"Oh, right. Almost forgot. Before you go. Here," Wrath said.
A full set of light armor equipment and a pair of daggers appeared before Red Death. From the look, they were set equipment.
Red Death used her Inspect and confirmed that the light armors were set equipment. All seven pieces of the equipment were from the Madness Raiment Set, and all of them were level 60 unique grade.
The two daggers were set weapons from Demon Tooth Set. They were also level 60 unique grades.
"Before you get too thrilled about this equipment. Do know that they have my mark," Wrath said. "If you die or if I wish it, they will return to me. So, consider them as loans. This equipment should help you better survive what's inside."
Red Death went and equipped them without hesitation. The armors and daggers all had crimson color. With her red hair, she was now fully in red.
"It suits you," Wrath remarked with a smile. "If you succeed, I might let you keep those gears."
Each of the unique-grade equipment boosted her attributes and defense. They also gave various life-saving abilities, a passive HP recovery, an immunity to freeze status, and high resistance against fire and ice elements.
One of the set effects even gave her an active buff skill, State of Madness. The skill's description informed that the skill would give her increased damage and attacking speed upon activation. The skill lasted two minutes.
The description also said that the angrier she was during the skill's active time, the higher the damage she inflicted. If she received a fatal hit during the skill, the skill would end but she would survive with 1 HP. The next hit she inflicted within three seconds would be increased by five times.
The Demon Tooth set weapons also gave her a powerful active skill. The skill was called Demon's Bite. The skill dealt 1000% dark damage which ignored defense. A successful hit also had the chance to cause Poison, Cursed, Rage, or Fear status effects.
His battle prowess was completely in another league after equipping these gears. She felt more confident. Even so, she knew this quest would still be very difficult.
"Can I call a helper?" Red Death asked.
"Do you mean an outworlder's companion? Sure, but you can only do it before you enter," Wrath said.
With the approval, Red Death used her companion token. Rayne appeared soon. Red Death had summoned him frequently during her travels when she encountered powerful foes. Rayne was also diligent in increasing his level after becoming Red Death's companion. He was level 72.
He was ready for a fight when Red Death called. But he saw only a woman in this place aside from Red Death and they didn't appear to be in conflict.
When his gaze landed on this other woman, his eyes couldn't help but go to the revealing part of the woman's body. In that instant, he immediately felt an indescribable pressure.
"Arrggh...!" He groaned as he was forced onto his knees.
"When a mortal man dared to look at me improperly, I normally dug his eyes out and then feed him to my pet," Wrath said. "You are lucky your companion still needs you, and I have a task for her."
Red Death sent Rayne a mental message describing the situation. Rayne's eyes went wide when she found out who the woman was. He kept his head low. He didn't dare to look in Wrath's direction anymore for fear that he might incur her displeasure.
"Wear this," Wrath said to Rayne. A red cloak materialized in front of him. The lower edge of the cloak seemed to be burning. Rayne was worried by the flame, but he then realized the burning was part of the cloak.
"Despite your impertinence, you need this if you are to be any use to your companion inside," Wrath said.
Her tone indicated slight impatience, so Rayne didn't dare to dally. He thanked her and equipped the cloak. The cloak was called Raging Fire Cloak. It gave him immunity to freeze and also high ice resistance. It also had an active ability, Ring of Fire. The ability was similar to Elementalist's Flame Shield, conjuring fire that revolved around the user for a duration, but with a more powerful effect. It also covered a larger radius than the Elementalist's Flame Shield.
"Now, go in. I will be waiting for good news," Wrath said. "Please understand that failure means death or eternal confinement. So, don't fail."
The two complied and walked into the opening. They passed through the translucent layer as if it was non-existent. When they came out to the other side, they were surprised to find themselves in an open landscape. It was a snowy field with a few frozen trees. Above them was a clear blue sky.
They looked around in disbelief. They were supposed to be inside a mountain. They looked back and saw the translucent portal they came through from. It was hanging in the air.
"Did we enter a dungeon?" Red Death asked.
Instead of answering, Rayne said, "Of all the times you have called me, this is the time I most regret to have become your companion. How the hell do you get involved with the Goddess of Wrath?"
"It doesn't matter. All we need to do is complete the task she gave," Red Death answered.
No matter how difficult this quest was, she was determined to complete it. Her aunt that was trapped inside one of Wrath's cages was none other than the true leader of Death Associates, Black Death.
Black Death had taken care of her ever since she was a teenager. When she was still a child, her mother took her abroad from the same hometown as Jack, but her mother passed away not long after due to an accident. Being alone in a foreign town, she learned to take care of herself.
She survived by thieving and was involved with gangsters until Wong noticed her martial talent. Wong took her in as his disciple. He gave her a place to live and taught her martial arts.
When she was a teenager, her aunt Clara found her. Clara had been searching for Cleo ever since she received the news of her older sister's death. Clara took her in and had taken care of her since then, but Cleo insisted to continue studying martial arts under Wong. She owed the grandmaster, after all.
Clara didn't object. Instead, she moved into the same town as Wong so that she could look after Cleo. She was a professional gamer so she could work from anywhere as long as there was an internet connection.
She had just started Death Associates at the time. Seeing how good Cleo was with martial arts, she invited Cleo to join the gaming community. Cleo was a smart girl. She quickly learned the ropes and became an expert gamer in no time. She even invited some of the gangsters she used to hang out with to join. Together, they developed the guild into one of the largest guilds in the gaming community.
Cleo's relationship with her aunt was not shallow. Other than Wong, Clara was the one she owed her life. She wouldn't mind risking her life now to secure her aunt's freedom.
"Let's go!" She uttered and started walking forward.
"Do you know where to go?" Rayne asked. He was uncertain about this quest, but he still followed her.
"Whatever is causing this has the ice element. The mana in this direction felt colder. We will follow the cold," Red Death answered.
Despite his high level, Rayne wasn't one of the natives who could sense mana. But he did know the concept. He had known that Red Death was one of the outworlders that had mana sense. Aside from her connection with Rhemos, this mana sense ability was the other reason why he was willing to be Red Death's companion.
They walked for some time. The terrain seemed desolate. Other than the frozen trees and the snow, there seemed to be nothing else. However, Rayne knew they were going the right way. Because he could feel the air getting colder and colder.
Despite the cold, the two were fine due to their equipment. Both of their equipment provided high ice resistance. Hence, the cold didn't hinder their mobility.
They felt like they had been walking for hours. They couldn't know the time for sure. The sky also didn't seem to change. There was no sun, just a clear blue sky. They saw nothing until they spotted an ice mountain in the distance.
The cold mana that Red Death sensed continued to lead them toward that ice mountain. As they got nearer, the mountain moved.
The two abruptly stopped in their paths.
The two sides of the mountain broke apart. It was then getting taller. It then turned around and the two saw a face staring down at them.
What they thought to be a mountain was instead an extremely colossal ice golem, and this golem was aware of their presence. It was staring down at Red Death and Rayne. Its expression was not friendly.
It then lifted one of its legs before bringing its massive foot on top of them. It intended to stomp them flat into the ground.
