Chapter 196: Absolute Zero

The Nether Imp thrashed in Gray’s grip, its jaws snapping uselessly against his fingers, its crimson eyes burning with helpless fury. Gray held it there, his arms trembling with the strain, and shouted over his shoulder.

"Cindy!"

Cindy raised both hands above her head. Frost gathered at her fingertips, not the thin, controlled ice of her earlier spells, but something vast and violent, a storm of cold that compressed itself into a single, blinding point.

"[Absolute Zero]!"

The spell erupted outward in a wave of white light.

Ice exploded through the tunnel, not in spikes or shards, but in a single, overwhelming surge. It slammed into the first Imp, the one Gray was holding, and the creature went rigid mid-snap, its body encased in a block of crystalline frost.

The second Imp, still reeling from its frozen prison, was caught in the wave before it could move. Ice crawled up its legs, its torso, its throat, sealing its jaws shut. The third Imp, the one Lily had wounded, tried to retreat, but the frost caught it too, crystallizing its limbs, its tail, its horns.

[ABSOLUTE ZERO — ALL TARGETS FROZEN]

[NETHER IMP (1) — CRYSTALLIZED — 3 SECONDS]

[NETHER IMP (2) — CRYSTALLIZED — 3 SECONDS]

[NETHER IMP (3) — CRYSTALLIZED — 3 SECONDS]

Cindy’s hands were still raised, her small body trembling with the effort of maintaining the spell. Her silver glow flickered weakly, her frills drooping.

"I... I can’t hold this for long," she said through gritted teeth.

Gray drove both Void Reaper’s Lances into the first Imp’s frozen chest, the void-edged spears punching through the ice and the flesh beneath.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 308 DAMAGE]

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 312 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (1) — HP: 1,550 / 4,500]

[FROZEN — CRITICAL DAMAGE]

The Imp couldn’t move. It couldn’t regenerate. Its horns were already destroyed, and now its body was trapped in ice. It was helpless.

Gray extended his palm and fired Cavitation Pulse into the frozen skull. The blast punched through the ice and carved a deep, smoking wound through the side of the Imp’s head, but the creature didn’t fall. Its crimson eyes blazed with pain and fury, and its body convulsed violently inside its frozen prison, still clinging to life.

[CAVITATION PULSE — 328 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (1) — HP: 1,222 / 4,500]

Lily darted forward, her enhanced body blazing with void energy. She drove all five points into the cracked ice, shattering it and the Imp’s skull beneath.

[LILY — VOID SHATTER — 448 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (1) — HP: 774 / 4,500]

[SKULL — CRITICALLY DAMAGED]

Gray finished it with a final Void Reaper’s Lance, driving the void-edged spear through the shattered skull and into the Imp’s core.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 324 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (1) — DEFEATED — 4,200 EXP]

The first Imp went limp, its frozen body crumbling as the ice melted.

Then, Lily shattered the second Imp’s horns with a single, concentrated Void Shatter.

[LILY — VOID SHATTER — 452 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (2) — HP: 2,548 / 4,500]

[HORNS — DESTROYED]

[REGENERATION — DISABLED]

The second Imp hung there, still trapped in ice. With its horns shattered, there was no healing left for it.

Gray stepped in close and drove both Void Reaper’s Lances into its chest. The void-edged spears punched through the frozen shell with a crack like splitting stone, sinking deep into the Imp’s ribcage. Frost shattered outward in a spray of glittering shards, and the creature’s body jerked against the ice, a thin, muffled shriek escaping its sealed jaws.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 316 DAMAGE]

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 308 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (2) — HP: 1,924 / 4,500]

Cindy’s voice was strained, her silver glow flickering.

"Gray... I can’t... hold it much longer..."

"Just a few more seconds!"

He raised his hand and fired Cavitation Pulse into the second Imp’s exposed chest. The superheated jet struck the frozen shell and punched through it in a single, brutal motion, carving deep into the creature’s core. Steam curled from the wound, and the Imp’s body shuddered against the ice, its muffled scream barely audible through the frost sealing its jaws.

[CAVITATION PULSE — 332 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (2) — HP: 1,592 / 4,500]

Lily darted forward, her points spinning, and finished it with another Void Shatter to the skull. The void sphere struck the frozen head dead center and detonated, tearing through ice and bone alike.

[LILY — VOID SHATTER — 456 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (2) — HP: 1,136 / 4,500]

[SKULL — CRITICALLY DAMAGED]

Gray drove his fist into the Imp’s shattered skull, Void Reaper’s Lance forming around his arm.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 328 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (2) — HP: 808 / 4,500]

Overcharge followed, electricity tearing through the frozen corpse. Gray pressed his palm against the ice and released the current, letting it pour into the frozen body in a single, controlled burst. The Imp’s limbs spasmed, its jaws snapping open behind the frost, and the lightning carved burning lines through its flesh before finally sputtering out.

[OVERCHARGE — 348 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (2) — HP: 460 / 4,500]

Lily finished it. She compressed her core into a single point of darkness and fired it into the Imp’s exposed chest, the void energy detonating on impact. The creature’s body jerked once, then went still, the crimson glow in its eyes fading to black.

[LILY — VOID ANNIHILATION — 486 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (2) — DEFEATED — 4,200 EXP]

The third Imp broke free of the ice just as Cindy’s spell gave out. She collapsed to her knees, her silver glow flickering weakly, her frills drooping.

The third Imp lunged toward her, its claws scything through the air.

Gray activated Current Dash and reformed directly in front of it, both hands raised. He caught its claws with his own, his fingers locking around its wrists, and forced it back.

"You don’t touch her."

He drove his knee into its chest and hurled it against the tunnel wall. The Imp crashed against the roots, its body crumpling, and Gray was already on top of it, both Void Reaper’s Lances forming in his palms.

The Imp opened its mouth wide, void energy gathering in its throat.

Gray drove both lances into its open mouth.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 312 DAMAGE]

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 304 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (3) — HP: 2,028 / 4,500]

[BLEED — 12 DAMAGE PER SECOND]

The Imp’s void beam fired wild, carving a molten line across the tunnel ceiling. Gray twisted aside, avoiding the blast, and drove his fist into the Imp’s throat.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 308 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (3) — HP: 1,720 / 4,500]

Lily darted in, her five points spinning, and shattered the third Imp’s horns.

[LILY — VOID SHATTER — 448 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (3) — HP: 1,272 / 4,500]

[HORNS — DESTROYED]

[REGENERATION — DISABLED]

Gray activated Overcharge, channeling the electricity through his fist and into the Imp’s throat.

[OVERCHARGE — 352 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (3) — HP: 920 / 4,500]

Cindy, still on her knees, raised one trembling hand.

"[Glacial Lance]!"

The spear of ice shot across the tunnel and punched through the Imp’s chest.

[GLACIAL LANCE — 368 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (3) — HP: 552 / 4,500]

Gray drove both Void Reaper’s Lances into its exposed core.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 318 DAMAGE]

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 312 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (3) — HP: 0 / 4,500]

[NETHER IMP (3) — DEFEATED — 4,200 EXP]

The third Imp went limp. Gray released it and let the corpse slump to the tunnel floor.

The remaining Imps, seeing their companions slaughtered, turned and fled without looking back. They didn’t stop, didn’t hesitate, didn’t even glance over their shoulders. They just ran, their pale bodies vanishing into the darkness of the shell.

Gray watched them go, his golden eyes tracking their signatures until they faded from his electroreception. Then he let out a slow, shaky breath.

"...They’re gone."

Cindy slumped in her container, her frills drooping with exhaustion.

"Thank the gods. I don’t think I could have cast another spell if my life depended on it."

Gray knelt beside her, his hand reaching for her container.

"Hey. You okay?"

Cindy nodded weakly, her silver eyes half-closed.

"Just... tired. That spell took everything I had."

Gray let out a slow breath.

"You saved us. If you hadn’t frozen them all at once, we’d still be fighting."

Cindy managed a faint smile.

"Good to know I’m still useful."

Lily, meanwhile, was happily devouring one of the Imp corpses. Her five points spun with contentment as she tore chunks of pale flesh from the body, her dark core pulsing with satisfaction. She ate with the same oblivious joy she always did, completely unbothered by the carnage around her.

Gray watched her for a long moment, his golden eyes narrowing.

"Lily..." he said, his voice dangerously calm. "What did you do to invite them here?"

Lily didn’t look up. She just kept eating, tearing off another chunk of Imp flesh and swallowing it whole. She acted as if she hadn’t heard him at all.

Gray’s eye twitched.

"Oh, you dare ignore me?"

Lily paused mid-bite. Her five points tilted innocently, her dark core flickering with what might have been amusement. Then she went right back to eating.

Gray took a slow, deliberate step toward her.

"Lily. I’m talking to you."

She kept chewing.

Cindy, still slumped in her container, let out a weak, exhausted laugh.

"She’s definitely ignoring you on purpose."

"I can see that," Gray said flatly.

He knelt down beside Lily, his golden eyes fixed on her. She continued eating, completely unbothered by his proximity. Another chunk of flesh disappeared into her star-shaped maw.

Gray reached out and gently tapped the top of her core.

Lily paused. Her points stopped orbiting. She slowly turned toward him, her dark core pulsing with a rhythm that might have been annoyance.

"Are you done ignoring me?" Gray asked.

Lily pulsed once, short and sharp.

"I’ll take that as a yes." Gray crossed his arms. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused? You led five Imps straight to us. We almost died."

Lily’s points drooped slightly. Her core dimmed, the earlier defiance fading into something closer to embarrassment.

"You can’t just wander off and come back with a pack of monsters chasing you," Gray continued. "If you’re going to explore, you tell us first. Understand?"

Lily pulsed weakly, her points orbiting slowly.

"Good." Gray’s expression softened just slightly. "Now finish eating. We’re heading back to the Heart of the Tartarus. Cindy needs to rest, and we’ve still got work to do."