Chapter 217: Boss Fight

Chapter 217: Boss Fight

The former Loen soldier, Longzel Edwards, who was guarding the cave entrance, had only just swayed slightly when he saw a massive figure descend from the sky, landing on a nearby boulder wrapped in a thick layer of ice. The membranous wings on that figure did not fold away. They remained spread, almost blocking out the surrounding light.

Dreamlike scales that seemed to have condensed from ice crystals, and extremely frenzied, dark-blue dragon eyes, entered Longzel’s vision at once. Instinctively sensing danger, he immediately gripped his iron-black straight sword and leaped to the side, rolling and scrambling away from where he had originally stood.

Almost at the same time, the frost dragon Ulyssan, the King of the North, opened its mouth and spat a twisting, silent yet flamboyant ice-blue flame toward the cave.

Wherever it passed, the air became transparent, entirely frozen!

A moment later, that ice-blue flame raised a tide formed from dreamlike radiance. It surged madly into the dark cave, freezing everything along its path.

Although Klein’s mind was still flashing with the words “Angel of Imagination, Adam,” and had uncontrollably linked them with Emperor Roselle’s description of the Twilight Hermit Order—its goal was to resurrect the original Creator; it possessed high-ranking individuals, even perhaps the Uniqueness, of the Spectator pathway; it gathered its members through a real dream connecting the east and west coasts of the continent; and whenever one’s own name was mentioned, one could immediately sense it—his body still instinctively reacted to the descending danger.

He lunged to the side, swiftly dodging toward an uneven part of the cave wall, attempting to use the rocks ahead to block the coming attack.

However, the surging ice-blue light was like a tide, drowning every corner and freezing all things. In a narrow cave like this, it left the targets no safe zone at all.

Just as the surroundings were about to become an ice coffin, an enormous gray-blue figure appeared in Klein’s line of sight.

Without a word, the giant Groselle had stepped to the very front. His left knee dropped, his back and waist bent forward, and he thrust his broad, straight greatsword into the ground before him.

Dawn-like light rose in response, forming illusory walls on both sides of Groselle, protecting everyone behind him.

The ice-blue “tide” surged forward. First, it was split by the vertical greatsword. Then it slammed into the dawn light on either side!

In Klein and the others’ vision, the cave suddenly darkened, then recovered a fraction of its illumination.

They could clearly see that the bonfire had already gone out. The dim light from outside passed through layer upon layer of ice crystals and entered, looking especially gloomy.

At that moment, every inch of space in front of Groselle had been sealed in ice. This giant seemed to have become an insect trapped in amber!

Immediately afterward, the greatsword planted into the ground bloomed with sheets of dawn-like radiance.

They converged, enveloped Groselle, and instantly became a storm of light sweeping outward.

Silently, a huge melted-looking fissure appeared in the ice, extending all the way beyond the cave entrance. Groselle’s gray-blue figure vanished from where he had been.

Before she had time to tie up her hair again, the elven singer Siatas lifted her bow and arrows. Surrounded by circling gales, she rushed out of the cave without the slightest hesitation. Viscount Mobet Zoroast of the Solomon Empire, wearing his asymmetrical black coat, muttered, “Don’t rush,” and “It’s finally here,” while striding after Siatas.

The ascetic Snowman, who had been facing the stone wall, stood up at this time as well. He tapped his chest four times, as though drawing something similar to a cross.

“May the Lord bless us!”

With that dry, hoarse voice, he ran barefoot over the cold ice, passing through the crack and heading outside.

Klein likewise did not hesitate. Without drawing his revolver, leaving both palms empty, he and Anderson, who gripped Death Knell Short Fang, swiftly entered the fissure in the ice.

Edwina Edwards, wearing her intricate blouse, looked toward Danitz, who was trembling under the aura of a high-level being. Her voice was gentle, yet carried no emotion as she said, “Stay here.”

After speaking, her pale-blue eyes suddenly darkened. Around her, rings of violent wind immediately howled, pushing her to fly outside.

Stay here… Danitz was stunned for two seconds. He subconsciously looked around and saw the frost-covered rock walls and the completely extinguished bonfire.

Inside the cave, all was silent. Only he remained.

The trembling of Danitz’s body slowly subsided. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. All he could do was watch his captain’s figure vanish at the cave entrance.

Outside the cave, the former Loen soldier Longzel Edwards, who had rolled away from the first round of attacks, saw the King of the North, Ulyssan, flap its wings and prepare to rise into the air, pulling distance from the Beyonders to ensure its own safety. He hurriedly steadied himself and pushed his left palm out diagonally.

Immediately afterward, he declared in ancient Hermes, “Flight is prohibited here!”

All at once, the frost dragon’s wings, which seemed capable of covering the sky, appeared to be weighed down by invisible objects ten or a hundred times heavier than its own body. Their flapping became extremely difficult.

The King of the North immediately released a furious roar. The gigantic soundwave drilled into Longzel’s ears, causing him to sway uncontrollably.

With a whistling sound, those sky-covering wings finally beat downward, sending the surrounding snow and frost into the air.

Though it was difficult, Ulyssan still succeeded in flying.

At that moment, the Punishment Knight Longzel’s expression became extremely solemn. Once again, words in ancient Hermes left his mouth:

“Those who violate the law shall be punished!”

The moment his voice fell, his figure sprang upward. He rose even more swiftly than the frost dragon, as if amplified by an unknown force.

Clang!

Longzel stretched his body in midair and swung the iron-black straight sword in his hand. In a manner that was certain to strike true, he slashed the King of the North’s neck.

At that location, the ice-crystal-like scales visibly cracked, and the cracks spread slightly outward. But this did not make Ulyssan bleed or suffer injury.

The frost dragon might not even have felt pain. Its dark-blue eyes locked onto Longzel in passing, filled with cruelty and violence.

It then raised its foreclaw. Longzel, who was still in midair, had nowhere to dodge.

At the critical moment, a hurricane blew over and forcefully shoved the black-armored Punishment Knight aside. Ulyssan’s swat struck empty air, producing an explosive sound, but failed to hit its target.

The elven singer Siatas had saved Longzel the moment she rushed out of the cave.

Immediately afterward, her hair spread out once again in defiance of natural law. Every strand stood distinct, twined with flickering lightning.

She aimed at the slowly flying, enormous target in the air—the King of the North—and firmly pulled her bowstring back.

The sky suddenly dimmed, as if clouds were gathering and lightning was leaping.

Affected by the Punishment Knight, Ulyssan’s flight was not especially smooth. It abruptly drew in its wings and dove downward, crashing toward Siatas like a high-speed train.

At that moment, a gray-blue figure that made others feel steady rushed over, blocking the King of the North’s dive path!

The giant Groselle once again dropped to one knee and planted the broad sword that no human could ever use before him.

Dawn-like radiance appeared, raising an invisible, unbreakable wall.

Boom!

The collision between frost dragon and giant Groselle resembled a terrifying explosion. It shattered the surrounding snow and ice layers completely and pushed the fragments outward.

Groselle failed to hold. He was launched away like a ball, rolling past Siatas and slamming into the mountain wall with a heavy bang. Snow and icicles fell from above, nearly creating an avalanche.

Ulyssan, however, did not retreat. It merely stopped in place.

Its dive interrupted, its two hind legs struck the ground. Its body leaned forward. Its neck moved, and its mouth opened toward the elven singer Siatas.

The Solomon Empire noble Mobet Zoroast had long since arrived beside Siatas. Seeing this, he hurriedly extended his right hand and quickly twisted his wrist.

Ulyssan’s mouth fully opened, but it seemed to forget what it had intended to do. It froze there for a moment, failing to connect its next action. Mobet, meanwhile, abruptly turned his head to the side and spat.

“Pah!”

The saliva was utterly ordinary, with no special traits.

Seizing this opportunity, Snowman, the ascetic who had followed them out, raised both arms as if embracing divine grace.

Then, facing the elven singer Siatas, he spoke in a deep voice in ancient Hermes:

“God says: it is effective!”

With a sizzling sound, the silver-white lightning in Siatas’s hair instantly became much brighter. It surged outward and wrapped around the long arrow.

Her wrist then released, and the arrow shot out.

Rumble!

Clouds stacked in the air, and a thick bolt of lightning fell, merging with the arrow.

The arrow became completely silver-white, as though it had come from the God of Thunder. At a speed nearly impossible to evade, it struck Ulyssan’s forehead.

Layer upon layer of ice crystals vanished. Dreamlike scales split open. The long arrow stabbed into the King of the North’s head, making it release a deafening scream.

Pale-blue blood flowed out and rapidly froze. The frost dragon’s ugly head thrashed madly as silver-white electricity danced wildly over it.

By then, Klein and Anderson had rushed out of the cave. The Punishment Knight Longzel landed on the ground, rolled several times, and stood again. Groselle also reached out from the snowdrift, rubbing his head as though he had not suffered any real harm.

With so many teammates around, I don’t need to attack actively. I can try manipulating Ulyssan’s Spirit Body Threads… Judging from earlier, it doesn’t seem to possess demigod-level resistance. Of course, it’s much stronger than a Sequence 5… A five-meter range. That’s a little dangerous… Klein looked at the frost dragon, swiftly forming a plan in his mind.