Several pitch-black chains continuously gave off thick black smoke, as if gradually polluting that boundless sea of clouds.
In an instant, the black smoke overflowed from the white clouds and kept rising upward toward the sky.
The huge black array formation that suddenly appeared beneath Viktor's feet was also completely buried by that black smoke.
The chains kept contracting, choking the giant bird's throat tightly.
"God of sinful wicked thoughts, submission will be stripped away by my hands.."
"Holy Beast of a Thousand Purities, fall into silence..."
As the incantation was slowly chanted, the body beneath Viktor's trench coat seemed to have strips of pitch-black souls forming layer after layer of sturdy armor.
The giant bird wildly flapped its wings, trying to break free from the bindings, but what it received in return was only further corrosion and tightening.
Its body was slowly wrapped layer after layer by the endless chains, turning into a massive black iron cocoon.
Soon, several obscure runes floated around the chains, engraved onto them.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two violent echoes suddenly sounded between the runes, crashing into one another.
The white runes began to twist as if they had gained life, burrowing through the gaps between the chains and into the giant bird's body.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the giant bird's body turned into streams of white airflow that burst out from the iron cocoon.
Following along the chains, they transformed into runes that were etched and fused into Viktor's trench coat.
At the collar and hem of the trench coat, several trembling white mysterious runes slowly appeared, constantly giving off powerful energy.
The moment the giant bird completely dissipated, the sky seemed to have been entirely corroded by the black smoke, becoming incomparably gloomy.
Even the white clouds began to collapse apart, and the void formed black vortices that kept drawing in the stone pillars and clouds.
The massive stone pillar beneath Viktor's feet shook violently. The crumbling fragments told Viktor that this place was no longer safe to stay.
The guardian of the temple itself acted as an energy source to maintain the temple's existence.
If the guardian was slain inside the temple, then over a long period of accumulated time, the dense magic power could still reshape the guardian's body.
But once the guardian beast was forcibly taken away from the temple, that meant the divine power of the entire temple would be stripped away.
At this moment, the whole temple was teetering, as if it was about to collapse.
Vega stood on Viktor's shoulder, seemingly unsurprised.
Viktor kept his hands in his pockets, and amid the trembling, his expression didn't change in the slightest. He turned around and leisurely walked toward the trial's opened gate.
And as he left, the trial grounds completely collapsed, the stone pillars turning fully into dust.
Only an endless black abyss remained, gradually expanding and swallowing the sky along with it.
———
On the extreme northern ice fields, at some unknown moment, a gathering of barbarians had assembled.
Red-furred barbarians gathered together, shouting strange tones from their mouths.
And opposite them was a group of barbarians with blue beards and knotted muscles.
They held in their hands an enormous blue banner.
Upon the banner were drawn two battle axes, as if embedded into ice.
That was the symbol of the Claws of Purefrost.
The red barbarians and blue barbarians confronted each other, and beneath their feet were the corpses of the barbarians who possessed the qualifications.
Their bodies had long since stiffened, flesh and blood mangled, limbs broken as if snapped apart, they had died in extremely tragic condition.
It was precisely because of these qualified ones that this group of barbarians was able to reach the northernmost extreme ice fields.
The barbarians of the two tribes held weapons, shouting hoarsely against the wind and snow.
Not far away, on a solitary snow island, several magi whose outlines appeared faintly transparent lay on the snowfield, watching the scene before them.
Seeing the formations of both barbarian sides made them feel quite excited.
"So many barbarians gathered together, hiss…"
"With a single natural disaster spell, wouldn't we be able to wipe them all out?"
"They don't seem to be guarding against anything… should we notify the general now and prepare war magic ahead of time?"
They whispered among themselves, though they did not notice Viktor's presence.
Clearly, the location that the female knight mentioned was supposed to be here.
The only thing left unchecked was the strange white palace on the cold sea in the distance.
'Could Viktor be over there?'
Just as they were wondering, the temple suddenly shook violently.
All of a sudden, a powerful shock spread outward for hundreds of kilometers along with the surging sea.
The entire snowfield fell into a fierce earthquake.
Several fissures opened on the snowfield, and seawater poured wildly into them.
The barbarians standing on the snowfield confronting each other immediately dropped flat onto the ground, gripping their stance.
Several slower-reacting barbarians couldn't keep their balance, fell into the icy sea, and dropped into the deep abyss along the current.
Inside the temple, a dull, furious roar seemed to erupt, and a violent storm rose abruptly from the sea surface.
All the barbarians instinctively turned their eyes toward the collapsing temple.
Perhaps in hopes of soothing the god's anger, they all kneeled together, kowtowing desperately for mercy.
But the temple did not stop trembling because of their fear. The massive earthquakes rippled across the limitless snowfield.
The accumulated snow kept collapsing and bursting from the constant shaking.
It was as if a giant beast of ice and snow suddenly awakened on this barren land, only to fall powerlessly into an abyss.
Suddenly, a violent white light erupted from within the temple, shooting straight into the heavens.
Everything around seemed to become colorless.
Between heaven and earth, only that streak of pure white remained.
[T/N: Gojo?]
———
Under that terrifying tremor, even the members of the Pale Mage Council stopped moving.
Vladimir looked at the white light piercing through the gloomy sky, frowning.
He could feel an impossibly dense magic power from it.
This kind of magic power was absolutely not something a human could possess.
"What is that thing?"
The white light seemed to be guiding them, mixed with endless storms within the raging snowfall, slicing across their faces like blades.
No one could answer Vladimir's question.
Faced with such a shocking scene, everyone present felt an overwhelmingly terrifying pressure.
Erica's expression trembled, as if she realized something. Her eyes stared straight into the distance, enduring the violent storm that tore at her body, letting her clothes whip wildly in the wind.
But soon…
A silver-white figure, like a streak of flowing light, shot toward the source of that white light at lightning speed.
Like a silver blade carrying resilient will, she resisted the terrifying sky-piercing flare without hesitation.
In Erica's gaze, Gwen's figure stayed in sight for not even a full moment,
Then vanished entirely into the crowd.
"..."
Erica was stunned for a moment. Vladimir also watched Gwen's retreating figure and exhaled a breath of white steam.
"Looks like we won't have to wait for the reports from the ones ahead, kids."
Hearing this, the Pale Mage Council members were instantly invigorated, as if injected with chicken blood.
Each of them straightened their backs, fire flickering restlessly in their eyes.
Vladimir rotated his wrist, and from within his gloves, a massive ice axe instantly formed.
Resting it on his shoulder, he revealed a grin and chuckled, "Time to give those mongrels a bloody lesson."
———
The extreme northern ice fields had already fallen apart.
The shattered snowy ground was stirred by storms sharp as spikes.
As the white light faded into streams of weakened energy, the sea gradually turned into waves of hurricanes spreading in all directions across the snowfield.
Countless barbarians still knelt in place, unable to stop praying. Even though their foreheads were split open and bleeding from kowtowing, they did not dare to stop.
At some point, a hoarse voice slowly sounded among the barbarians.
Strangely, they could actually understand the meaning hidden within that strange language.
"I don't recall ever having such a group of believers."
A raven opened its beak, its single eye filled with utter disdain.
It perched on Viktor's shoulder, shaking its feathers, staring down at the ignorant barbarians with an air of superiority.
Viktor stood with his hands in his pockets, calmly watching the panicked barbarians from atop an iceberg.
He felt it.
The overwhelming fury coming from these barbarians.
Perhaps it was because their supposed divine miracle revealed Viktor instead, making them feel absurd anger.
Or perhaps because the enemy who slaughtered nearly half their people was now standing right in front of them.
Whatever the reason, the moment they lifted their heads and saw Viktor, they could no longer contain the rage in their hearts.
"Wuwuwawa!"
[T/N: Me when exams]
The barbarians' eyes filled with bloodshot veins, the red fur on their bodies igniting like flames blessed with life.
The jumping flames gradually consumed their bodies entirely, turning them into masses of pure energy.
They let out furious roars toward the sky, their voices echoing across the shattered snowfield.
"Berserkers."
Viktor looked at the enraged barbarians and softly spoke these words.
When their anger reached its peak, barbarians would gain their final terrifying power, a despair buried deep within their wild nature.
They completely lost rationality, and even the drool dripping from their bared fangs evaporated instantly from the surrounding flames.
Swinging weapons wrapped in flames, their fiery bodies seemed fused with their burning armaments.
Viktor's expression remained unchanged as a red array suddenly appeared in his palm.
The patterns intertwined, and a ball of fire began condensing in his hand.
He originally intended to incinerate all these enemies before him, but suddenly, a silver-white silhouette rushed into his vision.
Viktor raised an eyebrow slightly.
The silver knight, despite her heavy armor, moved swiftly and gracefully, slipping past the agitated barbarians and arriving directly before Viktor.
Her longsword struck out in an instant, piercing the heart of the berserker who had charged at Viktor.
Instant kill.
Pulling the blade out, blood sprayed from its edge. The berserker immediately lost consciousness.
The flames burning on its body didn't even last a moment before the lifeless corpse fell into the freezing sea.
Gwen's appearance made all the barbarians stop in their tracks.
The remaining berserkers looked at the suddenly intervening silver knight with a hint of absurd fear.
She flicked her longsword hard onto the snowfield, and the scalding blood splattered across the icy surface.
Even the stubborn ice melted slightly.
Standing proudly before Viktor, facing countless barbarians, her voice was cool and clear.
"This time."
"I found you first."