Frozen Hell (Part 12)

Leo stepped onto the breast of the statue and lifted the swaying body as gently as he could. Making his way with the person in tow, he tried removing the dangling chain around the statue's neck by walking back up across the face before reaching the top of the head again. Afterwards, Leo then traveled downwards using the back of the statue's head and eventually brought both the body and the chains towards the ground below the statue's heels.

Once he successfully carried everything down, Leo carefully laid the person on the floor while scanning the wrappings that was covering their body. When he had first held onto them, he noticed a distinct scent that disturbingly reminded him of blood. And after he scrutinized the wrappings, he discovered that there were actually traces of dried up blood.

'Am I too late?' Leo worried that the chieftain's daughter may have already perished.

But fortune seemed to be on his side, as Leo was able to faintly detect scarce indications of breathing signs on the person's chest. Not wanting to waste more time, Leo swiftly took out the gem from his pouch and applied a healing potion. Within a few seconds, the person's chest started moving more frequently.

"Thank god..." Leo couldn't help breath out a prayer.

'Seems like coming here actually did pay off after all.'

But there was still one final thing he needed to confirm. Although the chances seemed slim, Leo needed to see the individual's appearance to make sure it really was the chieftain's daughter. Using steady fingers to pinch at a section of the wrappings, he slowly peeled off the thin tape starting around the person's forehead. The sight that greeted him was a wolf-like face.

'The fur seems to be of a similar color to Chieftain Namur's, with the snout being noticeably thinner...'

Unwrapping further down, Leo was able to completely reveal the person's dress attire.

'Although I can't really tell the different features that separate the beastmen from each other, I think this person might be female.'

Scanning this beastwomen's clothing that appear to be a little worn and ragged, Leo spotted huge blood stains near the cuffs of the sleeves that seemed to have trailed up the arms to her torso. This is likely a sign that her bleeding had started at the wrists.

Looking more closely at her garments, he eventually noticed that they had also been enchanted to provide resistance against the cold, though these ones appeared more exquisite in design and were likely more reliable than the ones that Leo and his friends had bought.

When Leo observed the pockets of the clothing, he quickly found a hand-sized object stuffed inside one section of the pants. Taking it out, he found it to be very similar to the communicator that Walter used.

'Alright, there should be no doubt now...' Leo sighed and waited for the person to regain consciousness.

But when minutes started passing by, he began slowly growing concerned when the beastwomen did not stir awake. Even when he tried calling out as loudly as he dared and slightly nudged her body, the latter did not show any signs of awakening. It soon eventually occurred to Leo that this person may have suffered more than simply loss of blood.

'That strange ritual... I heard from my teachers that there were dark practices involving magic that sought to take away the vitality and spirit of an individual. If that's the case, then the damage may actually be more severe than I thought.'

Healing potions can help recover the wounds and injuries on a person's body, but that was the limit to their ability. While regrettable, they ultimately aren't capable of recovering every form of harm that exists in this world.

'Now that I've found both her and a window that could open out of here, I need to take her back outside...'

But no sooner had the thought come to him when Leo suddenly remembered he was currently the only being among them who can withstand the harsh environment of the Frozen Hell. If he were to take her outside the mausoleum, then he would likely only be able to present shaves of ice to her family and Walter.

It occurred to Leo that, while he may have dearly hoped for the daughter to be alive, before even entering the Frozen Hell he had already believed her to be deceased due to the despairing chances of survival. As such, he had never actually thought up of a plan on what to do if he had actually found her to still be breathing.

'I really was quite unprepared for this, wasn't I?' Leo could only mock his previous attitude of desiring to enter the Frozen Hell against his team's concerns.

'My god, what a screwup... Well, I guess now's not the time to be moping around.'

Leaning against the base of the statue, Leo started racking his brain to think of any ideas that could allow them both to return back safely.

'It is unlikely that she entered directly from outside like I did; the temperature of the Frozen Hell would have killed her right away. That can only mean that she got in here through some other method...

'Oh, that's right! There was some kind of spatial formation spell which she supposedly triggered that led to her disappearance. Considering that she specifically ended up here, it's highly possible that there is another formation spell located in this building. If I can activate it, we can both leisurely return back out and contact Walter to pick us up. I just have to find it without attracting any attention...'

With his hope rekindled, Leo decided on his next set of actions. Using [Levitating Plate] to summon a platform big enough to carry the chieftain's daughter and the chains attached to her, he smoothly set out to search for signs of a ring of magic markings hidden in this building.

He first went to analyze the strange ritual that was consecrated around the statue, but after spending only a few seconds he immediately realized that it was a pointless endeavor. The design of the ritual did not resemble anything he had seen before, and there was also not a single sign of a spatial formation spell.

'I guess I should've expected this,' Leo thought helplessly. 'To be honest, it's quite possible that the chieftain's daughter did not initially get transported to this room when she had previously disappeared. Considering how ragged and damaged her clothes are, she may have encountered a scuffle the moment she arrived here (like I did) before being subdued and taken to become a dark sacrifice for this ritual.'

Deciding that it was no use staying here, he cautiously glanced across his surroundings before using the summoned plate to take the beastwoman elsewhere. Not a moment when he carried out this action, he felt the floor he was standing on tremble.

"An earthquake...?" he whispered in confusion. "No, wait!"

A huge object came barreling through one of the passages on the left side that led to this room. Just from the outline, which appeared about as big as the elven statue, Leo was able to recognize it as the same being who attacked him near the entrance.

"Shit!" he swore at his rotten luck.

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Outside the Frozen Hell...

Alex, Judy, and Sarah were each sitting within the carriage, taking turns to glance out the window to find any signs of Leo's return.

"How long has it been?" Alex asked his team.

"I think it should be getting close to an hour," Sarah replied back.

"An hour, huh..." Judy blew a lock of hair from the side of her face. "It honestly feels longer than that."

Alex looked nervously at the two.

"Didn't Walter say that hardly anyone has ever lasted more than a single hour inside?"

Sarah turned her head from the window before answering, "Yes, but none of them were said to have possessed a phoenix feather. I think we should be fine to have faith in Leo."

"That's right," Judy agreed and attempted to placate Alex's worries. "While I can't entirely say I have a complete judge on his personality, out of all of us, he seems to be the most resourceful.

"I'm sure that if anything unexpected happens, he should be able to pull through."

"I suppose..." Alex sighed, remembering the time Leo saved him from the Goblin King.

Standing watch outside the carriage's doors, Walter was calmly gazing at the Frozen Hell's periphery, concentrating all his hopes on the person who had earned his trust.

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BOOM!

Lasers penetrated the walls and floor of the enormous room, producing shockwaves and explosions upon impact.

Leo felt almost suffocated by the endless amount of dust that was billowing through the air. Currently, it was doing all he could to avoid being shot down by the beams of energy of this massive opponent.

Now that they were in a more brighter section of the mausoleum, Leo was finally able to look in full detail upon his assailant.

The being, who was blasting lasers around the room, was another golem. However, unlike the earlier ones Leo encountered at the entrance, this magical construct did not possess much of a humanoid shape. Both its head and torso were hardly distinguishable from one another, looking as if they were of the same body part, save for two closely connected ruby gems that seemed to serve as the golem's eyes.

It's arms and legs were also extremely bulky, each paired with a set of stubby fingers and toes, appearing as if a bunch of different sized rocks were somehow strewn together to form them. It would not be inaccurate to say that this golem looked like a boulder with protruding limbs designed by a child.

The majority of the golem's body looked to be constructed out of obsidian, possessing the properties of dark colors as well as a shiny luster that would sometimes reflect the light in the room.

A unique aspect about the golem, though, was that it did not seem to have been kept in decent condition. There were notable scratches and missing chunks found on multiple points of its body. And in the chest area, Leo could actually spot an opening where there was a faint red glimmer of light that appeared to be the golem's magic core.

Usually, when a golem is constructed through magic, they would have some kind of core implanted somewhere in their bodies to provide them with energy and power. It served as both a function and a weakness. If the magic core were to be destroyed, then the golem itself would be completely disabled.

However, throughout this entire battle, every attempt Leo had made aiming for that one weak spot ended up in vain. Whenever he launched an attack of his own, the opponent would always act to defend its chest area first. It appears that Leo's guess about this golem's intelligence was unfortunately correct.

Boom!

More lasers were cutting through the air, appearing to have been emitted by the rubies that were implanted on the upper section of the golem's torso. Currently, Leo was running wildly on the walls and ceilings to avoid the attacks. Although he dearly wished to escape again, any attempt that aimed to get to one of the passages was swiftly shot down by the golem's calculated accuracy.

But nevertheless, the situation did not appear to be as grim as he'd initially expected. For one thing, despite having to drag along the chieftain's daughter, the golem never once attempted attacking her, even though it would've surely made the situation that much harder for Leo. Thus, over time, he eventually had the levitating plate holding her body to start steadily distancing itself from him, though never too far to allow the golem to be able to reach her.

During the time this battle dragged on, Leo started building a hypothesis.

'Could this golem have been created with a specific objective that prevents it from killing the chieftain's daughter?

'Based on the state in which I found this beastwoman, there doesn't seem to be any doubt that she was intended to be an important offering. If that's the case, would the ritual area also be something this golem has to protect?'

An idea started to form in his mind, and it spurned Leo to change the flow of this battle.

[Storm Blades]!

Aiming his sword at the statue and the items arranged around it, several thin rings of nearly invisible air rapidly shot out.

Seeing the ritual about to be disturbed, the golem immediately raised both its thick arms to act as a protective shield. The rings of air, which were razor sharp, all made contact with the arms, barely leaving any marks despite the golem's apparently less than well-kept condition.

'Tsk, its durability is quite high. And its reaction speed is not half bad either,' Leo took note of the brief sequence of events. 'But luckily, it seems to be under obligation to protect that ritual. In that case, let's take this a step further...'

[Flame Arrows]!

In this room that was large enough to fit the size of both a boulder-like golem and a ten foot tall statue, swaths of fire shaped in the form of arrows spewed out from a magic blade and swarmed towards the ritual setup near the statue.

After casting this aggressive spell, Leo additionally threw out some familiar-looking arrowhead objects from his pouch, having them accompany alongside the spell to cause further destruction.

In addition to being enchanted with [Intermediate Flame Burst], these arrowheads were also applied with [Homing Guide] to allow accurate travel towards an intended target. And naturally, to make it all the more troublesome for his enemy, they were each sent out at different angles to individually deal with separate sections of the ritual.

The golem, who had seen all of this, furiously divided its attention from the human and repeatedly blasted red energy from its ruby eyes to disintegrate all the threats against its main objective. But try as it might, it could not prevent all of them from reaching with simply its lasers, as this despicable human had deliberately spread out his attacks to hit the ritual from multiple angles.

Out of options, the golem actually threw its whole body forward, like a mother covering her child on the ground, to shield against the flaming arrows and enchanted arrowheads.

Bursts of fire and explosions pummeled the boulder-like body, yet they weren't able to leave any visible marks save for some black smudges that resulted from the aftermath smoke. Nevertheless, Leo's strategy proved effective.

'Now's my chance!'

Careful not to leave himself open to another ambush, Leo took the chieftain's daughter and used [Wind Boost] to enter another passageway out of the current room.

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The golem laid itself under the statue with a furious disposition. Although the contents of the ritual were mostly safe, thanks to the human's meddling, they were now disgracefully strewn across the floor. With all the other golems having been destroyed singlehandedly by that pesky human, it would now have to rearrange everything on its own.

With the stubby fingers it was given since its creation, putting back the items delicately in their proper order would be an extremely daunting task.

And there was also that intended sacrifice.

Who knew how long the golem had stayed inactive before it awakened to complete its objective again? Who even knows if its master was still alive?

At the thought of its master, the golem lifted its body to stand and admire the elven statue it had prostrated underneath. Noticing the missing necklace and the sacrifice connected with it, the golem remembered the oath it'd sworn long ago before clenching its hands in a fit of rage. If it possessed lungs, it would've screamed out to the heavens.

Although the intruder had previously been only a minor nuisance, the situation has become personal...

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Leo hunkered down on a wall in the corridor before gasping heavily for breath. When he got away, he made sure to use every ounce of effort to search for a safer location. But he knew that he was only delaying the inevitable.

Along the corridor, echoes of the golem's heavy steps continue to reverberate throughout the mausoleum. Leo knew that time was not on his side.

'Damnit! That thing is too relentless. It's scary to imagine what this golem's performance would've been like if it was in better condition; I doubt that even my friends would be able to confront it.

'Anyway, I can't find that spatial array with that damn golem interfering. Looks like my only option is to destroy it.'

Aware that clashing head on would do no good, Leo set out with determination in his eyes to prepare a strategy for victory.

The final battle was about to commence.

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