How long had I been fighting against these lifeless ice chunks?

This was a type of labor even a proper day job couldn't compare to.

I was fed up with it.

At this point, it seemed like a lull was starting to set in.

When the ice slabs that had been threatening us above our heads disappeared, I let out a ragged breath.

“…Is it over?”

“Yeah. I don’t think anything else will fall.”

Meteor spoke, looking up at the sky.

I followed his gaze. The sky above was vast. Even the ground we had been standing on just moments ago felt impossibly high.

We had fallen into an incredibly deep space.

Looking around, I couldn’t imagine another place like this.

Still, the ice castle continued to radiate a cold, misty aura, exuding a pressure like a painting. Even though chunks of ice kept pouring down, not a single piece had broken.

“Should we head there?”

“Let’s do that.”

Meteor replied lightly, and we started walking toward the ice castle.

There didn’t seem to be anywhere else worth going.

Maybe there was an aurora ball with eyes there.

The ice castle felt like the next stage in this ordeal.

“Well, we’ve cleared at least one stage. The demons probably thought we’d die from the icicles.”

Meteor nodded in agreement with my words.

We continued walking on the slippery ground. We passed over an area where the ice was stacked high.

Were we supposed to climb this, too?

That was impossible.

Boom!

Without hesitation, I fired my gun, Silver Grace.

The greatest advantage of Silver Grace was that its bullets would never run out.

“…Thanks.”

Meteor muttered when the path cleared. For some reason, he still didn’t seem fully accustomed to Silver Grace.

“Right. It’s actually pretty good.”

He probably could have cleaned it up with a single swing of his sword, though.

We headed toward the ice castle again. I wasn’t sure if I should call it a battle, but even for just a moment, the cold we had forgotten in the middle of the fight began creeping back in.

I heard Meteor’s voice.

“To get inside the castle, we’ll have to get past those ice knights. They’ll probably start moving soon.”

“…I thought the same. Should we just shoot them right here and now? It’s better to break them before they move. Let’s have Pinky join in, too.”

“Then let’s try to take out as many as we can. I’ll go to the rear so the knights won’t notice me.”

“Got it.”

Meteor moved out of sight, away from the ice knights’ line of sight.

Once we got closer, the knights would surely notice us.

I stayed put and watched Meteor move. I had to wait for his signal.

And I marveled.

His movements were smooth, like a bird in flight. I couldn’t feel his weight at all, as if he was floating.

It was amazing when I saw him do it as a child, but this was on an entirely different level.

I absentmindedly watched him, and before I knew it, Meteor had climbed up to the top of the high castle wall and hidden his body. I snapped back to reality as he nodded once.

‘Now’s the time!’

I threw Pinky and grabbed Silver Grace.

Bang, bang, bang!

In less than a second, I fired continuously. Across from me, daggers flew through the air, cutting down one ice knight at a time.

At the same time, Meteor attacked from behind the knights.

Emergency!

The knights quickly noticed the intrusion.

In that brief moment, we had taken out half of the hundred or so knights.

The ice knights’ eyes lit up, and they immediately drew their swords. Just as I had expected, they were knights that moved once alerted.

Crash!

Pinky was hit by one of the knights’ swords. The light in Pinky’s eyes went out, and she fell to the ice below.

Bang, bang!

I pulled the trigger relentlessly.

But, as before, the ice knights didn’t fall immediately. The only sign of impact was the indentations left by the bullets, like a crater.

It seemed like they got stronger after waking up.

‘Good thing we took care of them in advance.’

The knights still couldn’t see where I was. They were stumbling, unsure of where the attacks were coming from.

The knights who had noticed Meteor rushed toward him, like a swarm of bees.

Beyond them, I could see Meteor’s sword constantly drawing holy symbols.

I grew anxious and turned my gun toward the knights surrounding him.

Bang, bang!

I won’t allow anyone to touch Meteor!

He was the protagonist of this world!

I moved a little further forward.

The indentations on the knights’ bodies deepened.

Once they started waking up, the ice knights had gotten much stronger.

Then, it happened.

“Ugh.”

Something sharp shot out in front of my chest.

A cold, almost burning sensation began to spread from where it pierced.

I looked down. An ice sword had pierced through my body.

‘When did that happen…?’

Without thinking, I pulled the sword out and twisted my body to escape. One of the ice knights raised his sword to strike.

A shining, divine sword clashed against the ice sword.

Clang!

The sound of ice hitting something hard rang out.

In that moment, I realized something important. The ice knights’ swords were different from the regular ice.

They were much stronger, harder, and sturdier.

It was definitely a good thing we had taken out half of them before they woke up.

If that was the case, I had to aim for their heads or bodies, not their swords.

I quickly raised my sword again. But then, for a moment, my heart stopped.

Sizzling.

My chest felt like it was burning with cold.

It was the spot where the knight’s sword had just passed through.

Could it really be that my body is freezing?

I hesitated for a second, but there was no time for that. In less than a second, I blocked the ice knight’s sword.

I quickly redirected the blade.

I’m faster after seven years of training, aren’t I?

Before the knight’s sword could even rebound completely, I slashed at his waist.

Crack! The ice split with an eerie sound. Tiny ice shards flew up from the friction.

“I’ll turn you into a snow cone!”

But I won’t be eating you!

In an instant, I moved behind him and slashed at his back.

At that moment, a flash of light appeared before my eyes. Again, I felt the ice-cold sensation in my chest.

That feeling kept interfering with my attacks.

“Sigh, this is so troublesome.”

Thanks to that, I felt my temper flaring.

I thought I might freeze to death, but actually, it worked out well.

I put all my strength into driving the sword into the ice knight’s torso. Countless ice shards flew up and hit my face.

Crash!

Boom!

The ice knight collapsed into shards, falling to the ground.

He’s dead!

For a brief moment of satisfaction, I quickly turned to look for Meteor.

Fortunately, Meteor had just turned to look at me. There were no ice knights around him either.

He had taken them all out.

But Meteor had a surprised look on his face.

“Crescent, you….”

“Huh?”

“Did you get stabbed by that ice sword?”

“Oh, yeah.”

He’s quick to notice.

I waved my hand dismissively and walked toward him as if nothing had happened.

“Let’s go inside now.”

I was about to walk but froze mid-step.

My chest felt frozen again. It seemed like the cold was spreading further.

Could I really die like this?

No, I’m not dead yet.

If I find that aurora ball with eyes, I’ll be fine.

But how can I find it?

The stronger I get, the stronger and harsher the Demon Realm seems to be, always waiting for me. This time was no different.

This winter territory was the most agonizing dungeon I had ever been in.

It made me want to go home faster because it was so cold.

“Meteor, I….”

I couldn’t finish my sentence. My knees buckled, and I collapsed.

“Crescent!”

With a loud shout, Meteor rushed toward me.

He wrapped his arms around my upper body and shook me.

“Stay awake. Don’t lose consciousness here.”

“I’m fine. It’s just too cold. Hey, if I die from frostbite… just make me into an ice sculpture.”

“If you keep saying weird things, just shut up.”

Meteor’s voice was cold, too.

He hurriedly picked me up in his arms and stood up.