CHAPTER 434: THE ICE CASTLE. FIRST CONFRONTATION

Ethan had been traveling for a while now, almost an hour, but there was still no sign of Leon. He could feel it with his senses that he was around. Right there in the snow-filled land, Leon was there somewhere, probably smirking in glee at his dilemma.

Just thinking of it made his blood boil in anger.

’I will kill him. I swear!’

The land stretched far and wide before him, making him wonder how vast the place was. When it seemed that all hope was lost, he saw a tall beast, made solely of ice. It was about 5 meters tall and stood on two legs. Its head was that of a wolf, with two tails and long, sharp claws.

’He’s near!’ Ethan thought, as he increased his speed, his boots cracking ice and snow as he moved.

’Guys! I will confront him first. Stay in hiding until I give the signal,’ Ethan sent a telepathic message to Trevor and Lamair as he closed in on the beast. The ice strained under him as he threw a punch at the beast.

BANG! BOOM!

Like a gun had been fired in the region, the impact was loud. The shockwave generated from the clash spread out for about a kilometer or two, destroying ice constructs and trees in the process.

The victim of the attack, though, was nowhere to be found. He had been erased from existence with just an attack.

’It’s as strong as a gold-tier beast... this is dangerous!’

Ethan thought as he examined his surroundings. When he found nothing, he continued forward. He met some ice beasts on the way and destroyed them.

Soon, he reached a clearing in the ice land, and there he saw a massive ice castle that could rival his own.

The cold ahead thickened, like the air itself feared what stood at the heart of this frozen wasteland. Ethan’s breath crystallized in the air, drifting away like steam from a boiling fury. The clearing he stepped into seemed almost staged, a grand reveal meant to mock him.

The castle loomed before him.

It was a titan of frozen architecture, forged from jagged glaciers and translucent walls that refracted what little light the bleak sky offered. Towers spiraled upward like spears crafted to impale the heavens. The front gates were a pair of colossal slabs carved with intricate snowflake patterns, each detail unnervingly identical to the mark he found earlier.

Columns twisted into shapes of screaming faces trapped within the ice, their mouths forever frozen open in silent agony. It wasn’t a fortress built to protect; it was a declaration.

A kingdom of cruelty.

Ethan’s shoulders tensed, muscles coiling, eyes narrowing into a predatory glare.

That’s when the ice trembled.

A low, echoing crack reached his ears, then several more followed. The ground fractured in a spiderweb of expanding lines, and before he could react, jagged spikes of crystal erupted upward. He dodged back instantly, flipping into the air as a sea of frost erupted where he once stood.

Shapes began rising from those shards. Humanoid silhouettes, tall, broad, armored in bulky plates sculpted from gleaming ice. Knights, perfect in symmetry, yet utterly soulless. Their heads rotated with stiff, creaking motions, locking their hollow blue gazes onto Ethan.

Right behind them, monstrous beasts took form, ice bears with bladed spines; giant wolves with two heads; serpents made entirely of diamond-like frost, coils thick enough to crush buildings. Each creature shook off loose snow like awakening statues hungry for violence.

Ethan cracked his knuckles.

"So... welcome party, huh?"

A knight lunged first. Its sword was a blade of pure cryo-mana, slicing down with deadly precision. Ethan sidestepped, but two more came from the flank. He jumped, twisting in midair as he slammed his heel down onto a wolf’s skull, breaking it into glittering dust. Before he landed, an ice serpent sprang from below, maw unhinged.

A circular pulse of telekinetic force blasted outward from Ethan. The serpent snapped into several chunks before freezing midair, shards raining down like deadly hail.

The knights didn’t hesitate. They rushed him in coordinated waves, perfect soldiers fighting for a master who wanted Ethan dead before he even saw his face.

Ethan clenched his fist, and purple flames sparked across his arm, Stygian’s power channeling to him. He punched forward, and an inferno of violet fire roared out, melting several constructs into puddles. The steam swirled upward like rising souls freed from icy prison.

Yet for every beast that died, new ones crawled up from the earth.

One of the larger creatures, an ice behemoth with antlers tipped like spears, swung its massive arm. Ethan crossed his forearms, blocking the hit, but it sent him sliding backward across the frost, carving a deep trench through the snow.

Ethan’s eyes dimmed into a deadly calm. His breath slowed. His killing intent soared.

"You’re just buying time for him..." he growled, voice sharp enough to make even the freezing wind hesitate.

Blades thrust toward him. A dozen ice lances launched. He blurred, weaving between them like a phantom. His arm lit up with alchemical sigils, Maverick’s gift, and he struck a knight’s chest. The ice soldier imploded with a crunch, collapsing into glittering fragments.

Claws swiped at his back. Without turning, Ethan grabbed the beast, hoisting it over and slamming it headfirst into the ground. The ice shattered like glass meeting a hammer.

Teleportation flickered. He appeared above the battlefield, palms glowing crimson. Blood magic, raw, violent energy pulsing from his veins.

Multiple spells ignited at once.

Earth spikes shot up, crushing wolves. Purple explosions tore serpents apart. Telekinetic force sent knights crashing into walls that shattered under impact.

The clearing became a storm of destruction.

But it wasn’t enough.

There were too many. Beasts continued reforming, knights continued rebuilding, shards crawling together with sickening cracks as if death itself refused to take them.

It wasn’t a battle.

It was a warning.

A voice drifted through the snowfall, distant, teasing, dripping venom.

"So you came for me after all, Ethan."

The voice carried laughter. Mockery. Hatred sharpened into delight.

Ethan’s heart pounded once, a sound like thunder inside his chest.

Leon.

He looked up, and beyond the castle’s tallest spire, a blue mechanical eye gleamed back.

Watching.

Waiting.

Thrilled.