SSS Frost Sovereign: Rewinding The Apocalypse!-Chapter 46: True limit!

Eric breathed steadily, eyes locked onto Wester.

Icard had been pushed back considerably. It was obvious now. Wester was far stronger than expected.

Albert had noticed it too. That’s why he ordered Eric to move over and assist Icard, warning him that Wester was too dangerous.

Eric had left the others to deal with the spawns and rushed over, but he had not expected the situation to be this bad.

"Are you going to be okay?" Eric asked, his gaze never leaving Wester.

"Yeah," Icard replied.

Cold mist rolled off his body with his skin hoarfrosted and the air around him dropping in temperature.

’He’s really strong,’ Icard thought. ’I expected him to be dangerous, but not this strong already. Just how much mana essence has he stolen?’

Then another thought followed, heavier.

’How many people did he really kill?’

Eric lowered his stance, muscles tightening as he prepared himself.

"You’re one of his friends, aren’t you?" Wester said casually. "Quite the combination. One uses frost and the other uses fire."

Wester smirked at that.

"Not that it matters anyway."

Eric slowed his breathing, forcing control. He had already burned through a large amount of mana earlier in the fight. Right now, he was clearly at a disadvantage.

But he had no choice.

Having the chance, Eric attacked first.

His fists ignited as he stepped in, throwing a sharp right hook.

Wester blocked it cleanly.

But before Wester could reposition, Eric followed with a left hook, flames trailing the motion.

"Boxing?" Wester muttered, raising his guard. He smirked and drove a kick into Eric’s torso immediately.

Eric was sent skidding back a distance.

"Ghh," he grunted as the impact rattled his ribs.

"Your blows are sloppy. No power!" Wester laughed. "I trained in military close-combat. Your movements are worse than a child’s!"

Next, Wester lunged in for a jab.

However, Eric swerved just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike.

And just then, his fist snapped upward.

The blow caught Wester under the jaw and detonated on impact, flames bursting outward as Eric’s knuckles connected.

Wester was lifted slightly off his feet before stumbling backward, boots scraping hard against the broken pavement. His head snapped to the side, dark energy rippling violently across his body.

"Reya definitely had better training than you!" Eric shouted.

He surged forward, momentum carrying him as he drove another flaming jab straight into Wester’s face. The impact exploded again, forcing Wester back several steps.

Eric pressed the attack, refusing to let up. He landed multiple strikes in quick succession, each one forcing Wester to block late or absorb the blow.

’He’s slower,’ Eric realized. ’Is he already getting tired?’

Seeing this, he knew he had a chance.

’I have to finish this now if I can!’

Eric then surged in for another heavy strike, when suddenly, Wester swept his leg low.

Eric’s footing collapsed instantly. His balance shattered, his body twisting awkwardly as his momentum betrayed him.

Before he could recover, Wester was already there.

As if Eric’s earlier hits meant nothing, Wester drove a punch straight into his torso. Eric barely managed to raise his guard, but the impact was overwhelming.

The force lifted him off the ground entirely.

"That was something!" Wester said, exhilaration bleeding into his voice.

Dark energy surged violently around him.

Before Eric could stabilize, Wester released another blast of power, slamming into him and sending him flying into a pile of rubble.

Eric crashed hard.

He gasped sharply, pain tearing through his chest. Next, his body felt heavy and unresponsive. His arms trembled as he tried to move, but nothing answered properly.

Eric was down.

"Hmph," Wester scoffed. "Judging from your combat ability, the other guy was more impressive. You’re all fire and no discipline."

Then he turned.

"And speaking of the other one."

Wester’s gaze shifted toward Icard.

But by then, a full minute had passed.

Icard exhaled, white mist spilling from his lips.

"All this trouble just to snuff you out early," he muttered. "You’re a menace, Wester."

"Huh?" Wester tilted his head. "You’re the menaces here. Refusing to die no matter how many times I try to crush you."

Icard huffed softly. The frost coating his body began to recede.

"But what do you mean by that?" Wester continued. "And how do you know my name?"

"Does it matter?" Icard replied.

The hatred burning in him was real. Intense.

But he had lived long enough to know better than to let blind rage guide his hand.

When it came to combat, he had to stay as cool-headed as possible.

[First And Second Floor Access Confirmed]

[Skill Barrage Array]

"It’s not like I haven’t been fighting seriously," Icard said calmly. "I just had to relearn how to fight while gauging my mana. And I may have been a little too careful."

[Skill Barrage Array Complete]

[Nine Skill Set Confirmed]

Icard smiled faintly.

"With my mana pool at this level, I’ll show you," he continued. "The true limits of the first and second floors."

Wester narrowed his gaze, finally noticing that Icard looked almost completely fine now.

"You can heal?" he asked, a trace of alarm slipping into his voice.

"Not really," Icard replied. "I simply repaired myself."

Another panel appeared before him.

[Mana Status]

[Level: Surge]

Icard grinned, confidence bleeding through.

His mana levels normally ranged from Full down through seven stages to Low.

Surge was the fourth level, indicating that his mana flow was still strong enough to support high-powered techniques, even those from the third floor.

But he had no intention of using the third floor.

With a D-grade mana pool, pushing that far would limit him to fewer skill usages.

Instead, he would rely entirely on the first and second floors. And now, with the barrage array active, every available skill was accessible... readily.

Thanks to Redd and his teammates handling most of the earlier engagements, his mana reserves were still in good shape.

"So why don’t we begin now, Wester?" Icard said.

He moved first.

[First Floor]

[Ice Shard]

Several razor-sharp shards of ice tore through the air toward Wester as Icard closed the distance at the same time.

Wester shattered them with a burst of dark energy, but as the last shard broke apart, Icard was already within range. He thrust a remaining shard straight toward Wester’s chest.

Wester repelled it instantly and retaliated with a blast of energy.

[First Floor]

[Ice Film]

Icard reinforced the skill.

His body took on a faint sheen, with light reflecting off him as if he were coated in glass.

He glided straight through the blast, the energy passing around him like smoke.

Wester’s eyes widened slightly.

[First Floor]

[Frost Bite]

Hoarfrost crept thicker along Icard’s arms as he drove in and struck Wester’s chest. Wester raised his guard just in time, blocking the blow.

But the skill still took effect.

Frost spread from the point of contact, crawling across Wester’s hand in a thin layer. Sharp crackling sounds followed as ice formed beneath his skin, accompanied by stabbing pain that shot up his arm.

"Tch," Wester clicked his tongue, enduring the stings.

He tried to counter immediately, but his hands slid off Icard’s body as if it were slick with ice.

"Now, from the second floor..."

[Second Floor]

[Frost Spread Freeze]

Icard pressed the advantage.

He slipped past Wester’s guard. His body moved in a smooth, flowing arc, as he brushed the back of Wester’s hand with his palm.

The effect of that skill was instant.

Ice surged outward from the contact point, racing along Wester’s arm and locking it solid in place.

Wester grunted and swung with his free arm, but Icard’s movements were too fluid. Every strike missed by inches.

And then the second hand froze as well.

Wester staggered back, forcing energy through his limbs to shatter the ice, reinforcing his body as he lunged forward again.

But it was already too late.

[Second Floor]

[Hoarfrost Trap]

The ground beneath Wester’s feet crystallized instantly.

Hoarfrost erupted outward from Icard’s position, spreading like living vines, branching and crawling across the ground and up surrounding debris. The frost pulsed softly, reacting to every movement.

Wester tried to push forward, but the more he struggled, the faster the frost crept along his body, clinging to his limbs and dragging his movements down.

It slowed him just enough for Icard to step back and create space.

[Dual Skill Use]

[Fog Gathering]

A blue icicle formed in his hand, radiating cold. Dense mist poured from it, rolling outward in thick waves.

The air between them filled rapidly, visibility dropping as frost-laden fog swallowed the space.

Icard drew the surrounding cold toward the icicle, condensing it.

[Dual Skill Usage]

[Fog Freeze]

Wester was still tearing through the hoarfrost when Icard slashed in a wide arc.

There was no contact.

Yet a line of bluish frost carved itself across Wester’s chest, following the exact path of Icard’s blade-like swing.