KWAANG!
A massive Ice Golem shattered into pieces and collapsed.
Beyond the frozen shards, in the cold wind, stood Ghislain, clad in thick leather garments.
His outfit was made from the hide of an Ice Troll. Not just Ghislain—everyone in the party was wearing the same gear.
“Hmm... It’s been about half a year, I think.”
Ghislain murmured, gazing up at the sky with tired eyes.
This land was truly—insanely—harsh.
There wasn’t a single trace of civilization. The only thing in sight was the endless swarm of monsters.
Even worse, the monsters here were evolving by devouring one another.
The reason a biome that should have collapsed long ago was still intact was clear.
Dragon Lord Arterion.
The magic he’d spread across this land over thousands of years was continuously forcing the monsters to breed.
Ghislain didn’t know the full story, but he could guess well enough.
'The Shadow Mountain Range of the Turian Kingdom...'
A region so overrun by monsters that the kingdom had to dedicate its entire military to holding them back. Arterion had been slumbering there.
It made sense that the ever-growing numbers of monsters in the Shadow Mountains were due to Arterion—and this frozen land was clearly under a similar effect.
“Phew...”
Every time Ghislain exhaled, his breath turned to icy mist. Frost clung to parts of his clothes.
Those who remained here were all strong enough to endure the cold—but doing so required a constant drain of mana.
No one knew how long the fighting would last, so stamina and mana had to be conserved. That’s why they’d crafted clothing from the hides of local monsters.
It was extremely effective. These monsters had survived the cold themselves, so their hides were practically top-grade survival gear.
Beyond that, Ghislain had taught the group various survival techniques:
How to make clothes from leather, how to maintain weapons in freezing temperatures, how to safely cook and eat monster meat, how to build shelters in the snow, and more.
Thanks to that, the group had managed to keep fighting and surviving in this desolate land of ice.
But the frozen wasteland was vast and treacherous.
With constant battles slowing their pace, it was only natural that even after half a year, they still hadn’t reached Arterion’s lair.
“Ugh, this tastes awful... I wanna go home...”
Osvald, tearing up while chewing on another round of tasteless grilled monster meat, looked at Ghislain and said,
“Can we eat the emergency rations again?”
Ghislain’s subspace inventory held a sizable supply of food.
Thanks to the nature of subspace, which prevented items from spoiling, it included a wide variety of dishes, ingredients, even fresh-looking fruits as if just harvested.
Ghislain would occasionally cook from this stash when morale hit rock bottom.
Warm, delicious food in this frozen hell was enough to move them to tears.
Even the elf Ereneth had momentarily abandoned vegetarianism for those meals.
But Ghislain never took out the food unless it was truly necessary. It wasn’t because he was stingy.
“No. Survival itself is part of the training.”
In war against the Demonic Realm, one never knew what might happen or when.
There could be times when food runs out, or when one is isolated in hostile terrain.
This was real survival training—preparation for exactly those situations.
The food in subspace was a last resort, to be used only when there was absolutely nothing left to eat.
At Ghislain’s firm refusal, Osvald pouted.
'He’s totally sneaking food at night...'
Ghislain was eating the same bland meals as the others, but petty Osvald only thought in terms of his own standards.
It wasn’t a completely unreasonable suspicion. Osvald, once heavily built, had become noticeably gaunt in recent months.
Fighting every day while eating barely edible food—it was inevitable.
And it wasn’t just Osvald. Julien looked like a handsome skeleton, and Ereneth had withered like a dry, ancient tree.
Kyle and Lionel resembled starving beggars, and Marika had sunken eyes like a walking corpse.
No one was spared. Everyone was exhausted. That’s how grueling their journey had been.
Ghislain looked at the shattered Ice Golem fragments on the ground and said,
“...Just a little more. I think we’re close to the lair.”
Ice Golems were artificial beings created through magic. In this land, only Arterion could make such things.
That meant the Ice Golem was likely a guardian stationed near his lair.
At his words, everyone’s expressions brightened.
It was painful, but the end of their journey was finally in sight.
As the group stood to resume their journey after a brief rest—
KWAANG!
A deafening boom tore through the sky, and darkness began pouring in from the horizon.
“Hm?”
Ghislain narrowed his eyes and gathered his mana. The others didn’t panic and immediately prepared for battle.
Even the biting wind had stilled. The air had frozen in place.
Amidst a deathly silence—as if the land itself had stopped breathing—a figure appeared.
A robe, glossy like obsidian.
Blue soul flames flickering within an eyeless skull.
A chorus of whispers from the dead drifted around his body.
“...So you’re the visitors, are you?”
A dry voice echoed.
KUGUGUNG!
The moment he finished speaking, hands erupted from the ground all around them.
GROAAAH...
Soon, hundreds of undead began to fill the area.
There were skeletons clad in battered armor, wielding rusty swords, and translucent wraiths drifting like smoke.
These were the remains of those who had died in this land over countless years.
The voice from within the blizzard rang out ominously.
“I am... the final guardian of Lord Arterion’s lair, and one who has transcended death. I am called Naktura.”
“Ooh...”
Ghislain’s expression turned curious.
The skeleton standing before them was a Lich.
Liches were immortal beings. By storing their life force in a special phylactery, they could resurrect as long as it remained intact.
No ordinary mage could become a Lich. One had to be at least a 7th-Circle magician to even attempt it.
And the one before them radiated energy that suggested 8th-Circle.
“A ‘guardian,’ huh. Then Arterion must be holding the phylactery.”
To completely destroy a Lich, one had to destroy its phylactery—its vessel of life.
Even if they killed it here, it wouldn’t be gone for good. Arterion must have dispatched it personally to block their advance.
Ghislain asked Naktura,
“You here to stop us?”
“Stop you? Me? What an arrogant question.”
Naktura rattled his jaw as if amused, then growled, blue soul flames flaring in his eye sockets.
“I have come to bestow death upon you. You will be the ones trying to stop me, you pitiful mortals.”
“Why, though?”
“Hm. Why, you ask...”
Naktura rested his bony fingers beneath his jaw, falling into mock contemplation.
It was strangely comedic—if also grotesque. He almost looked... coy.
“Very well. It’s been a long time since I last spoke with a human—I’ll tell you. Lord Arterion promised me freedom... if I killed you.”
“Ahh. So that’s why you’re here to kill us?”
“I thought I’d be imprisoned forever. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this.”
“Well, with a reason like that, I can’t really blame you.”
“You’re rather cocky. Are you not afraid of me?”
“What’s scary about a pile of bones?”
At Ghislain’s calm attitude, Naktura’s voice turned even colder.
“You insolent brat... I was being kind, indulging you in this conversation... But fine. Once I’m free, I’ll get to enjoy all this again.”
He muttered to himself, then extended his staff forward.
GUUUUUUUNG...
The staff unleashed mana, and blood-red magic circles appeared all around.
From those circles, a crimson mist—resembling blood—began to seep out, blanketing the area.
It was a powerful dark magic spell that drove all undead within its range into a berserk state.
At the sight, Ghislain suddenly raised his hand.
“Wait!”
“...What now?”
“What crime did you commit to get imprisoned in the first place?”
“...Does that matter?”
“Oh, it matters a lot.”
Ghislain grinned. He’d just decided there was something he wanted.
To get it, he needed to know this Lich’s “criminal record,” so to speak.
Naktura hesitated for a moment, then answered.
“I sided with the Salvation Order during the Great War.”
“I see.”
That alone was enough. The reason was obvious.
But Naktura quickly added,
“Though it was a bit unfair, to be honest. Shall I explain?”
“Not really interested.”
“Just listen.”
“....”
“When the Salvation Order takes over the world, even dark mages won’t be spared, you know. So I wasn’t really on their side. I just wanted a bit of chaos, that’s all. Planned to negotiate with the human alliance later. I intended to fight for humanity, you know.”
“....”
“But wouldn’t you know it—before I could return to the human alliance, the Salvation Order lost. And so I got caught. What a tragic and unjust fate. No one understood my noble intentions.”
“....”
Yeah. It was the same old story. No different from any other dark mage rampaging today.
It was common enough—dark mages who sought chaos often sided with the Salvation Order.
It seemed Arterion had enslaved this Lich not just for his nature, but for his skill.
But even so, a sinner was still a sinner—he probably hadn’t bothered to treat him well. Maybe that was why, having had no one to talk to for so long, the Lich ended up being far more talkative than expected.
Naktura once again raised the staff he was holding.
“All your questions are answered, yes? Then—for the sake of my freedom, it’s time for you all to die.”
Goooooooh...
The crimson mist thickened, cloaking everything around them. And from within that fog, the hundreds of undead charged straight toward the party.
“Let’s go!”
Ghislain shouted and sprang forward, Julien and Kyle following right beside him.
KWAANG!
Julien’s sword cleaved a skeleton’s skull; Kyle’s blade shredded a wraith. The two moved like wind, carving through the undead swarm. The others soon joined in, pushing the horde back.
Ghislain took the lead, storming through the center of the undead legion like a hurricane.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
Each swing of Ghislain’s staff shattered undead into pieces. Blue lightning erupted from his weapon without pause, obliterating everything around him.
His speed was so fierce that half the path was cleared in an instant.
Seeing this, Naktura was taken aback.
“What in the...”
The blue flames burning in his skeletal eyes trembled violently.
The undead here had been fairly skilled people in life. That’s why they’d ventured into this land of extreme cold in the first place.
Even if they’d weakened after death, there were hundreds of them. Yet they couldn’t properly stop this brazen charge from Ghislain’s group.
“...So they weren’t ordinary mortals after all.”
Naktura raised his staff high.
GUOOOOOH!
Immense magical power began to surge around it.
Scanning the battlefield, Naktura’s eyes gleamed.
“That one must die first.”
He aimed the staff at Ghislain—the one he deemed most dangerous.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAAANG!
A black beam erupted from the staff, tearing through the ground.
It was an attack fully charged by an 8th-Circle Lich. The blast alone reduced surrounding undead to dust.
But Ghislain didn’t dodge. Eyes wide open, he stared straight into the incoming beam.
“Lionel!”
“On it!”
THUNK!
A shield slammed into the ground.
Lionel, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, stepped in front of Ghislain and braced his shield.
KWAaaaaaaaaAAAAANG!
“Grghhh!”
Lionel gritted his teeth, enduring the unending blast. He drew out every drop of mana he had, pouring it into his shield.
But even for a transcendent, withstanding an 8th-Circle spell was no easy task.
CRRRK—
Cracks began to form in the shield, and Lionel was gradually being pushed back.
“That lowly insect dares to block this?”
Naktura was thoroughly displeased. A man who hadn’t even transcended was holding back his spell?
Sure, in a few more seconds the fool would burn out and be reduced to ashes—but the fact that he was holding out even this long was irritating.
So Naktura drew forth even more power.
DRRRRRRRRRRRR!
“Ghhhhaah!”
Lionel coughed up blood as the intensified blast struck him.
He’d grown strong through relentless training—but going up against an 8th-Circle mage was still too much. He wouldn’t be able to last much longer.
But that was fine. He wasn’t fighting alone here.
As Naktura prepared to finish Lionel off, he suddenly flinched and turned.
WHIP!
Marika, emerging from the shadows like a ghost, drove a dagger into his heart.
CRACK!
With a sharp, breaking sound, Marika’s body was flung backward.
“You wretched—!”
A Lich couldn’t die from a pierced heart—he didn’t even have organs to begin with. But the mana laced in her dagger had instantly spread through his entire body, shocking his core.
It was a technique meant to inflict internal damage—and with no flesh or guts to absorb it, the force had radiated straight into his bones, causing fractures throughout.
Snarling, Naktura whipped his head around to target Marika.
To a mage, a close-range assassin was the most dangerous kind of enemy.
But before he could begin casting—Ghislain was already right in his face.
“Huh?!”
Startled, Naktura hastily threw up a shield—but it wasn’t enough to withstand Ghislain’s full-power blow.
KWAaaaaaaaaANG!
With a thunderous crash, Naktura was slammed into the ground.
As Ghislain dove to follow up, Naktura’s staff pulsed with light.
WHIP!
A whirlwind of black mana erupted. The force was too much to ignore—Ghislain had to raise a shield to protect himself.
KWAANG!
The blast knocked Ghislain back.
Taking advantage of the gap, Naktura sprang to his feet and began casting again—
—but he was interrupted.
“Spirit of the Earth! Roar!”
KUGUGUGUGUGUNG!
The ground trembled as Ereneth arrived, and Naktura staggered.
A massive stone fist, rising from beneath the earth, smashed into Naktura full-force.
KWAANG!
His bony body was hurled through the air and slammed into the ground again.
He was shaken. Even without facial expressions, the shift in his posture and voice made it obvious.
“Y-You damn insects...!”
He tried to rise and cast again, but—
WHIP!
Marika was already behind him, jamming her dagger into the base of his spine.
CRACK!
She was knocked away again by magical recoil—but Naktura’s bones had cracked even more severely this time.
KRRRRUMBLE! KRRRRRUMBLE!
Ereneth summoned spirit after spirit, burying the remaining undead beneath the earth.
Julien and Kyle had already taken out about half the horde, and the rest would soon follow—but there was no need to waste more time on them.
Thanks to Ereneth’s support, Julien and Kyle had a clear path to the Lich. They closed in and swung their blades.
KAAANG!
Naktura raised his staff just in time to block Julien’s sword—but Kyle swept his foot in low.
That cheap little bastard—?!
Off-balance, Naktura’s body ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) reeled—
—and Ghislain’s strike landed squarely.
KWAANG!
CRRACK!
A sickening sound echoed as Naktura’s ribs fractured and his spine creaked ominously.
His bones... ached.
Even though he no longer had nerves, Naktura felt it. A cold, instinctive sense.
Only now did he realize—he was in serious danger.
