'Strange.'
Irene felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
She discreetly lifted her head to observe the condition of the Ice Bug.
'There is no movement yet…'
It remained motionless, frozen in the same posture.
Nevertheless, a sense of anxiety continued to creep up.
'Seo Woojin doesn't seem to have any problems either.'
He was busy wielding his sword.
Although no significant damage had been inflicted, by continuously attacking in coordination with the surrounding soldiers, the damage was steadily accumulating.
'But why do I feel so uneasy?'
She wondered if it was due to the mistake she had made a little while ago.
'I wish I had been more cautious… Huh?'
When Irene, unable to find any particular abnormalities, was about to dismiss her worries, the tentacle moved.
A very subtle movement.
No one, including Seo Woojin, noticed it, but Irene, as a knight, could perceive it.
"Watch out!"
An urgent warning.
Upon hearing it, Seo Woojin and the soldiers immediately leaped backward.
It was possible because they were prepared to retreat at any moment.
However….
'It's too late!'
The tentacle of the Ice Bug was a bit faster.
As if mocking their attempts to escape, the tentacle fell to the ground like a whip.
Crash!
"Aaaargh!"
"S-save me…!"
The soldiers who could not escape were crushed by the tentacles and let out screams.
That was the beginning.
The tentacles started dancing like crazy.
* * *
"This is crazy!"
Seo Woojin, who heard Irene's warning, instinctively felt that things were wrong.
The tentacle grazed him, colliding with another object, but he couldn't completely avoid the aftermath.
"Ugh!"
Unable to withstand the shockwave, Seo Woojin tumbled to the ground.
'Close call, I almost died!'
The tentacle had narrowly missed Seo Woojin by a paper-thin margin.
If his reflexes had been even slightly slower, he would have ended up like shredded jerky.
Fortunately, he survived, but the situation wasn't favorable.
The Ice Bug that had resumed its movement was attacking relentlessly, as if venting the frustration of being passive all this time.
Still not fully composed, Seo Woojin continued to dodge the tentacles frantically, rolling on the ground.
Screams of soldiers echoed continuously around him.
'Damn it, damn it'
It was a mistake.
No, a blatant error.
He should have just left the Ice Bug alone.
Blinded by the desire for level-ups, he had caused innocent soldiers to lose their lives.
'How many people died?'
10? 100?
He didn't know.
But because of his mistaken judgment, each and every life was now unable to continue.
'It's because of me…'
More terrifying than the attacks from the tentacles was the weight of the lives that had needlessly perished due to Seo Woojin's misjudgment.
"Seo Woojin!"
Irene's voice reached him.
She was running through the frenzied tentacles to rescue Seo Woojin.
'Don't come.'
Wouldn't it be better to just die like this?
Perhaps then he wouldn't have to bear as much guilt?
With such thoughts, Seo Woojin glanced at Irene.
But she seemed to have no intention of leaving him alone.
Like a knight, she arrived at Seo Woojin's side in an instant and immediately embraced him.
Without even checking his condition, she started to leave the battlefield.
"Block them! Open the escape route!"
The commands of the centurions were sporadically heard.
Even in the midst of this, they were commanding soldiers, creating a path for Seo Woojin and Irene to escape.
"What's the casualties?"
Seo Woojin asked with a trembling voice, but Irene did not answer.
It could be because she didn't know how to answer, or the situation was too urgent for her to find the opportunity to answer.
'Or maybe…'
He thought it might be because she was considering his feelings.
"This way!"
It was Jo Han.
He and his soilders were desperately blocking the tentacles.
Irene ran towards that direction without hesitation.
There were more ways to escape from the Ice Bug compared to other places.
Instead, Jo Han's hundred men, despite their name, had only about a dozen members left.
"Damn it, everyone retreat! It's no longer possible!"
The soldiers resisted, showing the strength recognized even on the continent, but now it was beyond their limits.
Originally, the Ice Bugs were monsters that soldiers alone couldn't handle.
The way for the Hero to escape was open; now it was time for them to save their own lives.
Seo Woojin closed his eyes.
He couldn't bear to watch the soldiers desperately blocking the tentacles while covered in blood.
'Because of me…'
"No, it's not."
Seo Woojin was startled.
His inner thoughts were accurately read.
"It's not your fault."
Irene said, chewing on her lips.
"B-but."
"It was a proposal with quite a possibility, and I accepted it. It just didn't go as expected."
Comfort, perhaps?
Seo Woojin thought Irene was just saying words to comfort herself.
The inner thoughts were expected to be different.
But they were not.
As he opened his eyes that were closed, he could clearly feel the emotions in Irene's eyes.
'Guilt.'
It was the same as what Seo Woojin was feeling.
She genuinely blamed herself for this situation.
"Oh my god, fuck! Dodge it!"
At that moment, desperate shouts from behind by Jo Han reached their ears.
One of the tentacles blocked by his white band was heading their way.
"To the left!"
Seo Woojin shouted after checking it behind Irene's back.
Kwoong!
The tentacle narrowly missed the two.
Thanks to Irene's immediate response without a hint of doubt in Seo Woojin's words.
"To the left again!"
The tentacle attacks continued.
Seo Woojin pointed out the direction of the attack while embraced in Irene's arms.
Thanks to him, she could narrowly avoid the attacks.
But even that was not an easy task.
The Ice Bug was relentlessly targeting the two, stretching out their tentacles.
Initially one, but soon increasing to two, three, and now a total of five tentacles were attacking.
"To the left, no! To the right!"
Thanks to this, Irene had to move her body like crazy.
If it weren't for the knight's transcendent physical abilities, she would have died several times over.
But soon, even that reached its limit.
"Ah…"
Seo Woojin, who had been constantly indicating the direction to dodge, could no longer open his mouth.
There was no visible escape from the tentacle attacks pouring in from all directions, as the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to open the way couldn't hold back all the tentacles.
'Am I going to die?'
As Seo Woojin looked at the black shadow looming over his head, he thought,
'Yeah, maybe it's better to die.'
So many people lost their lives because of his mistakes.
Even though Irene said it wasn't his fault, her words were wrong.
All of this was the price he paid for his greed.
'Anyway, life is just a series of hardships.'
A life where you have to struggle to survive.
Thinking about it, maybe it would be more comforting to die now.
After dying, he should apologize to the soldiers who lost their lives first.
Even though he despised himself, he didn't wish for death like this.
It was the moment when Seo Woojin slowly began to give up on life.
Sigh-!
The shadow that had been looming disappeared, and the intensely blue northern sky came into view.
"It's too early to give up."
It was Van Slaine.
* * *
The first thing Van Slaine saw was soldiers attacking the Ice Bug.
He was momentarily surprised, but after confirming that the Ice Bug didn't budge, he nodded.
'It's the same as back then.'
Recalling the time at Draconis, he was convinced once again.
There was something about Seo Woojin that he didn't know.
So, he didn't worry too much.
Although Ice Bugs were powerful monsters, soldiers alone were enough to deal with something that didn't move.
Therefore, Van Slaine decided to clean up this side first.
He thought it would be enough to help after taking care of the corpses of the fallen warriors.
However, that was too hasty judgment.
The Ice Bug, which seemed like it would never move again, started moving again.
No, it was faster to feel than to see.
"Irene!"
Van Slaine called Irene's name without realizing it, but there was no way that voice would be heard in this commotion.
Eventually, the attack began, and Van Slaine immediately took action.
"My Lord!"
Testeron, who had not yet figured out what had happened, called him.
But instead of answering, Van Slaine kicked the ground even faster.
Swish-!
It was an incredible speed.
Even when he was running at the Ice Bug he had just faced, it seemed slow compared to now.
Van Slain was that desperate.
"Faster!"
The sight of soldiers dying was evident.
Each and every one of his precious soldiers.
It is too unfortunate that these people die in a place like this.
And one more.
'What about the Hero?'
Even in the midst of a rushing charge, he made an effort to locate Seo Woojin.
How many seconds had passed?
He found Seo Woojin, nestled in Irene's arms.
'He's still alive.'
But the situation didn't look good. The soldiers were doing their best to protect him, but it wasn't enough.
'Let's save that guy first!'
Even at this moment, it was sad to see the soldiers bleeding and falling, but Seo Woo Jin had to be saved now.
Although he is still not a very trustworthy person, he was a Hero. A Hero who came to save this world.
He couldn't let him die just on a monster subjugation mission, not even during the Advent War.
Paaah-!
Van Slain's new divine power surged like a beam of light.
For an ordinary knight, it would have taken a long time to reach that distance, but for him, a few blinks of an eye were more than enough.
"Ugh!"
With a small inhale, the sword was drawn.
His sword cut through space.
Simultaneously, the tentacles and the massive body of the Ice Bug heading towards Seo Woojin began to split, pouring out blood.
And…
Paaah-!
A bright light burst from Seo Woojin's body.
It was a level up.