Ch. 372 - Absence (7)

Arctic Iceberg Mountain, Ice Spirit Plateau Fortress.  

High above the world, where the air thinned and breath turned to frost, the Ice Spirit Plateau Fortress loomed over the jagged peaks of Arctic Iceberg Mountain. Perched 5,000 meters above sea level, it was a citadel carved from ice and stone, eternally besieged by blizzards that howled without end.

Thanks to the abundant ice-attribute mana in the region, most of the soldiers stationed here specialized in ice magic, granting them some degree of resistance to the freezing cold.  

However, mastering ice magic did not grant them the ability to control or evade natural disasters like snowstorms.  

To withstand the razor-sharp, bone-chilling winds, only warriors with unwavering mental fortitude, exceptional magical talent, and superior physical endurance could survive in the fortress.  

For 156 years.

The fortress had held its ground, preventing the monsters and beasts inhabiting the Arctic Iceberg Mountain from descending into the Central Continent.  

Not once had its walls crumbled.

It stood as the unyielding shield that kept the horrors of Arctic Iceberg Mountain from spilling into the Central Continent.

Yet now...  

“... What a massacre.”  

Grand Duke Selphram planted his oversized staff into the ground and let out a heavy sigh as he surveyed the gruesome scene.  

This was the Fourth Blue Wind Forward Base—a key outpost responsible for guarding the northwestern perimeter and serving as the fortress’s first line of defense.  

And it had been completely annihilated.  

Zero survivors.  

When routine reports failed to arrive, scouts had been dispatched to investigate, but they too vanished without a trace.  

“General… What manner of creature could have done this?”

The sight was horrifying.  

Bodies littered the ground, torn apart with frightening precision. Defensive structures and magical artillery lay in ruins, sliced through as if by invisible blades.

It was not the work of humans. That much was certain.

It had to be a monster.  

But even if it was a monster, the situation didn’t make sense.  

There were no footprints, no bloodstains, and no physical traces left behind.  

It was unbelievable that the elite forces stationed at the Blue Wind Forward Base had failed to inflict even the slightest wound on the creature.  

Normally, there should have been some kind of evidence left behind.  

Yet, no matter where they looked, the only tracks visible in the snow were those left by the soldiers themselves.

“The Magic Engineering Investigation Team is working on it. We should have answers soon.”  

Grand Duke Selphram said this, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the situation was far more dire than it seemed.  

Despite receiving real-time updates from the investigation team, the only reports coming in were ones confirming no progress.  

Could such a monster really exist in this world?  

An entire base had been obliterated, yet not a single trace was left behind.  

“General, you should leave the rest to the investigation and search teams and return to the main base. Reports keep coming in about an unidentified presence detected near Northern Base One.”  

“... I suppose I should.”  

Selphram gripped his staff tightly.  

To be honest, this wasn’t the first time strange occurrences had unsettled the region.

For the past few years, unregistered, abnormal creatures - not found in any bestiary - had been appearing in this region with increasing frequency.  

But until now, these creatures had never caused damage of this scale, so the incidents were left unaddressed.  

“... Do I have no choice but to seek her help?”  

As Selphram returned to the fortress, he let out a long sigh.  

A mysterious voice had started speaking to him at some point.  

Under normal circumstances, Selphram would never have entertained such whispers.  

But the voice had spoken words that would tempt anyone.

‘Your sister is sick, isn’t she?’  

His younger sister, Sansaeram, had suffered from an incurable illness since birth.  

Selphram had been desperate to save her and was willing to pay any price to do so.  

And so, he had given in to the voice’s seductive offer far too easily.  

'All you have to do is follow my instructions.’

The tasks it gave him had seemed trivial. Simple things, hardly worth questioning.

But then—  

‘What... exactly did I do?’

Suddenly, Selphram realized that parts of his memory were hazy, blurred as if they’d been erased.  

Yet, the more he tried to recall what he had done, the more impossible it seemed.  

How could he think about something he couldn’t even remember?  

“Hah... This is pointless.”  

The situation was chaotic enough already. He couldn’t afford to waste his energy on idle thoughts.  

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Selphram quickened his pace toward the fortress. 

He had to solve the mysterious incidents occurring at the fortress as soon as possible. 

*** 

This might have been the most difficult opponent Baek Yu-Seol had faced since he gained the ability to use Flash.  

Until now, Baek Yu-Seol had relied on his superior mobility to dodge enemy attacks, identify weaknesses, and strike precisely at their vulnerabilities.  

His strategy had worked against every opponent so far.  

There had been a few exceptions - certain Dark Mages with high mobility had posed a slight challenge - but even they couldn’t keep up with Baek Yu-Seol’s speed.  

After all, Flash allowed him to pierce space and instantly reposition himself.  

But what if he encountered an enemy with similar abilities?  

— Horrrrooooo...  

That white mirage-like creature was exactly such an opponent.  

Unlike Baek Yu-Seol, it didn’t use Flash to teleport freely. Instead, it dispersed its form - like a glitched computer graphic - before stretching itself instantly to another location.  

A battle against something with equal mobility...  

It wasn’t just hard.

No, difficult didn’t quite capture the sensation thrumming through Baek Yu-Seol’s veins.

Something like... Exciting.  

Swish!  

The creature’s shimmering form lashed out, its movements so fast they left afterimages in the air. Baek Yu-Seol twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the strike.

A massive slash appeared just centimeters away from where he had been standing.  

‘This is...’  

Thump!  

His heart pounded.  

A face-off against an opponent with abilities similar to his own… where even a moment of carelessness could mean death.  

If the situation had been more desperate, he wouldn’t even have the luxury of such thoughts.  

Slash—!  

Baek Yu-Seol swung his sword, Ethereal Wind and Moonlight, with raw force.  

The blade’s arc sliced through the mirage, causing part of its form to tear apart and scatter into the air. 

The mirage-like creature, which had been immune to all magic so far, was actually vulnerable to Baek Yu-Seol’s sword strikes!  

Moreover, each time a part of the creature was sliced apart, its main body shrank and its abilities weakened.  

Strangely, despite being notorious for struggling in prolonged battles, Baek Yu-Seol found himself at an advantage in this attritional fight.  

After all, no one would find a purely difficult battle enjoyable.  

But when it was challenging and favorable, that was exactly what made it thrilling. It was perhaps a mindset ingrained in Korean gamers like him.  

Slash!  

Finally, Baek Yu-Seol severed the creature’s neck, ending the battle.  

He released his Harmony of Heavenly Qi and drove his sword into the ground to steady himself.  

Even though he hadn’t used the ability for long, the recoil was impossible to ignore.  

“Hooh...”  

He exhaled deeply, watching as the mirage dissolved into smoke and completely vanished into thin air.  

Only then did Baek Yu-Seol realize he had moved several hundred meters away from the city during the fight.  

Battling such a fast-moving enemy had naturally caused the location to shift without him noticing.  

Seeing that the creature had been dealt with, a group of magic warrior rushed toward him from the distance.  

Baek Yu-Seol quickly put on his Sentient Spec and asked.

“Well? Any progress on the analysis?”  

A moment later, the response came.

[Error Occurred!]  

[Error Code: ???]  

[Detailed analysis reveals that the entity operates on an unidentifiable dimensional code.]  

‘Just as I thought...’  

The Sentient Spec couldn’t even recognize the creature, let alone analyze it.  

“What in the world was that thing...?”  

One thing was clear… it didn’t belong to this world.  

It wasn’t an ordinary monster, and the strange sense of alienation he had felt while crossing blades with it left Baek Yu-Seol deeply uneasy.  

“Excuse me! Are you alright?!”  

One of the magic warrior shouted as they approached.

“What happened to that monster?”  

“This... The entire area is devastated.”  

The magic warriors clicked their tongues as they surveyed the destruction.  

Even the winter pine trees, which had stubbornly endured the freezing weather, were completely shattered.  

Half of the damage was actually caused by Baek Yu-Seol during the fight, but he shamelessly said.

“It was all that creature’s doing.”  

“What a wretched monster...!”  

“You’ve done an excellent job. We were at a loss since magic didn’t work on it at all.”  

“As the defenders of Trkalanta, we’re ashamed we couldn’t do anything. But we must repay our savior. Follow us.”  

“... Sure.”  

Baek Yu-Seol was about to follow them when something bothered him. A particular statement kept echoing in his mind.  

‘Magic didn’t work at all?’  

Wasn’t there one monster like that in Aether World Online?  

A creature with an absurd 99% magic immunity in a magic-based world?  

‘No way... It can’t be related.’  

The Black Dragon and the mirage were fundamentally different, weren’t they?  

The Black Dragon was considered the absolute ruler of magic, capable of analyzing and reflecting all spells through calculation.  

Meanwhile, the mirage lacked physical substance, making it immune to normal magic attacks simply due to its formless nature.  

Besides, what reason could there possibly be for something related to the Black Dragon to appear here?  

Logically, they had no connection at all.  

“Hmm...”  

“Is something wrong?”  

“No, it’s nothing.”  

But then... Why did he feel so uneasy?  

‘... I’ll need to think about this more carefully.’  

***

Northern Region, Arctic Iceberg Mountain.  

Ice Spirit Plateau Fortress.  

Click-clack.  

Pale Yellow Autumn Moon strode confidently through the main gate and her golden hair fluttered elegantly in the wind.  

“Who goes there?” 

"No idea. The general ordered us to let her through…”  

“Could she be his secret lover?”  

“She’s stunning...”  

The sudden appearance of a breathtakingly beautiful woman - something rare in the harsh northern regions - caused an uproar in the fortress.  

What was even more shocking was that General Selphram had personally ordered her passage without any verification procedures!  

‘Hehe... This is fun.’  

Her appearance was sculpted to stir primal desires, captivating anyone who laid eyes on her regardless of gender or age.  

It was different from Florin’s [Absorbing Affection], which made people fall so deeply in love that it led to heartbreak and despair.  

No. This ability was even stronger and far more dangerous.  

Instead of leading someone to their death through unrequited love, it used desire to turn them into complete slaves.  

‘Ah, this feeling... It’s intoxicating!’  

It had been so long since she had walked so openly in public like this.  

As a being without a physical body, Pale Yellow Autumn Moon required an enormous amount of energy to manifest a human form visible to others.  

The mana consumption for each gaze that fell upon her was astronomical, making it impossible for her to appear in crowded areas.  

That’s why she could only reveal herself in sparsely populated places like the northern region.  

More importantly, she intended to completely dominate the Ice Spirit Plateau Fortress, turning it into her stronghold.  

Showing herself boldly here wouldn’t cost her much—it was all part of the plan.  

If she could enslave everyone in this fortress, controlling it would be effortless.  

As she strolled confidently down the main street, hundreds of soldiers soon gathered, forming lines along both sides.  

With a thud!, they slammed their staffs against the ground in unison.  

A synchronized salute.  

And waiting at the end of the formation was none other than Grand Duke Selphram.  

His silver-gray hair and piercing blue eyes gave him a commanding presence.  

Though he exuded strength, his deep-set eyes hinted at burdens and worries weighing heavily on his mind.  

Despite his slightly melancholic appearance, he was a man of iron will, the protector of the North. 

“... You’ve arrived.”  

In front of his subordinates, Selphram refrained from bowing or showing any outward signs of familiarity with Pale Yellow Autumn Moon to conceal her true identity.  

They had to maintain the appearance of equals at all times.  

“Hmm, it’s a nice place.”  

“I’m surprised you’ve revealed yourself in person.”  

“Really? You’ll be seeing me quite often from now on.”  

The world was changing too quickly for her to continue hiding and pulling strings from the shadows.  

She had to act faster than Fawn Prevernal Moon and make her moves before he executed whatever schemes he was planning.  

“I see. That’s good news for me. Please, this way.”  

“Thanks.”  

As Pale Yellow Autumn Moon entered the fortress, escorted by Selphram, a wave of irritation suddenly surged within her.  

‘Tch. If it weren’t for that damned curse from the founder-mage... I’d be lounging in the Golden Palace of Skalben right now, enjoying my rightful place.’  

But there was no point in dwelling on it.  

She had survived a thousand years under this curse, and now she had overcome it enough to manifest herself in physical form.  

Her time was coming soon.  

The day when she would stand proudly atop Aether World was no longer far away.  

‘Fawn Prevernal Moon... Whatever schemes you’re plotting, I’ll take what I need and get out before you even realize it.’  

Following Selphram into the fortress, she smirked.  

‘Until then, do as you please. I won’t let things go your way.’  

***

Meanwhile, thousands of meters above the fortress—  

Higher than the clouds.  

Fawn Prevernal Moon gazed down—not at Pale Yellow Autumn Moon, but far beyond her.  

In fact, he wasn’t paying her any attention at all.  

“It’s about to begin.”  

After briefly confirming his objective, Fawn Prevernal Moon vanished from the spot without hesitation.  

Would Pale Yellow Autumn Moon ever realize...  

That her arrival here was already part of Fawn Prevernal Moon’s plan? 

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