CHAPTER 44: LADY KASSIE SUPREMACY

Somewhere in the domain of white fog, hidden and moving, the creature attacked.

It came for Kassie first—descended upon her like an avalanche given teeth and malice. The Spirit Beast fought with brutal efficiency, using its crystalline hand as some kind of bludgeon, twisting and rolling through the snowstorm with terrifying speed that turned the blizzard into its ally.

Kassie held her sword across her face, blocking the combo strikes where they mattered most.

’Her reflexes are sharp.’

But the beast’s force was relentless, driving her back step by step. As it finished another rolling strike and pulled back to gather momentum, something changed. A malevolent aura—dark and crimson—erupted around her form, and she burst forward like a blood-red comet.

Everything increased. Her speed. Her strength. Even my own.

Somehow, I just knew.

’Her Dominion Aura.’

Since it was a passive ability, it was always there—that oppressive presence that made Kassie dominate any space she occupied, no matter who else was around. But right now it felt intensified, weaponized. Not just dominating the air but exploiting that dominance, converting superiority into raw power that bolstered both her strength and mine through our bond.

The moment she exploded forward, the snow fog cleared in her wake like a curtain torn aside.

She collided with the beast—knee driving into its chest with a sound like thunder cracking ice. The creature folded, blown back by the devastating strike. Following through, her sword came from the side in a vicious arc, crashed into the crystals on its shoulders.

The beast froze.

Literally froze like a game character stuttering from server lag, caught mid-motion in some glitch of reality.

’The crystals on their shoulders definitely are their weaknesses!’

Kassie didn’t waste the opening. She twisted her sword into a reverse grip, spread her stance while swinging the blade back as though it weighed nothing at all. Then she brought it forward in a swift, wide arc trailed by flowing obsidian and crimson light.

The creature threw up its arm to block.

The sword passed through it like they were made of morning mist.

The arm was separated at the elbow, and the blade bit deep into its neck—but didn’t finish the job. Because the beast caught the blade mid-slash with its remaining hand, crystalline fingers clamping down on the steel.

It snarled at Kassie, fury and desperation mixing in that inhuman sound.

She only gazed down at it, her featureless helmet tilted slightly.

’Like she’s looking at a worm that’s still trying to struggle. Christ.’

Her leg flew up and smashed into its head with a sound that made me wince—bone and crystal meeting boot in a devastating collision. The monster must’ve seen white, staggering back while somehow still gripping her sword with stubborn, dying strength.

Kassie was cold. Brutal. Efficient.

She raised her leg straight up again, and with the sharp heel of her boot, drove downward into the beast’s face. The pointed edge punched through, and blue blood sprayed into the air as the Blizzard Mauler grandpa was smashed back into the cavern wall, its face caved inward like shattered porcelain.

Then she dragged her boot upward, slashing through nose and bone, tearing half its face away in another gory spray.

Now its grip weakened.

She applied more pressure, and her sword completed its arc—separating head from shoulders in one clean motion.

The beast’s mangled head tumbled through the air, spinning end over end, and hit someone with a wet thud.

"Owww!"

Kael’s voice. Of course.

[You have killed a Primal Elite (Tier 4+) Spirit Beast: Glacial Patriarch]

’Glacial Patriarch. A befitting name for something that old and stubborn.’

As the Glacial Patriarch fell, the snow fog dissipated like smoke, revealing the cavern’s full expanse. Emperor Rex stood in one corner, Kai in another. Since Kai had been totally blinded by the fog, there was no way he could’ve commanded his summon properly.

’These people were really suffering. Pitiful’

"You did it?"

I shrugged, glancing at Kassie, who stood straight and still, holding her sword to the ground like some blood-soaked statue.

"Practically my summon did."

Kai laughed, that easy sound echoing off the ice walls.

"You should learn to take credit for the win, Cade. It’s just a Fortitude 1.0 summon—if not for your amazing cognizance and stuff, it wouldn’t be able to fight like that. You really deserve a strong summon, you know? I’m sure you would’ve done even better if you were A-rank like Elena and Maxwell."

I gave him a long look, then sighed.

’Here we go with the what-ifs.’

"Well, I’m not. No use entertaining ourselves with pointless hypotheticals."

He looked at me with that small smile, admiration clear in his eyes.

It made me frown.

"What?"

"You’re so cool. Satisfied and all. Sometimes I think about myself in your shoes, and I just know—I would’ve broken down."

I gave him a slight frown, an absurd look.

"And who said I haven’t?"

He shook his head, smiling like it was a disease he couldn’t shake.

"Well, you don’t look like it."

I chuckled dryly.

"The eye is easily deceived because it relies on sight, Kai. This may merely be a mask." I looked around at the cavern, at the blue blood still steaming on the ice. "Anyway, we should go find wood."

But then I paused, looking at the fallen beast’s massive form.

"Actually... maybe we can use this beast’s fur to create fire?"

I glanced at Kassie, who stood motionless. The mental communication came back instantly—not in words, but in pure understanding that filtered through our bond.

’Permission granted.’

Kael appeared at that moment, looking at Kai with obvious admiration, scratching the back of his neck. The guy’s luck at this point had to be cosmically blessed. First it was A-ranks and C-ranks protecting him, now he was standing next to an S-rank.

His smile said it all.

Kai didn’t pay him much attention—just nodded in response to his greeting before turning back to me.

"We do need fire. And I’m not going to lie..." He rubbed his stomach sheepishly. "I’m sort of... hungry."

I laughed shortly.

"I am too. We don’t even know how long we’ve been here."

We moved toward the beast’s corpse together, boots crunching on frost.

"I think it ought to have been more than ten hours," Kai mused, rolling his shoulders. "My body feels sore, this tiredness... it has to be. But all around the gate, it’s bright as day. I don’t think there’s going to be night in this gate."

’Perpetual daylight. Wonderful. That’ll make tracking time even more impossible.’

I pulled out my dagger and handed him one. Together, we began slicing through the Glacial Patriarch’s body, cutting away strips of fur and hide while Kael gathered them and carried them to the pit Kassie had dug earlier. We fell into an easy rhythm, occasionally exchanging observations.

"Damn! This meat is tough!"

’No kidding. Primal Elite beast hide isn’t exactly designed to be easy to work with.’