Ch.177Chapter 177

Between us and The Princess 2, the air settles so cold that it feels like our fingers could freeze at any moment.

It was partly due to the cold caused by The Princess 2’s power, but also our bodies’ trembling reaction to the imminent danger that made us shiver.

It seemed we weren’t the only ones feeling this sensation, as The Princess 2 also didn’t immediately launch an attack but instead glared at us silently.

I glance sideways at Gaia, who was bound by The Princess 2.

Judging by her complexion gradually returning to normal, it seems there wasn’t any serious problem.

Why am I even worried when this whole situation happened because of her in the first place?

Once this is over, I’ll definitely ask Oko to demand compensation for all the damage we’ve suffered.

Shaking off these distracting thoughts, I refocus.

Power strong enough to forcibly take away the strength of the Four Supremes.

A power that allows her to exploit weaknesses against all the Great God Clans from the beginning.

Endurance enough to freeze the entire world.

It’s embarrassing to admit now, but I was terrified.

Not afraid of dying, but when I think about the aftermath of my failure, my hands tremble so much that my will to move gradually disappears.

This is probably the first time anyone has provoked The Princess 2 to this extent.

Look at her expression.

Her face was already cold, but now she’s proving that a human face can become even colder.

Even though it was a surprise attack, even Gaia momentarily felt the fear of death from her attack.

So how could I, a mere human, have any chance of defeating her?

I slowly check the options I have.

The sword made by Simtol.

It’s sufficiently solid and strong.

Since it was made to rival weapons crafted from Outer God fragments, it should be able to damage her even if she is from a Great God Clan.

But it’s useless if the sword can’t reach her in the first place.

Zmiya’s dragon particle.

I thought shooting fireballs from my mouth might counter The Princess 2.

However, considering the mechanism of The Princess 2’s power, even this wouldn’t work.

Her power doesn’t simply create ice, but rather takes away the “warmth” from her target.

Should I expect assistance from Oko?

If The Princess 2 were a full deity, I might have been able to count on that.

But The Princess 2 is half-human, half-god.

If I were to use Oko’s power while ignoring half of her nature, who knows what consequences it might have on the universe.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized my pupils were trembling severely.

Was I always such an unprepared person?

I thought I had come sufficiently prepared.

No, the problem was that I didn’t think The Princess 2 would be this strong.

Who would have thought she could even overpower Gaia?

The Princess 2 moves.

Just by raising her arm, I feel adrenaline seeping into every corner of my body.

I couldn’t tell if it was my brain ordering me to prepare to flee, or my instinct as a knight telling me to fight honorably.

“Iphomia!”

At that moment, The Princess suddenly stepped in front of me and shouted loudly.

Iphomia.

So that’s The Princess 2’s name.

Admiring her determination to speak her mind at this moment, I examined her complexion, but realized it was somewhat different from what I expected.

The corners of her eyes and mouth.

Both were visibly trembling.

She was afraid too.

Not the fear of life being threatened that I was feeling, but the fear of confronting her own trauma.

“…Don’t call me by that name.”

“I’m sorry, really sorry. But I have something I want to tell you! Please, just listen to this, Iphomia!”

“I said, DON’T CALL ME BY THAT NAME!!!”

As if The Princess’s words had severely provoked Iphomia, she screamed almost hysterically and shot ice in all directions.

The speed was so fast that by the time I realized it was coming, it had already reached right in front of me.

I twisted my body belatedly.

Thanks to the protective gear provided by The Princess, I was able to avoid injury.

But The Princess wasn’t slower than me in physical ability.

“Kyaak!”

The Princess’s power, inherited from The Curator of Life, is to restore life.

So she won’t die from something like this.

But she was already exhausted from providing our protective gear.

While she wouldn’t die, her condition wouldn’t improve either.

“Princess!”

“What nonsense are you spouting now?”

As I was about to check on The Princess’s condition, I turned back to face Iphomia, wary of her growling voice.

Iphomia’s expression was contorted with disgust.

“You have something to tell me? Then why didn’t you say it earlier? After abandoning me and monopolizing all the love, now you’re leisurely done with your business? Is that why you call me by that name she unilaterally gave me?”

Iphomia said this while taking a step forward.

I drew the sword from my back and assumed a defensive stance.

“Tanthyn! You mustn’t kill her…”

The Princess’s weak voice reached me.

As if finding those words even more pathetic, Iphomia sighed.

“What is it? What is it really? Did you come to ease your conscience with some hypocrisy? Is that it? What is it? If you didn’t come to kill me, what did you come for?!”

Iphomia began to create ice in her hands again.

This time I would respond properly.

“Answer me! Salvia!!!”

As expected, Iphomia scattered ice again.

To prevent the ice from reaching The Princess, Salvia, I quickly threw myself forward and deflected the ice with my sword.

After deflecting all of it, I checked the condition of my sword.

It was covered in frost.

Because it was Simtol’s sword it was only this much, but if it had been an ordinary weapon, it might have already frozen and broken in half.

What should I do?

Even Salvi’s words aren’t getting through.

At this rate…

“Raedan.”

A warm voice came from beside me as I was panicking.

It was Oko’s.

“Calm down. You can definitely win.”

A voice full of certainty, as if there was evidence.

Even in the midst of this, Iphomia was preparing to launch her next attack.

But Oko didn’t seem to care about that at all, and stroked my back with an infinitely relaxed expression.

“It’s a method that’s unfair to her, but you’ve gained a power that can absolutely affect The Princess 2.”

“Something that can absolutely affect her…”

Even though I couldn’t find the answer immediately, Oko didn’t show any signs of impatience.

Rather, she smiled as if trying to calm me down.

“Loneliness, jealousy, wretchedness. What can we call all these emotions together?”

“Loneliness, jealousy, wretchedness, grief, sadness…”

As I recited related words in response to Oko’s question, I gradually began to feel like I understood.

Yes.

All these emotions have one thing in common: they are all ‘painful’.

And what is painful?

It’s pain.

“Ah.”

“Hehe, that’s my Raedan. Looks like you found the answer quickly.”

Right.

Why had I forgotten this?

Didn’t Oko tell me before?

That because of Zmiya’s dragon particle and The Advisor’s power remaining, my head was still white and my eyes orange.

The root cause of Iphomia’s actions.

It was all hatred toward a world that didn’t understand her feelings.

In other words, resentment for the pain she experienced.

I calmly looked at Iphomia again.

Perhaps I had missed it in the confusion, but looking again, I could see a massive red mist swirling around Iphomia.

Sigh.

Me too.

From beginning to end, I keep receiving help from Oko.

Just before Iphomia’s arm swung down, I swept my hand to gather that pain.

Compression of pain.

“Ugh…!”

Iphomia clutched her chest in pain and bent over sharply.

She was even breathing heavily, expressing her agony.

Wounds naturally sting when someone touches them before they heal.

If someone not only touches that wound but forcibly constricts it…

“…You.”

Iphomia was glaring at me fiercely with an expression filled with rage.

Seeing this, I realized.

With The Advisor’s power alone, I couldn’t completely stop Iphomia.

But at least, I could partially restrain her.

“What did you do…!”

“Princess.”

I knelt before Iphomia, who had momentarily paused.

Even if she had karma severe enough to nearly destroy the empire.

Even if she was still filled with rage and dreaming of annihilation.

Even without Salvia’s request.

I intended to save Iphomia.

A being who, due to Gaia’s schemes, didn’t receive enough love from her mother and father.

Who could understand the feelings of someone who had swallowed the bitter taste of wretchedness alone, constantly comparing herself to her sister?

Who would understand her heart, when no one had come looking for her after all this time?

If I had decided to save her.

To me, Iphomia was just another royal.

“I apologize, but this mere knight wishes to offer counsel to the Princess.”

The counsel I’m about to deliver to Iphomia.

Hoping that my desperate effort to reach her will succeed.

I raised my sword.

Iphomia looked at me, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to stand up.

The fact that she could still stand up meant her will was strong.

My sword.

I’m about to swing it now to cut through that will of hers, and to shatter her misunderstandings.

“Hyaaah!”