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Before the Empress of Steel.

I lifted my head, shedding my fear.

On my way here, I had hesitated countless times, wondering if I should choose a different path.

But now, my resolve was firm.

The Empress of Steel started rushing toward me, determined to steal even the warmth that remained in my body.

I opened the bag in my hand and pulled out a bottle.

Inside the bottle sloshed a crimson liquid—

a miraculous potion created by an alchemist, granting partial immunity to flames.

Complete immunity would have been better, but unfortunately, such a thing only existed with the Flame Butterfly.

‘Unless it’s the ultimate potion, an elixir.’

But I didn’t have one.

What I had was enough.

Without hesitation, I uncorked the bottle and swallowed its contents.

A thick, foul liquid slid down my throat.

Bitter.

But I forced it all down.

Clang!

Throwing the empty bottle to the ground, I lifted my bag.

Inside the bag, filling it to the brim, were crimson crystals radiating heat.

Fwoosh!

The heat from the crystals began to seep out.

They were pure essences of fire—

embers born from the corpses of spirits, their final flames still burning.

‘Damn it, hang in there, me.’

I closed my eyes tightly.

Just imagining what was about to happen brought cold sweat to my face.

But my body was already moving.

I yanked off the protective magical cloth that had been containing the fiery essence.

Sizzle!

At that moment, the fire essence in the bag unleashed such intense heat that it incinerated the bag itself.

The heat that had been barely contained by the magical cloth erupted violently.

“Grrrhh!”

And I was the one who had to endure it.

My skin and muscles started to melt, unable to withstand the searing heat.

My vision blurred, and my breathing stopped short.

Hot.

It felt as if my body were on fire—

and in reality, it was burning.

This, ironically, was the better outcome.

Had I not consumed the flame immunity potion, my skin and muscles would have burned away completely, and even my bones would have melted.

Thanks to the potion, I had at least managed this much.

[!!!]

The Empress of Steel, eyes ablaze with madness, charged at me.

The overwhelming heat was unlike anything she had felt before.

It was no wonder she was drawn to it, her senses overwhelmed.

She lunged toward me, reaching out her hands.

Seeing this, I clung desperately to my consciousness.

Before the Empress could reach me—

I hurled myself toward her.

Whoosh!

My burning body collided with hers.

And then, the icy cold radiating from her enveloped me.

Cold.

Bone-chillingly cold.

But in this moment, I welcomed the cold.

The heat from the fire essence and the icy cold began to cancel each other out.

For a brief moment, I could breathe again.

The fog clouding my mind lifted slightly.

Crackle!

At that moment, the body of the Empress of Steel began to melt.

She had not consumed a flame immunity potion.

Thus, her steel body bore the full brunt of the fire essence’s heat.

The heat was intense enough to melt even steel.

But the Empress paid it no mind, tightening her embrace around me.

As if she had longed for this warmth.

[Ahhhhhh!]

She screamed, clutching me tightly.

Though she screamed, I felt no sadness in her cries.

Instead, she seemed overjoyed to have regained the warmth she had lost.

Tears of molten steel streamed down her cheeks.

Seeing this, I steeled my resolve further.

Go ahead, hold me.

I’ll melt the anguish you carried, even if it’s on behalf of Lucas, the one you couldn’t become a god for.

Hold me tightly.

From here on, it was a battle of time and willpower.

Would my consciousness fade first, or would the Empress of Steel completely melt away?

This was the contest.

Even if my consciousness gave out,

the Empress of Steel wouldn’t disappear.

She would simply continue to hold me until she eventually melted away entirely.

But that couldn’t happen.

That would render all this effort meaningless.

Grind!

I clenched my teeth so hard they felt as though they might break.

The heat and cold pierced through my skin, causing unbearable pain.

Never in my life had I experienced such agony.

But as long as the pain persisted, my mind remained sharp.

Gripping the fraying thread of my consciousness, I held on with all my strength.

Holding on and holding on again.

Eventually, an end would come.

All I could do now was endure and wait for that moment.

* * *

Time flowed endlessly.

I couldn’t even guess how much time had passed.

But one thing was certain—no amount of eternity could feel longer than this.

My vision blurred, and my body was utterly drained.

It was a miracle I was still breathing.

The fiery heat of the fire essence had finally diminished and lost its light.

My breaths were shallow.

Sweat beaded slowly on my forehead, long delayed.

My mouth was dry.

Slowly, I lifted my head.

With blurry eyes, I scanned my surroundings.

The Empress of Steel was nowhere to be seen.

To the very end, she wandered aimlessly in search of warmth.

Failing to become a god and instead becoming a mystery, she no longer remained in this world.

A strange sense of sorrow lingered around me briefly before fading away.

The charred crystal slipped from my bag and rolled onto the ground.

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Clink-

The surface began to crack as soon as it struck the steel ground.

The cracks quickly spread across the entire forest.

Crash!

Finally, all the steel shattered and crumbled away, revealing the forest in its original form.

The broken steel fragments floated upward into the sky.

With them, they carried the last wish of the Steel Empress, who longed to become a god.

The steel ascended toward the heavens and vanished.

Thud-

I collapsed to my knees.

I had no strength left to move.

The skin that had once contained the heat was now completely burned away, leaving no trace behind.

Instead, something else began to fill the exposed flesh.

Steel.

It was steel.

The remnants of the Steel Empress, which had melted and seeped into me, clung haphazardly to my skin.

It almost looked like plating.

This was what I had been waiting for all along.

I forced myself to sit upright despite the pain.

With the faint remnants of heat left in my body, I began to melt the steel.

The steel slowly spread evenly across my skin, fusing with it.

This was no ordinary steel.

It was the mystery that constituted the Steel Empress herself.

Lucas, the protagonist, had melted the Steel Empress, and her steel fused into his body, granting him one of her mysteries:

‘The Body of Steel.’

True to its name, it was a body as sturdy as steel.

The Body of Steel synergized with Lucas's Flame of Resolve, allowing him to grow tremendously.

But the circumstances between Lucas and me were fundamentally different.

Lucas could fully melt the steel fused into his body with his Flame of Resolve.

However, I could only rely on the residual heat from the essence of fire.

I could never completely melt the steel.

‘And so, I...;’

I did the best I could.

The steel fused into my skin began to cover it entirely.

Though I could not achieve the Body of Steel like Lucas,

I aimed to gain something else.

‘From today onward, I will possess the Steel Skin.’

I relentlessly coated my burned skin with the steel.

The pain had already dulled.

There was no reason to hesitate any longer.

The steel continued to envelop my skin without pause.

When my body was finally bathed in the full glow of steel—

Click-

The remaining heat in my body vanished completely.

The heat dissipated, and I could finally breathe.

As I regained my composure, I slowly raised my hand.

There, I saw a hand encased in steel.

It moved without issue.

At last, I had acquired the Steel Skin.

“Hah... Hah...”

I let out a series of labored breaths that I had been holding back.

Looking down at my battered and weakened body,

I noticed the special Veil Bandages.

Even the essence of flames could not destroy these bandages.

The Flame of Resolve couldn’t melt them either,

and so, I still looked like Hannon Irey.

At that moment, the Veil bandages enacted a change.

The bandages began to transform the steel skin back to its original flesh tone.

Before I knew it, I looked perfectly like Hannon again.

Though my insides were different,

on the outside, I appeared indistinguishable from Hannon.

“Huff... Huff...”

My mind was nearing its limit.

Despite the steel covering, my body remained riddled with injuries.

Under normal circumstances, the future Spirit Lord would have appeared, offering thanks and healing my wounds.

Yet, before me, there was nothing.

Where had they all gone?

Not a single spirit was in sight.

“Ha... Haha... Right, I’m no Lucas, am I?”

A dry laugh escaped my lips.

This was nothing more than a chance encounter meant for Lucas.

Someone like me, with no affinity for spirits, didn’t matter.

It’s fine.

I had no intention of becoming a spirit wielder anyway.

I crawled across the ground and picked up the vial I had set near the tree earlier.

It was a high-tier healing potion that I had prepared at great cost.

I downed the crimson liquid in one gulp.

As the potion reached my stomach, its effects spread evenly throughout my body.

I let my body slump onto the ground.

The sensation of my wounds healing began to wash over me.

Having partially resisted fire with the potion and received help from the Steel Empress in mitigating the heat,

I was left with burns limited to my skin and superficial muscles.

This was something a high-tier potion could handle.

However, my mental exhaustion was another matter entirely.

After everything I had endured, the mental toll made it impossible for me to hold on any longer.

At least I had gained a vital trump card that would support me moving forward.

‘Now, all that remains…’

...is to train for the mock battle.

Fortunately, training was a field where I had confidence.

I had come this far.

If I failed to win, all my efforts would amount to nothing.

‘…I will win the mock battle. No matter what.’

With those final words and a deep exhale, I closed my eyes.

The wind blowing through the Grand Spirit Forest brushed past my face.

It felt as though I could finally rest peacefully.

I entrusted my hope to this moment as I let my consciousness fade away.

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