"Kill him!!!"

  The silver knight strode forward, his bde fshing like a crest moon as he sshed at Alex. He was certain that his strike erfect; in a moment, he would decapitate the young man before him.

  But...

  "g!!!"

  With a clear metallic csh, the silver knight's sword halted in midair. He stared in shock as the young man before him raised his right hand. From it, an icy mist began to gather, f into a beautiful yet terrifying longsword.

  A skull stared back at him from the jet-bck hilt. The bde, white as bone and snow, exuded a soul-chilling cold. An eerie blue glow emanated from the bde's grooves, hinting that this was no ordinary on.

  "What is that?"

  "It must be the artifact!!"

  The other silver knights excimed at the sight of the sword that had suddenly appeared in Alex's hand. The bck-robed figure, however, sensed something amiss and began to feel uneasy.

  "Wait, something's wrong. Be careful—!!"

  Before the bck-robed figure could finish, Alex, who had been kneeling, suddenly leapt up. Grasping the sword with both hands, he raised it high and swung it forward with all his might.

  The moment, the bde pierced straight through the body of the silver knight before him.

  "Ahhhhh—!!"

  The knight screamed in agony as the sword impaled him. His body quickly withered, and a faint glow of his soul flickered. A blurry human figure seemed to be pulled from the knight's body, spiraling into the sword's bde.

  "Boom—!!"

  At that moment, a r wied around Alex, sending the other silver knights flying. The bck-robed figure hurriedly retreated several meters to barely withstand the bst of cold air. Wheorm subsided, he looked fain and gaped in astonishment.

  "This… this is…"

  Before everyone, Alex was no lohe miserable figure he had been. ist spread from his body, f into a suit of silver armor.

  Above his head, a massive phantom appeared, a ed figure whose face was hidden in shadow. Sitting on a throne seemingly made of eternal ice, the figure gred coldly at the enemies before him. Eveing his gaze gave the impression that one's very soul was freezing.

  Perhaps it wasn't just an impression.

  Now, with Alex at the ter, the surrounding ground was gradually being covered in frost. Pnts withered, as if all life was beiinguished.

  "What a terrifying power of death!!"

  Seeing this, the bck-robed figure's expression ged drastically. He quickly stepped bad pulled out a rune. But before he could act, Alex seemed to sense his presend turo face him, pointing his sword.

  "Crack!"

  In an instant, the bck-robed figure was pletely frozen by the sudden appearance of ice. He remained in the pose of holding the rune, as if time had stopped.

  Soon, a wailing, blurry humanoid shape emerged from his body, screaming as it was absorbed into the bde of Alex's sword.

  "Evil undead, daring to desecrate souls!!"

  The other silver knights, witnessing this, were both shocked and furious. They exged gnces and raised their swords.

  "Holy Blessing!"

  Soft light emanated from their bodies, illuminating the dark wilderness. But it seemed to have no effe Alex.

  "The cold wind of North will devour your souls!"

  Alex whispered, turning his gaze to the knights. The surrounding wind howled, intensifying and f an invisible barrier around the silver knights.

  The ground cracked open, and skeletons emerged, their eye sockets burning with cold blue fmes, indig their undead nature.

  "Fight him! All at ohe Goddess is with us!!"

  The silver knights' faces turned ashen, feeling the overwhelming power of death. They khey couldn't match this force but had no choice but to fight.

  "He 't use the artifact's power indefinitely! Attack together!"

  With a roar, the remaining knights charged at Alex, their swlowing brightly. The light from their swords formed beams, and in unison, they swung at Alex.

  "Boom!!!"

  The bright light densed into a unique ruhen dissipated. A massive teer-long sword desded from the sky, aiming at Alex. At this moment, the huge phantom above Alex moved.

  "Is that all…?"

  The phantom muttered, standing up and drawing its sword. It met the desding light sword head-on.

  With a light crack, the giant light sword shattered like a matchstick, disappearing into the air. Simultaneously, the knights' swords broke, and they spat blood, flying bad colpsing.

  "This… this is impossible…"

  The knights stared in disbelief at the vanishing light sword. They never imagiheir greatest trump card would be sile.

  What kind of monstrous thing is that?

  They received no answers. The pervasive cold had already enveloped them. They felt their blood freeze and their hearts slow. In despair, they watched the shadow of death desd and silently e their souls.

  "Thud!!"

  As the st glimmer of soul light vanished, Alex colpsed to the ground. His armor dissipated, and the mysterious, terrifying sword in his hand turned bato a cold wind, vanishing. The giant phantom above him watched for a moment, then melded into the dark night.

  "Ha… ha…"

  Gasping on the cold ground, Alex looked up at the dark starry sky, his mind in turmoil.

  To be ho, Alex still didn't uand what had happened or why things turned out this way. But ohing was clear—he had survived!

  Though he had no clue what was going on, he knew he was alive. He o leave quickly…

  After catg his breath, Alex stood up and looked around. Corpses were everywhere. The retainers who had protected him were dead, and so were the knights who tried to kill him. The cold in the air was dissipating, and in the distance, faint wolf howls could be heard.

  Feeling a chill, Alex shuddered. He didn't know who these people were, but he was certain their panions would e searg for them. If he didn't leave now, he might never get another ce.

  'I have to get out of here!'

  Ign his exhaustion and pain, Alex gritted his teeth and stumbled into the depths of the wilderness.