Ch. 415 - Eastern Sea (5)

Baek Yu-Seol’s offhand suggestion, “Why not just freeze the entire whirlpool?” wasn’t actually as absurd as it seemed.  

After all, hadn’t something similar occurred along the Levian coastline? And that incident wasn’t even the direct work of Blue Winter Moon powers, but the result of a divine artifact he had scattered.  

If Blue Winter Moon so desired, he could freeze the entirety of this continent. A mere incident by the sea was trivial in comparison.  

However, there was a problem.  

— You’re not capable of it. 

Naturally, Blue Winter Moon couldn’t recklessly wield his powers without a proper vessel.  

“Is that so?”  

Baek Yu-Seol replied. It carried a hint of regret instead of disappointment.  

“I do have the Veinbreaker of the Five Shadows, don’t I?”  

— That’s true.  

The icy condition that caused him to feel perpetual chills and made his hands and feet feel frozen was an artificially induced trait, added to his body by Blue Winter Moon.  

It was designed solely to balance out Hong Bi-Yeon’s intense heat, offering no tangible benefit to Baek Yu-Seol himself.  

— That was something I forcibly added to your vessel. Veinbreaker of the Five Shadows can’t contain my cold. If you had grown a little more, it would’ve been sufficient even without it.

“…”  

In short, Baek Yu-Seol was still too weak for it to work.  

— Unless you were cursed with something as monstrous as the Veinbreaker of the Nine Suns like that child, Hong Bi-Yeon...  

“Still, the fact that you’re considering freezing the whirlpool as a viable option means it’s possible, right?”  

— …It’s possible.  

Blue Winter Moon nodded slowly before speaking.  

— Not through you, but through Eisel Morph. If it’s her… it’s possible.  

“… What?”  

While the idea wasn’t entirely unexpected, Baek Yu-Seol was still slightly surprised to hear Blue Winter Moon bring up Eisel’s name so directly.

“Does Eisel have a curse similar to Hong Bi-Yeon’s?”  

— No, she doesn’t. But that child is a being blessed by all ice. Unlike Hong Bi-Yeon, she doesn’t need to suffer from a curse to be able to accept the Twelve Divine Moons.  

“Hmm…”  

Now that he thought about it, that was true.  

Both Hong Bi-Yeon and Eisel were born with blessings, but their circumstances differed slightly.  

Eisel was born with a natural heavenly blessing, while Hong Bi-Yeon, despite possessing an unparalleled talent, lacked a true blessing. To compensate, her biological mother artificially bestowed her with a power similar to a blessing.  

It was likely that these differing backstories arose because of the distinction between a ‘protagonist’ and a ‘villainess.’  

‘Honestly, by 21st-century standards, Hong Bi-Yeon’s backstory feels more like a protagonist’s, though…’

Baek Yu-Seol recalled how overpowered protagonists were once a trend, but by the time the game was failing, hardworking protagonists had become more popular. With this in mind, he spoke to Blue Winter Moon.  

“But will Eisel be able to handle your cold? She’s barely able to utilize Class 6 magic right now.”  

— There won’t be an issue, but there may be some side effects. She’ll feel chills far worse than what you experience. Even in the middle of summer, she’ll always feel cold.  

“...”  

Blue Winter Moon explained it simply, but Baek Yu-Seol, who had firsthand experience, quickly understood how difficult it would be. Constantly having cold hands and feet was already hard enough, but to feel perpetual cold year-round? It would undoubtedly make using ice-based magic a painful experience.  

— But... even putting aside my personal desires, I’d strongly recommend going this route.

“Really? Is there a specific reason?”  

— Tsk. Tsk. You’ve been hoarding the blessings of the Twelve Divine Moons all for yourself, so you don’t understand how valuable this is.  

Silver Autumn Moon clicked his tongue and interjected. 

— The blessings of the Twelve Divine Moons are a once-in-a-lifetime gift for a mage. They provide an opportunity to elevate one’s magical abilities by several levels.  

“Oh, right.”  

Baek Yu-Seol had completely forgotten about that, as the blessings hadn’t been particularly effective for someone like him, whose magical abilities were limited.  

— However, the power a mage can absorb depends on their capacity… but in Eisel Morph’s case, she might even surpass Morph, one of the Twelve Disciples of the Progenitor Mage.  

“...”  

Baek Yu-Seol pondered for a moment.  

For Eisel, this would undoubtedly be a monumental opportunity.  

The blessing of the Twelve Divine Moons was a power that shouldn’t be recklessly accepted. Even someone like Florin, who received the blessing of Pink Spring Moon, had to live in isolation, hiding her face for her entire life.  

Hong Bi-Yeon, too, lived with the constant burning heat that consumed her body.  

Would mages desire such blessings enough to endure the pain they bring?  

‘...If it’s Eisel, she probably would.’  

For her, the cold might not even be much of a concern.  

Baek Yu-Seol recalled Eisel’s early years, having seen the prologue of her story. After losing her father, she became homeless, wandering the streets.  

As a child, Eisel had endured the bitter winter cold in tattered, torn clothes. Clutching a stolen magic book, she sought refuge in a freezing cave, relying on a small fire to study.  

For someone whose body and heart had both been steeped in cold, perhaps the chill was her closest companion. 

"Still, I think I need to ask her directly."  

— That would be best.  

With his decision made, there was no reason to hesitate any longer. Baek Yu-Seol quickly prepared to leave and quietly tried to sneak out of Jeliel’s villa.  

However, as if expecting it, Jeliel was leaning against the front door, bathed in the early morning moonlight, wearing her nightclothes.  

“J-Jeliel…?”  

“...”  

Do elves always sleep in such thin clothes? That question flitted through his mind, but he couldn’t focus on it. He didn’t even know where to direct his gaze.  

When Baek Yu-Seol averted his eyes, Jeliel gave a faint smile and slowly walked toward him. With the moonlight behind her, her expression was momentarily obscured.  

“So, you were planning to sneak away. Baek Yu-Seol… you’re always so busy.”  

“...Something came up. You’ll probably hear about it through your contacts by morning.”

“I don’t like that.”  

“What?”  

Jeliel turned her head, letting the moonlight illuminate her profile. Her face looked so lonely that Baek Yu-Seol unconsciously gulped dryly.  

“…Is it so urgent that you can’t even tell me about it before you leave?”  

“Uh… no. That’s not it… I was going to leave you a note. Here.”  

He waved a piece of paper in his hand, but Jeliel didn’t even glance at it. She didn’t seem to think a note could resolve anything.  

She hesitated for a moment, as if trying to say something, before bowing her head slightly.  

“I suppose it can’t be helped…”  

Saying this, Jeliel pulled out a small crystal-like device and pressed a button.  

“Go out through the back gate. I’ve prepared a small high-speed airship. It’ll take you wherever you need to go quickly.”  

“W-What…?”  

“The pilot is waiting for you as we speak.”

It was as if she had already anticipated his attempt to leave.  

“What… Jeliel, don’t tell me you already knew about what’s happening in the Eastern Sea?”  

Jeliel smiled.  

“Something’s happening there, huh? I had no idea.”  

“Then how…?”  

With a twinkle in her eyes, she replied with a playful smile.  

“Women’s intuition.”  

With that, she lightly tapped Baek Yu-Seol’s chest with her index finger and walked away gracefully.  

As she disappeared into the moonlight, Baek Yu-Seol stood there, staring blankly at her retreating figure, before slapping his own cheek.  

‘Damn… I almost lost my soul there.’  

Was she really an elf?  

Anyone would suspect she was a succubus instead. The allure she exuded made his legs feel too heavy to leave the villa.  

He shook his head vigorously to clear his thoughts, trying to calm his heart. If she had lingered even a moment longer, he might not have been able to leave.  

‘I need to get moving.’  

There would be plenty of chances to see her again in the future. No need to dwell on this moment.  

Rushing to the back gate, he burst through the door to find a small airship just starting up. It seemed Jeliel’s signal had reached the pilot.  

The sleek airship’s pilot wore sunglasses even in the early morning and called out with enthusiasm.  

“Oh, so you’re the one! The lucky boy who gets to ride the brand-new high-speed airship featuring the Black Double-Class Magic Propeller MK.39 for the first time!”  

“… What?”  

“Hurry up and get on! Can’t you feel the thrilling vibration of the Lucky Free Pass Turbo Engine?”  

“Uh… yeah.”  

He seemed a bit eccentric, but his love for the airship was unmistakable. After all, he was beaming with excitement even at dawn after being ordered to fly.

"Alright, let’s go! Destination?!"  

"The Eastern Sea. To the edge of the continent, please."  

"Got it. Let’s head straight there!"  

The airship took off with incredible speed, breaking through the clouds in an instant and vanishing high into the sky.  

Watching this from her window, Jeliel pulled the curtains shut and curled up on her chair. Hugging her knees, she tightly closed her eyes.  

‘...The price of falling for someone who can never stay in one place is truly cruel.’

He wasn’t someone who existed for her alone, but for everyone.  

And yet, the desire to keep him all to herself… Was that her instincts as the once-cynical, sociopathic businesswoman she used to be? Or was it simply her longing as a woman?  

The pain of being unable to hold onto someone destined to leave was unbearable, but Jeliel endured it.  

‘Still, someday...’ he’ll come back. She firmly believed that.

***

Meanwhile, Eisel and her group hurriedly completed their preparations and boarded the Rising Dragon, the flagship Admiral Halicevale had brought.  

Given the urgency of the situation, Princess Hong Bi-Yeon also boarded the fleet, though there was a slight conflict in the process.  

This was due to Captain Matale of the Black Belize Pirates and his crew insisting on joining the mission, preparing their massive ship to accompany them.  

Where they managed to procure such a vessel was one thing, but the ship was formidable, potentially a considerable threat even to the Rising Dragon.  

Under normal circumstances, pirates would never have been allowed to sail alongside a fleet of such prestige. However, Matale was adamant.  

He firmly declared that he would not allow Princess Hong Bi-Yeon to travel to such a dangerous place alone.  

Left with no choice, Admiral Halicevale permitted the New Black Cross to sail alongside his fleet.  

This was the first time in decades that pirates had been allowed to align with an official fleet, an event so extraordinary that it could have made headlines worldwide.  

However, it was overshadowed by the pressing situation unfolding in the Eastern Sea. 

Though Eisel had boarded the ship heading to the Eastern Sea, her expression remained tense and stiff. She was unable to think of a way to resolve the situation.  

— We are about to pass through a warp hole, so please hold on tightly, ladies.  

Fortunately, Eisel and her companions had been given a VIP-like room to stay in, and occasional announcements came through something akin to a radio.  

In the Aether World, warp hole gates existed even over the ocean. These were a unique creation by Halicevale himself, designed to enable seamless travel across the world’s seas.  

Currently, several nations' trade ships were permitted to use Halicevale’s warp holes for convenience, but whenever the Rising Dragon appeared, it was given the highest priority, and all other ships cleared the way.  

After passing through two or three maritime warp hole gates, they finally reached the Eastern Sea after three days and nights of sailing.  

However, what greeted them was far beyond what they had imagined.  

“What… What is this…?”  

A massive whirlpool pillar towered high into the sky. Surrounding the vortex were hundreds of ships circling the area.  

Hong Bi-Yeon muttered in dismay.  

“War correspondents have swarmed in. I see the marks of familiar reporters.”  

“There’s the Adolevit flag… And even Skalven’s flag. And that over there… is that a magic knight order? It seems the scale of this incident has prompted nations to dispatch their forces and station them here.”  

“Ah…”  

It was, in hindsight, only natural.  

Such a colossal dragon whirl - erected by none other than the Twelve Divine Moons to threaten human society - would not go unanswered by the nations. 

In the distance, they spotted ships prepared by the Mage Tower. Dozens of airships, slower but capable of remaining aloft for extended periods, hovered above, surveying the scene.  

Countless mages had gathered to observe the whirlpool firsthand.  

In other words, Eisel’s decision… would be witnessed in real time by an uncountable number of mages representing various nations. 

Squeeze!  

Flame held Eisel’s hand tightly.  

“Don’t worry. Nothing’s going to happen. You’ll get through this, just like you always have.”  

“… How?”  

Flame had no answer to that question. If there were at least something they could fight or struggle against, like in previous battles, it might have been different. But in this situation, there was nothing they could do.  

Azure Spring Moon was clever.  

Knowing how Baek Yu-Seol had always managed to counter the schemes of the Twelve Divine Moons in one way or another, Azure Spring Moon had preemptively stripped away any chance of intervention.  

The realization that she was utterly powerless in this moment filled Eisel with despair.  

‘Is there anything I can even do…?’  

As her face grew paler, almost as though all hope had left her, far above in the sky…  

Inside a small airship, Baek Yu-Seol clung desperately to his seat, his face a sickly shade of green, as the pilot beamed with excitement.  

“How is it? Isn’t this exhilarating? This is top speed, baby!”  

‘Ugh…’  

He had never experienced such a rapid flight before, and the motion sickness was unbearable. While he had grown used to high-speed teleportation, this kind of turbulent aerial travel was a completely different beast.  

But Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t bring himself to ask the pilot to slow down.  

Time was slipping away, even at this very moment. There was no room for delay.  

“You’ve got a great expression! Your eyes are blazing with determination! You’re loving this speed, aren’t you? Fantastic! I’m on fire too! Let’s push it even faster… overpower mode!”  

“Ghhhaaah...”

Baek Yu-Seol’s head fell back as his face grew even paler.  

‘S-Save me…’  

He appreciated the speed, but he couldn’t help but resent Jeliel for having chosen such an overenthusiastic pilot. 

———

TN:- Enjoying this story?

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