The Banished Villainous Noble Son Who Was Used as a Stepping Stone in the Original Work Awakens to Combat and Destroys the Laws of the World - Episode 68: Power of Ice

Episode 68: Power of Ice

――Silver-white fur covering the whole body. Eyes sharp like blades of ice, yet without murderous intent. It only looked as if its very existence carried a strangeness that rejected human life.

Linea let out a small gasp. I caught sight of her shoulders trembling slightly. I took one step back. I naturally moved into a position to shield her behind me. My hand resting on the sword did not waver.

The “ice monster” we had encountered and even fought together with several times before. At that time, we exchanged only glances and words. Nothing happened. But for it to appear again cannot be a coincidence.

Silence grew taut. The voices of birds and the buzzing of insects faded. And what remained in the world were only its breaths and our heartbeats.

Before long, its eyes pierced toward us. In that moment, a sharp voice resounded――no, not a voice. A cold echo. It dropped directly into the depths of the skull.

‘……We meet again, human.’

The words did not shake the air. Yet, surely, they echoed not in the ear but in the head. Linea beside me gave a small shudder of her shoulders. That meant she had heard it in the same way.

The ice monster did not move a single step. It was pressing with its presence alone. Its gaze pierced past me, straight into Linea behind me.

‘――And you, ‘child who bears ice’.’

Linea’s face stiffened. Her lips trembled. A breath without voice spilled out.

“……fuu”

She stood desperately in place. And as if scolding herself for wanting to avert her eyes, she stared back at it.

I did not look away either. I was watching carefully with my hand still on the hilt of the sword. Hostility――none. At least, not now.

(But, since it appeared deliberately, it must have come to deliver something.)

In a stillness like mist, the ice monster again cast words.

The ice monster spoke in a low voice. Yet one that echoed directly in the back of the head.

‘The power dwelling within you. Without doubt, it is the ‘ice bloodline.’ You cannot escape. What I know is the power that flows in you, that lineage.’

Linea gasped and pressed her trembling fingertips to her chest.

“Ice… bloodline…?”

The monster gave no answer to that question. It only gazed at her with faintly glowing eyes. That silence itself was the surest affirmation.

I let out a small breath and waited quietly.

Then, it moved slightly. Not enough to make the ground creak, only one step. Yet even that one step carried tension that seemed to split the air.

‘Human…… you are not a mere existence either.’

At those words, I narrowed my eyes.

‘‘Strange one’――the many powers wrapped around your body are not things obtained by simple training.’

The countless skills dwelling in me. It must have sensed them.

Yet, it did not press me further. It only looked down dispassionately, as an “observer.”

Linea let out a hoarse voice.

“What… exactly… are you?”

It did not answer that question either. It only continued to stare fixedly at her. That silence weighed even heavier.

(……We are being tested.)

This is no mere encounter. It appeared to make Linea recognize the “power of ice”――such certainty fell into my chest.

I gripped my sword tighter. But I did not draw the blade. This is not a place to fight. I don’t even know if victory is possible. And――this being is not yet something that can be called an enemy.

The chill grew stronger. As if testing, white breath brushed Linea’s cheek. She bit her lips and desperately suppressed her trembling.

‘To know is to lose peace, and to bear more burdens. You may run…… that too is a choice.’

――To offer an escape. That is not kindness. It is a trial. To make her choose by herself, and stand.

Linea gasped softly and dropped her gaze. Her lips trembled. Sounds without words spilled.

Fear, indeed, existed within her.

Her gaze wavered. She then turned slightly toward me. In those eyes, a complicated color seeped out. It was neither simply fear nor expectation.

And――perhaps sensing that, Linea gave a small, but certain reply.

“……If I truly have the ‘power of ice,’ then I have a ‘responsibility to know.’ Why I possess the power of ice――if I turned away without finding out, I think I would regret it for life.”

Taking one big breath, she declared in a voice clearer than before.

“Therefore…… I will not run.”

At those words, the eyes of the ice monster narrowed slightly. In the next instant, the chill sank even deeper.

‘……Very well.’

A low voice echoed in the back of the skull. The ice monster stepped forward. The ground creaked, cold air covering the surroundings. Yet there was no hostility. Only――pressure directed at one it acknowledged.

‘Then, I will witness it.’

Linea desperately stood her trembling knees firm. She didn’t avert her eyes. Seeing that figure from the corner of my eye, I thought:

(……Her resolve must be real.)

But that does not mean it will immediately become strength. What is the ice bloodline. What will she bear. The answer is still in darkness.

The ice monster stepped back as if to turn away. The chill grew a little thinner.

‘When the time comes, I will show you the ‘place’.’

Saying so, it disappeared as if scattering into mist without wind. What was left――was only the faint lingering chill, and Linea’s tightly clenched fist.

Original Author’s Comment:

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Thank you as always for reading!!

I’ll be happy if you enjoy the next one as well……!!

(Here’s the link if you want to support the Author: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622176303375188.)