Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Sun Water (7)
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Thud—!
The sphere of ki, condensed with meticulous care, was lightly snatched by Ether with one hand. Without so much as blinking.
Whoosh….
The sphere was naturally absorbed into Ether. After all, it was energy she had unleashed in the first place, making it easy to take back.
"Hoo."
Ether fell into quiet contemplation. But her gaze wasn't on her palm—it remained fixed on the ice leg that had begun shattering in midair.
'Handles the ice element, and to this degree?'
In the Empire, few had reached the pinnacle with a single element. It was bound to surprise her.
"You wield the ice element. I had no idea."
Not content with merely deflecting, blocking, or dissipating it, now he was even guiding its direction.
"Your ice has reached an impressive realm. Allow me to praise you."
It naturally brought a certain man to mind.
The man who had shaped the Ether of today.
…But it couldn't possibly be him.
'He's still back in Ruben village.'
The place Ether would rush to the moment the match ended.
The First Princess recalled the letter's contents. He was living quietly in Ruben village, doing nothing of note. Far, far from the Imperial capital.
And one more thing.
—A match? No need. I'm heading straight to Ruben.
—Go on, then. I've summoned someone far more entertaining.
Words the Emperor had uttered while goading Ether into the match. At the very least, it meant it wasn't Zekiel.
[Once.]
The crystal orb at her feet displayed text. Its clarity depended on the user's condition, and now the letters were quite blurred. Even if he was pretending otherwise, it meant he was thoroughly exhausted.
[Your attack… now exactly one left.]
"Hm."
Ether's face no longer held a smile.
She could acknowledge her opponent's skill. But now, something else was the real issue.
"My little toy, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first? I'll indulge you."
[What's the good news?]
"You are, without doubt, a true master. I acknowledge you."
[Obvious news. And the bad?]
"That among your overflowing elements, you just had to wield ice. Do you know what it means to use freezing arts before me?"
Rumble…
The energy Ether drew forth began vibrating the surroundings. Even the earth seemed to tremble in fear.
"You wouldn't know. No reason you should. But it can't be helped. Just think of it as bad luck. The world doesn't always bend to our will."
Freezing arts.
The element wielded by the man who had forged the current Ether.
Perhaps because of that, Ether recognized no other ice mages besides him. No, she refused to.
[So, what're you planning?]
"Every ice mage who's crossed my path has died. All of them."
Rumble…
Pebbles on the ground began floating upward.
"No need to worry. I'll honor our promise to confirm your face. Provided there's a corpse left, of course."
Flash!
Ether shot a beam of light into the sky.
And moments later.
Boom—!
It exploded into the shape of a massive cross, then rained down in overwhelming numbers.
'Damn it.'
His mana reserves were now nearly depleted.
Casting high-level spells was one thing; sustaining such a battle for long was entirely another. It depended not on skill proficiency, but on constitution and stamina.
Hoo.
Zekiel took a deep breath to steady his mind.
And at that moment.
Whoosh!
A downpour of light beams began cascading from the sky. Each one carrying devastating power.
He finished his calculations in an instant.
A direct defense was impossible in his current state.
Yet Zekiel shook his head.
'Abandon reason.'
A mage advanced through reason and intuition. But occasionally, there came a time to cast all that aside and rely solely on instinct.
Right now.
When he needed to surpass his limits to achieve his goal.
"…Make the decision, and turn it into reality."
That self-suggestion served as his incantation.
Zekiel quickly pressed his palms together.
Whoosh!
His chill, pushed to the extreme, made his nerves hypersensitive. Everything around him seemed to flow in slow motion.
In this frozen time, Zekiel took stock of it all.
The number of falling beams: uncountable.
Even so.
He began calculating each one individually.
Spike!
Ice spikes erupted from the ground instantly.
Without allowing a single inch of error, each spike collided head-on with a beam, blocking it.
But that was just the beginning.
"Hup…!"
The explosions from ice spikes clashing with beams.
Fwoosh!
Those explosions froze solid.
Their form resembled snowflakes.
As more explosions from all directions were absorbed and frozen, the snowflakes grew in volume. Soon, they formed a barrier of ice flowers blotting out the sky.
Kaboom!
The beam downpour continued relentlessly.
As if intent on smashing the entire snowflake mass into the ground, an overwhelming barrage kept pouring down.
"…!"
Uncountable quantities. The strain on Zekiel's body intensified relentlessly. Yet new ice spikes kept generating and rising.
"…No big deal."
Zekiel muttered, swallowing blood.
This trial was nothing.
He had already lived through worse than a rain of beams. Ever since realizing his terminal condition, every day felt like enduring an arrow storm.
Setting goals only for the arrow of his deadline to block the way; trying something new, only for that same arrow to bar the path, again and again….
So.
This was the most brilliant bloom only the terminally ill could produce.
Kaboom!
The fully bloomed snowflake surged upward.
Zekiel exhaled raggedly. It seemed he had succeeded in defending against the final strike.
But then.
Crack! Craaaack!
A grotesque sound rang out as cracks spiderwebbed across the snowflake.
The cause: the beams already embedded within. They began spinning wildly, boring deeper inside.
"…Ether, you've grown well. Should I praise you?"
Craaaack!
The beams shattering the snowflake barrier spun ferociously, plunging vertically downward.
A single hit would be fatal. Their countless rotations would pierce his body through and through.
His remaining mana was bottomed out.
'But.'
That was all there was to it.
He was already vomiting blood, holding on purely through willpower. Nothing more.
He could do it. He had to survive.
The fog-shrouded Dominan Ravine.
Hoooow….
Immense chill enveloped Zekiel's body, then spread outward.
Drawing his bodily chill to its limit, Zekiel began melting it into the fog. Much of it turned blue instantly, some freezing solid and plummeting.
Just as a falling beam neared his head.
"Freeze."
The single word Zekiel uttered.
Craaaack!
All the fog in the area froze solid in an instant. Every beam piercing through it was caught.
Crack! Snap! Crunch….
The beams tried to spin and fall, but it was futile. They couldn't break through the fully frozen fog.
No time to hesitate, though.
"Hup!"
Zekiel leaped upward, using the frozen fog clumps as footholds, bounding like mad.
He couldn't trap the spinning beams forever; ultimately, escaping the Dominan Ravine was the only path to survival.
Upon reaching the highest point in the air.
Splash!
He unfurled ice like a wave across the sky. Slanting toward the opposite ravine, it resembled a vast, steep ice slide.
Zekiel planted his feet on it and committed his body.
Swoosh!
Zekiel moved across ice more nimbly than on solid ground. Crouching low to gain speed, he hurtled toward his opponent.
Swoosh!
10 seconds.
He escaped the beam downpour.
Swoosh!
20 seconds.
The opposite Cullinan Ravine came into view.
Swoosh!
25 seconds.
Finally, they locked eyes.
Ether narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Zekiel intently—then widened them fourfold.
"Long time no see, Ether."
No mana left at all, but it didn't matter.
Zekiel kicked off the ice and charged at Ether.
Rip—!
A tearing sound. Zekiel's form flashed past the still-dazed Ether.
Thud!
He landed behind her.
"…."
The two stood tall, back-to-back.
Time seemed suspended; they simply caught their breath.
"Haa… haa…."
"Ha…?"
Ragged gasps on the verge of collapse intertwined with breaths full of shock. A strange moment.
Zekiel casually tossed something behind him, landing at Ether's feet.
It was the armband from her shoulder.
"I win this match."
"…."
"But."
Zekiel staggered.
"…I didn't know this wasn't a one-on-one."
Thud!
Zekiel collapsed.
"Teacher…."
Ether murmured blankly.
"Teacher… you were my opponent…?"
The First Princess whirled around to check Zekiel's condition—and recoiled in horror.
"…!"
His body was riddled with arrows.
"What… what is this…?"
Her gaze shifted to her scouts.
In her vision: scout team members clutching bows, trembling as they stared at the First Princess.
Ether's expression twisted beyond words.
"You filthy mongrels… daring to forget your place!"
The scout captain spoke up first, relatively quickly.
"Your Highness, we only meant well…!"
"Does that give you the right to interfere in my match?!"
"W-we, we prioritize Your Highness's safety above all! Whatever the match, when the opponent charged at you with such ferocious momentum…!"
"Mongrel! Filthy mongrel!"
The princess grabbed the scout captain's head.
"Your Highness! Mercy! Gaaah, graaaah!"
A wet pop, and his head burst.
Ether seemed not appeased but even angrier. Her hair whipped wildly into the air from the surging energy.
The scouts' interference meant they had felt the need—at least, that the First Princess had appeared threatened enough.
In other words, for that instant, they saw Zekiel as the stronger one.
'Which means I lost in skill too….'
Rule violation. Breaking the one-on-one match rules.
Skill and rules—defeat across the board. A crushing loss of elixir and honor alike.
Yet.
What truly ground Ether's teeth was.
"Teacher…!"
That her opponent was none other than her teacher.
The man she respected most.
The man she cherished most.
…Zekiel.
It was undoubtedly him, sending tremors through her body.
'Why on earth?'
He was supposed to be in Ruben village. Even the Emperor had implied it wasn't Zekiel…!
'Did the Emperor deceive me?'
For what purpose?
"Rami."
"Y-yes!"
The one scout without a drawn bow stepped forward. The fastest runner among them.
"Take him to the infirmary. Use every medicine, no matter how precious. He must survive."
"Understood!"
"If anything happens to him, I'll turn the entire palace to ruins. No, not just that."
Ether's teeth ground viciously.
"…I'll challenge the Emperor's assassination."
"…."
Before success or failure, who would dare utter regicide? Sweat poured down the ordered man's body.
"We'll depart immediately."
"No, wait. I should handle it myself."
Growing anxious, Ether stopped the scout and lifted Zekiel personally.
"Out of my way!"
Ether kicked off the ground.
Her lips trembled faintly.