the existence that recently gave them fear.
Those cold giants.
And.
The other is—
“The Inhuman Demon Realm’s monsters....”
The beings that subdued the Chair and all of the Association’s elites,
and long before that, ever since the ‘Day of Ruin,’ had driven the humans on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province into the central region.
“If those guys fight those giants...!”
They were the ones who had terrorized the humans of Gyeonggi Province far longer than the giants,
the ones spoken of as nightmares.
If they opposed the cold giants, who were another nightmare—
Then.
“It might be doable.”
“...Yeah, damn it. If we lose here, we die anyway!”
The Awakeners who had been drowning in despair
clenched their teeth.
“All artillery batteries, prepare to fire!”
“Without harming the Inhuman Demon Realm’s monsters, target only the giants and the army of cold!”
And so they entered
the final battle against the giants.
