This Was the True Ice Empress-What Was Jarilo Compared to Her?

White knee-high military boots struck the hard permafrost.

The metal spur on one heel clipped a rusty chunk of iron ore. Clink. A few sparks flew.

Before they could rise, the dead, cold air snuffed them out.

The air reeked of sulfur from burning Geomarrows ore.

With the frozen ground of the Underworld as its center.

The gray-black blizzard raging overhead stopped for a second.

The wind changed direction.

The wild ice crystals seemed to have met an absolute superior. They obediently sank lower.

White freezing mist spread outward along the ground.

Around the spotless boots, it quickly formed translucent ice lotuses.

Their petals were sharp, catching the faint searchlights of the abandoned mining district.

Su Chen lowered his head.

His gaze passed over the heavy curves of his chest and fell on the ice lotuses at his feet.

This body was far taller than the little girl he had been moments ago.

The slender heels tipped his weight slightly forward.

Unaccustomed to the boots, he twisted an ankle awkwardly.

A faint ache ran through his calf.

He tugged at the tight black belt, drawing its exaggerated waist-to-hip ratio into even sharper relief.

A heavy white military coat hung from his shoulders, shielding him from the wind at his back.

Cold.

That was Su Chen's most immediate physical sensation after switching Avatars.

It was not the cold of his surroundings, but the temperature of this body itself.

The power of Demon’s Extract surged through his veins.

There was none of the warmth of ordinary blood. It felt as though liquid glaciers were coursing through him.

Su Chen raised both hands.

Long, pale fingers were encased in white leather gloves.

He clenched his fists.

The leather creaked and rubbed.

It pulled taut, pressing against his knuckles until they turned white.

A sadistic urge to destroy something and hear someone scream grew through his mind like weeds.

It was Esdeath's instinct.

Utter contempt for the weak. A feverish hunger for slaughter.

Su Chen bit the soft flesh inside his mouth.

He bit hard. The taste of iron spread across his tongue.

He forced the Avatar's violent impulses back down into his heart.

Su Chen took a deep breath.

Cold air filled his lungs, bringing a faint sting.

When he exhaled, a thick cloud of white freezing mist emerged.

It spread before his face and blurred his vision.

This was the Underworld of Belobog.

There was no sky overhead, only rusted steel pillars supporting a heavy alloy dome.

The air smelled of machine oil, rust, and the mustiness of a place that had not seen sunlight in years.

The silence broke.

Behind the abandoned minecart tracks came a scraping sound that set his teeth on edge.

"Clack. Clack."

It sounded like countless blunt knives scraping sheet metal.

A tremendous weight crushed the snow on the tracks with muffled crunches.

Even the frozen ground trembled.

Three enormous Fragmentum creatures crawled out of the shadows.

They were Ice Out of Space.

Born in the bitter cold of the Fragmentum, the monsters were as large as small hills.

Thick blue-white crystal armor covered their bodies, its edges bristling with barbs.

They had been dormant deep in the wasteland.

Now the terrifyingly pure source of ice and snow within Su Chen had awakened them.

Greed overcame their instinctive fear.

They wanted to devour that power.

The largest monster, in the middle, opened its mouth.

It had no vocal cords. Its shriek came from ice-crystal joints grinding together.

Rings of white frost poured from its mouth.

They hardened into sharp shards in midair and came crashing down.

Its six thick crystal limbs drove into the ground.

Deep pits formed in the permafrost.

Dirt and ice chips sprayed everywhere.

Like a runaway heavy bulldozer, its massive body charged straight at the woman in the white uniform.

The spikes on its back struck one another as it ran, ringing brightly.

The other two monsters flanked him.

They did not close in to fight.

More than a dozen icicles, each as thick as a thigh, rapidly took shape overhead.

With piercing whistles, they shot toward Su Chen's back and neck.

They tore through the air with a shrill whine.

Their movements whipped the snowstorm across the wasteland into a small vortex.

Blown snow blotted out the lights.

Su Chen stood where he was.

The hem of his white uniform snapped in the freezing wind.

He did not draw the slender rapier at his waist.

He did not even touch its hilt.

He watched the charging Fragmentum Monsters.

Not a ripple stirred in his ice-blue eyes.

He looked at them as though they were ridiculous insects struggling through winter.

They were barely worth his attention.

"Using ice against this general?"

Su Chen spoke.

His voice was mature and resonant, steeped in effortless arrogance.

He slowly raised his right hand.

His gloved thumb and forefinger came together.

The gesture was delicate.

It was as though he were brushing nonexistent dust from his cuff.

Snap.

One crisp snap of his fingers.

No lengthy incantation. No elaborate opening move.

Only the descent of ice's absolute dominion.

In a hundredth of a second, every trace of moisture was wrenched from the air.

Even the wind froze.

The charging Ice Out of Space locked rigidly in place.

The largest monster still held its massive claw outstretched, ready to tear him apart.

Its tip stopped mere inches from the brim of Su Chen's cap.

Snowflakes still clung to its sharp edge.

The icicles overhead froze in place too.

Absolute stillness.

A layer of translucent pale-blue ice climbed from the monsters' feet and covered their enormous bodies in an instant.

This was no surface frost.

They had been frozen completely, down to their molecules.

The Fragmentum energy in their cores was sealed tight within the ice.

Their flickering, ghostly blue light went out.

Not even the faintest glimmer escaped.

The small vortex raging around them stopped as well.

Gravel and ice chips suspended in midair were frozen inside a translucent wall.

The world was frighteningly quiet.

Even breathing sounded harsh.

Su Chen lowered his hand.

One spotless boot moved half a step forward.

He looked at the giant ice sculpture before him and found it rather dull.

"Shatter."

His lips parted to release a single word.

Crack—

A hairline fracture appeared atop the largest monster's head.

The sound was crisp.

Like an expensive crystal glass striking a marble floor.

The crack spread down its armor, branching like roots.

Then—

Crash!

The dense barrage of fractures sounded like heavy rain pounding a metal roof.

It made his ears ring.

All three Fragmentum Monsters, each the size of a heavily armored vehicle, exploded along with the icicles overhead.

Cleanly and completely.

Without the slightest resistance.

No blood or flesh flew.

No agonized screams rang out.

Only countless chunks of ice fell onto the frozen ground like torrential rain.

Their clattering echoed through the empty, abandoned Waste Mining Area.

The chunks smashed rocks beneath them, then broke apart again from the impact.

They became even finer shards.

The tremendous force kicked up a cold wind.

Icy mist rose from the ground.

Clear shards refracted the bleak, faint light, carpeting the ground.

Only seconds ago, the Fragmentum creatures had looked ferocious.

Now nothing remained but ice fragments too broken to recognize.

Stillness returned completely.

Su Chen lowered his head and looked at the scattered ice.

A cold smile spread across his face.

His lips drew back little by little, revealing white teeth.

This body was rejoicing.

It relished the thrill of snuffing out the existence of living beings and lifeless things alike in an instant.

He felt his heart racing.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It hammered against his ribs.

Not from fear, but from the thrill of holding absolute power.

Esdeath's lust for slaughter roared through his blood.

It wanted to freeze every living thing in this underground world into an ice sculpture he could smash at will.

Su Chen raised a hand and pressed it firmly against his chest.

A leather-gloved hand pressed against the fabric of the military uniform.

He took a deep breath, forcing down the cruel impulse that came with the Avatar.

But he found he could not wipe the arrogant smile from his face.

His muscles refused to obey his mind, stubbornly holding that bloodthirsty expression.

What a dangerous, volatile body.

Military boots crunched over the ice strewn across the ground.

The metal spurs mercilessly crushed the tiny shards.

They made a crackling sound.

Under his soles, the ice crumbled into white powder.

Su Chen stopped and slowly raised his head.

His gaze swept past the desolate Waste Mining Area.

He looked up.

There, thick iron plates and steel pillars sealed off the upper district.

Dark red rust covered the iron plates.

In places, black icicles hung like sharp fangs.

A vast cage loomed over everyone in the Underworld.

Su Chen raised his right hand.

His white-gloved fingertips touched the brim of his military cap.

He tugged it down firmly.

The brim's shadow covered half his forehead.

Open contempt shone in his icy blue eyes.

"This is the so-called ice-and-snow planet?"

The woman's voice carried far on the cold wind.

It rang with boundless scorn.

"It's a far cry from my Empire."