The sound of steel filled the forest, relentless, a chorus of blades announcing the end. The Warden Generals had entered the woods, drawn by chaos or summoned to protect the Midnight Lord. The air itself seemed to hum with tension. Every breath carried risk.

Allison's eyes fixed on the trail leading to the clearing ahead. The maids were holding the line against an endless wave of undead soldiers, at least five generals commanding their advance. Mason fought among them, his blade moving in sync with Evangeline's spells as they tried to stem the tide.

Pain burned through Allison's left arm, the skin seared and raw from fire. Jagged bone-like spines were still embedded in her abdomen, a cruel reminder of the wyvern's ambush from above, its body bristling with blades and serrated bone. The impact had thrown her far, but she didn't have the luxury of feeling it.

As she sprinted between the trees, more undead burst from the undergrowth, charging straight at her. She raised her katana and met them head-on. Each strike was swift, clean, deliberate, and every time her blade met flesh, the enemy froze mid-motion, solidifying into eerie statues of ice.

[Funerary Ice Sculpture (Ultra-Rare)]: When the Ice Sculptor slays an enemy, they can instantly freeze the corpse, preserving it exactly in the position it fell and transforming it into a macabre ice sculpture. These sculptures remain standing for several hours, radiating an intense cold that gradually lowers the surrounding temperature. This effect creates a frozen terrain that strengthens all ice-based skills cast within its area of influence.

By channeling the power of [Heart of the Ice Dragon], the Sculptor can intensify the effect, causing the sculptures to drain even more heat from the surrounding space, making the environment severely cold and further amplifying the potency of ice arts. However, this additional strength comes at a cost: while sustaining this effect, the sculptures begin to melt, vanishing more quickly.

The ground had already turned to glass beneath her boots, a thin sheet of translucent ice spreading outward. Every step she took left a trail of mist. Her breath came shallow and sharp, each inhale burning her lungs, but her eyes stayed locked forward. There was still more to face.

The roar reached her before the fire did.

The Reanimated Wyvern, sigil of the Midnight Lord, circled above in jagged, uneven arcs, belching fire across the forest. The air seethed with heat; the scent of charred wood mixed with the creeping fog she'd left in her wake.

[Reanimated Wyvern (Midnight Lord) - Lvl 99]

Even crippled, the creature was still deadly. But Allison noticed something: it couldn't stay airborne for long. Its wings beat out of rhythm, heavy and labored, the flight unstable. Maybe it was the decay of a reanimated corpse, or maybe the cursed winter itself weighed on the air, dragging everything down.

She knew what was coming next. The wyvern tilted forward.

The sound of its wings cutting through the air deepened, its spined body catching the light of its own flames as it descended. Allison slid sideways, activating the enchantment on her boots. Ice formed beneath her instantly, propelling her like a living blade across the frozen ground.

She exhaled, white mist spilling from her lips. The cold answered her call. Behind her, the wyvern barreled through the trees, its massive jaws open, its roar swallowing the world. Trunks splintered as it tore through the forest in a blind, furious dive.

Then came the impact.

A thunderous crack shook the ground, but not the way she expected. The trees around them bent, twisted, and snapped, caught on something unseen. The wyvern thrashed violently, movements stuttering as if snagged.

That was when she saw them. Threads. Dozens, no, hundreds of luminous threads stretching between the trunks, glimmering faintly in the frost. They webbed the canopy, the ground, the air itself. The beast was ensnared.

The monster's body twisted in agony, ensnared by the shimmering traps that bound its wings tight against its chest. Muscles strained, cords of tension rippling beneath rotted scales. Its roar faltered into a choked growl. Allison followed the glow of the threads until she saw a dark shape leap from a nearby tree.

"Birds… with wings closed… are weak," said Anne, landing beside her in a fluid spin, snow swirling around her boots.

High above, balanced on a branch as if the wind itself held her there, Erza watched with her scythe poised.

"Good job almost dying, Rhiannon." She raised her arm and smiled, sharp and cold. "The fly has landed in the spider's web."

Both women moved at once. Anne slid down the creature's flank, sword gleaming in her hand. Erza snapped her wrist, and the threads answered like living steel, tightening around the wyvern's body. The beast thrashed, wings straining uselessly against its prison.

Allison staggered, pain burning through her limbs, but she didn't look away. The creature roared and writhed, but its own strength had become its cage.

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"No running this time!" Erza shouted.

The threads contracted again, slicing through scales and sinew. Erza leapt, scythe spinning in a deadly arc. The blade tore across the wyvern's body, carving a line of blackened blood from flank to skull.

Allison clenched her grip on her katana, feeling the enchantment hum to life along its edge, and broke into a sprint. Anne's blade tore through the creature's wings with surgical precision. Every strike sent scales scattering, steam hissing as hot blood met the frozen ground. The wyvern's chest heaved, a red light flickering in its throat. In the next instant, fire erupted from its jaws in a blinding torrent.

Erza flicked her hand. The threads snapped taut, jerking the monster's head skyward. The inferno blasted harmlessly into the clouds, scattering across the frozen forest. The flames reflected off ice-crusted trees and shards of frost, painting the clearing in crimson light. Erza didn't stop. She moved in fluid circles, weaving through branches and snow, each step spinning new threads that wrapped tighter around the beast. She looked like she was dancing—graceful, precise, deadly. The Weaver's craft in motion, stitching death with the same care used to embroider silk.

Allison saw her opening. She jumped, twisting midair, and her katana cut deep across the creature's flank. Ice burst outward from the wound, spreading like veins of glass beneath its scales until half its body was locked in frost.

[Freezing Slash (Uncommon)]: The Swordsman delivers a strike that inflicts a wound coated with frost, freezing the area around it for a short duration through the power of [Ice]. If the cut lands on vital parts of the body, the chilling effect can gradually slow muscles, weaken attacks, and reduce the target's speed. This skill is empowered by [Heart of the Ice Dragon].

The wyvern's roar shook the ground, forcing everyone to fall back. Fire burst once more from its mouth, igniting the trees and melting through some of the remaining threads. The earth quaked beneath its weight. Erza moved like smoke through the blaze, her scythe cutting arcs of fire and air. Anne kept the rhythm, striking at the joints of the wings and the tender scales around the neck. Their movements were synchronized, perfectly timed—hunter and accomplice, striking as one.

Allison drew a deep breath. The cold gathered in her chest, heavier than steel. Each exhale filled the air with shards of frost. Then she let it go.

[Breath of the Ice Dragon (Epic)]: When dragons ruled the frozen peaks, their breath alone was enough to shape the world. Now, you carry a fragment of that legacy. Allows the Draconic Swordsman to exhale a wave of glacial mist that spreads like a silent storm, freezing the very air and dealing instant ice damage to all caught within, while drastically reducing their speed. The ground freezes beneath their feet as the dense mist lingers for a time, obscuring vision and inflicting continuous ice damage on those who dare remain within it. Those who survive the initial blast bear the weight of the cold, their movements slow and heavy, as if winter itself had seeped into their bones. May your breath silence all flames, and may your cold bring stillness to the world.

When empowered by the [Heart of the Ice Dragon], the breath grows denser and deadlier, spreading a living mist that hunts warmth and freezes everything in its path. The cold intensifies, increasing ice damage and extending the duration of the frost's slow, until the very air becomes a frozen void.

The wyvern's scream warped into a guttural, drawn-out sound—almost human—when the icy wave hit. Fire died in its throat with a sharp crack, and the massive body was hurled backward as if caught in a storm of frost.

Allison didn't wait for it to fall. The instant the creature's body began to drop, she ran. The frozen ground moved beneath her like an extension of herself. When her palm struck the earth, she triggered her epic class skill.

[Glacial Eruption (Epic)]: The Ice Sculptor channels absolute cold and shapes the terrain ahead, creating a trail of ice that extends toward the target. Upon reaching its end point, the trail expands into a freezing circle from which sharp pillars of pure ice crystal erupt, impaling everything within the area. These pillars remain for a few moments before shattering, leaving the ground coated in a slick layer of frost that hinders enemy movement.

When enhanced by the [Heart of the Ice Dragon], the pillars become denser and sharper, radiating a draconic chill that freezes the air around them. Enemies struck by the eruption have their movement speed reduced and take continuous damage from the intense cold.

The ground before her flared with an eerie blue glow. In an instant, the terrain came alive. Rows of jagged ice spikes burst upward, each one splitting the air with the sound of shattering glass. The columns struck the wyvern mid-descent, ripping through its abdomen and piercing its chest.

Its roar was pure agony. The impact shook the forest, sending a wave of freezing air sweeping through the trees. Branches and leaves turned white under a skin of frost. Allison staggered. Her mana drained in an instant. She glanced at the floating mana bar before her—it barely reached three hundred. The emptiness inside her felt physical, like her very soul had been hollowed out.

Inside her pocket dimension, fifteen mana potions remained. Each restored a hundred and fifty points. The math assembled itself in her head, cold and merciless. Even if I drink them all, it still won't be enough… not for the Midnight Lord—and definitely not for the Witch or the Midnight King after that.

For a moment, silence ruled the forest. Only her ragged breathing and the distant crack of ice breaking filled the void. Being one of the strongest meant nothing if the body couldn't keep up with the will. And right then, she felt the weight of that truth like ice in her veins.

The air shifted.

Erza burst through the trees, moving with an almost otherworldly grace. Every step landed on invisible footholds—her threads. Parts of her armor were scorched, fabric burned away, but her eyes stayed razor-sharp. Anne ran beside her, wand raised, healing magic swirling around Erza in a glow of green light. That was how they fought—two forces in perfect harmony, one holding the line while the other sustained her.

The wyvern still breathed. Fire pulsed faintly beneath the cracked ice coating its body, ember-colored light leaking through the fissures. With a roar, it slammed into the remaining ice pillars, shattering them and sending shards flying like glass rain. Erza lifted her scythe. The creature's chest flared red—it was building another blast.

And then, a single arrow cut through the air.

The impact was sharp, almost quiet. The explosion that followed wasn't. It tore through the silence, lighting up the entire forest in a blinding flash.

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