Chapter 1678: Chapter 1496: Number 2

Chapter 1678: Chapter 1496: Number 2



In the cold, dimly lit chamber, Maria unleashed her icy fury upon the doppelganger. Half- Maria, half-monster, it crumpled under the weight of her relentless assault. The stolen flesh, once a chilling mockery, now resembled a grotesque sculpture trapped within a cage of shimmering frost. Its mismatched eyes, one reptilian and one icy blue, locked with Maria's in a silent battle of determination. But despite its entrapment, the doppelganger was far from finished.

Ever watchful, Maria sensed a shift in the creature's energy. It wasn't defeated; it was regrouping. An almost imperceptible layer of frost formed, spreading outward from the doppelganger's form. It was a desperate attempt to counter Maria's power and buy time to devise a new strategy.

A sly smile curled upon Maria's lips as she belittled her adversary.

"Pathetic," she hissed, her voice reverberating through the chamber.

"Even your stolen magic is nothing but a feeble imitation."

Yet beneath her confident facade, a flicker of concern danced in her ice-blue eyes. This doppelganger was unlike anything she had encountered before. Its ability to mimic not only her form, but also her powers, presented a dangerous complication.

Suddenly, the doppelganger spoke, its voice a chilling blend of Maria's icy whisper and a guttural growl. "You underestimate me, Ice Queen," it rasped.

"I may be a copy, but I am an improvement. I have learned from your mistakes, absorbed your weaknesses. You rely on brute force and predictable patterns."

A tendril of frost snaked outward from the doppelganger's icy prison, a desperate attempt to break free. Maria swiftly countered, reinforcing the frosty cage with another layer of shimmering ice.

A suffocating silence descended upon the chamber. The doppelganger's struggles had ceased, its stolen form a shattered parody encased in an icy tomb. The victory, however, felt hollow. This fight, as brutal as it was, felt like a mere sideshow. With a growing sense of dread that gnawed at the edges of her icy composure, Maria realized that the true confrontation had only just begun.

Yet, amidst the struggle, an unsettling feeling settled upon Maria. Although powerful this thing wasn't the source of the constant chill gnawing at her core. It was a mere puppet master, a tool for something far more sinister.

"I just have to kill this one and force that person to come out and play," she muttered, her voice laced with icy determination. This wasn't a battle of brute force; it was a game of chess, and she was determined to checkmate the unseen player.

Taking a deep breath, Maria unleashed a torrent of power unlike anything the formless entity had ever faced. "Cocytus!" she roared, her voice echoing through the chamber like the howling of a glacial wind.

At her command, the very air grew thick with frost. The temperature plummeted, dropping far below anything the entity, or even the corrupted realm itself, could have anticipated. It was as if Maria had ripped open a portal to the heart of a frozen world, unleashing a wave of unimaginable cold.

The formless entity shrieked, a sound that defied definition, as the encroaching ice began to solidify the shadows it called home. The chilling tendrils of Cocytus, named after the legendary frozen river of the underworld, snaked through the chamber, relentlessly consuming everything in their path.

With a snap of her fingers, Maria unleashed the final blow. The air crackled with pent-up power before the entire chamber exploded in a maelstrom of shattering ice. The formless entity, its form ripped apart by the sheer power of Cocytus, was no more.

Silence descended once more, broken only by the soft hiss of settling frost. The chamber was a frozen wasteland, a monument to Maria's power. But as the frost slowly began to recede, revealing the shattered remnants of the bone throne, a new wave of unease washed over her.

Maria's voice cut through the air, her arms defiantly crossed.

"Now isn't the right time for you to come out!" Suddenly, a shadow materialized, forming the silhouette of a human. It took the shape of a girl.

"Nice to meet the Ice Empress," the girl said, her voice filled with a strange mix of reverence

and something more.

"I'm Number 2." With a graceful bow, she introduced herself.