༺ The Priestess of The Red Lotus (4) ༻

The Nine-tailed Fox, Mae.

In the Nation of the Land of the Fire Blossoms, where Miya ruled like a tyrant, the reason she was not easily assassinated was largely due to the significance of her magic beast.

Once upon a time, the Nine-tailed Fox had transformed into a poisonous stone that took the lives of anyone who approached her.

The reason for this was her deeply rooted distrust in humans due to almost having been killed by them. The Nine-Tailed Fox had thus transformed itself into a cursed rock that poisoned every approaching living being.

The forest with the poisonous stone was known as the Forest of Death, deserted and off-limits.

And so, the Nine-tailed Fox had to live alone, in solitude, for countless years.

Then one day, a curious young girl, came to the Forest of Death.

Born into a poor family, her appearance was humble, but her intelligent eyes and beautiful black hair were very pretty.

She was later known to be a girl named Miya.

The girl possessed a mysterious power.

Enough to recognize the lonely emotions and the long-dulled sadness of the fox magic beast that had become a poisonous stone.

Braving death, Miya approached the Nine-tailed Fox, which had transformed into a poisonous stone, without hesitation, even though she was poisoned by the strong toxin.

She constantly healed herself to prevent herself from perishing, gently caressing the rock.

─ ‘It’s okay, it’s okay…’

Her voice and touch, like sunlight splitting through a canopy of trees, illuminated the dark forest.

The young girl named Miya, barely keeping herself alive and having already poisoned, continuously stroked the rock with her hands, now faded in color.

Before Miya collapsed, the Nine-tailed Fox released her transformation and revealed her true form.

The pure white Nine-tailed Fox shed tears as she was caressed by Miya’s touch.

Miya smiled broadly, exclaimed how beautiful it was, and then hugged the Nine-tailed Fox.

The Nine-tailed Fox laid down her hostility towards the young child.

Miya often visited the Forest of Death to meet the Nine-tailed Fox and shared her everyday stories.

Happiness was the fulfillment of absence. That was what the Nine-tailed Fox realized after meeting Miya.

Her loneliness had disappeared with happiness being rooted in its place.

Miya gave the Nine-tailed Fox such genuine happiness that even the trauma of nearly being killed by a hunting party soon faded away.

However, at some point, Miya stopped visiting the forest.

The Nine-tailed Fox waited for Miya.

Every day, she waited only for Miya’s return.

Rain poured.

Snow fell.

Yet, It stood in a spot where she could immediately meet Miya if she came, like a dog waiting for its master, the Nine-tailed Fox simply passed the time quietly.

Then, after a long time had passed, on a day when the white snowflakes had thickly covered the forest,

Miya came back, but by then, she was no longer the kind little child the Nine-tailed Fox knew.

─ ‘Follow me. I will show you the world I will rule.’

The girl was adorned in glamorous clothes and expensive-looking jewelry.

There stood a tyrant, ready to commit cruel acts without hesitation to get what she wanted.

***

“You dare to touch my mother?”

Mana surged.

My body became as light as a feather, and my stamina was not only restored but increased to the point of it being never-ending.

My mana circuit became incredibly robust. The density and amount of mana flowing within were pumped with a terrifying force.

Sensing an ominous aura, the Shadow Priestess Elmetona the Ethereal instinctively decided that she must protect Miya, the source of her power.

Elmetona layered a sturdy black flame protective shield over Miya.

Whoosh!!

An extremely cold chill burst from Isaac, driving away the flame blossom spell [Cherry Blossom], turning the surroundings into a frigid ice field.

A heavy force of suffocating mana settled down. That alone almost made Elmetona stagger.

The unique trait [Hunter] activated.

Dramatic enhancement of the body and mana.

Isaac’s mana had grown so powerful that it not only pressed down upon this island but also extended its force over the sky and the surrounding seas.

It’s only a matter of time before people flock here.

However… it won’t take long to take down that demon.

Isaac stretched his right arm to the side.

Whoosh.

Dark blue mana gathered in his right hand before expanding and then condensing into a singular point. Isaac stretched out his arm and clenched the mana with his hand as a scythe took form and snugly fit within his grasp. The sounds of chains resounded throughout the dueling ground.

It was the Frostscythe, a legendary weapon wielded by the Primordial Ice Sovereign.

“There’s one thing you’ve overlooked.”

As Isaac narrowly opened his eyes, his skin’s hue intensified and his silver hair bristled.

Then, a deep aura symbolizing the Primordial Sovereign gently flowed out from Isaac.

The 9-star passive skill, [Ice Sovereign].

Elmetona the Ethereal, upon sensing that aura, couldn’t keep her mouth shut. It was evidence of having reached the pinnacle of a single element.

Isaac, lifting the Frost Scythe, said in a scornful tone:

“I don’t have a mother, Bitch.”

Pale blue mana flowed from his red eyes, a harbinger of newly acquired magic.

He slammed the end of the Frostscythe into the ground.

A clear, ringing sound echoed.

From that point, a clear chill spread in all directions, enveloping the entire dueling ground.

With a cracking sound, layers of vivid ice walls rose from the ground, constructing a wide space.

「Domain Expansion」

The cold transformed the ground into a massive floe and made the world its canvas.

A pale blue magic circle was engraved on the beautifully sculpted ice ceiling. Countless brinicles slowly extended downward, dripping with a murderous chill.

Within that icy palace, the frosty wind bestowed a hellish cold to those trapped unfortunate enough to be in its embrace.

[Is this…?]

Elmetona’s eyes widened in shock.

A strong sense of crisis rang like an alarm from within.

The being before her was an archwizard. No, something far more menacing.

Feeling his immeasurable power, Elmetona furrowed her three pairs of eyes. Her face contorted hideously with revulsion.

This place was a freezer of the extreme where violence flowed. A sinister palace of ice.

It was Isaac’s domain.

「Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost」

Whoosh!!

The Nine-tailed Fox’s flames, strengthened by dark mana, exploded in a fury following Elmetona’s rage.

Black flames scattered about. However, their power and extreme heat were insufficient to melt the icy palace.

They barely managed to prevent her feet from freezing to the ground.

Elmetona clenched her fists tightly and trembled violently.

Before Isaac, a demonized being had no chance of victory. Thus, a fire-like anger surged within Elmetona.

[You insolent fool!!]

Elmetona roared in rage with a bizarre voice.

Bright Red magic circles unfolded endlessly. Each circle unleashed barrages of 5 and 6-star fire magic.

Whoosh!!

Crash!!

Massive explosions and black flames poured onto Isaac without ceasing, filling the icy palace.

[Hear me, you arrogant ice Wizard! How dare a human defy the natural order?! Coveting the realm of Lord Nephid without knowing your place!]

A shriek close to a wail.

[Your very existence is a sin!]

Clash.

Whoosh!

The coldness surrounding the space aggressively swirled, instantly freezing the explosion itself. An unusual blue ice mass formed.

At that moment, Isaac lightly swung Frostscythe, and the ice masses enveloping him crumbled away.

He was unscathed, just as he had been when first seen.

Elmetona was taken aback, not expecting her barrage to be so effortlessly nullified. The laws of physics, which were seen as common sense everywhere else, did not apply here.

Why had that man struggled against the Priestess just moments before?

Why did he deceive her?

…I see. I understand.

Elmetona guessed Isaac’s intentions.

He must have noticed Elmetona hiding in the Priestess’s shadow from the start and lured her into revealing herself.

Had that man shown his true power from the beginning, Elmetona would have simply gathered valuable information and waited for another opportunity.

[Ice Sovereign] was but a secondary power to him. Revealing his existence was sufficiently justifiable.

Look at that ice wizard.

Despite being a lowly human, he dared to rival her lord, the Evil God.

Elmetona, who had lived in shadows and darkness for eons, thought of the Primordial Sovereigns.

They, too, were unmatched in their arrogance, but never on a level comparable to the Evil God. No matter how strong, they knew to uphold the laws of the world.

But this archwizard was different.

No, perhaps even the title of archwizard might be an understatement for this silver-blue-haired man.

“It’s lukewarm.”

Even a high-density, high-temperature black flame barrage, capable of easily sweeping through Märchen Academy, was nothing more than warming oneself by a distant bonfire in front of Isaac’s frigidity.

He had already surpassed even the Primordial Sovereigns.

Isaac.

The name of a being stronger than any human Elmetona had ever seen.

Elmetona clenched her fists tightly.

Staying here would only result in freezing to death.

Even if she managed to withstand by emitting flames unrestrainedly, the moment she touched the sharp icicles or brinicles that were gradually descending, the worst cold imaginable would freeze her entire body, leading to a bitter end

“…Now it’s my turn.”

Isaac’s red eyes, holding a pale blue glow, targeted the enemy.

Whoosh!!

Feeling a sense of urgency, Elmetona emitted black flames at maximum output.

She had to escape somehow. If Isaac wished it, death would come in an instant.

Moreover, the chill emitted by that man would surely lead to death upon contact.

Elmetona overlaid dark mana on a 7-star fire spell, [Void Phoenix], passed down from the Land of the Fire Blossoms.

Behind her, a large black magic circle unfolded, spewing black flames. The flames of darkness danced splendidly, carving a path.

Along that path, a phoenix formed of black flames flew.

It was a flame concentrated with terrifying mana.

The phoenix contained the power to wipe out an entire region if it touched the ground.

─────.

…It was utterly futile.

The black phoenix froze in its blazing glory.

A silvery continuous line was drawn in the very center, and it was cut in half instantly.

[What…!]

[Abyssal Glacier]. A 7-star ice spell that froze things without restriction.

The next move was Frostscythe’s unique magic, [Absolute Zero]. The area carved out by the blade was severed beyond the limits of space with extreme cold infiltrating the gap.

Whisk!

Isaac bypassed the bisected Phoenix and arrived at Elmetona.

His speed was as if he had never moved. It was as if he fooled the eyes into thinking he was there the entire time.

Startled, Elmetona instinctively poured out black flames in resistance, but…

Slash!

Chalalak!

As Isaac swung Frostscythe, a silver circle tinged with coldness swept across the flames, drawing twice momentarily into the void.

Even the black flames were effortlessly severed along the Frostscythe’s path, rendering them powerless. Consequently, Elmetona’s vision distorted involuntarily.

It was because her body, sliced by the Frostscythe, had been divided into three pieces.

The parts of her body cut by the Frostscythe’s blade immediately froze to its unique magic.

The biting coldness tore through Elmetona.

[Aaaah!!]

She couldn’t give up like this.

She reminded herself.

Her goal was to eliminate Ian Fairytale, the only being capable of killing the Evil God.

It was a greater cause.

If she couldn’t defeat him, she would have to leave the task to the next of her kind.

And she was certain.

In fulfilling that cause, this silver-blue-haired man was an obstacle akin to a giant mountain range.

Even a little would do. She had to inflict an irreversible injury on this man, to make it easier for the next of her kind to kill Ian Fairytale.

Elmetona let out a bizarre scream as she unfolded five black flame magic circles.

Boom!

However, Elmetona’s hope was thwarted by a kick thrown with tremendous speed by Isaac.

With a sound akin to an explosion, Elmetona’s body, now reduced to a bust, was sent flying up to the ceiling.

Elmetona hit the ceiling of [Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost]. The brinicles shattered, scattering beautiful opalescent powder.

[Ugh…!]

The moment she touched the icicle, the extreme cold penetrated deep into her entire body.

The pale blue magic circles filling the ceiling emitted a deadly light. The coldness intensified.

Suddenly, the black flames enveloping Elmetona’s body extinguished, and her body froze solid in an instant.

The bust of Elmetona now turned into an ice statue and fell downwards.

Isaac condensed ice mana in his right hand and stretched out his arm towards the falling bust.

Frigid mana overflowed.

Kwaaaaaaaa!!!

A pale blue flash, faster than sound, momentarily lit up [Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost].

A loud noise followed in succession.

Numerous pieces of the frozen Elmetona scattered.

Rough ice masses soared above Isaac’s hand and stuck to the ceiling.

Isaac dissolved the ice mass and lowered his arm.

Within the [Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost], his breath turned into a white mist, flowing along with the cold wind.

The time it took to defeat Elmetona after activating his Domain Expansion was just over 20 seconds.