Chapter 29: Echoes of the Eternal Freeze
A While Later
After reaching the Corridor of the Fading Echoes, which was a real pain in the ass, we had to activate several mechanisms just to get the central one to turn at the right angle and open a pathway to the other side.
It was moments like those that made me really wish I had some kind of ability to simply fly across and skip all the pointless backtracking. It did nothing but waste our time and leave everyone irritated.
During the trip, I received a notification from the Gacha system. My Sharingan had been upgraded from Elite to Epic rank free of charge, unlocking the missing aspects, like the ability to hypnotize people.
Thanks to that, we breezed through most of the guards. I simply hypnotized anyone who stood in our way and kept moving forward.
That is, until our luck finally ran out and we ran into none other than Gepard. He refused to believe us, even with Serval speaking up on our behalf, forcing us into a confrontation.
I may or may not have been a little trigger-happy. I immediately jumped the guy, knocking him unconscious with a solid hit to the gut. I also may have taken a bit too much enjoyment in beating him up, for his stubbornness and a few other grievances I held against him.
My actions pulled the others into the fight as well. They quickly knocked out the remaining guards in a battle that barely lasted five minutes.
Serval gave me some strange looks at how fast I had taken down her brother. She even praised me, knowing how strong he was, and thanked me for going easy on him.
While he was unconscious, we tied him up securely along with the other guards, then woke him up to properly explain the situation.
He stayed stubborn until we brought up Bronya. Only then did he finally admit defeat and let us continue.
Since we hadn’t spent much energy on the fight, Serval was able to keep traveling with us, leaving Gepard behind to handle the incoming wave of Fragmentum monsters along with the other guards.
Our group of five pressed forward, soon finding ourselves in a maze filled with even more monsters. Thankfully, scattered echoes of Bronya and Cocolia appeared here and there, showing us the way.
Those echoes revealed Cocolia’s deteriorating mind for everyone to see, making it painfully clear just how far she had fallen under the Stellaron’s corruption.
Seele kept boasting about how she would save Bronya, beat Cocolia, and crush the Stellaron to dust, as if we weren’t even there. It was honestly a little annoying.
She didn’t seem to realize that without us here, she would’ve been dead in seconds. Compared to a Stellaron-empowered Cocolia, she was little more than a bug. Harsh as that sounded, it was the truth.
I kept those thoughts to myself obviously, mentally rolling my eyes as I continued forward.
After some time, we made it out of the first maze only to enter another one—surprise, surprise—with the number of monsters steadily increasing.
At the end of the second maze, we encountered an echo of Cocolia that we had to defeat. It was tougher than I expected, but with five of us working together, we managed to pull it off.
“…She disappeared,” March muttered, referring to the echo of Cocolia we had just defeated as she wiped some sweat off her forehead.
“Those stairs… it’s the only way forward,” Seele said, sounding a bit out of breath.
“Beyond those stairs are the Snow Plains. After everything we’ve seen so far, I have no doubt that’s where the Stellaron is located,” Serval said with a small frown on her face.
“Wherever they lead, it must be the end of our journey,” Dan Heng said calmly, also looking a bit winded.
“I don’t wanna get to the end so soon… I want my journey to go on forever,” March whined with a pout, hands on her hips as she realized that once this was over, so would our journey here in this world.
“This means that Bronya is up ahead… and so is the fate of the Overworld and the Underworld… It’s all in our hands,” Seele said seriously with crossed arms before continuing.
“Strange. I thought I’d feel nervous or afraid… but I don’t. The only feeling I have… is that none of this seems real,” Seele finished.
Standing straight, I was silently thanking my lucky stars that I had acquired the Battle Continuation trait yesterday. Without it, I had no doubt I would be coughing up a lung right now, on my hands and knees because of my disease.
After fighting through hundreds of monsters, my body ached with exhaustion even if my energy was still mostly full thanks to Energy Heart and True Hero.
I had never pushed my body this far before, not even when we fought the Doomsday Beast on Herta’s Space Station, and I was definitely feeling it, even if it didn’t show on my face. I was trying to put up a brave front for everyone so they wouldn’t worry about me, and so far it seemed to be working.
“Is this how Trailblazing expeditions usually come to an end?” I asked, turning to March and Dan Heng and joining the conversation so I could keep up the act.
“Not always. Sometimes it’s a happier conclusion,” March said with a shake of her head.
“The Express has traveled world after world. We are merely passing travelers, witnesses to a part of a grander story. We invariably avoid getting drawn into turbulence that can decide the fate of the world… but there are always times when we have no choice but to act,” Dan Heng explained with a calm expression.
“Or to put it another way, Caelus… this is one heck of a first Trailblazing expedition! You hit the jackpot!” March declared as she slapped my back in a friendly manner, not realizing she had knocked the breath out of my lungs for a moment with that small gesture.
I could only smile, disguising the pain I felt, once more thanking Battle Continuation for my perfect poker face.
“Hahahaha, I gotta admit. Being a Trailblazer sounds amazing even despite the current circumstances. You get to travel planet to planet, always experiencing new things and learning something new all the time,” Serval said with a happy laugh before turning to me specifically.
“Say, once all this mess with the Stellaron is dealt with, you wouldn’t have room for one more, would you?” Serval asked with a bright smile.
Blinking at her question for a moment, I then grinned in happiness once it registered and immediately answered her totally on board with the idea.
“You definitely got my vote, Serval!” I declared happily, giving her a thumbs up.
March was quick to follow as she sidled up to me and looked at Serval with a huge grin as well. “Yeah, mine too! It would be awesome to have you aboard, Serval!”
As one, we turned to Dan Heng, the only one who hadn’t answered yet pinning him with a stare, and he sighed but nodded calmly. “I don’t see a problem with it.”
“Sweet~ That’s three positive votes,” Serval announced with a small fist pump and shining eyes.
“I was about to bore you all with my gloomy reflections… but on second thought, not today. Adventuring with you guys by my side has made me feel like no obstacle is too big,” Seele said with a small smile on her face.
“Right on! But you can say whatever you like. A good adventurer shouldn’t be full of rules and regulations! Helping those in need, befriending those worth counting on, and saving the world a few times along the way…” March said before turning to me with an encouraging look.
Smiling, I finished where she left off. “This is the spirit of Trailblazing!” I declared with a happy nod.
With our spirits high, we continued forward, ascending the steps and finally leaving the maze behind as we reached the Snow Plains.
As soon as we did, a biting cold hit us, one much harsher than before that somehow felt alive.
“It’s f-freezing here. The blizzard’s so fierce! The power of the Trailblaze Path isn’t enough to stop the cold…” March muttered with chattering teeth as we climbed a small cliff.
“It means that we’re getting closer to the Stellaron… and the heart of the Eternal Freeze,” Dan Heng said with a serious look that made Serval and Seele, who were also shivering, narrow their eyes in determination.
When we reached the top, we saw a set of manmade stairs leading upward, with dead frozen monsters scattered here and there. At the very top was what could only be a giant robotic hand, at least to my Sharingan-enhanced eyes.
“Did the Architects build this…?” Seele asked in surprise as we looked up at it, realizing just how truly gigantic it was.
“If I’m not mistaken, this could be the Engine of Creation. A machine created by the Architects in an attempt to house the Stellaron,” Serval informed us with a curious and fascinated look.
“Does it… look like the palm of a huge hand to you?” March asked in a nervous tone.
“Yep, it does appear that way,” I said with a nod, internally geeking out a little. What boy wouldn’t? This was the dream of a lot of kids, seeing a giant robot in real life one day, and I had just accomplished that old dream.
“…This is so cool~” I whispered, unable to keep my excitement reined in as a grin grew on my lips.
‘I should definitely take some pictures when this is all over and show Firefly later. I bet she’ll love this~’ I thought with a growing smile.
“I agree. I can’t even imagine how they built this thing,” Serval, who was next to me, heard me and surprisingly agreed with a similar look on her face.
Unfortunately, Serval and I couldn’t fully stop to take in the scene due to the current circumstances, so we continued forward.
Before long, March raised another question.
“If Cocolia threatens us by taking Bronya hostage…” March said with a complicated look on her face.
“We have to save her. The Underworld… no, the entire planet relies on her,” Seele declared with a shake of her head.
“Don’t worry, we will save her,” I declared with a serious expression as I summoned my trusty bat to my hand, feeling the Stellaron just up ahead as it resonated with the one inside me.
With renewed determination, we pushed ahead. It was literally do or die time.
=====
Reaching the top of the mountain, we came upon the scene of Cocolia and Bronya standing before a giant structure. Something was shining brightly inside, contained by some kind of artifact.
Just with a mere glance, I could tell without a doubt that it was the Stellaron.
Bronya and Cocolia seemed to be speaking, and we caught the end of their conversation as the wind carried it to us.
“…N-No…” Bronya muttered as she held her head with closed eyes, appearing to be struggling with something and in pain.
“Do not resist, Bronya… Accept the common will!” Cocolia said with a zealous, almost crazed look on her face. While still pretty, it sent a chill down my spine.
“No… I… I don’t want this…” Bronya said with a shake of her head, clearly resisting whatever was happening to her.
“Look upon their promised future, Bronya! A world without poverty, without cold, without suffering… A world where people no longer have to pray like prisoners for survival… A world that we can guard for all eternity,” Cocolia continued with her zealous rant, ignoring Bronya’s pained moans.
“Seven hundred years ago, we tried and fought unceasingly, believing that the radiance of human nature could shepherd us towards rejuvenation. And to what end? A crushing defeat!”
On and on she went.
Having heard enough of her zealous rant and now within range, I raised my finger while slotting in Finger Gun.
“Bang.”
Right after I said that, Cocolia’s rant was cut off mid-sentence as she let out an undignified yelp and was sent flying to the side from the force of the telekinetic attack.
“I think that’s enough out of you, lady!” I declared as I finally reached them. I immediately headed to Bronya and placed my hand on her shoulder while slotting in another ability.
“Purification,” I intoned seriously, pouring a lot of energy into the ability as it got to work, cleansing its target of any negative effects or foreign substances with a purifying light.
Bronya’s body started glowing a beautiful golden color for a moment before I pulled my hand away. Her eyes cleared of pain as she blinked up at me.
“Are you alright?” I asked, relieved that I had managed to break her out of the obvious attempt the Stellaron had made at controlling her mind.
“…C-Caelus?” Bronya muttered softly as she shook her head, her eyes regaining their focus.
Before I could answer, the others beat me to it, having just caught up since I had run ahead when I saw the situation.
“Bronya!” came the worried yells of Seele, March, and Serval as they surrounded us and started inspecting her.
“Thank goodness you’re alright!” Seele said, slumping her shoulders in relief once she made sure Bronya wasn’t hurt.
“Hate to interrupt, but the scary lady is up again,” I said, eyeing Cocolia warily. My Sharingan tracked all of her movements as she slowly got up and looked at us with a frown.
Dan Heng joined me with his spear at the ready as we stood in front of the girls, giving them some time to pull themselves together.
“…You came. I thought the blizzards had entombed you…” Cocolia declared coldly before her gaze shifted to Serval, who was glaring back at her with obvious hostility. “You’re here too, Serval.”
“Cocolia…” Serval said her name with a lot of venom as she walked up beside us and got her guitar-weapon ready. “To think you would fall so low as to try brainwashing your own daughter.” She scoffed derisively.
“You have no business interfering in how I treat my own daughter. I’m doing this for her own good,” Cocolia said calmly, though her voice still carried that zealous craziness. She truly believed what she was saying.
Seele then stepped up and started spouting some cringeworthy lines about promises and protecting Bronya. I’m going to be honest, I completely ignored them in favor of going over my skills and choosing the best ones for the upcoming fight.
Now I just had to wait a few minutes for the cooldown between switching abilities to run out.
For this battle, I had chosen Sharingan, Meteor Strike, and for the third slot, Soul Arrow.
My focus returned to the present as I heard Cocolia speak again. She was kind enough to let Seele finish her little speech.
“…Finished? I think I’ve given you long enough to… bid farewell,” Cocolia said with a small smirk.
Cocolia then launched into her own speech, all but forcing Bronya to decide whether to go against her or stand with her. Bronya, of course, took her turn with a grand speech of her own, ultimately rejecting the offer and standing with us.
At this point I wanted to step up and give my own epic speech since everyone else was doing it, but I didn’t think it would go over well with the serious atmosphere.
Thankfully the grand chuuni speeches were finally over. The ground started shaking, and adrenaline pumped through my veins as I raised my trusty bat against Bronya’s hot milf of a mother.
Despite my protesting body, I was ready for this mess to end so I could finally rest properly and hopefully meet Firefly one more time if she was still on the planet.
“It’s clobbering time!” I declared with a huge grin, unable to help myself in the end as I said the first line that popped into my head.