80 Curse [5]
'If no one's going to come and save us, then I can only do what I can.'
Inside the ice shell, Rachel continuously channeled her mana.
Cold.
She was feeling cold.
Something unheard of for a mage with the ice affinity.
Crack. Crack…!
For what she could think have been a few minutes already, the Wraith Beasts were relentless in their attacks.
Her mana reserves have been strained for quite a while.
Her body was getting weaker and weaker and her complexions were pale.
But…
After studying ice magic ever since she was young.
There was a specific line from a book she just couldn't forget.
—To advance in the arts of ice, you must become one with the ice.
And in the current situation, the words were taken literally.
She was literally inside her own ice magic. Because it was made with mana, she could breathe inside. The same went for Claire.
Crack. Crack…!
Her mana reserves were rapidly depleting.
But…
She let out a smirk.
'This situation. This moment.'
She could feel it.
Her ice affinity was evolving.
Looking at her hair strand, it was gradually turning white, slowly crawling towards the crown.
This…
Crack. Crack…!
If it was a last ditch attempt, then she had to try.
Claire was out of commission at the moment. It was all up to Rachel.
All she had to do was to break the threads.
Crack. Crack…!
'Just a bit more.'
Her body was growing numb from the cold. She didn't even shiver.
***
'Fucking cold.'
The entire time, the vibrations of the Wraith Beasts attack on the ice shell had made Claire's stomach churn.
No, she knew she was about to vomit.
After all, she didn't have that strong of a stomach.
Looking at Rachel, Claire couldn't tell what was happening.
Her hair was gradually turning a snow-white color, and despite being in such a helpless situation…
Rachel's expressions.
They were cold.
One of indifference.
As if the entire situation was nothing to her.
Claire was taken aback at the sight.
Growing up, Claire knew Rachel was the most talented between herself and Amy.
The only reason Rachel was ranked lower than the two at the start of the semester was because…
She wanted to play the act of a mob character, inspired by a recent manga she had read.
Of course, Rachel failed terribly, and still ranked inside the top five.
But that…
It spoke volumes of Rachel's talent.
She didn't even try, and yet her talent still shined.
All of sudden…
Crack—!
The ice shell that was supposed to encapsulate them shattered.
"...!"
And as soon as it did, Claire fell on her butt. The threads still wrapped around her body, sapping away her strength.
And because of everything that happened, including her strength diminishing…
"Blergh!"
Turning around, she vomited.
"..."
And as soon as she did…
"Hurrrrrrr—"
One of the Wraith Beast that encircled them jumped her. Realizing, Claire braced for impact, shielding her body with her arms, as she wrapped her entire figure with purple sparks.
Cr… Crack.
"Uh…?"
For some reason, the attack never came.
Peering one of her eyes open, what met her sight was…
The Wraith Beast stood frozen. Not because of ice. Its entire figure had become white.
No, its entire hide was draped in a pristine layer of snow.
"Rachel…?"
Turning her head to look at Rachel, a sudden chill ran down Claire's spine.
Rachel's entire hair had turned snow-white. Her eyes—which was once a crimson red—had now become a blank-gray.
It felt like a completely different person.
Claire had a rough idea on what Rachel's new form was.
An ability that mages with the special affinity had.
Elemental Assimilation.
Evelyn was the same, as her eyes would turn a radiant gold color.
But…
'Since when did Rachel breakthrough?'
Fuuuuuu!
A snow-like aura completely engulfed Rachel's figure.
She took a step forward and the next thing she knew, the threads that seemed to wrap them had been cut off.
Looking at the current Rachel, Claire could tell that she would give Reinhard a run for his money.
And adding to the fact that Reinhard was a mage with the fire affinity, a complete counter to Rachel.
'She's way stronger…'
Cr… Crack!
Unfortunately, the Wraith Beast had broken free from its frozen state in a manner of seconds.
Despite Rachel's breakthrough, it still wasn't enough to kill an A rank calamity beast.
But still…
The threads were gone.
Therefore,
"Claire, run!"
At Rachel's call, Claire tried to get up, but she could still feel motion sickness.
However, she persisted.
Cladding herself in purple lightning, she immediately grabbed hold of Rachel.
She then carried Rachel.
A Princess carry.
And…
Tzzz—
They sprinted away from the cabin.
But to their surprise, the man immediately took notice and gave chase.
Scrunch. Scrunch.
The sound of foliage echoed at every step that Claire took. Trails of purple sparks fluttered in the air.
From behind her, she could hear the man pursuing them.
"How is he so fast?!"
It made no sense.
But at the same time, it did.
Claire had already realized the man was anything but human.
The purple sparks continued to empower Claire's entire being as she sprinted as fast as she could.
"...!"
All of a sudden, the sense of dread washed over Claire. Peeking behind, the threads were about to reach her once again.
Realizing, she immediately paused and crouched down, dodging the threads.
21:00
But that split second she took to pause was all the man needed to catch up to them.
"Hehehe."
The sound of children's laughter echoing from a distance.
As Claire tried to stand up, a thread had managed to wrap itself around her leg.
"Uwaa!"
She was lifted up on one leg.
Thud!
And dropped Rachel.
***
Standing up, Rachel's snow-white hair fluttered, cascading around her shoulders.
Looking at the man, his pitch black eyes stared deep into her soul, sending chills down her spine.
Her body felt heavy. The strenuous usage of her mana should've gripped her with pain.
But everything else was numb.
Everything.
The more she stayed under her current form, the more she knew just how severe the backlash would be.
But Rachel didn't care.
If she didn't give it her all, then she would die.
It was a life and death moment.
Step—
The man stepped forward. His index finger was lifted up, indicating the thread he used to lift Claire up.
Noticing his left hand, his fingers started moving.
Swoosh—!
Noticing the approaching threads, Rachel immediately blurred backwards, leaving a trail of snow.
"Ukh…!"
But another thread struck her calf from behind.
Immediately, Rachel draped the thread in a frozen glaze, completely dismantling it.
Drip. Drip…!
A hole etched on her calf as blood seeped from it. Gritting her teeth, she froze the gaping hole and stopped the bleeding.
'Should I just leave Claire and call for help?'
No.
She instantly dismissed her thoughts. Impulsive thoughts like these often etched themselves into her mind.
But Rachel was never that kind of person.
Thoughts.
They were just thoughts.
"...!"
All of a sudden, the man abruptly rushed Rachel. Threads loomed from all sides.
Realizing, Rachel blurred away dodging each thread with effort. Each step Rachel took would leave snow and ice in its wake.
But no matter how fast she moved, a thread would always land a hit.
Truth be told, Rachel's eyes weren't fast enough to track the threads. She was only waving her hand around wherever she thinks a thread was looming.
Drip. Drip…!
Slits had started appearing all over her body. But she would instantly freeze them to stop further blood loss.
"H-haaa…"
Taking deep breaths, Rachel continued to narrowly dodge the threads coming from each side.
Swoosh– Swoosh—!
Everytime the threads manage to wound her, she could feel her strength sapping away.
It was as if the threads were eating away at her life force like a curse.
A curse thread.
That's what she decided to call them.
"H-haaa…."
Swoosh– Swoosh— Swoosh——!
Narrowly dodging the threads, Rachel managed to get close to the man.
With a swipe of her hand, pristine layers of snow were left in its trail.
And…
BOOOM—!
She managed to strike the man on the torso with her palms. Looking at him, a white circular frost appeared in his body.
Despite putting all of her strength in the attack, the man didn't even flinch or stagger back.
The man's index finger was slightly lowered. Noticing the subtle change, Rachel immediately turned around to see the threads around Claire loosen.
Fuuuu—!
Swiping her hand, a thick layer of snow cascaded from above, aiming for the man's eye.
If she can't beat him with strength.
Then…
She had to at least play dirty.
Rachel moved around and swiped her hand up. Pristine layers of snow erupted from the ground.
Fuuuu-!
Cuts and grazed appeared all over her body. Gritting her teeth, Rachel persisted.
Swiping her hand in a circular motion, a thick wall of snow and ice gradually materialized.
If Rachel was in her normal state, she would definitely stifle a laugh.
But she wasn't.
Though her impulses still got to the best of her as she continued to block the man's peripheral view.
Walls of snow and ice filled the entire forest area.
With that diversion, Rachel jumped up. Swiping her hand, the thread that wrapped around Claire's leg started to freeze.
Crack!
And shattered.
"Claire!"
Tzzz—-!