Chapter 252 - Cold Blood

Thud! Thud!

Snapping out of his daze, Jack looked over to where the sound came. He instinctively stood up after realizing that the sound was getting louder. They were footsteps, no doubt about it.

With that in mind, Jack quickly got out of the way. Having seen his fair share of deaths in battle, Jack knew how to manage his feelings during times of danger. So, it didn't take very long for Jack to find a spot and hide in it.

As Jack settled in one place, the footsteps got louder. They had only stopped at the place where Jack was just in — the corpses of the elves. From where he was hiding, though, Jack couldn't get a clear view of who these people were. Nonetheless, Jack still saw silhouettes.

'That can't be right...'

Jack thought the people who came over were huge, explaining the loud footsteps he heard. But, even so, it seemed unlikely that something that large would've come over here.

There was nothing here, after all. As far as anyone could tell, the whole place was nothing more than snow. It was a far cry from anything worthwhile. Well, apart from the thing that Jack had just recently discovered, of course.

Even so, whatever thing made its way over here had no business being here. Jack was more than sure that there were no intelligent beings apart from himself here. So, with that thought, there was no one here who would be interested in the elves' corpses.

Unfortunately, Jack was wrong. Dead wrong. Judging by the silhouettes, there were at least three of them. Maybe even four. And, instead of glossing over and moving on, the figures stopped and looked around. They didn't talk and only let out loud grunts one after the other.

As the seconds passed, Jack didn't move an inch from where he was. He didn't panic and run. Decisively, he chose to stay still and watch the situation pan out.

Luckily, the four figures looming over Jack didn't seem interested to look any further than where they stood. And, a few minutes later, those four figures chose to go back from whence they came. Jack made sure to wait a few more seconds to make sure the coast was clear.

'What were those things?'

While he had an idea, Jack didn't bother pursuing them and finding out for himself. He then stood up from his hiding place and carefully moved back to the corpses. Or, at least, where they used to be.

'Shit,' Jack cursed as his expression turned perplexed. He could scream right now but chose not to. Despite his instincts telling him to sink to the ground, Jack's mouth turned to a grimace.

Pain and shock made their way to Jack's brain as he turned to the footsteps left by the figures that came before him. Jack knew what he had to do, even if his wisdom, logic, and orders told him otherwise. There was no way he could let this be, knowing full well what would happen.

'Not on my watch.'

Clicking his tongue, Jack clenched his fists. He followed the footsteps that were considerably larger than his own. But, that didn't scare him as his misguided sense of justice outweighed the risks.

Jack had to bring the corpses back. He couldn't abandon the elves that had already died horribly. And, he wouldn't let the desecration of their corpses happen either. Even though the circumstances changed, his mission was still the same.

With a near-unwavering spirit, Jack closed in on his destination. He didn't stop even if the winds and cold got harsher as he got closer. Jack made up his mind and drew his weapon.

Because of the crude-looking nature of the open-air base, Jack had no back entrance he could use. He didn't care, though, as he knew that a straightforward approach would've been the best. That said, Jack closed in on the camp.

Having an exterior of ice spikes, Jack couldn't bust his way through the defensive walls of the base. So, without even thinking about it, Jack walked down a path that led to the only entrance of their run-down, pathetic-looking base camp. Jack didn't care and focused on accomplishing his mission.

As the entrance to the camp came to view, Jack ramped up his speed. From walking, to jogging, to a full-on sprint, Jack turned his attention to the two guards standing by the entrance.

Blade first, Jack slashed around violently as soon as he reached the first guard. The creature was humanoid in shape but slightly bulkier and taller in size. Jack didn't care, though, as he attacked mercilessly onto one of the guards.

"Enlightened Enchanting. First Frost: Shattering Forms."

Underneath his breath, Jack muttered several words that, if taken alone, made no sense. But Jack knew better than to play around when fighting against something. And, he did better.

The [Frozen Teardrop of Mist] suddenly glowed with a dim, cold blue light. Jack didn't hesitate and swung the two-handed sword at the enemy, causing ice to form where the cut should be. Jack knew this would happen and continued to attack, capitalizing on the enemy's surprise.

Two. Three. Four hits until the other guard reacted and swung its club down on Jack. However, the club missed its mark as Jack moved out of the way. The snow where Jack once stood crumbled at the club's blow, making for a good impression of how strong his opponents were. Unfortunately, where they gained in strength, they lacked in speed.

With the slow recovery of the other guard's club, Jack used the moment to switch targets. He attacked the guard that had struck him. And, with his empowered blade, ice formed on the guard where Jack had cut. He didn't stop swinging his sword around while dodging the guards' attempts at striking him down. Jack didn't let up until his last blow — when his blade lost its Enchantment.

As soon as it did, the ice on the two guards turned from clear to red. The color change barely took a second, and Jack let his guard down and stood straight. The two guards saw the opportunity and raised their clubs up high. All Jack did at this moment, however, was smile.

"Shatter."

Before the two guards could strike, the ice on their bodies shattered and opened massive, life-threatening cuts in their wake. It was as if the ice had made their bodies implode, leaving the two guards near death. They collapsed on the ground, excessively bleeding.

Jack's attack. A single, decisive Enchant spell crushed his two opponents as they slowly bled to their deaths. It wasn't merciful, not in the slightest. But Jack didn't care. He kept going and went into the camp without even looking back. To him, the two guards were already dead.

Step. Step.

As the entrance to the camp was well away from the central area, there was nobody who saw what Jack had done. In his book, Jack had the advantage. Nobody knew what he was capable of, making his plan of attack significantly more effective.

Even so, Jack wasn't entirely nonthreatening. While he won the first battle, there was considerable blood splurts on his body. It made Jack look overly terrifying to any person that saw him. But, the people he would come across were no humans. So, the same could not be said for them.

Then again, though, it didn't matter as much as one might think. Jack was on the warpath, not so much as a path for peace or pleasure. Pleasant-looking or not, Jack didn't think of it that much.

He didn't care for giving a lasting impression on his opponents as they were going to be slaughtered regardless.

"Enlightened Enchanting," Jack murmured underneath his breath as the wind around him picked up. He closed his eyes as he concentrated but didn't stop walking at his current pace. And, a few seconds later, he continued his spell, "Third Frost: Cloudless Froststorm."

Opening his eyes, the wind around him calmed down to nothingness. No, that wasn't accurate. It was more of the air surrounding Jack was still, like everything around him paused. And, as he kept walking forward, the zone of stillness followed him.

It didn't take very long for Jack to get to the central area of the camp. The first of the few creatures saw him, alerting the others. And, from there, they raised their arms while some scurried away like some scared-off creatures. Jack paid them no heed as he would get to them eventually.

But, first things first, he had to take care of the ones standing before him. And, at the very center of where his opponents stood, Jack could spot the corpses lying on top of a red flame.

Jack knew what he saw and was disgusted by it. That disgust soon turned to hate, then to anger, then vengeance. As his expression turned as cold as the climate around him, he raised his blade towards his enemy.