Ch. 72: Ice Palace

The white-haired girl continued to stride through the forest, leaving traces of blue-glowing ice crystals with each footstep.

Every swing of her step was so graceful, as if she were dancing in the solitude of the woods.

However, at this moment, she suddenly stopped. The girl smiled teasingly.

A piercing heat, contrasting with the cold aura that surrounded her. She felt it. Not far from where she stood.

There, stood a man. His hand held a spear, shrouded in blazing fire. Every inch of the ground around him melted, like iron scorched by searing lava.

"Oh, so you've broken free from its effect? Congratulations!" she exclaimed cheerfully, clapping her hands in praise, like an innocent girl.

At this moment, the man slowly furrowed his brow. The hot aura around him intensified until one of the trees caught fire.

Meanwhile, the girl remained calm, her beautiful face never fading from her innocent smile.

Feeling provoked, the man suddenly took a fighting stance. He seemed ready to throw that spear! Then, in an instant, the spear was released from his grip, soaring at an incredible speed.

The spear shot straight toward the girl's face!

Yet, the girl remained calmly smiling, as if unaware of the impending danger.

As the spear was mere inches from her face, with an almost imperceptible motion, her index finger rose.

Shortly after, the spear's tip stopped, halted right at the end of her slender index finger.

The girl closed her eyes. And upon opening them, the spear instantly froze, shattering into small crystals scattered on the ground.

The girl still stood calmly, undisturbed by the deadly attack. She then walked gracefully towards the man.

"I must thank you," she said in a light tone.

However, after a brief pause, the girl added in a deeper voice.

"Oliver."

The air gradually grew heavy and tense. And the hot aura continued to flare.

Oliver, from behind his black mask, his eyes trembled slightly. He shuddered upon hearing the girl utter his name!

"How... did you know my name!?"

The atmosphere grew increasingly heated, as if invisible flames licked the air around them.

The white-haired girl remained calmly smiling, as if unaffected by the stifling heat.

"We've been together for a long time. Of course I know," she answered lightly.

Disregarding her words, Oliver immediately threw a fiery punch toward the girl's face. However, in an instant, his hand froze into ice, rendering him immobile!

"How rude. If this were the earth, you'd be punished for hurting a woman, you know. The police always side with women," the girl pouted, then pressed her index finger against Oliver's frozen body. After that, her smile bloomed again.

Oliver stared wide-eyed. He kept trying to heat himself up again and again with his Pyro power. But the ice never melted, and his frozen hand could not move at all!

Until now, blood began to cling to the cold surface of the ice every time he pulled his hand to break free.

Then, suddenly, the girl withdrew and turned her back on Oliver.

At this moment, Oliver's frozen hand shattered into pieces.

He had lost his hand!

Oliver screamed in pain. But shortly after, he immediately enveloped his body with Pyro fire. His body suddenly glowed, shining brightly in the dark night.

His mask burned away, revealing his gritted teeth biting his lip.

The girl turned towards Oliver. She paid no attention to anything but Oliver's other hand.

At this moment, Oliver's hand seemed to become a magnet. He pulled a spear from a great distance, shrouded in fire by his side.

The spear's tip melted from the intense heat. But the molten lava was forced to form a spearhead.

Then, with a swift motion, he hurled the spear at the girl.

The girl sighed in disappointment.

Raising her hand, the temperature around them suddenly became extremely cold.

Slowly, the ground they stood on, the grass, leaves, trees that were not burned and those that were burning. The entire area had frozen!

"Let me introduce myself.

"My name is...

"Amelia."

Suddenly, a small hill formed with an icy surface, right where Oliver stood.

She had reshaped the landscape around them!

***

In the magnificent Court of Fontaine, silence enveloped the air. A man sat calmly, his eyes closed as if lost in reverie.

A black ribbon with blue accents and gold ornaments tied his hair, which flowed gracefully. Two intricate gold hair clips adorned the left side of his head, one with a blue feather ornament swaying gently in the breeze.

His white shirt glistened, with cuffs neatly folded at his wrists. A ruffled white jabot encircled his collar, fading into blue at the trailing end.

That blue grew darker around his neck, secured in the center with a beautiful gold brooch, featuring an iridescent teardrop-shaped gemstone at its center and a dangling blue gemstone beneath.

His black gloves hung loosely at his sides, with glittering gold embroidery at each knuckle. A long navy blue coat draped his body, with indigo patterns and intricate gold details.

A gold lily-shaped clasp adorned the folded cuffs. The sides of his coat transitioned into a brighter teal hue.

A navy blue cape was tied at his shoulders, with wide lapels embroidered in blue and gold. Gold details and teal patterns adorned it.

From the two front ends of the cape hung two gold ornaments resembling the scales emblem of the Kingdom of Fontaine, swaying gently with his movements.

Navy blue trousers covered his legs, with black boots detailed in gold treading upon the floor.

Their blue soles bore the scales emblem of Fontaine. Black spats with gold details extended up to his thighs, protecting his shins.

Neuvillette.

Suddenly, his eyelids opened, revealing a watchful and wary gaze.

Something had disturbed his tranquility, as if he sensed a threatening presence in the once-quiet air.

***

CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING THE QUEST

[ GRANT ETERNAL PEACE ]

YOUR REWARD IS NOW STORED IN YOUR INVENTORY

CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 14

Charles slowly laid Melania down on the cold ground. His fingers trembled as he closed Melania's eyelids, which still held her final tears.

Fresh blood continued to drip from Melania's nose, ears, eyes, and mouth, forming a deep red pool around her. Charles gently wiped it away, as if unwilling to disturb the peace that had enveloped Melania.

After that, Charles stood up. A hot wind buffeted his body, followed by a bone-chilling cold. He furrowed his brow.

What was happening?!

The heat began to intensify, as if coming from an invisible source.

Charles looked up, gazing at the dark night sky. In the distance. Suddenly a light shone.

A bright light!

It instantly drew his attention.

The light gradually dimmed. Shortly after, torches blazed, approaching them accompanied by loud shouts from the Treasure Hoarders.

"There he is! He's over there!"

At that moment, a biting cold wind mercilessly lashed Charles's face. The once-burning torches were extinguished one by one, plunging the night into utter darkness.

Charles hugged himself, squinting his eyes. He couldn't see clearly! Until finally, he decided to close his eyes.

Darkness. As if the entire world had sunk into eternal silence.

His eyes slowly opened. At this moment, he gaped, his eyes widening and trembling violently.

This... how could this be.

The entire area around him had been covered in ice, and white snow fell gently from the dark sky.

Each ice formation had a blue glow within, like lanterns.

And in his line of sight, reflected a crystalline ice hill.

With a blue light.

***

In the Court of Fontaine, the night's silence was suddenly disrupted by the appearance of a foreign figure.

A girl. Amelia appeared out of nowhere, hovering in the air not far from the ground before finally landing gracefully.

Her clothes fluttered weakly as her feet touched the earth, while a slight smile graced her lips.

That night, the Court of Fontaine was still bustling with activity from its citizens.

Those who witnessed Amelia's appearance clearly showed surprise and astonishment on their faces, not expecting to witness such a spectacle.

Some applauded, assuming Amelia was putting on a magic show. Others tossed mora coins, demanding to be entertained with further performances.

Amelia's eyes widened in surprise at their request. Shortly after, she smiled.

Amelia gladly agreed to their demand!

She raised her right hand upwards, then snapped her fingers with an elegant motion.

At that very moment, the dark night suddenly became brilliantly illuminated with a bluish light, as if the sun had risen to replace the moon.

The citizens of Fontaine looked up with gaping mouths, gazing in awe at the phenomenon occurring in the sky.

A gigantic ice crystal covered all of Fontaine!

It emanated a captivating blue glow from within. They were spellbound, as if inside a fairy tale.

Amelia then turned. She had just sensed his sudden presence.

She stared at the figure beside her - Neuvillette. He squinted at Amelia warily.

However, Amelia only waved her hand while saying "Hi!" with a sincere smile on her face.

At this moment, with one graceful motion, the earth suddenly trembled briefly, and a massive wave materialized from the thin air, rolling with tremendous force towards Amelia.

Unexpectedly, Neuvillette abruptly launched a powerful Hydro attack towards Amelia!

Amelia nimbly evaded the attack.

She had anticipated an attack would come at any moment since setting foot here!

With the attack successfully avoided, it instead destroyed the buildings behind her.

Not stopping there, the attacks continued pursuing Amelia as she deftly evaded them.

Of course, Amelia did not remain idle. She retaliated with sharp ice crystals erupting from underground, targeting Neuvillette.

Neuvillette easily evaded them. Though his attire was highly unsuitable for battle, he was quite skilled at dodging.

However, it could not be denied that Neuvillette could not prevent the destruction occurring around them.

Witnessing this intensifying battle, the citizens of Fontaine began to panic and flee.

The Fontaine guards also noticed this commotion and aided Neuvillette in attacking Amelia. However, not a single attack managed to hit Amelia.

Before touching her, every attack froze and shattered into crystals. Fortunately, Amelia was dexterous enough that the crystals were then controlled by Amelia and redirected back towards their eyes, piercing anyone who dared attack her.

The surrounding buildings began to crumble, not spared from the onslaught of attacks launched by both sides.

Amelia continued smiling, while Neuvillette never ceased attacking with a furrowed brow.

However, Amelia was certainly growing more and more exhausted and overwhelmed by the relentless attacks from Neuvillette and the Fontaine guards.

At this moment, Neuvillette, with an elegant hand gesture, manipulated the surrounding water, creating a thick swirling mist in the air.

The ground suddenly shook violently. And in an instant, from within the mist, emerged the silhouette of a gigantic dragon made entirely of pure water.

This dragon coiled gracefully in the sky, its eyes glowing with a bright, menacing blue light. With one tremendous roar, the Hydro dragon plunged down, directly targeting Amelia.

Still, Amelia remained calmly smiling.

She watched as the dragon slowly drew nearer and nearer. Then, as the massive Hydro dragon's jaws were right in front of her face, she snapped her fingers once more.

And in that instant, the water dragon... had frozen, turned to ice crystals from head to tail that then shattered into,

A pieces.

***

Furina rubbed her eyes. She had awoken from her slumber. The commotion outside was greatly disturbing her!

At this moment, she slowly got out of bed and walked towards the window. She opened the window. Her eyes immediately widened, looking up at the sky.

The sky had been covered by a gigantic ice crystal. Without a second thought, Furina immediately rushed out of the inn, running frantically.

As she opened the door, her face froze, rooted to the spot upon seeing the sight before her.

There, Neuvillette was choked and lifted by Amelia's hand.

His body, from feet to neck, was slowly freezing into crystal.

Neuvillette, aware of Furina's presence, smiled and closed his eyes.

At this moment, Neuvillette's entire body transformed into a crystal that reflected blue light.

Amelia exhaled, waving her hand, then said calmly,

"It is time."

She snapped her fingers once more.

The gigantic ice crystal in the sky suddenly shattered and became razor-sharp shards raining down to the ground.

Turning all of Fontaine...

Into an ice palace.

(End of Volume 1)