HBWnovel Chapter 57: - Ice Sovereign
Chapter 57: - Ice Sovereign
༺ Ice Sovereign ༻
The summer breeze was slowly turning colder.
Dusk was slowly settling in.
[Buu-, Buu-]
The balloon demon, Heinkel the Hoarder, floated in the sky as if he were a part of the clouds.
He was looking down at the magic circle in Ayla Forest. The silver-blue haired man he had been keeping an eye on had entered that magic circle.
Heinkel wasn’t the least bit interested in the child of light. The light element made him feel disgusted, the same way a human would feel at the sight of a cockroach.
However, the silver-blue haired man was different. He possessed a plain and unremarkable ice element. His indomitable will, which gave him the courage to risk his life against the Thunderbird, was quite admirable.
[Ah... bloody... nuisance...]
A battle to the death with the silver-blue-haired man was his. His life was also his.
Since he was a hindrance, he should just kill him. The justification was good enough. Let’s leave the child of light to all the other demons. All Heinkel needed to do was engage that man in a bloody duel.
[Kehehe... hehe... bloodbath... mine... his life... mine...!]
The face attached to his bloated body contorted, a grotesque grin filling every inch of the face.
His mouth was dripping with saliva, just like a dog that found a tasty treat.
[Finally... time... come...]
This puny balloon body was just a way to preserve his strength. Right now, his body was in peak condition.
Jiiiiik────
Several parts of Heinkel’s balloon body popped, and a murky gas began to seep out from the cracks.
As his body shrank, Heinkel transformed into a humanoid with a height of 4 meters.
The thick buffalo horns that had been hidden inside the balloon body were revealed.
He had a sturdy, muscular body. However, sagging flesh drooped from his wrist, sides, and ankles, as if forming bulges of flesh.
「Wind Generation (Wind Element, ★1)」
Whooooosh───!
The dense wind swirled around his body, elevating him in the air.
Heinkel began to rip off his sagging flesh. With a sound similar to that of a stack of paper being torn apart, he clenched the torn flesh in one of his hands as purple blood began to pour.
The wound healed in an instant.
The flesh quickly rotted and merged, forming a long spear. The sharp blade of the spear caught the afterglow of the sun, which had yet to sink under the horizon.
With well-defined features, Heinkel’s piercing eyes focused on the magic circle.
[Done.]
A solemn voice rang through the air.
Boom─!
He sliced through the air towards the magic circle. The sound of an explosion rang out. His speed was akin to that of a bullet.
There was only a gust of wind left behind in Heinkel’s wake.
[I will face the Trial of Frost.]
The active skill, [Ears to Hear the Sound of Heaven], was a skill that allowed the user to hear anything at will, no matter the distance.
With the help of that, he recited the chant to enter the magic circle he overheard from Isaac.
Heinkel’s body passed through the magic circle engraved in Ayla Forest.
Meanwhile, inside the cave of the Trial of Frost.
The blizzard that was raging inside the trial passage subsided.
Behind the Frost Dragon, the path leading to the Frostscythe had been turned into an eerie passage that seemed to lead into the abyss.
It was because the man with red eyes had overcome the trial and claimed the Frostscythe as his own.
[Welcome, Ice Sovereign...]
The Frost Dragon closed her eyes and recalled the request the Ice Sovereign had made to her a thousand years ago.
Can you suppress the Frostscythe until its new master has appeared?
The Frost Dragon happily accepted the request, saying that she also wanted to play a part in the next generation of people that would change the world.
Finally, at this moment, the potent coldness of the Frostscythe that had been accumulated over the ages was in the hand of one man. There was no longer a need to suppress the Frostcythe’s mana from invading the islands and seas above.
It was a joyous occasion. For the first time in a long time, her heart was fluttering.
[...?]
It was at that moment when Frost Dragon Hilde sensed another person at the entrance. Her reptilian eyes, glowing pale blue, turned toward the approaching intruder.
It was Heinkel, a 4-meter-tall, muscular demon wielding a black spear.
He walked across the icy floor with his large, clawed feet.
He scattered his dense mana while walking.
Around Heinkel’s body and spear was a dark green wind, a combination of colors black and light green.
It was undeniably the darkness mana of a demon.
[Who are you?]
The voice of the Frost Dragon carried a deep sense of wariness.
[White Dragon, I want. Scales, I want. Meat, I want.]
Heinkel spoke in a monotone, emotionless voice, like that of a machine.
He lightly swung his mana-wrapped spear.
「Gale Fang (Wind Element, ★5)」 + 「Black Wind (Wind Element, ★5)」
= 「Black Wolf Fang (Wind Element)」
Kwakakakkakaa───────!!
In an instant, a storm came forth.
Like a pack of wolves pouncing and biting, the smoky dark green wind attacked the mass of ice relentlessly with flawless precision.
The mass of ice was cut down in an instant, and the Frost Dragon was helplessly attacked by [Black Wolf Fang].
It only left a few scratches on her pearly white scales.
[...Big and hard.]
Heinkel used his limited vocabulary to its fullest and kept his impressions short.
It was sturdy, but that was about it.
The Frost Dragon had been suppressing the mana of the Frostscythe and was dormant for thousands of years. As a result, she was currently in a weakened state.
As a familiar, Hilde’s magic was under the control of her master, Isaac.
This meant that the spell unleashed by Hilde would only devour her enemies.
No harm would be done to the master unless they willingly accepted the effects of their familiar’s spells.
A swirling icy cold air enveloped the surroundings. Hilde’s unique skill, [Frostwind] had been activated. It increased the power of her master’s ice magic and froze the bodies of their enemies.
It was a powerful blizzard that allowed Isaac to dominate the battlefield.
────────── [Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah──────!!!!]
Hilde’s fierce roar shook the cave.
A frigid blizzard raged due to the effects of [Frostwind]. Heinkel’s vision turned white.
Through the gap made by [Frostwind], the man’s blood-red eyes and the dragon’s pale blue eyes could be seen.
[This man, I want. White dragon, I want...! I WANT!!]
Heinkel’s smile distorted into an exaggerated grin. To counter [Frostwind], he poured out his mana.
Heinkel’s wind stirred. It was imbued with his unique element.
「Zephyr (Wind Element, ★4)」 + 「Serpentine Venom (Poison Element, ★5)」
= 「Toxic Zephyr (Wind + Poison Element)」
Whooooooooosh─────────────!!!!
The venomous violet winds engaged in a fierce battle against [Frostwind], corroding Isaac’s flesh. It was a potent venom that could bring death to any living being with a single breath.
However, Isaac simply lifted the Frostscythe once and slammed it into the ground, dispersing Heinkel’s [Toxic Zephyr].
「Ice Sovereign’s Majesty(Ice Element, ★7)」
Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa──────!!
A cold, light blue glow spread in all directions.
[Ice Sovereign’s Majesty], a skill that repelled all magic directed at the user. It only targeted magic that Isaac could handle, but he was already far above Heinkel in terms of power.
The peak of the ice element, the Ice Sovereign’s overwhelming power flowed out of Isaac.
Heinkel felt the heat rising from his chest. Excitement! Exhilaration! How long had it been since he found an enemy that made his heart race?
[Kahahahaha───!! As expected, I want this man! I want───!!]
!
Kuuung───!
Heinkel used his mana to thaw his body, which had frozen by Hilde’s [Frostwind], and leapt at Isaac with ferocious speed.
Just before Heinkel could stab Isaac with the spear enveloped by the dark green wind spell [Thread of Death].
Isaac’s calm voice rang through the air.
“You’re... easier than I thought.”
Isaac lowered his gaze.
Heinkel made his first in-game appearance during the second semester of the first year in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
Heinkel was a demon that acted and moved on his own accord, regardless of the orders from the Evil God. He played the role of a Joker-esque demon, appearing as a variable in several episodes.
Heinkel’s power in the game was indescribable.
But in front of Isaac, who wielded the icy chill of the Frostscythe, Heinkel was nothing more than a helpless weakling.
Isaac pointed the head of the Frostscythe at Heinkel. The magic circle of [Frost Explosion] conjured before him.
The moment Heinkel’s spear was about to hit Isaac.
The magic of the Frostscythe devoured him.
「Flash Freeze (Ice Element, ★7)」
Chaaraaak───────!
In the blink of an eye, Heinkel’s body froze. The passive skill, [Flash Freeze], rapidly froze anything that came near the Frostscythe.
Cold blasts of mana explosions erupted in succession from the magic circle conjured in front of the scythe.
「Frost Explosion (Ice Element, ★5)」
Kwaaaaaaaaaaa──────────────!!!
It was a relentless onslaught of ice.
The cold blast fiercely shattered Heinkel’s already frozen organs.
The mass of ice ferociously expanded, encasing his mangled body like a display piece.
His body that was within the ice mass had already shattered to pieces along with the ice.
Suuuuuurrrrrruuuu─
The massive ice mass formed by [Frost Explosion] turned into a pale blue powder before scattering into the air.
The corpse of the dead demon laid on the ground. Silver mana flowed from the body, gathering in the air.
Heinkel the Hoarder turned into a gray powder and disappeared.
A concentrated aura flowed towards Isaac like a cloud of cigarette smoke.
For a moment, his right eye turned silver before returning to red again. Heinkel’s unique magic [Clairvoyance] was now imprinted onto Isaacs’s right eye.
“...”
Isaac instinctually recalled the Frostscythe. In a process akin to thawing, he reduced it into a pale blue powder and absorbed it into his body.
It felt like a new storage cabinet had been created inside his body where he could retrieve and store the Frostscythe at will.
He then turned to face Hilde.
Hilde closed her eyes, bent her front legs, and lowered her head.
With tears in her eyes, she bowed to her new master.
[Ice Sovereign.]
It was an emotional moment for Hilde.
[I thank fate for allowing me to meet you again...]
Whooooooosh───
Suddenly, Hilde transformed into pale blue mana and was forcibly unsummoned. At that moment, Hilde was confused and uttered, ‘W-what just happened?’
As soon as her physical form disappeared, the view of the cave started looking unnecessarily large.
Isaac appeared to be in a difficult situation, as cold sweat trickled down his face. It took a ridiculous amount of mana to keep Hilde summoned.
As soon as the unique trait [Hunter] was deactivated, Isaac sensed an immediate crisis from his rapidly depleting mana and quickly unsummoned Hilde.
“Oh my...”
After Isaac’s undignified exclamation, the cave was filled with silence.