344 Clash of Ice and Snow (1/2)
The world of ice and snow continued to expand as nothing but white could been seen extending into the horizon. The entire world around us was now pure white.
Based on the typical rules, when two Soul Worlds clashed, the end result would depend on the Soul Worlds' power and the strength of their users. If there was little difference, then both sides would have equal chances to win. If one side was far stronger than the other, then the weaker person's Soul World wouldn't be able to do anything other than protect them.
As for us… there was basically no difference, at least on the surface.
What would white be when it was combined with white? Looking around us at this world filled with ice and snow, Zero was surprised that the two master ice mages' Soul Worlds didn't actually clash. They melded perfectly together. This obviously went against the common sense of Soul Worlds, which made her both astonished as well as faintly realize that something was wrong.
The double iciness made the temperature go down even further. This severe cold caused snow to descend from the sky yet again, while the snowflakes—as large as a person's hand—were crystallizations of ice. This life-threatening frost created ice everywhere on the ground, resembling landmines of snow and ice. Yet it was Zero's personal undead army who were the first to be no longer able to tolerate this extremely low temperature.
Normally speaking, they should have long gotten used to ice-cold temperatures since they were from the Ice Plane. Yet the strange part was that in this seemingly warm mortal plane, this not so deadly appearing ice made them quite uncomfortable.
Zero's intelligent high-level undead army discovered to their shock that the situation had spiraled out of their control. They were no longer able to walk on this snowy ground, and their limbs no longer listened to their commands. All this falling snow even obscured their soul vision. This extreme world of snow and ice that two Undead Emperors constructed together made even these Legendary undead as helpless as ordinary humans. This dark and frigid environment was the most direct path to death.
The fact that both of us chose something like a Soul World for large scale area of effect attacks was no coincidence. This was all due to the nature of ice magic.
After all, no matter if it was stealing away the heat or more normal ice magic, it would all be large-scale temperature lowering. In that case, in order for the power of ice magic to reach the peak and maintain its state, it would require a Soul World of ice, the path taken by many top-level ice magic archmages.
A low temperature Soul World of ice and snow wouldn't make ice magic weaker—it would, in fact, even provide terrain bonuses. The same went for fire magic archmages as well. Their Soul Worlds were typically high temperature volcanic terrains filled with magma, which improved the power of their fire.
Two top-level ice magic archmages with very similar Soul Worlds was something within expectations, yet the fact that they actually could combine with each other and further increase the ice magic's power was quite unusual.
However, I laughed, because this ”unusualness” was exactly what I expected. As I watched large patches of ice and snow descend, the eternal ”Hibernation Chill” contained within it made even the strongest undead into nothing more than prey on a spiderweb. Struggling was meaningless; they could only be frozen.
The ones who found this the most incomprehensible were the Winter Demons as they were supposed to be immune to ice magic. For the first time in their undead lives, they felt the pain of being frozen. This ice and snow was actually capable of making them despair.
When this absolute ice arrived, only then did they discover that they still possessed the ability to feel pain. This cold to the extreme ice damage made their skin crack open, their bones shatter, and their souls freeze over. This ice damage damaged their very foundations and made them finally recall the feeling of pain back from when they were still alive. And, gradually, as the pain diminished and even vanished, their physical bodies were no longer able to resist this extreme cold. They had completely lost their bodies and souls.
”Why are you even combining your powers with mine and increasing the power of this ice domain? Aren't you a living person?”
Zero didn't hide her astonishment. She had discovered that Roland wasn't fighting back against her ”Heat-loss Domain;” instead, he was helping add something into it which greatly increased its power. Could it be that he wasn't worried at all about dying inside it? Wasn't he supposed to be alive? He even dared to increase the power of her own Soul World? He was that confident that he would survive longer than her?
Based on common sense, no living being could reach a higher level in ice magic than an undead that wasn't afraid of low temperatures. After all, most ice magic spells were area of effect, and accidentally freezing oneself to death wasn't unheard of. But, for undead ice magic, all that was needed was to lower the temperature, which would naturally cause large numbers of living beings to drop dead. This was also why many liches practiced ice magic together with undead magic.
But Roland was clearly a living person, yet he put himself in such an absolute cold environment. And this cold was sufficient to even freeze the Winter Demons. Still, he kept decreasing the temperature of this area. Was he suicidal?
Of course, I didn't intend to explain anything to Zero. Nor would I tell her that the ”Absolute Zero Ice Armor” I was wearing made the temperature outside meaningless, no matter how low it was. Nor would I be telling her that I actually wasn't using a Soul World, but rather a true new world of my own. I didn't increase her Soul World's strength but rather placed it within my Frigidwinter Earth.
”…So you'll comment in your mind, is that it? I can hear everything you're thinking.”
”Of course, since it sucks to keep everything bottled in. Besides, it's not like she can hear my thoughts.”
I was no idiotic villain who would die because I liked to talk too much. Nor was I some demon king who was addicted to explaining my every move. How could I possibly tell my enemy my secrets? There were even some bosses that liked to mark their own weak spots or favorite individuals with red markings, as if they weren't afraid of their enemies noticing at all.
If my enemy was confused, then let them be confused. It would be even better if they died while not understanding anything.
But the closest undead to me were now right before me. Even if they were slowed down by my Hibernation Chill, I couldn't ignore them. And since Mars was busy recombining himself and wasn't usable at the moment…
”I choose you, Erebella!” [1]1
”There's never anything good when you call me!”
The giant ice dragon arrived on the winds, with a layer of my ”Absolute Zero Ice Armor” secretly applied on her body. Otherwise, even she would become nothing more than an ice sculpture in this fatally cold ice and snow.
When controlling the temperature, no matter if it was fire or ice magic, both its greatest advantage and weakness would be its excellent area of effect. While it was incredibly destructive in a huge area, one of the most common methods of dying was accidentally killing oneself in the process. After all, changing the temperature was an invisible process. It was very possible to either cook or freeze yourself to death.
Since I was an ice mage who wasn't so confident controlling my own ice, I created an ”Ice Armor” that could protect myself the moment I obtained my Frigidwinter Earth. With power at the level of a Divine Concept, this ”Absolute Zero Ice Armor” required me to only take a set amount of ice damage and would protect me from dying no matter how low the temperature was outside.
But my opponent, Zero, wasn't so easy to deal with. She was unmistakably a SemiGod Undead Emperor. Perhaps she wasn't at her strongest as this wasn't her main body, but she would still be, at the very least, at the Myth rank—an ice mage two power levels above me.
”…As expected, all direct attacks are meaningless?”
I had no intentions of forcefully trading blows with her. Instead, I had my Frigidwinter Earth further decrease the temperature of her Soul World. The result was that her subordinates were indeed affected, but she seemed to ignore the effects. Those snowflakes floated right through the ghost's body. Since the snowflakes didn't even touch her, then even my Hibernation Chill wasn't affecting her at all.
”When I close my eyes, I can't sense anything, as if she doesn't even exist. Is this what 'Zero' is really like?”
Indeed, all ghost type undead creatures had no physical bodies, and the stronger ghosts among them would be impervious to physical damage. However, this didn't mean that they were immune to magic. And I was quite clear on the limitations of Soul Worlds. It was possible to create terrain that would be beneficial to oneself, but making oneself so powerful as to a cheat-like level was impossible. This could only be one of her unique personal talents.
And in the battle so far, I had already tested things out. No matter if I threw a rock or a magic spell at her, everything would pass through her body harmlessly and cause no actual damage.
But ever since we met, Zero hadn't taken any action apart from summoning her Soul World and her own subordinates. It was obvious that her ”invulnerability” had costs associated with it.