"ARGH, I'M melting,

" Delwyn complained out loud.

"You're cruel, Little Mona.

"

He wasn't really melting. If it was easy for an Ice Spirit like him to melt, he would have been long gone. But Little Mona's weapon was seriously hot, and so was the flame of the Vermillion Bird sitting on top of the Dome the young princess created.

I see what Little Mona has done.

The young princess created a Dome infused with the flaming Vermillion Bird's flame. Not even his ice could break it now. It would too hot for him to touch. And even if he managed to escape, the flaming Vermillion Bird would just hunt him down.

It's a surprise that Nikolai de Moonasterio lent one of his Soul Beasts to his daughter. Since when did the de Moonasterios care about a royal princess?

It seemed like times had changed in the short period he went into a slumber.

That, or Little Mona is just special.

Delwyn decided to take that fight seriously.

***

"YOU keep calling me 'Little Mona,'

" Neoma complained to the Ice Spirit while removing the lid of a vial in her free hand. It was a healing potion Greko made for her. She drank it to heal the physical injuries she received earlier from Delwyn's ice daggers.

"Why are you calling me that? I thought I look more of a de Moonasterio than a Roseheart.

"

"Because you're Mona's daughter.

"

"How did y you know I'm a 'daughter' and not a 'son?'

" she asked while checking herself from her neck down. Her clothes were still stained with her blood, but her wounds were quickly closing thanks to the healing potion she had just drunk.

"Is my disguise really lame?

"

"It's not that your disguise is lacking,

" Delwyn explained while moving his hands as if he was leading an orchestra. His hand movements looked elegant, but she could tell he was preparing for a dangerous attack.

"But I carried you in my arms when you were still a baby. I left my scent on you, so I recognized you easily as Mona's daughter despite your disguise.

"

"You left your scent on me?

" she asked while the vial in her hand was slowly fading away.

The vials of her healing potions were designed to vanish as soon as the substance was consumed.

Convenient, right?

"It's something that Spirits do out of our control,

" he explained.

"Even if we don't want to, we leave our scents on the humans we touch.

"

"Okay, but when did you get a chance to hold me? Before you betrayed my mother?

"

"After,

" he said with a shrug.

"You know, Mona could be a klutz sometimes. After she tried to cross over to the other world with you, both of your physical bodies were left defenseless in this world. I had to babysit you while your mother's physical body was sinking into the depth of the Black Ocean.

"

"And whose fault was that?

" she snapped at him, the very person who was the reason her mother was trapped in that stupid block of ice.

"You can blame me all you want, but you can't also deny the fact Mona had been careless.

"

"Do you hate my mother?

"

"I don't hate Mona,

" Delwyn said, and he kind of sounded genuine.

"I just did what I had to do during that time.

"

She wanted to ask what was he needed to do at that time.

But she was distracted when Delwyn dropped his arms to his sides as if he just finished preparing for his attack.

Wow.

Then she realized Delwyn was now surrounded by ice rose that magically grew in the snow-covered ground. Thankfully, the ice roses didn't reach her side. After all, the flame covering Skewer's curved blade was melting the ice and the snow near her.

"Little Mona, I don't enjoy fighting children, but I don't want to be a slave either,

" Delwyn said seriously.

"So forgive me if I have to act like William in order to protect myself.

"

"I know what you're afraid of,

" she said, then she opened her left hand.

She summoned the Divine Item that Manu, the Moon Priest, lent her in order to catch the Ice Spirit.

"You're afraid of this, right?

" she asked, then she grabbed the white handgun that materialized in the air.

"Lord Manu told me the bullets of this gun could melt you literally. He also told me it's gonna be painful for you.

"

"Yes, that's correct,

" the Ice Spirit said while nodding.

"I've been hit by that once, and I don't want a repeat of that.

"

"I wonder who let you have the taste of this baby boy.

"

By 'baby boy,' she meant the white handgun, of course.

"Don't remind me,

" Delwyn said while frowning.

"That boy with purple hair… I'll never forget that punk.

"

Purple hair?

Her mind immediately thought of Ruto, but she kept her mouth shut. Ruto needed to sleep to recover, and she didn't want this Ice Spirit to go after him. Plus, she wasn't sure if Delwyn was really talking about Ruto just because the culprit had purple hair, too.

She was curious about one thing, though.

"This isn't the only weapon that could make you suffer?

" she asked curiously.

"I thought only the Moon Priest possess such a weapon.

"

"The Moon God isn't the only major god out there,

" he said.

"Of course, other gods have weapons that could hurt a Spirit like me that possesses Darkness attribute. Gods are wary of strong beings with Darkness attribute, after all.

"

Ohh.

The Ice Spirit had Darkness attribute?

"Are you surprised?

" Delwyn asked when he noticed her facial expression.

"Yes, my ice element is one of the Darkness attributes. It's because my ice is weak against Light attributes like the fire element. And that's also one of the reasons why I wasn't compatible with Mona. As if being the Daughter of Nature wasn't enough to make me suffer, she also had to possess a Light Spirit and a Fire Spirit. It physically hurts me to be with them.

"

She smirked bitterly.

"Was that your only reason for betraying my mother?

"

"Why do you seem so interested in my reason for betraying Mona?

"

"Because I don't want to regret my decision,

" she said, then she threw the white handgun in the air.

Then she gripped Skewer's handle tight before she swung it.

And she swung the scythe the moment the handgun was falling down. The handgun was already split in half when it dropped to the ground. The red flame that covered Skewer's blade licked the handgun as well.

Now the handgun was getting burned into ashes slowly.

"You didn't inject the handgun with your Moonglow,

" Delwyn commented, as if he was confused.

"Had you done that, the handgun would have turned into an unbreakable weapon.

"

"I know that,

" she said.

"I purposely didn't power up the handgun because I have no intention of using it on you.

"

"And why is that?

"

"I need you to be my temporary Soul Beast, but I have no intention of forcing you to become my slave. I hate slavery,

" she said firmly.

"So, let's play a game. If I win, you're mine. And if I lose, I'll let you go.

"

He smirked at her while shaking his head.

"You're saying that after you trapped me here?

"

"Because this is how we'll play,

" she said while laughing.

"You'll win if you get out of the Dome before South, my father's flaming Vermillion Bird, melts my Dome.

"

"This Dome is similar to the Dome that Lord Yule's representatives learn before they descend to the Middle World as either a saint or a Moon Priest.

"

"Bingo,

" she said.

"The one who taught me how to create a Dome is the former saint.

"

"Then this will be easier than expected,

" Delwyn said, then he raised his hand. As soon as he did, the ice roses around him were plucked and floated in the air. The pointed end of the ice roses were directed at her.

"The Dome is almost unbreakable, but it will disappear once the creator faints or dies.

"

Neoma smiled and gripped Skewer tighter.

"I'll make you sign a contract with me before the Dome melts.

"

***

WHY DO I feel like the fox boy has suddenly been sloppy?

William, despite overwhelming the three foxes with his brute force, felt like something was off. It felt like his enemies were purposely attacking him without defending themselves properly. As a result, the foxes were now covered with blood.

But to be honest, the adult foxes looked pretty crazy to him. The male and the female adult foxes were full of deep cuts from head to toe, and blood was gushing out of their open wounds. But the adult foxes were laughing like mad people while trying to maul him.

As expected, the foxes' signature attack is still mauling the hell out of their enemies.

But it made him a little worried when he realized Lewis was calm compared to the two adult foxes.

"Darling, it's okay to defend yourself,

" the female fox said while grabbing his collar. But instead of clawing his chest like he expected her to do, the female fox just ripped his shirt off and stared at his chest hungrily. Then she licked her lips.

"Let me have a taste of you before I go back to hell.

"

"I'll send you back to hell now,

" William said, then he grabbed the female fox's arm with the intention of breaking it. But his arm was grabbed by the male adult fox and dug his sharp nails into his skin until he was bleeding. So damn persistent.

This time, he didn't bother using his greatsword.

The foxes were too much of a brute to be dealt by weapons. So he used his physical strength to fight them. While breaking the arms of the male and the female adult fox, he felt his back being mauled by Lewis, the young bastard fox.

Damn these foxes!

He gathered his Mana and turned it into an energy ball that exploded out of his body. It successfully sent the three foxes away flying.

I'm wasting my time here.

The crazy male and female adult foxes laughed as they landed on the ground, a few meters away from where he stood.

Lewis, on the other hand, came at him again as soon as his feet touched the ground.

"Draki, take care of the old foxes,

" William said, summoning his Familiar– the blue snake– while he was running towards Lewis.

"I'll deal with his arrogant punk.

"

<

"As you wish, Master.

">

He felt and heard an explosion behind him.

It was definitely caused by Draki, in his huge blue snake form, emerging from the ground. The ground they were walking on was actually a frozen lake. Draki was a water snake, so his Familiar had been hiding in the lake below.

I don't like using my power of nature on my fellow Spirits, but I need to join the fight between Delwyn and the filthy bug the soonest.

His thoughts were interrupted when Lewis reached for his chest. The young fox's long and sharp nails suggested he was about to rip his heart out. It was a brute attack that the foxes enjoyed in the past, so he wasn't really surprised by that move.

You're reaching for my heart, huh? Let me show you how it's done, young fox.

He grabbed Lewis's by the wrist, then he used one of his abilities by smearing his blood on the young fox's face and body.

This time, he was using his Roseheart Blood.

And that ability was turning his blood into 'weight,' and it was working.

Lewis's feet sank into the snow-covered ground, and the frustrated looked on his face said everything he needed to know. The young fox's body definitely felt heavy now, as if he just gained a ton of weight. Now, Lewis couldn't move.

He used that chance to summon his greatsword. As soon as his weapon materialized in front of him, he grabbed the handle and unceremoniously stabbed Lewis in the stomach. He even twisted the blade to make sure it would hurt.

Lewis's poker face was amazing. He didn't even flinch. Or perhaps, the additional weight on his body felt too heavy that he couldn't even move his facial muscles.

But his eyes told me he's in pain.

"Don't worry, young fox,

" William said, then he snapped his fingers.

"I'll relieve you of your pain by giving it to your beloved princess.

"

The young fox snarled at him.

Ah, he knows what I'm doing.

Lewis obviously knew about his ability to exchange an individual's current physical

/health condition with another person.

Well, he wasn't surprised. After all, he used that ability on the filthy bug. He remembered exchanging the royal princess's physical

/health condition with the Quinzel Heiress when the latter was barely alive because of a Mana bomb explosion, if he remembered it correctly.

Now I know why Lewis barely avoided my attacks earlier!

Lewis probably aimed to be hurt as much as he could without endangering his life because the young fox knew he'd use his ability to exchange two persons' physical conditions.

His thoughts were interrupted when all of a sudden, he felt an agonizing pain in his stomach.

What the…

When he looked down at his torso, he was surprised to see himself bleeding in the same spot where he stabbed Lewis. Aside from that, he also received all the deep cuts and bruises that he gave the young fox earlier.

Moreover, his knees buckled from the unexpected additional weight he suddenly received.

My body feels so damned heavy.

In short, instead of transferring Lewis's physical injuries to Neoma de Moonasterio, everything was transferred to him.

But how…

"Princess Neoma knew you'd use this ability.

"

He looked up at Lewis who just talked, then he glared at the young fox.

"Princess Neoma asked Lady Avery, our team's mage, to create a spell that would deflect this cunning ability of yours,

" Lewis, who was now standing in perfect condition, said arrogantly while looking down at him with glowing golden eyes.

"So, Lady Avery created a spell that would protect me from this kind of attack, and bounce it back to the caster.

"

Only highly-skilled mages could create a spell that could repel his attack and bounce it back to him.

He was William– the Grand Spirit.

A measly mage couldn't do this to him!

Did the young fox say 'Avery?' If the mage is an Avery, then I guess it's possible. After all, the Averys are the greatest mages that existed on the continent. But they were supposed to have vanished a long time ago.

"The filthy bug seems to have picked up another useful ally, huh?

" William said while wiping the blood that dripped at the corner of his mouth.

"But Lewis, did that Avery gave Neoma the same protection you have against my ability?

"

Lewis's cold face told him the answer he wanted to know.

No, the filthy bug doesn't have the same protection.

The Avery that created the spell that could deflect his attack must be great. But no matter how great she was, she might have a limitation as a mage. A spell as great as that was hard to cast on two different people at the same time.

William laughed, then he snapped his fingers again.

"Your beloved princess must be in pain right now, young fox,

" he said as he stood up, his body as light as a paper again.

"Now, shall we play again?

"

***

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***

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