As Alex finally commits to action, he pulls out one of his remaining two grenades, setting the fuse to precisely three seconds. With careful precision, he slides it across the ground so that it silently rolls directly under Black Waltz No. 2, who, due to his floating wings, is not grounded. Simultaneously, Alex activates his new ability: Sealion's Icewing Embrace lvl 0.

A sudden drain of 44 MP hits Alex, the cost slightly reduced by his innate skill Genius Conjurer lvl 1, cutting the drain by 12%. His entire body becomes encased in sharp, gleaming ice shards, his armor enlarging and wings of ice extending from his back. Cold mist seeps from his body, creating an imposing, ethereal aura. Alex feels as though Sealion’s very soul has merged with his own, gifting him terrifying, supernatural power.

Black Waltz No. 2, highly sensitive to Mana, immediately notices the shift. His concentration on Zidane shatters, and he abandons his spell to focus entirely on Alex, glaring at him in shock.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Alex fires a round from [Mr. 5’s .44 Caliber 6-Shot Revolver] directly at the Black Waltz’s face.

You have dealt 30 x 3 = 90 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 12 x 3 = 36 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

Although the weapon's special effect doesn’t activate, Alex receives a pleasant surprise as he notices that his new ability enhances not only his melee attacks but also his ranged ones. His bullets now carry an icy, cold aura, adding frost damage to his strikes. As usual, Alex lands a critical hit by exploiting the enemy's exposed weakness, his face shrouded in black mist.

A heartbeat later, the grenade explodes. The fire blast hits Black Waltz No. 2 squarely, as the floating mage remains directly above the detonation point. Shrapnel flies into him, fire scorches his robe, and the sheer force of the explosion rocks the battlefield.

You have dealt 56 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 6 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 7 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 10 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 8 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 17 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

Alex can’t help but wonder how the enemy is still standing. Between the surprise shot to the face, the grenade explosion, four shards of deadly shrapnel, and the fire damage from the blast, the Black Waltz should have been done for. The ambush dealt a staggering 126 damage, followed by another 104 damage for a total of 230 damage, nearly enough to kill Alex twice over.

Yet somehow, Black Waltz No. 2 still clings to life, shrieking in agony.

“DAMN KNIGHT! I AM SUPERIOR TO INSECTS LIKE YOU! YOU WILL REGRET THIS—DIE!!” he bellows, enraged.

He charges a “Thunder” spell at Alex, who grins. “How can this guy be both nihilistic and stupid? Why use a thunder spell against me when fire would be the obvious choice? Can’t he see the ice?” Alex thinks, marveling at his opponent’s poor tactics.

The spell hits, momentarily stunning Alex, but it only deals minor damage. A small piece of his icy armor shatters, but the bulk remains intact.

You have taken 6 damage

Icewing Embrace Durability -1

“Heh, that’s all?” Alex mutters, smiling. “Just one durability point out of twelve.” His Icewing Embrace proves more effective against magic than he expected. Thanks to [Sealion's Might] and Genius Conjurer lvl 1, the base durability of his armor is boosted by over 20%, giving it two additional durability points. This allows Alex to withstand two more attacks of this caliber without much concern.

He charges forward, cocks his revolver, and fires at Black Waltz No. 2. The mage, however, teleports a few meters to the right, narrowly avoiding the shot. But this maneuver brings him into range of the rest of the group. Zidane swiftly slices at the Black Waltz, cutting into one of his wings, while Steiner, empowered by Vivi, unleashes a mighty “Blizzard Sword” upon him.

Frustration etches across Black Waltz No. 2's face. He’s realizing the futility of battling five enemies alone. Perhaps he’s even regretting not joining forces with the other Black Waltzes. Together, they could have easily overwhelmed the group.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Reeling from the combined assault, the Black Waltz tries to focus on the others, casting another spell, but Alex is already upon him. With his shield and sword now radiating a cold, ominous aura, Alex leaps forward, smashing his shield into the mage’s face, sending him crashing to the ground.

You have dealt 7 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 10 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

Before Black Waltz No. 2 can recover, Alex slashes down with his sword, cutting into him again and again, drawing agonized, distorted cries from the mage.

You have dealt 33 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 11 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 31 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 9 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 35 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

You have dealt 10 damage to Black Waltz No. 2

“AaaaaaAaaAAaaaaaHhhhhhhhh,” he shrieks in agony.

Desperate, Black Waltz No. 2 manages to teleport once more, but the effort is futile. He materializes a few feet in the air and immediately crashes to the ground again, his wounds too severe for him to fight or cast spells any longer.

With a final, pained breath, Black Waltz No. 2 stammers, “Why... why did I lose?” His voice trails off as he succumbs to his wounds, his body shattering like fragile glass, still surrounded by the icy mist that lingers from Alex's empowered strikes.

You have killed Black Waltz No. 2

You received Chest (Green)

Special Quest updated:

Mission: Gain the recognition of Pluto by killing the following 3 enemies:

Black Waltz 1 - 1/1 Black Waltz 2 - 1/1 Black Waltz 3 - 0/1

“Two down, one to go! Ah great, looks like chests don’t count towards the item limit. I guess I’m safe for now,” Alex reasons. “Better open it if I manage to survive this world. There’s only one step left.”

The group, however, stares at Alex, their faces filled with shock and awe at the might he just displayed. His appearance, covered in powerful ice armor, had been nothing short of mesmerizing.

Alex deactivates his Conjuration ability, and his impressive ice armor crumbles away, turning into a large cloud of mist, revealing his usual armor underneath.

Zidane grins. “Wow, that was some fancy magic. I thought you were more of a black magic user, but no, you’re clearly some kind of special blue mage! They’re really rare. And I always thought blue mages just cast spells, but your blue magic looks different. It’s more like a magical construct, isn’t it? Really interesting!”

“I wasn’t aware of it myself…” Alex admits. “I thought my magic was limited to my grenades, but after defeating Sealion, I suddenly felt something awaken in me.”

“Yeah, blue magic is usually taken from monsters, mimicking their abilities,” Zidane explains, clearly intrigued. “But yours seems super selective, you’ve only got two abilities even after all we’ve been through. But both of them are super effective. I like your style, quality over quantity, huh?”

Steiner nods in agreement. “Most impressive! Thank you for your timely help! This criminal pretended to work for the queen, pah, what lies! He was just a criminal and kidnapper who was obviously trying to confuse us!”

Garnet shouts at Steiner, “Steiner, did you not hear what he said? What is mother doing? She sent him to capture me! And this village, these puppets! Mother is behind all of it!”

“You can’t believe those lies, Princess!” Steiner yells back. “Those are all tricks!”

“Steiner…” Garnet shakes her head in disappointment. “Let’s go back to the village. Steiner, you stay here and make sure they don’t take off without us.”

“But Princess…” Steiner stammers, his plan to trick the group into boarding the cargo ship bound for Alexandria slowly falling apart.

Alex feels confused. "Shouldn’t we be boarding the cargo ship now?" In the game, returning to the village was optional, but it always seemed like a convenience for the player, not a real plot point. "Well, why not? I have 1,000 gil to spare… this might be my last chance to spend it. Plus, this break is a huge opportunity to regain my mana."

Alex quickly does the math in his head: “With 7 MNA, I regenerate 0.7 MP per minute. Even if we only take a 30-minute break, that’s 21 MP, enough for another new grenade and it’s eventual activation. If we stretch it out to three hours, I can fully restore my mana pool.”

Smiling to himself, Alex quietly uses his mana to create another Annihilation Grenade lvl 1 and stores it, bringing his reserves back up to two.

The group returns to the nearby village of Dali for the final time, while Steiner grumbles, blocking the villagers from loading the cargo ship and preventing it from taking off.

A few black mages stand next to him, their faces blank, yet Alex swears he sees a flicker of confusion in their eyes, as if they can’t comprehend the grand mystery that is Captain Steiner!