Chương 159: Chapter 158: The Busan Dungeon Collapse, and a Test of Pride

Busan's coastline lay buried under a terrifying magical blizzard. Wave after wave of seawater froze into massive drifting ice floes, crashing against the cliffs. At the center of the Haeundae seaside cliffs, the mouth of the Rank S Eternal Ice Cavern Dungeon Gate had collapsed completely beneath rock and magical ice. Environmental probes at the perimeter were reporting lethal cold. Hundreds of government rescue vehicles, police helicopters and TV crews were held back at the safety perimeter.

Not a single Hunter dared approach the sinkhole — the perimeter probes were reading a magical cold that would kill an unshielded body within moments. WHUP-WHUP-WHUP-WHUP! Vance Earth Holdings' armored magitech helicopter tore through the wall of snow, screaming across the coastline at full speed. In the cockpit, Evelyn shoved the controls forward, glaring at the radar display blinking SIGNAL LOST.

"Lee Jin-Soo wanted to prove traditional Hunters do not need to lean on Vance tech, so he shut off our drone tracking beacons before leading his squad in. Rescue sonar and the Association roster confirm fifty of them are missing under the ice!" Evelyn gritted her teeth, slamming a hand against the wheel.

"When we pull them out of there, I am sending a rescue invoice at an insulting rate — let that cure his stupid pride!" Lucian sat in the copilot's seat, carefully checking through vials of mana-recovery antidote and a coil of magical safety line. He snapped his notebook shut, tucked it into his coat pocket, and spoke without looking up.

"No charge." Evelyn's head snapped around.

"Say that again?" Lucian zipped his black overcoat up to the collar.

"This time... we waive the fee." Evelyn's voice climbed an octave.

"Do you have a mana fever, Lucian?! Where'd the exploitative capitalist who collects bad debt for a living go?!" Lucian didn't answer. He could invoice the damaged equipment later. Not this. Not while people were freezing under the ice. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Grip. Eleanor, seated in the row behind, reached forward and took Lucian's right hand in hers.

She wore her pure-white knight's armor, the Royal Holy Sword glowing with a warm golden light at her hip. She said nothing — just gave his fingers a quiet, steady squeeze. Ting! The dim black panel of Unified System V2. 0 opened in front of him: [EMERGENCY RESCUE DATA LINKED] ● Sources: coastal rescue sonar, last-known Guild telemetry, dungeon seismic mapping, and Vance thermal probes. ● Result: multiple weak life signs beneath the collapsed sector; exact locations remain uncertain.

● Assessment: conditions are deteriorating. Some survivors may have only minutes. [DUNGEON-FLOOR ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT:] ● Perimeter probes confirm lethal magical cold. ● Astra's cold tolerance: Still demanding a popsicle in the middle of a blizzard. CLANG! The helicopter's cabin door slid wide open at an altitude of a thousand meters. Blizzard wind roared into the cockpit, whipping the hem of Lucian's coat.

Below their feet, the black mouth of the sinkhole yawned open like some monster's gaping jaws, waiting to swallow everything alive. Millions of Koreans watching the live broadcast suddenly saw two silhouettes step to the edge of the open door: a ten-year-old in a black overcoat, and a young woman in a pastel-pink puffer jacket, holding a glowing sword. Astra wrapped both of them in a sunlit protective field, and a Vance emergency line remained clipped to Lucian's harness. WHOOSH!

Lucian and Astra jumped together from a thousand meters up, plunging straight into the churning blizzard like two blazing streaks of falling starlight. Broadcasters across the country choked up, shouting into their microphones.

"THEY JUMPED! CHAIRMAN VANCE AND THE SWORD GODDESS HAVE THROWN CAUTION TO THE WIND AND GONE STRAIGHT INTO THE DUNGEON MOUTH TO SAVE GUILD DIVINE ENVOY'S HUNTERS!" THUMP! Astra's shield cushioned their descent while the emergency line paid out behind them. Lucian landed lightly, courtesy of Silent Displacement. Around him stretched a vast, deep-blue ice cavern, jagged icicles dozens of meters long hanging down from the ceiling.

The air was so bitterly cold that every breath froze the moment it left the lips, scattering into fine snow-dust. Behind a ten-meter-thick wall of ice blocking the far end of the cavern, the missing Divine Envoy team sat huddled together in a heap. Their lips had gone purple, their armor caked in ice, their breathing shallow and irregular. Guild President Lee Jin-Soo lay at the very front of them, face-down in the snow, one hand still locked around a broken sword. Clack. Clack.

Footsteps rang out sharp and steady on the ice, echoing through the silent cavern. Lucian, in his crisp black overcoat, hands in his pockets, walked steadily through the freezing mist. He stopped in front of the wall of ice and glanced at Astra, standing beside him.

"Astra." Astra reached for the hilt of the Sun-Cleaving Dragon Blade. A blaze of platinum holy light burst out, lighting up the entire dark cavern. Lucian nodded toward the trapped Hunters.

"Cut through that wall." He looked toward the dying men beyond it.

"Let's take them home for dinner."