Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1886, 1858: A Tense Time

“But getting back to Lienia is my business, and it has nothing to do with your mission.”

Speaking in a cold and hoarse voice, the red-haired demigod took a small box from the chest of his black robe and handed it to the magic professor, whose hands and feet were still trembling from the pain.

"You should give this gift to my brother at the Volcano Residence to express your gratitude and to show your stance. This is crucial for our future."

"And once the Black Blades have completed their mission, the tower will carry them back into the phantom realm, if all goes well..."

At this point, Lani, who had always been indifferent and rational, finally frowned slightly.

"No, even in the most optimistic scenario... no matter how many of them manage to escape, they will all return to this tower. At that point, we must evacuate immediately."

"I need you to move at full speed, Servis." With this final instruction, the demigod, a relative of the Golden Dynasty, descended the stairs. "All of this will begin and end tonight. We only have one chance!"

As she spoke, she walked straight toward the tower's entrance.

Stepping onto the icicle-strewn ground, the three-meter-tall woman glanced down at the frozen Witcher as she passed by, frowned, seemingly having gained nothing, and then left the tower.

Torishia, who had fallen at the door, hurriedly moved away, but Lani didn't even bother to turn her head to look at her.

She had eliminated the male fader, whom she had never seen before but who was threatening enough.

The remaining Dolores had already been imprisoned and 'dealt with' by Servis. The Perfumer, on the other hand, was completely incapable of fighting.

Lani stepped out of the tower, looked up at the vast expanse of golden trees in the distance, and the inconspicuous moon among the branches.

What she has to do tonight is cruel, both to others and to herself. But... in any case, it is her only hope of achieving her goal.

Having come this far, with only one step left to take, there was no turning back for her or anyone else.

A long-lost tension and excitement welled up in the demigod's heart.

But strangely, these normal emotions that spring up from within are now as if separated by a layer of glass.

Emotions were indeed affecting her, but she seemed to be able to remain calm and rational at the same time, from the perspective of an observer.

Tonight, Lani's thoughts are as cold and dark as the moon.

Before long, a loud flapping of wings and the panting of a large creature came from outside.

Tonight, unnoticed by anyone, the shadow of a dragon lingered briefly in the bountiful forest before swiftly passing by again.

It flew straight towards the cliff where the Altai Plateau meets Lienia, and then flew down through the clouds.

Only after the sound of the dragon flapping its wings had faded into the distance did Servis shakily climb up the stairs.

His newly grown arm had such sensitive skin that he wanted to peel it off, while the phantom pain of the severed limb tormented him.

All of this caused the magic professor beneath the gold and silver mask to contort his face in an unusual way.

The hall was silent except for the cracking sound of Servis's staggering footsteps breaking the ice.

He walked down the stairs and stood in front of the frozen Witcher.

The mask that sealed the mouth with a golden net obscured the face, but the bloodshot eyes beneath the mask revealed the hatred and pleasure within them.

“What a pity,” he said, pressing close to Lann’s frozen body until his wide-brimmed hat touched the ice. “Your body could have been turned into a work of art in my hands! A work of art! Do you understand, you hopeless idiot!”

He reached out absently, as if wanting to touch the Witcher with his fingertips.

But before his fingertips could even touch the ice, the chill seemed to awaken him, causing him to quickly withdraw his hand.

"But you're frozen by Miss Lani's ice magic now... tsk, you've become a collection of ice shards. You've become unprocessable waste."

“It’s alright,” Servis said, moving his head from the side of Lann’s body to look at Dolores, who was lying on the floor, exhaling white steam as he breathed. “There’s still one Faded One here that we can use.”

“I’ve always… I’ve actually always considered you a friend of mine and Gideon’s! Selvis!”

Faced with Dolores's angry questioning, the magic professor remained unmoved, and even wanted to laugh.

"You just think we're friends... By the way, you don't actually believe you're still Gideon's friend, do you? Hmph."

“I must kindly remind you. Gideon Ofnir, he’s far more terrifying than I am, dear Dolores. Didn’t the wise Two Fingers of the Round Table give you a heads-up? Or perhaps…”

"Does the Two Fingers of the Round Table really not care about you Faded Ones? It's just that Gideon Ophniel is more useful and more important than you, so He comfortably watches Gideon and manipulates you at will?"

Servis smiled darkly.

"But you don't need to think about it too much, Dolores. I'll turn you into a magnificent doll, beautiful, sharp, and immortal. Just brainless, but without a brain, you won't have to be sad about these things, will you?"

"Bastard! Someone like you doesn't deserve to return to the tree!"

“But my eyes are a symbol of blessing. On the contrary, you, the faded ones, are truly dead when you die.”

Servis's shrill voice chuckled maliciously as he argued with Dolores with great interest. But as they were arguing, a trembling voice came from the tower's entrance: "Dolores! Lan... Lan En!"

The woman in men's clothing, lying on the ground, suddenly widened her eyes: "Torishia? Why aren't you here yet... Run!"

“She can’t escape!” The magic professor turned away from Lann’s body, tilting his head to look at the perfumer. “She knows she can’t escape, so she came here to try her luck. That’s what you call smart and brave, Dolores.”

"Turning a perfumer into a doll, hmm, that's quite a great artistic idea!"

"Don't touch her! Torisha, run!"

The woman dressed as a man struggled to pick up the bow and arrows that had fallen beside her. Torisha's hands trembled with tension and fear. A demigod, a living, breathing enemy, had walked past her. Even now, she felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest!
But as Selvis walked toward her, she still tried to rummage for face powder in the bag of her thick apron.

She could only stand there; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to blow the face powder onto Dolores and Lann after taking it out.

The magic professor seemed to enjoy the situation, so the perfumer approaching the door walked at a leisurely pace.

It seems that even the urging of that red-haired demigod could not make him give up his pursuit of 'the pleasures of life'.

but……

"Kara".

A slight cracking sound echoed in the silent hall.

Servis confirmed that the sound was definitely not caused by him stepping on the icicles, because he had already moved out of the range of the ice mist that Miss Lani had released!
In that instant, the magic professor's eyes widened beneath his mask, and without a second thought, he lunged forward! He lunged towards the perfumer at the door!
But then, a sharp, piercing sound of a blade cutting through the air rang out.

"Bah!"

"what!!!"

Whether it's a coincidence or not, the arm that just grew back under the power of the Red Dewdrop Holy Grail Bottle has once again separated cleanly from the body!

The magic professor couldn't help but scream loudly.

Then, the sound of the ice breaking apart continued.

The Witcher's left arm whistled through the air as he grabbed Servis's head from behind with a loud 'thud'!
They dragged him back like a toy doll.

The wide brim of his hat was pressed down by his palm, comically sticking to his face and neck.

“…This is impossible!” Servis’s head was being held and he couldn’t move, but his eyes, in a panic, desperately tried to look behind him, almost as if he wanted to roll his pupils into his brain.

"That's Miss Lani's ice magic! A demigod's magic! How could you... It's impossible?!"

"You should be frozen into ice crystals in an instant!"

“The magic of a golden demigod,” Lann strained his waist, breaking free of the icy shell covering his lower body, “is indeed very powerful and profound… Well, luckily she was pressed for time and left quickly.”

"Otherwise, I'll be in big trouble."

As he spoke, Lan En shook off the shattered ice shell covering his body.

The Witcher, emerging from the icy shell, still had a considerable amount of ice shards in his silver hair, making it sparkle as if it were covered in shattered diamonds.

Throughout his speech, the cold air emanating from his body continuously dissipated in the form of white smoke, making the surrounding environment even colder and the icicles thicker.

Selvis didn't know how he was feeling.

But he could sense: the Faded One behind him! The Faded One who should have been instantly frozen into ice shards by the magic of a demigod! Now, he wasn't even showing any signs of hypothermia, let alone being frozen to pieces!
There was no instinctive trembling in the muscles, no stiffness in the joints... nothing at all!

It's as if the person who was just locked in the ice shell wasn't him!
Golden Tree! What the hell is going on here?!

"I... ugh!"

But before Servis could sift through his chaotic thoughts and find any useful information to buy himself some time, he was left in a state of confusion.

Lan En pulled the hand that was gripping his head back, and then the blade of a long sword emerged from the magic professor's chest!

With a 'sizzle', blood spurted forward.

Servis lowered his head with difficulty, his mind filled with doubt.

'What is that layer of yellowish-brown light on this knife?'

But Lan En did not stop. The long knife that had pierced through the chest was pulled out horizontally again, and with the sound of flesh being cut apart, it ripped open half of Servis's chest cavity from behind!

The Witcher released his grip on Servis's head, and Servis staggered forward two steps before collapsing to the ground in a strange duck-like position, his neck limply raised and his head hanging on it.

Lan En stepped forward and took out the item that the demigod had just given him from his pocket.

(End of this chapter)