Why must the devil be Defeated?

In the small grove deep in the night, a layer of snow covered the ground, and the white cold air spread rapidly like mist, far denser than before.

It enveloped the surroundings, shrouding many trees within.

The trees cloaked in this white mist did not freeze into ice, yet appeared locked in space, unmoving even with the strongest of winds blowing through.

The space in this area was completely frozen.

"Roar!"

The Lion-Tiger Scale Armor Beast beneath Chafne sensed danger and let out a cry of terror that suddenly ceased, as if frozen in place, unable to move.

"Impressive."

Chafne exclaimed in admiration, layers of magic power swirling around her like burning flames, warding off the encroaching white cold air.

"Clang!"

A brilliant radiance shone from the Holy Sword Shane had drawn and unsealed at some point, protecting him from the white cold air that surrounded him.

Facing the cold that could freeze even time and space, Shane didn't arrogantly believe that the protection from Outer Destiny alone could withstand it, so without hesitation, he unleashed the Holy Sword, using its power to resist the extreme cold attempting to engulf him.

With the Holy Sword in hand, Shane moved smoothly, placing himself within this icy domain.

But Shane's gaze was drawn to the scene before him.

In front of Hette Yada, surrounded by swirling white cold air, stood column upon column of ice.

Some seemed ready to surge skyward, standing tall and firm.

Some resembled sharp blades of ice, appearing extremely sharp.

Some looked like statues, some like rocky platforms made of ice, some like masterpieces of glacier, others like massive, sharp spikes.

And within each of them was a figure, seemingly frozen in slumber.

That was...

"The Ice Woman Clan..."

Shane murmured.

"Yes." Hette Yada gazed at the scene as if looking at a moment lost in time, saying, "They are my clanspeople, the revered warriors of the Ice Woman Clan."

Among them were those familiar to Hette Yada, some predecessors she had never met, and some who were once her friends or family.

Unfortunately, throughout the long years, they had given everything on the battlefield, sacrificing themselves to become what they are now.

"Indeed, revered and awe-inspiring."

Chafne observed the scene, her gaze sweeping over several ice pillars, then smiled bitterly.

It was evident that amongst them were also beings that had once caught Chafne's attention.

Hette Yada's voice drifted through the air.

"Some within have been frozen for over ten thousand years, some for a thousand."

A thousand years was the smallest figure.

Because, in the final battle a thousand years ago, all Ice Woman clanspeople sacrificed themselves, unleashing power even they couldn't control, using the abilities of Ice Luo Qianliu to fall into a half-permanent slumber.

At that time, only Hette Yada, who was already at Limit Level, didn't encounter such a situation.

After all, to force Hette Yada of that caliber into losing control, it would require a Transcendent Level existence; nothing else was possible.

At that time, among the Divine and Human clans, only Hero Mithra, the Three Great Goddesses, the Justice Goddess, and the Three Goddesses of Time and Space were Transcendent Level existences.

Hero Mithra charged directly toward the Demon King under everyone's cover and naturally wouldn't confront Hette Yada.

The Three Great Goddesses, the Justice Goddess, and the Three Goddesses of Time and Space were split apart by the Six Great Demons.

Therefore, a Limit Level existence like Hette Yada was an unparalleled warrior on the battlefield, with no one capable of forcing her to self-destruct.

Even in the later stages of the war, upon encountering the renowned Sun Goddess of the Divine Race, a Limit Level existence governing light and heat, Hette Yada fought her to a standstill.

As a result, until the end of the war, Hette Yada was never pushed to the brink of losing her life.

The outcome was that she was the sole survivor among the entire Ice Woman Clan.

"After that, the war between the God, Human, and Demon clans ended after countless years, and the Demon Clan began integrating into the world of the God and Human clans, yet a thousand years was still insufficient for both sides to lay down all prejudices and selflessly aid each other."

"Thus, I didn't request help from Fate Goddess Lidas, nor did I seek out the Three Goddesses of Time and Space to ask them to save my clanspeople."

"It wasn't until a thousand years later, upon hearing that the Mitra Kingdom's treasure had inherited Mithra's Holy Sword, that I thought of waiting for its growth before asking for its help to rescue my clan."

"Just unexpected that, before that could happen, you arrived in this world."

With that, Hette Yada turned around and bowed to Shane.

"Please, Lord Shane, help my clanspeople find relief."

Only at this moment did Hette Yada's tone carry a hint of emotion.

This made Shane realize that the Ice Woman Clan was inherently cold, but not heartless.

Perhaps what was frozen by Ice Luo Qianliu was not only their enemies and their bodies but also their hearts.

(When did I become so sentimental?)

Shane chuckled softly to himself, then looked toward Hette Yada.

"Rest assured."

Without further comment, Shane simply nodded in agreement.

"Be careful." Chafne, witnessing everything, immediately said, "The Holy Sword is poison to the Demon Clan; you can slice through the ice freezing them, but you must never touch their flesh, understand?"

Otherwise, it was not saving but harming.

"Understood."

Of course, Shane wouldn't fail to comprehend.

Thus, Shane tightened his grip on the Holy Sword, feeling the power flowing ceaselessly from it, stepped forward, and approached the nearest ice pillar.

Within was a young girl who appeared to be about the same age as Ai Yi, Milu, or Lilith, seemingly still youthful. Yet through the peering of Outer Destiny, Shane discovered this little girl's level was surprisingly as high as Level 88.

Though the people of the Ice Woman Clan reached Level 80 upon reaching maturity, that was without any training, merely allowing natural growth.

If one consciously trains from a young age, with the talent of the Ice Woman Clan, reaching Level Eighty before adulthood is also something likely to occur, right?

And if there are geniuses within such an Ice Woman Clan, reaching Level Eighty-Eight, close to the Legendary level, at a young age is not entirely impossible.

"Truly a cheating clan, no wonder the population is sparse."

According to Shane's estimation, there were no more than twenty members of the Ice Woman Clan present here.

This shows how sparse the population of this clan is.

"Then let's begin."

Shane steadied his mind and, without any hesitation, raised the Holy Sword.

"Clang!"

Without any charging or unnecessary commotion, Shane seemed to casually swing the Holy Sword, allowing the brilliantly radiant sword to transform into rushing golden light, slicing through the ice pillar in front of him.

"————"

Silence descended instantly.

A few seconds later...

"Crack..."

A crack suddenly appeared on the ice pillar before Shane.

"Crack crack crack..."

As if triggering some kind of chain reaction, once cracks appeared on the ice pillar, they continued one after another, with the sound of cracking incessantly echoing.

"Boom!"

At a certain moment, the ice pillar covered in countless cracks burst open.

Inside, a young girl of the Ice Woman Clan, freed from the ice seal, fell down.

Shane reflexively reached out, catching her in his arms.

"Ugh..."

After a while, the little girl uttered a murmur-like sound, slowly opening her eyes.

Ice-blue eyes appeared before Shane, reflecting his appearance.

Looking at this little girl from the Ice Woman Clan, Shane, as if possessed, said something.

"It's okay now."

Upon hearing this, the little girl stared blankly at Shane for a long time.

Then, as if she lost her strength, the little girl closed her eyes again, falling into a deep sleep.

It's just that, this time, she will wake up sooner or later.

...

In the following period, Shane used the Holy Sword to slice open the ice pillars in the snowfield one by one, releasing each member of the Ice Woman Clan.

Like the first little girl who was freed, they all fell into a coma after briefly regaining consciousness.

That was a sign of magic power exhaustion.

After all, they had unleashed powers even they couldn't control before being frozen, right?

With such an outburst, wasn't running out of magic power a normal outcome?

Chafne assisted in checking and finally said:

"They just need some rest, and they'll wake up soon, without any major issues."

Then, the day when this fearful clan in demon history would reappear in the world is fast approaching.

"Isn't this enough?"

After freeing the last ice pillar and handing the released member of the Ice Woman Clan to Chafne, Shane's mission was successfully accomplished.

However, for some unknown reason, Hette Yada, who was just tending to her clansmen, stood motionless in place, lost in long silence.

"What's wrong?"

Shane asked curiously.

Hette Yada did not immediately respond.

She merely looked closely around, scanning the area, and after confirming there were no other ice pillars, an indiscernible turmoil surged in her eyes.

"...Missing."

After a long time, Hette Yada finally squeezed out these words.

"What?"

Both Shane and Chafne were taken aback.

Hette Yada remained silent for a while before continuing: "There was one more ice pillar that's missing."

"This..." Shane and Chafne exclaimed in surprise.

Hette Yada gazed intently at the snowy ground here.

After a long while, she mumbled dreamily.

"The Ice Woman Clan's method of reproduction is different from ordinary people, not needing childbirth, so there is no concept of relatives."

"But if a senior member of the Ice Woman Clan feels their end is near, she will also give birth to her offspring at the cost of exhausting all her life force."

"Ice women born from this method are not many, accounting for only about twenty percent of the entire Ice Woman Clan."

"And, I just happen to have a younger sister."

After speaking to this point, Hette Yada stopped elaborating further.

But the meaning she wished to convey was understood by both Shane and Chafne.

It means, Hette Yada's sister is missing.

Completely vanished without a trace.