Chapter 165: Chapter 165 – Through the Curtain of Crystals

The ice walls closed in at a terrifying speed, my space to maneuver shrinking to just a few meters. Through the transparent ice, I could see Yukie’s silhouette standing calmly. Perhaps in her mind, this was already over.

But she was wrong.

The moment the wall before me was almost touching the tip of my nose, I channeled all the strength in this body. The stats usually spent on debauchery were now concentrated fully in one fist.

I punched.

BRAAAKKK!

It sounded like shattering giant glass.

The half-meter-thick ice wall exploded into flying, sharp fragments. I shot through the curtain of broken ice, Mindrender already swinging.

Yukie didn’t look surprised at all. Her white eyes remained as cold as ice. She raised a hand, trying to create an emergency ice shield between us, but it was too late.

My sword slashed. But what was severed wasn’t flesh. Her body shattered into pieces, scattering into fine, powdery ice crystals in the air.

My surroundings were suddenly filled with thick ice fog, limiting my vision to just a few centimeters. Then, from beside me, a cold aura that pierced to the bone appeared.

I turned with a reflex, raising Mindrender just in time to deflect a long ice sword aimed to split my body from the shoulder.

CLANG!

The clash of metal and dense ice echoed. Yukie emerged from the fog, her flat expression now changed—there was a deeper, more dangerous focus.

The sword fight began.

She attacked first, a quick, precise straight thrust for the heart. I parried it aside, then immediately countered with a horizontal slash to her waist. Yukie stepped back gracefully, her ice sword spinning to deflect my strike before launching a series of short, snake-like thrusts.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The rapid clanging of impacts shattered the night’s silence. I was forced to retreat, parrying each genuine thrust. She was more skilled, her movements economical and lethal. But I had greater strength than her now.

Seeing an opening, I swung Mindrender with full force from above. She didn’t parry directly—she sidestepped, letting my sword plunge into the ground and crack the concrete, then her ice sword swept towards my neck. I ducked quickly, feeling the cold air from her blade pass over the top of my head.

Rising from the crouch, I immediately launched a counterattack. Diagonal swings, horizontal cuts, sudden thrusts—I attacked without pattern, relying on speed and strength to disrupt her rhythm. Yukie seemed slightly overwhelmed, parrying deftly but beginning to be pushed back.

Almost. Almost got her. As her sword was deflecting a slash towards her leg, I saw an opening in her chest defense. I changed direction, Mindrender sweeping upwards for an under-the-ribs slash.

But she was too fast. Instead of parrying, she spun a full 360 degrees, making my slash miss—and using that spin’s momentum, her ice sword swung in a scything motion towards my head.

I was forced to duck again, feeling the tip of her ice sword graze my jacket shoulder, tearing it with a cold rip.

We backed away from each other briefly, our breaths both creating mist in the frozen air. She was still expressionless, but I could see that her breathing was slightly faster. Mine too.

Then she attacked again. More aggressively this time. Her ice sword spun, forming complex patterns, creating illusions of sword shadows. I focused on the core, parrying every real thrust attempting to pierce me.

The fight became a swift duel—advance, retreat, attack, defend. Each sword clash sent vibrations up my arm. My hand began to feel cold and stiff from the freezing aura emanating from her sword and body.

Suddenly, the fog around us thickened until I could barely see my own hand. And in that moment, a sudden, paralyzing cold seized me.

It was as if my own blood had frozen. My muscles locked, my joints seized. I couldn’t move, frozen in a half-crouched position, Mindrender still gripped but unable to be swung. The ice seemed to have seeped into my very pores, embracing me from the inside, then instantly crystallizing and locking my body.

Damn it, I cursed inwardly.

If only I had proper combat skills. Not just skills for screwing. But complaining won’t solve anything.

Yukie stepped out of the fog, standing before me, frozen. Her eyes stared at me coldly.

“Why have you been acting differently lately? Is it because you just awakened?” she asked, her voice flat but loaded with meaning. “What happened to Alex… that was you, wasn’t it?”

I stayed silent. Could only stare at her with my eyes. My mind raced. Should I use [Mind Control] now? Or [Time Stop]? Capture her, take her home, lock her up like Charlotte. Begin the long-awaited revenge.

But before I could decide, Yukie spoke again.

“Not going to talk?” she said. “I suppose you need a reminder of your place.”

She raised her hand—that small, delicate, pale hand of hers. From her fingertips, ice crept forward like a beautiful, deadly transparent glove. She pointed that ice-encased hand toward my face.

And instantly, a memory so cold it was painful surfaced in my mind. The memory of her using that very hand to frost-skin me. The pain had been excruciating. And everyone had just watched me suffer.

I trembled from the cold, but also from that haunting memory. This body, locked in ice, seemed to drag me back to that weakest moment.

Yukie saw my trembling, and for the first time, something resembling emotion entered her voice. A kind of cold satisfaction.

“See?” she whispered. “Did you think you had changed? Even after awakening, you’re still that pathetic Adam. Nothing’s changed.”

Those words. That insult. Combined with her still-raised hand, threatening to touch my face like before—that was the final spark.

My rage exploded. A hatred deeper and hotter than any fear boiled in my chest, driving out all the chill of the memory. I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw creaked.

And with a blazing inner scream, I forced this body to move.

CRACK!

The sound of ice cracking from inside my own body, followed by the ice on my skin. The layer of ice binding me fractured, then shattered into pieces. Yukie’s eyes trembled slightly.

And before she could react first and freeze me again, I was already moving.

I charged, releasing all speed restrictions. The world around me slowed. I swung Mindrender with all the strength and hatred I had accumulated.

She tried to dodge, but she was too slow.

Swish.

My sword swept through.

I landed behind her, turning. Yukie went still, then slowly looked down. In front of her curvy body, a thin red line began to appear on her training uniform, right across her abdomen.

“I… underestimated you,” she uttered coldly.

Then blood began to seep out, soaking her academy uniform a darker shade.

She turned to face me, her face still maintaining its cold expression. But when her white eyes met mine, something happened.

Her icy composure suddenly shattered. A flash of wild emotion—shock, recognition, anger—crossed her face. My face, or my eyes, or perhaps my expression, seemed to remind her of something.

“You…” she murmured, her voice trembling.

Then, without warning, ice exploded from her body.

BOOOOM!

A giant explosion of ice, with her at its epicenter. Spiky pillars of ice, large as trees, grew wildly in all directions, shattering concrete, splitting the ground, tearing through the air with a terrifying roar.

I leapt backward as fast as I could, but it was too late. A long ice spike slashed across my raised arm, protecting my face. The heat of pain was instantly followed by a cold that froze the wound. Blood flowed, freezing almost instantly at the edges of the cut.

I kept retreating, getting away from the explosion zone that was still spewing sharp ice fragments. My mind raced. What just happened? She seemed to have lost control. It looked like an effect after Mindrender successfully slashed her. I hadn’t expected the effect to be this fast.

One thing was clear: Yukie was angry now. Very angry. And she was no longer playing around.

The road in front of the academy building transformed into a battlefield in seconds. The ground was cracked and covered in ice, benches destroyed, street lamps shattered. The sounds of explosions and cracking ice tore through the silence of the night.

I glanced at my wounded arm. The cut was deep, blood still oozing even though it was partially frozen.

’Fuck,’ I thought. I’ll have to call Charlotte to treat this when I get home.

But I didn’t have time to dwell on it longer. From within the swirling vortex of ice and lingering mist, massive ice chunks formed into six huge, tentacle-like arms. Each was as thick as a tree trunk, their ends sharpened like spears. They moved swiftly, stabbing towards me from various angles.

“Crap!” I growled.

Aside from [Time Stop] and [Mind Control], I truly had no reliable direct combat skills. [Lustful Touch] or [Eye of Desire] were obviously useless in a fight like this. Should I use [Time Stop] now?

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