Chapter 141: Come, Spring (6)
With a resounding roar, the rock wall exploded. Azure seawater cascaded like a waterfall. Watching the chaotic scene, Ronan cursed under his breath.
“That crazy bastard…!”
Outside was a deep sea untouched by light. It seemed as if Rodolan itself intended to be submerged underwater. As Aselle swiftly levitated in the air, he gestured with his hand towards the tumultuous scene.
[I can’t stand the sight of this. Disappear.]
Bang! Kwang!
Another explosion erupted. Streams of water gushed out from three holes. The seawater rose to calf level within seconds. Elizabeth, now in a contemplative state, canceled the spell she had been preparing.
“This is unbelievable…!”
She reached out towards the flooding area. Woong! A violet barrier blocked the flow, halting the flooding. Due to the unexpected pressure, Elizabeth bit her lip.
“Ugh… can’t hold on for much longer!”
Due to the pressure, the holes were gradually widening. Root-like cracks spread across the entire wall. She looked at Ronan with a meaningful gaze and spoke.
“Ronan-nim…”
It was a gaze filled with unmistakable meaning. Ronan nodded his head. Unable to unleash his swordsmanship, he had to go and suppress it directly.
Bang! Strengthening his legs with mana, Ronan leaped towards Aselle. Aselle, with a disdainful expression, pointed at Ronan with his index finger.
[Resisting in vain.]
“Ugh!”
Ronan’s body went flying and came to a halt in mid-air. An invisible hand gripped him. Aselle, who was looking down at Ronan, opened his mouth.
[You really do resemble him. Even though that child never gave me a single glance despite my alluring charms… to think that that child would leave behind descendants.]
“Who the hell are you?”
[I cannot forgive it. How dare…]
Aselle began mumbling something with a sinking voice. Ronan sneered. It was bad enough that the guy was talking about seduction, but not revealing his identity made it even more disgusting.
[…My thoughts have changed.]
“What?”
[I will spare you if you guide me to that child. If the bloodline continues, there must be a connection.]
“You crazy bastard. If I knew, I would have gone looking for him a long time ago.”
Ronan laughed bitterly. Even if he tried to extract information, he couldn’t say what he wanted to say. Raising his arms shakily, he raised his middle finger.
“Fuck you.”
Ronan spat out. Aselle remained silent, and clenched his fists in silence, the squeezing force intensified. A cold aura spread around Aselle’s body like a halo.
‘That’s…!’
Ronan twisted his lips. It was a magic he had seen many times in his previous life. Swaah… The cold gathered, forming a shape. Seven huge ice swords appeared in the air. Aselle extended his index finger again and pointed at Ronan.
[What a pity.]
Swoosh! The Seven huge swords were fired at Ronan. Each one of them were so long and huge that one could believe they were pillars of a temple. Ronan took a deep breath.
“As expected, I can’t end it peacefully. Aselle.”
At the moment the swords closed the distance. Boom! Ronan’s arm disappeared from sight, as roaring sounds echoed and the seven swords exploded in mid-air.
[What…!]
Before he realized, Ronan was already gripping Lamancha in his hand. Aselle’s face, who had not even seen him swing his sword, was contorted in bewilderment. Shattered fragments of ice started to fall.
Whoosh! Ronan swung his sword again and cut off the telekinetic force restraining him. His freed body began to fall. He grabbed the hilt of his sword, calmly switching his power source.
‘Managing mana has become easier. Is this an effect of undoing the curses?’
Lamancha’s blade was stained white. Ronan, who had gathered mana, activated Terranil’s Aura. Quaaang! A massive shockwave erupted beneath Ronan’s feet. Startled, Elizabeth hunched her shoulders.
“Kyaah!”
The space vibrated. Ronan’s falling body rose upward. Startled, Aselle tried to increase his altitude, but Ronan was already right in front of him. Bang! Ronan’s fist struck, deeply embedded in Aselle’s stomach.
[Huek!]
Saliva burst from Aselle’s open mouth. The sound of ribs breaking deep within echoed. Aselle’s waist bent like a shrimp.
[How dare you…!]
Gasping for breath, Aselle raised his arm as if to push Ronan away. Once again, the cold gathered, creating dozens of ice thorns. Ronan quickly calculated the trajectory.
Five from the left, seven from the right, twelve from below.
Having completed his calculations, Ronan mercilessly swung his hand through the air. Crescent-shaped sword auras, twenty-four in total, manifested along the path of the black sword and shot towards the ice thorns. With a clanging sound, the sword auras collided with the ice thorns, creating twenty-four ice flowers in the air.
[This can’t be…!]
Not a single sword aura missed its mark. The sound of shattering filled the air. Aselle’s eyes widened even further. Ronan extended his arm swiftly, grabbing Aselle by the throat.
[Ugh!]
“I won’t let you go unless you come out.”
As Ronan tightened his grip, Aselle’s face turned deathly pale. His breath hitched, concentration shattered, and the levitation force releasing, he began to plummet.
[Are you… intending to kill this child…!]
“Not a bad idea. When aunt hears out about what this brat did to me, she’ll want this bastard dead too.”
[You…!]
The wind roared in his ears. Ronan persisted in not releasing his grip. Aselle’s vision started to blur gradually.
Ronan seemed determined to strangle him, even if it meant breaking the vessel. Aselle, frantically shaking his head, suddenly dropped it backward. Moments later, as he lifted his head, he gasped and screamed in horror.
“Huyaaack! Ronan?!”
“…Aselle?”
Ronan’s eyes widened. It was Aselle’s voice that he knew. The once white eyelashes were now tinted red again. As Aselle choked, he began to vomit vehemently.
“P-please, believe me…! I-It wasn’t my intention to hug you like that, or… say such strange things! Uwaaaah! My body moved on its own…”
“You idiot, is that what’s important right now? What happened?”
“I-I don’t know. That woman suddenly hugged me, and then…”
With each word Aselle uttered, tears streamed down and hit Ronan’s cheek. For a moment, his grip loosened. As Aselle began retching, his head fell backward. Ronan furrowed his brows.
“Aselle?”
[Thank you…]
“You…!”
The voice changed again. Ronan immediately exerted force, but Aselle was quicker in casting a spell. An unseen palm struck Ronan. Kwang! He flew in a straight line and crashed into the wall.
“Ugh!”
“Ronan-nim!”
Crash! Ronan tumbled down the wall. Elizabeth hastily reached out, using telekinesis to pull him. At that moment, an explosion occurred on a different wall. Kwaah! Alongside the deafening roar, seawater gushed over her head.
“Th-this…!”
She couldn’t evade it. Reflexively, Elizabeth raised her left arm above her head. A hemispherical shield enveloped her, Ronan, and Itargand. It was a brief moment when the water touched the shield. Realizing her mistake, Elizabeth took a sharp breath.
“…Huff!”
She had forgotten about the shields she had previously put up. Distracted, the already precarious shields shattered into pieces. The expanding crack widened, causing an entire section of the wall to collapse.
“No, no!”
Elizabeth screamed. Kwaah! The confined water surged like a tsunami. The sea engulfed the three of them in an instant.
By the time the water level had risen about halfway up the space, Aselle, levitating again, muttered solemnly.
[Frozen Field.]
A bluish chill spread beneath his feet. Kwaang! The sea water, which had been churning as if it were alive, suddenly froze. The sound of water ceased, leaving silence in its wake.
Ronan and his companions, trapped on the ground, couldn’t escape. Only the freezing cold rising above the frozen whirlpool signified any movement. As Aselle gazed down at the solid ice, he murmured while clutching his throat.
[…After all, blood cannot be deceived.]
It was absurd. Even though he was supposedly a descendant of that child, Aselle did not expect him to be a swordsman with that level of skill. He almost fainted and lost consciousness.
[Ro…!]
Then a boy’s cry resonated in his mind. It was the voice of the body’s original owner. Aselle shook his head from side to side.
[Stop resisting, child. Your body belongs to me already… and your mentality is far too weak compared to your talent.]
Though the Winter Witch found out that the body was that of a man, she contemplated coming out right away. But her thoughts changed swiftly. It seemed that finding a vessel with such talent would be impossible elsewhere.
It might be more reasonable to remain in control of the body but change the gender, akin to a curse that affected his possession. The boy’s voice resounded once more.
[Give it… back…!]
Despite having his body taken over, the boy’s consciousness continued to resist endlessly. Perhaps breaking his spirit to seize control of his mind first would be necessary. Suddenly, a sly smirk crossed Aselle’s lips.
[Yes, show me what you can do.]
Aselle lifted his head. Concentrating deeply, he thrust his fist. Kwaaaang! An unseen fist struck the ceiling, causing an explosion. The entire Rodolan shook, screams echoing from various places.
“Kyaah!”
“Th-the floor! What’s happening?!”
“M-my leg is stuck…! Help!”
Before long, the dust cleared, revealing a gaping hole in the ceiling. Simultaneously, a bright glare cascaded down over Aselle’s head. As he looked up at the hole, a wry smile appeared. In the distance, a single blue dot twinkled.
[See that?]
It didn’t take long for him to realize it was the sky. It had pierced through from the very bottom to the summit of Rodolan in one fell swoop. A scream resounded in Aselle’s mind.
[No, no!]
[You might want to practice being resolute. Let’s get some fresh air.]
Aselle’s body rose along the beam of light. The seals were long shattered.
The side of the long hole revealed the sheer face of the prison. Rodolan, undergoing unprecedented destruction, was in utter chaos.
People lay wounded, bloodied, fortunate enough to escape and stirring up chaos among the prisoners were the guards trying to subdue them.
Desperate screams echoed incessantly. Some yelled something upon seeing Aselle, but nothing changed. As Aselle continued to rise, his view expanded.
[Ah, refreshing air… it’s been a while indeed.]
Inhaling deeply, Aselle chuckled. Dawn was spreading before him, sunlight shimmering on the scales. The brisk sea breeze tousled his salt-stained hair.
Below his feet loomed Lodolan with a hole in its head. The coastline carved from the cliffs and anchored ships came into view. From outside, those watching shouted, pointing at Aselle.
“Someone has emerged!”
“Who’s that? Has something gone wrong?”
“What was that explosion just now?”
Their sluggish movements looked like ants. Suddenly, a crack-like smile crossed Aselle’s lips. Surveying the people, he spoke.
[If I kill them all, will your heart break?]
[St-stop it…!]
[Seems like it might.]
Aselle extended his hand toward a certain merchant ship. Itargand, larger and more resplendent than an emperor’s flagship. As he clenched his fist, Kwaah! A massive ice spear, almost 20 meters in diameter, pierced through the ship.
[No!]
A scream resonated in Aselle’s mind. The spear, conjured from frozen seawater, continued to grow, lifting the ship onto the water. Finally, unable to bear its weight, the ship split in half, creating a deluge that engulfed the people.
“Aaargh! H-help!”
“L-lord Itargand’s ship…!”
The coastline turned into a disaster zone. People who were tossed about by the overturned water scattered. The freezing cold emanating from the spear froze the surface of the water. Targeting another ship, Aselle spoke.
[Shall we try a bit more?]
[P-please. Please stop, will you?!]
Despite the desperate plea, Aselle raised his hand again. It was the moment he tried to use magic once more. Kwaah! Suddenly, an explosion resounded from behind.
[What?]
Aselle swiftly turned his head. Under the dust rising like volcanic eruptions, a completely destroyed fortress came into view. He found that the hole he had made had expanded to about three times its size.
[What in the…]
It was impossible to discern what had happened. Then, a thick shadow loomed over Aselle. Only then could he hear the flapping of wings amid the sea breeze. A familiar voice reached him.
[Hey, lady.]
He slowly raised his gaze. A colossal red dragon was flapping its wings with its back to the sun. Horrific scars marked its side and chest.
[Itargand…?]
It was undoubtedly him. Flames flickered between the slightly parted teeth. Atop the dragon’s head were two people who should have perished, shattered by ice.
“I almost died for real. And you want to run away?”
They, still clinging to Itargand’s horns, glared at Aselle. Faced with an unreal scene, Aselle’s face turned deathly pale.
[H-how…!]
“Fire.”
Ronan spoke. Simultaneously, Itargand’s mouth opened. The fire held back within poured out like a torrent. A crimson blaze engulfed Aselle’s vision.
[Just this much!]
Aselle raised his hand. Shaaaak! The ice spear that had risen from the sea shot toward Itargand. Although the fire melted the ice at a rapid rate, because of its size, it did not disappear.
The moment the ice spear, flying through the flames, was about to hit Itargand. Shoosh! The ice spear split in half, revealing Ronan’s figure. Aselle’s eyes widened as if about to pop out.
[What…!]
In his right hand was the crimson Lamanchar, and in the left, the Ymir lodged in its sheath. Aselle reflexively summoned a shield, but Ronan effortlessly tore through it with a light swing of Lamancha.
“That’s enough. Come out, you bitch.”
The distance between them closed completely. Thud! Ymir, tracing a curve, struck Aselle’s nape. His eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.
