Chapter: 191
*
The aurora stops. The flickering red lights split evenly. Along that line below, the split Queen is visible.
Just a single strike. With that, everyone forgot to breathe.
Ivan raised his numbing arm and faced forward. He exhaled deeply, momentarily calming his body.
He touched it. That time of Maximilian’s fragments.
“That power.”
The split Queen growled ominously.
“It is yours.”
With a viscous slime, her body stuck to him. The stopped sky began to flow again, and in the atmosphere, a brighter, crimson aurora faded.
“Elpheira. Do it.”
“Ah, yes!!”
Elpheira hurriedly ran toward the milestone. Oswald, Rundis, and Lucia followed behind her.
Even amid this, the Queen stared only at Ivan.
Doubt about using her sacred power. Or, rage over using her own…
No.
“It’s fear.”
The Queen’s expression changed at Ivan’s words. Her burning emotions were so blatant they felt like arrows piercing through her skin. Such a level of murderous intent had the substance to harm even superhumans.
“You. How dare you… You should be careful with your tongue.”
“If I’m polite, will I commit suicide?”
“…What?”
“If I show politeness, will I kill myself? In that case, it’s worth considering.”
If this situation could end without a fight, it would be more efficient.
Ivan, for all his restraint, was still a person. However, all ‘powerful beings’ in this world were entities devoid of reason and logic.
The Queen, who found his words outrageously provocative, gasped and reached out.
“I will not kill you—!!”
Kwawaang—!!
As she raised her hand, magic erupted. An explosion in the air, fueled by her immense mana, it had the shock power equivalent to a dwarf’s explosive weapon, even as a low-level spell.
He sensed the attack with the precursor, but instead of dodging, Ivan redirected the shock’s path.
Thwung—!
With a well-prepared arm, he deflected the shock. However, he could not help but be thrown backward. In the process of controlling his remaining powers, the surrounding terrain shifted rapidly.
He passed several dozen meters in an instant. Glancing at the landing point, he quickly turned his body.
Thud.
His coat fluttered from the impact. Ivan rose from his crouched position and looked up at the approaching Queen.
Good. He had lured her in. Now he just had to buy time until the milestone was neutralized.
His best attack could not finish her off. She was a being whose very existence defied reason. As long as the milestone was operational, she would resurrect endlessly.
A vessel made from the clay ground by the infinite deep-sea monsters’ remnants, combined with the potential of the Elf race. That composite sealed into a container.
And within, the divine spirit was poured and locked with the Queen’s consciousness. A constructed god. It would not be possible to kill her with ordinary means.
But that was fine.
I too cannot be killed by ordinary means.
I do not engage in combat with ordinary methods.
He had been trained that way. Ivan looked at the rushing Queen with cold, sunken eyes.
“I will not kill you. You will have eternity with you. Trapped in eternal winter, watching as maggots devour you moment by moment…!!”
Kwawaaang—!!
Numerous spells detonated in succession. The electricity racing over his skin left long burns, and fireballs tore through his abdomen, incinerating fragments of his insides.
Psychic energy twisted his nerves and muscles, and before the horrific freezing could frostbite his flesh, they thawed.
However.
Gripping his axe, he steadied his breath.
Once more.
Thjeer—!!
The aurora split. The whirlpool scattered. The Queen’s body shattered in half.
The divine power, scattered among the broken fragments, melted back into Ivan’s bloodstream, following his breath.
Thump, thump.
No matter what injury he sustained, his pulse did not cease. An ordinary person would have died dozens of times from the dreadful curses, violence, magic, and destruction he was experiencing. But endlessly.
Of all divine powers, regardless of their directionality, they all share one fundamental principle.
Creation.
That is why even the priests of any evil god can use basic healing spells. After all, divine power was the fragment of a force that created life.
Thus, it is natural for any god’s divine power to restore the flesh of a mere mortal and breathe strength back into creaking joints.
Therefore, pain is an illusion.
Cough!!
He spat out dead blood. Even as the horrific agony raked his entire body as if showered from a potion bottle, he opened his eyes wide and stood.
Pain is a warning signal sensed by living beings. It can be viewed as a kind of early warning system that detects abnormalities in the body.
Thus, the injuries he currently suffered could not be considered a genuine ‘crisis.’
Pain is an illusion. It is phantom pain resulting from a mortal body grappling with the otherworldly power of divine energy.
You could say it’s forced. You could even call it self-hypnosis. But if he could swing his axe just once more…
Thjeer—!!
“It’s useless!! I am aware of your pathetic plans. While you buy time, those incompetent fools are attempting to meddle with the filtration system!!”
Thus, their conflict could no longer be called a struggle.
Their forms were picking at each other’s flesh, filling their own bellies.
Ivan, filling his flesh with the divine power that spewed forth each time he tore the Queen’s body, and the Queen, healing herself and ripping Ivan apart to refill him with divine power, continued this fight.
“Do you think it will be useful? Do you believe those vermin can accomplish anything? Millennia of time and seasons are eternal!”
“Is my reluctance to turn my back on you out of fear?”
“What?!”
Ivan struck down with his axe once more.
“Yes. I want to interfere right now and stop my comrades, but aren’t you afraid to turn your back on me?”
“How dare you!!”
“Yes. Go ahead. If you can, turn around and get to my crew. If you are fearless, then do so.”
However, the Queen could not turn away. She stared at Ivan with an empty expression, growling at him.
Good.
Ivan Petrovich Yermov had experienced thirty winters. During that time, what he did best was ambushing, tracking, and hunting.
He had lived by eating those who turned their backs. The Cleanup Unit. The lives of all those men who had crumbled outside were just the same as his.
So, don’t turn your back. Don’t take your eyes off me.
Chanting this to himself, Ivan lifted his axe.
Thjeer—!!
The divine energy burst forth. Biting into the fear mixed with deep anger and murderous intent.
And so, dozens of attacks exchanged back and forth. Each body was torn and consumed, then filled again forever. Like the seasons cycling, they became each other’s doppelgängers.
Then, at some moment.
Upth.
As Ivan’s body came to a halt, the Queen screamed loudly. While the flesh could endure the divine power, the weapons could not.
Axe, dagger, handgun. Anything at all. They crumbled under excessive exposure to divine power.
The Queen laughed and shouted.
“What will you use now to show off your skills? Will you charge at me like a beast with both hands? Look. Can you do anything alone? You stand before eternal winter!!”
The victor’s laughter echoed. In close-quarters combat, when flesh clashed, it is difficult. With divine power filling the flesh in this situation, he instinctively knew what would happen if their skin collided.
They mixed together.
Flesh intertwined. From a dictionary perspective, there was little difference between Ivan and the Queen at this moment. Using the same divine power to heal, growing flesh, and landing strikes.
The only thing distinguishing them was will. That was all.
“Come. Embrace the eternal. I will grant you life forever.”
Even while she spoke mockingly, Ivan simply stood still, glaring at her and not advancing.
The Queen also did not approach Ivan. Perhaps it was instinctive fear, or perhaps there was a method to achieve a more complete victory.
It was most likely the latter. The Queen thought confidently.
After all, if this continued, with no way left for him to resist, the mere bombardment of magic would deplete him. Once he was fully drained and neutralized, then she could methodically begin once more from this island.
To cover this world with eternal winter, endlessly devouring the flesh of the living.
To be reborn as the true god of this mortal realm, and ascend to the heavens once again.
“If you refuse my goodwill, so be it. You, the beast standing alone. You, alone destined to die. Fulfill your wishes.”
The Queen extended her hand. The aurora flowed, and the mana began to concentrate.
Ivan smiled ruefully as he stared at the shattered axe handle.
Have I bought enough time? It was hard to gauge how long they had fought.
But well, if Veolgrin had a thought, he would help those kids. Everyone has a predetermined role, and one could consider this my final part to play.
Thinking so, he observed the gathering mana.
Segmented time, slowly bending space, under the flickering red aurora. Within this still life where time stalled and froze.
Piiing—.
The detection of an attack line suddenly sparked.
Piiiing—!!
Ivan quickly turned his head and reached toward the trajectory caught by the detection. With a thud, something heavy hefted into his hand.
It was a Krasilov military sword.
“Dmitri….”
There was a small insignia engraved on it. Lieutenant Colonel Dmitri Cherkatov. The last rank insignia was scratched off, leaving just a mark that indicated it was a Colonel.
Down below, based on the spire he had stepped on, laughter echoed from afar, beyond this frozen time. It was a familiar voice.
“The Cleanup Unit remains a legion even standing alone!!”
With every individual’s training, they represented everyone.
Ivan lifted his head.
Dozens of attack lines pierced into his body. Piiing, piiing, some were too large, too small, too fast, and too slow, but they all pointed in one direction.
Dozens of weapons were plunging down toward his body. The intentions and will contained within them became clear.
From axes, sabers, rapiers, daggers, to spears.
Pervuuburrb—!!
Numerous weapons lodged themselves into the ground, encircling him. His eyes widened. Stone dust was scattered from the broken spire.
With Ivan standing at the center, he quietly lifted his head.
“One day, I called this view my homeland. Do you remember, Yon?”
A low voice pressed into his ears.
The voice of a swordsman who, despite losing one eye and one arm to the Seven Dragon Lords, still pridefully considered himself the strongest Elf.
“At that time, I told you I would name this sentiment nostalgia.”
In the winter of a snow-laden coniferous forest, on a battlefield littered with countless weapons, utilizing everything within reach, replicating every technique he remembered, that sentiment was the entire collection of his life experiences.
Therefore.
“Though no mortal can live forever, memories will remain. All those you mourn will be in eternity with you. So—.”
Cut through eternity.
With that, the swordsman hurled his sword.
Piiing, an unprecedented fervent warning sounded from the attack detection.
Yet with the detection having developed, all projected weapons were useless against the superhuman. No matter how intense the anticipation, he could evade, deflect, and catch it.
Crack—!!
The flying sword appeared to come in slow motion. Ivan’s left hand swept along the long blade, finally stopping it with a thud.
And he let the momentum carry through, directing that force right into his divine power.
With the impact of Edelplate’s strike infused into his own strength, just like martial arts inheriting through generations.
Thjeer—!!
Within the halted time, Ivan swung the sword, chopped down with an axe, drove a spear, and plunged the dagger as he charged forward.
*
“Right 1.2mm from there. And 3mm in the 75-degree direction. Move like that.”
Elpheira was sweating profusely as she poured forth her mana. Her father’s voice echoed in her ears.
The ground trembled, reverberating with the sound of the milestone. Beyond that, she heard the distant shouts of comrades fighting.
While holding back countless monsters from all around, not a single one reached Elpheira.
Oswald’s scream was heard. A monster seemed to have engulfed him. Over that, a sharp gunshot rang out. Rundis rushed over, firing her gun and pushing the monster off with her shoulder.
Lucia darted around, stabbing the monsters in the neck with her daggers and pulling them out again, her eyes glowing red as she drank their blood.
And she, Elpheira, continued to close her eyes, watching over them from above.
Her field of view expanded. She could see Ivan, fighting while being torn apart.
Her sight widened again. Many Elves were gazing blankly at the aurora or the towering trees.
Once more, her vision broadened. Kalion came into view.
The threads of mana extended like spider silk among the twelve milestones… No. She could see the flow of fate.
Her vision expanded again.
The earth sunken beneath the sea. The remnants of the ancient Kalion continent were visible…
The black cosmos contrasted with the azure ocean as the sun circled back to rise once more.
And upon her hand, her father’s warm hand overlapped.
“I’m sorry, Elpheira.”
“Yes…?”
“You were my last puzzle piece. My last tool. To finally qualify for grasping this game board, I was using you.”
A trace of laughter faded from her father’s voice. It felt so unlike him that Elpheira suddenly felt sorrow.
“Do not forgive me. Live your life now. Whatever you achieve, you can do it. And as a small regret, let me say….”
Her father murmured in a voice almost inaudible.
“I loved you, my daughter.”
The warmth that wrapped around her hand disappeared. Finally, a gentle wind ruffled her hair, as if to caress her.
Elpheira hurriedly lifted her head.
“Ah, Father…! No… Dad…!”
“Although winter has persisted for millennia.”
Now Veolgrin’s voice no longer aimed at Elpheira. He was declaring something far up in the sky.
“The sun rises, sets. The moon rises and falls, rain and wind, clouds swirl and scatter. This world circles around that faraway sun, year after year.”
So no season can be eternal.
“If the millennium of winter has passed, now spring arrives.”
Should the new season come around once more, it would be another millennium.
If that season were to have a name.
“Human’s spring.”
The god’s winter has ended. All the game boards have crumbled. The god descended to the earth, absorbing the scattered fragments as he whirled them in one hand. Now this world and the world of gods were distinguished.
Only one reason.
To slay winter.
*
As Elpheira touched the final circuit—
*
In the snow-covered Idrenhill, an Elf suddenly shifted his gaze upward.
A pure white snowflake lightly landed on his fingertip.
Even as he looked at the snow that remained unwilted for a moment, the Elf pressed his blurred eyes closed, then looked back up at it.
The snowflake, once cold and unmelting, had now transformed into petals, fluttering on the back of his hand.
“Petals…?”
In the distance, dawn began to break.
The Elf knelt, shedding tears while staring blankly at the flower rain falling in Idrenhill.
EP30. To kill winter.
