The return trip was a blur of speed and tension. With the Fire Spirit Herb secured in Alvian's inventory, the squad pushed the Frost-Runners to their breaking point. The landscape flew by—grey ash turning back into blinding white snow as they exited the volcanic ridge and re-entered the frozen hellscape of Silverwood.

They arrived at the Governor's mansion with only two hours left on the quest timer.

Alvian kicked the doors open. "Elara, prep the operating table! Valeria, secure the perimeter! The moment we remove the seed, the owner is going to know."

The mansion erupted into activity. Governor Thorne watched with bated breath as Alvian approached Alice's bedside. The frost on her skin had thickened, forming a jagged cocoon around her chest.

Alvian opened the stasis box. The Fire Spirit Herb glowed with a gentle, warming light. He crushed it in his hand, not destroying it, but refining it.

'System, aid extraction.'

[Ding! Analyzing mana frequency…]

[Guidance active. Apply the extract to the central rune.]

Alvian pressed the glowing, crushed herb onto the center of Alice's chest.

"SCREEEE!"

A psychic scream echoed through the room, emanating from the girl herself. It wasn't Alice screaming; it was the parasite. The frost hissed and recoiled, burning away under the pure fire essence.

A black, thorny object began to rise from her chest, pulled out by the herb's magnetic properties. It looked like a heart made of obsidian and ice. The [Seed of the Endless Winter].

"Elara, shield!" Alvian shouted.

The healer threw up a barrier of light just as the Seed pulsed, sending a shockwave of cold across the room. The barrier cracked but held.

Alvian grabbed the Seed with his [Wolf Tamer's Gauntlets], fighting the biting cold that tried to freeze his arm solid. He ripped it free from the girl's aura and shoved it into a containment box Rogge had provided.

Alice gasped, her back arching off the bed. Color rushed back into her cheeks. The frost patterns shattered and vanished.

[Quest Update: Alice Saved.]

[Phase 1 Complete.]

"She's stable!" Elara cried, checking the girl's vitals. "Her core temperature is rising!"

"We're not done," Alvian said, turning toward the window. He could feel it. The malice.

The containment box in his hand rattled. The Seed was calling out to its master.

"They're coming," Alvian stated calmly.

"Who?" Arin asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

"The Syndicate," Alvian lied smoothly. He couldn't reveal he knew about the SnowMages yet without raising too many questions about his source. "The ones who planted this. They want their battery back."

"BOOM!"

The front doors of the mansion were blown off their hinges. A blast of ice magic tore through the entrance hall, freezing two guards instantly.

Valeria drew her sword. "Hostiles inside the perimeter!"

Alvian moved to the balcony overlooking the main hall. Below, a group of figures in white, hooded robes glided into the mansion. They didn't walk; they floated on discs of ice. Their faces were hidden behind masks made of bone.

SnowMage Acolytes. Level 20 Elites. And leading them was a tall figure wielding a staff topped with a human skull encased in ice.

[Boss Detected: SnowMage Lieutenant - Varis]

[Level: 30]

"Hand over the Seed," Varis spoke, his voice sounding like cracking ice. "And I will grant you a quick, painless death. Refuse, and you will become part of the sculpture."

Valeria stood at the top of the stairs, her squad behind her. "This is Academy territory! Surrender now!"

Varis laughed, a dry, rattling sound. "The Academy is far away, little knight. Here, Winter is the only law."

He raised his staff. The air in the mansion dropped to absolute zero. Ice spikes began to form on the walls, aiming at the squad.

"Arin, counter-spell! Elara, buff Valeria!" Alvian commanded, stepping into the shadows.

"Where are you going?!" Valeria shouted, bracing her shield.

"To cut off the head," Alvian whispered.

He activated [Klaus's Upgrade] for the second time that day. The cooldown had barely reset thanks to a mana potion he'd chugged earlier.

[Ding! [Blessing] Active.]

He didn't use it on Frost Descent. This was an interior fight. Collateral damage would kill the Governor. He needed precision.

"[Shadow Weave +2]."

[Duration Doubled: 4 Minutes.]

Alvian vanished.

The battle below erupted. Valeria charged down the stairs, her shield glowing as she smashed through a wall of ice spikes. She engaged two acolytes, her blade moving in a blur of steel. She was strong, holding the line against magic that should have frozen her blood.

But Varis was the threat. The Lieutenant was chanting, a massive spell forming above his head—a [Glacial Tomb] that would crush the entire building.

He was shielded by a barrier of swirling wind and ice shards. Untouchable.

Or so he thought.

Alvian moved through the chaos like a ghost. He walked on the walls, his boots gripping the stone. He bypassed the acolytes, ignored the flying spells.

He reached the ceiling directly above Varis.

He dropped.

As he fell, he withdrew his weapon. Not the Cleaver. He equipped a dagger he had looted from the Magma Wyrm fight—a jagged piece of obsidian glass.

[Item: Wyrm-Tooth Dagger]

[Effect: Inflicts [Searing Burn] on hit.]

Alvian fell through the Lieutenant's wind barrier. The wind couldn't stop something that didn't exist physically.

He materialized inches behind Varis's neck.

"Checkmate."

He drove the dagger into the base of the mage's neck.

"SHHHK!"

Varis choked, his chant cutting off instantly. The massive spell above him destabilized and dissipated.

[-3,200! Critical!]

[Target inflicted with [Searing Burn]!]

Fire from the dagger clashed with the ice inside the mage's veins. Varis screamed as his blood boiled and froze simultaneously.

Alvian twisted the blade and kicked the mage off the floating disc. Varis crashed to the floor, dead before he hit the ground.

The acolytes froze, their connection to their leader severed.

"Kill them all!" Valeria roared, seeing the opening.

Without their leader's buffs, the acolytes were slaughter. Valeria and her squad mopped them up in seconds.

Alvian landed softly on the floor, retrieving a scroll from Varis's corpse.

[Item: Map to the Frost Sanctum]

He opened it. It showed a location deep in the mountains. A hidden temple where the SnowMages were performing the main ritual.

Valeria walked up to him, wiping black blood from her sword. She looked at the dead Lieutenant, then at Alvian.

"You used us as bait," she stated. It wasn't an accusation. It was a realization.

"I used you as a distraction," Alvian corrected, pocketing the map. "Effective tactics require distinct roles. You are the shield. I am the knife."

Valeria stared at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, she sheathed her sword.

"The shield held," she said, a hint of pride in her voice. "And the knife struck true."

She extended a hand.

"Good kill, Alvian."

Alvian looked at her hand. In his past life, Valeria had been a distant figure, a hero he watched from the mud. Now, she was offering him respect.

He took her hand. Her grip was firm, iron-hard.

"We're not done," Alvian said, his eyes cold. "This map leads to their main base. The Lieutenant was just a pawn. The real threat... the Calamity... is still out there."

He turned to the door, the blizzard outside raging harder than ever.

"Rest up, squad leader. Tomorrow, we go to war."

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