Chapter 25:

Chapter 25:

Chapter 25

-Creak!

The enraged snow boar let out a scream and began charging. Cheon Gunam took a step back and hurriedly activated his ability, forming countless ice blades in the air.

"Get lost!"

-Kwa-gwak!

A barrage of water bullets followed, far surpassing the intensity of his previous attacks. As a result, the snow boar’s body was covered in ice blades, and now resembled a hedgehog. Seeing this, Cheon Gunam smiled, but...

-Creak!

The snow boar vigorously shook its body, shaking off all the blades. Not a scratch seemed to have been inflicted, let alone blood could be seen. Confused, Cheon Gunam took a step back.

‘Why, why? Why isn't my attack...!’

This place was advantageous not only for Cheon Gunam but also for its inhabitant demons. The snow boars living in this place were also water attribute beings, so Cheon Gunam's attacks wouldn't cause significant damage to them.Nevertheless, he remained undeterred, and summoned more water bullets again.

‘The water bullets may not work, but if I infect it with smallpox...!’

Blisters started forming on the spot where the attack had landed. Cheon Gunam unleashed water bullets that were carrying the disease crazily.

-Creak!

In the face of this, unfortunately for him, the snow boar didn't retreat. Even as its body was covered in blisters, it continued rushing toward him. Seeing this, Cheon Gunam rolled and stumbled, desperately trying to escape.

'This damned boar...!'

The distance between him and the snow boar was narrowing, and his magical power was gradually depleting. While running, he felt a sudden hot breath behind his back. Cheon Gunam tightly closed his eyes and, with his last bit of strength, fired a water bullet.

-Koo-woong!

With a single blow, the snow boar collapsed. Cheon Gunam gasped for breath as he looked at the fallen boar in front of him. His body was drenched in cold sweat. He was now safe, but his heart still felt like it would burst at any moment. In the midst of this, voices other than Cheolwon Doryeong's began to be heard.

【Oh, defeated it?】

【There's supposed to be a human who received a divine blessing, but he doesn't seem that impressive.】

【Still, it's quite interesting. He seems to be a good match for Cheolwon.】

Apparently, other gods were watching. Realizing that they were enjoying his suffering, Cheon Gunam was dumbfounded. He shouted towards the sky in disbelief.

"Darn it, is it fun watching me like this?!"

"It is."

A voice came from behind; it wasn't a god's voice but a human’s. Cheon Gunam tried to turn around, but it was too late. Seo Gangrim, without giving Cheon Gunam a chance to react, stabbed his sword into Cheon Gunam's back.

-Pwook!

"Aaah!"

Cheon Gunam screamed in agony as blood gushed out from the wound. He gasped for breath, his eyes widening as he looked at Seo Gangrim.

"Y-You... those clothes... When did you..."

Seo Gangrim had turned the Snowland Sword's leather inside out.He had been cautious, fearing that Cheon Gunam might shoot a water bullet, but when he checked Cheon Gunam’s Destiny window, the man’s magical power was already close to zero.

‘As expected, his magical power ran out quickly.’

This Ice Valley was indeed advantageous for Cheon Gunam in many ways. Water, the material for creating water bullets, was abundant, hence the amount of magical power consumed was low. However, there was one thing that Cheon Gunam had overlooked. Water might be abundant, but his magical power was not. Even with the help of Cheolwon Doryeong increasing his magical power, he still had his limits since his magical power couldn't infinitely replenish. Moreover, Cheon Gunam combined "Smallpox" with "Water Bullets" when attacking. Doing so, his magical power quickly diminished.

‘Cheon Gunam also has low level Senses.’

'Yoon Geoul's death is supposedly not today, but this doesn't feel good.'

If Yoon Geoul suddenly disappeared, there was a possibility that he had been dragged away by a demon. Moreover, the sky was darkening, and the wind was picking up, becoming stronger by the minute which meant that it was about to snow heavily.

"Gangrim-oppa...?"

Yoon Bom also seemed to sense something and looked at Seo Gangrim with an anxious gaze.

He spoke calmly, "Yoon Bom, you should go back first."

"What about you, oppa?"

"I'll go look for Yoon Geoul."

"I'll go with you...!"

At this proposal, Seo Gangrim simply nodded. Since he didn't know exactly where exactly was Yoon Geoul, it was better to have more search personnel. There was also the issue that the sun was beginning to set slowly, their shadows lengthening across the snow.

‘We have to find him before sunset.’

He couldn't be sure how much time they had until sunset, but it didn't seem like they had much to spare.

They had reached the vicinity of the northern cliff. From now on, the real problem would begin since they had no idea where Yoon Geoul could be in this place.

"Yoon Geoul!"

Seo Gangrim shouted loudly but there was no response. Yoon Bom also called her brother's name and anxiously looked around. After a while of searching for Yoon Geoul, they heard someone's voice.

"What's going on?"

A person appeared, treading on the snowy field. It was Shin Sooah. It seemed like she had been hunting nearby from the fact that a snow boar lay beside her. At this, Seo Gangrim felt slightly disappointed that it wasn't Yoon Geoul, but he didn't have time to wallow in that feeling. He quickly asked Shin Sooah, "Have you seen anyone around here? A guy who looks like this girl..."

"You mean Yoon Geoul. I haven't seen him. At least not in the area where I was hunting the snow boars."

Upon hearing her words, a shadow of gloom spread over Yoon Bom's face. Seo Gangrim, meanwhile, glanced briefly at the sun and realized that the sun would likely set within thirthy minutes. This prompted Seo Gangrim to ask Shin Sooah after only a moment’s hesitation, "Sooah-ssi, can you help with the search?"

Since he had been so critical of her before, he was sure that Sooah must have been in a bad mood. But Sooah nodded without hesitation, replying, "Alright. Where should we search?"

"I'll go left, so Sooah-ssi, please check the opposite side."

"Okay. Whether we find him or not, it's better to come back here and regroup when the sun sets."

After quickly making a plan, we separated. Seo Gangrim walked with Yoon Bom towards a canyon.Silence fell along with the dark clouds. As they walked deeper into the canyon, ice cliffs rose high as if piercing the sky, surrounding the two.

‘It's dangerous from here.’

Seo Gangrim momentarily stopped his footsteps. Now that they had come this far, he began to speculate on how Yoon Geoul had died in the past and what had caused it.

During their journey to this canyon, they had not encountered any demons. That was only natural since there was no way lower-level demons would enter a predator's territory. After all, this area was where the strongest in the Ice Valley lived. Although he had never actually fought them, Seo Gangrim had heard many stories about them and thought about strategies. He had prepared a rough plan to defeat them, but...

‘I can't be certain about Yoon Geoul's condition. There are too many uncertain factors.’

Even so, they couldn't turn back now. The two silently continued walking deeper into the canyon. It was getting darker and darker, and the chill was getting more intense.

"Huh? A deadend...?"

True to Yoon Bom's words, there was no more path forward. In the distance, there was a fairly large space, where twigs, straw, and what appeared to be animal bones and skin were scattered around. It looked like a demon's den.

‘It must be away.’

The owner of the den was nowhere to be seen. Looking around, there didn't seem to be any human corpses among the bodies. Yoon Bom pondered whether she should be glad or not that Yoon Geoul wasn't among them.

-Kuwong, kuwong...

Vibration came from above their heads. The owner of the den had returned.