Chapter 191: Priestess of The Red Lotus (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 191: Priestess of The Red Lotus (4)
The Nine-tailed Fox, Mae.
In the Nation of the Land of the Fire Blossoms, where Miya ruled as a tyrant, the reason she was so difficult to assassinate was largely due to the presence of her magic beast.
Long ago, the Nine-tailed Fox had transformed into a killing stone, claiming the life of anyone who dared draw near. This was born from a deep-seated distrust of humanity, rooted in the trauma of nearly being slaughtered by them. Thus, the fox became a cursed rock, exuding a lethal toxin that withered any living thing in its vicinity.
The woods surrounding the stone became known as the Forest of Death—a desolate, off-limits wasteland. For countless years, the Nine-tailed Fox lived in absolute, crushing solitude.
Then, one day, a curious young girl wandered into the Forest of Death.
Born into poverty, her clothes were humble, but her intelligent eyes and lustrous black hair were striking. This girl was Miya.
She possessed a mysterious, innate power—one that allowed her to recognize the profound loneliness and the long-dulled sorrow of the fox that had become a stone.
Braving certain death, Miya approached the poisonous rock without hesitation. Even as the potent toxins began to ravage her body, she did not falter. She constantly channeled healing magic into herself to stave off death, all while gently caressing the cold surface of the stone.
─ "It’s okay... It’s okay..."
Her voice and touch were like sunlight piercing through a dense canopy, illuminating the dark forest. Though she was barely clinging to life, her skin pale and fading from the poison, Miya continued to stroke the rock with a tender hand.
Before Miya could collapse, the Nine-tailed Fox finally undid its transformation and revealed its true form.
The pure white Nine-tailed Fox shed tears as it felt Miya’s touch. Miya beamed, exclaiming how beautiful the creature was before pulling the fox into a warm embrace.
In that moment, the Nine-tailed Fox let go of its hostility toward the world.
Miya visited the Forest of Death frequently after that, sharing stories of her everyday life. To the Nine-tailed Fox, happiness was the filling of a void it hadn't known could be filled. Its loneliness withered away, replaced by a blossoming joy. Miya provided such genuine warmth that even the trauma of the past hunting parties began to fade.
However, at some point, Miya stopped coming to the forest.
The Nine-tailed Fox waited. Every single day, it waited for her return.
Rain poured. Snow fell.
Like a loyal dog waiting for a master who would never return, the fox remained in the exact spot where they had first met, passing the time in silence.
Then, after a long age had passed—on a day when white snowflakes blanketed the forest in a thick shroud—Miya finally returned. But she was no longer the kind, innocent child the fox remembered.
─ "Follow me. I will show you the world I intend to rule."
The girl was draped in glamorous silks and adorned with priceless jewels. Standing before the fox was a tyrant, a woman ready to commit any cruelty to seize what she desired.
*
"You dare lay a hand on my mother?"
Mana surged.
My body felt as light as a feather. My stamina wasn't just restored; it felt bottomless, surging with an infinite reserve. My mana circuits became incredibly robust, the density and volume of the energy flowing through them pumping with terrifying force.
Sensing a malevolent aura, the Shadow Priestess Elmetona the Ethereal instinctively moved to protect Miya, the source of her power. Elmetona layered a sturdy shield of black flames over the tyrant.
Whoosh!
An agonizingly cold chill erupted from Isaac, instantly snuffing out the [Cherry Blossom] flame spell and flash-freezing the surroundings into a frigid wasteland. A heavy, suffocating pressure of mana settled over the area. That alone was enough to make Elmetona stagger.
The unique trait [Hunter] had activated.
It was a dramatic enhancement of both body and mana. Isaac’s power had grown so immense that it didn't just weigh down the island; it extended its reach over the sky and the surrounding seas.
It’s only a matter of time before people flock here.
However... it won’t take long to put this demon down.
Isaac extended his right arm to the side.
Whoosh.
Dark blue mana gathered in his palm, expanding before condensing into a singular, infinitesimal point. He gripped the air, and the mana solidified into a massive scythe that fit perfectly in his hand. The heavy rattle of chains echoed across the dueling ground.
It was the Frostscythe, the legendary weapon of the Primordial Ice Sovereign.
"There’s one thing you’ve overlooked."
As Isaac narrowed his eyes, his skin took on a sharper hue and his silver hair bristled. A deep, primordial aura began to flow from him.
The 9-star passive skill: [Ice Sovereign].
Sensing that aura, Elmetona the Ethereal stood agape. It was the unmistakable mark of one who had reached the absolute pinnacle of an element.
Isaac lifted the Frostscythe, his voice dripping with scorn.
"I don't have a mother, bitch."
Pale blue mana bled from his red eyes—a harbinger of the magic to come. He slammed the butt of the Frostscythe into the ground.
A clear, resonant ring echoed.
From that point of impact, a crystalline chill raced in all directions, swallowing the dueling ground whole. With a violent cracking sound, jagged walls of ice rose from the earth, constructing a massive, enclosed arena.
「Domain Expansion」
The cold transformed the ground into a massive ice floe, turning the world into a frozen canvas. A pale blue magic circle was etched into the beautifully sculpted ice ceiling. Countless brinicles—sea stalactites of ice—slowly extended downward, dripping with a murderous chill.
Within this icy palace, the frost-laden wind promised a hellish end to any unfortunate enough to be trapped inside.
[Is this...?!]
Elmetona’s eyes widened in sheer shock. A primal sense of crisis blared like an alarm in her mind. The being before her was an archwizard—no, something far more menacing.
Feeling his immeasurable power, Elmetona furrowed her three pairs of eyes, her face contorting into a hideous mask of revulsion. This place was a freezer of the extreme, a sinister palace where violence was the only currency.
It was Isaac’s domain.
「Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost」
Whoosh!!
The Nine-tailed Fox’s flames, bolstered by dark mana, exploded in a fury that matched Elmetona’s rage. Black fire scattered everywhere, but the heat was insufficient to melt the icy palace. The flames barely managed to keep her feet from freezing to the floor.
Elmetona clenched her fists, trembling violently. Against this monster, a demonized being stood no chance of victory. A desperate, fiery anger surged within her.
[You insolent fool!!]
Elmetona let out a bizarre, distorted roar. Bright red magic circles unfolded in endless rows, each unleashing a barrage of 5 and 6-star fire magic.
Whoosh!!
Crash!!
Massive explosions and torrents of black flame poured toward Isaac without pause, filling the icy sanctum.
[Hear me, you arrogant ice wizard! How dare a mere human defy the natural order?! To covet the realm of Lord Nephid without knowing your place!]
Her shriek was closer to a wail of despair.
[Your very existence is a sin!]
Clash.
Whoosh!
The cold surrounding the space swirled aggressively, instantly freezing the explosions themselves. Bizarre masses of blue ice formed mid-air. Isaac lightly swung the Frostscythe, and the ice masses enveloping him crumbled into dust.
He was unscathed, looking exactly as he had when the fight began.
Elmetona froze, stunned that her barrage had been so effortlessly nullified. The laws of physics and common sense did not apply here. Why had this man struggled against the Priestess just moments ago?
Why did he deceive me?
...I see. I understand.
Elmetona realized Isaac’s intention. He must have known she was hiding in the Priestess’s shadow from the very beginning and lured her out. Had he shown his true power from the start, Elmetona would have simply gathered information and retreated to wait for another opportunity.
[Ice Sovereign] was merely a secondary power to him. Revealing it was a calculated move.
She looked at the ice wizard. Despite being a lowly human, he dared to rival her lord, the Evil God. Elmetona, who had existed in the shadows for eons, thought of the Primordial Sovereigns. They were unmatched in their arrogance, but even they were nothing compared to the Evil God. No matter how strong they were, they upheld the laws of the world.
But this man was different. Even the title of archwizard felt like an insult to the silver-haired monster standing before her.
"It’s lukewarm."
Even a high-density, high-temperature black flame barrage—something capable of incinerating the entirety of Märchen Academy—was nothing more than a distant bonfire in the face of Isaac’s absolute zero. He had already surpassed the Primordial Sovereigns.
Isaac. The name of a being stronger than any human Elmetona had ever encountered.
She clenched her fists. Staying here meant freezing to death. Even if she kept emitting flames, the moment she touched the descending brinicles, the cold would bypass her defenses and freeze her soul.
"...Now, it’s my turn."
Isaac’s red eyes, glowing with a pale blue light, locked onto his prey.
Whoosh!!
Driven by desperation, Elmetona unleashed her black flames at maximum output. She had to escape. If Isaac willed it, her death would be instantaneous.
Elmetona overlaid dark mana onto a 7-star fire spell, [Void Phoenix], a secret art passed down through the Land of the Fire Blossoms. Behind her, a massive black magic circle unfolded, spewing dark fire that carved a path through the frost. Along that path, a phoenix of black flames took flight.
It was a concentration of terrifying mana, possessing enough power to wipe a region off the map.
─────.
It was utterly futile.
The black phoenix froze mid-flight, preserved in its blazing glory. A silvery line was drawn through its center, and the legendary bird was bisected instantly.
[What...!]
[Abyssal Glacier]. A 7-star ice spell that froze all things without restriction.
The next move was the Frostscythe’s unique magic: [Absolute Zero]. The space carved by the blade was severed beyond the limits of reality, extreme cold infiltrating the very gaps of existence.
Whisk!
Isaac bypassed the frozen phoenix and appeared in front of Elmetona. His speed was so great it looked as if he hadn't moved at all—as if he had been standing there the entire time.
Startled, Elmetona instinctively poured out black flames in a final act of resistance, but...
Slash!
Chalalak!
As Isaac swung the Frostscythe, a silver arc of cold swept through the flames, cutting twice into the void. The black flames were severed like physical silk, rendered powerless. Elmetona’s vision distorted.
Her body, sliced by the Frostscythe, had been divided into three pieces.
The wounds immediately froze over due to the scythe's unique magic. The biting cold tore through her very essence.
[Aaaah!!]
She couldn't end like this. She had a goal: to eliminate Ian Fairytale, the only being capable of killing the Evil God. That was the greater cause. If she couldn't defeat Isaac, she had to at least weaken him for the next of her kind.
This man was a mountain range blocking their path. She had to inflict an irreversible injury.
Elmetona let out a bizarre scream, unfolding five black flame magic circles at once.
Boom!
However, her hope was shattered by a kick delivered with blinding speed. With a sound like a detonating bomb, Elmetona’s body—now reduced to a mere torso—was sent hurtling toward the ceiling.
She slammed into the roof of the [Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost]. The brinicles shattered upon impact, scattering opalescent powder like falling stars.
[Ugh...!]
The moment she touched the ice, the extreme cold penetrated her core. The pale blue magic circles lining the ceiling emitted a deadly light. The temperature plummeted further.
The black flames enveloping Elmetona were snuffed out, and her body froze solid in an instant. The remains of the Shadow Priestess, now an ice statue, fell back toward the ground.
Isaac condensed ice mana in his right hand and thrust his arm toward the falling statue. Frigid mana overflowed.
Kwaaaaaaaa!!!
A pale blue flash, faster than the speed of sound, momentarily illuminated the [Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost]. A thunderous boom followed.
The frozen Elmetona shattered into a million pieces.
Massive shards of ice soared above Isaac’s hand, embedding themselves into the ceiling. Isaac dissipated the mana and lowered his arm.
Within the [Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost], his breath came out as a thick white mist, drifting away on the cold wind.
From the moment he activated his Domain Expansion, it had taken just over twenty seconds to erase Elmetona from existence.