The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed

A sharp, piercing sound echoed.

A small point of light condensed around Ashies.

Frost shimmered for an instant before radiating outward, engulfing the fortress in blinding brilliance.

As the light gradually faded, the transformed battlefield revealed itself.

The entire fortress was frozen under an unforgiving chill. Apart from a handful of powerful orcs, the rest stood as lifeless ice statues, unable to resist the overwhelming cold.

The stronghold of the dark orcs had turned into a frozen winter wasteland.

Yet, it was not chaos.

The threatened slaves remained unharmed, and even Karami was unaffected by the icy aura. Ashies understood clearly who she needed to protect—and who she had to destroy.

"Haa..."

At the center of the frozen fortress, Ashies exhaled, releasing a plume of frost.

Fragments of ice orbited around her like satellites, and the edges of her dress stretched into delicate sheets of frost.

At first glance, she appeared unchanged—save for one detail. An unshakable resolve gleamed in her icy-blue eyes.

This was the very willpower Valcrash had sought to unearth in her.

And yet, he could not laugh triumphantly.

A warning blared in his mind.

What had changed?

He couldn’t tell, but he knew—this was no longer the same lifeless doll.

Valcrash gripped his axe and braced himself.

Ashies fixed her gaze upon him.

Tilting her head slightly, she then lowered her stance and kicked off the frozen ground, gliding forward as if skating on ice.

Valcrash raised his axe high and brought it down. Ashies met the strike, her ice sword held horizontally to block the blow.

The clash of metal rang out in the frozen wasteland, announcing the resumption of battle.

Valcrash’s muscles swelled as he pushed down with overwhelming strength, trying to drive her into the ground.

Boom!

The impact shattered the icy surface, leaving cracks spreading beneath them. Yet Ashies did not yield.

Her ice sword, now fully formed, mirrored her determination. The slender blade refused to retreat, even against Valcrash’s twin-bladed axe.

Instead, frost began to creep along the axe, gnawing at its surface.

“Hmm?!”

Valcrash’s eyes widened in disbelief.

His axe, infused with crimson mana, was freezing under her magic.

Ashies seized the moment. With a sharp flick of her wrist, her sword deflected the axe, sending it aside.

For the first time since their battle began, Ashies had turned the tide. It felt like the prelude to a changing destiny.

Ashies lifted her eyes.

“Prepare yourself.”

She erased everything else from her sight, focusing only on her enemy. Her expression hardened.

“You dare climb higher!”

Valcrash roared, swinging his axe diagonally. Ashies ducked low, letting the blade cleave through empty air above her.

With precision, she thrust her sword into the exposed center of his chest.

Thunk.

No human could ever match the monstrous resilience of Valcrash’s flesh. Yet her blade pierced through—proof of her newfound strength.

The chalice had answered her desires.

“Urgh...”

Valcrash grunted, his brows furrowing.

It wasn’t fatal. To him, it was no more than a scratch.

But it was a bad sign.

Grabbing the blade with his bare hands, he yanked it out and hurled Ashies away with it.

Spinning midair, Ashies didn’t fall. Ice formed beneath her feet, creating a path in the air and steadying her movements.

Skating forward once more, Ashies pressed her advance.

“Jumping around like a rabbit!”

Valcrash swung his axe horizontally, the force rattling the air. Ashies leapt onto the flat side of the axe, using it as a platform to jump even higher.

Her agile movements defied logic.

Only Ashies, who commanded ice as an extension of herself, could achieve such precision.

Landing behind Valcrash in a flash, she unleashed a relentless flurry of strikes.

Forced off balance, Valcrash growled.

“Enough with these tricks!”

He released his mana in a violent burst, crimson energy erupting like a storm.

Ashies reacted instantly, pushing off his back and flipping backward to land gracefully.

“Grrr...”

Valcrash’s chest heaved as he breathed heavily, his massive frame shuddering.

Red steam rippled off his skin, distorting the air.

His power surged even further—this was the Orc King’s berserk state.

Ashies did not recklessly charge.

She studied him, searching for an opening. Every inch of his body was a weapon. One mistake, and the fight would end.

No frontal assault.

Force him into blind spots.

The ice began to shift.

Spikes of frozen spears shot toward Valcrash with blinding speed.

“Pointless!”

Valcrash roared, shattering the spikes with a swing of his arm. Ice shards scattered, reflecting his distorted image across their surfaces.

But from the broken fragments, new spears emerged.

About ten.

Ten ice spikes shot toward Valcrash, aiming to pierce his massive frame. Yet, as before, Valcrash shattered them with his fists, leaving nothing but fragments.

And then—again.

The ten shattered spikes multiplied into a hundred, and from those fragments, new spikes grew. Spikes sprouted from spikes, forming an endless chain of piercing thorns.

Valcrash could no longer destroy them all.

The ground beneath his feet was already frozen, making even a single step treacherous. Whenever he swung his arms, the ice grabbed at him, pulling him down.

Everything worked against him.

It was as if the ice itself had a will, supporting Ashies and obstructing him at every turn. By the time he realized it, the battlefield had transformed into a forest of ice spikes.

Like needles stitched by a sewing machine, the spikes wove around Valcrash’s body, trapping him in a prison of frozen thorns.

He couldn’t move—not even an inch.

And there, standing directly before him—

Ashies charged through the narrow opening left by the spikes. The thorns that imprisoned Valcrash parted to let her pass.

Thunk.

Her ice sword, brimming with frosty magic, pierced Valcrash’s chest once more, driving deeper than before.

“Urgh...!”

He felt the heat of pain, but colder than the wound was the chill spreading through his body.

Valcrash grabbed the blade to stop it and swung his axe downward with his free hand. Without hesitation, Ashies released the sword and retreated.

If he had only taken the sword and left her injured, it might have been a favorable trade for him—

Crack.

But the sword vanished from his chest and reappeared in Ashies’ left hand.

All Valcrash was left with was another wound. The absurdity of it drew a hollow groan from his throat.

The icy battle raged on.

Ashies danced around the crimson flashes of Valcrash’s attacks, striking back with bursts of light from her sword.

Her speed, magic, and swordsmanship had all advanced dramatically. Her strikes left countless wounds across Valcrash’s massive body, blood pouring from every cut.

But not a single drop of blood touched Ashies.

The scorching {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} heat of his blood froze before it could reach her, falling as crimson icicles.

Ice and steel played their symphony, accompanied by Valcrash’s furious roars.

His body, covered in blood and wounds, began to stagger. The towering figure, who once seemed indomitable, was faltering.

“Haa... haa...”

Ashies caught her breath, having driven the Orc King to the edge.

Her magic was powerful enough to defy the very principles of sorcery—but it wasn’t limitless.

Magic required energy, and spells as overwhelming as hers consumed it at an even greater rate.

She had poured everything into her attacks. The toll on her body was clear.

The next blow would decide it.

That understanding passed between them without words.

Then—

Boom—!

Valcrash moved first.

He drew upon every ounce of his strength.

The crimson aura of a berserker surged around him, but this time, streaks of black mixed into the light—an ominous, unnatural hue.

Mana whipped through the air like a storm, shattering the ice beneath them.

Valcrash bent his knees, lowering his center of gravity, and then—

He leapt.

A hulking giant soaring into the sky.

“Let’s see you dodge this!”

Suspended high above, Valcrash pulled his axe back as far as it would go.

His full force.

The Power Stomp.

The very attack that had reduced entire cities to dust now bore down on Ashies from above.

Ashies knew—

She couldn’t block it.

No, she mustn’t.

The impact would obliterate everything—the fortress, the slaves, and even Karami.

What should she do?

As Ashies hesitated, Valcrash began to fall, the descending axe like a guillotine ready to cleave the world in two.

And then—

Tap.

Ashies flung herself upward.

Freezing the air, she created stepping stones of ice, climbing higher and higher.

‘Up. Higher.’

Before Valcrash could land—

In the split second when their paths crossed, Ashies slipped to the side and landed on Valcrash’s back.

“What?!”

For creatures without wings, movement in midair was impossible.

Unless they were Ashies, who controlled magic like an extension of her body.

Valcrash had no way to shake her off.

He fell, carrying her with him.

Ice spread across his back where Ashies touched him. The sudden cold sent a wave of panic through his face.

“Get off me, you leech!”

Mana exploded outward, creating a storm that whipped around them.

Ashies’ face was scratched by the winds, her silver-blue hair thrashing wildly.

But she didn’t let go.

Calmly, she gathered the last of her strength. Her frosty blue magic spread, covering Valcrash’s blackened mana like a winter frost.

The ice crept toward his chest—toward his heart.

Steady.

Resolute.

“This is for all the people you’ve tormented.”

She delivered her will.

“Stop! Stoooooop—!”

Valcrash’s screams never reached her.

Without hesitation, blue and red light intertwined as the comet of their descent crashed into the earth.

Boom!

The fortress quaked, ice and snow erupting into the sky.

Crack—!

And then—

Ice bloomed.

Like a winter flower in full bloom, the frozen petals unfolded, absorbing the impact.

At the center of the icy blossom stood Valcrash, frozen into a statue of terror—mouth and eyes wide open in disbelief.

“Haa...”

Ashies exhaled, releasing the breath she had been holding.

The tiara atop her head gleamed faintly before shattering into particles of light.

Surveying the surroundings, she saw the prisoners staring, their mouths agape. But thanks to the ice absorbing the explosion, none of them had been harmed.

Her gaze shifted, locking onto Karami’s.

He smiled and waved at her playfully.

Ashies stared at him, then, ever so cautiously, raised her hand.

She waved back.

Slowly—

Like petals swaying in the breeze.