[Zone: Eternal Memories]
[A Step into the Present : - : Fimbulvetr [1]
The world was silent.
FuhhhSteam bellowed as it escaped Setsuna's body, from all parts of her body, as if it was ready to burn the world down but the space around her in more than a few hundreds meters was completely frozen solid, be it in time or space.
"So this is the zone."
Even as the storm wolf walked the earth with a gait worthy of a supreme being, steam continued to escape and her body continued to burn hotly, contrasting deeply with the surrounding temperature.
She was absorbing the natural heat of the world in her own body, allowing her to create a world where everything was being frozen to nearly absolute Zero.
This was [Fimbulvetr.] a power that fused the concept of Frost and Time and a sub-skill of her [Eternal Memories] zone.
'The world seems so different now.'
Not only did she finally step in the Rank of Duke and unlocked a powerful Zone, but she felt like she had also evolved greatly as a species.
Setsuna's appearance had greatly changed, her hair became longer, reaching until her legs, her arms and legs were covered in night blue fur and her nails were now full claws.
The energy 'Horns', above her head became thicker and she felt like she could control a far larger amount of energy than ever before.
The feeling of euphoria would have lasted far longer if not for the progressively growing heat in her body. All her clothes were already completely torn apart, but this was the least of her worry.
As she watched the surroundings, she could only exclaim about everything was encased in ice, even the tornado that had attacked her was completely frozen.
Taking a few steps forward, she finally reached Neun.
A complicated expression formed on Setsuna's face for an instant. But she knew that she could not keep this moment forever.
As ironic as it was.
'Release.'
BOOM!An explosion followed as the frost clashed with direct opposite heat, creating burning steam like never before.
From Neun's perspective, everything seemed to have happened in an instant. One moment she was simply observing the situation of Setsuna and the next she was blasted away by a powerful explosion.
â¦Cough*
This was so sudden that she was barely able to protect her body with mana and had to receive the attack at point black.
Her skin burn slightly and the shock of the explosion impacted her internal organ causing her to cough blood before landing roughly on the ground.
Using her years of experience, she tumbled and rolled on the ground to disperse as much energy from the fall as possible before finally standing up.
'What happened?'
Standing up, her gaze moved as she tried to make sense of the sudden strike but all the bewilderment vanished when her eyes landed on Setsuna.
"Princess..."
A hearty smile appeared on Neun's face.
'How beautiful. How Vaillant.'
There was nothing but admiration and joy in her eyes. She was so happy to see that Setsuna had surpassed her limit that she could barely keep a stoic expression.
'Ah...'
She blocked her mouth and coughed even more blood. But she knew that this was not because of the previous hit.
'Seems like I do not have much longer.'
She smiled, "Princess, I congratulate you on your awakening. But this is still not enough. You still need to become much stronger if you wish to take revenge."
Setsuna stayed silent before snapping her finger.
Instantly, all the wounds that previously covered her body began to close as if they had never existed in the first place. It was like her body had returned to a previous more pristine state.
"I am still learning the ropes. So let's see."
Setsuna took one more step and lightning covered her body before she rushed at full speed.
After all, becoming a duke did not mean her previous skills vanished.
If this was all, Neun would have simply been amazed at the increase in physical ability. But...
The moment she took out her sword and was about to counter, her eyes widened as two Setsuna appeared before coming at her from a different side.
'Illusion? Kuh!'
The weight she felt as she blocked the strike from one of them told her all she needed to know.
Those were not illusions.
'How...?'
A Step into time : -: Temporal Clones [1]
The fight became one-sided pretty fast. Neun had already lost her giant wolf form and keeping up with one Setsuna was more than difficult.
Dealing with three was impossible.
"I know you are curious. But they are indeed not illusions. Rather, they are clones from the past. Manifestations of my memories and time."
'This...'
"Incredible. Haha. Truly, I lost."
A blade rested on her neck but Neun looked up with relief.
"You seem happy."
"How could I be unhappy at the sight of such a beautiful growth? With such a Zone as the base, the princess will grow to become the strongest King our race has ever witnessed. I can only feel the utmost joy at this news."
Setsuna tightened her grip on the blade she was holding.
She could not feel like her anger had nowhere to go. If at least Neun was acting in a way to harm her she could feel better.
"Why...?"
Her words came more like a plea than a question.
"You already know my answer."
She smiled brightly.
*Crack*
Fissure appeared on her skin as if she was about to break.
"Ayame!"
Setsuna threw her blade aside and cradled Neun, or rather, Ayame in her arms, "What is happening!?"
She didn't understand. Even though the fight had been harsh, she had never dealt any life-threatening blow to her.
"I am sorry, Princess. It seems like my time has come."
"What do you mean!?"
Looking at the crying Setsuna, Ayame gave a feeble smile and tried to bring her hand to caress Setsuna's face.
Sadly, she could do nothing as her hand broke into pieces and started to scatter like the wind.
"This body is finally coming to its limit. After all, I failed the contract."
"Contract? Wait, forget it! How can we stop this?"
"This is useless. After all, this body of mine is nothing but a shell."
On that day, ten years ago. She had not really survived. She was already on the verge of death when they found her.
She signed a contract and only the feeling of wrath and the desire of vengeance in her heart could sustain her false life and give her even more power.
In a way, she was just an undead.
"Princess... Please listen to me."
Setsuna sniffed. She wanted to shake her head but she knew that those may very well be the last words she would hear.
"Thank you for being alive. Thank you for growing up to become such an upright and beautiful woman. Fighting against you has been a delight."
She muttered, her voice becoming weaker and weaker.
"Also, please be careful of Ein. He is very dangerous."
'Ah...'
She could feel her body breaking even further and her lips sealing themselves shut. As per the contract, trying to tell anything about the truth would result in an even swifter death.
She looked to the side as someone approached them... The prince of Lustburg.
"Sol..."
Sol silently looked at her before shaking his head. "There is nothing I can do for her at the moment."
If he still had some divinity left he could have tried something. But as she was, it was impossible for him to do anything. The threads of fate entangling her were all at the minimum at the demigod level.
"King of Humanity. Please hear my will."
Sol silently looked at her and took a knee on the ground. Ayame showed surprise on her face, but then a happy smile graced her face.
This was perhaps the highest form of respect she had ever received in all her life.
"I am speaking of the last true family of the princess. Please... Take care of her."
"I will."
"Then... May your life be filled with happiness until the end of time."
She did not need to ask for more. All she wanted was to pray for the happiness of her princess.
She believed in no goddess. But she wished that at least this plea of hers was listened to by anyone who could make her wish come true.
The tears of Setsuna on her face made her heart heavy. But she knew that it was time to say goodbye.
She had not done much good in her life. She also did many wicked things. But she only had one regret.
That Setsuna would never...
'Ah...'
Her eyes widened.
Right in front of her eyes, Setsuna was covered in a flamboyant golden light.
Her blue hair and fur changed color under this light until they were completely golden.
"Hahaha..."
A weak laugh escaped her lips.
Fate was truly an incredible thing.
"The usurper will die. Long live the new Queen."
Neun's body was completely scattered in the air, reduced to nothing but dust.
But she died happily. Knowing that the throne would go back to its most rightful owner.
(AN: Welp. The end of this volume is in sight. I promised only happiness. But it seems like I couldn't keep that promise. Both Setsuna and Lilin faced ghosts of the past and grew thanks to them. So now only a few more chapters before this volume ends. Setsuna's zone is very powerful. If you guys are curious. Basically, it is a mix between Esdeath from Akame Ga Kill, Kurumi from Date a Live, and Sho from Fire Force.)
