Wildfire Leader Natasha Trembles at the Divine Court's Strength

The tip of the Ice Sword radiated a bone-piercing chill.

White mist curled around the blade, freezing even the surrounding air into a pale haze.

Goose bumps instantly prickled across Seele's neck.

The cold did not brush against her skin. It stabbed straight into her bones.

She gritted her teeth and kicked hard off the ground with both legs.

Her body shot back two full steps.

Her boots scraped two stark white tracks across the frozen earth, scattering chips of ice.

Her heel caught on a jutting piece of scrap metal. Seele staggered violently, barely avoiding the deadly edge.

"Seele! Put your weapon down!"

An anxious woman's voice rang out from the other side of the Waste Mining Area.

Rapid footsteps followed.

The crunch of ice breaking underfoot grew closer and closer.

Natasha came running across the ice-strewn ground.

Her white doctor's coat whipped in the cold wind, its hem stained with dark gray mud.

A heavy Grenade Launcher rested on her shoulder.

As she ran, its metal barrel kept knocking against the buckle on her belt with a dull clatter.

Natasha gasped for breath.

The murky, cold underground air filled her lungs and made her cough twice.

Her gaze swept quickly across the mining district.

Shattered ice from Fragmentum Monsters littered the ground, reflecting the searchlights' deathly white glow.

Finally, her eyes settled on the woman in the white military uniform.

One look was enough to stop Natasha's breath.

Her heart skipped a beat.

There was no killing intent about this woman, only the absolute dominance of someone who regarded all life as insignificant.

Natasha let go without hesitation.

The heavy Grenade Launcher slid straight off her shoulder.

Thud.

The stock struck the hard, frozen ground and left a shallow dent.

She raised both hands high, palms facing outward.

It was a gesture of complete surrender.

"Natasha!" Seele cried.

She gripped her Quantum Scythe tightly with both hands. Purple energy flickered along its blade as she tried to rush forward.

Natasha whipped around and clamped a hand around Seele's wrist.

Her grip was shockingly strong.

Her nails dug straight into the soft flesh of Seele's wrist.

Seele sucked in a sharp breath of pain, nearly dropping her scythe.

"Quiet. Step back."

Natasha kept her voice low, but its severity left no room for argument.

She turned back toward Su Chen.

Bending slightly, she shielded most of Seele's body with her own.

"General."

Natasha's throat was dry.

She swallowed, her throat moving with difficulty.

"Wildfire meant no offense."

"She's young and doesn't know any better. She offended you. Please spare her."

Su Chen looked at the two leaders of the Underworld.

Bored indifference filled his ice-blue eyes.

He did not lower the Ice Sword.

He idly drew an arc through the air with its tip, trailing a spray of fine ice crystals.

The glittering fragments fell onto the frozen ground with a faint rustle.

"No offense?"

The woman gave a soft laugh.

Her rich voice echoed through the Waste Mining Area, carrying the arrogance of someone accustomed to command.

Su Chen raised his left hand and adjusted his white leather glove with slender fingers.

The shadow of his peaked cap hid half his face.

"I am the Seat of Ice of the Imaginary Divine Court."

He spoke slowly, every word cold enough to freeze blood.

"Jarilo's rules do not apply to me."

Natasha froze where she stood.

The Divine Court.

Those two words struck her chest like a hammer weighing hundreds of pounds.

Stars burst across her vision.

She recalled the outsiders from the Astral Express whom she had met in the Underworld.

When the bespectacled old man mentioned the "Imaginary Divine Court," even the hand he used to adjust his glasses had trembled.

Crushing a meteorite with one hand.

A little girl who could warp space and erase an interstellar fleet.

At the time, Natasha had taken it for an exaggerated tale from beyond the stars.

Now the legend stood before her in the flesh.

And it had pointed a sword at the throat of the girl who was like a sister to her.

Natasha's fingers began trembling uncontrollably.

Although she had thrown her gun to the ground, the index finger of her right hand still twitched nervously against her outer thigh, making tiny trigger-pulling motions.

If she had not thrown the gun down just now...

If she had pulled the trigger and fired even one grenade...

The Underworld would have become a dead city sealed in absolute zero today.

Not a single person would have survived.

Cold sweat broke out across Natasha's back.

It soaked through the cotton shirt beneath her coat.

The damp fabric clung to her skin, and the mining district's cold wind chilled her to the core.

Her teeth chattered softly, making a faint clicking sound.

"Honored... Seat of Ice."

Natasha bowed even lower.

Her spine curved humbly at the back of her neck.

The usually gentle but resolute leader of Wildfire had lowered herself as far as she could.

She did not dare look up into those ice-blue eyes.

"The Underworld is a rough place, and the wind and snow are fierce."

"Rivet Town is not far ahead."

"If you would not mind, you could rest a while at my clinic."

Su Chen watched Natasha tread so carefully.

The urge to kill that belonged to Esdeath subsided a little within him.

With someone this sensible, half the pleasure of using force was gone.

There was little point in frightening her further.

Rather bored, he relaxed the fingers of his right hand.

Crack.

The crystal-clear Ice Sword shattered instantly.

It became a cloud of white mist that the wind dispersed into the murky air.

The danger had passed.

Natasha let out a long breath.

Her legs went weak, and she nearly lost her footing.

She hurriedly braced a hand against a rusty metal crate beside her and managed to stay upright.

Su Chen raised his chin proudly.

He folded his arms across his chest, lifting the striking, snow-white curves beneath them.

The white military coat draped over his shoulders swayed slightly with the movement.

He strode forward, ready to follow Natasha out of the decrepit Waste Mining Area.

Just as they turned around...

The frozen ground suddenly shook violently.

Loose stones bounced wildly across it.

From the direction of the abandoned machine settlement in the distance...

A heavy mechanical roar suddenly sounded.