Act 138: Breaking Free (Surprised?)

The avalanche crashed down like an angry tidal wave, but the silver monster had already spread its wings. Its silver wings beat rapidly like a dragonfly's, and then it rose from the ground.

The silver monster lunged straight at her. Freya could tell without calculating that, at its current speed, Avalanche would almost certainly be able to dodge it.

In that instant, her thoughts flashed like lightning. Almost subconsciously, the girl made her decision. The golden wings of light behind her flared, and she rose into the air as well, then abruptly lunged toward the silver monster.

At that moment—

The mocking smile on the silver monster's featureless face finally froze. Its huge mouth, curved like a crescent moon, had been stretched open in derision.

"Are you insane?!"

it shrieked in alarm.

Freya shot toward the silver monster in midair like a golden meteor. The monster frantically waved its silver blade, trying to force her back, but she remained unmoved. She neither dodged nor retreated, allowing the blade to slice across her lower abdomen. The Empress of Wind Half-Plate was almost like a layer of paper beneath such an attack, and a long gash opened instantly, spraying rose-colored blood. Yet the girl slammed into the silver monster's waist, driving it backward.

Her strength was far inferior to its, but there was no longer any need for a fight to the death. A momentary obstruction was enough to decide many things.

"No—"

The silver monster's ascent faltered only slightly before the avalanche crashed down over it. Under nature's unrivaled might, living things appeared as insignificant as dust. Freya and the silver monster flickered once amid the waves of snow, then vanished without a trace.

At the other end of the canyon.

The young members of the Broken Sword Knight Order