“!”

At first, it was a light touch. But then the hand slid down further, fully enveloping mine.

I felt as if my heart had stopped; I couldn’t breathe.

Surprisingly, the warmth of the touch seeped through.

It was soft and delicate.

Yet, that warmth froze me more solidly than the cold surrounding us.

The sound of the icy wind carrying snowflakes seemed unusually loud.

I felt as though all sensation in my body had vanished.

I walked a few more steps, not by my own will but as if driven forward by instinct.

At some point, I couldn’t move any further and stopped.

This made Meteor stop as well since we were now bound together, like sharing a single handcuff.

“If you stop, it’s more dangerous. You have to keep moving.”

“….”

Do I look like I can keep walking?

I glanced down at our hands, raising mine slightly.

Meteor’s hand was clasped around mine.

Even as I stared, I couldn’t believe it.

Lifting my gaze, I looked at Meteor. He was staring straight ahead, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

His white eyelashes, like silver wings, caught flakes of snow.

Ding!

[‘Dragon Slayer Sylvester’ is holding his breath in shock!]

[‘From Maid to Saintess—Astina’ has spilled all the cherries she was eating.]

[‘Yuri-Loving Druid Gabriella’ scoffs, wondering why everyone is overreacting to mere hand-holding. She reminds everyone that Meteor and Crescent are now siblings, so calm down.]

“….”

The saints' messages blurred before my eyes.

Time seemed to halt briefly, my breath suspended.

Crunch.

With effort, I took a step forward. That prompted Meteor to walk again as well.

A soft voice, carried by his breath, broke the silence.

“This way, at least, it’s a little warmer.”

“….”

Is it, though?

I suddenly felt my body heat rising.

My heart was pounding so fast from the shock that my blood circulated more quickly, making me feel slightly less cold.

Feeling like I needed to say something, I opened my mouth and spoke the first thing that came to mind.

“My hand feels like an ice zombie’s. Why is yours warm?”

“Because you’re wearing a dress.”

“Oh, right.”

Meteor was wearing much more than I was, so it made sense he wasn’t as cold as I was.

And, of course, he was Adamas-ranked—a level far beyond ordinary Holy Knights.

He had exceptional resistance to extreme cold.

So, Meteor and I continued walking, hand in hand.

In this bitter cold, his hand was incredibly helpful.

Strangely, holding hands made me lose track of time.

Still, trudging endlessly through the snow in search of the elusive ‘Eyed Aurora Sphere’ was a task beyond human endurance.

I’d rather the Winter Duke himself just show up.

Muttering to myself, I pushed my frozen legs forward with all my might.

“No matter where we go, it’s all the same.”

“Wait.”

That’s when I noticed it—something felt different underfoot.

Until now, we’d been walking on snow-covered dirt paths. But now, it felt like we were walking on icy ground beneath the snow.

The realization struck just as I sensed a sinister aura looming above us. A deadly presence rushed toward us.

I instinctively tilted my head to look up.

Sharp, pointed objects were falling like rain—a barrage of icicles.

“Crescent!”

Meteor wrapped his arm around my shoulder and twisted his body, pulling us to the ground. We rolled across the snow as the spot where I’d been standing was struck by the falling icicles.

Crash!

Crack!

The heavy sound of ice shattering against the frozen ground reverberated.

Simultaneously, I drew my sword. Without hesitation, I swung it from where I lay on Meteor’s back, smashing one of the icicles into pieces.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Crash! Boom!

Crack! Shatter….

The icicles rained down in droves, shattering the icy ground below.

Dozens—no, hundreds—of them fell, shaking the earth as though the entire world was collapsing. The deafening sound reverberated to the heavens, leaving my ears ringing.

Meteor and I slashed at the falling icicles, barely aware of our own movements.

The sound of ice colliding was deafening, threatening to burst my eardrums.

The icicles were enormous and razor-sharp, capable of shattering a skull with a single touch of their pointed ends.

“The sphere was just bait!” I shouted.

“We’re going to fall!” Meteor replied.

I had already begun to suspect as much.

The relentless onslaught of icicles was breaking the icy ground into fragments. At this rate, the ground wouldn’t hold much longer.

It wouldn’t be surprising if we fell at any moment.

At that moment, the ground beneath me wobbled.

What’s below us? Water?

The ice was so thick and opaque that it was impossible to see through it.

I jumped to a slightly more stable section of ice, staying close to Meteor.

But the area he was standing on wasn’t faring any better.

Crack!

The ice let out a sound like a colossal belch, echoing through the air.

It was the loudest sound we’d heard so far, making the snow flurries whirl in all directions.

Chunks of ice suddenly jutted upward as if struck by a giant’s fist.

In an instant, both Meteor and I were falling below.

“Kyaaaah!”

The ground vanished beneath my feet.

I braced myself for the sound of water, a splash—anything—but all I heard was the howling wind rushing past my ears.

I was plummeting through open air.

As I descended into the unknown, a stunning sight unfolded around me.

There were spires, jagged rooftops, and a bell tower carved from ice.

It was an enormous, otherworldly castle—unreal, like a painting.

The glowing blue castle walls were fortified with thick ice. Surrounding it were legions of icy knights.

It really is a frozen kingdom.

That thought passed through my mind just as I landed on the ground.

I barely had time to roll and draw my sword, slicing through falling chunks of ice. The shattered pieces of the ice sheet had fallen with me.

They rained down relentlessly.

The jagged, heavy shards were sharp enough to inflict severe injuries if they struck me.

There was nowhere to retreat, nowhere to run.

If I dodged one, ten more would come crashing down around me.

How long could I keep dodging?

This won’t end unless I do something.

I glanced at Meteor and saw that he was in a similar situation. Being Adamas-ranked, his strikes were far quicker and more powerful than mine, but he was still swarmed.

Then, an idea struck me.

I had just the thing for this situation.

I swiftly pulled out Eunchong, the silver gun, from my dress pocket. Holy energy gathered at the barrel.

Bang!

A glowing projectile of divine power shot out, striking a large chunk of ice and shattering it into pieces.

It works!

With that confirmation, I didn’t hesitate. I fired repeatedly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crash! Boom!

The ice chunks shattered far more quickly than they had with my sword.

I could feel Meteor’s gaze on me. His expression seemed to hold a mix of mild amazement and disbelief.

As the distance between us narrowed, I moved closer. It was safer to stay together.

Fighting separately drained too much energy; it was better to hold a single, secure position.

“I should’ve had another one of these made so I could dual-wield!” I shouted.

“…Right,” Meteor muttered.

Whish!

His sword cut through the air, leaving a glowing, holy trace that split the surrounding ice chunks. They collapsed with a resounding crash.

My eyes widened at the sight.

I glanced between his sword and my gun, muttering, “Maybe you should dual-wield swords instead.”

At this rate, I could just relax behind him for a bit.

After all, it had been six years since I’d last seen him.

In that time, his skills had clearly improved as much—if not more—than mine.

Still, I won’t let myself fall behind!

I hurled Pinky and fired Eunchong again, rapidly breaking through the onslaught of ice.

It was the power of superior equipment at its finest.