Chapter 337 Naked maiden and the ice shafts?
Lumiere & Lucretia Arc
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(POV: Lumiere)
I kept on walking.
My footsteps left a trail of lted snow behind .
The small sphere of fire within my palm flickered with intense heat, its radiance cutting through the wintry landscape. The snow yielded effortlessly to its touch, parting ways and revealing a path for my passage. It was a simple trick, but effective enough to ease my journey.
"Hm." I slowed down.
My eyes went left and right. "I guess now's as good a ti as any."
With a mont's respite, I activated my [World Acuity] skill, widening my senses to encompass multiple dinsions. The vast expanse of information flooded my consciousness, but I focused my attention solely on the search for Lucretia.
Her presence, or rather the lack thereof, beca apparent.
The residual energy that once defined her essence had dissipated entirely, leaving nothing but emptiness for to sense.
"I... I failed..."
My head bowed, disappointnt settling heavy upon my shoulders.
Once again, my efforts had been in vain.
The mission to save Lucretia had eluded , slipping through my fingers like sand. If I didn't take such ti to deciding on whether or not to go, it'd likely...
No...
She'd have died either way... I sighed.
But amidst the turmoil of failure, I felt an unfamiliar determination welling up inside . No, it was different from that. This feeling was sothing that I'd forgotten for far too long now, it was called 'Hope'. Even if she was dead, I had to hope she was alive.
"I'm so tired..." I said.
My body said one thing but my mind said another. I wanted to turn back and go, but then I rembered the sad look on Simone?s face. I wanted to try and make it up to her, however best I could.
At least, bringing Lucretia?s corpse would count as sothing.
Resolute, I dispelled the fiery orb in my hand, plunging the landscape back into darkness. Yet, the absence of light did little to hinder my progress. Through my [Night Vision], I could navigate the shadowed terrain with ease.
The blistering heat of the fire had left its mark, carving a wide path in the snow. As I walked, the prospect of reaching the western expanse of the ArAur Forest beckoned. Within those magical woods, the snowfall would surely be scarce, as the highly concentrated magic would swiftly dissolve the frozen particles back into their base forms – water or mana.
I continued my trek through the ArAur Forest's west, the icy wind biting at my cheeks, although not doing anything to affect .
Then, a sudden shift in my senses caught off guard.
My [Enhanced Olfaction], a sub-skill of my [World Acuity], detected the tallic scent of blood mingling among the cold, snowy air. My brows furrowed in concern as I scanned the ground, where a morbid scene unveiled itself before my eyes.
The snow-covered forest floor was littered with the remnants of grueso battle – limbs twisted and mangled, heads severed and left discarded. The lifeless bodies of the knights of the Blue Guards faction lay strewn in grotesque disarray. So bore deep puncture wounds from large shards of ice, while others had suffered unimaginable attacks that had left their heads deford. The red stain of blood?s touch painted the snow.
"It was really as bad as he said huh..."
A heavy sigh escaped my lips.
Raxe called the monster that attacked them a [Frozen Lich].
I wasn't sure what class it was but I doubt it'd take much effort to kill.
The most important thing was finding Lucretia?s corpse.
"I should be quick," I told myself.
With each casualty I passed, a silent prayer for their souls escaped my lips.
They weren't strong enough to survive didn't an they weren't strong enough to try and protect.
My prayers for them were short— I couldn't dwell on these gory remains for long.
"Huh?"
Sothing caught my attention.
A chasm.
The dark crevice that seed to stretch endlessly into the abyss.
Quickening my pace, I rushed towards the edge of the deep crack.
Its presence alone made understand how Raxe and Simone must've felt, and its magnitude hinted at the potential danger it held. It appeared as though the forest had been violently torn asunder from this very point, the fracture cutting through the very heart of the woods.
Or maybe the crack just went as far as "my" eyes could see.
"Did the lich cause this...?"
If it did, then Raxe and the Blue Guards never stood a chance.
Squinting my eyes against the darkness, I focused my vision deep into the chasm.
Each passing second heightened my sight, allowing to perceive the true depth of this treacherous fissure.
Roughly about 500 ft of black nothingness.
I was yet to see even one trace of Lucretia.
I stood at the brink of the chasm, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
Without warning, massive shards of ice burst forth from the abyss, hurtling upwards at astonishing speed.
My instincts kicked in.
Well, more precisely [World Acuity] kicked in.
So, instead of retreating, I used [Magic Barrier] and calmly kept looking for Lucretia.
The ice shards collided with the barrier, shattering into countless pieces.
With my gaze still fixed on the gaping chasm, a deafening eruption shook the air around . The ground trembled beneath my feet as a colossal creature, the Frost Lich, erged with an almost primal force. I took a step back, indifferently observing. The creature's roar reverberated through the forest, causing the very air to tremble in response. Its formidable tendrils whipped around, delivering devastating blows that ravaged the earth, leaving behind deep cracks and shattered boulders in their wake.
So that attack earlier was from it?
The monster really was weak. It was hard to imagine those knights died in its hands.
Then again, the power gap between them and was pretty large.
But amidst this chaotic spectacle, my attention was drawn to sothing else.
Attached to the Frost Lich's imnse form were several icy cocoons, and within one of them, I could barely make out the figure of Lucretia.
She lay amidst the frigid embrace of the ice, her vulnerable state stark against the deadly creature that held her captive.
"Lucretia!" I shouted her na, desperation in every syllable.
However, her unconsciousness robbed her of any response, leaving with a well of despair.
It was hard to tell if she was dead or not. [World Acuity] was ant to sense anything and everything, and yet it couldn't tell whether or not she was alive. I didn't know whether there were any ans to bypass its sensory abilities, but I had a strong feeling there wasn't.
So, was it because I was still adapting to it...?
I wasn't sure about anything.
I looked at Lucretia again
Lucretia's delicate form was ensnared by sharp tendrils of ice, piercing her smooth thighs, while thicker cables of frozen power constricted her small yet alluring breasts.
Frost trailed across her body like a relentless infection, its tendrils spreading further with each passing mont.
The monster made her look indecent. She was completely naked, her body on full display but thanks to the ice coverages, her delicate parts were hidden.
Now wasn't the ti, but the state I saw her body in was oddly attractive, enough that if I saw everything, I was sure I'd be completely silent.
It wasn't the ti.
No, it definitely wasn't the ti, and yet I couldn't stop looking at her body. It was smooth like butter, soft enough that it could be cut like cheesecake.
Or maybe it was just my unfocused imagination.
I couldn't focus, it was hard to keep my head straight, when I looked at her, at her face.
Yes, she drove crazy and made mad, which also made say the things I didn't want to say. But in the end, she's the woman I fell in love with first. There was a reason that I liked her when we were kids, and she surely had a reason for liking too.
So wasn't it better to just let things go, all her actions, she may act bratty sotis and occasionally like a hypocrite, but no one's perfect.
And trust , I've learnt that lesson the hard way.
The thought of making a mistake felt nice, it made one feel like they had more to do and places to improve.
Lucretia brought out the worst in sotis, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
It just made things interesting...
"LUCRETIA!" I cried out again.
But her stillness remained unyielding, she just hung there, completely vulnerable.
The Frost Lich itself was a monstrous amalgamation, adorned with an array of cruel tendrils, wicked claws, and razor-sharp fangs. Its scarlet eyes glowed with a sinister light, radiating a malevolence that seed to eclipse the very essence of the forest. Towering over fifteen ters in height, its vast silhouette cast a foreboding shadow, eclipsing a significant portion of the woodland.
"Let go off her..." I told the monster.
It roared in response.
"Fine then, I'll just burn you to ashes..."
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