Epic of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System - Chapter 2324 2324: Oda Nobunaga's Endless Castle [42]
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“Damn it! We have to escape… or at the very least, I have to get her out of here!”
Drake’s brother fought fiercely, kicking and punching the statues, which only cracked under their tough exteriors.
The statues pursued them even through the skies, relentlessly attacking with beams of light and divine weapon replicas of ancient relics.
“Haaa… Ugh…!” Ruby groaned in pain. She was already at her limit. A few more minutes, and this power would consume her, turning her into a monstrous berserker again, likely leading to her death.
“Ruby…! We have to… find a way out!” Hrimvaldr said, cleaving and kicking away many statues, his body covered with wounds, bleeding uncontrollably. “That Deus bastard hid somewhere! To think he would act like such scum when he realized he was losing! People like him are the ones I hate the most!”
“Where can we… What can we…?” Ruby muttered, growing grumpier and hungrier. She hadn’t drunk blood in a while. “Uuugh…!”
“Ruby! Hang in there!” her mother urged. “Please, you must keep fighting!” She used her phantasmal form to puppet her daughter’s body, aiding her in combat despite her weakened state.
“Soon you’ll die! Hahaha…!”
Deus’s laughter echoed from a distance as he healed his wounds by absorbing the celestial essence of his Dominion.
“And there’s nothing you can do to… What?!”
His eyes widened as countless cracks began spreading through the space of his Dominion.
Crack, crack…!
CRAAASH!
A colossal ship of black bricks and frost emerged, piercing the spatial membrane of his powerful Dominion, enveloped by the Divine Aura of three Ancient Gods.
“Ruby!”
“Hrimvaldr!”
They heard their friends’ voices. Both looked skyward, their eyes filled with disbelief as Fuyu charged down, smashing through dozens of statues and tearing them apart.
“We’re here for you!”
“Hang on!”
Tisha and Pekora shouted, as Fuyu crushed many more statues, rushing toward them as swiftly as possible.
“YOU FILTHY MORTALS! DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE I’LL LET YOU?!”
The enraged Deus roared, wielding both Mjolnir and Gungnir. He unleashed a barrage of thunderbolts and piercing light beams, bombarding Fuyu with countless powerful attacks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The assaults struck Fuyu, shattering large pieces of her body, but the fragments quickly reassembled. A phantasmal presence of a powerful being surged from the structure. Deus, shocked and disbelieving, realized who it was.
“What…?! Impossible! How are you even…?! Augustus!”
“I prepared a backup plan just in case. This body isn’t ideal, but it’ll do.”
The Venerable of the Onyx Hammer manifested within Fuyu, forming a giant frozen hammer from her frame and smashing through the swarming statues.
“Hurry and get in!” he roared. “We must escape quickly!”
Ruby and Hrimvaldr rushed toward Fuyu, climbing aboard however they could, as the massive ship surged toward the breach they had created.
“As if I’ll let you do that!”
“{Divine Hands of the Aesir}!”
Deus conjured hundreds of hands made of radiant golden light, rushing toward Fuyu while blocking the spatial breach she had opened.
.
.
.
It was a day like any other.
The Heavenly Realm of the Nine Heavens shone with pristine, radiant beauty.
Each of the Nine Heavens, glowing in distinct colors, illuminated the vast lands of Zipangu.
The azure sea rippled gracefully, separating three supercontinents, each with a rich culture developed over millions of years.
She savored her delightful green tea blend, crafted from leaves she cultivated in the small garden behind her golden palace.
Every day, she gathered fresh leaves, greeted friends and family, chatted with them, and then returned home to enjoy her tea while meditating and overseeing the beautiful world she had created.
It always felt like a miracle, her escape from imprisonment, the moment when that unfortunate pair became monsters and began destroying everything.
As the world crumbled, ancient temples fell, and Gods perished, she escaped. Her Unique Skill activated at the last moment, teleporting her to a world born from her imagination, inspired by Earth’s mythologies, particularly her favorite: Shinto and Buddhism.
These religions, rich with mythology, were widespread in Japan, a country she had adored in her past life.
She knew she could never return home, but she didn’t mind. Her ability granted her the fantasy world of her dreams, filled with the Gods she had always envisioned.
Yet, thousands of years have passed, perhaps hundreds of thousands, or even millions.
She lost track after counting to a thousand.
Initially, she was vibrant, guiding everyone on what to do and how to do it. She loved watching them act and pursue their desires.
She cherished the world she crafted, a small refuge from the harsh realities she had witnessed.
She created friends and a family, her appearance transforming to suit this world.
Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that her world was… too shallow.
It lacked depth. Every day felt the same, and the people, mortals and gods alike, never changed.
Her constant oversight, solving every problem and managing everything, created a stagnant world.
She hadn’t allowed them to grow, to develop, to become their own beings.
And perhaps that was why she felt so empty, so lonely, so strangely detached from everything.
“…Ugh, so bitter.”
CRASH!
She dropped her teacup onto the floor. The green tea spilled across the tatami mat, staining it with emerald hues, bright sparkles of divine energy rising from the liquid.
“Oh…”
As she gazed at the spilled tea, she glanced at her trembling legs and hands.
“I have everything… and yet… why do I feel… so lonely…?”
Tears streamed down her face. She covered it with her hands, trying to stop, wanting to embrace this life… yet she couldn’t.
No matter how much time passed, she longed to return.
Back home.
To Earth.
This perfect world felt like a prison, a realm where she was eternally confined.
“I feel so miserable… What would they think if they knew how I truly feel?”
She looked out the window, a faint smile crossing her lips.
“But… I am not truly miserable. No… this world is beautiful. The people here are wonderful… and I even have a family, a brother…”
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