Krwaaang!

The floating fortress, the Fortress of Frost, suspended among the storm clouds, shattered to pieces.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Kyuuuu!”

Chae Hyung-Seok and Hamchi fell into the cracks that opened beneath their feet, causing them to fall together with the debris of tens of thousands of tons of ice.

“Hold on!”

Siegfried immediately unfurled his wings, swooped down, and snatched both of them out of freefall.

“Y-You insane bastard! Why the hell would you destroy the building when we’re up in the air?! Were you trying to get us killed in a fall?!” Chae Hyung-Seok screamed, his heart still pounding wildly from the sudden freefall.

“Hey, what kind of a man gets scared over something like this? Grow a pair, will you?” Siegfried sneered in response.

“What did you say to me?”

“I said, why are you freaking out over something like this?”

“Would you not freak out? Ha?!”

“I didn’t freak out, though,” Siegfried replied shamelessly, but it was true that he hadn't freaked out.

Why would he? He was the one who destroyed the Ice Palace and the Fortress of Frost by extension, so he had already expected its collapse and fall.

“Kyuuu! Look over there, owner punk!” Hamchi exclaimed, pointing toward the distant sky.

There, the Frost Queen, was fleeing at high speed. She was still seated upon her throne, which clearly seemed to serve as her means of flight.

‘Not so fast!’ Siegfried immediately shot after her.

There had to be a reason why the Frost Queen had chosen to run away.

‘Having the Fortress of Frost destroyed must have weakened her. That’s why she’s running away.’

He immediately grasped the situation and pushed his wings harder to accelerate.

However, she was still faster than him.

Forget about catching up, the Frost Queen would definitely run away at this rate.

‘Damn it... I’m too heavy,’ Siegfried grimaced.

He was not slower than the Frost Queen by any means, but the additional weight was dragging him down.

Hamchi was light enough when shrunk, so he was hardly a problem. But Chae Hyung-Seok was a different story—his character’s weight, plus his armor, easily topped more than one hundred kilograms.

Burdened by such a heavy passenger, it was no wonder that Siegfried’s flight speed was so sluggish.

Thus, there was only one option left.

“Hey, Chae Hyung-Seok,” Siegfried called.

“Yeah? What do you want?” Chae Hyung-Seok grumbled in response.

Siegfried simply smiled warmly in response.

“N-No way, you’re not seriously thinking of doing that, are you?” Chae Hyung-Seok asked, breaking into cold sweats.

“Sorry, man. You’re too heavy for me to carry,” Siegfried said.

“H-Hey, you crazy bastard! Don’t you dare—!”

“Sorry. Bye!”

With that, Siegfried let go of Chae Hyung-Seok.

“U-Uwaaaagh! Han Tae-Sung! You son of a BIIIITCH!”

Chae Hyung-Sek’s screams echoed as he plummeted into the distance. His voice faded as he vanished, but Siegfried didn't even flinch.

“Hehehe! Sorry, Hyung-Seok. You were just too heavy,” he muttered with a grin.

Now that he had dropped one baggage, his flight speed shot upward.

It was indeed the right call to drop Chae Hyung-Seok.

Now that he was freed of the baggage that weighed more than one hundred kilograms, he easily caught up to the Frost Queen.

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Siegfried darted ahead, overtaking the Frost Queen and blocking her path.

The Frost Queen’s eyes widened as she stammered, “H-How did you suddenly—?!”

“Shut up,” Siegfried cut her off. Then, he aimed his +10 Sky Piercer straight at her and said, "You've made me suffer for free, so it’s now time to pay the price.”

His rage had been simmering for hours now.

For five whole hours, he had been forced to grind endlessly against worthless mobs that dropped neither experience points nor loot while the Frost Queen laughed and mocked him from her throne.

Siegfried felt like a gladiator fighting in a pit while a noble, the Frost Queen, mocked and taunted him.

Thus, it was only natural for him to be furious.

“Time to die.”

With that, he unleashed his Invincible Spear Art, raining down strike after strike at the Frost Queen.

***

“H-How dare you!”

The Frost Queen was momentarily shocked when Siegfried came chasing after her, but her shock soon turned into fury. She responded by firing icicles; her aerial combat ability was exceptionally good.

Seated on her throne that boasted incredible speed, she unleashed hundreds of thousands of icicles while flying away. The sight of her shooting a flurry of icicles while flying away made her look like a fighter jet of some sort.

Meanwhile, Siegfried was good at aerial combat, too.

The black wings spread behind his back were the wings of the Demon King, so there was no way someone like him would lose in the skies.

Using his superior maneuverability, Siegfried evaded every single icicle launched at him by the Frost Queen.

Biding his time, he waited until the Frost Queen got distracted and immediately used teleportation to appear right behind her.

‘Let’s see how much damage this does.’

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Siegfried struck the Frost Queen three times in the head in quick succession with the +10 Sky Piercer.

Ding!

At that moment, the Mark of Death popped up above her head.

Bam!

Siegfried swung his +10 Sky Piercer and smacked the Frost Queen’s head for the fourth time, detonating the mark and triggering a massive explosion.

His attacks were not merely basic attacks—it was the Skull Breaker skill.

Skull Breaker was the skill where a Mark of Death would appear after he struck the target three times, and the fourth strike would detonate the Mark of Death, dealing massive burst damage to the enemy.

[Frost Queen Tundrina]

[HP: ■■■■■■■■□□]

The first attack was extremely effective.

Not only did Siegfried manage to close the distance with the Frost Queen for the first time, but he also managed to cut down her HP by twenty percent.

However, he wasn't left unscathed.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: Your character has been slowed!]

A gust of chilling air blew from the Frost Queen, sweeping over Siegfried and afflicting him with a debuff once again.

‘Damn it!’

Siegfried was in danger.

He had already thrown away Chae Hyung-Seok to increase his flight speed, so he could no longer receive his buffs.

Until now, Chae Hyung-Seok was the one who had been curing him of his status ailments, allowing him to fight with ease. Without Chae Hyung-Seok's support buffs, Siegfried found himself in the same difficult situation as before.

“Get away from me, you wretch!”

The Frost Queen quickly tried to flee after inflicting a slow debuff on Siegfried.

‘Not on my watch!’

Siegfried was not about to let her escape.

He knew it would be impossible to catch her now that he had been slowed, so he couldn’t afford to let her go this time.

Thus, he dragged her into the World of Despair before and trapped her within the world he controlled before she could get away.

“...!”

The Frost Queen was suddenly sealed inside an entirely different realm, leaving her visibly shaken.

“Why don’t we settle down a bit and take it slow, hm?” Siegfried said after reducing the size of the World of Despair so that she had nowhere to run.

The Frost Queen roared in response, “How dare you trap me in here, you wretch! Free me at once!” Unable to escape, she unleashed a powerful burst of frost, but Siegfried was faster this time.

Swoosh!

Siegfried shot forward at the speed of light and appeared right in front of her throne.

He had already used Touch of Death to destroy the Fortress of Frost, so he went with Seven Steps to Invincibility this time.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

He hit the Frost Queen six consecutive times.

Bam!

And dealt the seventh and final blow.

“...!”

A look of shock spread across the Frost Queen’s face.

[Frost Queen Tundrina]

[HP: □□□□□□□□□□]

The overwhelming power of the Seven Steps to Invincibility was truly undeniable.

“A-Aaaaaaghh!”

Frost Queen Tundrina’s HP dropped to zero, and she let out one final piercing scream.

With that, her body disintegrated into particles and was scattered by the wind.

[Alert: You have killed Frost Queen Tundrina!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have leveled up!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 554!]

[Alert: Your quest progress has increased!]

[Alert: The Ten Calamities progress has increased to 40%! (4/10)]

A string of notifications popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes one after another.

Thud!

A balloon floating all alone appeared where the Frost Queen had vanished.

[Water Balloon of Calamity: Destructive Hailstorm]

[An item containing the powers of Frost Queen Tundrina, one of the Ten Calamities.]

[When thrown into the sky, this water balloon will summon a dark cloud that unleashes a terrifying hailstorm.]

[Type: Water Ballon]

[Rating: Mythic]

[Durability: 1/1]

[Note: This is a single-use item. Once opened, the water balloon will burst and cannot be used again.]

[Alert: You have obtained Water Balloon of Calamity: Destructive Hailstorm!]

With that, Siegfried had obtained the authority of four of the Ten Calamities.

He now wielded the ability to unleash dreadful cataclysms at will, making him on track to become some sort of Evil God.

Just the four calamities he had gathered so far were more than enough to inflict massive damage upon the Marchioni Empire, so gathering all ten would surely grant him unimaginable powers.

“Kyuuu! Awesome job, owner punk!”

“You too, punk.”

After defeating the Frost Queen, Siegfried spread his wings once more and departed.

He did not bother searching for Chae Hyung-Seok.

Chae Hyung-Seok most likely survived the fall and was still alive, as he could render himself Invincible by fusing with the cross.

‘I have my reasons for doing that. Don’t get so mad at me later,’ Siegfried thought as he leisurely made his way back to the Proatine Empire.

***

Just as Siegfried expected, he was correct.

‘Damn you, Han Tae-Sung! I won’t forgive you, you treacherous bastard!’

Chae Hyung-Seok cursed Siegfried before fusing with the cross to become Invincible.

While he tended to make absurd statements, Chae Hyung-Seok could make rational choices to ensure his own survival.

‘Just you wait. I’ll have my revenge soon.’

With that thought, Chae Hyung-Seok let himself fall in peace. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He figured that he would suffer no damage once he hit the ground, and he could just get up and leave once he landed. However, things did not go as he expected once he actually hit the ground.

Thud!

The tip of the cross stabbed deep into the ground the instant it made contact.

And that was just the beginning...

“Uwaaaagh!”

Since he had fallen from an extreme height, Chae Hyung-Seok carried so much momentum that he didn't merely crash into the ground—he drove straight into it.

He ended up burrowing all the way down until he was buried nearly thirty meters underground.

Unfortunately, the surrounding rocks collapsed, and Chae Hyung-Seok was buried alive.

After getting trapped beneath a pile of stones at a depth of nearly thirty meters underground, he couldn’t move an inch

“A-Aargh... Ghrrrrk!”

He squeezed out every ounce of strength in his body to break free, but it was to no avail.

The rocks pinning him down were far too massive for him to even budge.

“You damned fucking bastard! Damn you, Han Tae-Suuuuung!”

In the end, Chae Hyung-Seok screamed out Siegfried’s name out of rage and frustration. Now that he was buried underground, there was no way he could escape unless Siegfried summoned him.

Fortunately, he did not have to blindly wait for Siegfried to summon him, as he could just ask him in the real world.

‘Is someone cursing me? Why is my ear so itchy?’

Meanwhile, Siegfried’s ear suddenly itched while he was on his way back to the Proatine Empire.

‘Hmm... Someone must be cursing me. Meh, it’s not like there’s one or two people who have a grudge against me.’

By now, he had long accepted that at least a million people in this world probably hated him and were nursing a grudge against him, so he decided not to dwell too much on these kinds of things.

After all, he had no shortage of enemies.

There was no doubt that at least one person out there was badmouthing him at any given time, so there was no reason to care about every single one of them.

‘Oh well, I guess I’ll live a long, happy life,’ Siegfried thought.

He figured that since he was being cursed so much, he was bound to live a long life.

Putting all random thoughts aside, he flew back to the Proatine Empire.