Victory

I know this person; Neph specifically told me that he actually believes in the "True Creator"—

Klein looked over cooperatively, and Mobet Zoroaster continued, "You don't need to worry about him. He's completely isolated in his own world of faith, but in battle, he'll be a very reliable ally. Hey Snoman, at least say something!"

Receiving no response, Mobet chuckled wryly and stroked his chin, saying, "This is the treatment I often receive. You might find it hard to imagine, but when I first entered this place, I was a proud, reserved, and cultured nobleman. But the long years have changed everything. Heh, when your companion is a Giant only knows how to laugh foolishly and shout slogans—"

When he said this, Grossel, who was sitting on a stone, smiled innocently and raised his hand to scratch the back of his head. The vertical single eye did not contain the ferocity and violence that was hard to portray in various legends about giants.

How pitiful— Klein stepped forward and greeted the silent Ascetic: "Hello."

"The great God of Winter specifically asked me to convey His greetings to you—oh, by the way, He is a Subordinate Deity of the Creator."

Mobet stopped speaking. He didn't continue, but subconsciously looked at Snoman, who was still facing the stone wall. Snoman asked with some doubt, " From Subordinate Deity?"

"Yes," Klein nodded, "Or perhaps you are familiar with another title? Grounded Angel, or— King of Angel?"

Snoman turned around.

"Which King of Angel is He?" he asked in a reverent tone.

"Have you ever heard of White Angel?" Klein asked.

"Of course," Snoman stood up, looked up, and spoke in a chanting tone, "The ' White Angel ' are faithful followers of the Lord, steadfast, courageous, and devout, from the weak to the strong, never changing."

After speaking, he looked at Gehrman Sparrow with the eyes of a family member, his tone becoming warmer. "My brother, is this the ' White Angel ' you follow?"

No, how did you end up calling them brothers? Okay, I can understand that. After all, those who believe in the Angel under His command are essentially from the same denomination as you. And you, Neph told me, might have a custom of calling people of the same faith "brothers and sisters"—well, from Doctrine perspective, that's not entirely incomprehensible—

Klein wasn't used to the title; he almost lost control of his expression, but the "Clown" ability kicked in, and he restrained himself, shaking his head and saying, "No."

Snoman's expression froze, and the others stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say.

Klein had anticipated this situation, so he wasn't too surprised. He chuckled to himself as he calmly explained, "The God of Winter is not the White Angel of the past." Oldest One, the White Angel "attacked the newly born and still weak God of Winter, causing him to fall into a deep sleep. Then, he usurped the title of God of Winter, deceiving the great Creator, and subsequently betrayed the Creator, leading to the Creator's downfall."

"After that, He called Himself the Eternal Blazing Sun," established His own Church, and shamelessly proclaimed that He had split off from the spirit of the Creator.

"Until recently, the awakened God of Winter returned to the Creator's side, revealing this hidden history."

"----" Snoman said nothing; he simply frowned slightly.

These words are actually quite suspicious. Most Cultists who swindle and deceive others will find a sufficiently reliable god to package themselves.

But Snoman also knew that the Creator's fall was a fact. He came from the Third Epoch, while the outside world was already in the Fifth Epoch. In the few conversations his companions had, and in Mobet's muttered complaints, he, though not joining in, had heard some information about the outside world.

He was certain, at least, that the "Sun God" no longer existed, and that the one currently wielding the Authority the "Sun" was indeed the "Eternal Blazing Sun" the Adventurer spoke of.

Therefore, Snoman did not immediately question or criticize that this was a false god. He simply frowned at Gehrman Sparrow. Klein had some idea about this and continued, "I have seen the returning Creator and received His teachings."

"The status of the God of Winter has been acknowledged by the Creator."

Having received recognition— Snoman felt relieved and asked, "Didn't you say my My Lord had fallen?"

"Of course," Klein nodded, "The Lord will certainly fall, but will also return in the devotion of his believers—shouldn't that be common knowledge?"

He returned the questioning to Snoman.

Snoman wasn't angry; in fact, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "So, how is the Lord now?"

Klein didn't continue. He clearly remembered why he had come in, so he simply replied, "I think perhaps we should defeat Ulyssan first, and then leave this place."

"The God of Winter is waiting outside. You can ask Him for help. I believe He will not hesitate to share His words and will surely answer your questions and welcome you back into the embrace of the Creator."

Snoman's eyes lit up. "Yes, you're right. Let me do it... or rather, let Mobet introduce you to the other people."

Klein looked at Mobet, Mobet shuddered and asked in surprise, "It's my turn again?"

"Yes," Klein nodded. "Introduce the others to me, let's get to know each other, then I'll give you something, and then we can set off to attack Ulyssan. I think we should see it soon."

"That's not necessarily true," Mobet shook his head. "When I first came here, I was just as optimistic as you."

"This isn't my opinion," Klein shook his head, "It's a revelation from the God of Winter."

Mobet's expression turned serious. Although he had realized from the previous conversation that the God of Winter Klein mentioned was actually just an Grounded Angel, this Grounded Angel had a true God behind him, and was a being who dared to call himself "omniscient and omnipotent." He had never heard such a bold Doctrine in the Fourth Epoch, so he was willing to give his trust.

He thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, Groselle and the others have already met, so that leaves only Longzel —hey, Longzel, wake up, a new companion has arrived!"

The sleeping Black-armored Knight slowly awoke and opened his eyes to look at Gehrman Sparrow.

Suddenly, amidst the clanging of metal, he stood up abruptly, staring at Klein and asking, "Loen?"

"Yes." Klein nodded frankly, noticing that this former Loen soldier, who was said to be over 165 years old, showed no signs of aging. His black hair hung down, and his blue eyes were sharp, making one unconsciously want to obey him.

Chapter 22 Victory

Longzel looked visibly surprised, but quickly composed himself. "Do you know the Edward family from Backlund?"

"Backlund has many Edward," Klein replied simply.

"The Edward, who live at No. 18 Drahair Street in the Northwest Borough," Longzel pressed.

Klein shook his head. "The Northwest Borough no longer exists."

"There is no Northwest Borough anymore—" Longzel repeated the other person's words in a low voice, his voice gradually fading.

He paused for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "I don't know how many years have passed outside, but it must have been many years—I don't even remember which year I came in. Most of the time I've been asleep; time here seems to have frozen."

Klein replied, "The God of Winter told me that you should have entered this travelogue 165 years ago—currently 1350."

"165 years ago?" Longzel repeated, his eyes blank. "So... that much time has passed?"

Klein paused for a moment before speaking, "The God of Winter told me that time is chaotic in this space, and living in it for a long time can easily cause memory and perception to become confused. However, he holds the Authority over memory and also knows a reliable Psychiatrist."

"Perhaps after you leave here, you can try asking for help."

Neph didn't actually offer to help when she said those words, but Klein brought it up on his own initiative. This wasn't entirely a decision for Neph, since he actually knew the "Psychiatrist."

He thought that even if Neph was unwilling, "Miss Justice" should be able to help.

They fell silent. Klein thought for a moment, then took out the Cold-Resistance Charm he had prepared. As he distributed them, he explained, "These are Charm that can enhance cold resistance. However, the God of Winter told me that if Ulyssan were to stab you with a giant sword or spear made of Frost, it still wouldn't protect you. These Charm only make you less susceptible to the cold."

Groselle laughed and refused the Charm. Klein glanced at Groselle's size but didn't insist—a Giant with a "Warrior" Pathway Sequence 5 probably didn't need his Charm anyway.

The others didn't stand on ceremony and readily accepted the Charm. As they prepared themselves and decided to set off, an unexpected event occurred: a frenzied and violent aura descended rapidly.

A colossal figure descended from the sky, landing on a massive rock covered in thick ice. Its wings, still covered in a membrane, continued to spread, almost obscuring the surrounding light.

Klein gazed at the dreamlike, icy armor plates and the extremely ferocious, deep blue dragon eyes, exhaled softly, and uttered a name: "Ulyssan."

Almost simultaneously, the Frost Dragon "King of the North" Ulyssan opened his mouth and spat out a Distortion, erratic, and quietly flamboyant ice-blue flame toward the cave. Wherever it passed, the void became transparent and completely solidified!

In an instant, the icy blue flames unleashed a wave of dreamlike light, surging wildly into the dark cave and freezing everything in their path.

Klein's expression changed. Just as Neph had said, this Frost Dragon had definitely reached the level of Demigod in a certain field. Therefore, Klein dared not be careless. He lunged to the side, trying to avoid the next attack.

The uneven rocks inside the cave were of little use at this moment. Yulisian's breath covered the entire cave, and under this power that froze everything, there was no safe place here.

As Klein was contemplating how to use "Travel" to escape while taking others with him, a massive gray-blue figure appeared in Klein line of sight, just as the surroundings were about to turn into Ice Coffin.

The Giant Groselle silently stepped forward, kneeling on his left knee, his back bent forward, and planted his broad, straight greatsword in front of him.

A dawn-like light then shone forth, forming illusory walls on either side of Groselle, protecting everyone behind them.

The icy blue "tide" surged in, first parted by the vertical giant sword, and then crashed into the dawn light on both sides!

In Klein and the others' view, the cave suddenly darkened, then regained some light.

They could clearly see that the fire had gone out, and the dim light from outside shone through the layers of ice crystals, making it exceptionally dark.

At this moment, every inch of space in front of Groselle was frozen, and the Giant seemed to have become a tiny insect trapped in amber!

Immediately afterwards, the giant sword stuck in the ground emitted rays of light like the morning sun.

They converged, enveloping Groselle, and then transformed into Storm of Light that swept outwards.

Without a sound, a huge, melting crack appeared in the ice, extending all the way out of the cave, and Groselle's gray-blue figure disappeared from the spot.

With her hair still untied, the Elf Singer Shatas, carrying her bow and arrow, burst out of the cave without any cushioning as she was swept along by the swirling wind. Viscount Mobet Zoroaster of the Solomon Empire, wearing an asymmetrical black coat, muttered "Don't rush," "Finally here," as he ran after Shatas.

The ascetic Snowman then tapped his chest four times, seemingly drawing a cross. "May the Lord protect us!"

With a hoarse, dry voice, he walked barefoot through the cold ice, running out of the cave through a crack.

Klein felt reassured as his teammates got moving. He didn't disappoint; his Spirituality energy spread out, finding and controlling Ulyssan's Spirit Body Threads.

Ulyssan's resistance was indeed stronger than that of a typical Sequence 5, but it was particularly weak against a true Demigod. When Klein walked out with a relaxed and leisurely gait, his temporary teammates had already noticed that the Frost Dragon's reaction speed had slowed down significantly.

The story concludes with Klein narrowly escaping Groselle's greatsword with his new Marionette, and a phantom gate covered in snow appears, signaling the end of the tale.

Klein stood in front of the door and asked the others, "Perhaps any of you would like to push the door open?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, then all looked at Groselle. Groselle chuckled, walked to the snowy gate, pushed it open, and turned to look at his companions.

"We are free!" he shouted, raising his hands.