?Gin walked in her draconic form, carrying a massive wooden carriage above her back, followed by several wagons. As it started to snow heavier than in the past weeks, the knights riding around her got close to hide behind her wings.

“It’s getting insane, isn’t it?” One of the knights sighed, looking forward where a barrier made my Merlin clashed with the snow piled on the road, pushing it to the side as they moved.

“The magic in the air is moving strangely,” Gin said, looking around, “I can’t tell if it’s a cold spirit, a dragon or an elemental, but something is close by,”

The knights gulped, “We shouldn’t let our guard down,” One of them growled, putting his hand on his sword’s handle. “It hasn’t been a day since we left the capital,”

“You’ll be surprised how monsters show up.” An adventurer riding a horse in the back said, “The moment you get away from cities, they start crawling from everywhere.”

“Is that so?” The knight looked back.

“You’re one of the new recruits of the army, right?” Gin looked down at the knight.

“That’s true. Vlad targeted the soldiers based on their strength and experience. Only us lower ranks were spared,” The knight looked down.

“You don’t need to feel bad about it,” The adventurer hurried forward to ride beside the knight, “I heard that he could sense how strong someone is by their blood, counting how much they bleed.”

“I heard so as well,” The knight nodded. “Vlad could smell all the wounds someone sustained in their life. We were spared in favor of killing experienced adventurers first.”

The adventurer sighed, “Even though the A-rankers are out on quests. Of course, Vlad waited for them to leave to attack,”

“He planned the attack,” Gin replied, “If not for you, we would’ve lost,” She gently lifted her head, Arad sitting above it covered with a leather coat.

“I only did my part,” Arad replied, standing up, “But, troubles keep following us.” He looked forward, seeing a tall pale elf standing in the middle of the road, glaring at them as his long silver hair danced in the frigid wind.

“Get me down,” Arad said.

“You sure?” Gin lifted her hand for Arad, and he climbed it. She then slowly lowered him to the ground. “That’s the source of the extensive cold. You should let me or Eris handle him,”

“Let’s hear what he has to say first,” Arad walked off Gin’s massive claw and walked forward alone, approaching the strange elf.

“Do you mind getting out of our way? We’re transporting refugees to a safer place.” Arad said, standing two meters away from the elf.

The elf smiled, “My name is Kory, a high cold spirit.” He bowed down, “I felt the wind queen’s fall, and the unfortunate events of the human’s capital.”

“I don’t feel bloodlust, but I have a bad feeling about you,” Arad sighed, his eyes flickering with a fading purple light.

“So I’ll cut to the point. I want Zephyr’s seal and the king to grant me the land of the capital. In exchange, I’ll preserve the land for him,” Kory smiled.

“You’re trying to use the chance and extort him,” Arad sighed, “And someone like you is a high spirit.”

Spirits are divided into several ranks. Lesser, middle, high, noble, and then royal. Usually, there is one royal spirit, for the wind Zephyr is the royal spirit of the wind. This one is two ranks below Cold Spirit Queen, a peer to Zephyr. Mom explained in Arad’s head, using the library he has to bolster her knowledge.

“But it’s a good deal, isn’t it?” Kory smiled, “You can’t fight in your current condition, can you? And I can freeze that wagon before anyone gets out.” He stared at the wagon above Gin’s back.

As a silver dragon, most of Gin’s attacks were that of cold and ice, they wouldn’t even make the cold spirit flinch. The rest who could fight are inside the wagon. It’ll take them a second to get out, but that’s more than enough for Kory to freeze the wagon and lock them inside.

“Do you think I won’t claw you down?” Gin growled.

“Move at such speed, and you’ll break the wagon. The recoil of the wizard’s magic breaking would rip everyone inside apart, including your precious king.” Kory smiled.

Arad looked at Kory’s face with a tired sigh, “It was a silver dragon first, now a cold spirit. Why two ice types in a row?”

“I felt that fight,” Kory giggled, “I doubt she knows you almost killed one of her kind,” He stared at Gin.

^I can’t risk fighting with my void. It could go out of control and suck everyone inside into my stomach.^ Arad thought.

^You want my help?^

^Yes. Just like when I faced the elvish queen, you can act as my warlock patron, right?^

^What do you want?^

^Your expansion. I need to finish him in one hit.^

^Even if you weren’t injured. Your body would barely be able to sustain my expansion for ten seconds. Now You’ll be lucky to hold for two seconds,^

^It’ll be enough to kill him.^ .

Arad’s right hand nails extended forward into claws.

Kory smiled, “So you’ve…”

Curse Expansion: Witch’s cursed domain

The world around Arad seemed to crumble as he walked forward and stood facing where Kory was.

^The oldest and strongest curse is that of existing. By using Doma’s domain, I can remove myself from the whole world. Stands outside it as an observer,^ Arad could see the reflection of the world in his eyes. “So you’ve chosen death.” Kory swung his arm, freezing Gin whole with wagons in a second.

^It’s not even two seconds, it’s 1.78 seconds. That’s how long I can survive outside existence without being unable to turn back.^ Arad lifted his palm, ^But, that also means I’m standing outside time and space, time doesn’t flow, and distance doesn’t matter here. Whatever that spirit does in that 1.78 seconds, I can choose to act at any point in that time, and I know what should’ve happened there.^

CRACK! Arad plunged his palm in the middle of nowhere, and he got back to reality where his hand was grasping Kory’s heart.

“So you’ve…” Kory shouted, about to cast his spell on Gin and the wagons. But he stopped, seeing Arad suddenly appear too close to him, his palm plunged into his chest.

“What?!” He gasped, looking at Arad’s face to see his eyes flashing with a golden and pink light, black tattoos covering his whole body, slowly fading with a gust of hot wind.

“Borrowed power, I should learn to put my hand in the dirt every now and then,” Arad pulled Kory’s heart out, and the spirit fell to his knees, puking blood. “Did you do?” He cried.

Arad walked past Kory and opened his mouth wide, munching the heart in one bite, swallowing it in a single gulp. Arad’s eyes flashed with a faint yellow light as the lycanthropic curse in his body pulsed.

Kory turned around, “You monster, I’ll just heal…” He growled with blood gushing out of his nose and mouth, but he soon realized, his magic rapidly faded and he wasn’t able to heal. It was strange, a spirit like him shouldn’t be killed from such an injury, he should’ve healed immediately.

Arad looked back at him, licking the blood from his lips with a passive face, “I ate your heart and soul. Albeit I don’t understand how the second one worked.” Arad did physically eat Kory’s heart, but eating the soul was something that Doma pulled off.

“You!” Kory shouted, but his body immediately disintegrated into snow, crumbling down.

“Arad! What did happen? I’m sure he was about to cast a powerful spell,” Gin gasped, realizing that her claw was already lifted before she noticed. “I did zone out for a second, did you do something?”

“No one can escape the fate written for them,” Arad said, walking toward her, “Only the queen who rebelled against the curse of existence.”

The knights, adventures, and escorting bandits just realized that they stood a few steps forward, their noses burning from the cold. “He’s dead!” One shouted as they saw Kory’s crumbled body.

Arad looked at Gin’s face, “We should get moving,”

“You’re right,” She lowered her claw for him and carried him over her head. .𝒎

^You must rest for the rest of the trip. Even that small use of your lycanthropic curse is quite a burden on your mind. Go inside and sleep, let Alcott or Eris guard the caravan.^

Arad smiled, “This was an unlucky encounter, Gin should be able to handle any threat.” He turned around walked toward the wagon door and knocked on it. “Merlin, let me in.”

The door opened, “Come in,” Alcott opened the door, “I’ll sit guard from now.”

“It’s cold out there,” Arad replied.

“Don’t worry about me. Go and rest, you’re still recovering, right?” Alcott patted Arad’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I can barely fight like this,” Arad walked inside the carriage to rest.

Two weeks later and after seven monster attacks, the caravan finally reached Arad’s domain borders.

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