EP.117 33-3. Even Roses Made of Glass Have Thorns.
***
The Northern Princess and her reinforcements were busy looking for the Apostle of Wrath.
White snow was falling, and the whole world had turned pure white.
In that place, four figures were crossing through the fiercely approaching group of monsters.
Even docile-looking deer or rabbits, who seemed to have been affected by the apostle's power, rushed to bite them, and
"It's dangerous if we're surrounded!"
The strategist Princess began to take command. It was the moment when her quick and clear brain shone.
"Euhahaha! I know!"
Drake took out a long sword as tall as himself from behind his back, and laughed loudly, causing the monsters to stop.
The swordsmanship used by the Dragonslayer was slightly different from Licht's. It felt like he had modified what he originally used.
「Dark Light Slash!!」
From the beginning, he was the creator of Drake-style swordsmanship, and he had even told Licht that he could apply it in this way.
Not as good as the ultimate skill, but a reinforcement of the 'concept' of cutting a dark target and damaging something bright, like Shadow Slash.
"This should be enough for the front!"
With that horizontally long slash, the monsters in front of them fell like lamps in the wind.
"Thank you, Dragonslayer..!"
"I am the daughter of Iron Blood, no need for thanks!"
The Northern Princess, wielding a spear with an ice tip, blocking the teeth and claws of bears and wolves, fluttered her long black hair, and
"Sophitia, be careful."
"Thanks, Phine."
Next to her, Princess Phine Gransia was creating glass clones and protecting her. The transparent, phantom-like clones were delivering slashes.
"..As expected, she's Roque's daughter."
Asha Aureus spoke softly in a voice that couldn't be heard, seeing dozens of heavily armored knights defending the flanks.
The force was similar to that of Emperor Roque, who she had seen in the past war, turning solid ice golems into powder in an instant.
It didn't make sense that such strength came from a slender girl, but it was somewhat possible if she inherited the blood of the Ten Greats.
Nex also had a natural talent for spirits, but he just couldn't bloom.
「Helios Midnight.」
Asha floated a large sun in the air like someone else, preventing the surrounding monsters from approaching because they couldn't withstand the heat.
"Everyone will be okay up to here."
The spirit, the golden phoenix, was currently roaming the Northern defense line, preventing the enemies from coming down, so she could only use weak skills.
It would be nice to use the Phoenix Cradle like before Licht and his party came, but she couldn't move from its range.
In the end, it was a situation where it could only become a war of attrition if they didn't deal with the apostles. The Living Sun was in the rear because she couldn't use her spirit properly.
At that time, golden wolf eyes in a glass helmet were sensing something strange.
"Sophitia. These guys, each and every one of them, is strange."
"Phine? What's strange?"
A slightly awkward point that they were enraged monsters was captured in Phine's eyes. Weren't they trying to attack them like a trained army?
They looked like low-ranking monsters like a disorganized rabble, but the speed at which they rushed was constant. Moreover, they don't fight among themselves.
"..There's someone giving orders."
"I thought so too."
Hearing those words, the Princess lowered her black bear ears and felt a bad premonition.
"They were trying to break down the walls of our Caprostia as well."
In fact, it was suspicious from the start that they were ramming their heads into the walls built in the North and trying to break them down. If they were simply angry, they wouldn't have come down from the mountains.
"It's dangerous if they invade the Northern Territory and enrage people…."
Sophitia opened her mouth, having noticed this point in advance. The movement of wielding her spear became faster, and
"..There's also a reason why I asked the Empire for help."
She took the basic stance that Licht had shown before, and it immediately led to a change in motion and turned into a downward strike.
「White Bear Strike.」
Kadeudeudeuk. A bear carved out of ice was created from the tip of Sophitia Coldheart's spear, and the pure white polar bear scratched the ground strongly, inflicting wounds on the enemy.
It was a large attack that shook the earth, but the offensive showed no sign of decreasing.
"Phine, in fact, the surroundings should be roughly cleared by now."
Asha's spiritism, Drake's swordsmanship, Phine's glass magic, and her spearmanship, she said in a calm tone, seeing the monsters rushing in without fear of death.
"But it's not! These guys don't know the fear of death! Just like my disciple!"
"..Licht."
It was the Grand Sword Master who was blowing up the front like a balloon by repeatedly flying slashes similar to Reverse Scale Thrust, but the enraged monsters were crossing over it even with the corpses piling up.
"Asha, let's just burn this area."
"I understand, Princess."
Sophitia took out a small bottle from her bosom. A hip flask that looks like a container for alcohol. Click, the lid opened, and
"It smells like vodka, Sophitia."
The princess, who is an Inurang tribe with a sensitive nose, noticed the contents inside.
"What's wrong with that, we're adults now, unlike in the old days. Phine."
Northerners who live in cold places sometimes drink strong alcohol to forget the cold.
"I like beer though…."
Seeing her friend who noticed that fact, the Northern Princess smiled a little. Phine felt a strange sense of alienation at that expression, but
"Dragonslayer, please take this!"
Because the princess threw the liquor bottle in front of Drake right away, she didn't have time to think about the momentary change in detail.
"Euhahaha! I know this too!"
Drake took a stance again in order to use a technique that slightly twisted Vacuum Slash. The weakness of the swordsmanship he created is that it takes a long time to prepare and requires pre-motion.
「Huryong Slash!!」
Unlike the one Licht uses, a blade of wind flies in the form of a dragon. Dragons with multiple heads like hydras appeared, and
"Drake, I've told you before, send a signal."
The liquor bottle that the Northern Princess had thrown in advance was cut like paper by the swordsmanship. The moment the contents inside were scattered forward on the wind.
"It's hard to match up with muscle brains."
Asha Aureus flicked her fingers and summoned a small flame. At the same time, a small sparrow flying like a firebird.
「Phoenix Ignition.」
Hwarrrr. Golden feathers fluttered in the air, and the two techniques mixed together. The blade of wind, which had turned into flames, burned all the monsters in front of it at once.
"It's dangerous. The fire's spreading.."
Phine blocked the fire sparks from flying to strange places and causing a fire with glass walls, and
The offensive of the monsters that kept rushing in was blocked by the walls and flames, and a situation arose where they were repeatedly burned to death even if they lost their minds due to anger and rushed in.
As soon as a gap was created where they could finally catch their breath,
"Phine, you seem to have changed."
"Sophitia too, the same goes for you."
Seeing that, the Northern Princess perked up her bear ears and showed interest. Not wanting to be outdone, the princess also noticed the change in the girl's behavior and retorted.
"Did you get caught? A new person came to the North."
A smile that was unlike Sophitia, who had an icy heart.
"..Who is it?"
Watching that, Phine felt a slight sense of kinship. It was because her friend, who seemed cold, suddenly looked bright.
She herself would have been a lonely and sad person like Sophitia in her memories if it wasn't for Licht, who was wearing a Dark Knight helmet.
"Should I call him a strange man who is incredibly good at chess?"
"A strange man..?"
Unable to accept Sophitia's sudden change, Phine kept tilting her head, trying to figure out who that person was.
A man who is good at chess, it's not Licht for now. He had never played chess when he was with her, and he didn't seem to know the Northern Princess.
The glass knight, who was about to burst out with jealousy, barely calmed her heart.
"Yeah, at first I thought he was a bear-like guy who was holed up in my palace and just eating food."
Sophitia, who was looking at the organized monsters and reorganizing the situation, smiled while thinking of the man who remained strongly in her memory, and
"I invited him to dinner to poison him…. and he said something strange."
"Sophitia, were you trying to do that again..?"
She took out a scary story that didn't match her face. Chills ran down her spine, and Phine shuddered, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.
As such, Sophitia Coldheart is originally the ruler of the North who takes the number to deal with her if she doesn't think they are on her side.
She had quickly become ruthless towards the human group after losing her father in the war in the past.
"At first, I thought the apostle was at the top. Phine."
The explanation continued in the way that the only reason why even the monsters who mainly live at the top came down to the foot of the mountain was that. But Sophitia shook her head.
"But that guy said, it seems the Apostle of Wrath used bait or something."
"Huh? Sophitia..? Over there…"
Phine pointed to a cave that had been revealed by a large fire burning around it. Monsters were not popping out from inside it, and
"After sharing our opinions, we agreed. That they must be hiding in a safe place deep in the mountains."
Only strong enemies were stationed around it, as if they were trying to defend that place.
"In the end, it turned out the way that guy said it would.."
Only then did the Northern Princess nod her head as if it had gone according to plan. Judging the opponent, she made the judgment that if she ambushed them, she could deal with them.
"Anyway, as soon as the story was over, he stuffed the poisoned food into his mouth. I tried to stop him right away, but it was too late."
"Gasp. What do I do..?"
Pointing to the cave, she sent a signal to Drake and Asha, who were around, and the Northern Princess was preparing to enter.
"He immediately collapsed on the table and barely detoxified it."
"Sophitia, that was too much.."
"Me? Ha, Phine, it's because you didn't see what that bastard was doing."
The enraged other monsters couldn't cross over because of the glass walls and flames. She gave a word to the Glass Knight, smiling while watching that scene.
"Turns out, he's a crazy bastard who noticed that it was poisoned and ate it anyway."
"..."
"He said that the poison given by the princess was a reward or something…. Anyway, he's a strange man."
It was her frowning as if recalling that time, but a small arc was drawn on her lips. It didn't seem like it was a bad memory.
"..He's similar to Licht."
"And he's also a fool who suddenly had to fix my heart and left the North."
Sophitia slammed her spear into the ground again.
As if showing the dignity of the ruler who governs the land of Iron Blood.
"I'm fine though. I don't even know what he's doing now. Really."
Jeojeok, an ice flower bloomed and froze the high-ranking monsters blocking the front of the cave.
"He was also talking about that hero named Licht before. Phine."
"What..? Really..?"
Leaving behind the enemies that had turned into ice sculptures, she took a step into the dark cave with no end in sight.
"He said that the guy who looks like a Dark Knight is crazier than him, so be careful."
"More than the man Sophitia was talking about..?"
The black-haired girl with a ponytail hair cut down on a certain Dark Knight who wasn't in this place.
"Yeah, so I tested him last time."
Phine was sulking with her cheeks puffed up in her glass helmet, feeling like she was slandering her precious person, but
"We can't have perverts around our noble princess."
"I guess that's right.."
In the end, it was the right thing to say, so she had no choice but to accept it.