Chapter 49. Monarch of Frost
Kraa—! Ke-chu—! Araa—!
Kiee—!
Strange noises whose meaning she could not understand reached her hazy mind.
Powerful vibrations shook her entire body.
Seraphia felt bewildered, as though she were dreaming.
The noises, faint at first, gradually became clearer.
It did not take her long to realize that they were the roars and shrieks of monsters.
Seraphia’s mind and body still felt heavy and dazed.
The frigid air of the Snowy Mountains quickly awakened her clouded mind.
Then, upon feeling the warmth of someone’s body against her, her sense of reality returned instantly.
Seraphia’s eyes snapped open. She quickly realized that someone was carrying her on their back.
A broad, large, and solid back.
‘Sir Kai...?’
Kai was carrying Seraphia while fighting the monster legion.
Whenever Kai stepped forward, the ground of the Snowy Mountains reverberated heavily.
Kai breathed roughly.
His hot breath emerged in white clouds.
The landscape of the Snowy Mountains was covered in crimson blood.
Countless monster corpses were piled atop one another, forming another mountain.
The sounds of another battle echoed from the distance.
Seraphia turned her gaze toward them. Adrian and the Lycanthrope were fighting ferociously.
A black wolf and a werewolf.
The two beasts bit and wounded each other as their fierce battle continued.
The thunderous booms she had been hearing came from their repeated collisions.
Kai moved quickly, causing Seraphia’s field of vision to spin.
When her vision returned, the Lycanthrope appeared somewhat exhausted.
Its movements were gradually becoming slower, and Adrian’s attacks were carving increasingly deeper wounds into its body.
Eventually, fear filled the Lycanthrope’s trembling eyes.
It abruptly turned around.
Hurling its massive body down the Snowy Mountains, it began fleeing desperately.
“What...?”
Adrian’s bewildered voice rang out.
Seraphia could not see Adrian’s face from where she was.
But she could tell. Adrian was currently flustered.
At this rate….
The Lycanthrope would escape.
She had to use her ability. It was the only way to capture the fleeing Lycanthrope.
But she could not easily find the courage. Seraphia bit down hard on her lower lip.
‘What am I hesitating for? What am I so afraid of?’
She had foolishly done nothing but faint. Instead of helping them, she had only received their help!
She had been crushed beneath the madness of the Lycanthrope’s desire and failed to do anything.
Was she planning to do nothing yet again?
She was frightened.
She was terrified.
She wanted to flee and hide.
But had Adrian and Kai not been afraid as well?
Had they not been frightened to fight the Lycanthrope?
When the Lycanthrope seized Kai, he must have wanted to run away.
When Adrian confronted the Lycanthrope, he must have wanted to hide.
Nevertheless, neither of them fled.
Neither of them hid.
They stood and fought.
Therefore, it was now Seraphia’s turn to fight.
They could not allow the Lycanthrope to escape. It was the leader commanding the monster legion.
If they allowed it to survive, it would eventually threaten the County again after making even greater preparations.
When that happened, Adrian and Kai would not be able to stop it alone.
Even the sacrifice of the Count’s Castle soldiers would not be enough.
Everyone would die.
Therefore, she had to do this. She absolutely had to. Even if the price was her life.
Seraphia’s red eyes ordinarily resembled rubies.
But now, they were different. Her red eyes became pure white.
They were as cold and merciless as though they had been carved from ice.
Kiiiiiiing—!!
Accompanied by an eerie sound, ink-black lines of cold emerged across Seraphia’s entire body.
Kai, who was carrying her, flinched and trembled in surprise.
He hurriedly tried to stop Seraphia. However, his body immediately stiffened. He had not been granted permission.
No one….
Had been granted permission to move here.
The lines of cold spreading in every direction gathered together and rose.
Pure-white light rippled through the air as the ground was rapidly covered in white frost.
* * *
Every living creature froze in place.
Kai and I were no exceptions.
The monster legion covering the Snowy Mountains and even the fleeing Lycanthrope were frozen where they stood.
This was the existence known as a Monarch.
One of the six beings whom the Emperor had “acknowledged” rather than bred or slaughtered.
A Monarch existed on an entirely different level that permitted no comparison with a mere Legion Commander.
A world covered in ice.
It no longer produced even the slightest sound. Absolute silence devoured the world.
The frozen air became so heavy and cold that it was impossible to breathe.
Even the wind brushing across the snow froze and stopped in place.
Frigid frost emerged from every direction as particles of ice blossomed like flowers.
One of the Six Monarchs who served the Emperor.
The Coalition Forces’ Greatest Enemy.
The witch who had taken the left arm of the Hero, Ian.
Nightmares from my previous life began surging uncontrollably through my mind.
Horrific screams.
Cries filled with agony.
And the person I had been in my previous life, helplessly forced to watch them.
My vision was blurred and dizzy, yet every one of their faces appeared vividly before me.
Some cried for someone to save them. Some said they did not want to die. Some screamed that the pain was unbearable.
Some died buried beneath the ice, while others died with their limbs torn apart and blood spraying from their bodies.
I….
Could do nothing but watch that tragedy unfold.
Crack, crack! Crackle!
Just as I was now, my entire body had been frozen, leaving me incapable of doing anything.
Crushed beneath fear and terror, I had been helplessly and foolishly forced to watch.
And even now, I could do nothing.
I could only tremble beneath the overwhelming, transcendent terror created by the Monarch of Frost.
◆Player’s Will [EX] is resisting the Unfathomable Fear!
◆Player’s Will [EX] is resisting the Unidentifiable Nightmare!
◆Player’s Will [EX] is resisting the Incomprehensible Dread!
I had been forced to watch the people, my comrades, and my operatives die.
Player’s Will [EX] continued resisting, but it was useless.
The fear of that day, the nightmare of that day, and my terror of the Monarch of Frost continued surging, binding me tightly.
Ian’s ability, Player’s Will [EX], did not grant complete immunity.
It merely granted immunity against effects that exceeded my mental fortitude.
In other words, Player’s Will [EX] activated only after an effect surpassed the maximum limit my mind could endure.
It merely prevented my mind from collapsing immediately.
That meant….
The same had been true for Ian.
Ian had only been able to endure as much as his mental fortitude allowed.
When confronting the Monarch of the Abyss, An Unknowable Terror Beyond Explanation, Ian had been just as afraid.
He had trembled in fear like the rest of us. He had fallen into despair like the rest of us.
Nevertheless….
Ian overcame it.
He did not break.
Because he could not afford to break.
If he collapsed, the Heroes who believed in and followed him—and everyone throughout the continent—would collapse as well.
Ian, the Hero and Commander-in-Chief of the Coalition Forces.
Ian had once said something to me.
—Endure it, Adrian. If you falter, whom are the Special Task Force operatives supposed to trust?
A member of the Special Task Force under the Coalition Operations Command.
The Special Warfare Unit’s Covert Operations Commander.
That was unquestionably my past.
It was my previous life. But it would no longer….
Be my future.
Never again.
Never again would I allow the nightmare of that day to repeat itself!
Fear and terror now belonged to them. Now it was my turn to become their nightmare.
I ground my teeth.
When that was not enough, I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek.
Still unsatisfied, I bit my tongue.
I did not suppress the pain.
The sharp taste of blood and the maddening agony….
Slowly but surely drove away the fear and terror consuming me.
* * *
Seraphia had used her ability.
By the time Kai realized it, he was already too late.
Ice flowers blossomed in every direction. They continued blooming as their territory gradually expanded.
The hauntingly beautiful petals possessed enough lethal power to cause death with the slightest touch.
Then, when Seraphia extended her hand….
Death seeped into that beauty.
By the time Kai regained his senses, the entire monster legion had become a collection of statues.
The countless monsters that had covered the Snowy Mountains had become gruesome and horrific corpses.
No blood flowed.
Everything had simply frozen and stopped.
Kai’s head began freezing, and his breathing grew rapid.
He could no longer feel his frozen hands or feet.
No matter how much Aura he summoned, he could not move his body.
The Lycanthrope had also frozen in place.
The cold began at its legs and rapidly climbed across its entire body.
Coarse frost settled over its thick fur and skin—
Ice crystals grew with every passing moment, completely preventing the Lycanthrope from moving.
Its bodily fluids froze instantly, rupturing its steel-like muscles.
Its blood also froze in an instant, tearing apart every one of its durable blood vessels.
The eyes that had gleamed with anger and madness….
Were now consumed by fear.
Ironically, however, that fear was not directed toward Seraphia.
“Struggling will be useless.”
A voice suddenly rang out.
Kai’s gaze was frozen, preventing him from confirming the speaker’s identity.
However, it was unmistakably Adrian’s voice.
‘H-How...?’
Shock appeared in Kai’s eyes.
Of course, he knew that Adrian had endured the Gelu-Drake’s Ice Breath.
But this….
Was different.
The bitter cold radiating from Seraphia existed on an entirely different “level” from Ice Breath.
Compared to this, it would not have been an exaggeration to call the Gelu-Drake’s Ice Breath warm.
Kai had survived only because he remained within the space Seraphia was protecting.
Otherwise, he would have frozen to death long ago.
Even within that protected space, Kai remained incapable of moving.
And yet Adrian….
“Even the Monarch of Beasts feared the Monarch of Frost.”
The Lycanthrope’s fear-filled eyes widened.
It seemed to be wondering how Adrian could possibly know that.
Adrian slowly emerged into view.
His skin had already become pale and frozen.
No vapor escaped his mouth, as though he were no longer breathing.
His lungs, which should have allowed him to breathe, had frozen.
It was the price of leaving Seraphia’s protected space and entering the Domain of Frost.
Even so, Adrian’s gaze did not waver.
He supported his body through transcendent willpower and forced himself forward as though advancing beyond his limits.
Adrian eventually stood before the Lycanthrope and extended his hand.
His fingertips had frozen, cracked, and turned blue.
Adrian’s face was deeply distorted, seemingly from the horrific pain.
Nevertheless, with an indomitable will determined to overcome even that agony, Adrian seized the Lycanthrope’s heart.
Then Adrian smiled.
“If you can, deliver a message to the Monarch of Beasts for me.”
He resembled a ferocious beast stained with black hatred.
“Tell him that I’ll be coming to consume his heart next!”
Adrian tore out the Lycanthrope’s heart.
Crimson blood sprayed outward. It froze instantly and fell to the ground.
“Hahahahahahahaha!!!”
Adrian’s roaring laughter rang out.
Kai could not help but recoil from the laughter, in which resentment and madness were intertwined.
* * *
It happened immediately after I tore out the Lycanthrope’s heart.
◆You have defeated the Lycanthrope!
◆You have gained 107,506 combat experience points!
◆Your level has increased!
◆Your level has increased!
◆Your level has increased!
◆Your level has increased!
Translucent messages filled my vision.
They provided definitive proof of the Lycanthrope’s death, finally allowing me to relax.
As expected of the Commander of the Beast Legion, the amount of experience it granted was tremendous.
I had gained approximately eight thousand experience points from subjugating the Gelu-Drake.
This time, however, I gained more than one hundred thousand.
There was a reason the Lycanthrope had been the Commander of the Beast Legion.
Finally, there was the Lycanthrope’s heart in my hand.
This was not merely the heart of a Lycanthrope.
The Lycanthrope had submitted to the Monarch of Beasts and become the Commander of the Beast Legion.
In other words, it had received the authority and power of the Monarch of Beasts.
The heart of the Lycanthrope had been engraved with the Genetic Factors possessed by none other than the “Monarch of Beasts”.
The Monarch of Beasts possessed the Genetic Factors of almost every life-form inhabiting the continent.
In a certain sense, those Genetic Factors were even more powerful than a dragon’s.
And some of them had been engraved within the heart of the Lycanthrope, the Commander of the Beast Legion.
However, once the heart lost its vitality, I would be unable to obtain any of its Genetic Factors.
It was already freezing beneath the bitter cold, so I did not have much time.
Without hesitation, I brought the Lycanthrope’s heart to my mouth.
Crunch!
It felt as though I were eating a block of ice rather than a heart.
I could not sense any vitality from it whatsoever.
But perhaps it was thanks to the Lycanthrope’s tenacious vitality. Fortunately, the heart had not completely lost its life force.
Even so, I did not have much time. I quickly stuffed the Lycanthrope’s heart into my mouth.
Then, just as I chewed and swallowed the final piece of its heart—
◆Kiyoooooooooot!!!!!
An excessively dramatic message appeared before my eyes.
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!