Chapter 864: Riezel vs. ’Chloria’

’What the hell is this...?’

At this moment, Riezel was completely stunned as he watched the golden light begin to gather within Chloria’s opened eyes.

As soon as he saw that golden radiance, Riezel almost immediately thought of Lizbeth.

*BOOM!*

Just as Riezel was caught in his shock, an astonishing power erupted from Chloria’s body.

It was absolute cold.

It was terrifying frost.

White mist born from unimaginably low temperatures burst outward like crashing waves. Snowstorms swept across everything around Chloria, while thick ice spread wherever the frigid air reached, quickly engulfing the floor of the limestone cavern, transforming the entire area into a frozen world of ice and snow.

*Swish!*

Riezel immediately activated his teleportation magic and appeared at the edge of the frozen landscape, avoiding the surging tide of white mist.

No, it was not mist—it was freezing air.

’I knew there was something off about that woman.’

A glimmer flashed through Riezel’s eyes.

At the center of the overwhelming cold, the figure lying on the ground slowly rose to her feet.

Her thick clothing crumbled into icy fragments beneath the extreme cold, exposing a devilishly alluring figure to the open air. Her long hair floated as though stirred by an invisible wind, gradually turning ice blue from the roots outward.

Surrounded by swirling snow and freezing air, the young woman slowly turned her golden eyes toward Riezel.

At the same time, the plain, ordinary face she had worn suddenly began to change.

It was as though a veil covering her face had silently dispersed. In its place appeared a flawless, delicate face with skin so fair and smooth that it seemed as though it had been crafted by the god of art himself.

Riezel had seen that face before.

Back when he had first met Chloria and sensed that something about her appearance was strangely unnatural, he had used Transparent World to glimpse this very face.

Needless to say, this was Chloria’s true appearance—an angelic beauty that was in no way inferior to Lizbeth or Euryale. If Leo had been here to witness this face, he would undoubtedly have felt that everything finally made sense.

Only such an angelic face truly matched the girl’s devilishly alluring figure.

A woman blessed with both breathtaking beauty and a flawless body, so stunning that she seemed almost unreal, now stood completely naked before Riezel.

For most men, it would have been a blessing dropped straight from heaven, yet Riezel’s entire attention was focused on that pair of golden eyes.

He couldn’t help it.

"So similar... Way too similar..."

Riezel murmured quietly.

Although those eyes lacked the ancient, weathered, mysterious aura that made one’s heart tremble, Chloria’s current state was almost identical to Lizbeth’s when she had awakened her bloodline and drawn the unsealed Moslow.

Especially those eyes glowing with golden light.

Just like Lizbeth’s back then, they contained none of the emotions that belonged to a human being.

Only the detached indifference of a god remained.

As those eyes fixed upon him, the young woman once known as ’Chloria’ silently stared at Riezel, then...

*BOOM!*

An overwhelming cold erupted from her body once again.

*Kacha-Kacha-Kacha—*

In an instant, the blizzard raged as freezing air surged in every direction. Everything around them seemed to have its vitality drained away, becoming entombed in ice.

"Force Sanctuary."

Riezel deployed a magic barrier without the slightest hesitation. A white hemispherical barrier enveloped him, protecting him from the violent wave of freezing air.

Yet although it failed to shatter the barrier outright, the mist carrying impossibly low temperatures clung to it like a relentless curse the moment it struck, freezing the barrier itself.

As a result, a massive sphere of ice appeared within the frozen landscape, its surface covered in a thick layer of frost.

*PENG!*

A moment later, the sphere of ice exploded apart.

Riezel reappeared from within it, one hand still extended forward.

*BOOM!*

A flash passed through the young woman’s golden eyes as another wave of freezing mist surged toward him like a tidal wave.

"Interesting..."

Riezel narrowed his eyes and smiled before flames erupted from his body.

*Whoosh!*

Crimson fire blazed around him like the sun itself, radiating astonishing heat that instantly melted all the ice surrounding him.

In the next instant, the surging cold collided head-on with the scorching heat pouring from Riezel’s body.

*BOOM!*

Dense white steam billowed violently where ice and fire collided. Extreme heat and extreme cold clashed fiercely against one another, neither side giving way, forming a perfect stalemate.

Under the influence of such overwhelming temperatures, the entire limestone cavern became a world divided between ice and fire.

One side was engulfed in blazing flames and unbearable heat. Everything the fire touched was dyed crimson, while the freshly formed ice rapidly melted away.

Meanwhile, the other side was consumed by freezing air and absolute cold, causing the ceiling, the ground, and everything in between to become coated in thick layers of ice.

Crimson and ice blue each claimed half of the cavern.

One side was an ocean of flames, the other a kingdom of snow and ice. At the boundary where they collided, enormous clouds of steam continuously rose into the air, creating a truly magnificent spectacle.

Amid this deadlock, while Riezel remained calm, the young woman’s eyes finally showed a trace of emotion.

Right afterward, under Riezel’s surprised gaze, she actually spoke.

"Thou art strong."

In Riezel’s ears, the cold voice that emerged from her lips sounded far older than Chloria’s previous voice.

"Huh, you can talk?"

Riezel was genuinely surprised.

He had assumed she would be just like Lizbeth when she drew Moslow and be unable to speak.

"Who art thou?"

Ignoring Riezel’s surprise entirely, she continued speaking in the same icy tone.

"You’re asking me?" Riezel came to his senses and looked directly at her. "Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? Who are you? You’re not Chloria Michette, are you?"

Hearing his question, the young woman’s movements paused.

"Michette...?"

She lowered her head and murmured softly.

"I see... so that is what happened..."

It sounded as though she had realized something, while at the same time sighing over it.

"Very well. Since this nation still requires me, I shall once more dedicate my power to this country."

After saying those words, the young woman raised her golden eyes and looked at Riezel again.

"Nameless strong one, leave this place."

Her voice remained cold and emotionless.

"Thou shouldst not remain here and become a variable."

Hearing that, Riezel smiled, his smile terrifyingly calm.

"Whether I stay here or not doesn’t seem like it’s up to you."

Riezel’s reply was equally calm.

"...Know this. I do not fear thee. I simply wish not to waste unnecessary effort. Do not fail to appreciate my kindness."

Her voice became even colder as the young woman spoke, while the freezing air surrounding her grew even denser.

In response, the smile on Riezel’s face became noticeably more genuine.

"You sure talk big."

A sword silently appeared in his outstretched hand.

"Now let’s see if you’ve got the strength to back up all that talk."

As he spoke, Riezel drew his sword.

There were no patterns engraved on the blade, nor any sacred text forming those patterns. It was clearly not Hermit, which had already been reforged by the Goddess of Smithing, but rather a weapon created through Create Greater Item.

Upon hearing Riezel’s words, the golden glow in the young woman’s eyes deepened.

"Thou shalt find out."

As she spoke, a pure white ice sword condensed within her hand.

Just like that, the young man holding the black sword and the young woman wielding the white sword both fell silent, staring intently at one another. An overwhelming pressure gradually spread throughout the surroundings, causing the world divided between ice and fire to tremble.

*Whoosh!*

In the next instant, as though they had agreed beforehand, both of them vanished simultaneously.

*DING!*

Accompanied by an ear-splitting metallic clash, they reappeared at the boundary between ice and fire, each delivering a powerful slash at the other.

As the black sword collided with the white sword, they sent violent shockwaves in every direction and shook the entire world of ice and fire.

In an instant, the atmosphere erupted into chaos.

*Swish!*

Both of them disappeared once more, shooting skyward like streaks of light as they charged toward one another again.

*Clang!* *Cling!**Clang!* *Cling!*

*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*

Within the world dominated by ice and fire, the continuous collisions of the two streaks of light produced an endless chorus of ringing steel.

The two streaks resembled meteors chasing one another. Every collision and every crossing produced a thunderous metallic impact that shook the very air, followed by eruptions of blazing flames born from extreme heat and freezing air born from absolute cold.

Every second, the clashes grew faster and more frequent, and the two streaks of light accelerated without pause.

In the blink of an eye, they had become so fast that they were nearly indistinguishable from lasers. A single blink was enough for either of them to cross from one end of the limestone cavern to the other.

It went without saying that their speed far exceeded the speed of sound—more than ten times faster—turning the entire cavern into their battlefield.

Before long, the ground began to tremble violently, while cracks rapidly spread across the ceiling, causing icicle-like spikes to rain down one after another.

Every second, the shaking only intensified.

In mere moments, the battlefield resembled the aftermath of a natural disaster, as though an earthquake approaching magnitude eight had struck the cavern. The entire limestone cavern shook violently, presenting a scene of mountains collapsing and the earth splitting apart.

*BOOM!*

Suddenly, at a certain moment, with a thunderous explosion, one of the two streaks of light that had been chasing, crossing, and constantly accelerating was abruptly sent flying as though it had been kicked away.

*BOOM!*

As the streak of light crashed into the ground, it not only shattered the rocky floor but also caused it to collapse, leaving behind a massive crater.

Broken stones shot into the air, while clouds of dust billowed everywhere, mixing with the freezing air and blazing flames to form a raging storm.

*Swish!*

Only then did Riezel’s figure reappear, causing the remaining streak of light suspended in midair to dissipate.

"Looks like your strength isn’t nearly as impressive as that attitude of yours, huh...?"

As soon as those words left Riezel’s mouth, he suddenly sidestepped.

*BOOM!*

Almost at the exact same instant, the streak of light shot out of the collapsing crater below once again. Wrapped in freezing air and carrying a violent snowstorm, it exploded upward at terrifying speed and appeared behind Riezel.

With her pair of golden eyes colder than ever, the young woman showed no hesitation as she slashed at Riezel’s back.

Wherever the white sword passed, layers of frost instantly spread through the air. Yet Riezel had already shifted to the side, effortlessly avoiding the strike.

Taking advantage of the opening, Riezel smashed apart the ice that had formed beside him with a punch, clearing away the obstruction, then spun around, drew his sword, and slashed in one fluid motion.

*WHOOSH!*

Blazing flames erupted like an explosive inferno, surging forward alongside the descending black blade and crashing into the white sword the young woman had hastily raised to defend herself.

*DING!*

A sharp collision rang out like the tolling of a great bell as blazing flames and freezing air clashed countless times within a single instant.

In the end, the flames overwhelmed the ice.

Like erupting magma, they slammed directly into the young woman’s body, blasting her backward.

"Ugh..."

A muffled groan escaped her lips.

Charred marks appeared across her completely naked body, with several areas now bearing clearly visible burns.

Riezel, however, showed no mercy whatsoever.

With a single flash, he caught up to the young woman while she was still flying backward and brought his blade down once again.

*CLANG!*

Facing the quick strike, the young woman forced herself to endure, barely managing to block the strike along with the torrent of flames that accompanied it.

However, Riezel gave her no chance to recover.

He swung his sword again and again, forcing her into nothing but desperate defense.

*Clang!* *Cling* *Clang!* *Cling*

*Clang!* *Cling* *Clang!* *Cling*

Riezel’s black sword unleashed one slash after another.

Each strike carried overwhelming force.

Each strike was wrapped in blazing flames.

Each strike was overwhelmingly dominant.

Each strike was brutally violent.

All his slashes were not only immensely powerful but also unbelievably fast.

At the same time, the flames surrounding his blade whirled into a continuously spinning wheel of fire, gradually transforming into a blazing sun that illuminated the entire world divided between ice and fire, driving away every trace of darkness.

"Dance!"

A perfectly circular slash flashed forth like the outline of the sun itself.

"Clear Blue Sky!"

A ring of flames formed by the circular slash expanded farther and farther through the air.

"Raging Sun!"

A symmetrical cross-shaped slash bloomed forth, its crimson trails as beautiful and flawless as a polished mirror.

"Fake Rainbow!"

The flames flickered wildly, darting unpredictably in every direction.

"Fire Wheel!"

A rolling wheel of blazing fire surged forward with unstoppable momentum.

"Burning Bones, Summer Sun!"

A vortex of flames spun violently, swallowing everything in its path.

"Sunflower Thrust!"

Ring after ring of blazing fire appeared one after another, filling the battlefield.

"Solar Heat Haze!"

The black sword flickered like the flames of the sun, becoming as elusive and intangible as a mirage.

"Setting Sun Transformation!"

A slash burning with the scorching brilliance of the setting sun cleaved through the air, melting everything that had been frozen before it.

"Beneficent Radiance!"

A spiraling slash crashed down from above, sending waves of blistering heat sweeping across the battlefield.

"Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance!"

A blazing fire dragon soared through the air, devastating the entire half of the world dominated by ice.

"Flame Dance!"

Two consecutive perfectly circular slashes struck in rapid succession.

Already on the verge of collapse from desperately holding on, the young woman was caught completely off guard as her ice sword could no longer withstand the relentless assault. Cracks rapidly spread across its surface before it finally shattered into countless fragments that exploded outward.

"Dancing Flash!"

Finally, what awaited the young woman was a third perfectly circular slash as swift as lightning—a blazing blade shining with the radiance of the sun itself.

*Cough!*

Having completely lost the ability to resist, the young woman immediately coughed up blood in midair.

Struck head-on by the erupting flames, she was sent plummeting toward the ground.

Just like that, the fierce battle that had erupted so suddenly came to an equally unexpected end with astonishing speed.

And the victorious young man remained enveloped in blazing flames, standing proudly like a god of the sun himself.

===

[A bonus Chapter for reaching 400 Power Stones]

[Support and get early access to upcoming Chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]