Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode-Chapter 176

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, a shockwave rippled outward. I immediately shielded the Princess, protecting her from the blast.

The frozen snow scattered into countless shards, colliding with the ground and pelting against my protective gear with sharp clattering sounds.

Oko, who stood at a relatively safe distance, stared at the scene in a daze.

The ice shards, flung into the air, lingered briefly like a cloud of rising smoke.

"T-Tanthan…."

"Ah."

If it had been any ordinary debris, I might have laughed bitterly and told her to hurry up and crawl out.

But the ice in this place was under the Second Princess’s influence.

It wasn’t just ordinary material.

And a chunk of that ice had fallen directly onto Aphta’s head.

Aphta, who took the hit head-on…

I clenched my teeth.

A draining sensation, as if every ounce of strength was leaving my body, hit me all at once.

It was my fault for not paying closer attention—

A wave of anguish surged within me, and with it, a desperate scream:

"Aphta!!!"

"Yes?"

A voice.

Startled, I whipped my head toward the sound—

And there, peeking out from beneath the ice, was Aphta, brushing the frozen chunks aside as if pulling off a blanket.

I collapsed on the spot, legs giving out beneath me.

Her face, absurdly calm for someone who had just been crushed under a massive block of ice, was utterly dissonant with the scene.

Tilting her head, Aphta looked at me with innocent confusion, as if wondering why I had reacted so dramatically.

"Aphta, are you okay?"

Only then did I realize why Oko hadn’t looked the least bit worried.

Seeing Aphta nod to Oko’s question, I let out a long, exasperated sigh.

"Are you really okay?"

"Yes. As long as I define, ‘This ice cannot affect me,’ it won’t."

Oh.

Right.

These two—

The divine beings standing before me—

Were insane reality-bending gods.

So why had I been trembling in panic?

The sudden wave of relief morphed into sheer frustration.

"You damn deity! If you were fine, why didn’t you just crawl out immediately?!"

"The weight felt… oddly comforting under there, so I just… stayed."

"Then please enjoy that sensation when you’re alone! Not during a crisis! You had me worried sick!"

I practically exploded at her, my voice cracking from the tension and lingering adrenaline.

Aphta lowered her gaze slightly, her expression softening.

Ah—

Maybe I went too far.

The way her shoulders drooped ever so slightly pricked at my conscience.

…She had thrown herself in harm’s way to save me. And here I was, yelling at her.

I took a deep breath, about to apologize—

But Aphta spoke first.

Her face, faintly flushed for some reason.

“…Then… maybe next time…”

Her voice was soft, almost unsure—

“…Raydan could be the one to… replace that weight for me?”

…?

For a moment, my brain refused to process the words.

Did she mean—

No, she couldn’t mean that.

But judging from Oko’s sudden, wide-eyed realization and the immediate, volcanic red flush overtaking her face—

And from the Princess, who gasped and abruptly lowered her head, her face burning—

Clearly—

They got it.

"A. Ph. Ta!!!!" Oko roared, her face practically steaming with indignation.

The Princess, covering her crimson cheeks, muttered a choked, "A-ah…." and ducked her head even further.

Meanwhile, I—

Was left utterly clueless.

Why were they the only ones who understood?!

Somebody explain it to me!!!

But—

I never got an answer.

#

In the end—

Aphta decided to stay behind, buried under the ice.

Apparently, from here on out, she couldn’t contribute further and would only get in the way.

To be fair, it made sense.

The statue, which seemed modeled after the Second Princess, was tall but narrow.

Too many people would only cause congestion, limiting movement—

And for someone like me, whose combat style relied on speed and agility, a cramped battlefield was a disadvantage.

“We are definitely talking after this.”

“Huh…?”

“Don’t play dumb!”

“But Oko says worse things when we’re alone….”

“Aaaagh! Not now! Shut up, Aphta!”

Even from afar, I couldn’t hear the details, but Oko’s flustered, exasperated shouts told me enough.

Once again, I thought—

In battles of wit, Aphta clearly outclassed Oko.

Somehow, Oko managed to conclude their “conversation” and stormed back toward us, her face still flushed with frustration.

“Enough! Let’s just go!”

“Y-yeah. Sure.”

Seeing her barely-contained temper, I just nodded and followed silently.

The Princess, on the other hand—

Her face was still flushed, and she kept shaking her head as though trying to shake off a thought.

If there was ever a divine power that let me read minds—

I’d gladly take it.

We moved swiftly, circling the statue’s perimeter.

Oko seemed focused, her sharp eyes scanning for an entry point.

But from what I could see, there were no openings—

No cracks, no seams—

Nothing.

Yet Oko kept searching, her instincts driving her.

And then—

“Mm. Here.”

She murmured softly, stopping before a spot near—

The statue’s left foot.

To me, it looked identical to every other inch of the statue we’d passed.

“Oko.”

“Hm?”

"It looks blocked to me too."

"Hmm, I suppose it does. She’s set this up pretty cleverly."

With that, Oko suddenly grabbed my hand—and the Princess’s—and bolted straight for the wall.

"W-wait, Oko?!"

"Don’t worry. Just trust me."

Trusting you is one thing, but—

The wall!

It was rushing at us, mere inches away, and my face contorted into an absurd grimace, bracing for impact.

We were going to crash!

…

…

…

Huh?

The impact never came.

Oko had let go of my hand, and—no pain. No collision.

I cracked my eyes open cautiously and froze, utterly bewildered.

The ice around us sparkled like diamonds, refracting the faint light from outside into a soft, shimmering glow.

The entire passage glittered with an otherworldly brilliance.

In a daze, I turned to Oko, but she was already deep in conversation with the Princess, seemingly ignoring me.

"Once we’re up there, be careful of Gaia. If she tries anything, get to me immediately."

"Y-yes."

She was giving the Princess instructions for when we reached the top.

But if she had time for that, couldn’t she at least tell me that everything was fine?!

Feeling thoroughly slighted, I shot Oko a glare filled with indignation.

Noticing my expression, she tilted her head quizzically.

"What?"

"…Why did you leave me hanging like that? It was embarrassing."

"You looked cute. So, can you move now?"

Ugh.

Only Oko could throw out comments like that so casually—unless it was about her own appearance.

I sighed deeply.

"…Yeah. Let’s move."

We began our ascent.

#

We walked in silence.

There was nothing to say.

Only the rhythmic steps on the icy staircase, each echoing loudly in the hollow space.

We were bracing for the final confrontation, each footstep tightening the knot of tension in my chest.

Click. Clack.

The sound of our steps against the polished ice felt deafening in the stillness.

The silence itself weighed heavy, as if announcing that we approached the end of everything.

The diamond-like reflections from the ice illuminated our faces—

And faintly, we could hear the whispering howl of the snowstorm beyond.

Step by step, we felt the tension coil around us.

And then—

We reached it.

A door.

Formed entirely of ice.

Though sealed, untouched, and unopened for who knew how long—

Its sheer presence exuded an aura of elegance and finality.

"I’m opening it."

Oko and the Princess nodded in unison.

I inhaled deeply—

My heart, thundering against my ribs, seemed to scream at me—

Don’t.

But I had to.

For humanity’s future.

To clear the divine beings of false accusations.

Screeeeeech—

The ice door groaned, splitting the silence with a haunting shriek as it yielded to my push.

The instant it opened, we didn’t hesitate—

We charged into the room.

And then—

We stopped.

Because they were there.

A figure sat upon a throne, eyes void of emotion—

Looking down at us with chilling detachment.

And beside her, watching us calmly—

Gaia.

"Hoo… You made it. I was getting bored of waiting."

"‘Getting bored’?"

"I told you—I’m not your enemy."

As she spoke, Gaia’s form began to rise, floating effortlessly into the air.

"I’ve done enough to atone, I think. So, I’ll be on my way—"

Crash!

Gaia’s body slammed into the wall, ensnared—

By ice.

"W-what?! Hey! What’s the meaning of this?!"

Her shock morphed into panic as she twisted, trying to free herself—

Then her face drained of color.

"N-no… Wait. You— What did you— Are you insane?!"

Her voice cracked, and raw fear bled into her words.

"You’re… stealing from me?!"

"Quiet."

A voice.

Cold.

Sharp as frostbite, and spoken by—

The Second Princess.

"If you stood in my way so many times, you should’ve been ready for this."

"Ghh—! No! Stop! You can’t—"

I didn’t understand what was happening—

But I knew it was wrong.

Gaia’s eyes, once filled with defiance, now brimmed with desperation and terror—

A divine being—afraid.

I acted on instinct.

Grabbing a shard of ice from the floor, I hurled it with everything I had—

CRASH!

The Second Princess effortlessly dodged—

But my strike disrupted whatever she was doing—

Gaia, gasping and heaving, her body wracked with pain—

But—alive.

What was that…?

How could she—

The Second Princess wasn’t even a vessel. She wasn’t a divine host—

And yet—

I suddenly understood.

Why the Torturer collected agony—

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Why he sought to reach the Four Exalted—

Because she—

The Second Princess—

Did it first.

She had stolen everything.

Not just warmth—

Not just power—

But love.

And now—

She stood beyond even the reach of the Four Exalted.

"You…"

Her eyes, colder than death, locked onto me.

"You’re in my way."

The final battle—

Begins now.