I leapt quickly, just in time—the ground where I had been standing froze solid.
Blanche shouted in fury.
“Stop dodging!”
Should I just let myself get hit, then?
I quickly aimed my revolver, but hitting the target wasn’t easy. Blanche’s speed was already beyond what my eyes could follow.
“Damn it…”
[You have activated the trait “Wrath.”]
My heart pounded intensely. I experienced an emotion that seemed to consume me from within. Wrath clashed against hatred.
“Kh-h!”
Blanche’s movements became slower. She needed to aim carefully.
In that brief moment, I pulled the trigger.
Bang!
“Urgh!?”
The bullet pierced Blanche’s leg. Her expression reflected more shock than pain. If she had used her superhuman reflexes, she could have dodged it, but surely she never expected that I could hurt her.
I pulled the trigger again. This time, I didn’t even bother to aim.
The dry sound of gunfire echoed in quick succession.
“Guh!?”
Blood sprayed from her body where the bullets struck.
“You sly…!”
Though I couldn’t see clearly, I was certain she was injured, but I also realized something.
This gun wasn’t designed for precision.
I gathered mana from the surroundings and infused it into the bullets. The mana coursing through my body had a clear intent. Following my will, the bullets aimed for her, allowing me to land effective hits.
But none were fatal.
“Did you think I’d let this continue!?”
An injured Blanche roared. Responding to her fury, the fangs of frost rushed toward me.
I chose not to avoid them.
[You have activated the trait “Wrath.”]
The wrath grew fiercely within me.
Each time, the effect of using the “Patience” trait faded.
My heart pounded as if I’d slammed the accelerator. If I suddenly hit the brakes in this state, my heart would surely burst.
That was how perilous this was.
But there was no other way.
I kept pressing the accelerator.
Only then could I face Blanche.
“…Come.”
“Tristaaaaaaan!”
All-consuming rage clashed with soul-freezing hatred.
The roar filled the space, as if a giant firework had exploded nearby. The shockwave hit us, sending both me and Blanche flying through the air.
“…!”
Before I could even land, Blanche was already closing the distance. She pushed off the air and changed direction in mid-flight.
What kind of movement was that?
Her skills were worthy of being called the best in the world.
[You have activated the trait “Pride.”]
Blanche growled.
“Are you… mocking me in this situation?”
Huh?
Even in the face of death, pride distorted reality, transforming danger into a sickening pleasure, like the effect of a drug.
“If that smirk is your last, so be it…!”
The frigid beast roared.
The surrounding air froze.
The moment my feet touched the ground, I twisted my body sharply.
Screeech!
A horrifying sound of friction accompanied the ground being torn apart.
Her claws grazed my right arm, causing excruciating pain.
But even though I had been wounded, there was no trace of blood, as the injury froze the moment it was inflicted.
“So this is why you’re called the Beast of Cold,” I muttered.
Blanche, the blue tigress exhaling freezing breath, stood before me. She was the result of a secret experiment carried out by the Ruelberta family—an experiment where they tried to implant the power of an icy beast into a human.
Blanche was the sole survivor and success of that experiment.
The power of a frost spirit beast coursed through her veins.
For a normal person, facing her aura would have felt like ice coursing through their veins.
But Blanche had endured the magic that froze everything it touched.
