Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Witch Frederica
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"Hmph."
*Pat, pat.*
Humming, footsteps.
I walked across the bridge connecting the outer and inner castles, where the sky was visible. A blanket of fresh snow covered the bridge to the inner castle.
One step, two steps, slicing through the demonic soldiers that rushed me.
*Splat!*
Blood scattered across the pure white snow. The demons' blood was red.
Humming, footsteps.
"Do you wanna build a snowman~? Big sis Chris~"
I even sang a bit of a song from memory, crouching down to roll a snowball. One snowball, tinged with a faint red, was complete.
I'll make the second one when I come to the dungeon with my sister.
The inner castle was close now.
*Tap.*
With a light leap, I diagonally sliced through the two Ice Golems standing guard on either side of the gate.
*Thud.*
They fell, easily cut down.
Walking down the straight corridor of the inner castle.
Humming, footsteps. And then, silence.
I arrived at the throne room.
On the throne directly ahead sat a woman completely covered in blue-tinged ice.
She was the height of an adult woman and looked at me with a pristine white smile.
An Ice Witch, or something like that?
"What a cute little guest."
I'm not little. I'm a grown woman.
I bowed my head.
"Hello."
"You've done well to reach my cold, humble outpost. My apologies if my method of greeting guests is a bit rough."
A being I could converse with. A demon NPC with reason.
*Beep.*
I turned off the broadcast screen. I had paused my stream.
From now on, this is off the record.
The conversation between the 'Hero' and the 'Mistress of the Frozen Palace' would remain only in my memory.
"Um, Miss Ice Witch? I have a question."
"What is it? It's been a while since I've had a guest. I suppose I can hear you out before I turn you into one of my collectibles."
*Rumble.*
From around the Ice Witch's throne, several statues completely encased in ice rose up.
They were varied in appearance—humans, elves, dwarves, even demons and monsters.
"You have a refined hobby."
"Thank you for the compliment."
That wasn't a compliment.
She was different from the demon officers at the forward base who only said what they wanted, the half-chimera that only groaned, and the Demon General Aspero. She was the first high-ranking demon I could have a rational conversation with.
In any case, I had many questions.
I guess I'll start with a more fundamental question.
"Why are you here, in a place like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're a demon, right? What was the Demon Army's hierarchy again? A rank similar to Demon General Aspero... you're a Demon General too, right? And above that would be the Corps Commanders."
The Ice Witch's eyebrow seemed to twitch slightly.
*Creeak.*
The corners of her mouth, made of ice shards, lifted slightly.
"You know quite a lot. Is there a way for the humans of this land, in this era, to know the Demon Army's hierarchy?"
"Well, would you understand if I said I learned it through memories from a very long time ago?"
"I do not understand."
Well, that's not what's important.
"Why are you cooped up in here? Don't you ever think, 'Let's go out and conquer the world!'? Ah, is it some kind of setting where you're biding your time and storing up power? Why are demons bound to things like 'instance dungeons'? Besides, if there are a hundred parties, there must be a hundred of you, Miss Ice Witch. Are you some kind of copy?"
Wow, that's the first time in my life I've spoken for so long. She's just an NPC, of course, but maybe my social skills training is finally paying off.
*Ruuuumble.*
The entire throne room, covered in ice, vibrated. A cold chill poured from the Ice Witch's body. She seemed furious.
"Calling me a mere copy... you have some nerve. Perhaps I'll cut you into little pieces and put you on display."
*Clang.*
I licked my lips and drew Astaroth.
As expected, an NPC is just an NPC. They can't break the fourth wall. Even that dwarven sage, 'Village Chief Drugel,' couldn't approach the truth of this world.
Maybe a high-ranking demon above her might know something about the true nature of this world.
Anyway, the demons are also beings bound by the system, by 'instance dungeons.' I wonder how they could possibly pose a threat to this world.
The Ice Witch... she must also have dangerous patterns that are difficult to handle alone.
Of course, she's just a demon who doesn't seem to know much.
In that case, she can just die quietly and line my pockets.
It's not strange for a hero to seek fortune. It's been that way since ancient times. They loot treasure chests in dungeons and raid treasure chests in private homes. For a hero, it's all legal.
I will legally claim the rewards I was meant to receive.
And while I'm at it, I'll uncover the truth of this world.
*Ruuuumble.*
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Ice blades began to rotate around the Ice Witch. They probably had enough cutting power to easily slice my soft body in half.
Ten of them in total.
"Kyahahahat!"
The Ice Witch let out a crazed laugh, floating up from her throne and surging toward me.
I also raised Astaroth and faced her ice blades.
*Clang!*
[Third Named]
[Level 48 Witch Frederica]
[HP 50,000,000 / 50,000,000 (100%)]
*
*Whoosh, whoosh!*
The sound of something tearing through the cold air reached my ears—the witch's attack, freely manipulating ice blades as large as her own body.
I pulled back slightly. A blade radiating cold energy grazed past my face. Then I thrust my starlit sword forward.
*Krrrk!*
Another ice blade moved to block my sword.
This witch knows how to guard.
*Twirl.*
I let her blade slide off mine, spun, and slashed at the witch's side. I slipped between the ice blades that failed to follow my sword's erratic path.
*Thwack!*
A few shards of ice fell from the Ice Witch's side.
The Ice Witch's face twisted slightly.
"You insolent brat!"
*Flash!*
A white flash burst from the Ice Witch's blade, crossing the entire throne room. Its path was aimed from my right shoulder to my left side. I twisted my body lightly.
*Ruuuumble!*
The flash that grazed past me sliced diagonally through one of the ice statues near the throne, and it toppled over.
A terrifying attack. It's almost a map-wide AoE. This is a normal pattern? Ranged dealers are going to have a hard time.
The Ice Witch's attacks were fierce and fast. Without a moment to breathe, three ice blades lunged at me. Left, right, and from above. They swung simultaneously, as if to punish the thieving hero who came to plunder the dungeon master's treasure chest.
*Swish.*
My vision blurred. When it returned, I was looking at the Ice Witch's back. It was Counterattack, a skill that takes the rear position.
The blades around the Ice Witch's body spun once.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Having received the 'Vigor' buff from a Just Guard, I began to hack away at the Ice Witch's body with even stronger sword strikes.
I swung Astaroth, carving a picture of sword marks onto the statue that was the Ice Witch.
Fast, powerful attacks, and even guards from ice blades that seemed to have a will of their own. She was by no means an easy opponent. But my sword, which pierced through the ice blades' guard and struck at vital points, continued to carve wounds into the witch's body.
Before I knew it, the witch's HP had reached the 90% mark.
"Kyaah! You annoying little rat!"
Letting out a shrill cry, the witch floated into the air and landed a short distance away from me.
She's entering a special pattern.
*Ruuuumble. Crack, crack, crack.*
As the entire throne room shook from the demonic energy the witch was emitting, icicles soon fell from all over the ceiling, forming frost zones on the floor.
A total of five.
I instantly assessed the battlefield.
This pattern... it's familiar.
It's the same mechanic as the 'Ice Ogre King' in the Ice Crystal Tower.
Soon, the witch will absorb the frost and suck up all these zones.
Since there are five zones, will she use a room-wide AoE five times? No, the pattern couldn't be that kind. 'Witch Frederica' is the final named boss of an elite dungeon, no less. She's not comparable to the Ice Ogre King, who was just a slightly tanky solo boss.
If I let her absorb all the frost...
At the very least, she'll go berserk.
*Tat-tat-tat!*
Having made a quick decision, I immediately began to act to remove the zones.
There were no special objects in sight for clearing the frost zones. By process of elimination, the only way left was to clear them with my own body.
Without hesitation, I stepped on one of the frost zones billowing near the Ice Witch.
*Vwoom!*
The zone I stepped on glowed brightly and disappeared. I tensed my muscles slightly in preparation for any potential pain, but I took no damage.
*Crack.*
Instead, my feet froze. It was 'Frozen,' a status effect that seals movement.
No matter how skilled I was, I couldn't break a status effect like 'Frozen' with physical movement alone.
Of course, there is a way to remove the 'Frozen' status.
Skills with a 'coordinate movement' property. Flash Strike, Backstep, Counterattack, and the like.
This time, I'd have to borrow the power of the system.
*Kwoooosh!*
The witch began to absorb the frost. The chill from the entire throne room was being sucked into her body. Soon, she would absorb all the frost zones.
There was no time to delay. Since the Ice Witch was nearby, I'd first use Counterattack to break the freeze.
*Swish, crack.*
My body blurred, and the ice shattered from my feet. I reappeared behind the Ice Witch.
Four frost zones remaining.
*Tap.*
I stepped on a zone near the witch. I stuck close to her with an approach skill and broke the freeze. Dashing backward quickly, I checked the positions of the remaining zones.
They were far away. I'd have to cross the entire throne room. On the other hand, the last three zones were quite close to each other.
*Gwoooooo!*
There wasn't much time left. The frost zones were already glowing brightly, about to be sucked into the witch.
One. With my back to the two remaining zones, *tat-tat!* Backstep for the second. Before the invincibility frames wore off, I twisted my body, faced the final zone, and *flash!* Flash Strike for the third.
I used every coordinate movement skill at my disposal and succeeded in clearing all the zones. However, the foot that stepped on the last zone was frozen.
I had no coordinate movement skills left to break the freeze.
If I got hit in this state, I'd be taken out for good.
Should I use the item's cooldown reset function? No, I might need it for a burst damage phase.
I think I had one more skill that forcibly moved my body.
*Chk.*
I looked at the witch from a distance, lowered my stance, and held my sword in a reverse grip.
[Starlight Sword Ki]
[Cooldown: 1 minute]
[Fires 5 waves of starlit sword ki in a 15m x 3m area in front of you (4 hits at 500% of Starlight Slash's power, 1 hit at 2000%)]
*F-f-f-f-whish!*
Four quick slashes sent starlit sword ki sweeping over the witch's body.
*Flash!*
At the same time, the white flash that burst from the witch's hand shot diagonally, aimed precisely at me.
An unguardable pattern.
If I can't break the freeze, I'll be split in two. But I still didn't activate the cooldown reset.
I have to land the final, 2000% damage hit of the sword ki.
Without hesitation, I swung my starlit sword.
*Kwooooosh!*
"Kaak!"
The sword ki passed through the white flash and dealt massive damage to the witch. The flash, which didn't interact with the sword ki, continued straight toward me.
*Swish.*
I shifted my foot slightly to the side, dodging the witch's flash.
Of course, this was only possible because the 'Frozen' status had been removed.
The final hit of Starlight Sword Ki—its recoil had shifted my body back slightly, breaking the freeze.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The witch, her face now a mask of pure fury, flew toward me. The ice blades circling her clashed against my sword.
She had returned to her normal pattern. But I couldn't help but wonder.
Is the special pattern really over just like that?
Of course, to clear the zones alone, I had to use every skill I had.
But in a party, they could split up and clear them in an instant.
I feel like there's something more.
My premonition was correct.
*Vwooooom!*
One of the ice blades, which had been circling in the air instead of attacking me, soon floated to the center of the combat area and began to emit a powerful light.