As quickly as he dismissed the frost, another tidal wave of ice swept through. Attempting to find Quintus was a challenge in itself, as the blizzard rolled in, swirling chaotic snow around him.
A tornado of razor-sharp ice; it engulfed him, attacking his body from all angles. With the strength of [Hercules], only small, superficial cuts were made before he slamd his foot against the ground—CRASH.
The montous step brought an entire chunk of the frozen field to be split, rising up. It brought the piece of land tilted, with Quintus slipping sowhat—
In that mont of lost balance, Jae-Seong pushed forward with all of his might. The ground splintered as he launched himself, closing the distance as he grabbed ahold of the man’s face.
"You!—" Quintus grunted.
Before anything could be said, he slamd the wielder of frost down, bringing the tilted chunk of land to be forced back into place. The valley rumbled at the clash of strength, as the birds in the air dropped down, frozen solid; the insects crawling through the soil were wiped out in the resulting impact.
As he held Quintus in place, ice gripped his body, attempting to freeze him solid, yet he remained unyielding.
"Tell what Mastorn is planning with all these magic runes," Jae-Seong demanded, furthering his grip.
Quintus struggled on the ground as the inhuman grip pressed against his skull, though he only scoffed at the interrogation, "Do you think you’ve won? You can break my body, but I’ll co right back. My frost is still–"
"Thought so. I’ll end it, then," Jae-Seong interrupted, not hesitating in the slightest.
As the symbols on his back rearranged once more, so did the stars in the night sky, taking in a glow brighter than ever.
[--Blessing of Androda–]
Descending from the great beyond, dazzling lights rained down with celestial grace, hailing upon the position of the compromised man.
"Wait, hold on–hold on–!" Quintus desperately urged. "You’ll die too–! This is suicide!"
Jae-Seong ignored the pleas, "The stars won’t hurt ."
Upon the frozen fields, the celestial impacts collided with the surface, exploding into colorful releases of cosmic force. Each collision sparked a blinding shine that stretched through the region, causing the dormant mountains to tremble.
As the falling stars fizzled out, the aftermath left the once luscious fields scraped of its beauty.
"You’re done," Jae-Seong said as he stood up, brushing his hands off, looking down at the man of snowy hair. "Tell what Mastorn is preparing for and I’ll let you off."
Left on the barren dirt, Quintus’ body was riddled with holes, left only alive enough to no longer resist.
Troubled breaths trickled from the mage’s lips, "...It’s too late anyway. Mastorn will take...Marinus."
"What—? Marinus?" Jae-Seong responded, kneeling down as he grabbed the collar of the man’s uniform. "Hey! Speak up!"
Attempting to squeeze out any further answers was t with difficulty as he watched the life leave Quintus. It was an unnatural phenona; the young man’s skin lost its color as his body deflated as if his blood simply evaporated.
’What the...? He’s dead? This wasn’t —this is the binding vow of the Impervious Seven, isn’t it? If they lose even once, they forfeit their life,’ he realized, letting go as he stood up.
Finally letting himself relax, Jae-Seong sat down as he looked down at his body covered in cuts. It was the sa inside as it was outside, though he picked himself up only after a mont, stretching tiredly.
"Ahh, well, I hope the rookie managed to survive," Jae-Seong remarked to the open wind.
—
Through stagnant dreams, the young man found his consciousness returning as his eyelids struggled to open. It was a degree of exhaustion he hadn’t felt, more than the tireless practices he had in his ti playing basketball.
"Nnn..." Gael quietly groaned.
"Boss!"
"Master!"
"Puuu!"
There wasn’t even a chance to properly open his eyes before he was suddenly doted on by his familiars. The strong arms of Florentine squeezed his right arm, while Matteo helped him sit up, cracking his back for him.
anwhile, the capybara displayed its affection by nudging his head.
He slowly opened his eyes, blinking the blurriness away. The scenery of the lush valley, overlooked by the walls of mountains t his vision.
"I’m...alive?" Gael weakly asked, glancing down at his stomach.
Fresh stitches ran across his abdon, though he couldn’t help but touch them, only to imdiately flinch.
"Careful," Matteo laughed. "I’m no doctor, but I did my best."
"Oh? You did this?" Gael asked the adventurer in glasses.
Matteo nodded before pointing a few steps further down the cobblestone road just outside the mines. Sat around were the coal-coated miners, who watched anxiously as if worried for his condition.
"Oh, yeah! The workers here helped carry you out before we managed to manifest!" Florentine explained, sitting on her knees.
Gael blinked, "Aah? Oh, thanks a bunch."
As he looked back towards the mines, the fresh mories of his encounter with the strange Venator lingered. It was a confusing feeling; a mix of sadness and loathing for the man he brought down.
"Boss? You good?" Matteo asked, extending his hand.
He turned back around, accepting the helping hand, "Yup, sohow."
To his surprise, the roads of Sevareid were filled with the unconscious, battered sight of Mastorn soldiers. He didn’t recall handling the guards overseeing the roads, leading him to look at his familiars.
"Ah, that wasn’t us," Matteo explained, scratching his cheek.
"It was that cocky fellow," Florentine chid in.
"Jae-Seong?" Gael figured.
"Yeah, him. Think he went back to the mansion down the road," Matteo pointed towards the massive structure.
It seed he had a proper destination as he set his sights on the Sevaraid mansion, letting the capybara ride on his shoulder.
"Gah—" Gael winced at his first step, grabbing his abdon.
"Careful—like I said, I’m not a doctor. It was enough to keep your guts from spilling out, but that’s about it," Matteo nervously laughed, lending his shoulder.
Gael walked with the help of his familiars, following the road packed with unconscious soldiers, "Right...Thanks for that."
As he looked around, a lot of the carriages that had been on the move were stopped, with so toppled over as the runes they tried to take away were being reclaid by the Sevaraid guards.
"I’m relieved you managed to overco that enemy, though it’s regrettable we couldn’t help much," Matteo admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
Florentine shared the sa sentint, "Right! I wanted to smash that guy’s head in so badly, but damn–I couldn’t even get near him."
"He was definitely tough...I managed though, so don’t overthink it," Gael wryly assured them, petting the head of the capybara on his shoulder.
Reaching the opened gates of the Sevaraid mansion, it seed they were open and waiting for him as he welcod himself into the courtyard. The front doors were already open, guiding him in, though he found the entire exterior lightly moist as if having been doused in water.
’Odd,’ he thought.
As he entered the lobby of the mansion, overlooked by a dazzling chandelier and precious antiques on display, so of which were on the ground in pieces, he was finally greeted–
"Gael! There you are!"
"Ah–?"
As he looked up to find the familiar voice, the figure hopped down from the second floor, arriving right in front of him. Jae-Seong stood there, with a uniform just as shredded as his own, though sohow still presenting his unbreakable shades.
"How’re you feeling? Doing alright?" Jae-Seong asked while patting his arms and sides like a worried parent.
"I’m fine, I’m fine," Gael said with a huff, backing away at the sudden closeness.
Jae-Seong laughed, "Glad to hear it. Looks like you had so trouble, though. That makes two of us."
Though he wanted to retort, he was surprised by the shape Jae-Seong was in, covered in small cuts that certainly didn’t look pleasant.
He held his stitched stomach, recalling the fight still fresh in his mind, "Our mission...Did we succeed?"
"Oh, yeah," Jae-Seong said, giving a pat to the rookie’s shoulder. "Good job, man. You’re for sure Heavenly King material. I’ll make sure the Monarch knows that when we get back."
"Seriously?" Gael asked, feeling the complent pretty handily.
"’Course! Not many can tussle with the Venator like that. I heard from Frederick–it was Amadeus overseeing the mines," Jae-Seong said. "You’re tough shit."
"Yeah, well, I almost died until he..." Gael recalled, recalling what the man did for him in his final monts.
Jae-Seong looked at him with a perplexed expression, "Until you kicked his ass?"
"Sothing like that," Gael brushed off.
Understanding just what Amadeus really was in his final monts left his mind in knots. It wasn’t as simple as he first thought, though it didn’t change what had to be done.
Jae-Seong yawned, stretching his arms over his head as he walked towards the doors, "I was planning on hanging around here so that we could rest, but...I’ve got so urgent news that the Monarch needs to hear."
"We’re heading back already?" Gael asked.
"Yeah, sorry," Jae-Seong quickly apologized, tapping the front doors. "It’s a bit of a priority."
Matteo chid in, "I don’t know if the Boss is in any shape to ride on the ray right now."
"Yeah, he barely managed before–" Florentine added.
Gael rejected the worries of his familiars, "I did just fine, thank you. I can manage."
As he stood near the opened doors of the mansion, Jae-Seong laughed as he adjusted his shades, "Don’t worry, we don’t need to go full speed like last ti."
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