Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls-Chapter 379: Encountering problems

The northwestern edge of the lake seemed quieter than the rest of the frozen plain, as if the air there were trapped, suffocated under the weight of the thick ice. The group advanced cautiously, attentive to the changes in the texture of the ground—and it was precisely these changes that revealed what they were looking for.

It was Sylphie who noticed first.

"There," she said, kneeling and tapping with her gloved hand on a section of ice that had a strangely bluish color, deeper than the rest around it. "That layer… it's not natural."

Irelia approached and observed closely. "That was stone. The entrance should be right here."

"And it is," Amelia added, leaning down to analyze the surface. Small irregularities in the ice formed circular outlines, like the beginning of an arch. "Only… it's buried."

Kael also knelt down. He placed his palm on the frozen ground and felt the internal vibration—not hostile, not too magical, just… dense. The kind of density that arose when something was frozen too quickly and too forcefully.

"The ice swallowed everything," he observed.

Sylphie nodded, sliding her fingers along the frozen surface. "The entrance is about two meters below this layer. There's no way to open it without destroying the entire structure."

"Can we try to break it?" Amelia suggested, already raising her staff.

"No." Irelia was direct. "If we break the wrong part, the entire tunnel ceiling could collapse. That would destroy the entrance completely."

Sylphie sighed and stood up, brushing the snow from her gloves. "I think we should look for another entrance. The princess said there are some side paths—"

Kael raised his hand, interrupting her.

"No."

Three pairs of eyes turned to him.

Sylphie frowned, soft but worried.

"Kael… there's no way to get through this ice. It's thick, compact. Not even ordinary fire melts it. It's like—"

"I didn't say ordinary fire."

He stood up slowly, taking a deep breath, as if organizing his own thoughts before making a decision. When he opened his hand, energy concentrated in his palm.

There was nothing forbidden, dark, or evil about that energy.

It was simply… his.

The color, however, was unmistakable: a black flame, dancing like solid smoke, undulating elegantly and warmly, emitting a strange light that didn't illuminate—it absorbed reflections.

Sylphie took a step back, surprised. Amelia held her breath. Irelia raised her hand to her sword, reflexively, but not out of fear—simply out of alert.

Kael smiled slightly.

"I said it was alright."

The flame grew, molding itself in the palm of his hand like a living animal, writhing, breathing, tinging his face with vibrant shadows.

"We don't need another entrance," he continued, his voice firm. "We just need… to open this one."

"Kael," Sylphie called, her concern evident. "That flame… since when have you—?"

"It's mine." He interrupted her, but his tone was softer this time. "It's not forbidden, it doesn't belong to anyone but me. It just… evolved. Like everything we go through."

Amelia was still processing.

"Does it melt ice?"

Kael laughed.

"It melts anything."

Irelia narrowed her eyes.

"And… you control it?"

He lifted the flame slightly, allowing the cold wind to pass through it. It didn't go out—it just writhed, adjusting to the breeze as if crushing the wind around it.

"I'm in control."

Sylphie looked at the ice, then at Kael.

"So… you're going to melt all of this?"

Kael slowly closed his hand—and the black flame condensed, becoming denser, hotter, more compact.

"Yes."

He took a deep breath, his smile becoming more serious, more determined.

"We're not going to run away to find another entrance. We're going in through this one. No matter what."

Irelia nodded.

Amelia muttered, "This is going to go VERY wrong"—but adjusted her staff to help.

Sylphie only murmured, almost in a whisper:

"Then let's make our way through."

Kael reached out toward the thick ice floor.

The black flame roared.

And the ice began to tremble.

The tremor began as a low, almost imperceptible hum—but as the black flame approached the ice, the sound transformed into deep cracks, like giant bones fracturing under pressure. The surrounding air vibrated with heat, but not ordinary heat: it was a dense, stifling sensation that pushed the cold away as if rejecting it.

The ice reacted immediately.

Thin fissures appeared on the surface, running in chaotic directions, as if the structure itself were trying to escape the energy Kael was releasing.

Sylphie watched intently. The mana around her trembled, instinctively recoiling—not out of fear, but because her nature recognized something she couldn't classify. This fire wasn't natural, but it wasn't unnatural either. It was an extension of Kael's life force, shaped by experience, trauma, choice… and something deeper that no one there fully understood.

Amelia clutched the staff with both hands.

"I've seen advanced fire magic. I've seen dragon scale artifacts working at their limit… but this?" She shook her head, incredulous. "This is too wrong to be allowed—and too right to be dangerous."

Irelia gave her a light nudge with her shoulder.

"Translation: you're scared."

"Yes. And rightly so."

A new crack cut through the air—loud, dry, echoing across the frozen shore of the lake.

Kael didn't move.

His gaze was fixed on the surface before him, the flame steady in his outstretched palm. He took a step forward. The ice melted before his boot touched it—not into water, but into dark vapor, like smoke dissipating in the air.

"It's working," said Sylphie, surprised. "But… too fast."

Irelia frowned. "Fast is good."

"Not if the ice above destabilizes before we open a safe tunnel."

Amelia pointed to the cracks that spread like a web.

"She's right. If this collapses, it'll all fall at once. There won't be a tunnel, there'll be a huge hole. With us inside."

Kael took a deep breath, concentrating.

"I know what I'm doing."

And, for the first time since he'd lit that flame, Sylphie believed him completely.

She took two steps forward and placed her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Then let me help you. I can stabilize the surrounding ice while you open the main path."

Kael glanced at her—and the flame in his hand diminished slightly, responding to the change in his mood.

"Can you do this?"

"I can."

Irelia placed her hand on her sword, positioning herself beside him.

"I'll protect you both. If anything comes out of this ice, it'll have to go through me first."

Amelia sighed, raised her staff, and began tracing runes in the air.

"And I maintain a reinforcing shield to prevent any direct collapse. But if this goes wrong… it's Kael's fault."

"Of course," he replied, without taking his eyes off the ice. "Everything always is."

Sylphie smiled slightly.

"At least he admits it."

The black flame grew again.

This time, it didn't spread as before. Kael shaped it, guiding it toward the center of the frozen structure. The ice melted as if made of solid shadow, dissolving into gray vapor that spiraled upwards.

But something began to change.

Irelia noticed first.

"Did you feel that?"

Amelia's eyes widened.

"The ice… is holding up."

Sylphie closed her eyes quickly, extending her arms. Green mana pulsed from her fingers, seeping through the fissures.

"It's not resisting—it's alive."

Kael ignored the warning, advancing further.

The flame roared, forcing more heat, more energy, more of himself.

And then, when almost a meter of depth had already been melted…

A new sound echoed from underground.

A groan.

A deep, grave groan, like the rumble of something gigantic awakening.

Sylphie immediately opened her eyes.

"Kael, stop!"

He instinctively pushed back the flame.

The ice beneath his feet trembled—not as before, but as if something were pushing from below.

Irelia drew her sword.

"There's something down there."

"A creature trapped?" Amelia swallowed hard.

Sylphie shook her head firmly.

"Not trapped… guarding." Kael narrowed his eyes, bringing the flame just close enough to illuminate the central crack that had opened.

And then they all saw.

Something moved within the lower layer of ice—a shapeless, slow shadow pressing against the now thin surface.

A hand.

A hand too large to be human, with long, thin fingers, like living ice spikes.

Sylphie held her breath.

"This wasn't here before. This wasn't part of the tunnel structure."

Irelia raised her sword, taking a step back.

"They put a guardian there."

Amelia's eyes widened.

"Under the ice?! Who does that?!"

Kael took a deep breath—and the black flame twisted, reacting to the danger with a more aggressive form.

"Witches," he replied firmly. "Witches do that."

Sylphie raised her hand toward him.

"Kael… don't destroy everything at once. If that thing gets out—"

"It will get out." Irelia finished, assuming an attack stance.

The ice trembled again.

The shadow took shape.

The submerged hand pressed even harder, causing the frozen surface to buckle.

Kael stepped forward, the flame growing again.

"Then let's make sure she leaves on time," he said, looking directly at the new problem he had encountered.