Chapter 502: Aftereffects
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 502: Aftereffects
"Hold me tight!"
"Eh?"
Muen blanked for a moment at Celicia’s sudden demand.
Hold her? They were in the middle of a life-and-death struggle; doing something like that didn't seem quite right.
"I said, hold me tight!"
"Oh."
Seeing the icy look in Celicia’s eyes, Muen seemed to realize something. Without another word, he struggled to shift his body, turning to wrap his arms around Celicia’s slender waist.
Her waist was soft, and her scent filled his nose. The sensation of the girl in his arms was exquisite. In this position, Muen’s face happened to be buried right into her ample, surging bosom.
Celicia glanced down at Muen, unsure if he was doing it on purpose or just taking the opportunity to enjoy the "face wash." At this critical moment, however, she didn't say anything and simply let him be.
It wasn't as if he hadn't touched her before, anyway.
Celicia lifted her gaze, sensing the killing intent surging toward them once more.
Since that last strike hadn't managed to kill Muen, the Indra King naturally wouldn't give up. His hollow gaze fell upon the pair—Muen currently holding Celicia in that awkward position—and he actually began to rise slowly from his prayer mat.
Previously, whether facing Muen’s ferocious, storm-like offensive or counterattacking after being wounded, the Indra King had remained seated firmly on that prayer mat, as if he were part of it.
But now, he was standing up.
That meant the coming storm would be even more terrifying!
"Whew..."
Facing the overwhelming pressure, Celicia exhaled a soft breath.
Her gaze swept over the inconspicuous wound on the Indra King’s palm once more. Then, having made a decision, her lake-blue eyes suddenly turned deep and profound.
It was as if that lake was freezing into solid ice from the outside in!
As her pupils deepened, her silver-white hair drifted upward. Gradually, wind and snow began to descend within the spacious room.
Howling, swirling, raging snow!
In an instant, the entire room felt as though it had been transported into a world of pure white. The surging blizzard swallowed everything!
At this moment, Muen finally understood why Celicia wanted him to hold her. He could clearly feel the surrounding temperature plummeting as if it were falling off a cliff!
It was hard to imagine just how low the temperature was. The air Muen exhaled crystallized into frost flowers instantly!
And this was while he was right next to Celicia, where she was deliberately controlling the area so the temperature wouldn't drop quite so lethally. Even so, his well-trained body was shivering uncontrollably.
The Indra King, who was slowly rising, turned solemn. He seemed to have sensed something as well, and his movements suddenly accelerated.
A terrifying boom, like a mountain collapsing, echoed through the room. The moment the Indra King raised his hand, the surrounding wind and snow were torn open by a massive force.
He flexed his fingers, aiming at the two who were now unable to move. Space itself warped in his palm; it looked as though he intended to crush two insects to death.
But suddenly... his movements slowed down.
It wasn't time dilation, nor was it because he wanted to be slow.
It was because...
White frost was spreading rapidly from the Indra King’s fingertips, visible to the naked eye.
If it were just ordinary freezing, the Indra King could have ignored it—the previous ice cage hadn't hindered him in the slightest. But this time, he clearly felt that it wasn't just his skin being frozen. Even the blood inside his body was being affected, gradually congealing under the extreme cold.
This was the pinnacle of the Divine Blessing bestowed by the Goddess of Ice and Snow: the power to freeze all things.
The terrifying, absolute cold surged frantically into his body through that tiny, insignificant wound on his palm, completely freezing him into an ice sculpture.
"Hah... hah... whew..."
In Celicia’s arms, Muen shivered as he slowly turned his head, just in time to see the completely frozen Indra King.
"Is... is it over?"
Muen’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected that a peerless Crown Bearer would actually be defeated by Celicia’s Divine Blessing power.
She was this powerful?
Andrea’s Divine Blessing hadn't seemed this brutal back then!
In the extreme cold, Muen tremblingly gripped his dagger hilts. He wanted to take advantage of the old man’s immobility to land a few more hits. If he couldn't mince him into meat filling within three seconds, it would be a disgrace to his finishing-move skills.
But just as he forced himself to move...
"Go."
A weak voice echoed in his ear.
"Quickly..."
Muen’s expression tightened. Without any hesitation, he sheathed his twin daggers, scooped Celicia up into his arms, and bolted for the door.
He kicked open the door blocking their path. The originally sturdy metal door had long since become incredibly brittle in the extreme cold.
Muen quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Barely two seconds after his silhouette vanished, the ice sculpture in the room suddenly twitched.
The frost on the surface was slowly shattered, and the stiff body gradually regained its mobility.
A terrifying wind pressure suddenly expanded outward, turning the countless icicles in the room directly into powder and debris.
The Indra King silently watched the open door, staring into the darkness outside.
He lifted his foot slightly, as if he intended to give chase.
But then, as if remembering something, he eventually lowered his eyelids again and sat back down on the prayer mat.
Everything returned to silence.
*
The gray mist rolled.
In this Shadow City, there were no stars and no moon, let alone bright lights.
But in a secluded corner at the end of an alleyway, a very, very faint glimmer suddenly lit up.
After waiting for a while and confirming that the Indra King wasn't pursuing them, Muen finally dared to light a small spark so he could see his surroundings a bit more clearly.
This was the outermost corner of this fragment of the Shadow Belland. Muen held Celicia, hiding inside a house that had been split in half by the gray mist.
"Are you okay?"
Muen carefully placed Celicia onto the bed in the room, which he had covered with his own travel blanket.
"...I'm fine."
Celicia shook her head gently, then curled her body up, hugging her legs.
Muen noticed she was shivering constantly. Under the faint light, her face was unnaturally pale.
There were even tiny bits of frost hanging from her silver hair and eyelashes, and her breath came out as fine ice crystals.
"Are you really okay?" Muen asked again, his face stern.
"..."
Celicia was silent for a moment before she whispered, "A little... cold."
"Cold..."
Could someone who used the Ice and Snow Divine Blessing actually feel cold?
Without thinking too much, Muen knew this had to be the aftereffect of that move.
He quickly searched his person, only to find that while he had plenty of tools, he had nothing that could be used to start a fire. He couldn't exactly set off an Alchemy Bomb just to see if it would burn something.
"Do you know any fire magic?"
"What do you think?"
"..."
Right, apparently not.
Muen quickly circled the area but truly couldn't find a way to start a fire. His mana was also nearly depleted, not even enough to gather an Illumination Spell with sufficient heat.
When he returned to the room, he found Celicia had wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, yet her delicate frame was still shivering uncontrollably.
"Sigh. Let's get this straight—I'm not trying to take liberties with you."
Muen sighed softly and suddenly sat on the bed, pulling Celicia into his arms.
Celicia’s cold gaze swept over him, but this time Muen didn't back down. Instead, he barked in a firm, low voice, "Don't move!"
Muen kept a magic stone in his mouth to recover mana while circulating his Fighting Spirit, trying his best to raise his body temperature.
Celicia’s trembling body squirmed for a moment, but in the end, she stopped struggling. After holding out for a while, she sought out the warmest spot and silently rested her small head against Muen’s chest.