"...That makes two."
Boros muttered as he turned his back on the corpse, his gaze drifting toward the frozen ocean.
He stood there for a few seconds, staring at the endless sheet of ice.
Then-
"You can come out now."
Silence.
Boros sighed, turning toward the forest. He raised his hand, forming a spear of ice in his palm-
-and threw it.
SHHNK!!
The spear cut clean through the air and buried itself into a tree near the shoreline-
Just above where a man was hiding.
The man froze.
Sweat dripped down his face. His throat tightened as tears welled in his eyes.
"...Next time, I won't miss," Boros said, already forming another spear.
...
"Everyone's dead... everyone's dead... everyone's dead..."
The man staggered along the shores of Ryujin Island, muttering to himself over and over.
Eventually, he collapsed near a patch of bushes by the shore, too afraid to go deeper into the forest.
"What's with this cold...?" he whispered, hugging himself slightly.
His eyes drifted to the shoreline-
To the bodies of his comrades.
And then-
He broke.
"I'm going to die here..." he sobbed.
"I'll never see my family again..."
His voice cracked as he looked at the corpses.
"They'll never see theirs either..."
His hands gripped his hair.
"Why did I even become an adventurer...? What am I doing here...?"
Then-
A sound.
Dragging. Slow. Heavy.
He froze.
Carefully, he crouched behind the bushes, peering out.
A figure emerged from the fog.
Wounded. Bloodied. Dragging a massive sea beast behind him like it weighed nothing.
With his free hand, the man ran his fingers through his white hair.
The moment the survivor saw him-
Hope.
"Where is he going...?" "Why is he shirtless...? Isn't he freezing...?"
Questions flooded his mind, but the stranger didn't stop.
He walked along the shore like he was searching for something.
So the man followed.
Quietly. Carefully. Hiding within the bushes.
But the further they went-
The more his excitement faded.
Because he knew where they were heading.
Towards the Draken.
The ones that slaughtered everyone. He wanted to shout. To warn him.
But fear held him in place.
And in that moment-
He hated himself.
He watched as the stranger reached a hill, looked down-
-and jumped.
Only one thought crossed his mind.
'...This man is insane.'
......
And now-
That same insane man was pointing death straight at him.
Running wasn't an option. He had watched him fight. Watched him face those Draken-creatures that had killed multiple S-ranks-
And win.
Not just win-
Dominate the instant he started using his Longinus.
There was one thing that made him feel afraid.
It was the fact that someone this strong existed and no one knew anything about him...well that was only part of it.
The main reason this man was afraid of Boros, was because of his Longinus.
Panicking, the man finally ran out and dropped to his knees, bowing his head at Boros' feet.
Boros looked down at him.
"Lift your head. You're pissing me off."
The man flinched slightly-then stood.
Boros glanced at his clothes.
"...You're an adventurer?"
"Yes, sir," the man replied quickly.
"Good."
Boros turned slightly, gesturing back toward the battlefield.
"I was sent here to kill those Draken-and retrieve any surviving adventurers. Also the Guild IDs of the dead."
The man stared at him, stunned.
'He's an adventurer too...? With that kind of strength... he has to be at least a high grade S-rank...'
"Are there any other survivors?" Boros asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
The man hesitated.
"...No. It's just me."
Boros nodded.
"Then let's move. We'll gather as many IDs as we can."
He turned and began walking.
After a few steps, he stopped. The man hadn't followed.
Boros looked back.
"...What?"
"We-we should leave," the man muttered.
Boros turned fully now.
"This is the Northern Cardinal," the man continued, his voice shaking. "We're on Ryujin Island... it's already a miracle we're alive."
He swallowed hard.
"If we stay any longer...something stronger than those Draken will come."
"And it'll kill us."
Silence.
Boros stared at him for a few seconds, thinking about what he had just said.
"...You did hear me when I said this was a mission, right?"
"Yes..."
"And that retrieving those IDs is part of it?"
"Yes."
Boros' eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then what the fuck are you talking about?"
He said, annoyance evident in his tone.
"If anything comes out of that forest, I'll deal with it."
He took a step forward.
"You saw me fight those Draken."
Another step.
"You watched the whole thing while hiding in the bushes."
The man flinched.
Boros tilted his head slightly.
"...Seems like that's all you're good for."
A pause.
"Hiding like a bitch."
The words hit.
"Probably the only reason you're still alive."
Boros turned away again.
"If you want to leave-leave."
"The only thing keeping you here was those Draken."
"And now they're dead."
He kept walking.
"Nothing's stopping you anymore."
The man stood there. Head lowered. Tears falling silently.
His fists clenched.
He had tried.
There was nothing someone at his level could've done.
So he hid.
That was the smart choice.
So why-
...did it feel so wrong?
He wiped his tears.
Then lifted his head-
-and ran after Boros.
"You didn't leave?" Boros asked not bothering to look at him.
"I Couldn't." the man replied.
"Alright then-help me find the IDs," Boros said, already moving as they began searching through the bodies.
Time passed.
As they worked, Boros noticed something-the man kept grunting under his breath.
Again.
And again.
"...What is it?" Boros asked, irritation creeping into his voice.
"It's nothing," the man said with a light, awkward chuckle. "Just the cold. I'm... not really built for it."
"Yeah?" Boros replied flatly. "Well, we're almost done. You can go find somewhere warm and cry about it."
The man forced a small laugh.
"Just a few more bodies, right?"
"Yeah," he answered, pointing ahead. "A little further down the shoreline."
They kept walking.
"After that, we should keep searching," Boros added. "Might need to check deeper into the forest."
"I-I wouldn't advise that," the man said quickly.
Boros glanced at him.
"Why."
The man swallowed.
"If there are bodies we haven't found on the shore... then they were either dragged into the ocean by sea beasts... or pulled into the forest by the Draken."
He paused, glancing at the frozen expanse.
"And since the ocean's been frozen for days now... the first option doesn't really apply."
Boros looked ahead for a moment.
"...Makes sense."
By the time they reached the last cluster of bodies, they'd gathered a total of 115 Guild IDs from various guilds.
Boros turned back toward the shore.
"That's enough. Let's head out."
He started walking.
"I... have a question," the man said hesitantly. "It might sound stupid, so you might-"
"What question," Boros cut in.
The man took a breath.
"When my comrades and I first got here... the ocean was normal."
His voice tightened slightly.
"Then a few days later... it froze. Completely. We couldn't retreat-we were forced to stay and fight the Chaos Twin Draken."
He clenched his fists.
"And then... someone with ice abilities shows up right after."
A pause.
His eyes locked onto Boros' back.
"...Did you freeze the ocean?"
"Yes."
Boros didn't even slow down.
"...I see," the man said quietly, quickening his pace to catch up.
'How was I supposed to know people were planning to run through the sea?' Boros thought, trying to bury his guilt.
"You froze the entire ocean?!" the man blurted out, disbelief clear in his voice.
"Not the whole ocean," Boros replied. "Just from here to the Western Cardinal."
The man stared out at the frozen horizon.
'He says it so casually... but that distance is insane... If he really did this... then he's on the level of a-'
"Stop spacing out," Boros said without looking back.
The man flinched.
"M-My apologies."
Boros stepped onto the ice.
"Come on."
The man followed, slipping slightly before catching himself.
"...Another question," he said, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Ask," Boros muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Uh... where exactly are we going? And how are we getting there?"
Boros didn't even look at him.
"I told you I came from the West. If you had any sense, you'd figure out that's where we're heading."
The man winced slightly but said nothing.
Boros kept walking across the frozen sea.
"And as for how we're getting there-"
He didn't slow down.
"We're walking."