Chapter 170: When the Frost Fractures
"Interesting..."
The old man muttered the words to himself as he stepped forward, his figure vanishing from view as he moved through the frozen landscape. The next moment, he appeared right next to the small, black dome.
"Who?!" Makil gasped, his hand instinctively dropping to his weapon.
"Whoa!" Theo yelled, stumbling back.
Karen simply widened her eyes, a silent shock locking her in place.
Ignoring their frantic reactions entirely, the old man gripped his spear with both hands and brought it down in a clean arc. Under the trio’s astonished gazes, the crystalline blade sliced through the air, cleanly splitting the dark barrier in two.
The fractured pieces of the dome had barely begun to dissolve when a black shadow violently erupted from the breach, ripping across the sky at a terrifying speed. Yet, despite the explosive burst, the old man did not lose his composure for a second; his eyes easily locked onto the retreating streak, tracking its frantic flight without a hint of strain.
Casually extending his arm toward the horizon, he closed his fingers in a sharp grasping motion. The air crystallized instantly in response, manifesting a massive ice hand that snapped shut around the fleeing shadow. However, the black streak defied both gravity and matter, phasing straight through the frozen palm like a phantom.
A deep frown creased the old man’s forehead.
Intrigued by the anomaly, he maintained the spell and took another step forward, teleporting directly beside the floating construct. His eyes widened briefly as he peered into the center of the translucent palm, discovering a lone, unconscious figure left behind within the frost.
’The Ice Empress?!’
As the realization hit him, shock quickly gave way to a chilling focus. His expression hardened into pure frost as his gaze snapped sharply toward the horizon, locking onto the dark shape, a black dragon, scrambling for distance.
"Freeze."
The single syllable resonated through the air like a death knell, plunging the already freezing atmosphere into absolute zero.
An instantaneous coat of white frost erupted across the black dragon’s scales, spreading at an alarming rate. The creeping ice threatened to seal its fate entirely, but a violent surge of abyssal black flames suddenly erupted from beneath the creature’s skin. The dark inferno roared outward, instantly vaporizing the encroaching frost into a concussive blast of scalding steam.
Seizing the brief reprieve, the dragon pushed its wings to their absolute breaking point, hurtling toward the boundary of the domain.
The old man blurred into motion, giving chase as a streak of pure white light. As he closed the distance, he thrust his spear forward, sending a volley of lethal ice lances cutting through the air. The dragon twisted violently mid-flight, narrowly dodging the first few projectiles before its body flickered, allowing the remaining lances to phase straight through its shadow form.
Before the old man could adjust his trajectory, the beast tore through the perimeter of his domain. The moment it broke free into the normal atmosphere, it activated a desperate spatial distortion, teleporting itself right beside the unstable maw of the gate.
With a final, frantic burst of speed, it lunged across the threshold, plunging headfirst into the darkness just as the old man closed in.
’Huh?’
The old man came to a halt in mid-air, his white hair whipping around his face as he stared ahead in disbelief. The moment the monster crossed over, the massive gate began to violently shudder and collapse in on itself, defying the typical rules of a gate manifestation.
He tightened his grip on his spear, weighing the impulse to dive into the unknown, but ultimately held his ground. There was no telling what kind of nightmare was waiting on the other side.
In the next moment, instinct overtook his surprise, and he quickly backed away to a safe distance from the collapsing rift.
He watched closely as it shrank into a fine point and eventually disappeared completely within just a minute, leaving the sky clear as if nothing had ever occurred there in the first place.
Once certain that the rift wouldn’t reopen, he turned his back on the open sky and returned to the center of his frozen domain. With a single, fluid swipe of his hand, the thousands of glittering ice sculptures blanketing the city vanished into thin air. That done, he deactivated the boundary, allowing the heavy frost to recede and the normal atmosphere to return to the city.
Then, carrying the unconscious young woman safely atop the floating ice palm, he flew toward the Bureau headquarters. As the massive building came into view, he spotted a familiar figure waving at him from the wide rooftop.
The old man touched down smoothly on the concrete, the ice construct settling beside him.
"It’s great to see you after such a long time, old man," President Craig said, chuckling as he stepped forward with an open, welcoming gesture. "Honestly, thank you for arriving earlier than scheduled. If it weren’t for you, the city would have—"
Craig’s voice trailed off as the old man gently lowered the unconscious figure onto a soft layer of frost dressing the rooftop, which the old man smoothly flattened with a thought.
"Huh?" Craig’s jaw dropped, his gaze darting between the woman and the old man. He stood entirely dumbfounded for a few seconds before turning a bewildered look to the old man. "Why is she here? You... didn’t kidnap her, did you?"
The old man’s lips twitched for a brief moment at the absurd accusation. Shaking his head, he let out a quiet sigh.
"A monster was kidnapping her. Thankfully, I managed to intervene before it could take her away." He paused, looking down at the woman. "More importantly, it’s her, right?"
"That’s right," Craig said, his humorous expression vanishing as he looked down at the woman. He nodded slowly, a heavy seriousness settling over his features. "She’s the Ice Empress. But..." He paused, glancing back up at the old man, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. "Where is her husband?"
"...What?"
The old man froze, his usual stoic composure fracturing in an instant. For the first time in decades, a look of pure bewilderment crossed his face as he stared blankly at the President. He stood entirely at a loss before the words finally forced their way out.
"Her... husband?"
