“Miss Asius… why did the ice sculpture shatter?!”
Lieutenant Taine and his subordinates, who had followed behind Lian into the room, were struck with shock and horror.
Afraid of damaging the scene, they had not dared to touch the ice sculpture since entering the room.
Yet now, the sculpture had turned into a pile of crystalline powder and dust on the floor.
“…This is the Chillblade.”
Lian dipped her finger into a bit of the icy dust and powder.
Under the reflection of the eastern morning light, the powder quickly dissipated into the air without a trace.
“The Chillblade? The Princess’s ultimate move? So that means she used this technique to kill the member of the Demon Race that attacked her!”
Hearing Lian’s words, the soldiers under Lieutenant Taine began to cheer.
However, Lian and the Lieutenant did not join them… because they were looking at the collapsed towers and buildings in the distance.
It was true that she had killed the Beast Demon… but why did she have to slice through the distant buildings as well?
“Miss Asius…”
“I know. Have you sent men to find her?”
“Yes. We’ve already asked the Mage Corps to track the residual Magic Power traces. They’ve been gone for a while now. We will also be sending more men to conduct a search throughout the city…”
“Don’t send any more people. Take all your men back to the Duke’s Household… no, go to the venue of the Crown Festival. If you can mobilize more people, have them head toward the venue as well to strengthen the security there.”
“Are you saying we should give up on searching for the Princess? That’s not right—”
“This is the command of the Duchess. Please execute it.”
Lian bowed her head deeply toward Lieutenant Taine. Her words were relaying a command, yet her posture looked like a plea.
This contradictory appearance left Lieutenant Taine stunned for a moment, but he finally nodded and agreed.
“Since it is the Duke’s command, I shall naturally obey. I will also pass this order on to my superior. He should be able to send more people to the venue… I will bring my men there immediately as well.”
“Thank you. Leave the Princess to me. Please, do not worry.”
After thanking him, Lian leaped into the air.
Lieutenant Taine and the soldiers watched in daze as she jumped higher and farther into the empty sky without any support, until she became a tiny black dot and vanished toward the horizon.
“Captain… I don’t think your loss was unfair at all.”
A soldier patted his shoulder, offering him solemn comfort.
……
There were some things Lian did not tell Lieutenant Taine and his soldiers.
That was indeed the Chillblade… but it was the Chillblade at its maximum output.
A strike that could turn anything it touched into icy dust… she had only ever seen that when Vera used that specific sword.
The Frosted Demon Sword.
What on earth had happened to her?
Even if Vera could use Magic Power to perform an Imitation of a weapon with similar effects to the original just like Lian could, her current physical condition would never be able to handle the strain of using that thing.
Furthermore, while she was in that room earlier, she had seen a small, sheathed sword left by Vera’s bedside… it was the pseudo-Holy Sword of Blazing Flames she had made for Vera.
Vera hadn’t taken it with her… why didn’t she take it?
Leaping through the air, Lian released her full Magic Power, expanding the range of her perception to its absolute limit.
Her senses instantly encompassed half the city. Countless, multicolored traces of Magic Power filled her vision in the blink of an eye.
She felt a splitting headache — it was like a telepath who could hear the inner voices of every citizen in the city.
Even a Hero could not endure such a terrifying burden for long.
Fortunately, she quickly found a Magic Power trace among them that was similar to the ice sculpture left in the room —
The trail of magic was azure. It avoided the main roads where the city’s crowds gathered, following winding, secluded alleys toward the southwest of the city — Lian followed it through the sky.
Leaving the city… the trail continued. It became a straight line, heading directly toward a certain pine forest in the distance.
‘That place is…’
Lian suddenly felt a chill run through her entire body. She remembered that pine forest.
How could she ever forget it? …Diana, Diana died right there!
She tumbled from the sky and slammed hard into the ground. She felt as though some kind of force was dragging her down… she could no longer jump.
Thus, she could only scramble up and run toward the pine forest.
This time, she was no longer running out of that forest without looking back… instead, she was doing everything in her power to run inside, to get to that person’s side.
“Vera, Vera…”
She ran fast, as fast as the wind. She ran into the pine forest… she saw that the needles of the entire forest were covered in rime ice, looking like frozen flowers blooming upon the trees.
The further she went, the more she felt a bone-chilling cold emanating from the surroundings, as if it wanted to freeze a person’s body and soul.
Finally, she reached a clearing in the forest. In the center of that clearing was a small grave, and a woman was standing before it.
Sticking out of the ground beside her was a Demon Sword as brilliant as icy diamonds.
Beneath the blade of that Demon Sword, a mirror-like layer of ice was continuously spreading outward.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Lian stopped her footsteps, halting not far from the woman.
Because that woman — Vera — would not allow her to get any closer. Seeing Lian’s arrival, she pulled up the Demon Sword and pointed the blade at her.
“Vera… it’s me. It’s Lian En. I’m Lian En. Do you see? I’ve turned into a girl, into such a cute appearance.”
Lian cried… the tears she shed instantly turned into icy droplets. She stood where she was, confessing through her tears.
“I look ridiculous, don’t I? I’m laughable, right? Seeing this bastard, idiot, and loser turned into such an embarrassing state… why don’t you laugh! Mock me as much as you want!”
Even as Lian cried out with all her strength, Vera’s expression remained as cold and solemn as frost and snow.
There was no emotion on her face; only a pair of azure Demon Eyes cast a completely hollow gaze toward Lian.
She said nothing. But amidst the dancing snowflakes, Lian clearly heard two words:
“Draw sword.”
The request was simple and clear, leaving no room for argument.
So Lian raised her hand… crimson flames burned quietly in the freezing wind.
At the end of the burning fire, a gold and red two-handed longsword appeared in her hand — it looked as if molten lava were flowing within its blade.
She gripped the hilt and took a stance toward Vera. As the snowflakes fell onto her sword, they instantly evaporated into white mist.
In the midst of the billowing white fog, Lian felt the woman before her gradually grow younger.
It was as if she had returned to the martial arts arena from three years ago.
That girl with the stern expression stood before her once again, holding her sword high.
“I am Ayavela Elancia. From today on, I will serve as your Swordsmanship Teacher. You must address me as Teacher… until the day you are finally able to defeat me.”
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