## Chapter 283 – Winter Sonata
“UOOOOOOOHH—!!!!!!”
The ice spirits were slow, defenseless in the air, and their casting speed was glacial. They might use magic, but their base stats were lower than mine!
Lost in a frenzy, I dodged the incoming ice shards, batted them away with my gauntlets, and plunged my blade into the spirits, slaughtering them.
“…Stop! Stop it!”
The girl shouted coldly.
“You stop first! If you call off your friends, I’ll leave without a word! I’ll even return all your friends’ souls!”
“…!”
I tried to negotiate, but like most girls her age, she showed no compromise or mercy.
The spirit girl claimed the ice spirits were her friends, but seeing them die like this without relenting made her seem like a simple psychopath.
Discarding friends and comrades for her own goals.
The most difficult kind of enemy to face.
If the battle continued, it would surely be a grueling fight… perhaps even a mutually destructive outcome. She was a true monster!
However!
Even if I fell and died!
Cheonma Warrior Kim Ghatt would fight to the end! Why? Because there was no escape! If I could have run, I would have already!
When fighting is the only option, you have to fight with your life on the line! That, my creed, churned violently in my brain, secreting unbelievable courage!
Even if the enemy is strong, it doesn’t matter!
If I have to fight, I will!
That is Cheonma Kim Ghatt!
—Shhhhhhh!!
As I burned with fighting spirit, an ice spear formed above the girl’s head. Instinctively sensing danger, I dove to the ground and cast Naryeotaegon without looking.
—Whoosh!
At the same time, it flew with unbelievable speed—Whumpf!—sweeping through the space where I had been standing and slamming into a tree behind me!
Incredible power!
“That’s a formidable attack…!”
Barely had I admired it when the ice spirits, having immediately located me, attacked. No more flying ice spears. Was it on cooldown? Or a major technique? I didn’t know.
Now was the time to evade the spirits’ attacks.
—Pashat!
—Pashat!
—Pashat!
“You little bastards!”
Dodging the ice shards scattering from left and right wasn’t too difficult.
They weren’t organic, so their reactions were slow. More than anything, as beings born of the season, they were vulnerable to change.
Thus, Realgar Footwork.
I used unpredictable footwork to escape the danger zone and charged at a spirit like a beast. This bastard…! Your movement speed is too slow to mess with this Cheonma!
“Cheonma Geumna-su (Heavenly Demon Restraining Hand)!!!!”
Jumping, I immediately unleashed the Geumna-su technique, snatching one of the floating spirits out of the air. The ice spirit, smaller than a soccer ball, was incredibly cold, but not powerful enough to penetrate my equipment and transmit its wicked chill.
—Oong oong…!
The ice lump in my arms tried to wail!
“Stop attacking! If you don’t want to see this bastard die!”
Landing lightly, I pressed down on it with my arms and chest armor, shouting fiercely!
“B-Barbarian! Are you out of your mind!”
“He’s taken a spirit hostage!”
Hostage tactics wouldn’t work anyway.
The spirit girl was a psychopath.
I was just drawing the aggro to myself. Meriah was using her shield to block attacks. Copsen was also working with her, destroying the spirits.
—Slow.
At this rate, we wouldn’t be able to secure an escape route in time.
“…Concentrate the attacks on me, and break through the retreat.”
“…”
“…”
I briefly conveyed to them that it would be better to focus the attacks on me and have them secure the retreat. They slowly nodded.
“…Let go of that hand.”
The spirit girl coldly muttered, seeing me holding the hostage.
“Call off your friends. I don’t want to fight.”
“….Let! Go!”
“You’re impossible to reason with!”
Threateningly, I squeezed the spirit tightly, and cracks began to form on its icy exterior. At the same time, I shook it wildly to disrupt its casting.
“…Friends!!!”
—Hwaaaaa!
The enraged girl roared like a beast, unleashing a tremendous energy. Her dress billowed wildly in the gust, revealing her pure white body.
That’s not important.
Anyway, the spirit girl’s warcry drew the attention of all the ice spirits to me. Good! It’s easier to escape by concentrating the attacks in one place rather than having them spread out in a net!
“Right of Failed Negotiation!”
—Kwaang!
Immediately, I slammed the spirit in my arms with my sword-wielding fist, shattering it.
If negotiation is useless, so is a hostage. The spirit, hit by the Paradise Rebirth Punch, left behind a bead and crumbled into fragments on the floor.
May you be reborn as a kind animal in the next life!
—Pabat!
Then, I quickly moved to disrupt their movements.
—Pashat!
—Pashat!
The ice shards shot out. The spirits that had been surrounding me converged, making the attacks fiercer, but also more predictable! I concentrated all the mana and inner energy in my body, and unleashed it!
“Cheonma Gunrimbo (Heavenly Demon Overlord Steps)!”
—Puh-ung!
Stomping hard, the exploding snow scattered!
Entering Angel Mode, I used the recoil of the stomp to quickly pull my body away, dodging all the concentrated attacks. Twenty or so ice shards were embedded in the spot where I had been standing.
With this, all the aggro was on me!
“COPSEN!!!!!!”
“Juwahhhhh!!”
Responding to my shout, Copsen aimed for the rear of the spirits and began to destroy them. Having been removed from the attack target, there was nothing to hold back! Smash them, Copsen!
—Kwaang!
Meriah also slammed her shield, beating the spirits. It was going smoothly. The spirit girl was certainly powerful, but not skilled in tactics and combat.
It was a moment where experience surpassed the difference in combat power!
“…Stop it!!!”
—A brief silence with the shout!
“Nowwww!!!! Run awayyyy!!!!!”
The encirclement disappeared!
Now we can run!
“Uwaaaaaaack!!!”
“Kyaaaaaaack!!!”
“Ilgasilgak Techyaaaaaat!!!”
We screamed and sprinted to escape the scene. The ice spirits that had been closing in from all sides were now concentrated in one place.
Then we can escape!
“Freeze!!!”
As we ran, the girl’s shrill voice echoed.
And—
—Chaang!
“Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeck!!!!”
Hit by some kind of magic, I immediately screamed and lowered my body! What, what is it! Whether direct or indirect, we shouldn’t be hit because of the terrain with many trees!
“T-This can’t be!”
But the attack I suffered wasn’t that kind of projectile magic.
My feet.
—Were frozen.
The ground froze, and the cold climbed up my calves!
The cold, icy grip wrapped around my left leg!
This is… this is that!
“Mez!”
A technique that hinders movement!
“B-Barbarian! Why aren’t you running!”
“You fucker! My feet are frozen!”
“Damn!”
“Damn!”
As I warned of the danger, Copsen and Meriah, who had been running ahead, turned back towards me. You goddamn bastards! It was worth trusting in friendship! We are the friends, you bastards!
“You goddamn—sons of bitches!!!!!”
Meriah, charging with her shield raised, blocked all the incoming ice shards in front of me! “Thank you! Meriah!” I conveyed my gratitude, bent my knees, pulled out a knife, and held it upside down.
—Pahk!
—Pahk!
I struck hard to break the ice on my leg!
“Copsen! Help me!”
“Got it!”
Copsen, who had taken out a hand hammer from his pocket, quickly lowered his body and wildly hammered my frozen feet like a crazed archaeologist!
—Kwang!
—Kwang!
“Kroooooooo!!!”
“Uooooooo!!!”
We, lost in a frenzy close to madness, simply hammered the ice that wrapped around my leg with a knife and a hand hammer. —Pahbak! Whether it was the result of our efforts, cracks gradually began to appear in the ice!
“Copsen, it’s the final attack!”
“Got it!”
“Zwaaaaaaab—!!!”
“Geureooooooo—!!!!”
Gathering the power of friendship into one, just as we were about to break the ice!
—Pashat!
An ice shard flew towards us!
An attack from the rear!
Reacting immediately, I deflected the incoming ice shard with my knife. “Copsen!” I shouted, and Copsen, who turned around and stood up, took a throwing stance.
And—Copsen threw the hammer.
—Paenggeureureu!
The hand hammer, spinning inhumanly, collided fiercely with the spirit! —Ppasak! At the same time, the spirit shattered and fell weakly to the ground.
But the ultimate throwing technique was only a one-shot attack.
Immediately, the spirits that replaced it shot out ice shards!
“Ugh, euhaak!”
Copsen’s skill couldn’t deflect the incoming shards.
He lowered his body and rolled to dodge the shards, and the shards that passed over him rushed towards me. With my movement restricted, there was no other way!
I hadn’t broken the ice yet!
—Pahk!
I raised my arm and blocked the attack with my gauntlet.
“Keuh…!”
—Pashat!
—Pashat!
But there was more than one spirit.
As soon as my movement was sealed, they gleefully began to shoot out shards. These cruel and cowardly bastards! Copsen had already hidden behind a tree, and unable to move properly, I protected my head and took all the attacks with my body…!
“Kyaaaaaaack!!!”
Ice shards battered my entire body!
Of course, the main parts were protected by armor, so no damage was taken, and the high-quality quilted armor completely defended against it, but it couldn’t block the impact.
“Kieeeeeeeeeck!!!”
Screams erupted from the pain of being beaten all over!
Shards were also embedded in Meriah’s body, who was standing in front of me, blocking the girl’s icicle barrage with her shield. She was wearing chain armor, so the damage wouldn’t be great, but she also screamed.
“Keuheuk…!! You ball-less bastards!!!”
“Fuck! Fuck!!! It hurts so much!!!”
We cursed, being battered all over.
My head was ringing from the impact! If I don’t break the ice around my feet quickly…! Then Meriah shouted sharply.
“W-Wait a minute?! What’s that!”
“What is it?!”
“A spear! A spear has formed above that kid’s head!”
“You son of a bitch!!!!”
—Hwiwook!!!
I heard the sound of an ice spear flying,
—Kwaang!
It collided with Meriah’s shield.
A roar erupted.
“Kyaaaaaack!!!”
“Uwaaaaack!!”
The tremendous impact sent Meriah’s shield flying into the sky.
Looking closely, it was so fucked up that it looked like it should be sold to a metal shop. I was colliding with Meriah and rolling on the ground with her.
Two adults had been blown away by the incredible physical force.
Indeed, a major technique!
It was fortunate that the ice holding my feet had broken as a result, but it wasn’t a pleasant situation, seeing Meriah holding her hand.
“Kyaeuk…!”
“Meriah! Are you okay!”
“My hand, my hand…!”
I couldn’t tell the details because she was wearing gloves, but Meriah’s distorted face suggested the pain. She had taken such an impact with her wrist, so it might be fractured!
“Damn it! Is it a fracture!”
Immediately, I unleashed the mana in my entire body, put my hands under Meriah’s armpits, and powerfully lifted her up!
“Meriah! We have to run! I’ll save you, so stand up!”
“Heuk… Okay!”
“Copsen! Meriah!”
“Got it!”
Copsen, who had picked up the crushed shield and came running, took over Meriah and hid, covering his body with the shield. My legs were also numb. I had suffered damage from being hit by magic.
In this state, can I win?
“…I’ll kill you all! How dare you hurt my friends!!!”
The spirit girl, walking step by step, shouted like a beast.
The shout was fiercer than anything, and the blue energy swirling around the girl was close to a whirlwind. The momentum was unusual.
—However.
“…Kill?”
—Even in such a situation, Cheonma wins.
I opened my pouch.
I had bought oil for the winter before setting out, and I had plenty of Hwaseopja prepared. I thought of the Wright brothers and Dynamite Nobel. War…! A hateful echo. As if screaming, I poured oil on the blade.
—Hwaak!
And split the Hwaseopja.
The blazing fire was faint.
Was this warm thing the last sight the Little Match Girl saw?
So lonely and desolate, chasing only illusions, did she die on that cold winter day? There are many people. There must have been someone who could have saved her.
But the girl.
There was no one to help her, so she relied only on the warmth of the matches, and died so lonely and frozen.
“I don’t lose to winter.”
This is my requiem for the Little Match Girl.
“Therefore.”
I dropped the burning Hwaseopja on the blade. The blade, soaked in oil, used it as fuel to create a fire, creating a karmic fire.
“Kim Ghatt, the Flame Swordsman.”
—Hwareureuk!
A flame burning like hell. It was my judgment on the heartless and cruel city people who drove the Little Match Girl to her death.
“Descent.”
I, having awakened my true power, confronted the spirit girl.
“…How ridiculous!”
—When fire and ice intersect, the story begins.
