Chapter 154

Ping!

A small point condenses into Asies.

The icy light flashes briefly, glowing and covering the fortress.

As the light fades, the transformed battlefield reveals itself.

The entire fortress freezes in an unrelenting cold, and except for a small number of powerful orcs, all turn into ice statues without resistance.

The dark orc settlement is dyed in the winter light of ice.

It was not a rampage.

The threatened slaves were safe, and Carami was also unaffected by the chill. Asies clearly understood who needed protection from whom.

“Haah…”

And at the center of the ice fortress.

Asies exhales, releasing a breath of mist.

Ice shards orbit around her, and the ends of her dress extend into a thin layer of ice.

At a glance, there seems to be little difference aside from her appearance, but a resolute will could not be hidden in her blue pupils.

It was the fighting spirit that Valkras sought to unearth from Asies. It must have gone as the winds foretold, yet Valkras could not laugh heartily.

A warning bell rang in his mind.

What has changed?

Even staring at it revealed nothing.

But it was undoubtedly different.

Far from being a soulless doll.

Valkras, with his axe gripped tightly, readied himself for battle.

Asies gazed intently at Valkras.

After tilting her head slightly, she lowered her posture and planted her feet, gliding over the ice like a figure skater.

With an overhead slash from Valkras, who raised his axe towards the sky, Asies responded by positioning her blade horizontally to meet it.

The ice sword and double-headed axe clashed, signaling the resumption of battle in the frozen world.

Valkras’s muscles bulged. He pressed down hard as if trying to embed Asies into the ground.

Bang.

The ground sank under the monstrous strength, and cracks formed in the ice sheet. Even on the verge of being slammed into the ground, Asies did not yield.

The ice sword, restored to its original form, mirrored her resolve. The slender blade did not flinch against the double-headed axe in response to her master’s unwavering intent.

Instead, it seeped cold as it invaded the axe. Frost began to form on the blade as if devouring it.

“Hmm?!”

Valkras’s pupils dilated. Confusion was evident.

The double-headed axe, empowered by Valkras’s magic, was now turning red. Yet it was freezing under Asies’s magic.

Seizing the moment when Valkras was flustered, Asies made a slight push; the axe seemed to move back momentarily before she swung her sword and knocked it away.

This was the first occurrence since Asies and Valkras had begun their fight. As if marking the start of a changed ending.

Asies raised her eyes.

“Prepare yourself.”

She erased everything from her sight except the enemy in front of her and eliminated all expression.

“Climb!”

Valkras swung his axe in a diagonal arc. The axe split the air uselessly above the lowered Asies’s head.

Asies reached out with her arm and stabbed her sword into the centralized exposed chest of Valkras.

Thump.

No matter how much a human trained, the toughness of a monster could not be attained. The blade pierced into the skin that had been difficult to scratch until now.

This confirmed it.

Asies had become stronger than before.

The holy grail responded to her desires.

“Ugh…”

Valkras grimaced, letting out a low growl.

It was not a fatal injury.

Just a minor wound for Valkras.

Yet it was not a good sign.

He gripped the blade with his hand to prevent it from going any deeper. It would be impossible to break it, so he threw Asies off as he drew the sword.

Asies, soaring through the air, spun around. Beneath her feet, an ice path was laid out to ensure the Ice Princess could not falter.

Gliding over the ice, Asies surged forward once more.

“You’re hopping like a rabbit!”

Valkras swung his axe horizontally. A heavy slicing sound echoed, causing a vibration near Asies’s ear. Asies gracefully leaped up, stepping on the axe.

As she tumbled, it appeared she was gracefully crossing over Valkras’s head, only to land on a suddenly appeared foothold and secure her backward position.

An absurdity unattainable by ordinary people.

This sequence of actions was something only Asies could perform, who manipulated ice like an extension of her body.

In an instant, Asies secured a flank on Valkras and unleashed a relentless series of attacks. Valkras was forced to lean forward under the barrage of slashing strikes from behind.

“Grrr! Stop with the tricks!”

Valkras unleashed his magic fiercely. Red energy erupted violently, and a storm surged forth.

In a moment of judgment.

Asies, who pushed against Valkras’s back, jumped back using him as a springboard and landed smoothly.

“Haaa…”

Valkras, breathing heavily through his shoulder, lifted his massive frame.

A red haze swirled above, and steam rose off his skin.

His momentum grew stronger.

It was the berserk transformation of the Orc King.

Asies, not rushing in, seeks an opportunity. Valkras’s body was a weapon from head to toe. A direct hit would end the fight.

She avoided a direct confrontation.

She looked for vulnerabilities.

And forced him into a corner.

Magic activated.

Ice thorns shot out from Asies at sharp speeds toward Valkras.

“What a waste of effort!”

Valkras clenched his fist and swung his arm. The thorns shattered, and shards flew everywhere. Valkras’s figure was reflected in the countless shards of ice.

From the shattered fragments, new ice thorns sprouted.

There were about ten.

Ten thorns were launched to pierce Valkras’s body. Yet once again, Valkras’s punches effortlessly shattered the thorns.

And once more.

The ten shards multiplied to one hundred, and from the hundred shards, new thorns grew. From the pillars of thorns grew new thorns, and from the thorns that sprouted grew yet more thorns.

Valkras could not fend off the nearly infinite thorns.

The ground beneath his feet had turned into a sheet of ice, making it hard to take a single step. Every time he swung his arm, the ice that sprouted from the sheet tugged at him.

Obstructions piled up.

It was as if ice, as an element, was endowed with a will to actively assist Asies. By the time he regained his senses, the ice thorns filled the battlefield completely.

Like being sewn shut by a sewing machine, thorns enveloped Valkras’s body from all sides.

In a cramped space where he could hardly move a finger. Valkras found himself trapped and unable to budge.

In front of Valkras.

In the artificially created square of thorns, Asies charged in. The thorns opened a path, allowing her to move toward Valkras without allowing him even the slightest movement.

Whoosh.

The ice sword, imbued with icy power, aimed once more for Valkras’s chest, deepening the previous wound.

“Grrr…!”

What he felt was not only the hot pain. Far colder chills spread through his wounds.

Holding the sword steady, Valkras swung down the axe with his other hand. Asies did not hesitate; she released the sword and retreated.

Receiving some wounds and losing her sword would have been an equitable exchange to allow Valkras to land a blow.

Yet.

With a rip, the embedded sword vanished and reappeared in Asies’s left hand. Valkras was left with nothing but wounds. It was an absurd result that made a weary sigh escape his lips.

The battle continued like a thin layer of ice.

Asies narrowly dodged the red flashes, unleashing a torrent of sword beams.

Speed, magic, and swordsmanship—everything surged upward drastically. Valkras sustained countless wounds, and bright red blood gushed forth from his entire body.

Yet Asies remained untarnished by blood. The sanguine warmth became icy droplets as they fell.

The ice and sword sang in harmony.

Valkras’s roar added a majestic accompaniment.

His body filled with blood and wounds. The giant, who seemed insurmountable, finally staggered.

“Hah… Hah…”

Asies, who had pushed the Orc King Valkras to the brink, steadied her breathing.

Asies’s magic was unfathomable enough to defy the very fundamentals of magic systems, yet it was not entirely omnipotent.

Casting magic consumed power, a natural law. Particularly, for ones like Asies, whose magic deviated from norms, it required significantly more power.

She had been unleashing spells without pause.

The backlash steadily piled up on Asies.

The next attack would conclude the battle.

They silently communicated.

And.

Bang!

The one to move first was Valkras.

Drawing on every ounce of power within.

The uniquely red magic of the warrior.

However, the Orc King’s power transcended the ordinary.

A sinister energy filled the air, mixed with a dark hue.

The magic lashed out like a whip.

The ice sheet shattered and crumbled upon contact with the magic.

Bending his knees to lower his center of gravity as much as possible, Valkras launched himself skyward. It was a leap that defied imagination for such a heavy frame.

“Can you really avoid this too!”

Establishing himself in the air, Valkras pulled the axe back to its limits.

With everything at his disposal.

Power Stomp.

The Orc King’s finishing blow, which had turned numerous cities to dust, detonated above Asies’s head.

Asies intuited it.

She realized it could not be blocked.

She could not afford to block it.

Nor dodge. The impact would engulf the entire fortress. If Asies dodged, not only the slaves but also Carami would be swept away.

What to do?

As Asies hesitated, Valkras began his descent. It was a blow akin to a guillotine attempting to split the world in two.

Amidst her dilemma, Asies.

Leaped.

The air turned cold, forming a foothold in mid-air, and Asies shifted to each step towards greater heights.

‘Up. Higher.’

Before Valkras fell.

As Asies ascended into the sky, the moment she crossed paths with the descending Valkras, she subtly sidestepped and landed upon him.

“What?!”

A wingless being cannot move freely in the air. Unless one could manipulate magic like Asies.

Valkras had no means to shake off Asies. He continued to descend with her riding atop.

Asies’s contact with Valkras’s back gradually caused ice to form. The cool sensation turned Valkras’s expression to one of confusion.

“Get off, you leech!!!”

Valkras’s magic exploded, creating a storm. Asies’s face bore minor wounds as her pale blue hair whipped violently.

Yet Asies did not fall. Quietly, she gathered the remaining magic. The red magic of Valkras slowly intermixed with the wintery blue icy energy.

On the frozen back of Valkras.

She aimed her blade at the location of his heart.

Calmly.

Yet resolutely.

“This is revenge for… tormenting the people.”

She conveyed her will.

“Stop! Stop it now────!”

Valkras’s scream did not reach Asies’s frozen heart.

Without ceasing, the red and blue clashed as a meteor finally fell to the ground. As the snowy dust erupted, about to obliterate the fortress…

Crack!

Ice surged upward.

Like a flower greeting winter.

The blossom, lips sealed shut, wrapped around them, absorbing the shock of the explosion. At the center of the bud sat the ice statue of Valkras, pierced through the heart.

Its mouth and eyes wide open in a frozen expression of shock.

“Hah…”

Taking a deep breath, Asies released a weary breath. Perhaps having expended her strength, the tiara shimmered and then scattered like a wisp of light.

Rising from her place, Asies glanced around. The captives were gawking, but thankfully, due to the ice absorbing the impact, there was no harm done.

Asies turned her gaze to them, locking eyes with Carami. Carami, who had been watching intently, smiled and waved gently.

As Asies stared at it, she cautiously raised her hand and moved it in a very minute gesture.

Gently.

Like petals swaying.

Slowly.

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