Vol. 6 Ch. 54

Seeing that Taros had also drawn his weapon, Rosvisser realized that these two bastards intended to fight together.

The magic stored in her dragon crest still had reserves—it should last a little longer.

Rosvisser placed a hand lightly on her chest. “Hopefully, he’ll make it back before my magic runs out.”

If it were a one-on-one fight, she could confidently take down either of them.

But against both at the same time? She wasn’t sure she could win.

She had a general grasp of their combat methods by now—they summoned surrounding materials to form weapons for their attacks.

That wasn’t difficult to counter.

The Northern Wastelands, especially the Far North, were covered in layers of snow and ice, and Rosvisser’s fire magic had a natural advantage against them.

But Taros... she still didn’t know how he fought.

Judging by his weapon, he was likely a close-combat specialist.

Wait—

Rosvisser’s gaze locked onto Taros’s black great scythe, something suddenly clicking in her mind.

Nineteen days ago, Xiaoxue had woken up from a nightmare, saying that she had been chased in her dream by a terrifying man.

And just now, Taros had personally admitted that before reaching the Yiren Tribe, they had already wiped out the Snow Elves.

Could it be… they were the ones who slaughtered Xiaoxue’s parents and her people?

"Take this!!"

Before Rosvisser could dwell on it any longer, Taros lunged forward, gripping his great scythe with both hands.

His tremendous speed kicked up the snow beneath his feet, splitting it into towering walls of ice on either side.

The howling wind whipped up a storm of snow, slightly obscuring Rosvisser’s vision.

"Perfect!"

Seizing the opportunity, Taros swung his scythe in a powerful downward arc, aiming straight for Rosvisser’s head.

But as a Silver Dragon, even with her vision disrupted, Rosvisser’s instincts and reflexes allowed her to evade such a straightforward attack.

With a slight sidestep, the scythe’s edge sliced past her face, missing her by a hair’s breadth.

In the same instant, she crushed the snow beneath her feet, adjusting her stance.

Avoiding the strike, Rosvisser immediately summoned her dragon flames, launching them straight at Taros’s face.

However—

A shield of pure ice materialized out of nowhere right in front of him.

The dragon flames struck the shield head-on and were instantly extinguished.

Rosvisser’s eyes flickered as she glanced to the side—

As expected, Karl had activated his staff’s ability to block her attack for Taros.

"Don't get distracted, Samaelian!!"

Taros barked, his great scythe sweeping upward from below, slashing fiercely toward Rosvisser.

Reacting instantly, she arched her back, bending low and barely dodging the devastating upward slash.

"Oh? Not bad. You actually dodged that at such close range. Looks like I’ll have to get serious!"

With that, Taros tightened his grip on the scythe and launched a relentless barrage of attacks at Rosvisser.

Yet she continued to evade, retreating strategically without counterattacking.

Even when small openings appeared in Taros’s attacks—chances to strike back—Rosvisser held herself back.

She knew why.

Taros was attacking so recklessly because he wasn’t worried about counterattacks. Karl was covering him.

There was no "fatal opening" that an ice shield couldn’t block. And if one wasn’t enough, Karl could summon more.

If she struck carelessly, she wouldn’t take down Taros, and instead, he might seize an opportunity against her.

"When I counterattack, it has to be calculated."

"Hmm? Not fighting back anymore? Just a moment ago, you were dodging like crazy."

"Or are you planning to just run the whole time?"

The two of them clashed repeatedly above the ice houses of the Yiren Tribe, leaping and weaving through the frozen structures.

Taros mocked her constantly, trying to pressure her into making a move.

But Rosvisser’s mental composure was flawless—there wasn’t a single sign of her losing focus.

"Tch. Please. After being married to that bastard for so many years, what kind of bullshit haven’t I dealt with?"

"You think a few taunts are gonna get under my skin? Pathetic."

"Karl! Cut off her escape!"

Frustrated that he couldn’t keep up with Rosvisser’s agility, Taros called for Karl’s assistance.

Karl responded instantly, conjuring several sharp ice spears behind Rosvisser, cutting off her retreat.

With a graceful backflip, she landed atop an ice wall.

The moment she stabilized her footing, the ice spears shot toward her like a storm.

Rosvisser raised her hand, summoning dragon flames, and in the same instant, she unfurled her wings—

With a powerful wingbeat, she amplified the flames, sending them surging outward.

S-Rank Fire Magic: Blazing Tempest!

The ice spears melted instantly, clearing a path of escape. Seizing the chance, Rosvisser leapt into the air.

A second later, Taros’s great scythe slammed into the ice wall where she had just been standing.

"Damn it! Karl, what kind of ‘cutting off her escape’ was that?! You let her get away!!" Taros bellowed.

Karl remained silent, his eyes locked onto Rosvisser’s movements.

High above, Rosvisser spread her dragon wings, hovering effortlessly in the air.

She had caught every moment of the exchange between Taros and Karl.

Her gaze landed on Taros, her thoughts shifting.

"Hot-tempered bastard..."

Then, a slow smirk curled at the Queen’s lips.

"Perfect."

"Come on!!!"

Taros charged once more, scythe howling through the air, his swings even more ferocious than before.

"At least your little partner has some skill. He can manipulate anything and everything."

"But you—"

Rosvisser dodged Taros's attacks while casually returning all the trash talk he had thrown at her.

"You seem to be lacking a bit, huh?"

"W-What?!"

"All you can do is swing that scythe around? If that counts as combat, then farmers cutting wheat might as well be valiant knights."

"You—! You arrogant Samaelian savage! I'm going to cut you to pieces!!"

Taros completely lost it, his attacks growing more reckless and disordered, devoid of any form or technique.

Earlier, when she had observed his interaction with Karl, Rosvisser had already noticed that he was short-tempered, easily provoked, and had a strong need to show off.

Infuriating someone like that?

Didn’t take much effort at all. Just a few words were enough.

In battle, losing your temper was a fatal mistake, because no one could predict whether an enraged opponent would snap and self-destruct.

But for Rosvisser, the angrier her opponent got, the better.

"I'll turn you into mincemeat!!"

Shiiing!—

A silver blur wove through Taros’s wildly swinging scythe.

His erratic strikes failed to land a single hit, not even grazing a strand of her hair.

"Taros! You're overextending! Don't fall into her trap!"

Karl shouted from behind.

But Taros was too far gone, completely blinded by rage, attacking like a man possessed.

Rosvisser’s gaze flicked past him and landed on Karl.

Karl had erected so many ice walls that he might as well open a temple.

Which meant…

At this distance, his ability to control objects should be useless.

"Perfect. In that case—"

Taros’s black scythe came slashing sideways.

Rosvisser bent low, the blade sweeping harmlessly over her head.

In that instant, her right palm flared with seven-colored radiance.

"Primordial Magic—Soul Judgment."

Boom!—

The moment the Soul Judgment struck him at point-blank range, a massive explosion erupted.

A pillar of snow and dust shot into the air.

A second later, Taros was blasted out of the cloud, trailing a blackened streak of smoke through the sky before crashing to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a painful stop.

"Taros! Are you alright?!"

Karl rushed forward, checking on his partner’s condition.

Taros clutched his chest, where he had been struck, one hand gripping his scythe for support as he shakily pushed himself up.

His gaze, now filled with caution, locked onto Rosvisser.

"So it really is the Primordial Force… If this continues, not only will we fail the mission, we might not even make it out of here alive."

Karl’s expression darkened.

"Looks like we can’t hold back any longer. Taros, we need to retreat and report back."

"Tch. Our master specifically ordered that neither of us should expose the Void Weapon’s power at the same time. But if we want to take down this dragon… there’s no other choice."

Having made their decision, the two men stood side by side, bracing themselves.

From a distance, Rosvisser observed them warily, a sense of foreboding creeping over her.

"Even after taking a point-blank Soul Judgment while enraged, he can still stand… And now it looks like they're about to use something even stronger…"

She clenched her fist tightly.

"Will I be able to withstand it?"

She had already used three consecutive high-tier magic attacks—

Once when she attacked directly, another when she channeled Taros’s energy into the Skyflame Judgment, and the last using his berserk state against him.

"What will it be this time…?"

Taros slowly raised his great scythe, but no magic was activated.

Rosvisser remained on guard, not daring to make a reckless move.

But the next second—

A chilling presence crept up behind her.

She turned instinctively—

A blade of ice shot toward her out of nowhere.

"Shit!"

Rosvisser twisted her body, but the sudden attack still sliced across her cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.

"What…? At this range, Karl’s ability shouldn’t work… so how…?"

Before she could process it, another sharp whistling sound echoed from above.

She looked up—

More ice blades came raining down.

One after another, they fell in precise, deadly arcs.

Rosvisser dodged swiftly, weaving through the attacks.

But these attacks were too bizarre—

They weren't being "thrown" at her.

They were just appearing out of thin air.

She couldn’t sense any magic fluctuations either.

She was relying purely on instinct and reaction speed to evade them.

"I can’t just keep dodging—I need to attack."

With that, Rosvisser unfurled her wings, planted her foot firmly, and in an instant—

She vanished.

A flash of silver streaked toward Karl and Taros.

But just as she closed the distance, a tear in space opened in front of her.

She couldn’t react in time—

She plunged straight through the gap.

And when she opened her eyes again—

She was right back where she had started.

"This is—"

Her gaze darted around, her mind racing.

Finally, she realized something—

Her eyes locked onto Taros’s great scythe.

"…Spatial magic."

"Control over all matter, and now space manipulation as well? Just hearing that is a headache."

"Karl, she figured it out. Let’s end this. No more wasting time."

"Agreed."

With that, Taros raised his great scythe.

Rosvisser watched his every movement, eyes narrowed.

"This time… where will the next spatial rift open?"

She scanned her surroundings, preparing for an attack.

But the next second—

Dozens of spatial rifts ripped open around her.

And this time, they weren’t leading to frozen wastelands.

Instead—

Rosvisser’s breath hitched.

An abyss of chilling darkness.

A void of deep purple, empty and silent—

Yet brimming with indescribable terror.

From the depths of those rifts, colossal shadows slithered past.

She couldn’t see their full forms—

But she could feel them.

A presence that was deep, unfathomable, and alien.

She could sense nothing from beyond those rifts—

No magic fluctuations.

No familiar energy signatures.

It was like a world that had been severed from reality, then infested with things that shouldn’t exist.

Not awe-inspiring.

Not overwhelming.

But something far, far worse.

"This… what the hell is this…?"

The oppressive darkness that engulfed Rosvisser lasted for only a moment—

But in that instant, a formless pressure exploded from the dozens of rifts surrounding her.

“Urgh!—”

Rosvisser let out a low groan, dropping to one knee.

A chilling, spectral voice echoed from the rifts.

The power emanating from that twisted, chaotic world was so overwhelming that it pinned Rosvisser to the ground, making it impossible to move.

At the same time—

Inside the underground shelter, Xiaoxue’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the scene unfolding above.

"That scythe… It’s that scythe…"

"What scythe? Xiaoxue?" Doroton, standing beside her, asked.

Xiaoxue’s pupils trembled, an uncontrollable fear flooding into her expression.

Her voice shook violently.

"If this goes on… Aunt Rosvisser will be killed."

And in that moment—

A buried memory resurfaced.

Like a dam breaking, it rushed into her mind all at once—

"Hide here, Xiaoxue. Don’t let them find you!"

"Mom and I will lure them away."

"No matter what happens, don’t make a sound, Xiaoxue. Remember—do not make a sound!"

“Live, Xiaoxue. No matter what, you must live… Mommy loves you… Mommy will always love you…”

—

"No… No… I don’t want Aunt Rosvisser to die…"

"My parents… they were killed just like this."

"To protect me."

"I won’t… I won’t watch Aunt Rosvisser die in front of me too!"

"Aunt Rosvisser!!"

"Xiaoxue, don’t go!!"

A small white figure bolted out from the underground shelter, sprinting toward the battlefield without hesitation.

At that moment—

Above, a massive spatial rift tore open over Rosvisser’s head.

This time, it didn’t summon ice spears.

It didn’t bring blades of ice.

It wasn’t another piece of that eerie, unknown world.

Instead—

An entire mountain of ice.

Rosvisser, standing below it, was so insignificant in comparison that she might as well not exist.

There was no need to imagine what would happen if the entire mountain came crashing down.

"This is really bad—"

"Aunt Rosvisser!!"

"…Xiaoxue?"

Rosvisser turned her head in shock, following the voice.

She saw Xiaoxue running toward her.

Behind her, Abu and several Yiren warriors were chasing after her, trying to stop her.

"Xiaoxue, stop!! Leave here!! Don’t let them see you—"

—

"No!"

"W-What…?"

"Don’t… say those things to me ever again!"

Xiaoxue kept running, ignoring the voices trying to hold her back.

"‘Don’t let them see you’… ‘Hide’… I don’t want to hear that anymore!"

"Aunt Rosvisser, I don’t have the power… to save you."

"But… I can stay with you. If you die, I’ll die with you."

She rushed beneath the falling ice mountain, reaching out her hand toward Rosvisser from afar.

And Rosvisser—

Reached back with all her might.

A small hand and a larger hand, stretching toward each other—

Just before their fingertips could touch—

The ice mountain crashed down.

The earth shook.

Snow and ice erupted into the sky.

The shockwave alone was enough to blast Abu and the Yiren warriors away, sending them tumbling across the ground.

—

"Finally, that damn dragon is dead."

Taros let out a long breath, resting his scythe on his shoulder.

"If they hadn’t given us ‘Void Weapons’ sooner, this fight might’ve ended differently."

Karl glanced at the staff in his hands. "Agreed."

"Tch. What else can you expect from Samaelian savages? They don’t even have weapons."

Taros sneered, full of disdain for the Samaelian race as always.

"Well then, next…"

"We clean up the rest of this mess."

With his scythe resting on his shoulder, Taros strode toward the surviving Yiren villagers alongside Karl.

As they got closer, Taros suddenly paused, frowning.

Behind one of the Yiren warriors, something was hiding.

Something… strange.

"Huh? What’s that thing? Those long ears… Looks dumb as hell."

Karl frowned. "I don’t know. The reports didn’t mention any creatures like that in this region."

"Whatever. Let’s just kill it along with the rest."

Taros advanced, his scythe dragging slightly across the snow.

The Yiren warriors instinctively stepped back, but they knew—

If even a dragon had fallen to these enemies…

They didn’t stand a chance.

Taros raised his scythe high.

"Goodbye, Samaelian savages."

The blade swung down.

The Yiren warriors braced themselves, shielding Abu with their bodies.

—

But the pain never came.

Doroton opened his eyes, hesitated, and turned back—

Taros and Karl weren’t moving.

Instead—

They had slowly turned around.

Their expressions stiffened, their eyes locked onto something far away.

"Karl…" Taros murmured.

Karl’s grip tightened around his staff.

"Yes… I feel it too."

"The Key of Kronos…"

The moment those words left his lips—

Cracks spread across the surface of the ice mountain.

From within, brilliant golden light burst through the fractures, radiating outward.

The next second—

A thunderous explosion shattered the mountain apart.

A shockwave of immense power roared across the battlefield, hurling snow and ice in all directions.

Karl and Taros shielded their eyes, their vision completely overwhelmed by the sheer force of the energy.

But as the light settled—

As they forced their eyes open—

At the very center of the explosion—

A silver figure hovered silently in the air.

In her hand—

She held a golden spear.