[12th Round] Snow Woman
Here in the Fantasy World, a lot of races only had one gender.
Orcs, goblins, trolls, ogres, dwarves, mermaids, giants, lamias, arachnids…
Most of them were considered monsters, and nature itself produced them, but that didn’t mean they didn’t think about reproduction and sexual attraction.
However, since they only had one gender, they could only satiate that heat through the human race.
They were the only race capable of interbreeding with others, after all. From dragons to elves, any race would do as long as their genitals matched in size.
The same was true of the harpies who abducted men.
Harpy.
Their race’s name itself meant ‘kidnapper’.
They were half-women, half-birds.
In Greek myths, they were viewed as evil and cowardly abductors of children and human souls, swooping in out of nowhere and disappearing like the wind just as quickly.
But in this world, they were slightly different.
“As you command, my queen!”
“Get the handsome ones!”
“Kill the women!”
Here, they were warlike monstrosities.
They weren’t as lustful as mermaids, but they were rather dumb, attacking even when they knew it would mean certain death.
It was worth noting that they fought pretty well, though.
With the help of their wings, harpies could overcome and fly through blizzards and storms, and their talons were stronger than steel. Additionally, their feathers were immune to magic, preventing spells from working against them.
Their only weakness was that they had no feathers on their heads and bodies.
That being said, it was hard to hit harpies that could move freely and swiftly through the skies using bows.
“Aaaaahhhh!”
“Let me go! Let go!”
“The harpies have taken my husband!”
“What is this?! Why is even Elsh here?!”
The harpies weren’t interested in jewelry.
Their only concern was their position in their race’s hierarchy, which was decided by the number and quality of men they could capture.
Harpies measured strength and superiority based on how many men of excellence they had in their possession.
Of course, they kidnapped humans not only from human cities and settlements but also from each other. That cycle repeated until they died.
Among their kind, almost no one had lived to old age and died a natural death.
The ones that attacked the Ice Kingdom’s city soon found me, their eyes sparkling like predators finding worthy prey.
But they just flew past me.
“Why…?”
Those dullards’ attitude heavily damaged my pride.
They treated me a little differently in the 1st round. Although not all, some nevertheless showed interest in me.
But that was all in the past.
Now, I was branded as nothing but an unpopular guy.
Even so, as the Righteous Hero, I denied this absurd reality!
Spreading the wings of the righteous hero, I attacked the harpies that behaved like the mistresses of the sky.
FSHUK! FSHUK! FSHUK!
Although their talons were tougher than steel, the horns on my wings were stronger and sharper than the Holy Sword itself.
Their heads and bodies being their weaknesses didn’t matter to me.
“He’s strong!”
“Let’s kill him!”
“I’ll end him!”
The harpies came charging at me like moths to the light.
They attacked as if they didn’t care or know that only inevitable death awaited them. In the end, they all fell from my just punishment. There were no exceptions.
It didn’t matter if they numbered in the hundreds or thousands.
I would punish everyone who didn’t see the worthy man in me!
“Oh, you bastard!”
Finally, the harpy queen herself turned her attention to me.
Snow Queen Elsh.
One of the Five Great Disasters, and the harpy with the most males. When she had enough fun with her captives, she handed them over to her subordinates, only to attack cities and villages to get new trophies.
Her body size was also three times that of the other harpies.
It was said that Elsh used to be an ordinary harpy, but after she caught and ate the Snow Woman of Legends, she gained the ability to use ice magic.
Harpies were immune to magic, but at the same time, they couldn’t use it either. However, Elsh was adept at using ice magic.
The problem wasn’t her magic itself.
All that approached her would freeze before impact.
Because of that, no matter how fast and sharp the arrows and projectiles were, they turned into ice before they could damage Elsh’s body.
The arrows simply shattered on impact, like a brittle crystal.
“Elsh, even you’re treating me like that…”
‘Then die underestimating me!’
I loved reckless enemies.
I didn’t really want a prolonged battle right now anyway. There was nothing more important than going to Ssosia’s house at this moment. I had to get into that machine and go back home.
Snow Queen Elsh was nothing but a small obstacle that had to be removed from my path.
There was nothing special about her stats.
▷ Race: Snow Harpy
▷ Level: 999+
▷ Specialization: Snow Queen (Snowy Land → Invincibility ↑)
▷ Skills: Freeze ZZZ, Snowfall ZZ, Courage Z, Flying Z, Penetration Z…
▷ Status: Heart, Snow Woman, Teeth, Rage
Her skills specialized in freezing opponents.
Other than that, she was no different from other powerful harpies.
Freezing here meant that it slowed down the movement of molecules.
The Fire Spirit King, who settled between my legs, also didn’t possess the power of fire in the literal sense.
Rather, it simply accelerated the movement of molecules.
Foolish savages mistook this phenomenon for ‘Ignite’.
‘Time to work.’
Hearing my order, the Fire Spirit King summoned his servants.
They made the molecules, which were slowed down due to the Snow Queen’s influence, move more actively.
In other words, they simply melted what was frozen.
“Where did the Fire Spirit King come from?!” Elsh exclaimed, realizing that her power was fading.
“What? Is this the first time you’ve seen a hero growing a spirit in his pants?”
“So you’re a hero?”
“Don’t be surprised. You’re making yourself look like some kind of low-grade villain.”
She wouldn’t have a chance to be surprised anymore, though.
With the wings of the righteous hero, I struck her between her 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae.
I punctured her neck, which was comparable to the waist of an ordinary girl in girth, resulting in her beautiful head being decapitated and flung to the side.
The Snow Queen wouldn’t be able to resurrect again.
I had melted all the snow here!
She had the roguish skill Snowfall, which disallowed her from losing, but once the snow around her had been cleared, she was no longer that dangerous.
▶ Confusion: The Five Great Disasters weren’t planned to be defeated so easily…
If Elsh had been careful and retreated deeper into the permafrost region, starting a guerrilla war, our battle would’ve become longer and more tedious.
But she was inattentive, and I didn’t give her time to think.
“Well, all that remains is for me to pull out her icy heart.”
Her heart would come in handy on the Southern Continent.
Even without it, I could still kill the representative of the Five Great Disasters on the Southern Continent, the Fire King Phoenix. However, Hero Lemon, who proclaimed himself as my rival, would definitely need it.
However, when I was about to approach her headless body…
FUUUUUUU!
A blizzard swept over the place.
It was so violent that the fire spirits, who had collected the corpses of the harpies and used them as firewood, were forced to flee.
I deduced immediately that the Frozen Heart caused it.
Without delay, I summoned the Holy Sword and threw it with all my might at the queen, knowing that the lands around us would soon become covered in snow in no time at all.
Her heart had to be destroyed before she could return.
The Holy Sword slipped out of my hand and flew towards her, but it was moved slightly off its course due to the snowstorm’s intensity.
Had my luck left me?
I felt as if I had none at all today.
“Snoooo….”
The Snow Queen had resurrected.
But it was difficult to call her a harpy now. She didn’t even have a woman’s head anymore.
Instead, it now resembled the head of a dragon.
Her mouth was filled with sharp fangs, like an Archeopteryx, and on her head were feathers arranged in such a way that made it look like she was wearing a crown.
The changes in her body didn’t end there.
There was a being in the center of her featherless chest.
I didn’t have to wonder about its identity.
“Snow Woman.”
That was new. I had seen Elsh’s transformation before, but not this woman.
▷ Race: Bigfoot
▷ Level: 1
▷ Job: Snow Woman (Snowy Land → Charisma ↑)
▷ Skills: Snowfall G
▷ Status: Heart
If she had a high enough level, she’d be able to freeze an entire planet with her skill.
Apparently, the Snow Woman was Elsh’s ‘heart’.
She didn’t appear in elementary education.
“Hmm. Is that a special technique she can use exclusively for the secondary education course?”
I wanted to find out more about it, but nothing would remain of the city at this rate. I swallowed my interest.
From here on out, the Snow Queen was truly ready for combat.
Now the problem was in her head.
She could lash out and bite like a bird of prey. And the moment her fangs sank into her victim’s flesh, it would spread frostbite within them that would kill their cells.
No matter how hard they tried to heal that trauma, they would forever be left with a whirlwind-looking scar.
“Snooo…”
“Round two.”
I charged towards her, leaving a whirlwind of snow behind me.
In the 1st round, I got rid of the snow with the help of the locals. After having sealed her endless resurrection, I somehow managed to kill her.
Back then, of course, I lost some companions, but it didn’t matter. The safety of the inhabitants was more important.
Now the role of the locals was played by spirits.
But they weren’t really needed either.
I was going to destroy her very soul, after all.
I decided to use Demon Lord Pedonar’s technique.
The main condition was physical contact.
The existing dark matter across the place instantly crushed the skull of the Snow Queen Elsh.
But she never thought of dying. Opening her mouth wide, she was about to pierce me with her sharp fangs but was unable to break through the “Divinity” that protected my body.
I was somewhat disappointed by her skill.
FSHUK!
Did something just pierce my belly?
I looked down.
Ho! Did the Snow Woman do this?
I thought that she was only playing the role of the heart, but she looked at me, her mouth wide open.
If she just stared, I wouldn’t be so surprised.
I was confused about how the icy fang sticking out of her mouth could instantly pierce through my stomach.
She then froze it.
My internal organs immediately lost their ability to function.
“Don’t bite me. It infuriates me.”
“Hehe… Heh?!”
Ignoring the laughter, I placed my hand on the cleft between the Snow Woman’s breasts.
And pushing my hand through, I ripped her heart out.
The Snow Woman, with the light dimming in her eyes, looked at me. She didn’t understand why I was still alive.
Licking her blue heart like a lollipop, I replied.
“Actually, I’m a Legendary Hero.”
She was invincible only in snowy lands, but I was invincible no matter where I went.
