LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 78
Chapter 78
The spirit of the white fox began to commune with Ipos.
Ipos, did you call me?
“Yes. We need to stop these people.”
Huh? Humans… Got it!
With a gentle swish of its tail, a blizzard swept across the entire field.
[Ipos uses White Fox: Blizzard.]
[It obstructs vision over a very wide area.]
[All abilities used by Ipos within the blizzard have a high chance of increasing frostbite stacks.]
Whoooosh…!
As the blizzard began, Ipos vanished. It became nearly impossible to distinguish between friend and foe within the storm.
“So… cold…”
“Lady Brosia! What should we do…?”
Brosia, concerned about the vanished Ipos, cast a spell while scanning her surroundings.
Fwoosh…!
[Brosia summons the Spirit of Calamity, Sinatra.]
[Sinatra has a chance to inflict minor curses with each attack.]
A spirit engulfed in suspicious flames appeared.
“Gather around Sinatra!”
The reason Brosia summoned the Spirit of Calamity, Sinatra, was simple.
Fwoosh…
Without consuming much mana, it was to counter the cold. The Spirit of Calamity, Sinatra, was always surrounded by flames, making the area around it unbearably hot.
Moreover, being separated with such limited visibility was extremely dangerous.
Brosia calmly assessed the situation.
“This demon… isn’t very strong! We can definitely defeat it!”
“Lady Brosia is right!”
“We’ll follow you!”
Despite their words, the situation was being analyzed quite coldly.
‘That warmth or whatever it is, seems to be the demon’s weakness… With two of them, there’s nothing to worry about.’
Touching the girl’s warmth resets all frostbite stacks. Those with high frostbite stacks just need to absorb the warmth, and currently, others have low or no frostbite stacks, except for the puppet hit by the snowball.
‘We’re in control!’
However, the attack compatibility wasn’t great.
If Ipos hopped around, the curses would quickly dissipate, and many of Brosia’s high-level curses required direct eye contact to activate.
‘We need to land a decisive blow somehow…’
The main concern was Ipos’s snowball fight. It not only forcibly accumulated frostbite but also empowered Ipos. Extreme caution was necessary.
“Where could it be hiding?”
“Is there no way to dispel the blizzard?”
Brosia wanted to silence the chattering witches. If there were an easy solution, it would have been resolved already.
“Should we have waited for the White Witches…?”
“What are you saying! Focus on the battle!”
“S-sorry.”
Brosia now realized that the White Witch Brigade was much more suited for this battle than they were. Unlike the Purple Witch Brigade, the White Witches were masters of magic itself.
‘There’s no choice… We have to use a puppet as bait.’
She decided to send a puppet with high frostbite stacks beyond the blizzard.
She thought of a useful ability to pinpoint the location.
“Prepare the spatial curse.”
“…Yes!”
Whoooosh…
The puppet advanced through the blizzard.
[Wyberg uses Cat’s Sense.]
[It has a high chance of countering ambushes and detecting hidden enemies nearby.]
Sss…
Flash-!
The puppet reacted.
Slash-!
A slicing motion.
[Ipos uses White Fox: Mirage.]
[While the blizzard is active, Ipos can leave illusions of itself. The illusions inflict vulnerability and 3 frostbite stacks when attacked.]
[Vulnerability increases the damage the target takes by 50%.]
Boom-!
The mirage exploded, freezing the surroundings. The puppet, reaching the maximum frostbite stacks due to the blizzard’s special effect, froze solid.
Crack-
‘Damn!’
Brosia, not expecting the puppet to freeze instantly, launched an attack.
“Now!”
“Yes!”
“We’re ready!”
Spatial curse.
A special curse of the Purple Witch Brigade, it targets the space itself rather than a specific entity.
Since the curse affects the space, it bypasses magical resistance. The lead curse caster casts the curse, supported by other Purple Witches.
[Brosia uses Spatial Curse: Acid Burst.]
[It causes an acidic explosion in the designated area, dissolving organic matter.]
Ipos, realizing the attack was serious, used the Snow Rabbit’s ability to fluff its fur but quickly moved its body.
Flash-!
[Ipos uses Snow Rabbit: Hop.]
[Hop is a highly effective evasion skill, allowing long-distance leaps.]
[It creates an ice patch at the landing spot and cleanses one harmful effect.]
However, the brief hesitation was fatal, as the spatial curse took one of her arms.
Sizzle…
The melting started from the wrist, spreading above the elbow before stopping due to the cleansing effect of Hop.
Thud…
Ipos’s arm fell off.
“Ouch… it hurts…”
You should have been careful!
“White Fox, help me…”
Got it!
[Ipos uses White Fox: Snowman Creation.]
[Summons snowmen based on the number of times enemies have been frozen during the battle.]
[Can be used each time a new enemy is frozen.]
[Snowmen continuously stack frostbite within a certain range and explode upon destruction, inflicting 2 frostbite stacks on a wide area.]
[Snowmen naturally melt and disappear over time.]
Crack-!
The aura of the snowmen spread like snowflakes. Fortunately for Brosia’s group, no one was within the snowmen’s range.
However… this didn’t mean the situation was favorable. The White Fox had just used three abilities.
[Echo of the Frozen Soul: White Fox activates.]
[Recovers mana and health.]
[Regenerates the body.]
Crunch…
A new ice-made hand for Ipos.
Crack…
Thud-
The ice shattered, revealing a newly regenerated hand.
“Unbelievable…”
The split-second decisions during the battle were snowballing.
If the puppet had used the girl’s warmth, it wouldn’t have frozen, and Ipos’s body wouldn’t have regenerated. Or if it hadn’t been hit by the snowball in the first place…
‘More importantly… the bigger problem is…’
The last ability Ipos used was Snowman Creation. While it wasn’t an immediate issue, the longer the battle dragged on, the more territory the snowmen would occupy.
Eventually, avoiding the snowmen could mean losing all footing.
‘No… but we’ve understood its abilities, and we have enough of the girl’s warmth!’
“Martin! Push Wyberg over here!”
“Yes!”
The puppet Martin pushed the frozen Wyberg with both hands. Wyberg slid over to the girl’s warmth.
[Wyberg contacts the girl’s warmth.]
[All of Wyberg’s frostbite stacks disappear.]
“Huff… huff…”
Wyberg, freed from the ice, breathed heavily.
“That demon is…”
“Over there, Lady Brosia!”
Thud-thud-thud-!
Three cursed arrows flew in succession, but Ipos vanished into the blizzard.
“Snow Leopard, come out.”
Growl…
It’s been a while since you woke me, Ipos.
“Yes!”
Ipos grew the ears and tail of a snow leopard.
Grrrr…
Ipos’s pupils transformed into those of a snow leopard.
[Ipos uses Snow Leopard: Footprints in the Snow.]
[Ipos goes into stealth.]
[While in stealth, Ipos can ambush, but only if there are ten footprints left.]
With limited visibility, Ipos vanished completely.
“Don’t be afraid! That demon can’t harm us. You’ve all seen it!”
“Yes, Lady Brosia is right!”
Ipos had never directly attacked them, only throwing snowballs.
If the only frozen spirits on the battlefield were the Snow Rabbit and the White Fox, Brosia’s judgment would have been correct.
Crunch…
‘Footsteps!’
The sound of footsteps on snow echoed around them.
“Protect me!”
“Yes!”
Two puppets surrounded Brosia. But Ipos’s ambush came from elsewhere.
Rustle…
Footprints trailed behind one of the Purple Witches, and Ipos appeared.
Slash-!
Ipos’s hand transformed into a thick snow leopard’s paw, and the Purple Witch’s neck was caught in its grip.
“Ah…!”
Crack-!
Her neck snapped, leaving no chance of survival.
“L-Lady Brosia…”
“Stay close! Attack together when it shows itself!”
[Ipos uses Snow Leopard: Chilling Gaze.]
[Ipos shoots a gaze in a narrow range, continuously stacking frostbite.]
[Can be used while in stealth, and the longer the exposure, the faster the frostbite stacks.]
[The gaze’s range is visible to enemies.]
Sss…
A spotlight-like gaze surrounded Brosia’s group.
“Get out of the way!”
“Yes!”
Rustle…
As they moved, another ambush occurred.
Flash-!
[Ipos uses Snow Leopard: Prey Hunt.]
[Attacks a single target three times, increasing Frozen Soul Echo stacks even if the target evades.]
Roar-!
Clang-!
The puppet deflected the snow leopard’s claws.
‘It reacted!’
A miraculous moment for the witches.
“Counterattack!”
[Brosia uses Flame Mark Curse.]
[Leaves a flame mark on the target, adding burn damage with each attack.]
[Redick uses Repelling Wave.]
[Shoots a strong wave to push the target away.]
The witches successfully pushed Ipos back and cursed it. If they could follow up with another spell, the tide would turn in their favor.
[Frozen Soul Echo: Snow Leopard activates.]
[Enhances the next Snow Leopard ability.]
Crack-!
Ipos spun to absorb the impact, then charged at the witches again.
[Ipos uses Snow Leopard: Enhanced Prey Hunt.]
[Shoots three waves of frost in a radial pattern, stacking frostbite and creating ice patches.]
Brosia immediately understood the danger.
“Absorb the warmth! You’ll freeze!”
“Yes? Yes!”
The witches touched the girl’s warmth.
Swoosh-!
Swoosh-!
Swoosh-!
Three waves of intense cold swept over, freezing all the puppets.
Crack…
[Brosia contacts the girl’s warmth.]
[All of Redick’s frostbite stacks disappear.]
Though they absorbed the warmth before freezing, they were still exposed to the frostbite stacks from the waves.
‘More importantly, the ice…!’
The ground they stood on turned into slippery ice.
Which meant…
[Ipos uses Snow Rabbit: Snowball Fight.]
[Throws a snowball, dealing 20% of attack power as cold damage and stacking frostbite.]
[Can be used again immediately if the snowball hits.]
“No!”
“Lady Brosia!”
Thud-thud-thud-!
Crack…
The Purple Witch Redick was hit by a snowball and froze.
[Frozen Soul Echo: Snow Rabbit activates.]
[Increases Ipos’s speed by 10% for 10 minutes, stacking.]
[Reduces the communion needed to summon all frozen souls.]
Three ice blocks stood on the battlefield.
And Brosia hurriedly escaped the ice.
“Bear Uncle, wake up.”
Roar-!
A deafening roar.
Ipos! What’s going on? Humans?
“It happened…”
Grr! We’ll talk later! First, I’m hungry.
[Ipos uses White Bear: Ice Treat.]
[Deals explosive damage to frozen targets, executing them if their current health is lower than Ipos’s max health.]
Crunch…
Crunch!
Crack!
Ipos shattered the three ice blocks in an instant.
“Unbelievable… This is… a demon…”
There’s still one alive.
[Ipos uses White Bear: Avalanche.]
[Deals cold damage and stacks frostbite based on the number of Ice Treat executions over a wide area.]
Ipos slammed the ground multiple times with both arms.
Boom-!
Boom-!
Boom!
Crack…
Brosia froze. She could still see, hear, and think while frozen.
But that only made it more terrifying.
‘There’s one warmth left…’
Ipos summoned the bear’s spirit, and the girl’s warmth appeared on the battlefield.
[Frozen Soul Echo: White Bear activates.]
[Destroys one of the girl’s warmths.]
Crack…
Show no mercy to the enemy.
Crack…
Brosia’s ice block shattered.
“But… I promised.”
Grr…
The bear’s spirit scratched its head.
So, where is this place?
Ipos smiled shyly among the shattered ice blocks.
“It’s… a new home.”
A new home…
[Boss battle ends.]
[Dungeon defense mission ends.]
[Mission result: Brosia and four others (deceased)]
[Receive the invaders’ belongings as a reward for the dungeon defense mission.]
…….