Chapter 125: Edge Of Winter [III/ Happy New Month]
Before Azel could even decide to spring forward and join in the fight —
WHOOSH!
A blur of motion ripped through the air, whipping Azel’s hair backward from the sheer force.
The spearman had moved.
Not just quickly, but impossibly fast.
He was already high above the battlefield, body suspended against the white sky as though he had been launched from a catapult.
Azel’s eyes widened, barely able to follow the figure.
’He’s not just fast... he’s practically flying.’
The experienced warrior adjusted midair with fluid grace, hoisting his weapon — a massive bone spear over his shoulder.
His entire posture shifted into one of absolute focus.
He drew in a long, deep breath.
The cold answered him.
Mist poured from his mouth as he exhaled, curling around his frame in a silver halo.
Then his aura erupted — brilliant orange, raw and blazing, spilling from his palm and into the weapon as though the spear itself had caught fire.
And then he threw.
The sound was not just a whistle, but a detonation.
The air cracked from the release of force, a shockwave thundering across the plain.
The snow itself recoiled, swirling violently as the spear shot forward like a meteor, tearing through the battlefield with reckless abandon.
It collided with one of the advancing beasts, and the world shook.
BOOM!
The explosion carved a crater into the frozen ground.
Dozens of monsters were caught in the blast, their bodies torn apart before they even had the chance to register what hit them.
Snow, blood, and earth erupted upward in a violent spray, raining down in a macabre storm.
Azel swallowed hard.
His throat felt dry.
’Such throwing strength...’
It was too much.
Overwhelming even.
But before he could process further, his gaze slid to the last member of the Furious Five — the young man with daggers.
He was calmly sharpening his bone blades against each other, sparks flashing with each scrape.
Azel blinked.
Despite how these people make a fuss about daggers, they actually let him use them?
It was unfair.
His skepticism lasted only seconds though.
Because in the very next heartbeat, the young man vanished.
He didn’t sprint.
He didn’t leap.
He simply ceased to exist where he stood and reappeared directly on the battlefield.
A Frost Wolf lunged at him instantly, its claws swiping toward his torso.
Azel’s breath caught — it was already too close, there was no way he could block it.
But the attack didn’t land.
The wolf’s paw passed straight through him, hitting nothing but shadow.
Its claws sliced through the man’s body as though he were smoke, leaving only ripples of darkness behind.
Azel’s eyes widened.
The man was using shadow...
He retaliated with terrifying calm. His dagger slashed upward in a clean, merciless arc.
The wolf collapsed, its body parting in a spray of blood.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, shadow gushed from the weapon, coiling like liquid smoke.
The darkness expanded outward in a wave, tendrils lashing out across the battlefield.
Wherever they touched, monsters fell — pierced, shredded, and dragged into the gloom.
’So he also has another affinity like Anya’s brother,’ Azel thought, his chest tightening.
Shadow — while overused in games, novels, and anime was still one of the most versatile and dangerous elements.
With it, the battlefield itself became his domain.
If the man didn’t look so gaunt and weary, his skin pale as if he carried death in his veins, Azel might have mistaken him for Sung Jin-Woo himself.
The wolf corpses crumbled into heaps as more shadows surged, their cries swallowed by the void.
It became clear then.
Each of the Furious Five was a force of nature.
Each of them carved through monsters with techniques and powers that bent the laws of battle.
They weren’t mere warriors — they were calamities dressed as men and women.
Azel’s jaw clenched.
’But that doesn’t mean I’m weak.’
His gaze darted across the battlefield, landing first on Medusa.
She moved with terrifying elegance, her smile wide and serene as she danced through the chaos.
Wolves lunged at her, jaws snapping, claws raking — but none came close.
She twisted, ducked, and spun as though the monsters’ attacks were part of her choreography.
Mana surged around her hand, a glow of raw destructive force building.
With a flick of her wrist, she released it.
The spell collided with a wolf mid-leap.
The creature didn’t scream.
It didn’t even burn.
It simply ceased to exist — disintegrated entirely, wiped away so completely that not even ash remained.
Medusa laughed softly at the result, a musical sound that chilled Azel more than the frozen air.
His spine prickled.
’She’s smiling while erasing things from existence... I forgot she was crazy.’
Then his gaze shifted to Anya.
Her laughter was harsher, wild, almost feral.
She was knee-deep in battle against monsters shaped like massive crabs, their armored shells glinting like jagged glaciers.
They towered nearly as tall as a man, their claws snapping like scythes.
But Anya tore into them without hesitation, ice surrounding her weapon as she ripped through carapace and flesh alike.
Each kill only fueled her manic joy, her grin widening as ichor sprayed across her face.
Azel rubbed his temple briefly, exhaling.
’Why am I surrounded by crazy women?’
He grit his teeth, forcing his aura to rise within him.
’ Alright, bad luck or protagonist luck — just give me something good. Anything I can work with...’
Before he could move, Drew’s voice bellowed across the battlefield.
"Rank 3!"
The ground trembled.
A shadow loomed. And from the Divide, it emerged.
The monster was massive.
Towering above the battlefield, its frame was that of a gorilla — muscles bulging, limbs thick enough to shatter boulders. But its form was corrupted by frost.
Silver fur coated its body, every strand gleaming like steel wires.
Its eyes glowed an unnatural blue, cold and merciless.
From its shoulders, ice jutted outward, shards and ridges like unnatural armor.
Steam hissed with every breath, turning to frost the moment it touched the air.
And upon its head...
A jagged crown of ice.
Each shard glistened sharp and cruel, a crown not of royalty but of tyranny.
The monster’s presence alone froze the battlefield into silence.
Even the other beasts seemed to recoil, their snarls subdued beneath the weight of the predator now standing among them.
A shimmering text burned in Azel’s vision.
[ Primate King ]
[ Rank 3 ]
Azel’s lips curled into a grin. His blood roared in his veins.
"Finally," he muttered, forcing his aura down into his legs.
The power coiled tight, vibrating through his muscles until his body blurred forward, propelled like a missile.
Veyra had just finished tearing through a cluster of monsters, her blade slick with blood and her breath steady despite the slaughter.
She turned, prepared to cut down another wave. Then her pupils shrank.
The Primate King’s eyes had landed on her.
It raised its massive hand, blue light flaring along its fingers.
Then it extended one claw, pointing directly at her.
Veyra’s instincts screamed.
She crouched, ready to leap back, snow sparking to life around her to defend
But before she could move —
The world turned white.
[Author’s Note]
Happy new month fam 🖤