Book 1 Chapter 726

726.

Chen Xia tried to move her arms.

Her frozen body did not budge.

Crack- crack-

The sound of ice breaking, as if someone was approaching, could be heard.

Chen Xia's face, which had been glaring at Lysinas with cold eyes, showed a momentary flicker of confusion.

She couldn't tell who this being was that had taken over Chloe's body.

However, the gaze that had been looking at her just moments ago was clearly not indifferent.

It was looking at her with a gaze that held a hint of pity.

Chen Xia had seen people look at her with that kind of gaze before.

'Who was it?'

While Chen Xia felt bewildered.

Lysinas, who had approached right in front of her, spoke.

"Give up?"

"No."

Chen Xia answered the question firmly.

Seeing Chen Xia like that, Lysinas's expression showed a hint of surprise.

It must be a desperate situation for Chen Xia.

Yet, she didn't feel the slightest bit of anxiety.

'She seems to have been greatly influenced by Kyle. Wonderful.'

However, mere mindset couldn't overcome this situation.

Chen Xia was currently completely suppressed.

"So? What can you do?"

"More than you might think."

Crackle-

There was the sound of something freezing.

"Our family has been executing traitors in the shadows for 5000 years."

'As expected.'

Lysinas's pupils blurred for a moment.

"What our ancestors passed down is still being conveyed. But they say our ancestors were special."

CRACKLE-

"I can't freely manipulate auras of all attributes like our ancestors, but I thought I should at least be able to use an attribute that resembles water."

Lysinas's eyes widened.

What is the most fatal attribute to water?

Fire that evaporates water?

Or earth that covers water?

Neither.

The most fatal to water was the cold that froze it and prevented it from flowing.

Chen Xia had worked hard for a long time to overcome that weakness.

Chen Xia's body began to freeze rapidly.

It wasn't because of Lysinas's magic.

'This child.'

The source of the cold was none other than Chen Xia herself.

"Haa."

As Chen Xia opened her mouth, white breath flowed out.

CRACK!

The ice that was restraining Chen Xia turned into icicles and aimed at Lysinas.

The control over the ice had shifted to Chen Xia.

Lysinas, who hastily retreated to avoid the attack, looked at Chen Xia.

Water and ice had the same origin but were completely different powers.

Without the aptitude for freezing, those who wield the power of water cannot use freezing abilities.

'Fusion of aura and spirit magic.'

Lysinas, as the strongest summoner, quickly discerned the source of this freezing ability.

Certain water spirits could also use freezing abilities.

But…

'Still, this cold can't be explained.'

At a glance, the cold Chen Xia was currently emitting was comparable to Chloe's.

Lysinas, with a bewildered expression, then read a single emotion in Chen Xia's eyes.

'Anger.'

Anger is generally like an active volcano.

It burns fiercely and paralyzes reason.

But anger also has many forms.

Chen Xia's anger was different from burning.

It was anger honed in the solitude of having to watch the light from within the darkness for her entire life.

Anger at having to watch something she could never become.

Chen Xia had been directing that anger at her 'enemies' for a long time.

She had been killing traitors since she was young.

She had done countless things that a hero could not bear to do, with a cold-heartedness that could be described as chilling.

That anger had frozen Chen Xia's heart.

An infinitely cold and chilling anger.

Her heart had also frozen under its influence.

'She changed her attribute due to her emotions.'

Lysinas bit her lip.

'Dangerous.'

It was a precarious situation in Lysinas's eyes.

Anger that could affect her fundamental power would undoubtedly paralyze her reason.

Emotions are like that.

They make you lose yourself in an instant.

Moreover, Chen Xia originally uses water power.

Unlike Chloe, who was born with resistance to cold, she had to endure that chilling energy with her body.

The cold Chen Xia emitted was a double-edged sword that inflicted continuous damage on her body.

Black magic flickered from Lysinas's body.

SWISH-!

Sharp, icicle-shaped ice aura flew towards Lysinas's brow.

THUD-!

For a moment, the attack was blocked by Lysinas's shadow.

Chen Xia's eyes widened at the sight.

Particles of light began to form around Lysinas.

They soon turned into a flash and poured down towards Chen Xia.

An attack clearly intended to subdue Chen Xia.

However, there was no killing intent.

Just before the flash of light directly hit Chen Xia.

Chen Xia recalled those who had looked at her with pity.

'Young Master Leo… and… Lord Viharr.'

Young Master Leo looked at Chen Xia, who bore the fate of a shadow, with pity.

It was the fate he had passed down to his disciple in his lifetime.

Viharr was the same.

Generation after generation.

Even after 5000 years, he must have looked at Chen Xia, who had inherited his mission, with pity.

Chen Xia to her ancestors.

Those ancestors to Viharr.

And Viharr to Leo.

Just as the fate of a shadow was passed down through generations,

Leo must have also received that fate from someone.

And Chen Xia knew.

Whose destiny this originally was.

And who it was that could look at her with the same eyes as Leo and Viharr.

'Lord Lysinas.'

CRASH-!

The flash erupted in an explosion.

Although she blocked the attack and evaded it, she wasn't completely free from the impact.

Even a graze tore her clothes to shreds.

Not just her clothes.

Her body also took a great shock.

Her mind became hazy, but Chen Xia held onto her consciousness.

If her prediction was correct.

There was something she had to say to the person in front of her.

Lysinas, who was about to deliver the finishing blow, was taken aback to see Chen Xia standing motionless.

'Did she give up?'

No.

That wasn't it.

The girl before her was not the type to give up that easily.

'Then why?'

"This anger was my foolish true form."

Chen Xia opened her mouth, and Lysinas paused.

"I resented it. Both the progenitor who passed this down to us, and the ancestors who carried on this fate I thought was worthless. So I think I was always angry. I wanted to be a bright and shining hero since I was young."

"…"

Lysinas bit her lip tightly.

"That's why I came to this school. But the friends here seemed fundamentally different from me."

Hero candidates who shone brightly just by looking at them.

Unlike them, her own heart was dark.

"That made me even angrier."

She was always angry, but Chen Xia suppressed that anger.

Emotional turmoil was fatal to living in darkness.

One must always be calm.

As she suppressed her anger, Chen Xia's anger naturally became cold.

Calm and ruthless.

When her freezing anger reached its peak.

"Young Master Leo reached out to me. He said I could become a hero. That I was fully qualified to be a hero just as I am, without needing to change."

Pure sincerity, devoid of any lies.

"That one sentence was my salvation."

Chen Xia smiled faintly at Lysinas.

"After that, I met Lord Viharr too. I resented him, but at the same time, I truly respected him, so I was happy."

It was from then on.

She gained the ability to freely wield her cold anger.

She took a step forward into a new realm she couldn't reach.

"So, you don't have to worry about me so much."

"…"

"I pay my respects to the great King of Wisdom. I am Chen Xia, descendant of Viharr."

Chen Xia, tapping her right chest three times, bowed her head respectfully.

As if to prove that she could fully control her anger,

Chen Xia had returned to her original form.

"Ah, kids these days are all so smart. Figuring me out with so few clues."

"Other great heroes have already descended. I thought I might meet you, Lord Lysinas, someday."

"Still, it's amazing."

Lysinas smiled and approached Chen Xia.

"Viharr also left descendants."

Then, she carefully reached out a hand towards Chen Xia, then subtly withdrew it.

Chen Xia took Lysinas's hand, brought it to her cheek, and smiled.

"We are quite prosperous these days. I am the Princess of the Empire."

"That's amazing."

"He didn't resent me… He wasn't unhappy. He even said he was happy. Surely, Lord Viharr wouldn't have wanted you to feel guilty."

Chen Xia reassured Lysinas by relaying the words of Viharr, whom she met as a spirit.

"…Yes…"

Lysinas gently stroked Chen Xia's cheek and smiled bitterly.

"By the way, your clothes are a mess."

"It's okay. I have a spare uniform."

Chen Xia nonchalantly opened a spatial rift using an artifact and took out a uniform.

"Where should I change…"

As Lysinas looked around, Chen Xia took off her uniform top.

Seeing that, Lysinas was horrified and quickly covered her up.

"What are you doing!"

"Huh?"

"You don't just take off your clothes anywhere! What if someone sees you!"

"…? It's just you and me here, Lord Lysinas."

"Still, no!"

Lysinas buttoned Chen Xia's uniform, saying,

"You must always carry yourself properly. One must have dignity. If you act carelessly, you'll end up like Luna. Like Luna."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"You said you've seen Luna before?"

"…Yes."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Hmm… She declared her love for the Hero of Beginning in front of everyone and changed history. I thought it was cool…"

"That's not cool! Good heavens! Then and now, she has no shame! I truly threw in the towel with Luna!"

"…"

Seeing Lysinas lecturing her so much that her ears hurt, Chen Xia's face grew gaunt.

'What kind of person was Lord Lysinas?'

'She's very nagging, especially about one's demeanor. 'Maintain the dignity of a hero. Don't be a delinquent.' Honestly, I'm sick of the etiquette she teaches.'

'Ah, so that's why Young Master Leo looks so graceful despite seeming so reckless! It's because of Lord Lysinas!'

She remembered getting her cheek pinched so hard it stung, just for teasing him.

Lysinas, who had made Chen Xia look neat, nodded and smiled.

"Yes, you're pretty."

"This ribbon is a bit…"

"Why? It's cute."

Chen Xia looked troubled, looking at the large ribbon Lysinas had tied prettily on her head.

Her already youthful appearance looked even younger.

Chen Xia, fiddling with her hair, asked,

"By the way, how did you end up in Ms. Chloe's body? And why didn't you tell Young Master Leo?"

"So you do know Kyle's identity."

Lysinas, who had hoped, nodded and crossed her arms.

"I borrowed this child's body somehow. As for not telling Kyle anything…"

Lysinas's mouth twisted.

"It was to mess with that guy a bit."

"That sounds fun. But if you've been this active, Leo must have heard about it."

She hadn't expected Leo to arrive before this class even ended.

As soon as Chen Xia finished speaking, she sensed a presence in the distance.

Sensing the presence, Lysinas smiled faintly.

"Hey, Siya."

"Yes."

"Will you help me mess with Kyle?"

***

That evening.

Leo approached Carl, who was eating.

"How was the sparring?"

"Oh! It was fierce! Everyone said they needed to recuperate in the infirmary today."

"It must have been tough."

"Since everyone's skill levels were so evenly matched, they all collapsed and fainted… it was chaos."

After hearing Carl's words, Leo nodded and glanced to one side.

"Even so, those two seem fine?"

"Chen Xia used guerrilla tactics and Chloe received protection, so they suffered relatively less damage. Their contributions were the greatest."

"Really?"

Nodding, Leo's gaze met Chloe's for a moment.

Chloe smiled faintly and waved at Leo.

Seeing that, Leo tilted his head and said,

"Carl."

"Yeah?"

"Isn't Chloe a bit strange since this morning?"

"What is?"

"It's like she suddenly looks older?"

"She looks the same."

Seeing Carl tilting his head, Leo narrowed his brows and stroked his chin.

"She looks a bit old?"

While engaging in idle conversation, Leo and Carl focused on their meal.

Meanwhile.

Lysinas, whose hearing had become sensitive, flinched upon hearing their conversation.

'That guy!'

Lysinas barely suppressed the urge to run over and deliver a flying kick to his face.