Volume 12 Chapter 5 You Are Me
Ice stared at Hel as she rode away from her, and she was tightening her mouth at her mistake.
"I should've stopped her then, no matter what it took..."
She couldn't forgive her own carelessness. As she thought about it, Ice learned something from Hel's back figure.
"――Horses can move like that, huh?"
Ice blinked several times, understanding. She remembered, and then imitated.
"Ice Create!"
Ice summoned an ice horse beneath her feet. Controlling it with ease, Ice chased after Hel.
The path was narrow. It was only natural, given they were inside the castle. However, the path Hel took widened and lengthened according to her will.
So Ice boosted the ice horse's speed. Thud, thud, thud, she rode the horse, desperately trying not to let Hel escape.
"――Don't follow me!"
"That's an impossible request, I'm afraid..."
Hel launched an ice arrow-like attack from the front, but Ice's ice bird destroyed them all. The ice bird was intelligent and could handle attacks of this level.
Hel manipulated the castle, creating icicles from the ground and walls. However, the ice horse could regenerate quickly, and Ice protected himself with his Cold Armor.
"Then, how about this?"
"This much is nothing!"
A sudden trap hole appeared in front of her. But Ice wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice. She gave the ice horse wings, allowing it to jump over the massive hole that a normal horse couldn't clear.
"Ugh, you're so persistent... You must be a nuisance to anyone who likes you!"
"You're one to talk, someone who's been waiting for their family for hundreds of years!"
"That's rude! It's been thousands of years, tens of thousands of years!"
Ice thought while exchanging words and counterattacking.
If she could send more ice soldiers here, victory would be close. But since Hel is escaping through the castle's internal passage, there's almost no gap to pursue her, and she has no choice but to chase her directly.
What Ice want is a breakthrough.
Hel, the Queen of the Land of the Dead, a half-dead, half-alive existence. She's the Demon King that she has seen in her dreams, repeating itself in Nilfheim.
She's jealous, which means she's directed her emotions at her. A strong emotions. That's what she need to take down a superior god.
And...
"Hel is still hiding her hand... I can't let my guard down..."
Ice recalled the instant she avoided Wade and Sandra's surprise attack.
Those 2 are almost as fast as the world's top speed. Seeing Hel escape now, she can't think that she can surpass her with just speed.
She think that, apart from Domain Control, which can stop time, there's another technique to freeze time. In other words, Ice also has access to time-stopping sorcery.
And if that's used carelessly, she'll lose.
"――――I absolutely can't lose here...!"
If she loses, Wade will lose too. That's something she absolutely can't accept.
So she'll chase her. She'll mimic the movements of the ice horse, steal its essence, and then engrave it.
"How's this...?"
The ice horse's movements slipped out of her control. In other words, it's the same treatment as the ice soldiers and ice birds. She'll engrave runes in the ice horse's head, making it act autonomously.
Indeed, that's when ice horse's movements became more stable. Following Ice's will, ice horse galloped even faster and stronger. As a result, Ice focused on responding to Hel's pursuit.
However, the time spent on such countermeasures...
Was also utilized well by Hel's side.
"Is this...?"
"Mm."
In Hel's hand, the ice bird took shape. As the ice bird chirped, Hel gently stroked ice horse while speaking.
"Bird. It's good, isn't it? The Devil Eye also has similar functions, but the bird has something the Devil Eye doesn't."
Hel's ice bird suddenly flew up with a "Chirp" sound. Ice felt an intense sense of crisis and shuddered.
Hel laughed.
"Is this what they call a Bird Strike?"
The ice bird swooped down at an incredible speed, grazing Ice's cheek. Blood dripped from Ice's cheek. Immediately after, a sharp, freezing sound echoed from behind.
"It can fly freely, and its aim is accurate, plus it's heavy, so its power surpasses that of an arrow. Moreover, it can share vision, making it an excellent motif."
Ice realized she had underestimated her opponent. She could grow by mimicking her enemy. Naturally, her opponent would do the same.
At the same time, the improvements her opponent made would also become Ice's nourishment. Ice gritted her teeth, biting her lip strongly.
Create... a bird.
"Monkey mimicry won't work on me."
Hel's Bird Strike shattered Ice's ice bird. The speed at which they created ice birds was exactly the same for both Ice and Hel.
On the other hand, the difference lay in their speed. Ice's ice bird would always be in pursuit. In contrast, Hel only released it from behind.
It's probably not that different if one think about it habitually, but there's a bird. What's troubled by air resistance even more is Ice.
Ice and Hel have almost the same specs. The difference is the deep, divine magic seal engraved near the gods, and Hel, who fell from the gods to become the Demon King. However, in terms of pursuit and evasion, Hel has the advantage of being in a fortress.
What to do? While thinking that, Ice continues to create ice birds to avoid direct hits. As she thinks deeper, an idea strikes her.
"This might work!"
She creates a shield. With that, she can deflect several bird strikes from Hel.
Behind that, she creates 2 ice birds. If she only sends one flying, it'll get crushed by Hel. That's why she needs another one that won't get crushed.
But even if she hits Hel, it's only one blow. If she hits Hel cleanly, she might be able to kill it, but it'll just revive anyway. That doesn't have much meaning.
"So..."
She has one of the ice birds pierce through Hel. Ice birds are faster than ice horses. So she sends it flying even further and multiplies it.
"Flock of Bird Strike... thanks for the idea!"
The countless ice birds, like a spear formation, attack Hel with Bird Strike.
"Naah!"
Hel falls off her horse. As Hel falls, Ice also reduces the speed of her ice horse.
But Ice doesn't fall. Ice doesn't count herself as a direct combat force. So she thoroughly avoids risks.
Now, she summons 3 ice soldiers. They move swiftly and approach Hel once again, launching a surprise attack.
"This is the end... Queen Hell."
By this point, even a powerful warrior who specializes in direct combat would find it difficult to counterattack. That's because Hel is a sorcerer who excels at indirect, long-range combat. There's no way to resist.
The Ice Warrior's spearhead is closing in on Hel. Those who charge directly, those who attack from the right and left, are forming a formation that won't let Hel escape in an instant, but――――
"It was close, wasn't it?"
Ice is burning with heat in her abdomen.
"It was really close, wasn't it? If it were just one second earlier, I'll be defeated... but I could have used my hidden technique――time freeze magic, and avoided defeat."
Ice looks down. She sees the spear stuck in her abdomen.
The Ice Spear. Something Ice created simultaneously with the Ice Warrior. It was stolen from the Ice Warrior and is now being held by Hel herself, piercing Ice's abdomen.
"I've been had," Ice thinks. Despite being on guard, she let her guard down and was caught off guard, allowing her to get close and defeat her.
"Ice-sama, you were truly a strong magician. I'm thrilled that a magician like you was born from my magic seal. ...that's why."
Hel says with a mix of relief and warning.
"Please, go to a different hell in a different mythological realm. If you appear in this Nilfheim, I'll definitely tear you apart out of jealousy. So please, go to a different hell."
The spear is pulled out. Ice's strength drains from her body. She can't withstand the burning pain and falls off her horse.
Breathing is painful. Her abdomen is unbearably hot, while the rest of her body feels like it's about to freeze.
I'm going to die, Ice thinks. She's going to lose. Wade's defeat is also certain with her loss.
She was on guard, but... she doesn't know how she could've dodged it. The answer doesn't come out. Her thoughts are all jumbled. She's hot. She's cold. She's frustrated.
"Ugh, ugh...!"
Ice can only groan. Tears spill out. Clenching her teeth firmly, she presses her hand against her stomach, trembling.
Freeze it. Seal the wound.
Ice stands up, supported only by her love for Wade.
Luckily, Hel was letting her guard down. Just like Ice, who had confidently declared victory against Hel just a little while ago.
So, her back was completely open. And that's where Ice was.
She grits her teeth.
"―――――!? No, stop, please stop!"
Ice is knocked back and almost falls over, on the brink of death.
But her determination is different. Ice deploys her ice soldiers. Because they're autonomous, they don't falter. The two ice soldiers move swiftly, piercing Hel's body and pinning her to the wall.
"Ughhhhh!!"
Hel screams, and Ice starts to crawl forward, her face to the ground.
Even as she bleeds and her lost limbs are frozen, her internal organs on the verge of freezing and shattering, she crawls.
"No, stop, please stop! Stop it!"
Hel tries to stand up, clinging to the wall, and attempts to escape by transforming the castle. But she's flipped over by the ice soldiers, pierced from the front, and nailed to the wall, screaming in agony.
Her figure looks like she's been crucified.
"It hurts...! No, I can't... I can't focus... I can't use sorcery...!"
And no help comes to this place.
This Domain Control is such a place. Everyone is frozen in Helheim (Hell), after all.
Ice says.
"I'm thinking... it's you, isn't it? I'm you, and you're me. We're so alike, it's like we're reincarnations of each other..."
"W-what are you saying?! Stop, please stop...! I-I'm scared...! It's okay if I lose, so just spare me..."
"I'm also jealous, you know. I didn't want to give Wade-kun to Toxy-chan or Sandra-chan either. But I realized I couldn't make Wade-kun happy on my own. So even though I didn't want to, I had no choice..."
Ice placed her hand on Hel's throat. Hel's face contorted in agony, "N-no...! S-stop, p-please..."
"But I still want Wade-kun to be happy. I want to return the favor, since I've become this happy being by Wade-kun's side. But it's hard, and I can't think of a way..."
Ice bit down on Hel's throat again.
She tore into the flesh, chewed, and swallowed, relishing the metallic taste.
"I-it hurts! P-please stop! Ice-sama, I beg of you, don't eat me! Why, why are you doing this...?"
Hel's face turned pale, and she gazed at Ice with a look of realization, "I-I see..."
Ice wiped the blood from her mouth and gazed down at Hel.
"You're me. The world has acknowledged that. Dance, and eat..."
―――This was Ice's original plan. The strategy for her comeback, the only time she failed to kill a god.
That was the only way to obtain the authority of the Demon King Hel by devouring her whole. There was no other way for Ice to remain in the Wade party.
"I'm the same as you."
Ice muttered, Hel's body crumbling as she devoured Hel's flesh.
"If I were normal, I'd be useless, just waiting for everyone to come back. But I'm not like that. I couldn't bear waiting for Wade-kun to return, trembling with anxiety and crying my eyes out. That's absolutely not me."
So Ice didn't hold back.
Gulping down Hel's body, Ice made sounds like "gulch, gulch" as she ate. Hel, being devoured, couldn't resist and only begged for mercy.
"Help me, please help me. No, no, I don't want to be eaten by you. I want to be myself."
But Ice was not a demon. She didn't has a body designed for devouring. So, she slowly and carefully stuffed Hel's body into her stomach, taking a long time to do so.
Even during that time, Hel remained conscious.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've done terrible things. But please, don't make me suffer like this. The Ragnarok has already been decided, and many people will die. But at least, let it be by their hands, not yours..."
As time passed, Hel's pleas turned into a cry for atonement.
"Oh God, no, it can't be... God, it's not me, so it can't be..."
―――Lord.
"Oh, Lord. Oh, Creator. You, who are not a god, created this world. You bring no revenge through faith, only blessings, oh Lord."
And atonement turns into prayer.
"Oh, Lord, have mercy, forgive, please."
Ice, while repeatedly losing consciousness, continues to devour Hel's body with determination.
Blood. Flesh. Bones.
All of that.
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