The Citadel of Bingyeon (Ice Smoke)

Episode 14: Encirclement

The heavy, regular thud of ironclad boots hammering down on the frozen snowfield shattered the quiet stillness of the early dawn in a merciless crash.

"Search the valley thoroughly! The magical residue was radiating most strongly near this ridge!"

Beyond the brush outside the cave entrance, the cool, decisive command of the Supreme Council’s search captain reverberated harshly through the whole forest.

Hyunjin jerked back in alarm from the perimeter near the cave entrance. As he moved with a chest-tightening, panicked urgency, the fabric of the travel cloak flared wildly in all directions, and he came running as if sprinting toward the direction of the temporary bed. His usual bright, chattering energy was instantly tangled up with high-risk adrenaline, and the hearing-assist device on his right ear and the cochlear implant on his left were hyperfocused on the clattering noise of heavy silver armor pieces closing in through the forest.

"Chanyeon-hyung! Wake up! The Supreme Council elite search team has come right up under our noses!"

There was far too little time to override and detonate a dense smoke curtain that would perfectly erase our location before the searchers arrived. The moment the smoke mist rose, the unique cosmic scent of Jajak magic would vibrate through the air and give away our coordinates completely.

Chanyeon-hyung’s eyes flashed open like lightning. The gentle commander’s look vanished in a single second, and in its place came an unyielding, absolute protective instinct determined to shield me with all his warmth. He didn’t waste even a single heartbeat. One of his large, warm hands locked firmly around my waist, steadying the weight of my body, and with the other he hurriedly shook my shoulder.

"Seoha. Seoha, focus. We have to get out of here right now."

I let out a low groan. The powerful sedative effect of the restorative medicine I’d just drunk had left my head sinking heavy as lead, and waves of sluggish confusion tugged at the edge of my consciousness. I tried to blink awake, but my limbs had sunk too heavily to show any response.

"Mm... hyung...?"

I breathed out dryly and murmured under my breath. Dizzy and lightheaded, my voice came out thin and blurred, like a whisper to myself.

Chanyeon-hyung lowered his head close to my ear and murmured softly. His intense, deeply moving, sweet syllables cut cleanly through the fog circling in my mind. He didn’t even bother asking whether I could walk on my own. With effortless, solid strength, Chanyeon-hyung smoothly swept my limp body into his large, warm arms. Then, as if to keep me completely isolated and protected from the frost that had begun to surge brutally into the cave, he pulled me tighter into his broad chest and held me close.

"He’s coming around the ridge path perfectly! Move, now!"

Jiseok answered in a low, sharp voice. The solid footing of the team, his voice came out taut and low in a rushed whisper. The proud, grand smile unique to Jajak vanished completely the moment he finished speaking, and in its place came a harsh, resolute narrative of protection, determined to shield me with all his heart. Jiseok smoothly seized the iron dagger at his waist and stepped forward toward Chanyeon-hyung’s front, becoming a living, solid human shield with his own body. And just like that, the four of us burst past the threshold of the dark secret camp and threw ourselves without restraint beneath the cold dawn sky, thick with faded gray frost.

Racing through the dense forest was a dizzying stream of vertigo-inducing flashes.

Because I was only half conscious, my head was heavily resting on Chanyeon-hyung’s broad shoulder, and my fingers were desperately clinging with fragile strength to the edge of the tunic fabric he wore, in the mountain wind that kept surging around us. Chanyeon-hyung hunted forward in a full sprint with nothing but absolute, unbending strength. His two large hands firmly anchored the center of my body’s weight against the depth of his lungs, and he stepped over the ground smoothly without a single misstep or sway, even through loose, crumbling stone ground and gaps between snowdrifts. Behind us, the sharp, heavy mechanical roar of the elite searchers’ silver armor pieces striking together echoed fearfully through the trees.

"There are footprints here! Near the pine boundary over there!"

A sharp shout from the scouting team rang out from far, far away across the distance.

"Hyunjin, cover our rear!"

Chanyeon-hyung gave a sharp command, radiating the gravity of a commander with his deep, resolute voice dropped an octave lower.

"Leave it to me!"

Hyunjin shouted in haste. In the middle of the racing sentence, he quickly turned his head and tossed me a fleeting look full of concern and affection. Even in the middle of running at full speed, both his cheeks were already flushed a deep, embarrassed red from the breathless effort. Hyunjin overrode the momentum of his sprint, spun in a flash on the spot, and lashed his leather sleeve once as if governing the hem of my gown. The clumsy dark clump of smoke he released came pouring down violently right over the trail of our footsteps. That little wisp of mist was far too small to expose our coordinates across this enormous valley, but it was more than enough to thoroughly obscure and seal away the traces we had left behind, while also completely contaminating and blocking our unique magical scent. It sent the senses of the hounds in pursuit crashing into utter confusion and madness.

We pushed forward like that for another mile or so, breathlessly. The dense arrangement of trees gradually began to thin out, and before long the view ahead had completely changed into a rough, jagged field of black rock and a blinding expanse of pure white frost.

It was the most dangerous enemy front, where smoke and ice were engaged in an all-out war: the official border perimeter of the Frostbite Wasteland.

"Up there! There’s a crack in the rock!"

Jiseok shouted and pointed to a narrow, almost invisible fissure in the rocky wall standing solidly along the border line.

Chanyeon-hyung lowered himself immediately without even one second of hesitation. Still holding me tight and precious against his chest, he twisted his broad shoulders and slid smoothly into the narrow opening. Hyunjin and Jiseok threw themselves in right behind us, barely suppressing their rough, heaving breaths as they tucked themselves carefully in place with their backs pressed perfectly against the cold stone wall.

The hidden space inside the rock crevice was unbearably narrow. Because of that, we had no choice but to press together so tightly that our limbs and bodies tangled up in a cramped, suffocating knot. Chanyeon-hyung locked one of his large arms around my waist so firmly and unyieldingly it could never be separated, supporting the weight of my body, and he pulled me close into his broad chest to keep my half-asleep, fragile body from slipping and falling onto the cold ice floor. His warm breath brushed softly near my cheek and scattered into white mist, and the rhythm of his fast, steady heartbeat, pounding wildly with merciless force, poured clearly into the space behind my ribs.

Beyond the dark curtain of shadow in the narrow rock cleft, the silhouettes of the Supreme Council searchers finally marched rough and heavy right past the front of our hiding place.

The polished silver armor plates they wore caught the ice light and flashed with cruel sharpness. It was a terrifyingly close distance, only a few inches from where we stood frozen in absolute silence. Jiseok found my hand again and gently took it, interlacing our fingers tightly and firmly. He pressed the backs of my knuckles softly but unyieldingly, drawing a reassuring circle that kept my fingertips from trembling, and in his eyes there shone clearly a story of deep, absolute devotion toward me. Hyunjin held his breath, trapping it heavily in his chest, and kept a sharp lookout all around with his own uniquely hyperfocused, puppy-like worry filling his large eyes.

Only when the heavy, rough roar of the searchers’ ironclad boots finally sank away into the howling wind of the wasteland, and their trail had completely vanished, did Chanyeon-hyung finally let out the long, trembling breath of relief he had been holding in his chest.

He lowered his head and pressed a soft kiss full of impossible depth and treasured tenderness against the skin near the line beside my temple.

"We did it."

Chanyeon-hyung whispered by my ear with his lips still against it. His voice dropped an octave deeper and sweeter, spilling a heavy, tender gravity that soaked softly into my chest, and his thumb traced a slow, reassuring line near the edge of my waist. He fixed his gaze on mine and let a gentle smile spread across his face.

"We’ve finally crossed the border completely, Seoha. Officially, we’ve reached the very heart of enemy territory."