Chapter 106—The Frozen Abyss.
Chapter 106—The Frozen Abyss.
The humid air, lush emerald canopy, and thick scent of primordial sap from Floor 16 dissolved into pure mana dust as the spatial portal behind Thorne’s throne collapsed into non-existence.
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[WORLD SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!]
FACTION ’SOVEREIGN’ HAS ASCENDED TO FLOOR 17!
ZONE ENTERED: The Frozen Abyss of Niflheim—Glacial Glades
HAZARD RATING: TIER-SS+ (Absolute Zero Frost & Cryo-Brittle Curse)
SPECIAL RULE: Frostbite Decay—Non-Sovereign Entities Suffer 7% Movement Speed & Physical Defense Loss Every 30 Seconds!
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When Kaelen stepped out of the spatial rift, the contrast was absolute and brutal.
They emerged onto a massive, jagged cliff of blue cosmic ice overlooking a vast, frozen expanse. Towering glaciers the size of mountain ranges rose into a dark, aurora-lit night sky.
Jagged spires of frozen mana reached upwards like frozen spears, and a relentless, howl-like blizzard swept across the bluffs, carrying shards of dark frost capable of shattering standard steel armor like thin glass.
The temperature sat well below absolute zero, thick enough to freeze blood solid in a heartbeat.
"Now this is a sharp turn," Ignis grunted, pulling his fur-lined collar tighter before chuckling darkly. He rested his heavy claymore on his shoulder as thick black dragon flames flared along the dark steel, instantly melting the ice that attempted to form around his boots.
"From a boiling furnace to a damp jungle, and now straight into a giant freezer! My flames are going to have plenty of work to do here!"
"The thermal levels are dangerously low," Ren reported, her crisp voice coming through the communication link as her gauntlet projected icy-blue holographic diagnostics. Polarized thermal shields coated her suit, humming softly to stabilize her internal core.
"My tactical sensors indicate Floor 17 is an ancient glacial abyss governed by frost giants and cryo-elementals."
She recalibrated her scanning arrays, evaluating the structural conditions. "Standard ice and water magic are completely useless here. However, Fire, Lightning, and Spatial Void attributes maintain 100% operational efficiency."
"A realm of absolute ice," Tsubaki whispered, emerging silently from the deep shadow cast by a jagged glacier. His red eyes scanned the blizzard-covered valley below.
"My shadow scouts report that Floor 17 is under the absolute command of The Frost Monarch Cryor-Vex, who rules from the central Glacial Citadel."
Lyra stood beside Kaelen, her soft hand wrapped comfortably in his dark-gloved grip. The completed Key of the Holy Grail within Kaelen’s chest core pulsed with a soothing, golden radiance, expanding a golden protective sphere around their squad that completely neutralized the environmental frostbite curse and kept the howling blizzard at bay.
"No cold can ever touch us while I am in your arms, Kaelen," Lyra whispered softly, her bright blue eyes filled with quiet, absolute devotion as she looked up into his handsome face. "The freezing cold of this realm is nothing more than a faint breeze before your presence."
"The cold is merely matter frozen in fear, my light," Kaelen purred smoothly, his low velvet voice cutting through the roaring glacial winds. He gently caressed her hand, his dark violet eyes gleaming with cold, golden-ringed authority. "Cryor-Vex can pretend to freeze this world... until he learns the Void erases cold and heat alike."
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[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION!]
THE KEY TO THE HOLY GRAIL IS ACTIVATED!
EFFECT: Sovereign Thermal Barrier Active! All squad members gain 100% immunity to frostbite decay & absolute zero hazards!
RESONANCE: Floor 17 Waystone Location Identified!
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Suddenly, the frozen valley beneath the cliff shook violently!
ROAAAAAAAR!
The glacial cliff shuddered as thousands of giant frost-clad warriors riding massive, armored ice drakes erupted through the thick wall of snow!
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[AMBUSH INITIATED!]
HOSTILE ENTITIES: 2,000x Niflheim Frost Vanguard (Level 186 Elite)
COMMANDER: General Frost-Bane — The Glacial Shatterer (Level 188 Tier-EX)
OBJECTIVE: Freeze the Intruders into Slag!
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"WARM-BLOODED TRESPASSERS!" General Frost-Bane roared from the front of the frost-drake formation. He stood thirty feet tall, clad in armor made of dark cosmic ice and wielding a colossal battleaxe dripping with liquid nitrogen. "YOU DARE SET FOOT UPON THE SACRED GLACIERS OF HIS MAJESTY CRYOR-VEX?! BE FROZEN FOR ETERNITY AND SHATTERED INTO DUST!"
Two thousand Frost Vanguard warriors raised their icy spears in unison, unleashing a colossal wave of absolute-zero frost beams that tore through the blizzard, surging directly toward Kaelen’s position!
BOOOOOOM!
"Let me melt these oversized ice cubes!" Ignis roared with a wild laugh, leaping fifty feet into the freezing air as his claymore flared into a massive pillar of black-and-gold dragon fire!
"Dragon Fire Art: Black Inferno Slash!"
Ignis swung his blade in a sweeping arc! A three-hundred-meter wave of black dragon flame swept across the sky, flash-melting one thousand Frost Vanguard warriors and their ice-drakes instantly, turning their dark ice armor into steaming mist mid-air!
"Shadow Style: Frost-Severing Crescent!" Tsubaki flickered between the falling ice spires like a shadow, his dark katana leaving behind black spatial cuts that severed the mana cores of six hundred frost warriors before they could even react!
"System Hack: Cryo-Disruptor Resonance!"
Ren deployed twenty sonic pylons into the ice wall. The resulting high-frequency vibrations shattered the molecular structure of the remaining four hundred frost warriors, causing them to explode into harmless snow dust!
General Frost-Bane watched his army annihilated in under two minutes, his fiery blue eyes burning with shock and rage.
"IMPOSSIBLE! MORTAL FLESH CANNOT RESIST THE FROST OF NIFLHEIM!" Frost-Bane roared, raising his giant battleaxe and diving from his ice-drake like a blue meteor, aiming straight for Kaelen’s head!
"Glacial Secret Art: Absolute Zero Shatter!"
Kaelen didn’t even shift his footing.
He took one calm step forward, his dark coat billowing gracefully in the intense icy draft generated by the falling general.
His slender dark-gloved fingers wrapped around the hilt of the Void Blade.
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[PASSIVE EFFECT: Void Sovereign’s Eye]
TARGET WEAKNESS DETECTED: Ice Core at Upper Chest Node!
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Kaelen purred softly, a cold, dark smile touching his lips as he drew his dark blade by half an inch.
SHING!
A razor-thin line of pitch-black spatial deletion flared across the frozen air.
"Void Art: Spatial Deletion—Glacial Sever!"
SKRRRRRRRAASH!
The half-inch draw of dark steel made no loud sound, but the spatial line expanded six hundred meters across the open abyss!
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[CRITICAL HIT!]
TARGET: General Frost-Bane & 400x Niflheim Frost Vanguard
DAMAGE DEALT: 210,000,000 (Pure Spatial Eradication)
DEFENSE NEGATED: 100%!
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[FORCE OBLITERATED!]
CASUALTIES: General Frost-Bane & Glacial Vanguard (Eradicated!)
EXP RECEIVED: 40,000,000 Points!
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"AAAAAAARGH!" General Frost-Bane let out an agonizing metallic shriek as his thirty-foot body, his battleaxe, and his remaining troops were sliced horizontally in half mid-air!
The pitch-black spatial cut erased their icy forms and frost cores instantly into glowing blue experience particles.
Kaelen smoothly clicked the Void Blade back into its sheath.
CLICK.
The roaring blizzard pressure that had filled the canyon vanished instantly, replaced once again by the quiet, golden warmth of the squad’s domain.
"Impeccable as always, My Lord," Tsubaki said, landing softly behind Kaelen with a deep bow.
"These ice giants thought absolute zero could stop us," Ignis laughed, resting his heavy claymore on his shoulder. "They forgot our sovereign commands space itself."
Ren checked her holographic displays, scanning the colossal frozen fortress carved into the side of the highest glacier—The Glacial Citadel.
"My Lord, the elimination of General Frost-Bane has alerted the entire floor," Ren reported. "The Frost Monarch Cryor-Vex is activating his absolute-zero defense grid surrounding the Glacial Citadel.
"Let him activate every defense he possesses," Kaelen purred smoothly, turning back to Lyra and taking her soft hand into his once more. Her bright blue eyes shone with warmth as she held his hand tight. "It simply saves us the trouble of hunting him down."
Lyra smiled sweetly, leaning close against his side as they began walking across the frozen bridge leading toward the central citadel. "Lead the way, Kaelen. The frozen abyss is yours."
Kaelen purred softly, his dark violet eyes gleaming with absolute, god-like authority as he led the Sovereign Faction deeper into the snows of Floor 17.