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— Look at this, I’ve gathered energy to create an arrow!

The memory of the First Princess from the past was still vivid in Ezekiel’s mind. Her height barely reaching his waist, proudly showing off a light arrow barely the size of a fork.

— Well done. Your future looks promising.

Ezekiel now gazed directly at the present.

“…………”

KWAAAAAAAA─!

What remained in his memory as fork-sized was now flying towards him as a building-sized light arrow.

“This wasn’t quite the future I had in mind.”

Speed, size, energy density… everything was evenly distributed. It was no wonder that it was incredibly powerful. Wasn’t this the crystallization of energy that had earned Ether so many titles and names? Indeed, it was worthy of being called the Hope of the Empire…

…And now, the Hope of the Empire was aiming at Ezekiel.

‘One mistake, and I’m truly dead.’

The sunweed in his mouth burst with a crunch; there was no helping it. This was the gamble he had chosen.

It would have been much easier if they had taken turns attacking and defending, but he had provoked Ether to get more Sun Elixir from the Emperor. Now he had no choice but to endure.

The intention behind such a large light arrow was clear. This time, it was meant to be impossible to deflect.

However, the one standing here now was Ezekiel.

He certainly had a plan.

Hoooo—

As Ezekiel exhaled the sunweed smoke, he simultaneously coated his eyes with refined mana.

With enhanced eyesight, he could see everything — the size, shape, and composition of the light arrow rushing towards the Dominen Valley… He grasped it all in an instant.

Next was creation.

Pop─!

Ice walls were created on both sides. They were shaped to perfectly match the light arrow without the slightest error. As Ezekiel brought his palms together, the walls enveloped the arrow.

BOOM!

The first ice wall was immediately shattered.

“As expected, once isn’t enough.”

However.

The light arrow that broke through the ice wall had lost a small amount of power. Now, all that remained was to repeat the same process until the arrow stopped.

Ezekiel brought his palms together once more.

Thump!

The walls clapped around the light arrow like applause.

KWANG!

He could feel the speed decreasing significantly.

KWAANG!

Both the speed and size had diminished.

‘It’s close.’

The arrow of light, which had not yet lost all of its power, was already right in front of Ezekiel. He summoned all the mana he could muster.

THUD!

Ezekiel lifted one foot and stomped the ground.

WHOOSH!

At the same time, towering ice spikes rose up and struck the arrow of light with all their might, forcefully deflecting the light arrow upward.

WHOOSH─!

The light arrow grazed just above Ezekiel’s crown before flying off and slammed into the wall far away.

“Haa, haa…”

Ezekiel took a moment to steady his rough breathing.

“Two more.”

Then he grasped his brush and began to move his wrist; the completion of the portrait was now within sight.

“Just two more left.”

They say inspiration strikes suddenly.

It wasn’t a lie.

He now had an idea of how to depict the Emperor’s appearance.​

• • • ₪ • • •

Cullinan Valley.

“…He blocked it?”

Ether looked at the valley on the opposite side with a look of bewilderment.

No, if the opponent had merely blocked it, she wouldn’t have been this perplexed.

However, the explosive sound that should have destroyed the valley was barely audible. It had vanished almost silently.

‘Did he essentially annihilate it? My light arrow?’

At first, she thought he was lucky.

Then, she assumed he had some clever trick to deflect it.

But now, she had to acknowledge that he possessed true skill. Had such a talent appeared in the Empire without her knowledge?

Or perhaps, he wasn’t from the Empire at all.

‘Is he from the Great Forest?’

Ether herself was aware that the Emperor had been searching for a worthy opponent for her. They said that among the elves of the Great Forest, there were those who excelled in long-distance combat.

「Just two more left.」

“……………”

Ether calmly gathered her energy.

As the First Princess flicked her finger, the giant ballista formed of energy slowly swept across her body again.

“Hmm…” The woman pondered, “Only two chances left.”

It wasn’t that she was hesitating because of the limited number of attempts. Nor was she worried that she might not win.

‘I can only taste this opponent two more times?’

It had been so long since she’d encountered someone this intriguing.

Even when she was craving subjugation for the sake of fun, it was not uncommon for monsters to be overwhelmed. However, she never expected to encounter such unexpected fun in a fight she had never imagined.

She was curious.

‘I want to see how he counters all of my techniques.’

Why were there only two attempts left?

She wanted to unleash every technique she knew. She wanted to make him defend against them all, to observe meticulously how he countered and evaded each one.

Then she would study how to counter his counters.

Wouldn’t that ultimately lead to her becoming stronger?

‘With him around, I could become even more perfect.’

Ether was no longer a girl, but a woman of enormous stature. She wasn’t young enough to ask for a change in the rules.

“For the last two attempts, this is indeed the only way.”

If there were only two chances left, she had no choice but to use the techniques she cherished the most. Then wouldn’t she be able to refine those techniques a little more?

Even if the entire surrounding area were reduced to ruins.

‘It doesn’t matter at all.’

The imperial family had already evacuated everyone in the vicinity. It would be a pity for the Empire to see a lush forest reduced to ashes, but that’s okay.

Because the First Princess, not the forest, was the future of the Empire.

Ether once again gathered energy in her hand.

But this time, it wasn’t in the shape of a bow.

It was a large throwing spear.

Crack—

A chilling sound emerged as she clenched it tightly in her fist.

Ether took her stance, put all her strength into her movement, and then threw it perfectly.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say she launched it.

Huuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung—!

And the spear advanced, tearing through space.

• • • ₪ • • •

— Master! Master!

— I’ve finally created a spear, can you see?

— How is it? Isn’t it truly powerful?

— …Yes. It’s strong.

Ezekiel spat out his sunweed as soon as he saw the throwing spear.

‘That’s not something I can block in place.’

He coated his feet with mana and leapt into the air.

Some might call it s*****e, but for this spear, rushing closer rather than retreating was the best way to counter it.

— My spear is quite unique, you know.

— It devours everything. The further it flies, the stronger it becomes!

— Should I gobble you up too, Master? How about it?

Typically, projectiles lose power the further they travel due to various resistances.

But Ether’s spear was different.

It had the absurd characteristic of consuming all the subtle energy around it as it advanced. Therefore, quickly approaching and defending was the best counter-strategy.

Sussusussus—!

Ezekiel created a barrier to contain the spear; it was a regular icosahedron ice barrier, no less.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The spear bounced off the side of the barrier in the opposite direction. It was trapped inside the barrier until it was completely exhausted of its power.

BOOM─! BOOM─! BOOM─!

The tremendous explosions occurred with each collision.

At the same time, agonizing pain, as if his entire body might break, welled up.

Absorbing damage with a barrier essentially meant absorbing the collision with the mana connected to the barrier. In the end, Ezekiel was taking most of the impact.

It might be shortening his lifespan, but…

‘I must endure.’

Ezekiel swallowed the blood that welled up in his throat.

This was a gamble.

A gamble he started by betting his life. A gamble where he could triple his life if he won!

BOOM!

At that moment, the spear inside the dodecahedron barrier split, shooting out something like a small orb.

‘That’s the core.’

The core where the energy that Ether’s spear had absorbed was gathered.

— Master~ It’s a surprise gift.

— Hurry and open it! Quick!

How many imperial pillars had collapsed from the explosion of such surprise gifts? Those pillars alone could build a separate palace. And that was based on her power as a child. Now, it must have grown incomparably stronger.

Sussus—!

Ezekiel immediately withdrew the barrier; absorbing that power with a barrier would be insane. It would be no different from a human swallowing a bomb.

‘…I need to prevent the explosion itself.’

The more he observed, the more its power exceeded his imagination. It had enough force to blow away not just the valley where Ezekiel stood, but the entire surrounding area.

Ezekiel immediately drew out ice.

SWOOSH─!

The ice, as intricate and delicate as a spider’s web, formed a curved path for the core to roll along, like a custom-made road for a carriage wheel.

Sssut—! Sussussuut—!

The core began to precariously roll along the ice path.

“Fortunately, I’ve seen countless ‘surprise gifts.’”

His knowledge of Ether, combined with his extraordinary ice manipulation skills. Only these two factors together made this counter possible.

Sussussuut—!

The core gradually changed direction as it rolled along the curved ice path.

If the ice was even slightly rough, it would explode.

If the width wasn’t custom-fit, it would explode.

If the curve was too steep, it would explode.

…Ezekiel focused with all his might.

Although the power was incomparably different from when she was young, the basic principle remained unchanged.

Clink, clink, clink─!

Ice continued to form at the end of the path, and eventually, it began to create a path back to Ether. An ice railway began to weave through the air.

Sussussuut—!

Smoothness beyond a certain point possessed strength greater than hardness. Ether’s core simply entrusted itself to the elegant curves of the ice and began to race along.

Cough─!

Ezekiel coughed up blood as he raised the corner of his mouth.

“Ether, take it back. It’s being returned.”

.

.

.

.

.

​The distance between the canyons was vast. However, Ether saw it at some point.

Ssssssssssss─!

Something cool reaching out towards her.

“……..….”

Rumble rumble rumble─!

A sphere of energy was rushing toward her at an incredible speed, but such things were of no importance.

A flower of the chilly element, simultaneously a collection of intricate precision.

“…Ice?”

A tremendous ice-crafting technique.

For a moment, someone came to the woman’s mind.