Riezel was convinced that the true origin of Ice Maiden, as it seemed now, must have been something far from ordinary.
Yet this time, he was certain he would not be able to uncover it.
Seeing Lizbeth already chasing after those magic dolls and rushing out of this molten world, Riezel knew he could not let Ice Maiden keep holding him back, so he resolutely activated his trump card magic.
"Magic spear, penetrate my forehead offering blood."
As the tip of Hermit touched Riezel's forehead, his eyes began to glow with a crimson light.
"Damn it!"
Ice Maiden felt her heart jolt for no reason, her cold face changing color.
Her sixth sense had already sensed it—Riezel was preparing to unleash his final trump card and would no longer remain entangled with her.
A sense of crisis instantly grew within her heart, making her realize that if she allowed him to proceed, she would undoubtedly lose.
However, didn't this mean that even after using the national artifact, she would still be defeated?
Although it felt almost impossible, she trusted her premonition completely since it had never been wrong—not even once.
Not hesitating any longer, Ice Maiden exploded with power.
"Don't even think about it!"
Along with an unprecedented burst of terrifying cold, the sword in her hand radiated dazzling brilliance, making Ice Maiden's strength surge by a great margin.
In the next moment, she stepped onto ice, crossing space itself like a raging blizzard sweeping through. Carrying a force that seemed capable of freezing the entire molten world, she charged straight at Riezel.
Her timing was flawless—she arrived the very moment before the crimson glow fully ignited in Riezel's eyes. At once, she swung her sword, the ice-crystal sword radiating terrifying cold that froze the void while cleaving through the air, striking directly toward his head.
Such an overwhelming strike, even before reaching Riezel, had already caused frost to form on his bangs. At the same time, the blazing flames across his body were forced to retreat as if suppressed by icy air pressure, until even the outline of his body began to freeze.
In the face of such an attack, there was normally only one choice—retreat and avoid direct confrontation.
And this had also been Ice Maiden's intention.
Evidently, she did not plan to land a decisive blow but only meant, as before, to interrupt Riezel's magic and prevent him from casting.
However, she would be disappointed this time.
*Clang!*
With a sharp clash, the black sword that had been touching Riezel's forehead was suddenly lifted, blocking the descending ice-crystal sword.
*Kacha-Kacha-Kacha—*
In that instant, the chilling cold of the ice-crystal sword immediately poured into the black sword, extinguishing the heat it emitted.
Under its freezing invasion, Riezel's Hermit clearly had no power to resist, as not only was its searing heat suppressed, but even the crimson patterns across its blade dimmed away.
Before long, a layer of frost condensed across the Hermit's surface, gradually freezing it solid.
Compared to Ice Maiden's national artifact, the Hermit's power was clearly inferior, which was only natural.
Ice Maiden's national artifact was not only equivalent to a World Item, but its strength was also among the greatest Riezel had ever witnessed in his life.
By contrast, the Hermit at best was merely a Divine-Class Item. Impressive against ordinary Mystical Artifacts, yes—but when compared to a World Item, the difference was massive.
If not for Hermit's origin as special equipment with the Durandal attribute, it would never have reached its current level.
Now, faced with a weapon equivalent to a World Item, Hermit's power appeared insufficient, easily suppressed without effort. Were it not for the Durandal attribute, it would have already been frozen into a solid block of ice and shattered within seconds.
Even now, it was only barely holding on by virtue of that Durandal attribute.
But this could not last for long.
Because Ice Maiden's national artifact carried a magic-breaker effect akin to Raven's Rebellion, and since Hermit's Durandal attribute was, in essence, still a magic attribute, with enough time, it would inevitably be shattered.
When that moment came, Hermit would likely be destroyed beyond any repair.
Fortunately, at this moment, Riezel had already completed his magic.
"Hell Finegas."
As the final chant left his lips, Riezel's eyes turned completely crimson.
*Zing—!*
At the same time, the Origin Ring on his finger flared with light, amplifying his warrior-oriented basic abilities.
At this, Ice Maiden's expression changed again and again, the sense of crisis in her heart finally becoming tangible.
"Tch!"
She knew the outcome was already decided and hurried to retreat.
Yet in the end, she was a step too late.
*Click—*
With a faint sound, Riezel sheathed Hermit, crimson eyes locking onto her, and before Ice Maiden could pull away, flames burst beneath his foot.
*BOOM!*
With an explosive roar, fire erupted beneath Riezel, propelling his figure into a blazing streak as he shot toward Ice Maiden.
His speed was far beyond anything before!
His power was far beyond anything before!
Flames swept, firelight streaked, and Riezel's figure tore across the molten world, piercing through the very space where Ice Maiden stood!
"Dancing Flash."
A godspeed slash of fire cleaved through the sky, a flame-wrapped black blade flashing forth like a beam of light, shattering Ice Maiden's vision in an instant.
*Psssht!*
In the next moment, a blazing slash tore through Ice Maiden's body like a gleaming ribbon, cutting from her shoulder to her abdomen without mercy.
Immediately, the flame-wrapped blade carved through her skin, her flesh, her very body, releasing a fountain of blood along the line of the cut.
"..."
Ice Maiden's luminous ice-blue eyes widened, fixed on the fire rushing past, but Riezel's figure was no longer there.
He had already flashed behind her, back turned, his black sword sheathed.
Now, the two stood back to back—one upright in the wind, the other spilling blood and motionless.
Only after a long, long time did Ice Maiden's body finally fall from midair, crashing straight into the sea of magma below.
Only then did the crimson in Riezel's eyes and the glow of the Origin Ring on his finger fade away, disappearing entirely.
"Haah..." Riezel exhaled softly, glancing down at the sea of magma. "To force me to use Hell Finegas... You can take pride in that."
Leaving these words behind, he activated teleportation magic and vanished.
Silence returned to the molten world.
No one knew how much time had passed before an ice sculpture suddenly emerged from beneath the magma.
It drifted along with the flow of magma, its destination unknown.
As for the ancient dragon lying on the rocky platform, it still showed no movement.
At least, not for now.
Had a third party been watching this dragon, they would have noticed that the moment Riezel activated the Origin Ring, the dragon's eyelids twitched ever so slightly, and as they stirred, the magma surrounding the platform also began to boil faintly.
Yet, with the sea of magma already roiling from Riezel's and Ice Maiden's fierce battle, no one paid this anomaly any attention.
Regardless, the ancient dragon ultimately did not awaken, for the instant its eyelids quivered, the rune pillar pressing upon it lit up briefly, forcing them shut once more.
No one noticed this scene.
Not Riezel.
Not Ice Maiden.
Naturally, not the magic dolls, nor Sigmund.
===
Deep within the ancient ruin, in the stone hall, just as Riezel teleported back, Lizbeth burst out from the rightmost passage, chasing the magic dolls.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Crisp sounds of steel clashing rang out in succession as Lizbeth caught up to several magic dolls, fighting them while dashing through the passage.
"Triplet Maximize Magic - Reality Slash."
Seeing this, Riezel didn't hesitate—he immediately unleashed magic at the fleeing magic dolls.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
Three blades of space-slicing magic shot forth, reaching the magic dolls in an instant.
"!!!"
Sensing danger, the magic dolls froze, trying to react—only to be met with Lizbeth's relentless assault.
"HAAHH!"
Lizbeth's eyes glimmered faintly with a transparent sheen as she cried out and struck.
"Hm?"
Riezel sensed something, startled by the fleeting transparent sheen in Lizbeth's eyes and her thin presence.
Lizbeth closed in on the magic dolls, Moslow in hand, unleashing a storm of sword light.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
One after another, the magic dolls were struck, blood bursting from their chests or limbs, their bodies convulsing as they were blown back—and the direction they were blown back aligned perfectly with the incoming blades of space-slicing magic.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
With cutting sounds, each magic doll was cleaved open—guts spilling, limbs severed, the scene gruesome.
"Maximize Magic - Vermilion Nova."
Riezel struck without mercy.
Seeing the mutilated magic dolls still dragging their broken bodies to escape like mindless puppets, he immediately cast offensive magic, a blazing crimson circle spreading across the floor.
*BOOM!*
In the next instant, surging flames shot skyward, shaking the ceiling violently, burning through it, and swallowing the shattered magic dolls in an inferno.
After some time, the black shadows in the inferno ceased struggling, burned to ashes, and scattered.
Only the charred, gaping ceiling remained, bearing witness to what had happened here.
"Master..." Lizbeth let out a relieved sigh, her nerves finally easing, and hurried toward her master.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Riezel approached, giving her a quick once-over.
"I'm fine." Lizbeth shook her head quickly, puffing her chest instinctively to show she was unharmed.
Riezel's gaze slipped downward to her chest for a moment before he hastily looked away, but after seeing no injuries on her, he finally relaxed.
"Good, you're not hurt." Riezel nodded. "I thought the pressure would overwhelm you."
He knew too well how troublesome the magic dolls were, so he had truly worried Lizbeth would not be able to handle them. Even after endowing her with dozens of defensive and strengthening magic spells beforehand, against magic dolls, he had little confidence in her.
Fortunately, Lizbeth had not let him down.
However, it did not seem to be just luck.
"They... They really were strong. If it weren't for your magic, Master, I wouldn't have stood a chance." Lizbeth tilted her head, looking troubled. "But somehow, as I fought them, their movements suddenly slowed down. My eyes started seeing strange changes, and I could follow their speed easily... It was like... my head suddenly became transparent... Weird..."
Upon hearing this, Riezel blinked his eyes.
'Her head suddenly became transparent?'
Riezel stared straight into Lizbeth's eyes, his gaze growing strange.
Had Lizbeth awakened the Transparent World?
"Can you still see anything now?" Riezel asked, locking eyes with her.
"Now?" Lizbeth looked even more confused.
Seeing this, Riezel began to guide her.
"Focus your mind. Empty your thoughts. Center your awareness at the deepest part of your consciousness…"
Following his guidance, Lizbeth nodded while staring intently at him.
"Ah..."
Soon, Lizbeth let out a small gasp.
"I-I can see it again!"
As she spoke, a faint transparent glow shimmered in her eyes.
It was weak, almost imperceptible unless one looked closely—nowhere near the state Riezel himself had achieved with the Transparent World.
More importantly, her presence also surprisingly thinned until it nearly vanished.
Seeing this, Riezel was convinced—the little princess had indeed awakened the Transparent World and the Selfless State.
'Something like this can really happen?'
Riezel was momentarily at a loss for words.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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