The Ice Queen's Resolve
Humans had a natural tendency to erase from their own minds any phenomenon that exceeded their cognitive limits. The clash between the Death King and the Ice Queen—two absolute beings—had been an overwhelming shock to Campbell. By the time the battle reached its climax, he could no longer properly perceive their fight. It was literally a battle from another dimension. It felt as if parts of his memory had been cleanly sliced away, like an edited video. The same hazy sensation one might feel after witnessing cosmic horror with their own eyes—unable to tell whether this was a dream or reality.
Even more astonishing was the fact that, despite the world crumbling around them, the exact spot where Campbell stood remained completely untouched. It was as if both sides had deliberately avoided attacking that single location.
'Of course he can control everything if he feels like it. He was just being dramatic for no reason.'
Kain clicked his tongue in clear displeasure as he stared at Campbell, who was still standing there in a daze. Kain had also awakened an ability on the level of an absolute being. But from the moment of his awakening, he had managed to control that power to some degree, and it had taken him less than a few years to master it completely. No matter how much less talented she might be, she had awakened her ability over ten years ago. For her control to be this disastrously poor simply made no sense.
'This is just her using trauma as an excuse to give up on controlling it altogether.'
Put nicely, her heart was softer than soft-serve ice cream. Put bluntly, she was simply lazy and slothful. An absolute being could shake off most curses as easily as a common cold—yet if her trauma had grown strong enough to become a curse in itself, there was nothing more that needed to be said. This was what martial artists commonly called a heart demon.
"…What exactly did you do to me?"
Had she sensed the change in her own condition? She gently touched the back of her head, which Kain had swollen with his strike, and looked up at him with clear, transparent eyes.
"I just smacked some sense into that thick skull of yours."
"……"
It was true that the blow had jolted her awake. It had flashed before her eyes like a lightning strike, after all. But she knew he already understood that wasn’t what she was asking. And yet he still gave her such a half-hearted answer. If it was supposed to be a joke, it scored a solid zero.
"Did you… cure my curse?"
"Someone didn’t look like she had any intention of fixing it herself."
Kain could hold a grudge for quite a while. Clearly still irritated by the whole mess with the Ice Queen, he continued to speak in a mocking tone. At that, Leon finally let out a small chuckle.
"You already know why I came looking for you, don’t you?"
After going in circles, they had finally reached the main topic. Kain shook off the ice that had clung to his hand from Leon’s final attack and asked in a flat voice.
"Since I killed that curse for you, it’s time to pay up with that name of yours."
"Isn’t it usually the other way around?"
The typical deal would be: I’ll remove your curse if you lend me your strength. A transaction was supposed to be based on give and take. It was extremely rare to offer payment first to someone you’d just met. Unless you were a pushover, that is.
"If you don’t like it, then forget it."
Kain pulled the glasses from his pocket and put them back on as he spoke. He looked completely indifferent to whether Leon actually joined his side or not.
"You’re a glass-hearted wreck anyway. I killed the trauma for now, but without me around, it’ll slowly start crawling back up."
The trauma that had tormented the Ice Queen was a type of curse known as a heart demon. Normally, it was a heavenly tribulation that one could only overcome with their own power. The only person in this world capable of directly interfering with and removing it from the outside was Kain, who had reached the pinnacle of the study of dark magic.
"Is that a threat?"
"Interpret it however you want."
If this incident became the catalyst for her to decide to change, the trauma would never recur. But as he had said earlier, she was far too lazy to change herself. She was weaker than a glass cannon—lazy and fragile to the point that calling her delicate didn’t even begin to cover it. Kain’s evaluation of the Ice Queen couldn’t help but be harsh, not because she had been devoured by her trauma, but because she had failed to escape it for such a long time.
"Then I suppose I have no choice."
Leon gave a small laugh and rose from her seat. The Death King Dark Heaven was a far more interesting man than she had expected. Unlike Tugwi, who had barged straight into the frozen tundra the moment he learned of the newly born absolute being just to test how strong she was, Kain was an entirely different type of person. Most of all, she no longer felt anything when she looked at him now. No—she had confidence. The kind of confidence that meant she wouldn’t freeze even if she faced anyone other than Campbell.
'How strange.'
She felt neither fear nor trembling. Her heart continued to beat with perfect calm, as if it had never been broken. The heart demon that had plagued her for so long had vanished completely. All because of a man she had expected nothing from—just a few words of conversation. Because of that, Kain’s presence in Leon’s mind had become rather favorable. Favorable enough that she wouldn’t mind granting one or two of the favors he asked for.
"I’ll give it to you. If you need the value of my name, take as much as you want."
"……"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
This was almost too obedient. It felt strangely unsatisfying. It was the complete opposite of the Magic Sovereign, who meticulously analyzed every detail and circumstance. Honestly, she seemed even less trustworthy than the Magic Sovereign. Her overly compliant attitude made him wonder if she even properly understood the current state of the continent.
"I simply think you’re better than the other side."
Realizing the meaning behind his gaze, Leon gave a small laugh and answered. Compared to Tugwi, who had barged into the frozen tundra without warning and slaughtered every Tyrfing survivor in sight until she appeared, the Death King before her was far more gentlemanly. Besides, she had always felt favorably toward the underworld. After all, they had shared food and supplies with the people living here.
"Above all, you’re the type who finds it too annoying to piece together lies, aren’t you?"
"…You’re better at reading people than I expected."
"I may not look it, but I used to be a princess."
Was she the same type as that princess who followed the little brat around at the academy? Even if her heart was weak, she didn’t seem to be stupid.
"Instead, could you add one more condition?"
"Let’s hear it."
"From the next transaction onward, could you increase the mineral cost a bit more? Mostly in exchange for food."
The root cause of the trauma she carried. The Ice Queen still felt guilty toward the survivors of this country. She was the criminal who had taken their families, friends, and nation from them. That was why she had stepped forward the moment Tugwi began his massacre, and why she had later placed Campbell at the forefront to unite the kingdom’s survivors into a single massive tribe—so that no more victims would appear. Even if most of them resented her, she would protect them as the queen of this nation.
"I’ve heard that the population has been increasing slightly lately, so the current amount feels a little short."
"Well, if it’s just that much, sure. If it helps, I can increase it two times, three times—however much you need."
Greed would probably faint and burst into tears if he heard this, but if the price of freely commanding an absolute being was nothing more than food, it was an incredibly cheap deal.
"Still, it’s better if you clearly understand the situation. I’ll send Pride over here separately later."
While official news was being delivered along with the food, there was also a lot of information that hadn’t been made public. Even if she didn’t know everything, she needed to be at least on the same level as the Magic Sovereign for their discussions to proceed smoothly. Since the Ice Queen agreed with that assessment, she readily nodded at Kain’s words.
"Since my curse is gone thanks to you, it shouldn’t be a problem. If facing me directly feels burdensome, you can speak with Campbell and have him report back."
"No need. That guy isn’t the type to shrink back just because he has to meet someone in person."
He would probably be thrilled instead. Things had gone better than expected. And as always, he would suddenly call and scream at the top of his lungs, “As expected of Master!!!!”
'I should block that guy’s number for a while.'
Thinking that, Kain turned around and began walking away. He then leaped off the outer wall of the frozen castle, which had been so thoroughly destroyed that it could no longer even be called a building. With a shrill, grotesque cry, a skeletal wyvern caught the falling Kain—apparently having been waiting for its master’s return. Leon watched his receding figure and the black sky that was slowly clearing, a faint smile on her lips.
"He really is indifferent until the very end."
As she spoke, the Ice Queen looked around. The once-prosperous capital of Tyrfing, thanks to the King of Blood, had vanished without a trace. The frozen castle had collapsed beyond recognition, and in its center, the frozen corpses that had once filled the great city had crawled up from the ground—still clutching at ankles—and formed a towering hill.
Like a person who finished eating and left the dishes for someone else to clean, the Death King had dumped all the cleanup on others and left without a shred of responsibility. Strangely, though, it didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.
"…Everyone, I’m sorry."
This hill was a graveyard. A graveyard built from the corpses of those who had died in this great city. After a long time, Leon finally bowed her head toward their frozen graves and asked for forgiveness. Then she quietly gazed at her father’s face—frozen in the exact same posture as the other corpses, hand reaching toward her—before turning away.
'You truly are both cruel and kind.'
Her time had completely stopped after that incident long ago. But with the arrival of the Death King, the prison-like great city that had bound her had been completely shattered. As if telling her to stop crying like a child locked in her room. As if telling her that if she caused trouble, she should move on her own to fix it. He had personally created a graveyard for the dead and completely shattered her trauma.
'I don’t know if that was his intention or not.'
At the very least, she now understood what she needed to do going forward.
"Campbell."
"Yes, Princess."
"If any of the Death King’s subordinates come, let me know through the communication orb. I’ll return here immediately."
Where was she planning to go? In response to that silent question, Leon smiled brightly for the first time in a long while and answered.
"If you’ve done something wrong, you should go around apologizing, shouldn’t you?"
To those who had frozen to death within this kingdom. Just like the Death King had done, she would build their tombstones. She intended to visit them one by one and ask for forgiveness. All the things she had been unable to do until now.
"It’ll be fine. He may be violent, but the Death King showed me the way."
Everything would be okay. Repeating that all-purpose phrase once more, Leon looked up at the clear blue sky where the darkness had lifted and not a single cloud remained. Seeing how much she had changed, Campbell silently bowed his head in acceptance.
"I’m back."
At the voice coming from the front door, Kain unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
'That was too close.'
He never expected the little brat to open the front door and walk in the moment he got home. He had almost been late.
"Hm?"
Arina, who had walked through the entryway into the living room, tilted her head with a puzzled expression as she looked at Kain.
'Why is he standing?'
It must have seemed strange that Kain, who would normally be sprawled on the sofa, was standing on his own two feet. She stared at his face for a moment before slowly walking over and asking.
"Did you go somewhere?"
"Yeah. Just for a bit."
Her senses are annoyingly sharp.
Kain turned his head away from her and frowned.
"How unusual. Uncle actually went outside."
With that, Arina walked right past him toward the kitchen.
"I’ll prepare dinner right away. Please wait just a little."
"Take your time."
Fortunately, she hadn’t noticed the most important thing. If she had seen it with her personality, she would have thrown a huge fit.
'While the little brat is making dinner, I should secretly overlay an illusion on my skin.'
Avoiding the path Arina was taking, Kain glanced at his right arm—which he had hidden behind him out of sight. It had been injured by the Ice Queen’s final attack. A deep sigh escaped his lips.
'I hope I never have to see that woman again.'
Unlike the Ice Queen, who had developed a favorable impression of the Death King, Kain had accumulated nothing but negative feelings toward Leon.