Chapter 89

Chapter 89

The dimming light in his eyes exploded just then.

The Legion Commander's body, which had been convulsing and sagging, was suddenly filled with strength again, accompanied by the unsettling resonance of magic power.

Fuck.

Ian cursed, furrowing his brow as he kicked the chest of the creature and leaped backward.

"Argh... Ahhhhh—!"

A storm of cold fury began to whirl from the Legion Commander's body. The Whirling Barrier that momentarily held back the cold was torn apart.

Ice flowers bloomed on Ian's body as he rolled on the ground, still grimacing but looking up at the Legion Commander who roared and stood up, pulling out a massive battle hammer from his back.

...So he resorts to that after all.

A bitter smile crossed Ian's lips. In the game, the Legion Commander's battle phase was divided into three stages: unarmed immediately after being released from the seal, then drawing twin swords from his waist to unleash Frost Blades and the Shockwave in the second phase, and finally, this battle hammer.

With the storm of cold surrounding him, the hammer slowed the movements of any approaching player, delivering a simple yet difficult to counteract powerful pattern. A direct hit from that hammer meant instant death. Judging by the size of the battle hammer, the outcome seemed unlikely to change even now that it had become a reality.

Thud.

The Legion Commander took a forceful step forward. Ian, trying to stand, realized his legs weren't moving freely. Frost had spread over his combat boots, greaves, and even the surface of the gloves he was standing on. A belated chill was transmitted.

Damn it, really.

As Ian vigorously shook off the ice forming on his limbs, the Legion Commander suddenly turned his gaze aside. His eyes blazed with anger.

Swoosh!

Because Charlotte was charging at him, attempting to divert the Legion Commander's attention. But the situation was different from before.

"Stop!" Ian shouted, but it was clear Charlotte wouldn't hear him properly. She had already entered the swirling storm of ice around the Legion Commander.

Crack—

Her charge slowed down bit by bit as her body began to freeze over, not just the surface of her armor, but ice also formed on her black fur.

"Ah— Ahhhhh—!" Charlotte roared as she continued her charge, breaking the ice covering her.

She fights as if she wants to die.

Despite his thoughts, Ian was relentlessly casting the Glacier Wall. The Legion Commander was raising the battle hammer above his head, and Charlotte seemed to have no intention of retreating or dodging. It was likely she also knew that was no longer possible. If the Legion Commander brought down his hammer, the next moment, what remained would be nothing but frozen pieces of what was once called Charlotte.

Crackling.

Ian extended his hand between Charlotte and the Legion Commander. A thick ice barrier began to rise instantly. But it seemed there wasn't enough time for it to rise fully to protect Charlotte from the blow.

Swoosh!

With a sudden silver mass surging forward, Ian realized he wasn't the only one who thought Charlotte would die in this manner.

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The battle hammer powerfully swung down and shattered the still-rising Glacier Wall as it fell. Thesaya catching and throwing Charlotte happened almost simultaneously. During this process, the momentarily slowed Thesaya was grazed by the hammer as it broke through the barrier and fell.

Swoosh!

The Shockwave burst from the hammer as it hit the ground, powerful enough to smash the entangled vampire fairy against the floor once and scatter her to the wall, showing more than enough force.

Crack—

A terrible sound erupted from Thesaya, who seemed embedded in the wall.

"Thesa...?!" Charlotte, who had also been slammed into the wall but only suffered minor shocks, finally opened her eyes wide.

Thesaya, stuck in the wall, slid down in a tattered state. The blood splatters that flew in all directions, unlike usual, didn't immediately converge back to her but just flowed down. Without further ado, Charlotte rushed toward Thesaya. She knew well that Thesaya had just saved her life.

Charlotte slid to a halt and picked up Thesaya. Thesaya was in a horrific state, with all her bones crushed and her flesh burst open. She seemed unconscious, barely twitching when Charlotte held her.

Finally, Ian stumbled a bit. The strain of maintaining Concentration for so long and the depletion of his Mana finally caught up with him. In the game, leveling up would have restored his Health and Mana to a certain extent, but now, he only felt an intense fatigue.

"It's over. Come out," Ian called out, stumbling forward. As if waiting for the invitation, Charlotte's tall and sturdy silhouette appeared.

Her low voice followed.

"Ian, about earlier—"

"You tried to save me. I know. How's Thesa?"

"...She seems to be recovering. Still unconscious, though."

Ian sensed the worry in Charlotte's subdued voice, a stark contrast to her usual cold demeanor toward Thesaya. Perhaps some affection had formed.

"Alright. We'll set up camp. She needs to recover... and I'm at my limit." Saying so, Ian reached into his pocket dimension, causing a pile of large tomes to tumble out, along with branches he had collected earlier for fuel.

With a whoosh, Ian threw a fireball at the tomes, engulfing the Giant Queen's research notes, which would have been invaluable to any scholar or mage, in flames. He then pulled out a sealed container from the pocket dimension, along with blankets, bandages, and preserved food, handing them roughly to Charlotte.

As Charlotte covered Thesaya with a blanket, she spoke.

"I'll take the first watch. Rest, Ian."

"Wake me if that door opens or if you hear anything approaching."

"Will do."

Despite having much to ponder, Ian was too exhausted to think. Contrary to his instructions to be awakened, he fell asleep almost immediately, plunging into a dream of endlessly falling into the abyss.

***

Ian woke silently to the cool, damp air and dim darkness, feeling the warmth of the campfire still lingering. Surprisingly, his condition wasn't bad; his mind was clear, his body felt refreshed, and the aftereffects of Mana depletion were gone.

Is this thanks to leveling up...?

Perhaps the immediate recovery of Health and Mana in the game now took some time in this reality. Either way, it wasn't bad news, especially since they were still inside the underground ruins.

"You're awake," Charlotte's voice came, surprisingly still alert though her orange eyes were smeared with fatigue.

"How long did I sleep?"

"A few hours... maybe more. Honestly, I have no idea." Charlotte answered slowly.

Ian, with a small smile, added his blanket over hers.

"Sleep. I'll wake you in half a day."

"Alright...." Charlotte lay down, and her breathing soon steadied.

Impressive that she held out this long.

Ian added more wood and books to the fading fire. The fuel was almost gone. He wondered if it was safe to light a fire underground, but there seemed to be no issue with ventilation, indicating some sort of air circulation system in place, unseen on the surface.

“...” Ian checked on Thesaya, who was nearly back to her original form except for the reddish marks around her mouth, likely from Charlotte feeding her blood.

No immediate danger of her going berserk upon waking, then.

Nodding to himself, Ian picked up a water bottle and some dried meat from the ground. Despite his recovered Health, eating was necessary. Mechanically moving his jaw, Ian glanced at the fallen body of the Legion Commander.

The corpse of the ancient giant, freshly awakened from its long slumber only to face death, still seemed unreal upon a second look. Indeed, everything since entering this underground palace felt like a surreal memory.

How could anyone have predicted this...?

Reflecting on it, Charlotte's label of him as a king slayer wasn't entirely off the mark. The ancient giant kingdom had, in effect, been utterly obliterated. Ian chewed over memories from the game, recalling the phantoms enveloped in madness swarming toward the Northern Barrier.

Perhaps it wasn't the Queen losing control that caused this.

It was possible he hadn't known the Queen had absorbed a demon, or conversely, a rebellion of the demon sealed within her had succeeded. Either way, with Ian having killed both the Queen and the demon, a massive battle like before might not occur again. This also implied that the future awaiting the North could change.

Time will tell.

Ian rose, having finished his meal. It was time to attend to the tasks he had put off.