Esdeath Descends on the Underworld, Leaving Seele Stunned

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

That trace of bored mockery had barely been swept into the snow-laden wind, thick with the smell of rust.

Dozens of meters ahead, around a bend in the abandoned mining district, a tremendous crash erupted.

Bang!

A rusted heavy metal minecart overturned.

Its wheels spun uselessly twice in the air, bearings grinding with a dry rasp.

The few chunks of Geomarrows ore left in the cart struck the frozen ground and shattered into black grit.

Then came a rush of footsteps.

Leather boots struck the frozen ground, fast and hard, without a wasted step.

The shriek of a blade cutting through the cold wind filled the air.

Whoosh—

The sharp sound pierced her eardrums.

Several violet energy afterimages darted between the rusted iron frames.

Three hulking Fragmentum vagrants fled toward them, stumbling over one another.

The rough cloth wrapped around their bodies was crusted with frost, and even the rusted pickaxes in their hands trembled.

These monsters, which usually terrorized the Underworld, now looked like rabbits chased by hounds.

They ran blindly.

Loose stones flew everywhere beneath their feet.

A violet blur flickered in and out of sight behind them.

Seele gritted her teeth, her jaw clenched tight.

Wind plastered her short violet hair against her sweat-soaked cheeks.

She drove forward, calf muscles taut, her military boot crushing a jutting piece of ice-covered rock.

Quantum energy burst around her ankle in a blinding violet flare.

Like a bullet fired from a gun, she closed more than ten meters in an instant.

"Running? Did you ask my scythe first?"

Seele gripped her massive quantum scythe with both hands and twisted sharply at the waist.

The violet blade sent a spray of ice chips flying.

It sliced through the air, poised to cut open the back of the rearmost monster.

She burst around the bend.

Her scythe had just risen above her head.

Then she saw a display of power that could only be called a miracle.

No, it was more than overwhelming force.

It was one-sided erasure.

The woman in the white military uniform stood with her back to Seele.

Her tall figure blocked the searchlight's glow.

Her white-gloved fingers had just lowered.

The crisp tail end of a finger snap still hung in the air.

Snap—

The three Fragmentum monsters before Seele—monsters she would have had to work to kill—suddenly stopped moving.

A translucent layer of blue ice surged up from their feet.

It moved faster than her eyes could follow.

Their terrified howls were sealed inside the thick ice with them.

The next second—

The sound of shattering burst out like a rainstorm.

Without warning, the three enormous ice sculptures broke apart.

Tens of thousands of ice shards pelted the frozen ground.

A few walnut-sized pieces skittered to Seele's feet.

They struck her leather boots, bounced once, and crumbled into white powder.

Seele froze with her scythe raised.

Her mind went blank for a full three seconds.

What just happened?

Those were tough, thick-skinned Fragmentum monsters.

I chased them for half a street before finding an opening, and they just shattered?

Quantum energy still coursed over her body.

The violet light that had flowed so steadily now flickered like a faulty old lamp.

Crackle. Crackle.

Violet light flashed wildly around her wrists and shoulders, breaking into visible gaps.

The edges of her body shifted between solid flesh and imaginary particles that scattered and reformed.

Her quantum state had become dangerously unstable.

Because she was afraid.

Her instincts were screaming a warning, disrupting her control over the energy.

Seele panted for breath.

The mining district's murky, freezing air flooded her lungs and stung her windpipe.

Her chest heaved, making the black garment beneath her jacket rise and fall.

She stared at the glittering ice shards covering the ground, her gaze unfocused.

Then she looked at the white-clad figure who had not even turned around.

The quantum speed she took such pride in—

The combat skills Wildfire prized—

Before a power that could freeze even space in an instant, they were a joke.

She might as well have been a child who had only just learned to walk, charging a fully armored knight with a wooden stick.

Su Chen heard the commotion behind him.

The crisp crunch of boots on ice shards stopped.

He turned slowly.

The hem of his white military uniform cut a sharp arc through the air.

His high-heeled military boots pressed into the frozen ground with a dull crunch.

Black metal spurs scraped against the earth.

Beneath the brim of his cap—

A pair of ice-blue eyes swept toward her without a trace of warmth.

Their gazes met.

There were no sparks.

Only crushing pressure from one side.

Seele felt as though a beast that had crawled out of a mountain of corpses was staring her down.

This was no Underworld thug fighting over a piece of bread.

Nor was this a mindless Fragmentum creation that knew only destruction.

This was a general who commanded millions of soldiers.

An absolute brutality born of standing atop countless corpses through endless war.

Killing intent.

That killing intent took shape like an invisible wall and slammed into Seele's chest.

Her legs felt filled with lead.

She wanted to retreat, but her feet seemed glued to the frozen ground. She could not move an inch.

Cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

Tiny beads gathered into rivulets.

They slid down her cheeks and dripped into her violet collar.

The cold against her skin made her shudder.

She clutched the scythe's long metal shaft with both hands.

Her palms were slick with cold, clammy sweat.

The weapon that normally felt so natural in her hands now seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

The scythe was too heavy. Its shaft slipped half an inch through her sweaty hands.

The blade brushed the ground with a soft scrape.

Seele hurriedly tightened her grip.

Her knuckles turned a deathly white from the strain.

Her fingers even cramped, trembling beyond her control.

Her bones creaked beneath the pressure.

The quantum afterimages around her flickered more violently.

Her whole body skipped between solid form and imaginary particles like a projection about to lose power.

It felt as though all the air around her had been sucked away.

A lead weight seemed to press against her chest, leaving it aching and tight.

She could only part her lips and take shallow breaths, afraid a larger movement would draw the other's attention.

Su Chen looked at the violet-haired girl.

He recognized her as Seele of Wildfire.

But Esdeath's instincts had taken over his mind.

He had no desire to catch up with her—only an instinctive contempt for the weak and a hunger to torment them.

He felt the glacier in his blood begin to boil.

He took one step forward.

Tap.

His metal spur struck the ground.

White freezing mist spread from his military boots toward Seele like something alive.

It crept across the abandoned minecart tracks.

A thick layer of white frost instantly formed over the steel.

The rails cracked with sharp pops.

Even the wooden ties beneath them split apart, sending splinters flying.

Seele swallowed.

Her throat worked with difficulty, producing a muffled gulp.

In the quiet abandoned mining district, the sound was loud enough to embarrass her.

Her throat felt so dry it might catch fire.

There was nowhere to retreat.

Behind her lay a dead end, blocked by rusted sheet metal.

She bit through her lower lip.

A faint metallic taste spread across her tongue.

Clinging to that sting, she forced back a little clarity and steadied her trembling muscles.

She put her arms to work and leveled the quantum scythe slipping in her hands.

Its massive violet blade pointed straight at the white-clad figure.

But its tip still wavered beyond her control.

"Who are you?"

Seele spoke warily, her voice hoarse.

A tremor she did not even notice touched the end of her words.

"A lapdog sent from the upper district?"

Su Chen stopped.

A flicker of cruel interest crossed his ice-blue eyes.

He gave a cold laugh.

His lips parted, revealing white teeth.

He closed his long fingers around empty air.

Freezing mist rushed together around him.

A crystal-clear ice sword formed in his palm in an instant, radiating bone-chilling cold.

Cold light shimmered at its tip as it pointed straight at Seele's throat.

"You dare speak to me like that..."

The woman's voice held a pleasure that made Seele's scalp prickle.

"Are you ready for your punishment?"