The world stops.
Pushing Irina aside, he, who had taken the Dragon Word in her stead, slowly collapsed.
Thud!
The first to rush to his side, where he lay lifelessly, was Irina.
She didn't know.
No, no one knew, except for Kim Do-jin.
What the Dragon Word, unleashed by the dragon just moments ago, truly meant.
Placing her hand on his fallen body, she soon understood.
The true meaning of the Dragon Word that was originally meant for her.
"His heart... it stopped."
Death.
Yes, it was death.
What else could it mean for a perfectly living person's heart to simply stop?
"What... what did you just say?"
Irina replied to Angela's question.
"I said his heart stopped."
At her blunt reply, Angela screamed roughly.
"What the hell are you talking about?! Why would his heart suddenly—!"
Her words trailed off, unfinished.
Her sharp mind had already grasped the situation, even without needing Irina to explain further.
As she barely managed to cling to her fading consciousness.
"...Excuse me for a moment."
Han Juyeon, rushing forward, gently pushed aside Irina, who was squatting on the snow, staring blankly at him, and took her place.
She was right.
"......"
She didn't even need to touch him to feel it.
His heart wasn't beating.
His body, once impossibly solid, was slowly beginning to crumble.
Han Juyeon instinctively reached for his chest.
"No."
She said firmly, then urgently put her weight into performing CPR.
"Absolutely not...!"
In her eyes, as she pressed down on his chest, was an indescribable madness.
Only the thought that she couldn't let him go like this filled her mind.
After all I went through to meet him again.
She had thought that with time.
If they stayed apart, the aching longing in her heart would naturally fade.
That innocent, naive love she'd harbored, she believed it would be forgotten with time, as if it had never been, and she'd just laugh it off, thinking, 'Ah, those were the days.'
She had firmly believed that, and left Korea, left his side.
But she was wrong.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Though the physical distance between them grew, the image of his face etched in her heart only drew closer.
The aching longing piled up, casting a deep shadow over her face.
The innocent affection she'd held, fueled by time and understanding, swelled boundlessly.
That was why.
Thinking that if things continued like this, she would burst in some way, she gave up her life in America and returned.
To Korea, to his side.
It wasn't a casual return trip, driven by a simple desire to see his face once.
Talking to her sister, seeing the two of them standing side-by-side at official events, she felt it.
That their relationship wasn't what it used to be.
So she made a decision.
It was a terrible thought, but if her premonition was correct.
If that gave her an opportunity.
If there was a crack, even a sliver, between the two of them that had never existed before.
She would tear open that crack to seize the opportunity, even if it meant abandoning everything she had.
Their current relationship was a reward for that resolve.
A reward bestowed by God or Devil upon a woman who had resolved to give up everything for love.
At least, that's what she believed.
But now, they were trying to take him away again?
"That can't happen, can't happen, can't happen!"
Not even death can separate you and me.
Just as she vowed this and was about to do something.
"Calm down."
Irina, who had stepped back to observe, stopped her.
Han Juyeon tried to violently shake off her hand.
But it was no use.
Because Irina's physical strength was several times greater than Han Juyeon's.
"Let go of me!"
Ignoring her struggles, Irina spoke.
"He's not dead yet."
"What did you say...?"
Han Juyeon stopped struggling and stared blankly up at Irina.
Irina pointed to the sword in her hand and replied.
"This one told me. Kim Do-jin is still alive."
The one who conveyed this information to her was none other than 'Snow Bringer'.
Knowing that her sword possessed a will of its own, Han Juyeon asked again.
"...Are you sure?"
The voice of the will residing in the sword could only be heard by its wielder.
Irina nodded on its behalf.
"It says it's certain."
A sword has no eyes.
Naturally, Snow Bringer doesn't 'see' things, but rather perceives and judges them through feeling.
The heightened sensory perception (æ°£æ) it developed as a result allowed it to perceive and feel far more than what could be seen with eyes.
One of those things was the human soul.
Kim Do-jin's soul had left his body and vanished somewhere.
Its exact location was unknown, but it could roughly infer.
That it was wandering not too far away.
She briefly summarized this information and explained it to the others.
"It says his soul has merely left his body for a short while."
At her words, Han Juyeon's face turned ashen white.
"His soul left his body...? That's dangerous!"
Irina shook her head.
"No, it's not death, but by his own will. He can return whenever he wishes... so it says."
This was a lie.
Snow Bringer had not said that.
A soul is incredibly fragile.
Fragile enough to be swept away and vanish by a gentle breeze.
The body was both a prison that restricted their freedom and an armor that protected them.
Therefore, a soul cannot survive without a body, and a body cannot exist without a soul.
A soul without a body quickly dissipates, and a body without a soul rapidly crumbles.
So, he needed to end his wandering and return to his body as soon as possible.
That's what it had clearly said.
But it didn't rebuke her.
Because it knew better than anyone what was in her heart when she spoke those words.
With the lie on her lips, she immediately approached Kim Do-jin, placed her hand on his chest, and gathered her energy.
"But a body without its soul isn't stable. So, I'll freeze it for a while."
Snap!
The cold energy emanating from her palm permeated his body, freezing his heart and other vital organs.
Outwardly, there was no change.
Only the inside was frozen.
After confirming that all his bones, muscles, and organs were thoroughly frozen, she removed her hand.
"This way, we should be able to buy some time."
Time for his body had been bought.
Now, all that remained was when he would return.
And.
"We have to stop that dragon from destroying his body."
Surviving the dragon, which was now rising with its wounded body, continuously spewing murderous intent.
Han Juyeon, who had been utterly distraught, stood up.
Clutching the wand tightly in her hand—a wand that had lost its power since she lost her virginity—she spoke.
"He can live."
No.
"I'll make him live."
Him, who had fallen.
And her comrades.
The moment a powerful yearning took root in the center of her chest.
Rumble...!
Divine Authority suddenly erupted from her body, spreading boundlessly and enveloping the surroundings in a circle.
What formed was a translucent, golden, hemispherical barrier.
"This is...?"
This was her limit.
Something she had never once considered or even imagined until now.
A power forcibly unleashed by her singular determination to save Kim Do-jin.
「Evolution Zone.」
A barrier cast beneath the sky.
Beneath it, rapid changes began in the bodies of those within.
"Hmm...?"
"M-my body is acting on its own...!"
"Gasp...! M-mana is suddenly overflowing!"
Muscles grew tougher, bones grew harder.
The core at the center of their bodies absorbed and stored far more mana than usual.
Beyond a temporary increase in strength or speed, this was Evolution.
This new power she had gained made that possible, albeit temporarily.
But it was not a power gained for free.
To use and maintain it, an enormous price had to be paid.
That price was none other than her lifespan.
It wasn't merely a reduction in the years she had left to live.
As the price for evolving others' bodies, her own body would regress.
A permanent decline, under the name of aging.
But she didn't care.
It doesn't matter.
If only they could survive that dragon, and Kim Do-jin could awaken.
She didn't want to show him an aged appearance, but if it meant saving him, she was willing to become an old woman right now.
Because she believed he would still love her, even then.
It was at that moment.
Power flowed from the wand, which had become little more than a piece of wood since she lost her virginity.
Pure Divine Authority, beyond compare, steadily accumulated within her body.
Her surprised gaze turned to the wand, which then flickered with a faint light several times.
She didn't know why, but she understood its meaning.
'I'll help you just this once, you filthy non-virgin.'
Was it out of old affection?
Or was it due to a woman's noble spirit of sacrifice for a man?
The reason was unknown.
What was important was that she now had one more card to play.
Gaining confidence, she shouted to her comrades, who were adapting to their suddenly transformed bodies.
"Everyone, don't worry about dying, and fight with all your might."
Because as long as you are here, you will not die.
And so, the final battle, with their futures at stake, began.