Chapter 243: King of the Dead Subjugation (7)
Chapter 243: King of the Dead Subjugation (7)
Crash!!!
Isabel Silverwolf swung her silver double-handed axe, Farahorn, in a continuous attack, striking down at the neck of Mangled Qilin Molikarth.
As the Qilin violently swung its neck, Isabel's body was flung away, shooting up into the sky.
Isabel grinned and created a massive chunk of ice with a sharp, pointed bottom.
She kicked off it, plummeting towards the Mangled Qilin at tremendous speed.
"It's over!"
With the axe blade of Farahorn imbued with [Frostfire], Isabel put all her strength into striking down at the Qilin's neck.
Kwaaaaaaaah!!!!
A pale blue beam pierced through the Qilin's neck, driving into the ground.
Following its trajectory, the Qilin's long neck, harder than steel, split in two.
Boom!!!
One after another ice masses fell and crushed the Qilin's body.
The Qilin's body, having lost its neck, crashed to the ground.
Landing forcefully, Isabel slung Farahorn over her shoulder and smiled victoriously.
With Isabel's roar, the Qilin died a second time.
Meanwhile, in the wilderness of the Zelver empire.
The sound of the Vorpal Sword's blade cutting through the wilderness. The thunderous roars caused by pouring dark magic and the roars of corpse warriors.
Amidst it all, Calgart the Necromancer, who was opposing Isaac, instinctively sensed that the Evil Dragon and the Qilin had been defeated.
─ You've been too focused on me.
Isaac's words flashed through his mind.
Mephisto had said that Isaac somehow knew of the demons' plans in advance with an inexplicable ability.
Could he even foresee the future? If that were possible, it would be tantamount to transcendence.
Even a man of his caliber was not intoxicated by his own power. From the beginning, he accepted his own shortcomings and trusted his companions.
[How intriguing...]
Calgart's lips curled up.
Vrooooom!
Dark mana surged from Calgart. Dozens of dark magic circles deployed in an instant, glowing dark green and black.
Alice felt the tremendous mana and flinched in surprise.
The King of the Dead's two eyes emitted a dark green glow like a haze. When he raised his staff, the magic stone at its head emitted a sinister blackish-green mana.
Rumble!!!!
Cracks appeared on the ground, splitting the earth.
Alice used telekinesis to push her body back quickly.
A fierce earthquake.
The ground shook violently, and the cracks grew larger. Eventually, a creature imbued with blackish-green mana broke through the ground's fissure, thrusting its massive upper body out.
Half of the army of corpses flew towards the creature that had emerged from the ground, sticking to it. The rotting flesh melted and formed the creature's body.
Gradually, the creature took shape, with blackish-green mana flowing through it.
But its face was that of a skeleton.
[Hahaha!!!]
It burst into laughter with a grotesque voice, looking down at Isaac.
[Heksek the White Skull]
Lv: 180
Species: Demon
Elements: Dark, Revival
Danger Level: Highest
Psychology: [ - ]
Heksek the White Skull.
A minion of Calgart, the final boss of 「Act 10, King of the Dead」in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱
A demon whose mana allowed it to quickly restore itself to its original state no matter how severe the injury.
It followed its master's orders without question.
Only its massive upper body protruded above the fissures that crisscrossed the ground, but its ability to elongate its body gave it a wide attack range.
Isaac had been waiting for the EXP-rich Heksek the White Skull. He had used Alice to sweep through the undead army, provoking Calgart for this very reason.
Now it was time for him to step in.
"Alice, step back now."
Alice followed Isaac's order and stood beside the ice chair.
"Before you die, let me ask you one thing."
Isaac addressed Calgart.
"Where is Mephisto?"
[I have nothing to tell you.]
It sounded like an aggressive answer on the surface.
Isaac realized through [Psychological Insight] that Calgart's answer was literally the truth.
Mephisto had sensed Isaac's pursuit and fled, without telling Calgart his hiding place.
It was a prudent move.
"...Useless."
Isaac sighed.
[You should worry about yourself first.]
[Attack.]
Calgart commanded.
The undead warriors roared, their teeth chattering as they charged towards Isaac.
Heksek the White Skull roared, preparing to swing its massive arm wreathed in blackish-green flames.
Whiiing!!
At that moment, the force of Isaac's 9-star passive skill [Ice Sovereign] became apparent.
A gentle pale blue mana softly rose from Isaac's right eye.
From the tip of his foot touching the ground, pristine ice crystals spread out. A plague of frost infected those near mana, enveloping the area and quarantining those inside.
From a distance, Vuel, watching the scene, sensed the gravity of the situation.
[Run.]
[What...?]
Vuel urgently reverse-summoned his subordinates.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He tried to flee, but an impenetrable wall had already formed, blocking his path.
Domain Expansion.
He fused the power stolen from the Abyss into the [Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost], creating a new labyrinth.
A brilliant light enveloped everyone's vision.
Chararak.
As they blinked, a freezing sound accompanied the sight of a new scene.
The advancing undead soldiers hesitated and looked around.
[Where is this...?]
Calgart could not hide his bewilderment.
A dim, eternal prison that stretched out endlessly before them.
Beautiful ice masses lay in harmonious disarray.
The distant sky was filled with dazzling ice mirrors.
The ground, emitting brilliant colors, was engraved with strange patterns.
The sense of distance was altered.
In Calgart's view, far off, an ice mass rose high, forming the shape of a palace.
Above it, a star of ice radiated a brilliant light.
Mysterious ice masses and crystals floated around, revolving around a single ice throne.
The path to the throne was a brilliant uphill road, symbolizing hardship.
At its end, the one sitting on the ice throne, resting his chin on his fist, indifferently peered down at Calgart.
It was Isaac, the Ice Sovereign.
A blue light shone around Isaac. Behind him, a beautiful white dragon roared.
Spatial creation.
Domain reconstruction.
An endless labyrinth.
The 8-star spatial creation magic [Timeless Palace of the Glacial Realm], born from enhancing [Divine Sanctum of Blooming Frost].
Raging blade-like winds howled. A churning, frigid blizzard engulfed the corpse soldiers.
The undead soldiers' bodies gradually froze, but they followed Calgart's orders and continued to charge at Isaac.
Despite their numbers, the undead army appeared utterly insignificant before the majesty of the king.
Calgart couldn't believe it. This was not a spatial magic that an ordinary human could wield.
Only the highest-ranking demons, like “Om”, could achieve such a level.
Then Calgart remembered a fact, even “Om” had been defeated and killed by this man.
One must see things with their own eyes to truly grasp them.
[No... Have you already surpassed human limits...?]
The Ice Sovereign's overwhelming dignity made even Calgart, an enemy and a demon, feel a sense of awe.
The minions guarding Isaac, Queen of Hearts - Alice, and Nightmare Dragon - Jabberwock, were shielded by a [Frost Barrier].
They couldn't withstand the cold emanating from Isaac up close.
Only the familiar, Frost Dragon - Hilde, who could share Isaac's power was free from his cold.
"So, you were here too."
Isaac murmured softly to himself.
Before using [Timeless Palace of the Glacial Realm], he scanned the area with [Clairvoyance] to avoid creating victims. As a result, he discovered Vuel the Treacherous and his subordinates in the distance.
They hadn't yet been involved with each other and couldn't be defeated due to the blessing of immortality, but they were bound to become enemies.
Isaac trapped Vuel in the [Timeless Palace of the Glacial Realm].
Anyway, Vuel must have felt the gaze of [Clairvoyance]. Isaac intended to preemptively threaten him to prevent any foolish actions in the future.
[Wonderful...]
Vuel was impressed.
Before being trapped in the [Timeless Palace of the Glacial Realm], he felt Isaac's gaze. It was clear that Isaac had the ability to scope things from a distance.
And without hesitation, he trapped Vuel.
Vuel realized that Isaac harbored hostility towards him.
[Unless he’s just treating me like a passing stray dog...]
Is it a warning?
Heavenly beings had a treaty that restricted them from infiltrating the human realm. There was no reason for the heavenly beings to take an interest in the human realm in the first place.
Whether the human realm perished or not was like a stranger's story to them.
However, Vuel had a purpose. To achieve that purpose, he broke the treaty and secretly infiltrated the world.
In other words, the Ice Sovereign was surely going to make Vuel pay the price.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense.
He didn't know how he knew about the treaty, but it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility for a man of the Ice Sovereign's stature to be aware of it.
Vuel watched the Ice Sovereign's imposing presence with a slight smile.
Meanwhile, Calgart grew anxious. The cold enveloping his body would soon consume him.
At that moment, Isaac began to murmur something.
Behind him, pale blue magic circles unfolded endlessly, like gears connecting to gears.
They accumulated continuously, eventually forming a huge arc that encompassed all the magic circles in a circular shape.
"I knew you were trying to kill me."
The magic circle of utter annihilation.
The ultimate technique that the Primordial Ice Sovereign dedicated a lifetime perfecting came into Calgart's view.
"Did you think that was possible?"
When Isaac asked calmly, Calgart felt a chilling sensation.
Isaac raised his index finger. Cold mana swirled and gathered above his finger, starting to form a sphere.
Casually and effortlessly.
An unimaginable amount of mana condensed above Isaac's finger, creating a majestic orb.
Koooooooooooo!!!
The air shuddered.
If it weren't for [Timeless Palace of the Glacial Realm], the entire world would have screamed at the cold.
A beautifully shining cold sun.
The ultimate ice spell, [Cocytus], creating an icy hell, hovered above one man's finger.
It wasn't manifested with the full power used against the Abyss. This level was enough to annihilate Calgart's army.
Despite the large number of undead soldiers charging at Isaac across the [TimelessPalace of the Glacial Realm], Calgart couldn't harbor any hope of victory.
It was like a swarm of ants charging at an elephant. No, even an army of ants would have had a better chance.
[Ice Sovereign...]
Suddenly, Calgart felt a sense of doubt.
[What exactly are you?]
What exactly is this man?
It was an abstract question, but Isaac answered firmly.
"Your enemy."
That was the only answer Isaac could give to Calgart.
Calgart closed his eyes, gathered his thoughts, and then reopened them to glare at Isaac.
This was... excessively beyond the norm.
[I acknowledge it. You are a worthy enemy for whom I would give my life over and over again...!]
He poured out his full power.
The charging undead soldiers simultaneously hurled spears imbued with dark mana at Isaac.
The undead wizards remaining behind Calgart simultaneously deployed dark magic circles.
Heksek the White Skull extended its body, swinging its massive arm wreathed in blackish green flames toward Isaac.
Calgart, along with the undead wizards, cast a massive dark spell capable of drawing in and devouring everything it touched.
Kaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!
"..."
However, none of those attacks reached Isaac.
Chaaaarr!!!!
Whoooosh!!!!
The heavy cold emanating from Isaac and [Cocytus] spread out, freezing everything solid, repelling and neutralizing all attacks.
It was a formidable cold, densely packed with mana, that could even seize physical force.
The swinging arm of Heksek instantly froze, then shattered to pieces under the onslaught of the cold.
The massive dark magic was helplessly consumed by the cold, and all the frozen weapons shattered, scattering fragments everywhere.
Calgart's eyes widened. His full power was utterly laughable before Isaac.
"Now, it's my turn."
A cold, detached tone.
Isaac, with his back to the spell of death, lightly flicked his index finger.
The cold sun left his finger and began to descend toward Calgart and the undead soldiers.
A dazzling radiance.
The cold of absolute zero pierced through their entire bodies.
Suddenly, Calgart felt a smoldering warmth rising from deep within his chest.
The overwhelming sight that filled his vision made Calgart feel helpless in the face of an irresistible apocalypse.
He felt the fear of death.
But at the same time, it captivated him.
Boom!!
Finally, the cold sun gently settled on the ground.
A blinding flash covered the vision.
For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze.
Boom!!!!!
An immense explosion of cold swept through Isaac's labyrinth.
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