CHAPTER 152

"This... this can't be…?"

For a moment, Tanant thought he was seeing things.

No, if that wasn't the case, none of this made any sense at all.

'Right. This must be an illusion! Elric Melvinger, that bastard, is more specialized in illusion magic than ice magic!'

He had already heard that Squads 2 and 3 of the Blue Wolf had fallen to him. He knew Elric had grown powerful enough to become a magus. That's why he had brought most of the Blue Wolf with him.

But… this defied all logic.

Even if the Blue Wolf didn't have the same reputation as other knight orders within the Weyl family, that was only because their origins were less prestigious and their missions dirtier.

In terms of strength, they were on par with other knight orders—perhaps even stronger in some respects, given how often they'd faced real combat.

And yet, all his men were frozen solid.

All because of a single ice storm.

It wasn't unreasonable for Tanant to conclude that Elric had cast an illusion.

But…

There were far too many things that felt real.

The absolute zero temperature, which seemed to freeze his body just by standing there, wasn't something that could be faked by merely tricking the senses.

"Uh, uh, uh…!"

"Save... me...!"

When even the men who had barely survived began to speak, Tanant felt like he had been hit in the back of the head.

For some reason... this didn't feel like a lie.

It was as if reality had been dragged from a world of imagination in an instant. His mind snapped back to clarity.

He wanted to shout something, but by then, it was already too late.

Ssss—

As if ignoring Tanant's thoughts, ghosts started appearing along the walls, lined up in procession.

The dungeon guardians, including Banshee Reapers, each held large scythes or weapons in hand.

Keiaaaa!

Kekekekeke—

The dungeon guardians, now acting under the command of their new master, let out ghastly wails as they swiftly moved among the ranks of the Blue Wolves.

Most of the soldiers, frozen and unable to move, didn't stand a chance of surviving.

"Save…!"

"Ughhhk!"

"I can't die like this…!"

The weapons, all made from spiritual essence, passed through physical barriers like ice without issue.

Naturally, armor that lacked magic enhancements was useless against them.

Some of the soldiers, who hadn't been caught up in the "Winter Blizzard" and could still move, tried to fight back.

But the absolute zero temperature continuously created frost and ice that impeded their movements.

No matter how many dungeon guardians they cut down, more kept appearing.

In fact, more often than not, they were slashing through empty air.

There was a reason ghost-type monsters were so notoriously dangerous.

Clink, clink!

And as if that weren't enough, the ice chains continued to erupt from the frozen ground, further hindering their movements.

Even when they tried to retreat, dungeon guardians had already filled the rear, leaving them no way out.

Eventually, the Blue Wolves were completely isolated, unable to advance or retreat, and slowly, one by one, they fell to the ground, utterly exhausted.

"Huff, huff…!"

"Why won't they disappear…!"

"Damn it all!"

By the time considerable time had passed, nearly no one was left standing.

Slash, slash—

The chilling sound of evil spirits cut down echoed like a farmer harvesting crops in the fall, and Tanant's face grew even paler.

From shock to terror, and finally to horror.

His constantly changing expression made him look as though a mere touch would cause him to collapse.

'What should I... do?'

In truth, Tanant was also finding it hard to move.

His upper body was already covered in frost, and more than half of his lower body was stuck to the icy ground, rendering him immobile.

He had been trying to free himself from the ice for some time, but his mana just wasn't flowing properly.

It was as if his mana and aura had frozen along with him.

It felt as if the dungeon's cold had penetrated his skin and was reaching into his very core, freezing even his aura channels.

It was absurd, of course—something no normal person could believe.

But then again, the entire situation was beyond comprehension, so there was nothing he could say.

All he wanted now was to somehow escape from this nightmarish moment.

At that moment, one of the Banshee Reapers, which stood out with an especially strong presence, turned its gaze toward him.

Kee? Kekekeke!

The creature stared at Tanant for a long moment before letting out a ghastly laugh and slowly moving in his direction.

As the shadow of death crept closer, Tanant's anxiety skyrocketed.

'Move! Move, damn it!'

He struggled to move a leg.

An arm.

He desperately tried to get his limbs to obey him.

Even though physical attacks couldn't harm ghosts, aura-infused strikes could be somewhat effective. So, the most important thing was to activate his aura.

Crack, crack—

'Just a little more…!'

The Banshee Reaper raised its massive scythe high in the air. The pale glow of its blade made Tanant's blood run cold.

'Please!'

Boom!

Finally, power surged into Tanant's right arm, and the ice shattered. A flicker of hope appeared in his eyes.

'I did it...!'

He quickly drew his sword to block the incoming scythe. But the scythe passed right through his sword as though it wasn't even there and sliced clean through the top of Tanant's skull.

Sssssh!

The sound it made was like tearing paper.

It was the sound of his soul being cut.

And then.

Clang!

The light vanished from Tanant's eyes as his sword slipped from his grip and clattered uselessly to the ground.

In that moment, the gruesome wolves who had served as Paul Weyl's henchmen and had called themselves the shadows of the Weyl family were completely wiped out.

The wind that blew from the north had long been known as a cursed wind, one that carried death wherever it went.

It was said to be filled with the grudges and hatred of countless dead souls, who claimed the souls of the living.

This was the Northern Wind.

The second divine power Elric had inherited from Otto Han.

***

"Wow… I don't think I'll be able to use that again anytime soon."

Elric collapsed to the ground as the red dots that represented the Blue Wolves disappeared from the map.

He felt utterly drained.

And with good reason—his mana had been completely exhausted, leaving him in a state of collapse.

Elric couldn't help but feel a little absurd.

No matter how powerful the abilities were, he had already reached a mana proficiency of almost 30%.

That might sound like a small number, but it wasn't.

It was 30% of the mana contained in the mana core formed from the combined mana of the Great Demon King and the Dragon King.

In terms of raw mana capacity, there was hardly anyone who could rival Elric.

Perhaps only Augustine could compare?

Moreover, what about the Spell-power Circuit he had completed after absorbing Otto Han's spiritual form?

With so many circuits to distribute his mana through, his efficiency was beyond measure.

And yet, he had reached his limit.

After just two uses.

Of course, the power displayed was immense.

The artificial creation of absolute-zero temperatures through Winter Blizzard had frozen the entire Blue Wolves.

And the Northern Wind, which brought death with it, had summoned a multitude of evil spirits to reap the souls of the living.

Both abilities were undeniably worthy of being called divine powers.

'But the expenditure is too high. Until I can increase my mana capacity, I can't afford to use them except in life-threatening situations.'

The experience of using these powers felt vastly different from what it had been like in the mind realm where he trained under Otto Han.

It seemed that in the mind realm, the limitation of mana depletion had been bypassed to allow for faster mastery… But now that he was using it in his physical body, it would take quite some time to fully integrate.

Still, Elric felt pleased.

He now had two secret weapons that could stand against anyone.

『Winter Blizzard and Northern Wind, huh? The fact that he passed on these secret techniques means that Otto Han fully recognized you as the successor of "Winter."』

Mephisto's eyes gleamed strangely.

Hadn't Mephisto been the one who had shown such intense emotion when seeing Otto Han's remains? Now, seeing the power reminiscent of Otto Han, it seemed Mephisto's feelings were stirred once again.

『Winter, huh? So what comes next, "Spring"?』

Elric nodded slowly.

Before leaving the mind realm, Otto Han had said something.

—You've probably guessed by now, but "Winter" is just the beginning. You need to gather all four seasons.

—But I'm already incredibly strong with just this. Why do I need more?

—It's obvious. The more seasons you gather, the stronger you become. And… I should add that all four seasons originally came from the Progenitor. His power was so immense that it couldn't be passed down whole, so it was split into four parts, creating the Four Seasons.

Elric had been stunned by those words.

The Progenitor, who had raised the Four Great Vassals, had been his master?

And his power was so vast that he had to divide it to teach them?

It was such an unbelievable claim that Elric couldn't help but laugh.

But at the same time, a new thought crossed his mind.

—So, if I gather them all together...?

—Yes. The magic of the Progenitor will be revealed to you.

—…!

—The magic that can be called the "Beginning" of the Melvinger family. No, the "Primeval" magic that gave rise to the Melvinger family and non-humans alike will be yours to wield.

The word "primeval" struck a deep chord within Elric.

He felt as if it held something that he had always longed for—or perhaps, something that could fulfill what he desired most.

—Of course, gathering them all won't be easy.

Elric had swallowed nervously and asked where he should go next.

And the answer he received was...

'…Where was it?'

Suddenly, Elric's head snapped up.

It felt like he had just woken from a dream.

No matter how vivid or long a dream may seem, once you wake up, it fades away.

It was as if someone had blurred the memory of what Otto Han had told him.

Elric felt a strange sense of unease.

This wasn't a prank by Otto Han, nor was it some trick he had left behind.

Otto Han had genuinely wanted Elric to go to the next place and complete the Four Seasons.

But now...

The fact that this particular part of his memory was mysteriously erased could only mean that someone had directly interfered.

'Who was it?'

For the first time, Elric's eyes shook.

[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]