TLWD 49

Chapter : 49. The Lord of Extreme Cold

Kraaa-! Kee- Chuuu-! Arah-!

Kieeeee─!

Amid her hazy consciousness, Serapia heard an unintelligible cacophony.

A tremor shook her entire body.

Serapia felt disoriented, like she was trapped in a dream.

The faint noise gradually became clearer, and it didn’t take long for her to recognize it as the howls and screams of monsters.

Her mind and body were still heavy and groggy.

But the biting air of the snowy mountains quickly snapped her out of it.

And then, the warm body she felt behind her jolted her fully awake.

Serapia’s eyes flew open. She realized she was being carried on someone’s back.

A broad, firm, strong back.

‘Sir Kai…?’

Kai was carrying her while fighting off the monster horde. Every time he stepped, the snowy ground rumbled beneath him.

Kai’s ragged breaths puffed out visibly in white clouds of heat.

The snowy mountain was drenched in red. Countless monster corpses had piled up into a second mountain.

In the distance, another battle echoed.

Serapia looked in that direction.

There, Adrian was fighting a lycanthrope in a fierce battle.

A black wolf and a werewolf.

The two beasts clawed, bit, and wounded each other in a brutal contest.

The repeated thundering booms came from their savage collisions.

As Kai swiftly moved, Serapia’s view spun with him. When it refocused, the lycanthrope appeared to be weakening.

It was moving slower than before, and Adrian’s attacks were leaving deeper and deeper wounds.

Eventually, fear filled the lycanthrope’s eyes.

It suddenly turned its back.

Throwing its massive body down the mountain, it fled desperately.

“Huh…?”

Adrian’s voice sounded blank with disbelief.

Serapia couldn’t see Adrian’s face from here, but she could tell.

Adrian was caught off guard.

At this rate… the lycanthrope would escape.

She needed to use her ability. It was the only way to catch the fleeing creature. But she couldn’t summon the courage.

Serapia bit down hard on her lower lip.

Why was she hesitating? What was she afraid of?

She had fainted like a fool. She’d only been a burden—no help at all.

She had frozen under the weight of the lycanthrope’s monstrous desire. And now—now she was going to do nothing again?

She was scared. She was terrified.

She wanted to run and hide.

But wasn’t Adrian and Kai afraid too?

They had to be scared when fighting the lycanthrope.

When Kai was caught by it, he must’ve wanted to run away.

When Adrian stood against it, he must’ve wanted to hide too.

And yet they didn’t run.

They didn’t hide. They stood and fought.

Now it was Serapia’s turn to fight.

They couldn’t let the lycanthrope escape.

It was the commander of the monster army.

If it escaped, it would one day return to threaten the Count’s domain again—stronger and more prepared.

And when that time came, not even Adrian and Kai would be enough to stop it. Even if the Count’s soldiers sacrificed their lives, it wouldn’t be enough.

Everyone would die.

So she had to do it.

She had no choice.

Even if it meant death.

Serapia’s usually ruby-like red eyes—

Were no longer that color.

Now they were pure white, as if carved from ice, cold and merciless.

Kiiiiiiiiiing—!!

A strange noise sounded as streaks of frost erupted from Serapia’s body.

Kai, who was carrying her, flinched in surprise. He quickly tried to restrain her.

But then—he froze.

Because he hadn’t been granted permission.

No one had.

No movement was allowed here.

The frost spread out from her body, then converged and rose.

A white light shimmered in the air, and the ground was rapidly blanketed in frost.

And all life froze in place.

Not just Kai and me—but the entire monster horde covering the snowy mountain, and even the fleeing lycanthrope—were frozen solid on the spot.

This… was what it meant to be a “Lord.”

One of the six beings the Emperor had “acknowledged” rather than bred or destroyed.

A being on a completely different level from a mere legion commander.

A world encased in ice.

Not even sound remained.

Absolute silence devoured the world, and the air was so cold and heavy it became impossible to breathe.

Even the wind brushing over the snow froze in place. The icy chill bloomed everywhere, like frost petals blossoming into flowers.

Six Lords who served the Emperor.

The greatest enemies of the Allied Forces.

The witch who took Hero Ian’s left arm.

From deep within my mind, memories from my past life—nightmares—began surfacing uncontrollably.

Horrible screams. Cries of agony.

And me, powerless to stop it, forced to watch.

My vision blurred, but I could still clearly make out each and every face.

Begging to be spared. Saying they didn’t want to die. That it hurt too much. Some were buried alive in ice. Others had their limbs torn off in bloody explosions.

I… could only watch the tragedy unfold.

Just like now—completely paralyzed.

Helpless, dumb with fear—as my comrades, my agents, died one after another.

And now, once again—I couldn’t do anything.

Crushed under fear and horror from the overwhelming presence of the Lord of Extreme Cold.

◆ Player’s Will [EX] resists immeasurable fear!
◆ Player’s Will [EX] resists indescribable nightmare!
◆ Player’s Will [EX] resists unexplainable terror!
…

But even though the Player’s Will [EX] continued resisting—it was no use.

That day’s fear, that nightmare, the dread of the Lord of Extreme Cold—it all kept swelling, suffocating me.

Ian’s ability, Player’s Will [EX], didn’t grant total immunity.

It only protected against effects that exceeded my mental limits.

In other words, once something exceeded my capacity—then Player’s Will [EX] would activate.

It merely stopped my mind from collapsing instantly.

Which meant—

Ian was the same.

He could only endure up to his own mental limit.

He had feared too, when facing unknowable terror and the Lord of the Abyss.

Just like us—he had trembled, despaired.

And yet.

He overcame it. He didn’t break.

Because he couldn’t afford to. If he crumbled, everyone who believed in him—every person on the continent—would fall too.

Ian, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.

Once, Ian said this to me:

—Hang in there, Adrian. If you falter, who will the special forces rely on?

Special Forces under the Allied Forces’ Operation HQ.

Commander of Covert Operations.

That was clearly my past. My former life.

But no longer—

That is not my future.

Never again. Never—again—!

I won’t repeat that nightmare.

Fear and terror will now belong to them.

Now it’s my turn to be their nightmare.

I ground my teeth.

It wasn’t enough—I bit my cheek.

Still not enough—I bit my tongue.

I didn’t suppress the pain.

The sharp scent of blood, the blinding pain—

It slowly but surely drove out the fear and dread consuming me.

Serapia had used her ability.

By the time Kai realized it—it was too late.

Ice flowers bloomed all around.

They continued to blossom, gradually expanding their reach.

Their beauty was chilling—lethal with even a graze.

So when Serapia reached out her hand—

Death nestled within beauty.

When I came to, the monster horde had become a field of ice sculptures.

The monsters that once covered the snowy mountain were now silent, grotesque corpses.

No blood flowed.

All was frozen.

Kai’s head was ice-cold, and his breathing labored.

His frozen limbs—numb. No matter how much he drew on aura, he couldn’t move.

Even the lycanthrope was frozen solid. The frost climbed from its legs and rapidly overtook its body.

Thick fur and skin glistened with hoarfrost—

Crystals formed, completely immobilizing the lycanthrope.

Its bodily fluids froze instantly, rupturing its steel-like muscles.

Even its blood froze and shredded its tough veins.

The madness and rage once gleaming in its eyes—

Were now consumed by fear.

Ironically, though, that fear wasn’t directed at Serapia.

“Struggling will be pointless.”

A sudden voice cut through.

The frozen gaze couldn’t verify the source.

But it was unmistakably Adrian.

‘H-How…?’

Shock filled Kai’s eyes.

He knew Adrian had withstood Gelu Drake’s Ice Breath.

But this—was different.

Serapia’s cold made Gelu Drake’s breath seem warm in comparison.

If Kai weren’t inside her protective zone, he’d be dead already.

Even inside it, he couldn’t move.

But Adrian—

“Even the Beast Lord fears the Lord of Extreme Cold.”

The lycanthrope’s eyes widened. It was as if asking—how do you know that?

And then Adrian slowly emerged into view.

His skin was pale and frozen. He exhaled no breath.

His lungs had frozen over—price of stepping into the realm of extreme cold, outside Serapia’s protection.

Even so, Adrian’s eyes didn’t waver.

He stood with transcendent will, pushing his body past its limits.

He stood before the lycanthrope and reached out.

His fingertips were cracked and bluish from frostbite.

Adrian’s face twisted in pain.

But with unyielding will, he grabbed the lycanthrope’s heart.

And smiled.

“If you can, deliver a message to the Beast Lord.”

He looked like a beast—ferocious, consumed by black hatred.

“Tell him I’ll be coming to devour his heart next!”

Adrian ripped out the lycanthrope’s heart.

Blood burst forth—

And froze instantly as it hit the ground.

Hahahahahahahaha!!!

Adrian’s laughter echoed.

A twisted blend of vengeance and madness that made even Kai instinctively recoil.

It happened right after Adrian tore out the lycanthrope’s heart.

◆ You have defeated the Lycanthrope!
◆ Gained 107,506 experience points!
◆ Level up!
◆ Level up!
◆ Level up!
◆ Level up!

Transparent system messages filled my vision.

Proof the lycanthrope was truly dead. At last, I could relax.

And of course, it lived up to its title as a legion commander—what insane EXP.

When I defeated Gelu Drake, I earned around 8,000 XP.

But now, I’d earned over 100,000.

No wonder it was the Beast Lord’s general.

The heart in my hand wasn’t just any heart.

The lycanthrope had been subordinate to the Beast Lord, receiving his power and authority.

That meant this heart contained the genetic imprint of the Beast Lord himself.

The Beast Lord possesses the genetic material of nearly every living creature on the continent.

In some ways, it’s even more potent than a dragon’s.

And some of that was embedded here, in the lycanthrope’s heart.

But if the life force faded, no genetic material could be absorbed.

It was already half-frozen—there wasn’t much time.

I immediately brought the heart to my mouth.

Crunch!

It felt like biting into solid ice, not flesh. I sensed no vitality.

But perhaps thanks to the lycanthrope’s immense life force—

Thankfully, it wasn’t completely dead yet.

Still, time was short.

I quickly stuffed the heart into my mouth.

And just as I swallowed the last piece—

◆ KIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEHHH!!!!!!!

A dramatic system message popped up before my eyes.