Thousand-Year Ice quietly swallowed his breath and looked at the young man smiling harmlessly.

His clear blue eyes were so vivid that just looking at them seemed to clear the mind.

The young man, who was staring straight at him with those eyes, did not appear particularly strong on the outside.

He wore a leather tunic, the kind mercenaries typically wore.

The quality of his weapon also did not seem particularly high.

However, despite appearing to be barely of age, the aura emanating from him was enough to make even Thousand-Year Ice fall silent with chills.

He hesitated.

Should he confront this young man, who stood in his way with a weapon in hand?

Or should he heed his words and quietly turn back?

፡፡

The deliberation did not last long.

Thousand-Year Ice spread his hand wide.

Crack—!

Tiny ice granules gathered beneath his palm, clumping together and beginning to take shape.

At first, it was just a small sphere, but the ice rapidly transformed, growing larger and larger in an instant.

What was created was—

Boom!

A massive axe so enormous that it dwarfed Thousand-Year Ice’s already towering height of eight feet.

The Divine Ice Axe (狂斤).

An axe so enormous that one could hardly believe it could be wielded properly.

Thousand-Year Ice easily slung it over his shoulder and growled in a low voice.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’d appreciate it if you stepped aside.”

However, Eliban made a troubled hum and shrugged.

“I see you’re not inclined to believe me after all.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, for your sake.”

The air was already thick with tension, snow swirling wildly as he gathered all his magical energy in preparation for battle.

Yet—

Eliban remained as calm as ever.

Even in the face of Thousand-Year Ice’s murderous intent, he appeared completely unfazed.

Thousand-Year Ice furrowed his brow deeply.

No matter how kind-hearted he might be, he was still immensely proud of his strength.

It was a power bestowed upon him by the god he worshipped.

He fully recognized that the young man with blue eyes was strong.

But Eliban’s serene expression made him feel as if his power was being dismissed too easily.

“Tsk—”

A warrior’s pride and competitive spirit burned fiercely in Thousand-Year Ice’s chest.

Then, Eliban’s voice rang out again.

“I truly mean this. I’m stopping you not just for his sake, but for yours as well.”

“Why?”

“Because if you go there now—”

The corners of Eliban’s lips, which had held a smile until now, suddenly turned cold.

“You will die.”

As if he were merely mentioning grass by the roadside, he spoke of Thousand-Year Ice’s death far too lightly.

At that moment, Thousand-Year Ice could no longer hold back—

Rumble!

“—What?”

At the sudden sound, Thousand-Year Ice instinctively turned his head.

There was a cliff.

Just moments ago, it had been a pristine white landscape covered in eternal snow.

But now— it had a massive indentation, as if something had gripped it tightly.

A deep scar marred the once-pristine cliffside.

And it didn’t end there.

Rumble—!

The impact triggered a massive avalanche from the snowy peaks beyond.

Thousand-Year Ice stared blankly at the unfolding disaster.

“You. You’ve already died once just now.”

At some point, Eliban had moved right in front of him, and Thousand-Year Ice flinched in shock.

Startled, he instinctively stepped back and swung his Divine Ice Axe with all his strength.

Boom—!

As the axe cleaved through the air, the atmosphere froze along its path, leaving a trail of destruction.

Everything in its trajectory was mercilessly crushed.

Pure destruction.

Then—

Boom—!!!

A massive crater formed, piercing through the swirling white snow.

But unfortunately—

Thousand-Year Ice’s attack did not even graze Eliban.

“Well, well—”

Eliban was already behind Thousand-Year Ice.

He sighed softly and whispered into his ear.

“You really don’t listen, do you?”

“—What?”

Thousand-Year Ice reflexively tried to swing his Divine Ice Axe again.

“Stop.”

Unlike before, the voice that fell upon the snowy ground was chillingly eerie.

Thousand-Year Ice’s movements halted against his will.

No, he was stopped.

The only thing he could move was his eyes.

He rolled his gaze to look at Eliban.

The same harmless smile, the same clear blue eyes.

Just as before.

And yet— Thousand-Year Ice felt something entirely different from him.

Something he should never have perceived.

His heart pounded wildly as he widened his eyes.

“By now, I think I’ve said enough for you to understand, don’t you think, Thousand-Year Ice? I don’t believe I’ve been unclear.”

“If you want to stop me from going, wouldn’t killing me be the easiest way?”

At those words, Eliban gave a cold smile.

“Oh, believe me, I’d love to. If it were up to me, I’d kill you right this instant.”

“……”

“But—he wouldn’t want that. That’s the only reason I’m not doing it. That’s why you’re still alive. You should be grateful.”

Thousand-Year Ice opened his mouth to retort—

But he never got the chance to finish.

His throat was seized by Eliban’s hand.

“Gah—!”

Thousand-Year Ice’s physique was massive compared to Eliban.

He was easily two feet taller, and his sheer body mass was incomparable.

And yet, he was powerless.

He couldn’t even resist as he was gripped like a doll.

And then, he saw it.

A dark gleam within those blue eyes.

Thousand-Year Ice immediately recognized the emotion.

It was rage.

Thick, visceral rage.

A fury that had emerged from the depths of the abyss.

Thousand-Year Ice could not comprehend it.

Why did this young man—

Why did he harbor the kind of wrath one could only obtain after reaching the very end of hell?

But there was no time to think.

Soon, that thick, suffocating fury poured into Eliban’s voice.

“Be ashamed of your ignorance, fool.”

“Ghk—”

“You people, looking at this sight.”

Drip—

“Stuffing your mouths with delicious food.”

Crack—!

“And playing these ridiculous games, do you even know who makes that possible?”

His words poured down like grinding teeth.

With each sentence piling up, Thousand-Year Ice’s movements gradually ceased.

“Gah—”

At the final moment—

As he stared into the deep, suffocating fanaticism lurking beneath the thick wrath—

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

The moment he was released from Eliban’s grip, he collapsed onto the ground, rolling.

Desperately, he shoved oxygen into his lungs.

Just to stay alive, to keep living—

“Well, this is rather unfortunate.”

As Thousand-Year Ice slowly regained his senses, the young man came back into his sight.

Once again, he wore the same friendly smile as when they first met.

“In any case, if you go to where that flute sound is coming from, it will be truly dangerous, so please try not to go. Understand? If you die, he would really regret it.”

Pat, pat—

As if he truly cared, his voice carried a warmth that echoed in Thousand-Year Ice’s ears.

Then, after tapping Thousand-Year Ice’s shoulder a couple of times, Eliban—

“Well then, I’m counting on you, Thousand-Year Ice.”

Flashed a sculpted smile one last time before turning away.

Amidst the swirling snowflakes, the blue-eyed young man vanished as if he had never existed.

Staring at the empty space he left behind—

‘…Who on earth is he…?’

Thousand-Year Ice muttered absentmindedly.

***

Alon stepped out of the dome-shaped building and immediately returned to the passage leading to the horizon, organizing the information he had gathered.

‘Aberration and Reversal of Heaven. And—’

He recalled the contents of the parchment inside his cloak.

‘Reach the Fifth Rank, is it?’

Even for someone like him, who could read ancient script, certain words seemed oddly placed.

But that first line—he remembered it clearly.

The Fifth Rank.

The phrase itself was not difficult to understand.

In fact, for Alon, who had never had a clear benchmark for his techniques, it seemed like a reasonable goal to aim for.

However, separate from that—

The fact that the term Fifth Rank had been used at all was what puzzled him.

…

What Alon had been pursuing until now were traces of True Mages.

And although the True Mages of the forgotten age of gods had some connections to modern mages, those connections were faint at best.

Moreover, to his knowledge, True Mages never used a ranking system.

Yet, here it was, appearing in this context.

Feeling an odd sense of incongruity, Alon pondered for a while.

‘Well, once I finish my business in the North, I’ll be seeing Kylrus frequently, so I can ask the when I return.’

Clearing his thoughts, he then recalled the words spoken in that abyssal voice.

‘Aberration…’

He had heard that term before.

But back then, he hadn’t paid it much mind.

Yet today, the moment he heard the word Aberration, a particular thought crossed Alon’s mind.

Could it be—

That the Aberration they spoke of referred to people like him?

Of course, it was only a possibility.

But the probability wasn’t zero.

As he continued mulling over this, a voice called out.

“My Lord.”

“Yutia.”

At some point, Yutia had appeared, standing at the entrance of a distant cave.

Before he knew it, he had already reached the outside.

“My Lord, are you alright?”

Her eyes were filled with worry.

“I’m fine.”

“…For someone fine, you have bloodstains.”

At the slight tremble in her voice, Alon shook his head to reassure her.

“I’m fine. I wasn’t in a fight—just had a brief moment where it was necessary.”

Even with his words, Yutia couldn’t easily shake off her concern.

So, Alon deliberately changed the subject.

“More importantly, have you finished everything you needed to do?”

“Ah, yes. I’ve completed all the investigations.”

“Is that so? Did you find everything you were looking for?”

“Yes.”

“I see. I was going to tell you to check out the altar inside, but I suppose it wasn’t particularly significant.”

Hearing that, Yutia hesitated briefly before breaking into a small smile.

“Well—it’s true that we’ve finished, but should we check it out just in case?”

“If you’ve already finished your investigation, there’s no need to go out of your way.”

“That’s true… But since you brought it up, I think it’s worth looking at.”

“No need. You’re already tired from waiting for me, so let’s just head back.”

Alon thought he was being considerate of her, but—

Yutia, who had been smiling lightly just moments ago, suddenly pouted slightly.

“?”

Alon raised an eyebrow at the sudden change.

Apparently displeased, Yutia pouted even more before letting out a small sigh.

Tap—

Then, she lightly grabbed the sleeve of Alon’s robe and looked up at him.

Without saying a word.

Just quietly.

“…?”

Alon’s usually composed expression slightly wavered in confusion.

Yet Yutia remained silent, simply gazing up at him.

Squeeze—Squeeze—

And subtly, she started tugging at his sleeve.

At that moment—

Alon finally realized that Yutia was wordlessly protesting.

“…?”

A cold sweat ran down Alon’s back.

He understood that she was protesting about something—

But he had no idea what exactly it was.

‘What is it? Which part upset her?’

He racked his brain for an answer.

Then, suddenly, a past conversation came to mind.

‘When we went to see the evening primroses last time, I didn’t say anything, but…’

He recalled something she had mentioned when they traveled from Terea to Caliban.

Then, glancing at Yutia—whose cheeks were slowly puffing out as if she herself hadn’t fully realized it—

“…Alright. We’ll check it before we leave.”

He carefully submitted his answer.

And—

“Let’s do that, My Lord.”

As if nothing had ever happened, Yutia’s face instantly brightened into a radiant smile.

‘…Was that the right answer?’

Watching her, Alon let out a silent sigh.