A mana storm erupted.
This froze the moisture in the wind and affected the spatial fabric.
A wave of frost washed over the mountain's peak, where Birmond's flying artifact was hovering. It created ice and snow out of thin air and covered the peak with it.
The layer of ice and snow started spreading downwards. It traveled for a mile in an instant, freezing everything in its wake. When the ice element wreaked havoc on the surroundings, the land became a realm of ice.
The birds cried, and the lower-ranked mana beasts located nearby were scared. They were scared by the sudden changes in their surroundings. Something that might claim their life.
A black panther appeared at the peak all of a sudden to salvage the situation. This beast stood about 7 feet tall and was about 10 feet long. She had black fur that shined with a peculiar blue texture. She had green eyes and vertical pupils.
The tail of the beast was long and agile like a snake. She looked at the surroundings and knew he needed to do something fast, lest the House Remus' facilities on the mountain get destroyed by Birmond's elemental manifestation.
The black panther started shapeshifting. In the next moment, a gorgeous young girl in her early 20s was standing at the same peak as the black panther. She possessed the same green eyes as the panther. She had shoulder-length dark hair that had a slight blue texture.
This girl's skin was as soft and supple as snow. Her pink lips and her cute nose added extra charm to her overall cute facial features.
She had a slim body and apt curves. She stood about 5.10 ft tall and was wearing a long black dress.
The girl raised her hands and narrowed her eyes. She had a compatible mana signature with Birmond, allowing her to interfere in the manifestation of the ice elemental attainment the B-Rank ranker was inadvertently displaying.
The wave of snow and ice stopped after the girl intervened using her powers. Most of the ice and snow that had formed over the mountain's peak vanished into thin air. The remaining layer of snow was not severe enough to pose a threat to the surrounding area.
This young girl looked around and nodded to herself. She looked over her head and saw a small island levitating over the mountain's peak from a height of about 50 meters.
This small island was the land of snow. It had a huge ice palace in the middle and that was the only distinguishing feature it had. It looked like the levitating island had been created for Birmond in case his elemental manifestation wreaks havoc on the ground.
The girl was glad that House Remus took this precaution and shifted Birmond's residence permanently here. Otherwise, a lot of lower-ranked clan members and other rankers would have died in this outburst of ice calamity.
Birmond had colluded his path by taking shortcuts mentioned in the cultist ways. Something that couldn't be undone anymore.
The ancient ranking technique helped him make significant progress in his ranking journey, achieving significant gains. However, one of the downsides of that incredible achievement was that his elemental manifestation was more difficult to control for him than entities of his status.
The girl took a long breath before disappearing from her position. She appeared right beside her master before speaking to him.
"Control your anger, master. You are also hurting yourself."
The young girl said with a worried look on her face as she looked at Birmond with concern in her eyes. The latter had his fists clenched and his stature erect. There was a levitating array disk in front of him that was projecting something that could only be called hideous.
Birmond and the young girl were looking at Eren's masterpiece. The Grim Pillar he had erected displayed the head and other body parts of Janos. Birmond was used to seeing death and destruction. He was no stranger to the sight of blood and gore. He had caused mass genocides himself for various purposes.
However, for the first time in his life, Birmond thought that he was a greenhorn when it came to unleashing violence. A greenhorn compared to the person who built this pillar.
"Naya, are you seeing this?"
Birmond asked grimly. There was a hint of doubt in his voice. The demon girl looked at the pillar attentively before speaking up.
"Somebody killed Janos and possibly Rey in a most brutal way. And they have erected the pillar as an open challenge to us."
Birmond wiped the blood that was trying to spill from the corner of his mouth and gulped something down. He took a long breath and touched his medallion to calm himself down. His rapidly racing heartbeats and his agitated mana circuits slowly started to calm down.
"I had told Rey to not think too much about White Raven city. A missed opportunity will only hurt us more if we keep on thinking about it. I told him not to pursue the matter anymore.
I fucking told him to stay put… and now this."
Birmond said to himself as he read the rest of the details attached to the report. He then snapped his fingers and froze the array disk. The artifact was first encapsulated in a block of ice before dispersing into thin air.
Naya raised her eyebrows as she was made aware of the details of Janos and Rey's dual kill. She and her master shared a mental connection after all.
"There was a summoner involved? Has this newly formed guild hired a summoner in its midst that we are not aware of?"
Naya asked nobody in particular. She then walked toward a particular corner in the hall. She activated a small array and made a small tea table appear.
She poured a special medicine for Birmond from a stone kettle into a runic stone glass. An ice spike extending from her index finger was used to stir the light blue liquid.
"Drink this," Naya said before handing over the glass to her master. The latter gulped the contents down before crushing the utensil in his grip.
Birmond didn't express his rage through his facial expressions. But his eyes were spewing venom at someone responsible for the creation of the Grim Pillar.
