༺ Ice Throne (2) ༻
Crunch-! Crunch-!
Wrapped within Yerin’s clothes, I ate the snacks given to me, relishing them one by one.
The only sounds that could be heard inside the car were the wind’s mournful howl and the crunch of my snacks.
I couldn’t move my hands and feet because they were confined under Yerin’s clothes, but it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.
After all, whenever I spent time with Yerin, it was rare for me to pick up my snacks myself.
How many degrees below zero was it right now? It had been a long time since I stopped being a human, so I couldn’t really tell.
Looking at Yerin’s complexion, the inside of the car didn’t seem to be that cold, though I couldn’t say the same for the world outside.
I also had no idea about the temperature required to make a car—typically a reliable mode of transportation—halt.
For a car to stop working from the cold, the gasoline probably had to freeze, or it might’ve needed an ever lower temperature for it to stop functioning.
Or perhaps, this car had just stopped because Yerin hadn’t maintained it well enough.
The raging snowstorm outside prevented me from seeing even an inch ahead.
I guess this was what people referred to as a whiteout.
How much longer do I have to stay here?
The boredom, coupled with the cozy warmth of my surroundings, made my eyes grow heavier and heavier.
***
The Reaper had fallen asleep in her embrace, it must have gotten bored being stranded within a snowstorm.
A couple of hours later, the snowstorm finally stopped.
My vision of the outside returned, revealing a scenery that made me question if I was truly still in Seoul.
It was a world covered in snow.
A now-covered world was not an uncommon sight, but the creatures roaming around in the background were, well, unusual to say the least.
The creatures roaming the streets of Seoul, were none other than yetis, with thick, bushy fur.
They were a fairly famous Object, as they were often spotted by reconnaissance drones flying over Dobong-gu.
These Objects were prone to violence, and were thus classified as dangerous.
However, they remained an enigma, as no Yeti had ever been captured or experimented upon. As a result, no data was obtained, their danger level and characteristics remaining unknown.
All that was known was that they were aggressive beings, hurling ice or rocks at anything that moved, be it object or animal.
Fearful of being caught by these murderous yetis, I held my breath and crouched down, patiently waiting for them to pass by.
After what felt like an eternity, but in actuality was just ten very long minutes, all the fierce-looking yetis disappeared.
What appeared in their place seemed to be adorable snowmen, standing no taller than the Reaper.
The Snowmen roamed around, blowing soap bubbles that seemed to be made of ice. Some of them even played beautiful tunes on ice xylophones while others blew icy bubbles with trumpets made of ice.
Their innocent and childlike behavior naturally made it hard to be wary of these cute snowmen,
Wandering through the shining white snowy field, they seemed like creatures from a fairy tale, creating a dreamlike spectacle.
Seeing an unknown Object for the first time, people were bound to feel scared, as their behavior and nature remained unfamiliar. However, the snowmen before me didn’t evoke any sense of fear.
The snowmen don’t seem scary at all!
The warmth of the sleeping Reaper, wriggling around underneath my clothes, boosted my courage even further.
Besides, the snowmen moved very slowly, peacefully blowing bubbles. They didn’t seem to be a threatening Object.
If anything, they looked slightly cute.
As I looked out the car window, I saw a heavily armed man, clad in thick clothes, trying to sneak past the snowmen.
It was a stupid attempt, as he wouldn’t escape their detection just because he was stealthy.
As expected, the snowmen instantly discovered the man. Yet, surprisingly, the situation didn’t become dangerous.
Realizing that he had been discovered, the man ran, desperately trying to increase the distance between himself and the snowmen.
Seeing the fleeing man, instead of attacking him or giving chase, the adorable snowmen just continued to blow icy bubbles, watching him intently.
As expected, these guys were harmless.
However, this time, instead of bubbles, the snowmen spewed out something far more threatening—sharp needles.
“Heok!”
I couldn’t help but gasp in shock. Seeing someone explode into pieces right before your eyes tends to do that.
As soon as the needles pierced the man’s body, they turned into ice bubbles. Can you imagine what would happen if such a sudden change occurred within the human body?
Well, it would blow up with a pop.
‘Ugh, it’s another murderous monster.’
Once again, I had no choice but to hold my breath, hunker down in the car, and patiently wait for the snowmen to go away.
The enchanting, fairy-tale-like ambiance had abruptly changed into a gruesome and bloody fairy tale, shattering the courage I had mustered up earlier thanks to the Reaper.
Reaper, please wake up quickly.
I beg you.
***
I woke up to a cacophony of explosions and gunshots reverberating through the vicinity.
As I checked my surroundings, I saw Yerin trembling, her body crouched as low as possible.it could be.
Through the car window, huge blinking eyes were looking directly at us.
The eyes belonged to a giant pigeon.
Yet, the moment our eyes made contact, the pigeon flinched and hastily flapped away.
With that nuisance gone, I gently poked Yerin’s cheek to let her know that the situation was resolved.
“Ah, Reaper! You finally woke up! I was so scared.”
Yerin hugged me tightly and trembled, likely still shaken by fear.
While she grumbled, I gently patted Yerin’s shoulder and assessed the situation.
Judging by the gunfire, it appeared that a large-scale military rescue operation was underway.
I speculated that soldiers would arrive shortly.
The pigeon, having fled after seeing me, was struck by a bomb mid-flight, and died with its innards spilling out.
As time passed, numerous Objects were either killed or reduced to fragments. Simultaneously, tanks and armored vehicles passed by, one after another.
Following them, a convoy of transport vehicles trailed behind. One of the vehicles came to a halt, and Kim Jung-rwi leaped out, making his way towards our car.
Kim Jungrwi was already quite large, But with a fur coat draped over him, he resembled a big bear.
“Sunbae!” Yerin shouted out.
Kim Jungwi remained silent, giving Yerin some clothes to wear, and guiding her into the transport vehicle, without speaking a word.
Inside the vehicle, there were numerous soldiers armed with guns.
It was only natural considering that the war against the Ice Throne of Dobong-gu had reignited after a decade.
I could finally be relieved as Yerin would definitely be safe under such heavy protection.
Now, the only thing that remained was to beat the shit out of the Ice Throne that had been harassing Yerin.
***
Before the walls of Dobong-gu, a legion of ice-armored golems? Robots? Whatever it was, they were systematically tearing down the buildings.
They looked just like farmers carefully planting rice in their fields.
The ice soldiers seemed to be destroying the buildings in order to create a huge road.
The huge, grand road seemed to be made for something big to pass through, but I didn’t really get it.
These colossal soldiers, standing at around twenty meters tall, astounded me.
Yet, what puzzled me even more was the fact that those unrealistically sized soldiers were not Objects.
The armor they wore and the mechanical devices made them work, were made of ordinary ice and ordinary metal.
However, with my limited knowledge, I couldn’t be sure if there was a power source strong enough to maintain and propel such large constructs without the aid of any Object.
If it really was impossible, then perhaps the power of the Object played a big role.
***
As I arrived before the wall of Dobong-gu, I could see man-made shooting stars gracefully streaking across the sky.
Once all the stranded individuals were rescued, a large-scale air raid ensued.
A barrage of missiles blitzed through the air and rained down upon the ground.
The mighty ice soldiers were helplessly destroyed.
It mirrored the footage captured during the Dobong-gu recapture operation a decade ago.
The scorching heat of the explosions instantaneously melted the ice armor of the soldiers, while the metallic framework of the golems crumpled and shattered, reduced to nothing but scrap metal.
The triumph of modern technology appeared within reach as the ice soldiers were rendered helpless.
However, the scene that followed was also a replay of the events from a decade ago.
The soldiers instantaneously regenerated.
The broken steel within the golems reformed into a framework again, and the ice armor rapidly regained its shape. It was as if time had reversed.
Of course, humanity was not stupid.
They wouldn’t repeat futile actions from a decade past.
The missiles and shells they launched were meant for one purpose—
To impede the progress of the ice soldiers in building the road.
It was hard to ignore the connection between the soldiers’ sudden advance and what they were building in the process.
Thus, the artillery shells poured forth in an attempt to halt their march.
Of course, with the soldiers’ ability to infinitely regenerate and the limited number of shells,it was just a waste of time.
Perhaps, humanity would be helplessly defeated, just as they were when Dobong-gu was taken away from them, leading to yet another reduction in livable land.
Before that came to pass, I decided to help in the recapture of Dobong-gu by destroying the Ice Throne.
My reason for doing this?
Because it had dared to touch Yerin.
There was also another, greater reason—I still needed humanity.
Even if I were to set aside the flame burning in my chest, I still needed humanity.
The snacks I ate.
The TV I watched.
Even besides those, I still needed many other enjoyable things.
Hence, through a battlefield where shells rained down, I walked toward the Ice Throne.
