“Huh? What was that? Right, right! They’ve always been very close!”
Rosal answered frantically, her face flushing. Just as her mind began to run wild with fantasies about the nature of their relationship, she suddenly felt a chill seep into the room.
When she turned around, she found that Blake, who had been sitting on the sofa, and the guards beside him were already covered in frost, frozen in place by a thin layer of ice.
At that moment, Midir pushed open the bedroom door and stepped out calmly, followed closely by a stern-looking Aila.
“Eh? Mr. Midir, what are you doing? Why did you freeze them? And Sister Aila, you... weren't you two...?”
Rosal looked at them in confusion, then glanced back at the ice sculpture that was once Blake.
“What are you thinking? You didn't really believe... that something was going on between us, did you? It was all an act!”
Seeing Rosal’s expression look like her brain was about to overload, Aila stepped forward and gave the girl’s head a light, playful knock.
“It was just an act? I... I thought it was real...” Rosal muttered, rubbing the spot where she had been tapped.
“This guy is suspicious, so we’ve neutralized him. You were so sharp when you notified us earlier; why do you seem like a different person now?”
Midir shook his head with a smile and walked to the center of the living room, looking down at the frozen Blake, who was still in a seated position.
“Hmm... I can’t see anything wrong with the naked eye. Aila, do you want to question him? I’ll try thawing him out just a little bit,” Midir said, straightening up after circling the ice sculpture twice.
“Go ahead. But if this is a disguise, it’s incredibly realistic,” Aila agreed, nodding as she walked over.
Midir lightly brushed his hand over the head of the ice sculpture. Soon, the frost on Blake's face began to dissipate. As he regained consciousness, his expression immediately shifted to one of shock.
“Miss Aila, Mr. Midir, what is the meaning of this! Why have you frozen me? Please, let me go!” Blake shouted urgently, struggling fruitlessly against the ice as he looked at their grim faces.
“Oh? You have a problem with this? Why don’t you start by explaining yourself first?” Aila said with a light chuckle, her eyes fixed on Blake’s.
“Miss Aila, what do you mean? What am I supposed to explain? I have no idea what you're talking about!” Blake protested incessantly, his face a mask of bewilderment.
“Alright, drop the act. You aren't Blake. Who are you exactly? Or rather, what are you? If you don't speak up, don't blame me for getting rough!”
Aila drew a short blade from beneath her nightgown, pressing the sharp tip against Blake’s forehead.
“Wait! Stop, Miss Aila! Mr. Midir, stop her!”
Seeing the blade pointed directly at the center of his brow, Blake looked at Midir and cried out for help, but Midir remained completely unresponsive to his pleas.
“Since you refuse to talk, then goodbye!” Aila’s expression turned cold. Ignoring Rosal’s gasp of horror, she thrust the short blade forward with a sudden, violent motion.
The sharp blade pierced straight through his skull. However, the spray of blood everyone expected did not occur. Not a single drop of blood spilled from the wound. Instead, a twisted, eerie smile spread across his face.
“Heh... hehehe... How did you find out?”
A mocking, distorted laugh erupted from Blake’s mouth, his voice turning shrill and piercing. When he opened his eyes again, his pupils had vanished, replaced by masses of pitch-black darkness, like two deep, terrifying black holes set into his face.
“Ah! What is that?!” Rosal cried out, stumbling back several steps in terror at the transformation.
“You didn't die even from that? So you really are something else. You want to know why? If you were the real Blake, how could you not have been suspicious of the relationship between us?”
Looking at the now hideous and monstrous “Blake,” Aila showed no fear. she pulled the short blade back out of his head and answered with a cold, level voice.
A light-permeated hole remained where the blade had been withdrawn. Something seemed to be churning within the wound. Under their watchful eyes, the fatal injury healed in moments, leaving not even a scar behind.
“Hahahaha! I truly didn't expect that you weren't actually in that kind of relationship! It seems I made a mistake! But do you think this is enough to contain me? How naive!”
Accompanied by a burst of shrill laughter, “Blake’s” body suddenly liquefied into a mass of black fluid. It squeezed out through the unfrozen head, leaving nothing but a hollow, human-shaped ice shell in front of Aila.
“Catch him, Midir!” Aila shouted quickly as the black liquid lunged toward the ceiling, bounced off, and bolted straight for Rosal.
“Got it!” Midir, whose attention hadn't wavered for a second, reached out. A wall of white ice instantly blocked the path of the black liquid. After shielding Rosal, the ice shaped itself into a massive hand and snatched at the fluid.
Failing its initial strike, the liquid immediately surged in the opposite direction, nimbly dodging the frost hand’s grasp. It landed by the room's entrance and reformed into Blake’s appearance once more.
“You certainly have some skill. It seems I underestimated you. But how will you deal with what comes next?”
The “Blake” at the door gave a grotesque grin. He pulled a red mechanism from his pocket and crushed it into fragments in his hand.
The moment the device broke, a cloud of red powder exploded throughout the room, staining everything in a brilliant, garish orange-red. Simultaneously, a deafening alarm blared from outside.
The lights throughout the entire fortress flickered to life, as if a sleeping giant had opened its eyes. Soon, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed from the surrounding hallways.
“Have fun playing with the guards! By the way, these guards are all genuine humans. You’d better be careful!”
With that, “Blake” leaped away, dodging the spreading frost. He smashed through the room's door and vanished outside.
“Cough, cough! Dammit! It’s Warning Powder! After him!”
Aila cursed as his figure disappeared from sight. Ignoring the red powder clinging to her, she and Midir charged out of the room.
“He went that way!” Once outside, Aila scanned the area and quickly locked onto the figure fleeing in the distance.
“I’ll chase him. You handle things here!” Midir estimated the distance between himself and the retreating “Blake.” He merged his body into space and pursued him alone.
“Hmm?” Midir materialized at his intended destination, closing the gap to within a few meters. Just as he reached out to seize “Blake,” a large contingent of guards swarmed into the area.
“Quick! Seize him! He’s a spy!” the fake Blake shouted at the top of his lungs. The surrounding guards immediately drew their weapons and leveled them at Midir.
“Attack! If he resists, kill him on sight!” After barking the order, the fake Blake gave a twisted smile and ducked behind the crowd.
“What a pain! Everyone, just go to sleep!” Midir frowned. He extended his hands, freezing the soldiers' weapons and armor in place. However, the soldiers continued to swarm like ants, climbing over their frozen comrades to keep up the assault.
Faced with these deceived soldiers, Midir couldn't bring himself to use lethal force. In frustration, he released a massive cloud of ice mist to force them back, then teleported away again. By the time he landed to search for “Blake” once more, the figure had already vanished from his sight.
Rate on N.U.
