Book 1 Chapter 726

726.

Chen Xia tried to move her arm.

Her frozen body didn't budge an inch.

Crunch- crunch-

She heard the sound of ice cracking, as if someone was approaching.

A moment of question arose on Chen Xia's face, which had been glaring at Lisinas with cold eyes.

She didn't know who this being was that had taken Chloe's body.

But her eyes, which had looked at her until just a moment ago, were clearly not emotionless.

They were looking at her with a hint of pity.

Chen Xia had seen people look at her with such eyes before.

'Who was it?'

While Chen Xia was feeling confused.

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

"Will you give up?"

"No."

To that question, Chen Xia answered resolutely.

Seeing such Chen Xia, Lisinas showed a slightly surprised expression.

It must be a desperate situation for Chen Xia.

But she felt not even a hint of anxiety.

'She must have been heavily influenced by Kyle. Excellent.'

But willpower alone cannot overcome this situation.

Currently, Chen Xia was completely subdued.

"So? What can you do?"

"I can do more than you think."

Crack-

There was a sound of something freezing.

"Our family has been eliminating traitors in the darkness for 5000 years."

'As expected.'

Lisinas's eyes blurred for a moment.

"What our ancestor passed down is still being conveyed. But they say our ancestor was special."

Crack-crack-crack!

"I can't freely control aura of all attributes like our ancestor. But I thought I should at least be able to use attributes similar to water."

Lisinas's eyes widened.

What is the most fatal attribute to water?

Fire that evaporates water?

Or earth that covers water?

Neither.

The most fatal thing to water was cold that froze water, preventing it from flowing.

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

Chen Xia's body rapidly froze.

It wasn't because of Lisinas's magic.

'This child.'

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

"Haa."

When Chen Xia opened her mouth, white breath streamed out.

Kwa-ga-ga-gak-!

The ice that had bound Chen Xia turned into spikes and aimed at Lisinas.

Control over the ice had passed to Chen Xia.

Lisinas, who hastily retreated and avoided the attack, looked at Chen Xia.

Water and ice are fundamentally the same, but entirely different powers.

If one doesn't have the aptitude to use freezing, a wielder of water power cannot use freezing ability.

'Fusion of Aura and Elemental Magic.'

Lisinas, as the strongest summoner, quickly found the source of this freezing ability.

Certain water spirits can also use freezing abilities.

But…

'Still, this cold doesn't explain it.'

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

Lisinas, who had been making a bewildered expression, soon read one emotion in Chen Xia's eyes.

'Rage.'

Generally, rage is like an active volcano.

It burns hot and paralyzes reason.

But rage also comes in various forms.

Chen Xia's rage was different from burning.

It was rage refined in the solitude of having to watch the light in the darkness her entire life.

Rage of having to long for and watch what she could never become.

For a long time, Chen Xia had expressed that rage to her 'enemies'.

Since childhood, she had killed traitors.

She had done countless things that a hero could never do, with a cold ruthlessness.

That rage had frozen Chen Xia's heart.

A endlessly cold and chilling rage.

Under its influence, Chen Xia's heart had also frozen.

'She changed her attribute through emotion.'

Lisinas bit her lip.

'Dangerous.'

To Lisinas, it was a very perilous situation.

Rage that could affect the very power that was her origin would surely paralyze reason.

That's what emotions are.

Something that makes you lose yourself in an instant.

Moreover, Chen Xia originally uses the power of water.

Unlike Chloe, who has innate resistance to cold, she has to endure that cold entirely with her body.

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

Dark magic flickered around Lisinas's body.

Swoosh-!

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

Thud-!

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

Seeing that, Chen Xia's eyes widened.

Particles of light generated around Lisinas.

They soon became a flash of light and poured down towards Chen Xia.

An attack clearly intended to subdue Chen Xia.

But there was no killing intent.

Just before the flash of light directly hit Chen Xia.

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

'Young Master Leo… and… Lord Bihal.'

Young Master Leo looked at Chen Xia, burdened with the destiny of the shadow, with pity.

Because it was the destiny he had passed on to his disciple during his lifetime.

Bihal was the same.

From generation to generation.

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

Chen Xia to her ancestors.

Those ancestors to Bihal.

And Bihal to Leo.

Just as the destiny as a shadow was passed down from generation to generation.

Leo too must have received that destiny from someone.

And Chen Xia knew.

Whose this destiny originally belonged to.

Who could look at her with the same eyes as Leo and Bihal.

'Lady Lisinas.'

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gang-!

The flash of light caused an explosion.

She blocked and avoided the attack, but she wasn't completely free from the impact.

Just a graze and her clothes were tattered.

Not just her clothes.

Her body also received a great shock.

Her mind became faint, but Chen Xia held on.

Because if her prediction wasn't wrong.

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

Lisinas, who was about to deliver a decisive blow, was flustered to see Chen Xia standing rooted to the spot.

'Did she give up?'

No.

That wasn't it.

The girl in front of her was definitely not the type to give up at this point.

'Then why?'

"This rage was my foolish true self."

Chen Xia opened her mouth and Lisinas flinched.

"I resented it. The progenitor who thrust this upon us. And the ancestors who carried on this destiny I thought was wretched. That's why I think I was always angry. I wanted to be a brightly shining hero since I was little."

"…"

Lisinas bit her lip tightly.

"So I came to this school. But my friends seemed fundamentally different from me."

Hero candidates who shone brightly just by looking at them.

Unlike them, her heart was dark.

"So I got even angrier."

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

Emotional turmoil is fatal for living in darkness.

She always had to be calm.

As she suppressed her anger, Chen Xia's rage naturally grew colder.

Quietly and mercilessly.

By the time her freezing rage reached its peak.

"Young Master Leo reached out his hand. He said I could be a hero. That I had enough qualifications to be a hero just as I was, without needing to change."

A pure sincerity containing not a single lie.

"Those words were my salvation."

Chen Xia smiled faintly and looked at Lisinas.

"After that, I also met Lord Bihal. I resented him, but on the other hand, I was happy because I truly respected him."

It must have been from then.

That she could freely control cold rage.

That she took a step further into a new, unreachable realm.

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

"…"

"I greet the Great King of Wisdom. Bihal's descendant… I am Chen Xia."

Chen Xia tapped her right chest three times and bowed politely.

As if to prove that she could completely control her anger.

Chen Xia had returned to her original appearance.

"By the way. Kids these days are all smart. Figuring out it was me with not many clues."

"Because other great heroes had already descended. I thought I might someday meet Lady Lisinas."

"Still, that's amazing."

Lisinas smiled and approached Chen Xia.

"Bihal also left descendants."

Then she cautiously reached out her hand towards Chen Xia, but subtly lowered it.

Chen Xia took Lisinas's hand, placed it on her cheek, and smiled.

"It's very prosperous now. I'm an imperial princess."

"That's amazing."

"…They didn't resent anything. They weren't unhappy either. Rather, they said they were happy. Lord Bihal surely wouldn't have wanted Lady Lisinas to feel sorry."

Chen Xia reassured Lisinas, relaying Bihal's words when she met him as a spirit.

"…I see…"

Lisinas stroked Chen Xia's cheek and smiled bitterly.

"Anyway, your clothes are a mess."

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

Chen Xia opened a subspace using an artifact and took out a uniform, as if she didn't care.

"Where is there a place to change…"

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

Seeing that, Lisinas was horrified and hurriedly covered her with clothes.

"What are you doing!"

"Huh?"

"You don't just take off your clothes anywhere! What if others see you!"

"…? It's just Lady Lisinas and me here?"

"Still, no!"

Lisinas buttoned up Chen Xia's uniform and said.

"Always maintain proper conduct. A person 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, right?"

"…Yes."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Hmm… She was praised for changing history by boldly declaring her love for the Hero of Beginning in front of people. I thought it was cool…"

"That's not cool! Good heavens! She's never known shame, then or now! I've truly given up on Luna!"

"…"

Chen Xia's face drooped as she watched Lisinas nag her until her ears hurt.

'What kind of person was Lady Lisinas?'

'She nags a lot. Especially about conduct. Maintain your dignity as a hero. Don't be sloppy. Seriously. If it's the etiquette she teaches, I'm sick of it.'

'Aha. So Young Master Leo seemed to act recklessly but still had dignity because of Lady Lisinas!'

She remembered being pinched until her cheek was numb for playfully teasing him.

Lisinas, who had tidied up Chen Xia, nodded and smiled faintly.

"Yes, pretty."

"This ribbon is a bit…"

"Why? It's cute, isn't it?"

Chen Xia made a troubled expression looking at the large ribbon Lisinas had cutely tied in her hair.

Her already young-looking appearance looked even younger.

Chen Xia, who fiddled with her hair as if bothered by it, asked.

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

"So you do know Kyle's true identity."

Lisinas, who had suspected, nodded and crossed her arms.

"I ended up borrowing this child's body. And the reason I didn't say anything to Kyle was…"

Lisinas's mouth twisted.

"To mess with that bastard a bit."

"That sounds fun. But after this much commotion, there's no way Young Master Leo hasn't heard about it, right?"

Leo might arrive even before this class ended.

As soon as Chen Xia finished speaking, a presence was felt from afar.

Lisinas smiled faintly, feeling that presence.

"Hey. Xia."

"Yes."

"Won't you help me mess with Kyle?"

***

That evening.

Leo approached Karl, who was eating.

"How was the mock battle?"

"Oh! It was fierce! They said all the kids have to recuperate in the infirmary today."

"Sounds tough."

"Since everyone's skills were evenly matched, they all got exhausted and passed out… It was a total mess."

Leo, who had been nodding at Karl's words, glanced to one side.

"For that, those two seem perfectly fine?"

"Chen Xia did guerrilla tactics, and Chloe was protected, so they took relatively less damage. Those two's performance was the most outstanding."

"Really?"

Leo, who was nodding, suddenly met Chloe's eyes.

Chloe smiled faintly and waved at Leo.

Seeing her, Leo tilted his head and said.

"Karl."

"Hmm?"

"Doesn't Chloe seem a bit strange since this morning?"

"What?"

"Like she suddenly looks older?"

"She looks the same?"

Leo narrowed his brow, looking at Karl who was tilting his head, and stroked his chin.

"She looks a bit old?"

Sharing idle chatter, Leo and Karl focused on their meal.

Meanwhile.

Lisinas's hand trembled, having heard their conversation with her sensitive hearing.

'That bastard, seriously!'

Lisinas barely managed to suppress the urge to rush over and dropkick him in the face.