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I suddenly heard a woman’s voice.
However, the voice was layered multiple times, making it sound eerie.
“Yuuya? Is something wrong?”
“…Luna, didn’t you hear that voice just now?”
In other words, I was the only one who could hear that voice.
It couldn’t have been my imagination. I heard it clearly.
“Just : Let’s freeze everyone and take them in.”
Convinced that I had heard a voice, I rushed out of the mountain hut.
A fierce blizzard hit me immediately.
It wasn’t just cold; it seemed to contain ice shards that cut into my skin with sharp pain.
“…Question. Why did you go outside?”
Luna and Yuti rushed over to check on me.
“Both of you, stay inside the hut.”
“It’s okay. I’ll manage somehow.”
I said this with a smile to reassure them. Luna nodded once, looking like she wanted to say something. Then she went back inside the mountain hut with Yuti.
Now alone outside, I fixed my sharp gaze on the sky.
“! Ah, ahahahahahaha!”
The moment I asked, a fierce blizzard began to form.
I was almost sucked in by the force, but I managed to hold my ground and endure it.
Then, the blizzard gradually changed shape and finally revealed itself.
“You must be a strange human to be able to hear my voice.”
It was a woman clad in a snow-white robe.
She had transparent white hair and cold, icy eyes.
Everything about her was different. Although she looked human, it was clear that she was not.
“What am I… Unfortunately, I do not know. I simply awoke here.”
So, this woman was suddenly born in this place?
“Even so, I understand even as a newborn that I am not ordinary. I know that ordinary humans cannot recognize me. But, for some reason, you seem to be able to recognize me. It’s a truly mysterious situation.”
I don’t understand, but I could recognize this woman, who should be unrecognizable to ordinary humans.
The mystery deepened, but for now, we needed to get out of here.
“…For now, just get us out of here.”
Realizing that we could communicate, I told the woman immediately.
But she smiled slyly and tilted her head.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m not ordinary. Why should I move for an ordinary human? Besides, I just found a human who looks like a toy right in front of me. It would be a waste not to play with him.”
The moment I furrowed my brows, a huge ice ball suddenly hit me!
I twisted my body, dodging the attack, and the woman laughed.
“Ahahahaha! You dodged that. You’re quite an interesting human. I know humans are supposed to be fragile creatures. But I don’t sense any fragility in you. In fact, I sense more vitality in you than in anyone else in this world. Ufufufu! Interesting, interesting! I want you!”
Then, a fierce blizzard spread from the woman’s body, branching into countless pieces that spun like tornadoes.
Inside the violently swirling blizzard, countless ice shards flew about. If they hit me directly, they would turn my body into mincemeat.
“Come on, entertain me!”
I immediately jumped back and dodged the blizzard tornado.
However, all my powers, including magic, were restricted, so I could only use my physical abilities.
“Damn it… I can’t use any of my powers for some reason.”
Even my demonic powers and divine authority were useless in this space.
Still, I somehow managed to dodge the woman’s attacks and shouted,
“Get us out of here!”
“Hmph. Don’t make me say it again. Why should I abandon such an enjoyable situation just to help humans? Rest assured. After freezing you all here, I’ll properly collect you as my treasures and cherish you.”
“There’s no way I can accept that!”
I shouted again. The woman opened her mouth with a look of disbelief.
“It’s not a matter of accepting or not accepting. I am the embodiment of nature. There’s no way humans can defeat nature. Therefore, this is a done deal. If you dis decision, try restraining me by force.” Official source ıs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝘯𝘦𝘵
As she said this, her body turned to snow and melted into the blizzard.
Then, a fierce blizzard engulfed me from all directions, closing in on me.
“Hahahahaha! As the first one, I’ll freeze you solid as a souvenir!”
The woman’s joyful voice echoed through the air.
“Kaede, don’t fall asleep!”
“Wake up! If you fall asleep, you’ll die.”
While Yuuya was fighting the snow-covered woman outside,
Inside the mountain hut, Kaede and Kaori, who had already reached their limits, were on the verge of falling asleep.
Luna and Yuti desperately called out to them.
However, Lexia and Merl were also nearing their limits.
“Yuuya-sama will save us somehow…”
Despite that, Lexia believed in Yuuya and tried desperately to stay conscious.
A fierce blizzard surrounded me on all sides.
I couldn’t just stand there and take it, though.
I couldn’t use any magic that would interfere with this space, so I took the Omni-Sword out of my Item Box and got into position immediately.
“Haha! Do you think you can fight me, the embodiment of nature, with a mere stick? How ridiculous! Freeze in place!”
Mocking me, the fierce blizzard surged forward.
I aimed at the blizzard and swung the Omni-Sword with all my might.
The Omni-Sword sliced through the blizzard in an instant. However, it immediately merged with the other blizzards and returned to normal, attacking me.
“It’s useless! No matter how much you struggle, you humans can’t possibly defeat a natural phenomenon!”
Not only was there a fierce blizzard, but ice shards were also flying toward me. I couldn’t dodge them, and they hit me squarely in the stomach.
I managed to get back on my feet, but another blizzard immediately struck me, lifting my body into the air.
My body fell to the ground without any resistance.
“Come on, entertain me!”
The woman who had returned to human form from the blizzard raised her hands.
Then, a blizzard erupted from her raised right hand, lifting me into the air once more.
Furthermore, she summoned ice shards from her hand and arranged them around me as I floated.
Suddenly, the ice shards around me attacked me all at once.
“Ugh… Uoooooooooooo!”
I mustered all my strength, swung my sword, and cut down all the approaching ice shards.
Using that momentum, I rushed toward the woman and swung my sword at her.
In response, she swung her right hand and created an ice wall in front of her to protect herself.
However, the ice wall was no match for my sword. In an instant, I destroyed it and attempted to sever her right arm.
For some reason, the woman turned toward me without taking a defensive stance. As a result, I succeeded in slicing her open from the top of her head.
“I told you it was useless!”
Indeed, the sword had struck the woman’s body…or so I thought.
However, the woman, split vertically in two, stood there as if nothing had happened, laughing mockingly.
“I am the embodiment of nature. You cannot cut me.”
Then she swung her right arm again, and a blizzard erupted, blowing me away.
I fell to the ground.
As the woman said, even if I unleashed the idle strike, it would have no effect.
It was an ambiguous entity that defied the concept of existence—something that existed yet did not exist.
Therefore, the “idle strike,” which could cut through concepts, was powerless against something that could not be cut.
Really? Was there nothing I could do?