*** Present Day

Ilmund's forces were slowly being pushed back; the walls and sheer amount of artillery raining down upon them were too much even for their flames to combat.

It didn't help that Cassia had just become an arcanist herself, the fires of Arethrus being completely nullified with the frost of Northros.

In a proxy war between gods, only the most cunning of mortals win.

"You!"

Ilmund's eyes literally blazed with fire, his arcanist power going out of control as he realised that he was done for.

Even his arms started to regrow, not flesh, but flame; he was willing to sacrifice everything here and now.

And the crusaders felt it... even if they no longer shared the same passion and fervour as before due to their losses, the sheer divine authority that surrounded them wiped retreat out of their minds.

If they were going down, Snowkeep was going down with them.

"Shit!"

Justinian backed off, blinking at Cassia as a signal to take over; his flames were too much for Justinian's body to handle.

SLASH!

And without hesitation, they switched roles, Justinian now handling the rest of the crusaders while Cassia was now duelling the empowered Ilmund.

"Northros!? Taken an interest in this mortal conflict as well have you!?"

Arethrus' voice boomed... not Ilmund, but Arethrus himself.

Cassia briefly faltered after hearing the voice of a god himself, but it didn't last long when his sword suddenly pulsed, a fresh wave of frost radiating outward from her form.

"No... this development was not of my own volition..."

The sword talked; it was the voice of Northros, the two gods conversing through their chosen vessels as they fought.

CLASH!

CLASH!

CLASH!

It was a weird fight. While mortals fought tooth and nail, the gods were talking like casual friends, each one expressing their amusement and confusion at their meeting.

Arethrus only planned to see Justinian's capability, while Northros was just caught off guard, the system forcing his sword to appear without his consent.

"This... Justinian... what do you think of him?"

Northros spoke, every word he uttered creating frostbite in a radius around them, freezing every single bystander who got too near.

"A false divine... no description would suit him better!"

Arethrus roared, laughing, his own words also altering the battlefield, instantly melting the frozen bodies around them.

The entire perimeter around them is now turning into an actual hellscape of frost and fire.

"But... I can't have you killing my vessel."

Northros chuckled, the sword pulsing stronger.

While Arethrus had authority over a mortal body, he did do it forcefully and suddenly, without prior revelation; it meant he had less power over the battlefield than Northros, one who only got involved due to Justinian's interference.

Which meant Northros had vastly more power left, and even if he was forced in this situation, losing the sword and its new wielder was a loss he wasn't willing to take.

"Take the defeat, Arethrus."

Northros laughed, his voice slowly fading.

And with his cold voice gone, something else replaced it, the sword itself.

"Enough of this!"

Cassia yelled out, and with a powerful swing, overpowered Ilmund, his arms buckling and flying backwards, unable to take the force of Cassia's blow.

"What a waste..."

Arethrus chuckled, leaving Ilmund's body as Cassia's sword pierced deep into his chest, breaking ribs along with it.

CRUNCH!

Steel plate, flesh, and bones themselves froze and exploded the moment they made contact with Cassia's sword, and with it, Ilmund's life as well.

He wasn't even able to let out his last words before Winterfang completely froze his insides.

"I... I did it?"

She panted, feeling the fatigue from fighting against a fellow arcanist.

All around the battlefield, however, everyone could already feel the effects of Ilmund's death, the crusaders' fires instantly disappearing, letting the cold embrace of Cassia's winter envelop them, freezing them.

And it didn't end with the crusaders, the frost itself blew further, and onto the enemy camp, where Raven and a few were left to stand guard.

But surprisingly, just barely visible, was Raven.

Looking at the incoming frost, still gravely wounded, his face as pale as the snow around him.

"Dark Descent..."

Raven mumbled, darkness enveloping his body as he completely disappeared out of sight.

It was his gift... he could escape the entire time.

FWOOSH!

But the same couldn't be said of the remains of his camp, the entire thing freezing over and killing the remaining crusaders.

It was a Thirellian victory.

"W-Was that it...?"

A spearmen stuttered, looking at the frozen body in front of him.

"...I think we did..."

Another replied.

Most of the soldiers swallowed.

Then...

Shouting.

"We did it!"

"The gods are on our side!"

The entire wall was filled with celebratory laughs, cries, and cheers. They hadn't expected to survive against a literal arcanist, but now they did, and now they had two arcanists on their side.

For those who still doubted until now... this was a clear reason to stop.

"G-Good job..."

Justinian laughed weakly, planting his sword in the ground as a crutch.

Justinian exhaled, a shaky breath frosting the air as Winterfang's chill still clung stubbornly to the ground.

Cassia landed beside him, stumbling slightly.

Not because of injury.

But because her legs wouldn't stop shaking.

She hadn't even realised she was trembling until Justinian's hand caught her wrist.

"You're freezing," he chuckled, though his voice wavered.

"I'm… an ice arcanist," she muttered, still staring at Ilmund's shattered remains. "I'm supposed to be freezing."

"Not like this."

She looked at him.

And Justinian saw it.

There were no elaborate speeches.

No dramatic comfort.

Just a tired smile… and his hand, still gently holding her wrist.

"…You did well," he said.

Cassia swallowed, her voice barely a whisper.

"…Did I?"

Justinian didn't answer.

Instead, he slowly lowered her hand to the hilt of Winterfang.

"Look."

She followed his gaze.

Across the battlefield…

Most were cheering her name, about the birth of a new arcanist, the first female arcanist of Winterfang... and frankly? The first-ever arcanist in the entire kingdom to have killed another.

The celebrations had completely focused on her due to the spectacle, completely leaving Justinian in the dust.

But he didn't mind, instead... he smiled.

"Congratulations... my second."

"Oh shut up..."

Cassia teasingly joked as she grabbed Justinian by his cheek and forced a kiss on him.

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