Snow Witch'S Journey
Ice Sculpture Attack

I who was pushed back saw Vestia dodging the sword that was swinging down then kicking the statue to the floor.

The ice sculpture on the left side of Vestia also moved. He drew out his sword and headed towards Vestia who was unaware of it. I took out my magic wand that appeared instantly in the air then shot out an ice crystal that pierced through the knight's ice armor. His chest was hollow, but showed no defeat. The statue is now staring at and after me. The fallen knight statue rose again.

I created a larger ice crystal at the end of the magic wand. When I fired, not only hollow, the ice sculpture shattered instantly receiving my crystal attack. Fragments of ice were scattering on the floor like shards on chunks of ice that were being chiseled to become statues.

While Vestia had already melted the statue she faced with her magic. Steam soared from the puddles of melting ice water under his feet. He threw his glare at me again.

“Not me,” answered me quickly.

“Then who—?” Instantly, he flinched. Like getting something in his mind. “That criminal. I know it! Whoever it is, it must be around here.”

“You're sure it wasn't because you broke the throne?” chirps Aeron.

The remaining ten statues that were in this room finally moved along. Vestia's right. This is not a throne room, this is a trap room prepared specifically for someone.

The statues surrounded us. It's a life or death situation. Regardless of the previous incident between the two of us, we inevitably had to work together to get out of this situation. Vestia who was looking back at me seemed to be aware of that. We put aside the question of why the ice sculpture could move and attack us.

The statues that formed the circle formation were getting closer and closer. I shot a statue in front of me. Run towards him and fill his empty position. While looking down avoiding the sword swinging above me, I released the ice projectile towards the statue on the left which continued to pierce into the two statues behind it. I took the other projectile up, onto a sword trying to cut my shoulder from above. His ice sword shattered into pieces just like the one behind me that crashed into the wall as I gave it a strong gust of wind.

While regulating the air circulation in my lungs, I recalculated the situation. I looked for the gap, the direction of movement, and the number of statues left. Two statues were being faced by Vestia, one statue looked at me but had not moved and another statue was very far away was running towards me. Their movements are heavy and rigid due to the solid ice matter that forms them. Plus they are still ice sculptures. They are easily crushed or melted using the heat of fire as Vestia did. We can handle it easily, but it will still be difficult if the numbers increase.

I heard the sound of heavy footsteps downstairs. The statues below also began to live to finish us off. If we continue to take care of the statue in the throne room, the statue on the lower floor will rise and surround us with large numbers in this limited space. I must take this fight in a direction that benefits me even more by bringing them out or destroying them all at once.

Two ice sculptures were already in front of me when my eyes turned down earlier. The statue blocked Vestia from my sight.

“Sial!”

I bent down and darted quickly through the gaps of both arms and legs. As if the wind was entering through the window and helping to increase my speed, I continued running towards Vestia. I took her hand and pulled it in the same direction as I came.

“Wait! What are you doing!?” Vestia managed to re-set her balance and set her pace to be in harmony with me.

“Follow me.”

After getting rid of the two statues blocking the door with magic, I clasped Vestia's hand very tightly. I held it so fervently that it was like I wanted to break it down. We kept running until we got out of the ivory door. The statues are still chasing us in the back.

“Jump!” my yelling.

“What?”

As much as I can muster the strength in my legs. While pulling the back of Vestia's collar was like lifting a cat, I released all the strength in my legs and jumped as high as possible over the ice fence. The hard ice floor and filled with ice knight statues greeted us far below.

“Uwaaahhh!”

As if mocking Vestia's scream, my robe opened and made us float through the air. Vestia immediately held onto my arm forcefully after we no longer stepped on the surface. He kept yelling, “Let me down! Lower me!” while squeezing my arm.

With the help of my magic robe, we slowly floated forward through the horde of statues until it stepped on the ice chandelier. The lights were strong enough to support both of us. The statues that had previously chased us, crashed into the guardrail and fell to the bottom floor. Some are still intact and some are instantly destroyed—reduce my load.

“Crazy basics!” he covered his entire face with his hands. “You know I'm afraid of heights, but still bring me here. You are a criminal!”

My feet held on to the outer layer of the candle holder while my other legs rested on the lower inner layer. The candlelight forms a downward spiral pyramid while Vestia is on a central platform that connects all the layers and is denser.

I poked my head slightly downwards. The statues of knights are seen gathering right under the candle lights, moving crammed continuously to the middle even though there is no room anymore because it is so full. They also do not care about having hit their colleagues, their concern is only with me who is above them. I felt like a tall figure on my throne who was looking at a lowly creature under my feet.

“Be prepared.”

“What's ready?” Vestia's voice sounded trembling.

I drew a smile on my face, responding to his question. “Of course to get off. That's what you want, isn't it?”

I destroyed the ice frames that connected the ice lamp layers to the central platform. After not connecting anymore, the candlelight fell with me who was still standing upright like a fearless ruler as it descended from its throne into the battlefield. I descended so elegantly, that the figures of the knights froze in awe at me from below.

I pointed my hands down like I was pushing the wind. As soon as it reached the floor, a powerful boost of energy emanated from my hand that touched the floor created an even greater fall impact. The huge bang caused the floor to shatter and the castle walls to tremble. A strong wind pressure released into my surroundings and instantly shattered the statues like fragile puppets. The dust disappeared. The candle lights I was treading were smashed into pieces together with the ice statues that were crushed below, along with being crushed unceremoniously. Piles of sharp ice sheets filled the lower floors, consisting of shards of armor, swords, and sculptural limbs.

The cracks creeping from the floor of my footing continued to creep into the wall in front of me, then stopped. Silence returns with the vibration that has stopped.

Breath came out of my mouth. “Luckily this castle is not destroyed.”

A small fragment of ice suddenly fell on my hat. There was a sound of a crack above me. In an instant, Vestia immediately landed and stood upright next to me. His face showed the seriousness of someone who had gone through the worst time of his life. I saw the hanging platform that supported Vestia crack and the fragments fall.

“Have not been afraid of heights anymore?” ask the girl who doesn't close her eyes anymore.

“If I'm not afraid this way. That was just spontaneous,” he said acting strong, even though his legs were trembling.

After the fight was over, we then left the castle by going out through the same window as we entered. There was nothing we could find among the fragments of ice related to the resurrection of the statues. Vestia looked the most disappointed because again she failed to get a clue.

We circled the castle through the woods. There was the sound of rapid footsteps and the friction of the armor that seemed more alive than the footsteps of the statues. We hid behind wild bushes on the side of the road as high as our stomachs. Vestia used a large tree trunk to cover her body. While I was down in the thick bush. The shadow of the forest blurs the air of our existence. A soldier ran hastily from the trail to meet the two warriors guarding the ice castle. The newly-appeared soldier panicked as he spoke to the two guards while pointing in the direction he was coming from. Then, two guards immediately left his position and ran after the soldier through the path.

Vestia and I throw each other a glance. “Ice sculpture in town!” yell at us both.

“Citizens in danger. You, give me your strength one more time and help me. I need your help.”

He looked seriously at me. But not sharp and painful. He was firmly begging me. There was no doubt in his words and intentions. Like a justice enforcer who instantly moves when he sees someone in need of his help.

“If you help me, I will help you too. I know people from the order. I can help you take care of all the papers you need. Therefore, please..”.

I'm not a bad guy. I'm still going to the city, even if you give me nothing. But now I know one thing about him. That the girl in front of me who looked at me with her serious eyes was one who was willing to do anything, including persuading me just for the sake of helping the weak. His words were harsh and sharp, but his heart was very kind.

I'm not a bad guy. I will also try my best if there is someone who really needs my help. And in front of me right now, there's a girl who needs my help. How can I say no?

“I'll help.”