***
After concluding our business in Hachiman's domain, the dwarves and I immediately made our way toward Shizuka's domain.
The moment we entered, they perished instantly from the astronomical drop in temperature and the overwhelming density of magic.
This happened even though they were under the protection of my White Water defense.
Those poor dwarves had already endured so much over the past few hours. Even as punishment, this felt excessively harsh. Still, I decided to allow the magic to torment them for a while longer.
They would need to use this experience—the biting cold and suffocating pressure—as practice for the inevitable day when they faced an enemy who wielded ice-type abilities.
I turned my gaze away from their fallen bodies and began scanning the environment. We stood in the middle of a relentless blizzard at the threshold of Shizuka's domain.