Alice Subjugation (8)

The blast of cold air dispersed the clouds of dark mana.

Sensing the impending danger, Alice retreated, and with her newly emerged crimson wings flapping, she readied herself.

In the sky, a man and a woman faced each other at a distance.

Below them, a massive hole was punched through the clouds.

Six pale blue magic circles formed around Isaac, enveloping him in cold air. From each of them, a wing imbued with the aura of [Ice Sovereign] stretched out. The cold air gathered into three pairs of wings on the Ice Sovereign's back.

A gentle yet profound coldness flowed melodiously. The aura of [Ice Sovereign], the ultimate mastery over the ice element.

Whoooooo.

A chilling sensation.

The pale blue mana targeted the demon possessing Alice's body.

From Alice, a chorus of laughter erupted in multiple voices. Yet, her face remained expressionless, as if she were a ventriloquist.

From her extended arms, several mouths ripped open and cackling maniacally. One of them moved its thick lips.

[The respectable Nameless Hero.]

A woman's voice resonated hoarsely. Isaac knew well whose voice it was.

Not Alice, but rather…

Mephisto the Contractor spoke through Alice's body, observing human formalities.

[It is an honor to meet you like this. My name is Mephisto. Pardon my rudeness for not greeting you in my true form.

"…"

[Oh my, you don't seem to understand your predicament, do you?]

More mouths continued to form on her grotesque arm.

Mephisto's mouths each uttered a word separately, while other lips twitched, chuckled, or muttered to themselves.

[I made a pact with the Queen of Hearts. She agreed to give up her body if she failed to fulfill the contract.]

"And now that body is?"

[It's completely mine now!]

The multitude of lips abruptly stopped laughing.

[Surely you don't feel pity toward the Queen of Hearts, do you? Did you wish to save her?]

Suddenly, more than a dozen lips stretched into a sly grin.

[That's too bad, then…. The Queen of Hearts is no more.]

Alice's body was now overrun with personality fragments and dark mana of Mephisto the Contractor.

[She is as good as dead! The only way to get me out of this body is to bring it to rest.]

That meant death.

Yes, death was the only solution.

If the resurrection of the Evil God failed, nothing else could save Alice.

She could do nothing but lose all her powers and abilities, merely fueling the disaster.

Isaac briefly opened his mouth, then closed it. That was his only reaction.

[Oh, Nameless Hero, do not lament! A world burdened by an inferior race will only be an inferior world. The sacrifice of the Queen of Hearts will be an excellent fertilizer for the new world Lord Nephid is creating. How noble is that…!]

"There won't be such a thing."

There was no need to pay attention to Mephisto's hoarse, third-rate conviction.

"Because I will eradicate you."

Like squashing cockroaches, that's all demons are.

Mephisto raised Alice's head and scrutinized Isaac.

[It's a shame you don't understand. But you know…]

The silver-blue-haired human was undoubtedly the strongest of mankind.

The thought of being able to eliminate such an opponent excited Mephisto.

[You're going to die here anyway, aren't you?]

Demons were roaring as they advanced toward the island where Märchen Academy was located.

Isaac looked down at the island and the sea, blinking quietly.

Mephisto wasn't just any ol' demon. He was able to distinguish a difference in power, meaning…

"...You seem sure of yourself."

Isaac was confident that his predictions were correct.

The certainty of his predictions, the state of the current situation, and all the variables he had considered all converged in his mind all at once.

An outrageous idea flashed through his mind.

He coldly gathered his thoughts.

Perhaps… there might be a way to save Alice. It's worth a shot.

"You…"

Isaac pulled back the hood of his robe and glared at Mephisto with eyes as bitter as the coldest ice age.

As mentioned before, Alice Carroll and her followers didn't seek the world's destruction out of greed or revenge. They were merely coerced.

In the end, the worst offender was someone else.

It was the demon before him, who had exploited everything about Alice Carroll and now sought to ravage her death and massacre everyone at Märchen Academy.

"I will find you and kill you."

He would find its main body and make it wish for death.

Let it suffer terrible pain, make it scream in agony, and let it die a death more terrible than what anyone could ever imagine.

I will make Mephisto pay for playing with people's lives.

[Go ahead and try.]

Mephisto's numerous lips taunted.

Gwaaaaah!!

A black dragon, wreathed in crimson flames, flew in to protect Mephisto's back. It roared at Isaac.

It was the Nightmare Dragon Jabberwock, enhanced by Mephisto's dark mana.

A suddenly stronger Phantom Cat Cheshire intercepted Dorothy and was unable to pursue the Nightmare Dragon. It was overtaken by the dark mana, losing its senses and unleashing a barrage of attacks on Dorothy.

At that moment.

Isaac pulled out a dagger. The white dagger emitted a silver light.

As he drew the blade from its sheath, Mephisto's eyes caught sight of the three engraved magic circles.

The Ice Sovereign's Authority. The Dagger of Oath, and the Dagger of Pacts. It was the "Blade of Frost Flowers".

Isaac sliced his hand with the sword, and his crimson blood smoothly soaked the blade.

– Hilde, how do I use this?

–It's simple. Just coat the blade with your blood, and say the phrase. What you say is…

The Frost Dragon, Hilde, instructed him.

Isaac mouthed the command to activate the "Ritual Circle", "Summoning Circle", and "Contract Circle" engraved on the Blade of Frost Flowers.

"Serve me, Düpfendorf."

The three magic circles on the blade resonated with the phrase and the [Ice Sovereign]'s blood, glowing in a pale blue light.

[…!]

Suddenly, Mephisto frowned in Alice's body.

After all, this body was stolen from Alice. Even if it died, its main body would still be unharmed. However, Mephisto felt a deep aversion. The ritual Isaac was about to perform invoked an overwhelming primal fear.

Something terrible was about to happen.

Whoooong.

An enormous magic circle traced its path beneath Isaac.

An immense amount of mana surged from Isaac, comparable to the vast ocean. It spread out like a torrent in the sea, stirring up fierce winds and causing violent waves.

A blizzard raged.

A pure white radiance expelled the crimson mana that colored the sky, creating a White Night.

The unique skill of the Frostscythe, [Divine Authority - White Night]. A sudden chill swept through the sky.

[What…?]

Feeling the impending crisis, Mephisto immersed itself in the flames of the Nightmare Dragon Jabberwock to ward off the cold.

It swung the Vorpal Sword at Isaac repeatedly, sending dozens of sword energy.

The Nightmare Dragon Jabberwock also spewed crimson flames at Isaac.

"Hilde."

Along with a fierce [Frostwind], the 6-star ice spell [Frost Wave] surged, countering the attacks from Mephisto and the Nightmare Dragon.

Behind Isaac, a pearly white mana rose. The mana began to take the shape of a huge white dragon.

Isaac poured ice mana into the dragon, enhancing her power. Finally, a formidable ice familiar filled with a chilling cold that scattered beautiful pure white mana had appeared.

The mythical magic beast that was said to have been wielded by the first Ice Sovereign, the Frost Dragon, Hilde.

The white dragon unfurled her majestic wings behind Isaac.

Soon, the bitter sea froze over in an instant.

Some of the demon army, still marching toward the island, were frozen to death as they were swept away by the rough waves. However, most of them managed to survive, thanks to their strong mana.

Hwaaaaa!!

A large magic circle deployed under Isaac's feet poured out a brilliant radiance toward the ground.

Isaac closed his eyes.

[Your Majesty.]

In the realm of the mind, Isaac stepped into a mystical ice labyrinth.

An ice beast, wrapped in what seemed to be a cloak, bowed deeply to Isaac in respect.

Frost Spirit, Merphil, the master of this labyrinth and a nation-destroying ice beast.

[Greetings to the new king of Düpfendorf, albeit in an unworthy body.]

The Frost Spirit spoke to Isaac on behalf of Düpfendorf.

[Lead us.]

Kuuuuuuu!!

Isaac opened his eyes again and glared at Mephisto.

Pale blue mana filled the area. This mana took shape in the air and over the sea of ice. Ice beasts and descendants of the frost tribe were summoned.

A massive ghost beast with a terrifying aura. The Frost Spirit, Merphil, revealed its strange body and spread its wings made of ice.

A white bear with a body as big as a mountain range with glacial armor. The "Glacial Bear Barbatoma" roared at the sky.

A giant dark blue crocodile, "Icebound Crocodile Tugaros", from the deep sea, displayed its threatening bulk as it exhaled its fury.

Each of these powerful ice beasts was considered an embodiment of natural disasters. However, throughout the course of countless centuries, they had sworn to serve only one being.

Chaos turned to order, and calamity turned into military might.

"Eden."

Kyuuuu!!

Dense ice and rock mana merged on the sea of ice, and a golem of terrifying size slowly rose to his feet.

In his hand, it held a giant rock greatsword.

The rock golem familiar "Eden - The Breaker", infused with ice mana.

He glowed in a pale blue light, along with the nation-destroying ice beasts.

On the sea of ice, these beings, each a disaster in their own right, roared in unison, following the majesty of one man.

The newly summoned beings were a knightly order in platinum armor, a horde of monstrous warriors wrapped in frost, and a legion of frost mages.

They knelt on one knee and bowed their heads.

They saluted the new Ice Sovereign, who spread three pairs of wings in the sky, overlooking the land.

The army of the Ice Kingdom, Düpfendorf.

This was the moment they had longed for.

"Is that person… the Nameless Hero…?"

Faculty, students, and the Imperial Knights of Märchen Academy all bore witness to this scene.

High in the sky, the figure of the Nameless Hero could not be clearly seen with the naked eye.

Yet, many could guess who it was.

"Senior Isaac…?"

In the shelter, Snow White couldn't contain her astonishment at the unbelievable sight.

Dorothy and Kaya glanced sideways at Isaac, who appeared almost divine, continuing their battle with shocked expressions.

"Isaac…?"

Luce, flying on the Thunderbird, caught a clear view of the Nameless Hero with her exceptional vision. Her eyes remained wide open, showing no signs of getting smaller.

"I command you."

The Ice Sovereign, Isaac, extended his Frostscythe towards Mephisto.

The power contained in the Blade of Frost Flowers conveyed his will to the Düpfendorf Army.

"Eradicate the demons."

His cynical voice fell.

Above the sea of ice, the Düpfendorf Army roared as they clashed with Mephisto's demon army.