Chapter 24: In the Palace (2)

"Rift Magic, Rift Step."

Nothing seemed to happen. One of the ice soldiers charged toward Philip, intending to attack him. However, this time was different.

Behind the ice soldier about to attack Philip, a blue rift suddenly appeared. It shattered, revealing Philip emerging from behind the soldier.

"I’m over here, idiot!"

Philip attacked the soldier from behind, causing it to stumble forward. However, it still managed to remain standing.

"Fighting just one of them is already a pain. And now I have to deal with dozens?"

More ice soldiers rushed toward Philip from behind. When one of their swords struck him, instead of injuring him, Philip shattered into fragments like a broken rift.

"I’m behind you guys~"

The other ice soldiers turned around and spotted Philip standing behind them. Without hesitation, they charged toward him again.

Once more, Philip shattered into fragments, only to reappear in various locations throughout the room.

’Huff, this magic really drains my stamina.’

Whether he liked it or not, Philip had to keep using his magic to defeat the ice soldiers. As he continued fighting, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was a way to close the portals.

"What would happen if I cut the portal...?"

Philip dashed forward, dodging the attacks of the ice soldiers. Thanks to his magic, his body shattered into fragments, allowing him to get closer to the portal.

’There are way too many of them. I need to find an opening.’

However, any chance of reaching the portal was blocked by the overwhelming number of ice soldiers surrounding it.

’I need to use my brain.’

He looked around the room, searching for a solution. When he glanced upward, he noticed a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. An idea immediately came to mind.

He also spotted several torches hanging around the room.

"Time to make a comeback."

Philip used his magic once again to evade the ice soldiers before grabbing one of the torches.

All the ice soldiers immediately hesitated, unwilling to approach him.

Philip then heated the blade of his dagger with the torch.

The blade gradually turned a glowing orange from the intense heat. He casually walked toward the chandelier, and none of the soldiers dared to attack him.

He climbed onto the chandelier and threw his heated dagger toward one of the portals. The soldiers blocking its path immediately moved aside, allowing the dagger to pass through.

The result was immediate. The portal shattered, and several of the ice soldiers crumbled into pieces.

"I’m a freaking genius~"

Unfortunately, the chandelier could no longer support Philip’s weight and eventually crashed onto the floor. However, Philip paid little attention to it. He immediately ran toward another nearby torch and held it out toward the soldiers.

Once again, the ice soldiers hesitated to attack him.

He then hurled the torch toward the ice soldiers before sprinting toward the dagger he had thrown earlier.

From behind, one of the soldiers launched an ice sword at him. Philip had no choice but to use his magic to evade the attack.

A rift opened from behind the portal.

It was Philip.

He emerged from the rift and retrieved his dagger without the soldiers noticing.

With a single slash, the portal shattered completely.

The ice soldiers crumbled along with it, and now, Philip was the only one left standing in the room.

"Huff... huff... I wonder if the others are finished too?"

Meanwhile, in Aelin’s room, everything had already been settled. She had burned the entire room using leaves from her magical roots and a torch hanging nearby. The intense heat had also destroyed the portal.

Aelin protected herself from the flames by enclosing her body within her root magic, although the heat was still rather uncomfortable.

As for Philip and Magnus, they had also succeeded in closing their respective portals, though Magnus had undoubtedly endured the most exhausting battle.

"Huff... I’m so tired."

A few minutes after they had successfully closed their portals, another portal appeared beneath their feet, transporting them to a different chamber where they were finally reunited.

The room wasn’t dark. On the contrary, it was bright and exceptionally clean.

"Ugh..."

"P-Philip?"

Haruki and Philip stared at each other in surprise. Philip was startled, and Haruki became equally surprised after seeing his reaction.

"Yo, you guys made it too."

Aelin’s voice caught their attention. They turned toward her and noticed that her clothes were slightly dirty.

"Ugh... judging by your clothes, did you play with fire or something?"

"Try using your brain next time," Aelin replied to Philip.

...

A brief silence followed before they all realized that someone seemed to be missing.

"Ah, where’s Magnus?"

The question briefly surprised both Philip and Aelin. Then, a voice came from somewhere nearby.

"I’m over here, idiot."

As it turned out, Magnus was standing behind Aelin, not too far away.

"Hahaha! Why are you sleeping over there?" Philip burst into laughter, pointing repeatedly at Magnus.

Upon hearing that, Magnus immediately stood up, glaring at Philip with an irritated expression. He rushed over and smacked Philip on the head.

"Argh! Are you seriously looking for a fight?!"

"What if I am?"

Aelin then smacked both of them on the head.

"Remember why we’re here, idiots."

"Anyway, did everyone finish off all the ice soldiers?"

The three of them simply nodded without offering any further response.

...

[!!!]

"Look out!"

Haruki’s shout startled everyone as a barrage of ice arrows suddenly shot toward them at incredible speed. Fortunately, Aelin reacted quickly and created a protective barrier using her magic.

"What is it this time?"

After the brief arrow attack, the sound of clapping echoed throughout the chamber.

The applause continued until Haruki spotted a man dressed in elegant blue attire. He had white hair and a pair of piercing red eyes.

"Who are you?!"

Everyone turned toward Haruki before noticing a man standing some distance away from them. The clapping stopped, and the man began walking toward their group.

Haruki and the others prepared themselves to attack, but the man stopped a short distance away.

"Such interesting intruders~"

Hearing this, Philip loudly retorted.

"Intruders?! You’re the one trespassing here, you damn bastard!"

The man let out a brief laugh after hearing Philip’s response.

"Ugh, you do have a point~"

"I thought... you would all die fighting my artificial ice soldiers."

"But you proved me wrong. That’s precisely what makes you all so interesting."

Philip was clearly dissatisfied with the man’s words. He immediately hurled his dagger at him with tremendous force.

However, the man conjured an ice barrier with his magic, and the dagger ended up embedded in the ice.

"My name is Vaelcryst Frostbane. Pleased to meet you all~".