**Present time**
Lowering her voice in order not to draw any attention, Celine spoke the incantation.
"A hundred miles, a hundred more,
With tireless steps on every floor.
Breath calm, limbs stronger than before,
Stamina flows—unbroken at all.
Each task taken, with effort halved,
Yet strength remains, forever carved.
Let vigor surge, let weakness cease—
Boost Domain: Broken Leash!"
Power burned through Ariel's veins, hot and immediate. She didn't hesitate. Dirt sprayed under her boots as she shot forward, aiming for the Scarbone leading the charge.
But something moved faster.
A blur of red and black, shot past the Scarbone, and suddenly the Reaper was there, too close, too quick.
It wasn't as tall as the others, but that only made it worse. Its body was corded muscle under cracked crimson skin, like old leather stretched too tight over a frame of knives. Its hair clung in oily strands, black as rotting seaweed, swaying with every twitch of its head. And its eyes—no whites, no pupils, just pits of darkness that seemed to swallow the light around them.
But the worst parts were the blades.
Twin scythes, each longer than its own body, curved from its wrists like the talons of some nightmare bird. A shorter, serrated spike jutted from its ankle.
It didn't pause. The left scythe whipped right, the right scythe whipped left—a scissoring strike meant to carve her in two.
Ariel didn't have room to retreat, and the Reaper's pending attack made it impossible to counter. So she attacked the Scarbone instead, ducking under the crossing blades of the Reaper, her fist already driving toward the Scarbone behind the Reaper. The punch landed with a sound like a boulder splitting—a shockwave of force that should've turned bones to powder.
But the Scarbone only staggered back, its bones unbroken.
'What—that was my enhanced body's full power. It didn't even..."
The thought barely had time to form properly before the Reaper's right scythe was already in motion again, slicing upward in a diagonal arc—aimed to slice her from hip to shoulder.
Ariel knew she couldn't dodge. The Reaper's right scythe was already slicing through the air, its curved edge glinting with unnatural sharpness. At the last possible moment—driven by pure instinct—she twisted her body sideways. The scythe meant for her throat instead grazed her shoulder, tearing through fabric and flesh alike. Warm blood trickled down her arm, but she was alive.
That tiny desperate move cost her everything.
The ground trembled as the Giga Titan finally reached her. It was a monster among monsters, towering over four meters tall, its massive frame covered in coarse, dark fur that bristled like the hide of some prehistoric beast. Its hands were not flesh, but solid steel, each fist larger than Ariel's entire torso. Two enormous horns curved up from its neck, forcing its head into a permanent forward tilt—as if it were designed only to destroy whatever stood before it.
It didn't hesitate.
The steel—plated fist came down like a falling anvil. Ariel barely had time to react.
The sound of her bones breaking was deafening. Her right arm snapped first, then her shoulder crumpled under the force. At least three ribs shattered as the impact launched her backward like a discarded doll. She crashed through the twisted wreckage of an abandoned bus.
Gasping, she forced herself up—and froze.
Her wounds were gone.
Not just closed—erased. No blood, no fractures, not even a scar. Her skin was smooth, her bones whole again.
'Celine.'
Her eyes darted toward the half-collapsed building where her ally was hidden. Long-distance healing... at this level? The realization hit her like a second blow. Even without much knowledge about the system, she knew the poor girl must be burning through a large amount of MP just to keep her alive.
Ariel clenched her fists. I can't let this chance go to waste.
The distance between her and the Geminis was still significant—for now. But they were closing in fast. The Reaper's scythes twitched, its hollow eyes fixed on her. The Scarbone's bones rattled as it lurched forward. The Giga Titan's footsteps made the ground shake.
'This is a chance for an incantation. But if I use an incantation now, I'll only have enough MP for one more. And if I don't act now, I'll most certainly die. I can't take on all three of them at once. And if the other's join in, it'll be game over. What's worse, they have yet to used their abilities.'
Her looked up at the sky and closed her mind but opened her eyes, something she always does when overwhelmed. For three seconds, her mind was blank.
Usually, she did it for about five minutes, but taking that long on the battlefield would only end with her mind forever closed. She then turned her gaze back to the Geminis.
'The longer the incantation, the stronger the effect—right?'
After coming to a conclusive thought, she sucked in a long breath and spoke:
"Flesh to frost, breath as solid as stone,
Frozen blood, colder than any winter known.
Freedom is an illusion, they'll soon see,
A will to move yet bound they'll be.
The mighty jaws of winter shall swallow them whole.
Locked in endless winter's cage-
Frost Domain: Ice Age!"
Silence.
For one terrifying heartbeat, nothing happened.
The Geminis kept advancing.
Then—
[System Error]
Frost Domain is an unregistered skill. Attempt to use has failed.
Reassessing…
It has been confirmed that Frost Domain is an extension of your copied skill, Water Domain.
Due to using a higher-level variation, the MP cost will be doubled. You have been pardoned for using an upgrade version of your copied skill without upgrading them first.
Note: this is the last time you'll be pardon by the system.
Do you accept this condition?
[Yes] [No]
The Reaper was right there, its scythes already mid-swing, the air whistling around the blade with its hollow eyes locked onto her.
Ariel didn't think.
She screamed, "YES!"
Winter devoured the world in an instant.
The air turned so frigid it burned her lungs. Every exhale came out as a thick, icy mist. Snowflakes materialized from thin air, falling faster and heavier than rain, until it was a full-blown blizzard. Each flake that touched the ground spread ice in jagged, creeping patterns, freezing everything in its path. Though nothing happened when they touched her, it was like the caster was imune to the effect.
The Reaper stopped.
Its scythes hung motionless in the air, a few inches away from her face, frost crawled up its arms like living vines. Its crimson skin paled to an eerie white as ice encased its body.
The Scarbone, mid-lunge, froze in place, its skeletal limbs of bones locked in a grotesque pose.
The Giga Titan's steel—plated fists, raised for another strike, became statues of ice.
Even the dust in the air crystallized, hanging suspended like tiny diamonds.
Silence.
The battlefield had become a frozen wasteland.
'Unreal, is this how powerful Water Domain will be when I upgrade it to Frost Domain? To think it froze the entire are, just how powerful will it be if I had used it as an attck instead of using it to buy time.' She thought.
Ariel panted, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The cold was so intense it hurt to breathe.
This won't hold them forever.
She had to move.
A sudden translucent screen popped up in front of Ariel.
[System Notice]
MP used: 6,000
MP remaining: 2,200
Her stomach dropped. That wasn't nearly enough for another spell.
She wiped blood from her lip. The battlefield around her was a wasteland of cracked ice and shattered buildings. The air smelled like winter. The Geminis stood frozen like statues, their monstrous forms locked in ice—but she knew it wouldn't last.
I have to get Celine out of here.
Without wasting another second, Ariel turned and sprinted toward the broken building where Celine was hiding.
Celine had been watching the entire fight from the shadows, her hands trembling. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she poured her remaining energy into healing Ariel from afar. Her vision blurred from MP drain, each long-range heal sending needles of pain up her spine.
Every wound Ariel took, Celine healed it—the strain of mending broken bones and torn flesh from a distance was wearing her down fast.
'How is she fighting like this without showing any fear?' Celine thought, amazed. 'We only got these abilities recently… and she's already adapted.'
But then, another thought crept in—one she didn't want to face.
'How do I tell her that Zane might already be—'
CRACK!
The sound of shattering ice cut through her thoughts.
The Scarbone was the first to move.
Its thick, armored exoskeleton resisted the frost better than the others. With a violent jerk, it shattered the ice encasing its body and let out a guttural roar.
Ariel spun around just in time to see it charging—'too fast.'
She tried to leap back, but the ground was still slick with ice. Her foot slipped.
The Scarbone's fist smashed into her face with the force of a wrecking ball. Her jaw dislocated slightly, pain exploding through her skull—
—only for warmth to spread through her bones a second later as Celine's healing sealed the injury.
Ariel retaliated with a punch of her own, slamming her fist into the Scarbone's chest.
It barely flinched.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
More ice shattered.
The Giga Titan broke free next, its massive steel—plated fists smashing through the frozen prison. Then the Reaper twisted free. One by one, the Geminis woke from their icy slumber.
The Giga Titan roared, slamming its fists into the ground. The impact sent shockwaves through the battlefield, breaking apart the remaining ice.
They were back to square one—but worse.
Ariel's body ached from the relentless damage and rapid healing. Celine's MP was near rock bottom.
They were running out of time.
Ariel's mind raced.
'I can't let Celine die here. Even if I were to die, I'd come back because of my Second Life, but I can't say the same for her.'
She turned her head slightly—just enough to see Celine's hiding spot without making it obvious—and shouted:
"Celine, RUN! GO! Don't look back. Get out of here while you still can! I'll direct their attention away!"
Her voice was firm, but her hands shook.
She didn't mention her Second Life ability—the one that would bring her back if she died. Celine didn't need to know that. She just needed to leave. Ever since they began fighting, the other Geminis left the entire fight to the Giga Titan, the Reaper and the Scarbone as if their interference was unnecessary.
The Geminis snarled, their eyes locking onto Ariel.
The Reaper raised its scythes.
The Giga Titan took a step, then another, and another.
The Scarbone lunged.