Chapter 319: Winged Heavenly Being Subjugation (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 319: Winged Heavenly Being Subjugation (7)
Boom!
A blinding flash engulfed the area, followed by an ear-splitting roar and a massive explosion.
Ice spikes carpeted the Icy Lake as massive shards erupted violently from the frozen surface.
Veiled by the radiant glow, I lunged at Veronica, my Frostscythe carving a sweeping arc through the air.
Whoosh!
Sshhk!
Sensing my presence, Veronica leaped back.
I caught sight of the Frostscythe in her grasp. To be precise, it was a scythe similar to mine, yet subtly different in form—likely a replica forged from memories of the past.
Swoosh!
Silvery trails followed my every move as I pressed the assault.
Veronica parried and dodged with practiced grace, using ice magic or the wings of [Ice Sovereign] to retreat in a blur of motion.
Is the scythe too heavy for her to swing?
Given her frame—so frail it looked as if only skin and bone remained—it was a logical conclusion.
As if by unspoken agreement, we both deployed magic circles simultaneously.
Her circle unleashed a torrent of [Frostfire]. I countered with a [Frostfire] of my own.
Fwooooosh!
Our destructive spells vied for dominance, crashing into one another with relentless fury.
In the eye of the storm, I used magic to project my voice directly into Veronica’s mind.
[Why were you stationed here as a gatekeeper?]
[…]
[You said you would follow the stars. What did that mean?]
[…]
[And what was the falsehood you wanted to cast aside?]
Boom!
[If I go beyond this door, will I know everything? The stars, the falsehoods!]
[…]
Boom!
The only answer I received was a hollow silence.
Her mind was already shattered. She merely unleashed a series of graceful, dazzling ice attacks, her every movement aimed at my life.
Still, I desperately wanted to help her reclaim even a shred of her reason.
“Answer me!” I shouted. “The one who first sealed the Evil God was the monster within me, wasn't it?! That wasn’t recorded in history! How did you know?!”
In the world of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, the final boss—the Evil God Nephid—was sealed in the abyss and later "resurrected."
Why was that specific term used?
Even the Primordial Kings from the dawn of time only foretold the Evil God's resurrection; they played no part in the sealing itself. The identity of the one who had originally imprisoned the deity remained a mystery.
However, back in Düpfendorf, the note Veronica left me when I sought the Cloak of the Radiant Wolf allowed me to guess the truth.
The one who sealed the Evil God—and the being I must never trust if I wish to survive.
“Ozma!”
That being had to be the first kin of the Star Fairy Stella: Ozma.
Boom!
Our spells collided again, erupting into a fierce, freezing blast.
Swoosh!
I tore through the swirling sub-zero winds, closing the distance.
As Veronica swung her Frostscythe, I swung mine, wreathed in absolute zero. My target wasn't Veronica herself, but the weapon she held.
Clang!
The impact sent Veronica’s Frostscythe spinning away. The tide of power had shifted in my favor.
Seizing her head, I slammed my forehead into hers with everything I had.
Thud!
The dull sound of bone hitting bone echoed.
Veronica staggered. Ignoring the blood streaming down my own face, I grabbed her by the collar. No matter how much ice magic she poured out, I retaliated with my own, point-blank.
I glared into her lifeless eyes and demanded, “You were waiting for me here, weren’t you? Why? Why did you do it…?”
[…]
Veronica’s bloodless lips twitched as if she had just realized something. Her eyes finally focused on me.
[Star…]
At last, a word escaped her. Her voice was cracked and dry, as if she hadn’t spoken in centuries.
[…Bey… ond… the… star…]
Beyond the star.
Was she answering my question? Or was this merely the final remnant of an obsession escaping her lips? Whatever the case, the truth clearly lay beyond the gate.
I blinked slowly.
Why? Why did Veronica choose to become the gatekeeper?
She had told me to destroy her with peace in my heart. She must have known this would be her fate.
“Veronica. Why are you… serving as the gatekeeper here?”
As I asked, her eyes widened.
Then, I watched in shock. Her mummified face, devoid of any vitality, began to crack and splinter like a fragile ice sculpture…
…forming the faint ghost of a smile.
Whoosh!
A sharp flash swept the area, followed by an immense wave of mana. A strange, high-pitched whistling filled the sky.
I couldn't take my eyes off Veronica, but I activated [Clairvoyance] to see what was happening above.
What is that…?
A pale blue crescent, etched with countless magic circles, cast a dazzling light from beneath the blood-red clouds. It was an ice crescent, tethered to Veronica by a tether of pure mana.
It was a spell I had never seen before, but the sheer mana consumption suggested it far surpassed even [Cocytus].
Plop. Plop.
Something began to rise from the surface of the Icy Lake.
Creatures of all kinds—naked, shivering, and carrying heavy burdens. Their bodies were ravaged by frostbite from the eternal cold. The sounds of coughing, sobbing, and desperate pleas for help filled the air.
They all knelt, weeping uncontrollably as they gazed up at the ice crescent.
It was a grotesque, bizarre sight.
Only then did I understand the nature of the Icy Lake.
Death. Only the dead could fall into its depths.
Because I was alive, the lake rejected me. Because I was alive, it expelled these creatures to drive me out. Even the rock rod I had created in the elevator must have been rejected because it was forged from the mana of the living.
The realization hit me just as a tremendous force slammed into the side of my face.
Thud!
My body was sent flying like a ragdoll. I tumbled across the ice, nearly losing consciousness. I managed to manifest an [Ice Generation] block to stop my momentum.
[Please… die!]
[Die…!]
[I want to live…!]
[Let me out of here!]
[Give me that body…!]
The dead rushed me in a frenzied horde. They were weak, and I could sense their overwhelming terror.
I looked up just as a barrage of ice magic rained down.
[Gah!]
[Mother…!]
[Save me…!]
I unfurled the wings of [Ice Sovereign] and took to the sky, evading Veronica’s assault. Dozens of the dead were caught in the crossfire, reduced to ashen dust by her magic.
I assessed my condition.
“Cough…!”
Blood sprayed from my mouth. My body was a map of bruises, and my cheek stung with a sharp, throbbing pain.
[Ah, no…!]
[The blood… the blood of the living…!]
The dead wailed in despair as my blood seeped into the lake.
Meanwhile, Veronica stood before the massive gate, retrieving her Frostscythe.
Just before that heavy blow landed, she had vanished from my sight. She had been in a punching stance, moving at a speed that defied belief.
It was like watching a video being fast-forwarded…
Why only now? When our scythes clashed earlier, I had felt how weak she was. It was impossible for someone that frail to hit that hard.
It had to be the ice crescent above her head.
The Cloak of the Radiant Wolf failed to activate.
The cloak usually deployed a barrier the moment it sensed danger. But it hadn't reacted to Veronica’s attack. It was a speed the artifact couldn't even perceive.
Whoosh!
As the distance between us grew, Veronica raised her arm and conjured a cold sun—the 9-star spell [Cocytus]. Terrified, the dead sank back beneath the surface of the lake.
You told me to destroy you to earn the right to pass. So your next words must be, "Prove it," right?
I focused, pushing through the pain. I needed to confirm my theory.
I, too, constructed [Cocytus]. We hurled the twin cold suns at each other.
Boom!
Enveloping myself in an ice barrier, I cut through the freezing explosion and charged Veronica.
The moment I reached her—
Thud!
“Ugh!”
I was sent sliding across the lake again. The dead crawled back to the surface, lunging at me like a horde of zombies.
Crash!
Veronica’s magic rained down relentlessly. I clung to my consciousness and soared into the air.
I realized these spirits were no different from the creatures of the Nether I fought on the Floating Island. They were desperate to devour me, hoping a living body would be their ticket out of this hell.
As the distance grew, Veronica prepared another [Cocytus]. The dead were forcibly sucked back into the lake.
“Haah… haah…”
I wiped the blood from my chin and watched her.
The size of [Cocytus] is shrinking…
Based on her mana, she should have been able to cast it three times without issue. This meant the ice crescent was draining her dry. Yet, the crescent itself hadn't attacked me.
Why maintain it?
Then it clicked.
Force is the product of mass and acceleration. Acceleration is the change in velocity over time. If the target’s time is slowed, the impact force increases because the "time" factor in the denominator of the acceleration formula is shortened relative to the attacker.
Veronica was weak, but she could hit like a meteor because my time had been slowed. I only perceived her movement after the impact had already occurred.
She stops time, moves, and then time resumes…
That’s why she looks like she’s fast-forwarding.
That’s why the cloak couldn't react.
It wasn't a total time-stop—that would be physically impossible due to air convection and gravity issues. But within the radius of that crescent, she held a localized dominion over time.
There was no way to defeat her in close combat.
Is this the limit of that crescent’s power?
No. I was certain it was more.
That power… is the ultimate ice magic I need to master.
Her patterns were becoming predictable. She was testing me. When I approached, she used the time-dilation to repel me. When I was at a distance, she used [Cocytus].
She was challenging me to surpass her—to prove I was worthy of the gate.
How do I break through?
I was already low on mana from the fight with the Nether King. A battle of attrition was a losing game.
“Guh! Cough! Haa…”
Blood and saliva dripped from my lips. My body was failing.
I’ll die before I run out of mana at this rate.
What do I do? How do I beat her?
“…Huh?”
I looked around. The rain of blood had turned into crimson snow.
I looked up at the red clouds. Our battle had chilled the very atmosphere. What hadn't frozen before was freezing now.
The snow was the proof.
“…”
Memories of my life flashed before my eyes. My simple, relentless, ignorant path—always running forward. That life was reflected in my magic.
Swoosh.
I pointed my Frostscythe toward the heavens. A surge of extreme cold swept the sky as a brilliant white radiance poured down.
[Divine Authority: White Night]
I claimed the sky as my own.
[Master?]
I didn't answer Hilde. I needed absolute focus.
Clatter!
With ultimate elemental efficiency, my mana reached a range that transcended imagination. I flooded the sky, rapidly freezing the blood clouds through [White Night].
The combined chill of [Ice Sovereign], [Frost Wave], and [Ice Generation] multiplied. The spells overlapped, compounding the complexity of the calculation exponentially.
Ignorant, yet upright. This was the truth my life had attained.
The blood clouds could not withstand the mana. They froze solid.
[Elemental Synergy].
In the gaps of the cloud's composition, I expanded the ice, linking it into a singular, massive entity. The clouds of blood sublimated into a colossal mass of ice—a shadow that covered the entire Icy Lake.
There was nowhere to run.
I lowered my Frostscythe.
[The sky…]
The sky fell.
Kuuuuuuuu!
A deep, thunderous roar shook the world. My original ice spell oppressed and consumed everything in its path.
If I had to name it, I would call it [Heaven’s Collapse].
Veronica looked up. Realizing [Cocytus] was useless, she hurled her cold sun at the descending mass.
Boom!
The explosion only added more ice to the hellish scene. The falling sky remained intact.
The weight, the gravitational acceleration, the density of the mana—it was an absolute force.
Crack! Boom!
The massive chunk of ice shattered the ice crescent, obliterating Veronica's mysterious power.
The only way to survive that indiscriminate pressure was simple.
Crackle.
I cast [Ice Barrier] around myself and Hilde. We were immune to the magic, but not the physical force of the frozen blood. The barrier nullified the ice it touched, carving a safe pocket for us as the world came crashing down.
Whoosh!
Veronica shifted into an elemental form, a storm of ice hurtling toward me. She was determined to take me down with her.
I won't let you get close.
I thrust my arm forward.
Crash!
I pushed her back with a 6-star [Frost Wave].
“It’s over. You can’t reach me.”
Whoosh.
Veronica stopped. She realized it was too late.
In the shadow of the falling sky, we both hovered on our [Ice Sovereign] wings, gazing at each other. For a moment, her face seemed to flicker with a thousand emotions.
“…Be at peace.”
The massive ice shelf bypassed Hilde and me, then slammed into Veronica.
It engulfed everything.
Booooom!
The impact was deafening. The Icy Lake erupted through the cracks like a geyser.
Ssshh.
I began to defrost the mass. The ice turned into a pale blue powder, scattering beautifully into the wind.
There was no trace of Veronica Aslius. Only a single drift of ashen powder remained, floating away into the cold.
[Veronica…]
Hilde’s sorrow echoed in my mind.
I descended to the spot where she had vanished and retracted my wings. I stood in the silence, then turned toward the massive gate.
I still didn't know why she had been here. But the truth was waiting.
“Hilde, rest for now.”
[Master?]
“I’m almost out of mana.”
[…Understood.]
I reverse-summoned her. My vision wavered; the adrenaline was fading, leaving only exhaustion and pain. I felt like I might collapse at any second.
But I had to keep going. Dorothy was close.
“…Huh?”
I sensed movement behind me.
I turned. The monsters and the dead of the Icy Lake were staring at me in silence. In their eyes, I saw reverence. They had watched us. They envied me for being able to cross the threshold.
I said nothing. I simply moved forward.
Hoom!
The massive gate began to groan open, light spilling through the gap. I stepped into the radiance without hesitation.
Despite the cold, a warmth spread through my chest. For a heartbeat, it felt like heaven.
As the doors closed behind me, the light dimmed, revealing a new landscape.
It was still hell.
“So this is beyond the gate…”
The sky was split dramatically between day and night. Where I stood was bright, but in the distance lay a lake reflecting a magnificent starry sky.
Floating in that sky was a black sphere, containing entire galaxies within its surface like a cosmic mirror.
I felt a familiar mana. Dorothy.
“Haah… haah…”
I trudged forward, dragging my broken body. The chilling air gnawed at my resolve, but I ignored the wailing of my muscles.
I stopped at the boundary of light and shadow.
The sphere in the sky noticed me. It opened a multitude of eyes. Then, the sphere cracked like clay, revealing a woman who had been curled asleep inside.
A being who embodied the stars.
She opened her eyes and rose. A cosmic halo, adorned with countless eyes, settled behind her. Every single one of them gazed at me.
My heart felt like it would burst. My eyes grew wet with emotion.
But I managed to smile.
“It’s been a while, Dorothy.”
I’m here.