The girl with long silver hair and icy eyes was being held hostage by a burly bastard covered in muscle and blood. The man was almost three times Naeva's size, but neither she nor Ophelia seemed to panic in the slightest.
"If you don't want your friend to die, don't move and drop your weapon!" the man threatened.
Ophelia didn't move, her head was busy thinking about something.
"I know that a hostage known to the target will be more useful than an unknown one. But..."
BRUUUUKK
Obeying the man, Ophelia dropped her spear unceremoniously. Not because she gave up or because she was afraid of her friend getting hurt, she was just curious what would happen if she did.
"I suggest you stop doing that," Ophelia said when she saw Naeva still calm down.
The man glared in annoyance, "Bah! You think I'm going to release a hostage just because you said that! Don't mess with me, you bitch!"
"No, that's not what I meant..." Ophelia replied at a loss for what to say
"You killed my colleagues, you fucking bitch!!! You think I'm going to let your partner get away with this...." He exclaimed as he prepared to slit Naeva's throat.
Ophelia said nothing more.
"I can't even touch her. What can you do to her?"
It had been a long time since anyone had been that brave to Naeva. To be honest, she had known from the start that he intended to take her hostage and had no intention of letting her live. But why didn't Naeva dodge or defend herself? Of course because she didn't need to do that to survive.
If Naeva had intended to take care of them from the start, those bugs would have been destroyed in seconds.
At the same time as the man was about to slit Naeva's throat, the girl sighed. In a fraction of a second, her white, slender hands touched the body of the man behind her lightly.
And instantly...
"!!!"
The man's body froze. Completely becoming human-shaped ice. Without giving the man time to respond to what happened.
Even Ophelia herself couldn't see it. Without any signals or signs, the man simply turned into ice just like that. There was absolutely no sign of freezing happening bit by bit or anything like that.
Ophelia knew that Naeva was using Ice Magic, she also knew that Naeva could easily freeze the environment and reduce the temperature there to minus degrees. But she didn't expect that Naeva could freeze a living being in a fraction of a second like this.
A few seconds after that, the ice smothering Naeva broke and shattered into pieces. This chunk of ice did not ooze blood or other body parts. The man was completely turned into ice right down to his innermost parts, such as organs and blood.
"You took longer than I thought," Naeva said, breaking the silence.
Ophelia, who was still in disbelief at what her eyes had seen, began to come back to reality.
"A-Ah... Sorry..."
Although it was subtle, Ophelia was actually still surprised and trembling somewhat. She who wasn't even afraid of her family members who were already rankers, could be given goosebumps by Naeva. From the moment she met Naeva, her survival instinct told her not to get into trouble with Naeva and to make Naeva her ally as much as possible. And now she was very grateful for obeying that instinct.
Ophelia took back her spear that had turned normal. After wiping her quill clean, Ophelia put the quill in her pocket and walked over to Naeva who had sat down first on a rock near her tent. Not far away, the three women that the bastards had broken were lying helplessly.
".... Naeva."
"?"
"What... should we do with them?" Ophelia asked while glancing at the three women.
Naeva's eyes followed Ophelia's gaze. The three women they saw were completely broken. Not just in terms of health but also sanity.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Cruel..." Ophelia's heart ached.
"What do you want to do to them?" Naeva retorted with another question.
Ophelia thought for a moment. She couldn't take them with her because they would only be a burden. Being kind was okay, of course it was okay because that's what made her a person. But being kind and being naive are two different things. Especially in the Tower where your naivety would only endanger yourself and your companions.
"......"
".... Nothing needs to be done. Saving them from those bastards is enough. Let's go."
Ophelia made her decision. She would not do anything to those women. She would not kill them or help them. From now on it was up to them. They could survive if they really wanted to and tried to do so. If not, they will just die and rot here.
Naeva smiled slightly, she was starting to like this girl. This girl had not lost her kindness in a place like Tower but neither had she lost the intelligence, rationality and decisiveness that sometimes got in the way of her kindness. Exactly like her former student.
"Alright."
After packing up and putting their belongings into the item box, Ophelia and Naeva prepared to leave their temporary shelter. They could no longer use it because it was possible that the thick scent of blood would invite monsters that they (Ophelia) could not fight. Plus the other Conquerors must have known their location since the previous battle.
The two girls left without looking back. The last favor Ophelia could give was to provide a warm blanket to cover the women's naked bodies and a large bottle of mineral water next to them.
And after that, they had nothing more to do.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
****OOO****
Character Information
[https://img.wattpad.com/d04e015c9bb1ffbc03bc9b2a9d430393894353a2/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7161527643673464756a676842673d3d2d313332363834343634332e313739303436336437633663313632393836343438313331313637392e6a7067]
Name: Naeva Winter
Nova: X Platinum
Race: Ice Princess
Age: 30.000+
Status: Irregular
Affiliation: None
-------------------------------------------------
[https://img.wattpad.com/9206edbdefec5e51197c2af6a78fc37f3f82042e/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7354756a715061457a4642346e673d3d2d313332363834343634332e313739303436336136393664393932353835313734313530363933322e6a7067]
Name: Ophelia Calliope
Nova: II Orange
Race: Unknown
Age: 17
Status: Lady of the Calliope Family
Affiliation: Calliope Family
****OOO****
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
In the middle of the dark forest, lit only by the moonlight, the two teenage girls walked cautiously. Not once or twice did they encounter monsters, but the monsters they had encountered so far were not monsters that could harm them.
"I sensed a lake nearby, let's camp there," said Ophelia.
Naeva nodded, she also realized that the direction they were walking was the direction to the lake. That's why she didn't ask.
With Ophelia leading at the front while clearing away the bushes with her spear, the two continued walking until they finally reached a small lake in the middle of the forest. The moonlight reflecting on the lake and the fireflies flying over it looked very beautiful to their eyes.
"Hmm, good place to pitch a tent," smiled Ophelia.
Just like before, Ophelia set up the tent and cooked over a small fire (since they didn't intend to become decoys again for now). Meanwhile, Naeva just sat quietly watching.
Although Ophelia didn't cook with a big fire like before. That didn't mean their location wouldn't be discovered. The main reason why they could rest quietly and not be disturbed by anyone was because Naeva had secretly created a large enough barrier around them. She knew that Ophelia must be exhausted from the previous battle even though the girl didn't say anything. So Naeva gave her time to rest.
"Too bad they don't have any Ruby," Ophelia was annoyed when she remembered the search.
Naeva who was playing (?) with fireflies replied casually.
"It's natural."
"It's only been an hour since the exam started, those who spend their time satisfying their lust can't possibly have time to look for Ruby."
"That's... true," Ophelia replied with a strange feeling.
"Never mind. It's still the first day after all. We can start the real search for Ruby tomorrow. Let's use the time to rest as much as possible."
Ophelia had finished cooking. Once the fire was turned off, the girl walked away from the cauldron and approached the lake. Her blood-soaked robe was gently taken off and placed on a rock. Dark navy hair that was the same color as the night sky looked beautiful. The beautiful face she always covered was clearly visible under the moonlight.
"I've put the cutlery there. Eat first, Naeva. I'm going to take a shower first. This blood smell is a little annoying," she said casually.
"You don't mind this, do you?" she asked half-jokingly.
Naeva nodded, she never got dirty because the dirt would automatically leave her, so she didn't need a bath. But she understood how much women loved baths and cleanliness and how much they hated dirt.
"Hmm."