Chapter 75: The Road Back

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: The Road Back

Morning arrived quietly.

The frozen land glowed beneath the pale sunlight as fresh snow drifted through the air.

Everyone packed up quickly.

Damon stretched before looking toward Caelia.

"Lead the way."

She nodded.

"Stay close."

The relaxed girl from last night disappeared.

Now she looked completely different.

Her eyes carefully scanned every corner.

Snow walked slightly ahead while silently checking the surroundings.

Every movement carried experience.

Damon immediately noticed it.

This...

Was the real Caelia.

An explorer raised inside the Frostveil Expanse.

She knew where beasts usually gathered.

Which cliffs were unstable.

Which valleys should never be crossed.

Several times they changed direction without explanation.

Moments later Damon noticed fresh beast tracks exactly where they would have walked.

"...Nice catch."

Caelia didn’t even look back.

"They patrol there every morning."

"You’ve memorized all that?"

"I’ve had to."

Damon smiled.

Impressive.

The deeper they traveled, the more signs of corruption appeared.

Broken ice.

Fresh claw marks.

Destroyed crystal veins.

Even Snow looked more alert than before.

Eventually...

Caelia suddenly raised her hand.

"Stop."

Damon immediately halted.

Snow’s ears flattened.

A low growl echoed across the frozen plain.

Then another.

And another.

Several figures slowly emerged from behind towering glaciers.

Their bodies resembled giant white wolves, except their backs were covered in jagged ice crystals. Blue frost gathered around their claws while freezing mist escaped their mouths with every breath.

B Rank Frostfang Stalkers.

There wasn’t just one.

There were six.

They spread out quietly.

Cutting off every escape.

Caelia’s expression changed.

"...That’s impossible."

"They shouldn’t be hunting in groups this large."

Damon looked around calmly.

His thoughts immediately drifted elsewhere.

If this was happening here...

Then what about Tempest Hollow?

If B Rank beasts were gathering like this...

The families protecting these Distorted Zones were in real trouble.

He finally understood why Caelia had risked everything.

She wasn’t exaggerating.

The situation had already become critical.

Caelia slowly raised her weapon.

"I’ll create an opening."

Damon shook his head.

"You handle one."

"I’ll deal with the rest."

She looked at him.

"...The rest?"

"There are six."

"I counted."

"Damon..."

He smiled.

"Trust me."

Something about the confidence in his voice made her hesitate.

Finally...

She nodded.

"...Alright."

She and Snow rushed toward the largest Frostfang Stalker.

The remaining beasts immediately charged Damon.

Caelia secretly glanced back.

She wanted to see it.

The strength that defeated two guardian beasts.

Yet...

Damon didn’t move.

Freya didn’t move either.

Neither did Sylphie.

"...What?"

The next second...

Five identical Freyas burst from the original.

Each lightning fox shot toward a different Frostfang Stalker.

"So that’s your plan."

The wolves lunged.

The clones answered first.

BOOM!

Lightning exploded across the battlefield.

One clone darted beneath a wolf before detonating beneath its chest.

Another leaped onto a beast’s back and exploded into silver lightning.

A third disappeared before reappearing beside another beast, slamming into it before bursting apart.

Each explosion wasn’t enough to destroy a stronger opponent immediately.

But against Low B Rank beasts...

It was more than enough.

Within moments...

The frozen plain echoed with explosions.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The clones vanished one after another.

So did the beasts.

Caelia stared blankly.

"...What..."

A Frostfang Stalker suddenly lunged toward her.

Snow reacted instantly, tackling it aside before it could reach her.

Caelia quickly regained focus.

"Right."

"My fight."

She couldn’t help smiling.

So...

He had noticed.

He knew she wanted to measure his strength.

Instead of showing everything...

He had casually revealed just enough.

Now it was his turn to watch.

"...You’re sneaky."

Far away, Damon folded his arms.

"I learned from the best."

Caelia almost laughed.

"Did you now?"

She took a deep breath.

"Then watch carefully."

Her Aether surged.

Cold mist spread beneath her feet.

Snow immediately moved with her.

The two flowed together naturally.

Ice walls appeared and disappeared with perfect timing, forcing the Frostfang Stalker into narrow angles.

Every time it tried escaping...

Snow was already waiting.

Every retreat became another trap.

Damon watched quietly.

She wasn’t fighting seriously.

He could tell.

Even so...

Her teamwork with Snow was almost flawless.

"...No wonder she’s considered a genius."

A few more exchanges passed.

Finally...

Caelia stepped forward.

One clean thrust pierced through the beast’s neck.

CRACK!

Ice spread across the wound before the Frostfang Stalker collapsed.

She lowered her weapon before looking toward Damon.

"So?"

Damon nodded honestly.

"Beautiful footwork."

"You barely wasted any movement."

She smiled.

"You noticed."

"I notice everything."

"...Confident."

"I try."

The two exchanged amused smiles.

Neither had revealed all their strength.

Both knew it.

Neither pointed it out.

Some things were better left unsaid.

After collecting the monster cores and other useful materials, Damon stored everything inside his bag.

Caelia only watched.

"You really collect everything."

He looked at her as though she had asked something obvious.

"It’s money."

"...Fair point."

With the battlefield cleared once again, they continued their journey.

Far ahead...

Beyond the frozen mountains...

The home of the Winterbourne Family slowly drew closer.

They picked up their pace soon.

Neither Damon nor Caelia wanted to waste time fighting every beast they met.

Whenever they could, they simply avoided them.

When they couldn’t...

They ended the fight as quickly as possible.

Freya’s afterimages darted across the battlefield, exploding into flashes of silver lightning before disappearing.

Sylphie stayed overhead, calmly releasing sharp wind blades that sliced through charging beasts before they could even get close.

Every encounter lasted only a few moments.

Then they were moving again.

Caelia couldn’t help glancing at Damon from time to time.

The more she traveled with him...

The more mysterious he became.

She had already seen pieces of his strength.

Yet every time she thought she understood him...

He showed her something new.

Eventually, she gave up trying.

I’ll find out sooner or later.

For now...

Getting home was more important.

But the closer they got, the more uneasy she became.

The signs were impossible to ignore.

Broken trees.

Fresh claw marks.

Blood staining the snow.

Entire groups of beasts were moving in one direction.

Toward the Winterbourne Mansion.

Her expression changed.

"...No way."