Chapter 303: Iron Fairy Subjugation (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 303: Iron Fairy Subjugation (13)
The iron gates that filled the sky slowly ground open, and a cold reaching absolute zero spilled out like a waterfall through the rift.
The Elemental Kings and the people of Aldreque gaped in astonishment as they watched the heavens part.
Boom!
A gigantic black arm of immeasurable size burst from the crack, its massive fingers gripping the edges of the gates.
Beyond those arms, deep within the iron gates, several eerie red eyes gleamed amidst the pale blue frost. Finally, the gates yielded to the brute force of the intruder, swinging wide.
A black monster, a being transcending the very concepts of life and death, thrust its head forward to reveal a colossal body.
[Kaaaaaaaah!!!]
Diakan, the Primordial Magic Beast of Ice, roared at Thanatos.
Swoosh!!
Ripples of intense cold radiated outward from Isaac and Diakan. Merely by being caught in the wake of their mana, the Elemental Kings had to grit their teeth and bite their lips to endure the pressure.
Without the barrier maintained by the Elemental Kings, the people of Aldreque would have been flash-frozen in an instant. At Isaac’s whim, the world could easily be transformed into a frozen hell.
Inside the maw of the transcendent Diakan, piercing blue mana swirled fiercely. The sheer volume of energy gathering there was unfathomable, surpassing the capacity of even an archwizard.
“The Primordial Magic Beast… how can such a monster exist in this world?”
Water Sovereign Siren swallowed hard.
If Isaac and Diakan had truly intended to shatter their barrier, she couldn't even guess how easily it would have broken. Even the Elemental Kings, who served as the world's pillars, felt utterly helpless before Isaac.
Meanwhile, Thanatos did not let up. He held the condensed mana of annihilation in his right hand—an astronomical amount of power.
Ian’s [Expelled from Paradise] had successfully stripped away the [Veil of the Evil God], but that was the extent of it. Thanatos himself remained largely unscathed. To the demon, the black beast filling the sky was ultimately just a minion of the Ice Sovereign.
Somehow, he had to bring down the King himself.
[Graaaahh!!]
Thanatos howled. He swung his arm, unleashing the full weight of annihilation toward Isaac.
Fwooooosh!!!!
The dark green flames, which ravaged the dead and incinerated souls, surged forward. They pushed through the freezing air without hesitation, locked onto Isaac.
The Elemental Kings groaned, pouring every drop of their mana into the barrier to withstand the collateral.
Whoosh!!
As if finding the attack laughable, Isaac fired three spheres of [Cocytus]. Simultaneously, Diakan unleashed the concentrated cold stored in its maw.
The moment the spells collided, an intense blue light—blinding as a flashbang—filled the Elemental Kings' barrier.
Boooom!!!!!!
A storm of immeasurable mana swept through the sky, accompanied by an ear-splitting roar.
“Kyahhhh!!!”
Water Sovereign Siren squeezed her eyes shut and screamed. It finally dawned on her that Erin Campbell’s earlier warning hadn't been a joke.
Brace for mana depletion?
No, even if all the Elemental Kings drained themselves dry, they would be lucky just to survive the shockwave.
[Graaaaagh!!!]
Thanatos screamed amidst the raging frost and the flood of chilling light. The mana density was so high that the blinding radiance showed no sign of fading.
Thanatos’s massive, solid body began to freeze and shatter, treading the path to total annihilation. Yet, he still sought a way to survive. At the center of his crumbling form, the true Thanatos—protected within an orb of mana—revealed himself.
[Do you really think… I can be killed by this much?!]
The flood of mana and the unrelenting blue light were eating away at him. His life force was resilient enough to withstand the deathly cold, if only for a moment. However, his vessel was being systematically destroyed. He had to escape this icy hell, no matter what.
If I can just escape, time will be on my side. I will grow stronger and face the Ice Sovereign again.
But there would be no second chance for Thanatos.
Vwoooom!!
A sharp tearing sound cut through the air.
A figure wrapped in the chill of the Ice Sovereign flew at incredible speed, thrusting a left fist toward Thanatos.
It was Isaac.
[…Ugh!]
It was too late to dodge. Thanatos had no choice but to counter. With eyes wide, he inhaled sharply and swung his right fist to meet Isaac’s.
Wham!!
The collision sent a shockwave through the atmosphere. Neither side budged.
In that instant, their clashing fists froze solid, fusing them together. Thanatos panicked. This was ice created by the Ice Sovereign’s own mana; he couldn't break free.
“Got you,” Isaac said coldly.
[Did you know… that I wouldn’t die so easily?]
“Of course. How could I not know your real body was hiding inside that cumbersome shell?”
The absolute zero cold began to consume Thanatos’s flesh. A crushing sense of powerlessness washed over the demon. Once again, primal fear reared its head.
What is this? What is this being in human form, who dares to tread upon divinity?
Sensing his end, Thanatos voiced the question burning in his mind.
[You… what the hell are you? No, who are you?]
It was a vague question, yet Thanatos desperately wanted an answer.
Isaac pondered for a heartbeat. He thought of the vow he had made—the promise he forged in the wake of Luce’s death. He had sworn to become a 'munchkin,' a being overwhelmingly powerful against the demonic host.
He would defeat the Evil God. He would not lose.
“Demon-Limited Hunter.”
It didn't matter if he wasn't the strongest being in the world in every category. For this journey, it was enough to be the absolute strongest against one specific race.
He would endure, he would fight, and he would win—transforming from the Academy’s Weakest into a Demon-Limited Hunter. He would forge a path toward the ending he desired.
Whoosh!!
Isaac condensed the freezing mana into his free hand. A pale blue vortex swirled as the magic circle for the 5-star spell, [Frost Explosion], manifested.
Isaac declared, “I am the one who will exterminate your kind.”
For a moment, Thanatos’s eyes widened. He saw it—an image of the human before him reaching the pinnacle of all existence. His emotions settled into a strange calm.
Then, Thanatos chuckled quietly.
[Impressive!]
Though his body was already being torn apart by the storm of absolute zero, Thanatos gathered his remaining mana of annihilation into his other hand. Brilliant dark green flames flared one last time.
The one who wielded the power of death was finally ready to meet his own.
[Just try it! Try to bring down our God!]
As Isaac released the spell, the two reached out, their hands filled with concentrated destruction. The forces clashed, and a blinding flash signaled the end.
The intense cold pierced Thanatos’s entire body, and the resulting shockwave shattered him into a million pieces. The howling frost swallowed the roar of the explosion.
Fragments of ice scattered like diamonds, and sharp glaciers surged in every direction. Thanatos’s voice echoed faintly in Isaac’s ears one last time before he turned to ashes and vanished.
[Congratulations! You’ve defeated the demon Thanatos the Ruination (Lv 2■■) and gained EXP!]
[Level Up!! Your level has increased to 178!]
[You have unlocked the legendary achievement ❰Ah, Death❱! You have gained 30 bonus stat points!]
The light began to fade. The absolute zero subsided, and the iron gates in the sky slowly closed before vanishing. The fierce winds died down, and the elemental barrier, having reached its absolute limit, unraveled.
The Elemental Kings, completely drained of mana, slumped to the ground. They looked up with hollow expressions.
At the center of the devastation stood Isaac, the Ice Sovereign. The survivors gazed at him in disbelief. They felt it in their bones—even if all the powers of this world united, they could not defeat this man.
He was an unreasonable, resilient existence. Without a doubt, Isaac was now the pinnacle of the world.
“Haa.”
Isaac’s sigh escaped as a white puff of frost. He deactivated [Ice Sovereign], a skill he still couldn't fully handle. The magic circle with its three pairs of wings dissipated, and Isaac began to fall.
[Master!]
The Frost Dragon, Hilde, dove quickly to catch him. At level 178, maintaining Hilde’s true form was now effortless.
“Thank you, Hilde.”
[Hmm. If you are truly grateful, I expect endless headpats later…]
Isaac clumsily stroked the dragon’s scales and turned his head.
Ian Fairytale had fainted, held securely by Hilde’s ice. Isaac noticed that even in his unconscious state, Ian’s hand was stretched out with a thumb raised.
Isaac let out a small chuckle. Together, they headed back toward Aldreque.
*
“That’s just too much! Leaving without a single word of thanks? Even if he is the Ice Sovereign, how can he be so cold? Still… I suppose that’s part of his charm. Haha.”
“Yeah, sure, you super-aged hag.”
Water Sovereign Siren shot a glare at Erin Campbell, the Wind Sovereign. A vein popped on her forehead.
The Wind Sovereign responded nonchalantly, “What are you looking at?”
“What do you think? You’re talking nonsense at a time like this!”
“Haa. Honestly, you two are exhausting. Stop bickering and look around.”
Siren furrowed her brows and surveyed the area. The city of Aldreque was a graveyard of rubble. The battle had quite literally torn the landscape to shreds.
“I’ve assessed the situation,” Siren said. “The conclusion is simple: from now on, we live in the shadow of the Ice Sovereign.”
Several of the Elemental Kings nodded in grim agreement. There was no longer any point in denying Isaac’s supremacy. Isaac was leaving them behind, but the overwhelming power he had displayed was etched into their souls.
A new order for the world had begun.
“Truly a remarkable man…” Fire Sovereign Andersen let out a hollow, disbelieving laugh.
“…Let’s head back. After a short rest.”
Lightning Sovereign Jaul steadied his breathing. It had been so long since he had experienced mana depletion that he had almost forgotten the sensation.
However, they were Elemental Kings. Soon enough, they would recover enough to take their elemental forms and travel. As they rested, they watched the white dragon fly toward the horizon.
In the aftermath of the battle, the sky began to shed early snowflakes. The white powder blanketed the world, covering the scars of the battlefield.