Novel Full Chapter 813: The City of Frozen People [2]
Chapter 813: The City of Frozen People [2]
“Great! Just fucking great!”
I cursed out loud, staring at the ice blocks in front of me.
“Of course, things aren’t going to be easy. There’s always some bullshit along the way!”
Swoooosh—!
The fog thickened, and so did the cold.
Staring at the ice blocks that looked like the perfect outlines of everyone, I moved closer to get a better look, but just as I did, one of the ’lights’ within my [Mana Sense] vision began to move, startling me for a moment.
And soon—
“Julien…? What’s going on?”
A lock of purple hair appeared before me.
“Evelyn?”
Evelyn appeared a moment later, moving from behind one of the blocks. Her face was a little pale, but as she looked around, her lips trembled.
“What’s going on? Why are they like this…? Do you know what’s going on?”
I was a little hesitant as I stared at Evelyn.
The entire situation was off. How come she was still fine? What about the others? Why did they convert into ice blocks while she didn’t?
Could she be an impostor or the one responsible for this?
My heart grew cold, but I didn’t let it show.
“I’m not sure myself. This was a little abrupt.”
I hadn’t even realized what was happening before they all froze solid, turned into blocks of ice in an instant. It took only a moment, a single glance away, and they were gone. Whoever was behind it had to be incredibly powerful.
Of this, I was sure.
’It’s also possible that this may be due to the fog and environment, but if that was truly the case, then Evelyn wouldn’t be here with me. I’d also have felt something. It either has to be someone else, or perhaps even a monster. A really strong one.’
My body tensed, but I knew this wasn’t the time for me to get lost in my own thoughts.
To Tok—!
I knocked on the ice blocks.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Evelyn looked a little startled by my actions.
At the very least, ’she’ was acting just like Evelyn usually did. Perhaps it was really her…
“I’m just checking something. I broke one of the blocks earlier, but it repaired itself. I want to see if the others have really turned completely into ice.”
There was a certain warmth coming from the ice blocks that told me that Leon and the others were indeed part of the ice blocks. The fact that [Mana Sense] could still detect them appeared to reaffirm this thought.
But…
“How the hell do we get them out of this?”
“Should we try melting them?”
“…..”
Evelyn’s suggestion made me pause.
That…
It wasn’t a bad idea.
“We can try that.”
“Should I do it? I don’t think you’re very good at controlling elements.”
“I’m not.”
The only element I could control was the [Curse] element, and even that was mostly due to the previous Julien.
Evelyn also specialized in the [Lightning] element, but she had much better control over the [Fire] element than I did as she flicked her hand and flames appeared a moment later. Staring at the flames, I recalled something.
“Weren’t you trying to get Kiera to put a flame for you? If you could do it from the start, why not do it?”
“And waste my mana…?”
Evelyn scoffed, placing the fire near Aoife’s statue.
“…No, thank you. I’d rather waste Kiera’s.”
“Oh.”
Well, I should’ve seen the answer coming.
I would’ve also done the same if it were Leon.
“How odd. The ice… It’s not melting.”
Evelyn tried to increase the power of the flame as it grew brighter across the surroundings, but even as she placed it near Aoife’s body, the statue refused to melt. She continued for several more minutes, until she had no choice but to stop.
“I don’t… think I can keep going like this. I’m wasting too much mana. At this rate, I might not be able to continue any further.”
“That’s fine.”
I hadn’t held much hope from the start.
“What should we do?”
Evelyn looked at the statues with a troubled look. I was no different. I didn’t really know what to do, but after thinking it over, I made up my mind.
“Let’s grab them and leave this place. I can feel the weather growing worse. I also don’t know the reason they are like this, but I feel like it’s best if we bring them with us, and find some place to rest where we can figure the situation out.”
“Okay.”
Evelyn didn’t have any objections to my arrangement.
With a simple nod, she moved towards Kiera and Aoife before she reached to grab the two of them.
“Ukh.”
Because we needed to conserve mana, we had no choice but to carry them with us.
The plan was that I’d carry Leon, An’as, and Anne while she carried Aoife and Kiera.
“Which direction?”
“Just go straight.”
Swoooosh—!
Walking with several ice statues in hand, the temperature plummeted further as the surrounding weather grew increasingly volatile. The mana coating around my body started to think at an even faster rate, and so did the mana inside of my body.
Going forward, neither one of us spoke.
We just focused on going deeper into the city.
’I’d want to go to the ship, but I’m sure the waters are already frozen stiff. Not only that, but I think they have probably also left too. But that’s not really what bothers me at the moment.’
Staring at Evelyn’s back and the two statues next to me, my heart grew even heavier.
I hadn’t told Evelyn yet because I was still unsure of whether it was truly her or not, but looking at the statues next to me using [Mana Sense], I could see their mana rapidly starting to deplete, their glow growing thinner and thinner in my eyes.
My heart sank further at the sight.
What exactly was going to happen if their mana depleted completely?
I didn’t want to think about it as I hurried my steps.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
But moving through the fog was becoming harder by the minute. Visibility had dropped to nothing, and the winds that had begun to stir were now growing stronger, pushing against us with relentless force.
The blades of wind pierced my skin as my clothes fluttered uncomfortably.
Not just that, but the statues that I was carrying with me were also seemingly growing heavier and heavier with each passing minute.
It got to a point where it felt a little strenuous.
’Let’s keep pushing. I can still keep going.’
A low, yet deep, whistling sound reverberated through the surroundings as I kept my gaze fixed on Evelyn, trying to make sure nothing happened to her or that she did anything unexpected.
“J-Julien….!”
Her voice soon reached my ears, making me look up a little.
Stopping for a moment, Evelyn turned her face slightly, exposing her pale face and trembling lips.
“…I-I think you should see this.”
Evelyn returned her attention ahead, prompting me to frown.
Did she notice something?
Crunch! Crunch!
The snow beneath me crunched as I stepped forward, and the moment I arrived next to Evelyn, I paused, my eyes falling on the spot she was looking at, my heart coming to a sudden stop.
A wide plaza stretched out before me, the fog thinner here than it had been before. The tall buildings of ice surrounding the area seemed to hold it back, their massive bodies rising like frozen walls. Cracks ran along their surfaces, and faint wisps of mist curled around their edges, giving the center an eerie, breathless silence.
But that wasn’t what grabbed my attention.
No.
What truly made my breath catch was the sight before me: thousands of frozen statues filling the plaza, each turned toward the massive figure at the center.
The towering statue depicted a woman clutching a great scepter, her expression serene yet commanding, her simple presence demanding a respect that only a ’God’ would command.
I knew it in an instant.
’Clora.’
That was the statue of Clora.
“T-that’s… How many people are there?”
Evelyn’s voice continued to shake, not from shock but from the cold slowly seeping into her bones. I was no different. I started to feel the cold as well. This was despite the thin mana film that covered my body.
“I’m not sure.”
There were simply too many to count.
“Probably several thousand. Could be even more.”
The fog was thinner, but it didn’t mean I could see everything.
Still, from what I was seeing, I could more or less tell what had happened.
’This is probably after news of the Goddess’s death has made its way over here. All the people very likely rushed towards the statue to pray to it. Even as the weather grew worse, they remained still, and this is the result.’
But…
I couldn’t detect anything with [Mana Sense].
This meant that…
“Hm?”
My thoughts came to a sudden pause.
“Julien?”
As if something had changed in me, Evelyn stared at me in confusion. I didn’t answer her and placed everyone I had on me down.
“Keep an eye on them for me. I need to check something.”
“Huh? Wait… Julien!”
I didn’t wait for Evelyn to finish speaking before rushing ahead with everything that I had.
The statues came into view quickly, and as I looked ahead, a certain silhouette appeared within my [Mana Sense], its glow visible, though not very bright.
’There’s someone!’
The thought became clearer the moment I saw it move within my vision.
Crunch! Crunch!
I didn’t waste a second, rushing faster in the direction of the silhouette, and as I navigated through the numerous frozen statues, I soon saw it.
Through the thinning fog, I caught sight of a silhouette. A figure standing with their back to me, positioned before several of the statues. In their hands, they held a towel, carefully wiping the ice from the frozen figures, tending them in silence.
And soon—
Crunch!
Their bodies stopped the moment I drew closer, the crunch of the snow beneath revealing my position.
Slowly, the figure froze.
An apparent tremor became apparent, and a moment later, the figure slowly turned their head, revealing a pair of azure blue eyes as our figures met.
My eyes lit up wtih joy.
A survivor.
There really was a survivor!