The Arctic had become a battlefield of wounds.
The snow, once pristine white, was now scarred with black fissures, shattered ice, and the blue blood of its Guardian.
A crimson aurora hung above the horizon like a warning that refused to fade.
The wind howled violently.
Yet in the heart of the blizzard—
Ursus Glacialis still stood.
Panting.
Bleeding.
Unwilling to retreat.
Frost Maw glided across the snow like a living shadow.
The black-crystal wolf barely touched the ground. Every leap left behind traces of Void energy that caused the surrounding ice to rot and decay.
It was no longer playing.
Its target was the Arctic Core.
And Ursus stood directly in its path.
At the Jakarta command center, Farhan stared at the incoming data.
"Frost Maw's speed has increased by two hundred percent!"
Lila added,
"The underwater drills are still active. If the Guardian falls, the Arctic Core will be completely exposed."
Sinta gritted her teeth.
"Where are Bimo and Dika?"
"They're still in the Sahara."
"Then who's going to the Arctic?"
Silence.
No one was close enough to reach them.
---
In the Arctic—
Frost Maw veered sharply to the right before disappearing into the blizzard.
Ursus turned toward the movement.
Too late.
CRASH!
Black fangs slammed into its hind leg.
The colossal Guardian dropped to one knee. Snow exploded into the air.
Blue blood poured from the wound.
Inside the research bunker, several scientists broke down in tears.
A young technician slammed his fist against the table.
"We have to do something!"
An elderly professor stared at the monitor, his eyes clouded with helplessness.
"With what?"
No one answered.
Frost Maw circled Ursus like an executioner approaching its condemned victim.
It licked the blue blood from its fangs.
"Look at you."
Its voice was hoarse and cold.
"A creature as massive as a mountain…"
"…dying for beings who don't even know your name."
Ursus answered with a low growl.
Not anger.
Defiance.
Frost Maw lunged again.
But before it could reach Ursus's throat—
Something fell from the sky.
WHOOMMMMM!
A metal pod slammed into the snow between them.
Its doors were blown open.
White vapor burst from within.
Someone stepped out, shivering violently.
"Whose brilliant idea was it to send me into a freezer?!"
Bimo.
Behind him, a second pod landed with far less commotion.
Dika stepped out carrying a supply crate.
He swept his eyes across the battlefield.
Then immediately spoke.
"Bimo. Save the complaints for later."
"Work first."
Frost Maw turned its gaze toward the two humans.
Then let out a short laugh.
"Two more insignificant creatures."
Bimo raised his iron rod.
"Insignificant, but annoying."
Frost Maw moved.
Faster than the eye could follow.
In an instant, it was already in front of Bimo.
A black claw came crashing down toward his head.
CLANG!
Bimo barely managed to block it with his iron rod.
The impact sent him flying dozens of meters. He hit the snow and rolled several times before coming to a stop.
"Okay!"
He struggled back to his feet, wincing.
"That hurt."
Meanwhile, Dika had already moved to Ursus's side.
He opened the supply crate and fired several steel anchors into the ice.
Reinforced cables stretched tight, supporting the Guardian's massive body and preventing it from collapsing any further.
Ursus lowered its gaze toward the tiny human beside it.
Dika looked straight back.
"Stand up."
Just two words.
But they were enough.
Ursus roared.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
With three legs still strong enough to bear its weight, the Guardian forced itself upright.
The surrounding ice began to freeze over again.
The aurora trembled.
Farhan's voice suddenly rang through the communication channel.
"Dika! There are three underwater drilling units beneath you!"
Lila quickly transmitted their coordinates.
"If you can break the ice in the eastern sector, the freezing current could sweep them away!"
Dika immediately took off running.
Not a word of complaint.
---
Frost Maw attacked Bimo relentlessly.
Claws.
Fangs.
Shadows.
Bimo was thrown around, barely finding an opportunity to strike back.
But he kept getting up.
And that irritating grin never left his face.
Frost Maw paused for a moment.
"Why haven't you fallen yet?"
Bimo spat blood onto the snow.
"Because I hate making people happy."
That was enough to distract the creature.
Ursus struck from the side.
CRASH!
Its massive forepaw slammed into Frost Maw, hurling the creature into a towering iceberg.
The ice mountain split in two.
---
In the eastern sector, Dika reached the fracture point.
He stared at the thick sheet of ice covering the ocean below.
The sound of drilling machinery echoed from beneath the surface.
He pulled an emergency hammer from the supply crate.
Took a deep breath.
Then struck the ice with all his strength.
BOOM!
A small crack appeared.
He struck again.
BOOM!
The fracture widened.
One more time.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The ice sheet collapsed.
A surge of freezing seawater erupted upward like a sea dragon.
The three enemy drilling units were swept away by the current, crashing into one another before being torn apart.
At the command center, Farhan cheered.
"One sector secured!"
Bimo's voice came through the communication channel, shouting over the chaos.
"I want some praise too!"
A split second later, Frost Maw slammed into him again.
The black wolf was now truly enraged.
Its body began to expand.
Black crystals erupted along its spine.
Void mist swallowed everything around it.
It fixed its gaze on Bimo, Dika, and Ursus at once.
"Then…"
"…I'll kill all three of you together."
The snowfall stopped.
The aurora darkened.
Far beneath the ice—
The Arctic Core pulsed with unstable energy.
And through a fissure beneath the frozen sea—
Something far larger began to move.