Chapter Ten

THE QUEEN WHO LOVES SNOWFLAKES

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PRINCESS NYRINN HURLED a massive ball of fire towards her pursuers. But before the fireballs could land on them, these people forged a shield completely made of water, repelling the attack until it vanished into thin air, defeated by their element.

"Blast it!" exclaimed the princess before evading the scene.

Inconveniently, her pursuers happen to be Water Sorcerers, a practitioner of one of the seven major elements of nature in Azalia, people who are blessed by the Queen of the High Seas. They're supposed to be on her side, not by their enemies, but alas, betrayal can be such a great tidal wave that washes off a person's loyalty.

The sorcerers made water snakes out of their bare hands, making them crawl on the ground like actual snakes that went after the princess.

Princess Nyrinn picked up her pace and ran faster. The snakes are nearing her but she evaded them good by blasting them with a series of balls of fire. It rained behind her, successfully eliminating the water snakes.

When she knew that she has covered her distance from her enemies, she proceeded to create a barrier, a wall literally made of fire that reaches up to the height of the trees. She then had the wall crawl around the sorcerers, trapping them in the middle.

"That should hold them up for a moment," she muttered to herself, catching her breath.

And from a distance, the queen of Virgam Kingdom is also occupied with her battle against Fire Sorcerers.

The queen morphed a sword made of solid ice to match the flaming sword of her opponent.

Her enemy mischievously smirked at her frail-looking weapon. "You are no match against my element. Between ice and fire, ice will always be defeated. I will melt you!"

With that the sorcerer charges against the queen. But instead of evading his flaming sword, she confronted it and parried it with hers. Surprisingly, her ice sword withstood the heat emitted by her opponent's weapon.

"Your fire is weak!" the queen mocked.

Angered by her underestimation, the sorcerer pushed back the queen's sword with a strong force and once more lunged at her. Their blades parried against one another. They clashed and create the sound of two metal blades colliding against each other. Their elemental weapons exceeded the norm of fragility for with each strike and parry, it seemed as though they were wielding actual weapons.

The queen's footwork is remarkable, her opponent often finds it arduous to read her movement. She doesn't follow a normal pattern or a strategy, but rather she appeared as though she was simply enjoying the battle, dancing around her enemy, playing with him.

This further angered the sorcerer. He finally acknowledged the fact that the queen possessed remarkable swordsmanship. He retreated to a distance. His flaming sword vanished into thin air. The next thing he did was move both his arms in a pattern somewhat familiar to the princess who has been watching the from afar.

And knowing what he is about to do, she willed to warn her sister.

"Neiryl, be careful! He's going to use the Forbidden Flame!"

But instead of having to worry or prepare for the upcoming attack, the queen stood so elegantly and calmly.

Perhaps, the danger they were facing at the moment had resulted in the princess momentarily forgetting that her sister never ceases to repel her Forbidden Flame each time she attempts to use it against her.

The sorcerer finishes his chant, and beneath his feet appeared a glowing black circle of magic, words were written on it, moving along the shape. At the same time, the same kind of circle also appeared beneath the queen's feet, yet she remained undisturbed.

Five large circles of magic then also appeared in front of the sorcerer, the same thing happened to the queen, except that the circle of magic surrounds her.

"Even if you're a queen, you cannot escape the Forbidden Flame! Surrender now and I will spare you the misery of burning to death!" the sorcerer warned.

But the queen remained unmoved by his threat. The sorcerer once more smirked at her. The queen's confidence and arrogance were her own undoing. And with a single command, the sorcerer released the Forbidden Flame through the circle of magic beneath the queen's feet. A strong dark flame emerges like a powerful beam, and even if the queen was to step out of the circle, it cannot be done due to the five other circles of magic that serve as a barrier.

"Neiryl!" the princess tried with all her might to counter the Forbidden Flame but was prevented by imperial soldiers who finally caught up to them.

That flame was a strong one! If she could rate it it's probably stronger than her own Forbidden Flame. Even if her sister has withstood hers all the time but that flame is nothing compared to hers.

'B-but she can't be defeated! She's the Queen of Ice!'

"Release me, you monsters!" the princess strived to free herself from the water that engulfed her entire body, except for her head. She tried using her flame but it dies instantly.

"Our orders were to strictly take them to the emperor ALIVE," said an imperial soldier, giving emphasis on the word alive.

The sorcerer only gave him a shrug and nonchalantly replied, "At least we still have the princess."

The soldier disliked the sudden arrogance flying through his head. But he was right, the queen was a nuisance, to begin with. Dealing with such powerful beings like them would mean them to hire every soldier and warrior in the land of Azalia in order to defeat them.

They waited for another moment or two before the sorcerer decided to gradually decrease his flame's intensity. His energy is also drained from using his best technique. And thanks to the five circles of magic, the heat was contained inside.

However, the flame soon began to change colour from black to blue, starting from the bottom.

"What is that? Is that a part of your technique?"

The bottom soon turned into ice, it climbed up above in a swift motion, turning the flame into solid ice in an instant. A beautiful work of art when the fire froze.

Upon freezing, it cracked almost immediately before it shattered into thousands of pieces, sparkling in the air like snowflakes falling from the sky.

Everyone was dumbfounded at the sight, their mouths dropping open as they witnessed how the queen stood in the middle, unscathed. Even her own sister bore the exact countenance of surprise.

And with a single gesture of her palm, the shards of the frozen flame turned into snowflakes, swiftly flying towards the soldiers and sorcerers, landing on their foreheads.

They became frozen stiff immediately after contact and the snowflakes began their work by spreading freeze starting from their foreheads, crawling all over their bodies like how blood flows through their system. Soon enough, they all turned into frozen statues, clear as crystals.

When the Water Sorcerers froze, Princess Nyrinn was released from her captivity. She rushed to aid her sister when she collapses but before she could kiss the ground, a pair of strong arms suddenly caught her.

"That was close, my queen."

'Who? W-who are these men?'