The frozen weapons shot forward simultaneously.

SHCKK!

SHCKK!

SHCKK!

They came from every direction. They were too many and too fast.

"ARRRGGHHHH!!"

Several swords pierced through Xavier’s torso. A spear drove through his shoulder.

Two daggers buried themselves deep into his thigh and side.

An axe tore into his upper arm. Blood erupted into the air. His scream echoed throughout the forest.

The demon came out of his darkness.

He stared at Noah in disbelief. The young man remained standing amidst towering pillars of ice.

Blood completely soaked his academy battle gear.

His pale face showed no emotion. His glowing glacier-blue eyes stared silently at the demon.

The battlefield had transformed. Gigantic pillars of ice surrounded them from every direction.

The temperature had dropped to terrifying levels. It felt as though Xavier had stepped into Noah’s frozen domain.

He couldn’t believe how could a young man ay awakened stage do something like this.

With the last of his remaining strength Xavier roared. Blue lightning erupted violently from his body.

He attempted to destroy every weapon lodged inside him.

But Noah slowly raised one hand. Then closed it into a fist. The embedded ice weapons responded instantly.

CRACK!!

Every weapon exploded from within. Massive crystal-like ice spikes burst outward through Xavier’s flesh.

Blood mixed with glittering ice. The spikes erupted through his chest, shoulders, back, and legs.

Xavier coughed violently. Blood poured from his mouth. His heartbeat slowed.

Frost spread rapidly across every wound.

It crawled over his arms..

Across his torso, over his neck and his cheek.

Then it froze His jaw. Finally reached his eyes. The last thing Xavier saw was Noah standing silently before him.

A blood-soaked warrior surrounded by towering glaciers. Then frost completely covered his vision.

Within seconds his entire body became encased in solid ice. He remained frozen in place.

A lifeless statue trapped forever beneath eternal winter.

---

Noah finally lost his balance. The towering pillar of ice beneath his feet began to crack apart.

Crack...

His legs gave out. His exhausted body tumbled from the frozen structure and crashed onto the ground below.

Thud.

"...Haa... haa..."

His chest rose and fell violently. Every breath burned his lungs.

The battle had drained nearly all of his mana, and the constant overuse of his Ice Creation ability had pushed both his body and mind to their limits.

For several long seconds, he simply lay there, staring at the dark sky above.

Rustle.

From several meters away, where a patch of waist-high grass still remained untouched by the battle, someone emerged.

It was Mary.

She had been hiding there the entire time. Before confronting Xavier, Noah had instructed her to stay hidden no matter what happened.

With her Observation-type ability and exceptionally keen eyesight, she had discovered something unusual beneath the tall grass.

A naturally concealed hollow just large enough for a person to crawl into.

The thick vegetation completely hid its entrance from outside, making it a perfect hiding place.

Trusting Noah’s judgment, she had remained inside while secretly watching the battle unfold through narrow gaps in the grass.

Noah had told her don’t come out unless he gave out.

The moment Xavier died, she rushed out.

"Noah!"

She hurried across the frozen battlefield before dropping to her knees beside him.

"Noah! Are you okay? Noah!"

Panic filled her voice. Without wasting another second, she raised her wand.

A gentle white magic circle bloomed beneath Noah’s body.

Warm, soothing light flowed over him.

[Healing Light]

The warmth eased the pain coursing through his body. The countless cuts covering his arms and legs slowly began to close.

Even the deep wound across his chest stopped bleeding as torn flesh gradually mended itself.

The healing wasn’t fast enough to restore him completely, but it was more than enough to stabilize his condition.

Noah let out a long breath.

"...I’m... okay."

Mary looked at him through eyes that had already become moist with tears.

"Why...?" she asked softly.

"Why didn’t you let me help?"

Noah managed a weak smile. "There wasn’t any need."

His breathing remained uneven.

"And I... wanted to test something.. So fighting alone was good option."

He glanced toward Xavier’s frozen corpse. "I wanted to see... whether I could defeat someone stronger than me using everything I’d learned."

Mary frowned.

"Idiot."

There was obvious anger in her voice, but it couldn’t hide the relief she felt.

"You nearly got yourself killed."

Carefully, she slipped one of his arms over her shoulder and helped him to his feet.

His legs trembled the moment he stood.

The two slowly began walking away from the battlefield.

The clearing, once covered with tall grass, had transformed into a frozen wasteland.

Towering pillars of ice still rose toward the night sky.

Frost covered every blade of grass. The temperature remained unnaturally cold.

The last traces of sunset had disappeared.

Darkness had completely claimed the forest.

Only the pale moonlight illuminated their path.

After walking for a short distance. Mary suddenly stopped.

Noah looked at her. "What happened?"

She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Her expression had become strangely nervous.

"Noah...When I was hiding..."

She looked back toward the patch of tall grass she had emerged from earlier. "I don’t think it was just a hiding place."

Noah frowned. "What do you mean?"

Mary adjusted her glasses.

"After I climbed into that hollow, I realized it was much deeper than I expected."

"There was a narrow passage leading underground. I... got curious."

"So I walked a little farther inside."

She swallowed nervously before continuing. "The tunnel eventually opened into a stone corridor."

"It looked... artificial. Like it had been built by someone."

She paused.

"And at the end of it...There was somethinh like huge metal door."

Noah’s exhausted eyes immediately sharpened.

"A metal door?"

Mary nodded."It wasn’t an ordinary door. It was enormous... made entirely of black metal. I couldn’t see any handle, but its surface was covered with strange carvings.It looked... ancient. But we knowing you were going to fight demon. I came returned to see your battle."

A thoughtful expression appeared on Noah’s face. An underground passage. An ancient metal door hidden underground.

Neither of those should exist in the middle of an uninhabited forest. Which was only filled with monsters.

Something about it immediately felt wrong.

’This place... in this forest there occurred another Act of the game. And if there’s something hidden beneath this place... then it’s not something normal.’

Noah thought seriously.