Author: Yume Neiji

I had always thought miracles were the work of gods.

But what Lu was doing… it felt like the very same thing.

The Frost Orb lay shattered. The traces of its magic, even the lingering light that had filled the chamber, had been sucked into Ymir’s mouth. Only the pedestal remained. Yet Lu hovered above it, her form faintly translucent. She gently extended her hands downward.

“Skill 『Miko』”

Her sky-blue eyes, wide and unblinking, shone with a divinity that made the back of my neck tingle.

“Ability… ‘Creation’…!”

A faint, lingering white glow hovered in the air. It gathered beneath Lu’s hands. Fragments of light joined together—one, then another—until they formed a tiny sphere about the size of a fingertip. A faint smile curved at Luu’s lips.

It was as if she already knew exactly what she was meant to do.

Beneath her hands, the shattered sacred relic began to weave itself together once more. It wasn’t being repaired—it was being reborn, newly created.

“Gods…”

At her words, the deities hovering above reacted.

“Y-yes,”

Even Loki appeared shocked. The gods extended their palms toward Lu, offering light—or perhaps sharing their very magic.

My body trembled. Not from cold, not from fear.

From her movements, I felt a sacred beauty, as if she were stitching together stars themselves.

A low, rumbling growl echoed nearby.

“Grr…!”

It was Ymir. His face twisted in a savage snarl, the flames that cloaked him radiating the full terror of a monster king. He raised his massive arm—intent on crushing the orb and Lu together!

“Wake up!”

From my short sword, the wind spirit, Sylph, surged forth. But even against the sudden gust, Ymir didn’t budge an inch. The gap was impossibly small but I threw myself into it with everything I had.

“Hah!”

I slammed down the Thunder God’s Hammer, and Ymir staggered back a single step.

I planted myself squarely in front of him and Freyr.

Behind me is Lu. If I didn’t protect my little sister now, I wasn’t her brother.

“I won’t let you pass!”

The short sword I thrust forward didn’t waver. My gaze stayed locked straight ahead.

A cold wind drifted in from behind. Glancing back, my vision was filled with a blinding white light. A fist-sized orb—no, larger than the original—appeared on the pedestal.

The Frost Orb.

Freyr’s eyes widened.

“…Even beyond expectations.”

He let his sword fall loosely, his voice betraying his astonishment.

“Just as I saw in the capital! So it was there all along!”

Memories scrambled through my mind, stirring countless thoughts.

Freyr might have been in the capital.

The enemy slave trader who had appeared there—one had been in Alvis, the world serpent Yor; the other had attacked my home.

Could that person… have been Freyr?

But… what is this person really searching for?

My thoughts spun in endless circles. I felt like I was on the verge of grasping something, yet it slipped through my fingers. Elusive as clouds, yet unmistakably close, there was something I could call the truth pressing near.

The strengthening wind cut through my thoughts, chilling me to the bone.

Lu pressed her lips together, and the white light flared even brighter. Cold air raced past me from both sides, crashing into the titan. Ice particles danced in the gusts.

Ymir opened his mouth.

“The seal… I have already devoured it! Do you think it will work again?”

His colossal frame was shrouded in red-black flames, a protective barrier against the cold.

Step by step, he advanced toward the pedestal.

I had no intention of backing down.

Planting my feet firmly, I shouted.

“Bring it on!”

Ymir swung his massive arm upward.

“Oniichan!”

A signal from Lu. Thor shouted.

“Rion! Fall back! Leave him to us, the gods!”

But now—there was no time to heed their words!

I entrusted myself to the Golden Flame, and met Ymir’s strike head-on with my short sword. The impact felt like my body might shatter into pieces. A crack ran across the floor beneath my right knee as it hit. Flames scorched my arm and cheek, searing pain tearing through me.

“…Creation!”

Lu’s voice rang out.

In that instant when I held back the blow, cold coiled around Ymir’s arm.

“Ugh!”

A groan came.

It’s unmistakably from the primordial titan.

Around his arms glowed a brilliant white shackles of ice. Chains had been conjured, binding both of his massive arms.

“…Your…. creation!”

The colossal figure leapt downward, ripping the icy chains apart. The shattered chains scattered into shards of light before vanishing into the flames. Yet the cuffs that remained on his wrists survived, still glowing. The flames wrapping his arms clashed violently against the icy bracelets.

Ymir ground his teeth.

“…They won’t disappear. I’ve been… bested, it seems.”

Even an enemy like him had surely poured tremendous power into breaking the orb.

And into that moment of weakness—Luisia awakened her power.

The remaining ice cuffs on his wrists were surely sapping Ymir’s strength.

“This—”

I exchanged a glance with Solana, who hovered in the air. The goddess gave a slight nod.

“The tide has turned.”

She spoke.

Ymir’s face, carved like solid rock, twisted into a smile. A savage grin, as if he were savoring the crisis.

“…Time for a little appetite adjustment, perhaps.”

From the top of the tower, Ymir surveyed the city of Flocia. His crimson tongue flicked across his lips.

“Freyr”

“…Yes, I understand.”

I couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of their exchange. All I could see was Ymir holding his wrist—the one still bound by the ice shackle—toward Freyr.

From that hand, golden light flowed—soft, pale, and yet unlike anything I had ever seen—moving toward Freyr.

Ymir cast a brief glance in my direction.

“Even among the creations you’ve raised, this one is exquisite. Make the most of it.”

Freyr nodded, producing a necklace from his left hand. He seemed to whisper a prayer over it.

Ymir’s massive finger swept toward the lake.

“You… go to the tower. I will devour the city.”

The flames cloaking his colossal body flared even brighter. Even with the ice shackles binding him, his power was still overwhelming.

The cold of the orb clashed with the titan’s heat wave. The battle of fire and ice recalled the myths—how, in the empty void before the world existed, fire and ice had given birth to the first titan.

Ymir calmly surveyed us, as if judging the results of his creation. With the tower broken and walls gone, he stepped back toward the edge of the room. The fierce wind from outside whipped his blond hair and flames around him.

And then, slowly—he toppled outward.

“Then… farewell.”

The gods unleashed their attacks.

Loki’s magic and Uru’s arrows rained down on Ymir’s position.

Freyr cut them all aside. His body glowed with the same golden light as before. The radiance, strong and awakening, felt familiar—as if the body itself had come alive.

“Father…?”

The shadow I had long cast over him—Nils—passed through my mind.

Why… now?

Breaking through the dust, Freyr leapt to the roof outside.

Loki’s voice rang out.

“Ymir is heading for the city! Freyr’s going to the tower by the lake!”

From the distant rooftop, Freyr shouted.

“Rion! Take the horn and follow me! We’ll meet at the top of the tower… on the battlefield of Valhalla!”

Freyr’s blond hair whipped in the fierce wind as he ran toward the lake. The necklace in his hand sparkled, reflecting sunlight streaming through the clouds.

I couldn’t keep my eyes on him for long.

The enemy was below the tower.

“Ymir…!”

Peering down, I saw him standing there. A faint glow surrounded him—golden, but ominously weak. Straining my eyes, I noticed the warrior order and adventurers lying defeated. And from their bodies, light was being drawn out.

The glow slowly converged toward the titan.

A sound escaped my lips.

“Is he… trying to devour their skills?”

A chill ran down my spine.

The golden light—it must be the “light of skill” stolen from people.

Ymir opened his massive mouth. He intended to consume the skills of the fallen. It was terrifying, revolting, and my scream tore through my throat.

“No!”

Thor’s hammer slammed into the ground at Ymir’s feet like a bolt of lightning.

A laugh, deep and rumbling like an earthquake, shook the sky.

“Bold to try resupply in front of the God of War!”

Thor’s red hair whipped wildly as he dove down.

“Rion, leave Ymir to me!”

“I’m coming too!”

The God of Hunting, Uru, followed. The deity in hunting garb landed beside me from above.

“Freyr has the necklace of the sacred relic—Brísingamen! It’s the master key to the dungeon’s functions! Who knows what he might do. He could even unleash the monsters from the dungeon!”

Uru added, his brown eyes fixed on Dungeon Island, shrouded in haze beyond the lake.

“From a scout’s perspective, it seems a large number of monsters have awakened. The shattered orb’s influence is not zero.”

I gulped.

“So the dungeon monsters are… enemies too, then.”

“Exactly. We gods must protect the city—from Ymir and from the dungeon itself.”

Uru leapt from the tower in pursuit of Ymir.

Solana approached nearby.

“I’ll go with you.”

“…Yeah!”

We had to follow Freyr.

I turned back toward the tower’s interior, shouting to the remaining companions and gods.

“I’m going after Freyr! Freyja-sama should be at the lake tower too.”

If I awaken the gods and sound the horn, we might be able to drive Ymir and the others off… maybe even defeat him.

“Everyone else, protect the city!”

Loki and Sigris hovered above. And in the tower were Mia-san, Felix-san, and Safi.

I met each of their gazes. Below, Thor and Uru must already be locked in battle with Ymir.

“Oniichan, you’re going, aren’t you…?”

Lu’s translucent form floated down to the floor. She had clearly used a tremendous amount of magic; her breath came in short, ragged gasps. Her face was hard to read through the glow, but surely her cheeks were flushed bright red.

I healed my wounds with the White Flame and smiled at her.

“…Thank you, Lu. That was incredible… really incredible.”

I wondered what kind of power my little sister truly possessed. There were still so many unknowns—but there was no doubt she had poured everything she had into helping.

Lu straightened her back, proud.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

“Huh?”

“I said I’d get stronger and wait for you. Did I… manage to be of some help too?”

Tears welled in her eyes.

If Lu weren’t a form woven from magic, I would have pulled her into a hug without hesitation.

Her eyes glistened, shimmering with unshed tears.

“Because I want you to come back… I did my best.”

“…Yeah.”

I would return to the Royal Capital—no matter what!

I had something precious to protect. To keep this child from sorrow, I strive to become a strong and compassionate adventurer.

Not just strong. Not just kind.

Both, together. Only then could I truly protect what mattered most.

“Lu… you’re strong. You’ve really grown strong.”

My heart blazed.

I turned my back to my sister and gazed out over the lake, where the White Tower loomed.

“I’m coming.”

I declared it.

—The questions would keep coming, one after another.

In a moment of defeat, Freyr had said that to me.

Now, I felt I could answer. Whatever the question, and whatever answer it demanded.

—What is truly important?

It’s not letting this child be saddened.

That’s why I will return, and I will not betray my own resolve. To come back through the front doors with my chest held high.

“Solana, let’s go!”

I kicked off the floor and leapt outside. A storm of wind roared toward me.

But now… it was a tailwind.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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Run, run faster, I told myself.

Rata and Freyr had already kicked off the walls and climbed atop the building. When I finally reached the roof, they were about fifty meters ahead. And beyond them—looming in the distance—stood the tower of the Odis Temple.

A massive hole gaped in the side of the tower. From it poured a torrent of blazing red flames and blinding white light. The two forces collided, and the shockwaves thundered through the air like rolling cannons.

Solana’s voice came through.

『They said… Ymir has arrived…!』

I cast the Golden Flame again and sprinted along the rooftops. The deep wound on my shoulder,which hadn’t fully healed, hurt. But there was no time to care. There were still roughly three hundred meters between me and the temple.

The moment I leapt onto the next roof, the tower’s wall erupted again.

From the gaping hole, red and white light spilled out, each intensifying the other’s brilliance. Like a giant explosion, the blast sent a circular wind rippling outward from the tower through the sky. From below came screams. The city of Flocia was in utter chaos.

The gale tore past my ears alongside the cries, roaring like some living thing. Far ahead, I could see the temple’s tower.

Through the gaping hole in the building, I could catch a faint glimpse inside.

There were people.

Somehow… I just knew it was Mia-san and Felix-san.

The white light, coming from the cold aura of the Frost Orb. My companions were fighting to protect the sacred relic. Solana’s words echoed in my mind, carried from the gold coin.

『Rion! Hurry!』

“Yes!”

Around the tower, the cold spread with alarming speed. The rooftops near the temple were instantly coated in frost, shimmering under the light.

From the coin came Loki’s voice as well.

『The Frost Orb… is resisting, isn’t it…』

Such intense cold…

Even the gods themselves were concerned, but more importantly—

The Frost Orb was the very thing that protected the dungeon’s seal. If the enemy was attacking it, we had to stop them, and we had to be fast!

“Wake up!”

A burst of light to shatter the nightmare poured forth from the coin.

The gods leapt into the air.

Solana pointed toward the tower.

“The tower… it’s going to collapse!”

Perhaps because the wall had been blasted away, the upper portion of the tower was on the verge of crumbling. The chamber with the orb was on the fourth floor. What was about to collapse was the floor above it—the topmost fifth floor.

If this continued, our companions would be crushed under the ruins of the upper level.

“Hooraaah!”

Thor hurled his mighty hammer, Mjolnir. It struck the unstable fifth floor and smashed it apart, sending shards flying outward, away from the tower. Loki and Solana raised their hands toward the temple, slowing the fall of debris.

But something caught my eye.

Some of the fragments burst into light—and then seemed to be drawn into the tower, straight toward the massive figure standing amid the dust.

It was as if… they had been swallowed.

“The primordial titan… is he here…?”

A shiver ran through me.

Memories of the myth surfaced in my mind. The titan that devoured the ancestors of the gods flashed across my mind. The cold and the fear crawled over me, and a sound escaped my lips.

“Ymir…!”

Beside me, Sigris nodded gravely.

“Mm. There’s no mistake.”

By now, the orb chamber at the top of the tower had lost both ceiling and walls, completely exposed.

The clash of heat and cold raged unabated. I could see Mia-san’s red hair. Felix-san, Safi, and even some of the temple’s people were there too.

And there, beyond the orb, stood the fire-wreathed giant—Ymir. The flames that cloaked his body whipped and flickered in the gusting wind, occasionally revealing glimpses of its form. Its tousled blond hair danced violently in the storm.

I ran toward the tower alongside the gods.

Freyr, moving ahead, was already right beside the tower. Rata was nowhere in sight—perhaps having hidden somewhere.

Loki spoke beside me.

“That fire… I see. It seems Ymir somehow devoured and absorbed the power of Flamebone Surtr. In other words, he gained the strength to resist the ‘seal’ that the subordinates had worn…”

Indeed, the red-black flames reminded me unmistakably of Surtr.

“So it’s not just skills… he can devour the power of monsters too.”

But… that meant cannibalism, right?

Not just gods or humans… even monsters?

The possibility had never crossed my mind. Regret stabbed at my chest. Still, there was nothing I could do now but push forward.

Solana shouted.

“Rion, we’ll hold it off!”

The gods concentrated their attacks on the colossal figure. Thor’s hammer, Solana’s light, Uru’s bow, Sigris’s spear, and Loki’s flames—all struck in unison.

The attacks pierced through the cold that enshrouded the tower, closing in on Ymir.

Uru’s voice pressed against my back, urging me onward.

“You, head for the tower!”

Hurry… I have to hurry.

With his left arm wreathed in flames, the colossal figure deflected Solana’s light. His right arm caught Thor’s hammer, and all other attacks were blocked by a magical barrier.

I kicked off rooftop after rooftop, finally reaching the cathedral’s ceiling. While the Golden Flame still lingered, I leapt off the wall and climbed toward the fourth floor of the tower.

Hot blasts and icy gusts hit me at the same time. With no walls or ceiling to shield me, the fierce wind from the lake tore straight at me. It felt as if I had leapt straight into a tornado.

Amid it all, the giant radiating fire—Ymir—stood waiting.

“You… you’re…”

My voice trembled.

“Ymir?”

Freyr was there too, standing beside the man.

Neither of them spoke, and that silent confidence made itself known to me whether I wanted to notice it or not. Cloaked in fire—this man, no, this monster—was Ymir.

The one who had targeted Lu, killed my father, and now seemed intent on devouring the world all over again.

I readied my short sword. He wasn’t an opponent I could recklessly rush at—but maybe I could shoulder a fraction of his attention, just enough to give the others a chance.

The gods continued their assault, hovering around the tower. Even surrounded, neither Ymir nor Freyr showed the slightest sign of hesitation.

“Ri…on.”

The voice at my side snapped me back.

Mia-san was on her knees. Felix-san and Safi were crouched in the same way. Behind them, the head priestess of the temple had fallen as well. Everyone was smeared with soot and bruises, but thankfully, no one appeared to be gravely injured.

Even in a moment like this… I felt a fleeting sense of relief.

“Thank goodness….!”

Felix-san breathed out.

“Pauline-sama is—”

He pointed toward the Frost Orb. Through the glare of light and the swirling dust, the orb at the center of the chamber was hard to make out.

Still, squinting carefully, I noticed two figures hovering in the air.

“…Huh?”

It was Pauline-san and Lu.

The two of them hovered faintly above the orb, their forms woven from magic. I had seen the same phenomenon when I spoke with the princess in this very room before. Unlike that time, however, both were now fully life-sized.

Felix-san continued.

“From the royal capital, she’s using the Seal skill to resist them with cold…!”

Pauline-san pressed both hands toward the orb, wincing with effort. She was channeling the magic of her skill from far away in the capital. That must be what was holding Ymir back.

The gods’ assault continued relentlessly.

“Rion, stay back!”

“Got it! I’ll make sure this monster goes down outside the tower!”

Even just protecting Mia-san and the others from the shockwaves was all I could manage. I unleashed the spirits to counter the orb, shielding my friends from flames and falling debris.

The gods’ offensive was overwhelming. If I got any closer, I would probably turn to dust in an instant.

Ymir endured it all.

No…. was he waiting?

“Ugh….”

A groan came. It’s the first sign of someone reaching their limit. It came from the only human taking part in the battle—Pauline-san. Her face was twisted in pain. Her outstretched hands trembled uncontrollably.

“Ah…”

Pauline-san’s form wavered. She was thrown backward, disappearing from above the orb.

Ymir let out a savage laugh. The flames cloaking him roared violently.

From above, Solana shouted.

“This is bad!”

We tried to push Ymir back with the Golden Light.

But the cold radiating from the orb was rapidly weakening. The fist-sized orb from Flocia simply couldn’t match Ymir! 

Seizing that fleeting moment, Ymir took a step forward.

A shout burst from my throat.

“Stop!”

His bear-like hand clamped down on the Frost Orb.

Just watching, I could feel the overwhelming force in that grip. A cracking sound, like ice shattering, echoed through the chamber. The shattered orb exploded into white light, scattering across the room.

“No……!”

Lu screamed.

Ymir opened his massive mouth, and like a vortex, the remaining shards of light were sucked in.

The chaos around us fell silent. The cold that had been clashing with the heat vanished, and the wind began to settle.

His mouth was bone-dry. The sheer scale of what had just happened rang in my ears, and I couldn’t move a finger.

Ymir wiped his mouth as if savoring the taste.

“Hmm…. so this is the <Seal> skill.”

Through the gaps in the flames that cloaked him, the giant let a faint smile slip.

“I’ve learned it.”

Safi whispered, her face pale as a sheet.

“T-the orb is the keystone of the seal, right? If it’s gone…. what’s going to happen to Flocia dungeon?”

I stared in shock at Ymir, and then at the lake.

The newly formed bridge connected Dungeon Island to the city of Flocia. If the seal were to weaken like it did with the Eastern Dungeon, monsters would spill out from a labyrinth rated for level thirty adventurers.

And now, Ymir had devoured the orb. He had absorbed the <Seal> skill—gaining resistance, perhaps even immunity.

“This is bad.”

Thor’s face twisted with concern.

Mia-san and the others were battered and bruised. The gods were here, but they couldn’t fight freely. They had to protect the city at the same time after all.

My short sword trembled in my hand.

Ymir’s flames flickered, revealing the thick chest and massive neck beneath his robes. His face was like it had been carved from solid rock. Now, utterly unreadable, it showed no hint of emotion. To us—creations made by others—it seemed as if he felt nothing at all.

His tousled blond hair whipped wildly in the gale.

Despair gripped my chest. Still, I tightened my grip on my short sword. Even if it was only a bluff, I had to become at least a fragment of protection for someone, anything.

And for the first time, it felt as if Ymir’s enormous eyes turned toward me—dark, endless pits that seemed to swallow all light.

“Oniichan!”

Lu’s voice rang out.

The orb was gone, but her form still hovered in the air.

“Lu.…?”

“Don’t give up.”

Her eyes blazed with determination as she raised both hands into the air. Beneath them, light began to gather—converging where the orb’s pedestal had once stood.

“Skill 『Miko』…. Creation…!”

At her whispered words, Freyr’s eyes widened, and Ymir’s brow furrowed.

A miracle had begun.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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A southern wind swept through the Odis Temple in the royal capital.

Grand Commander Pauline, who had been at her desk in the great tower, lifted her gaze at the report that had just arrived. It spoke of an anomaly affecting the warriors’ most closely guarded secret treasure—the Frost Orb.

“Be specific.”

Pauline frowned.

As a member of the royal family, she possessed the skill 〈Seal〉. That was one of the reasons a sixteen-year-old girl bore such a heavy responsibility. If anything went wrong with the orb, she had to act at once—using her skill to suppress it before the situation could worsen.

The Frost Orb was the keystone of the dungeon. It emitted the frigid air that sustained the ice of the seal, confining monsters deep within the dungeon.

Orbs with similar functions existed in many regions, such as Flocia—but the one installed beneath the royal capital’s temple was especially large. If it were to lose its function, the consequences would be irreparable. Monsters could even begin spilling out from the dungeons surrounding the capital. In fact, a similar catastrophe had once occurred in the Eastern Dungeon.

The aide delivering the report hesitated, his words faltering.

“…It felt as though the orb was afraid of something.”

“Afraid?”

She found herself echoing the question without meaning to.

No matter how powerful the magic contained within it, the orb was still nothing more than a tool.

“…Pardon me. What do you mean by afraid?”

“The orb is trembling. And the cold has intensified to the point that it can be felt even outside the underground chamber—as though it were frightened, trying to protect itself.”

Pauline brushed back the silver hair that spilled from beneath her tall hat.

A deep whoosh sounded outside as a powerful gust of wind slammed against the tower.

A southern wind… come to think of it, the city the horn-blowing boy had headed toward lay to the south as well.

“We must be on our guard.”

Pauline set down her pen, rose to her feet, and stepped out of the office.

“Let us go at once.”

 Just as she started walking briskly away, a voice called out from behind her.

“Your Highness!”

When Pauline turned around, she saw a young girl staring at her with wide, sky-blue eyes.

It was Luisia—Rion’s little sister.

Chestnut-colored twin braids spilled out from beneath the cap that marked her as a novice priestess.

“…A-are you going down below?”

How did she know?

As Pauline stood there in surprise, Luisia hurried over.

“I have a bad feeling. From underground… from the room where I spoke with my brother! There’s something really frightening there, and I’m worried about him…!”

The Frost Orb also served as a means of communication with the south. Luisia remembered speaking with Rion several times through the orb. Pauline had also heard that this girl had sensed it when the Eastern Dungeon had been scattered with remains.

—To think such a burden should fall upon someone so young.

The skill dwelling within Luisia—『Miko』.

Whether as commander of the warrior order or as a member of the royal family, Pauline could scarcely imagine the weight this young girl was being made to bear.

If Odis had truly granted her power, then what kind of fate awaited her?

Relying on her felt cruel. And yet—right now, Pauline felt she could not afford to ignore the girl’s senses.

“Luisia. Please come with me.”

Luisia pressed her lips together tightly, then nodded.

The two of them hurried toward the underground chamber.

◆◆◆

Mia was running through the streets of Flocia.

She curled her lips in bitterness and glanced back. Cloak snapping in the fierce wind, the real Felix was racing after her.

The two spoke as they hurried along.

“…Are you certain the one you saw was an impostor—someone pretending to be me?”

“Yeah. I’m sure of it.”

Mia clicked her tongue in frustration.

She’d been careless. Not long after Rion rode off on horseback, the real Felix had arrived. At first, Mia had been confused. But she soon noticed something was wrong. After all, the warrior order hadn’t managed to make contact with Nils’ collaborator or even with Nils himself.

“Think about it. If it were really you taking Rion away, you’d have left a whole list of nagging instructions behind. Just disappearing with Rion? That’s not like you at all.”

“…Is that meant to be a compliment?”

Now the two of them were heading to the Odis Temple.

Felix opened his mouth to speak.

“If an impostor posing as me appeared, the most likely purpose would be to lure someone out.”

Mia nodded. Veteran minds worked quickly when put together.

“But Rion has the gods on his side. Rather than targeting Rion himself, the goal is probably to draw Rion—and the gods—away from the real target.”

“A diversion then. But we’re in the middle of the city. To make a move under those circumstances means….”

Even as he ran, Felix deliberately touched the small coronet on his brow.

“As expected, the target must be the Odis Temple. The scattering of ashes in the dungoen on the first day may also have been bait—to draw our attention toward the lake.”

“If that’s the case, then…”

“Still, the temple houses the Frost Orb. They say even the gods can feel its chill, and monsters shouldn’t be able to approach it at all, right?”

Just as Felix was about to continue, the ground shook.

They nearly lost their footing, both of them sucking in sharp breaths. Their feet came to a halt instinctively, overwhelmed by a primal sense of dread.

The temple was just around the next corner. From ahead came the screams of men—warriors and adventurers alike.

“So we were right. Damn it!”

Gritting her teeth, Mia and the others powered through the final turn.

“W-what… is this…?”

This, she realized, was what it meant to be robbed of words.

What burst into view was a colossal figure wrapped in flames. She rubbed her eyes again and again. Its height was only a little over two meters—but its entire body was engulfed in fire, and the shimmering heat made it seem far larger than it truly was. For an instant, Mia mistook the enemy for something even larger than Surtr himself.

Her legs stepped back on their own. Her instincts were screaming at her to run. When she spoke, her voice trembled so badly it sounded almost ridiculous, even to her own ears.

“…Its whole body is engulfed in flames?”

Felix groaned, unable to hide his disbelief.

“Is it wrapping itself in fire to fend off the sealing chill….?”

The fiery giant tilted its head upward, then leapt. With a heavy thud that shook the ground, it landed atop the cathedral’s roof.

A shiver ran down their spines.

As adventurers, their worst fears only multiplied in that instant.

“It’s going for the orb, isn’t it!?”

Mia shouted, and Felix nodded grimly.

“To the orb chamber!”

Chaos had erupted inside the cathedral as well. An ambush by a monster that shouldn’t even exist—one strong enough to crush the warrior order in a single blow—was wreaking havoc.

The remaining guards were no match, and most of the others had already left to explore the labyrinth and the towers. The priests were in utter disarray.

Amidst the turmoil, Mia spotted a small patch of green hair.

“Safi!”

Taking the girl with them, Mia and Felix raced up the stairs.

Safi’s voice trembled.

“I… I felt a huge presence in the basement too!”

The girl was half-divine, half-human. Perhaps she had sensed the enemy’s approach.

Clutching her chained axe tightly, Mia bit her lip.

“Rion… please make it in time…”

They stormed into the orb chamber, and at that same moment, a wall shattered. The chilling aura radiating from the orb clashed violently with the heat wave rolling off the fiery giant.

The sheer force of it made the air itself quiver.

Mia struggled just to keep one eye open.

“If the gods don’t arrive in time, then….!”

From the roaring flames, a shock of tousled blond hair and dark, gleaming eyes emerged. A wide, unsettling grin spread across the fire-wreathed giant as it reached toward the Frost Orb.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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