Ch.21671. The Grand Premise of Strategy (2)

“No time to let my guard down.”

Even in the sky above, that enormous tree still soared to an unfathomable height, practically monopolizing the entire sky.

Mines glanced sideways at the tree standing firm like an endless barrier, then turned her gaze downward once more.

From a dizzying height, she had surrendered her body to a cloud of cooled, microscopic ice dust.

But perhaps that alone couldn’t bear the weight of a human body. Her body was falling, little by little, toward the ground below.

Even so, at this speed, there shouldn’t be much cause for concern.

‘Going too high makes breathing difficult anyway.’

Making the human body closer to a natural phenomenon would allow for longer stays, but… that would only consume mental and physical energy just to endure.

Inefficient.

‘But this too…’

Has its uses.

Heat rises and cold inevitably sinks, but when will is attached to it, that becomes a different matter entirely.

She cooled her body, crystallized it, then broke it down into fine particles, making herself as light as dust—impossibly light.

In this way, she scattered the fine ice dust everywhere, then used it as a foundation to take in, at a glance, all the areas where the ice dust had spread.

And among those particles, some rose so high they reached heights that touched the sky.

There, Mines detected Zora’s signal.

The next step was to immediately reconstitute her body at that location.

Thus, she was able to reach the area faster than anyone else, even though the distance was still considerable.

‘Next…’

She cooled the air.

It stretched diagonally like a sloped path, and as Mines surrendered herself to it, her entire body slid down toward the ground at a speed comparable to falling.

Passing through scenery where countless forests stretched like a single line or plane.

By the time a somewhat clearer position came into view, she could faintly make out several figures engaged in a noisy skirmish.

‘That’s…’

Reflexively creating ice crystals to overlay her pupils, she skillfully adjusted the refraction of light to control her field of vision and distance, making everything even clearer.

Despite the still considerable distance, visibility was no issue at all.

Based on this, just as she was internally deciding how to intervene and respond,

the situation began to unfold rapidly.

‘…Even though we’re both inheritors of the Demon King’s legacy, is there such a difference?’

At this point, emptiness would be more appropriate than self-loathing.

It wasn’t particularly anger from the humiliation she suffered last time.

Or feelings of inferiority or competitiveness—she was generally indifferent to everything except herself.

‘……’

Still.

She wasn’t the type to neglect or abandon what needed to be done.

Looking back on how things had come to this point, there were many inconsistencies in the circumstances.

…But she could worry about that later.

The giant tree monster, believed to be created by the Demon King, was similar to the massive entity she had seen before in Someren Village.

It was smaller than what she had seen then, and in much worse condition.

…Nevertheless, it would present an unreasonable, overwhelming presence that would make it impossible for ordinary living beings to confront.

Lemira seemed to be forming some kind of wooden wall, but it appeared insufficient.

‘About time…’

Mines increased her speed.

Then, after passing the Demon King’s position in mid-air.

‘As always.’

She immediately formed a massive ice barrier.

*Crack!*

Rather than sprouting up, the ice gathered in mid-air, clumping together and expanding its domain to become a wall—a truly magnificent sight.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

Time was too short.

The crystals hadn’t even fully formed yet.

So here, she would piggyback.

Using Lemira’s wooden wall as support.

Expanding its volume and scale even further.

*Crash!*

For a collision, the noise and reaction were rather subdued.

But this couldn’t be the end.

The giant tree monster that made contact with the ice barrier began to cool rapidly.

Frost formed and congealed, covering not just the surface but penetrating inside.

Everything was frozen and cooled, instantly locking away the creature’s will to move.

The penetrating cold extended to its vital points and core, applying pressure.

*Crack! Crack!*

Though freezing, it still writhed with power, breaking and shattering.

As waves of cold and frost swept over it again, the tree monster’s movements gradually began to slow.

Moreover, as if understanding the intent, rain began to pour from the sky, accelerating the freezing process.

‘Spirit arts?’

It seemed Lemira had cleverly employed her skills.

Spirit arts were said to be far more useful than magic in such situations.

Recently, they had been easily subduing beings from the demon realm through this combination.

But most of the demon realm beings that had been attacking lately weren’t in their right minds.

…In a way, that Demon King also seemed to be in such a state.

‘Yes. It’s definitely different from before.’

Mines, who had just landed on the edge of the ice barrier, coldly observed the black-armored girl—woman—writhing in the distance.

Their encounter while tracking Kariel had been in a bad location and an even worse situation.

It was problematic enough that the creature had charged at her just as she was attempting to initiate dialogue.

But who could have predicted that mere scratches would render her incapacitated?

‘Pain….’

She prided herself on having experienced every pain possible in life.

That’s how terrible it was.

If Princess Elhermina hadn’t alleviated their curse,

she would have probably died miserably, struggling in agony.

“……”

Such humiliation was enough to experience just once.

Crimson branches extending from the Demon King’s armor and body exploded, shooting sharp thorns in all directions.

However, even though they beat against and grazed Mines’ skin and flesh,

They caused her no harm.

Mines’ entire body was already covered in multiple layers of very thin yet hard crystalline membranes.

Moreover, most projectiles attempting to reach Mines had already lost their propulsive force due to the cooled, almost stagnant state of the air around her.

The fact that they still managed to strike her surface at all was evidence of how powerfully they had been launched.

“Mines! No need to try so hard to bring it down! If we just hold out, they’ll be in a dying state anyway!”

“……”

With reinforcements, the situation would be even more solidified.

Just as Lemira had held out here.

And just as she herself had joined, albeit a bit late, to further cement the situation.

“……”

If that’s the case…

…if the other side is capable of thought, they’ll try something.

Even without thought, they would instinctively feel that much.

…Or perhaps.

This offensive was their final struggle.

-…

Though still writhing, it was still slowly staggering forward.

…But it didn’t seem to have the strength to accomplish anything more.

A ruse? A deception?

She wouldn’t let her guard down.

That thing could reverse the situation with just the slightest trigger.

…The name “Demon King” was never a light one.

But…

…how should she interpret this?

“What a pathetic woman. I told you to be bait, not to get eaten.”

When had she appeared?

A small human girl.

For some reason, she approached the Demon King as a dark figure and was now exuding a terrible sneer.

“If you agreed to accept it, you should bear it. Do you think the world will bend to your will just because an idiot is writhing in pain? How many times do I have to say this?”

The words coming from the girl’s mouth were incredibly weighty and solemn.

If one didn’t know the content, they might have even felt a sense of nobility.

“I guess… they got reinforcements first?”

“……”

By now, Lemira had also flown up onto the ice barrier and landed beside Mines.

And like Mines, she was witnessing the scene.

“Hmph.”

Blood dripped from the eyes of the girl who shook her head.

Judging by how her entire body trembled… she clearly wasn’t normal either.

But why?

…Something emanated from that girl that was no less intimidating than the Demon King.

Even at this distance, it made her hair stand on end and sent alternating waves of heat and cold down her spine…

“By the way… why use Utpala like that?”

The young girl, who had turned her head, cast a sneering glance.

“This is how you use it.”

The girl snapped her fingers.

…A snowfield formed.

“—?!”

“What—?!”

If the world turned pure white in the blink of an eye, how would one explain or comprehend it?

“No need for grandeur. Even less need for magnificence.”

Eventually, the girl, now dripping blood from both her eyes and nose, made a gesture as if clenching her snapped hand.

“Ho, qui, don’t breathe!”

Mines immediately warned.

“—?!”

Lemira immediately understood, but.

“What good is understanding? Your realization came too late.”

In an instant, the internal body was rapidly cooled through the nose.

But that wasn’t the end.

The cooled crystals shattered and destroyed, slashing and cutting the insides.

But even that wasn’t the end.

The blood and bodily fluids from the injured internal organs were exposed to the cold and rapidly cooled.

Frostbite occurred throughout the internal body.

“!!”

Mines immediately grabbed Lemira and suppressed all the harmonies of the cold swirling inside her body, and all the harmonies derived from it.

Even that was just freezing and cooling at best.

“Kuh—.”

She quickly numbed Lemira’s consciousness.

Losing consciousness in this situation was dangerous, but… there was no choice.

In that brief moment, nearly half of Lemira’s internal organs had been ruined by frostbite, wounds, and internal bleeding.

This would be pain impossible to endure with a clear mind.

“Hah!”

With a cold sneer, the girl, now dripping blood even from her ear canals, once again directed the Demon King.

“I’ve given you a breather, handle the rest yourself.”

With those words, the ominous shadow of darkness surrounding the girl disappeared.

“Cough!”

The girl repeatedly coughed up blood and collapsed helplessly.

“……”

The scene of the white snowfield remained, but it no longer posed any particular danger.

However…

*Crack!*

The tree monster that had been clinging to the ice barrier was somehow moving normally again.

‘…What is this?’

Even Mines herself had responded, yet the aftermath still remained.

Normally, unlike Lemira, Mines herself shouldn’t be affected by such things.

This was… different somehow.

The ominous harmony, the transcendent power that had just swept through this place… was clearly affecting even the current Mines.

Even though the perpetrator had disappeared.

‘This isn’t good.’

Lemira was still in danger.

If Mines removed her hands, Lemira’s life would rapidly become precarious.

Mines herself was barely holding on.

Yet… the Demon King and the monster seemed to be in better condition.

…What? What did that person just do?

It was clearly the same ability, the same power, but why was the difference in level so stark?

“……”

The situation had reversed in an instant.

The tree monster that had now fallen flat on the ground.

Even as it writhed on the floor, gradually regaining its composure, there was nothing Mines could do.

‘……’

She suppressed the rising anxiety.

More accurately, she froze it, cooled it down.

Normally, she shouldn’t have such feelings, but clearly, that ominous figure who had just appeared had some influence even on her frozen emotions.

If not, why would she be so flustered?

*Grrrr!*

The tree monster placed its hand on top of the ice barrier.

And it…

Perhaps it chose to climb over the barrier to directly attack Mines, rather than destroying it.

The monster began to climb the barrier, driving in its thick, sharp claws one by one, like the talons of a beast or monstrous bird.

Because of this, the once-solid barrier began to shake precariously.

-ય୪್ഺႿᝣ!

At that moment, the Demon King exclaimed.

And as if understanding those words, the monster that had been trying to climb the barrier suddenly changed direction.

It began to move down and around the ice barrier.

‘Oh no-!’

She tried belatedly to increase the size of the barrier, but nothing happened.

‘So that’s what their retreat meant?’

They didn’t need to subdue Mines herself.

Just neutralize her for a moment.

…Is that what they thought?

Eventually, the tree monster split into a monstrous form and reached a distance where it could cling to the World Tree’s surface, and finally, toward that surface…

It began to extend its massive claws, or rather branches that could hardly be called claws anymore, like the tentacles of a living creature.

…But.

*Thud!*

It was blocked.

As if there was an invisible screen.

The ominous tentacles of the tree monster lost their way in mid-air, just in front of the World Tree’s surface.