Puff!
The shadow glanced down at the Shattered Light Sword buried in its heart, then lifted its face to me in shock; it screamed, burst like smoke, and was gone, like mist in sun.
At the instant it vanished, a door-sized rip opened ahead, a gash in the air like a crack in winter glass; that had to be the path to the Eighth Floor of the Nine Cold Labyrinth.
Haa...
Seeing that, my body finally unclenched; I melted onto the ink-black ground, breath fogging like white steam in frost, too drained to twitch a finger.
No helping it; that fight wrung me dry like a soaked rag, bones leaden, lungs burning; if the shadow hadn’t gone crazy and walked up to hug me, I’d have lost for sure.
Cold sweat slid down my back like rain on stone; that was too close. Yet why did it throw away a perfect chance to finish me from afar?
Right then, FrostyLily Dream’s voice chimed in my skull, cold and clear as a bell on ice. Yes, Yumigawa Sumeragi, its final goal was your body; to put it plain, it wanted to pin you down and take your virginity.
Yikes!!
Her sudden pop-in made my heart leap like a startled bird, and the content almost knocked me out cold like a hammer to the temple.
Hey, come on! I just crawled through a brutal fight; my body’s at its limit, and you’re going to scare me to death? And what do you mean, take my virginity?
Wasn’t the shadow’s job just to defeat me? Isn’t it a puppet without a will? How could it decide to, to take my virginity and act on it?
Simple, she said, as casual as a snowfall. Every move the shadow made was arranged by yours truly.
What?!
She tossed out something terrifying in a tone light as drifting frost; that’s some nasty taste. I could only give a bitter smile. Why set it up like that?
Nothing much. Personal hobby. Two pretty boys, bare skin intertwined like white jade vines… tsk tsk, just thinking about it makes me eat a few extra bowls of rice. Shame you didn’t appreciate the blessing I sent to your doorstep.
...
Right now I really wanted to sock FrostyLily Dream in the face, if I had the strength; pervert’s fine, but don’t use me as the joke, I nearly lost my chastity.
Then again, if the shadow’s goal had been only to beat me and nothing else, I’d have lost without question… Huh. So your bad taste saved me?
FrostyLily Dream, please, spare me.
I shook my head with a tired laugh and begged her; I never want to run into that kind of setup again.
Tch—fine, I’m too lazy to tease a kid with no sense of fun. How’s the body now?
Uh… not great. Stamina’s tapped clean, cuts all over like paper slashes; to recover, I’d need at least three days, and that’s with food.
Three days? Forget that. Since you did decently, I’ll throw you a little discount, she said, in a tone like alms tossed from a carriage.
A soft ice-blue glow bloomed, moonlight on snow in the pitch-dark Seventh Floor, calm as a winter lake and painfully beautiful.
The gentle light wrapped me; under that glow, wounds sealed like ice knitting a river, grime vanished like dust in rain, even my torn clothes mended to new.
The fatigue and hunger in me ebbed like an outgoing tide; in less than a heartbeat, every bad feeling was gone, clean as a newborn’s breath.
Huh?
I stood and rolled my shoulders; my state felt better than ever, strength humming like a warm current under skin, and I wanted to shout to the sky.
Since you’re fine, get to the Eighth Floor already. A huge surprise is waiting for you there, FrostyLily Dream urged, voice crisp as sleet.
A huge surprise? You’ve said that twice now. What is it, exactly?
Idiot. If I told you, would it still be a surprise?
Her disdain hit like a flick to the forehead; I sulked a bit, but curiosity sprouted like grass under snow. What could make her bring it up twice?
By rights, any surprise should be saved for the Ninth Floor. Whatever. I’m about to step into the Eighth; the answer will crack open soon enough.
Before that, I closed my eyes and replayed the fight with the shadow; close combat is my weak link, that much is iron, though I did sharpen my swordwork a notch.
Compared to the shadow, there’s still a gap like a hairline crack in ice; the Nine Cold Labyrinth’s key lies in the last two floors, and my odds feel thin.
On the Seventh Floor, I threw everything I had like sparks from flint, and still couldn’t win; without FrostyLily Dream’s kink, I’d have stopped there for good.
No use brooding now.
I slapped my cheeks, cleared my head like wind blowing fog, and stepped into the rift that led to the Eighth Floor without a backward glance.
Whoever waits ahead, all I can do is fight with everything I’ve got; truth is, these days wear me down like a long march in snow, battle after battle.
...
Meanwhile, on the Ninth Floor of the Nine Cold Labyrinth, inside a palace wrought of ice crystal like a frozen dream, FrostyLily Dream stared at the clear sky.
Boredom clouded her face like thin frost as she muttered, I’ve let you slide on the first seven floors, Yumigawa Sumeragi; if you can’t pass the Eighth, I’ll tan your hide.
Teacher, the Eighth Floor’s guardian isn’t easy, came a cool girl’s voice from behind, tinted with a flicker of hope and heat, like flame under ice.
Even I’m not sure I could beat her. Can Yumigawa Sumeragi really reach the Ninth Floor? She won’t hold back the way the earlier guardians did.
Probably fine. His two little sisters aren’t simple, and there’s the Rule Book; with the three of them, passing the Eighth isn’t hard. If the condition is to defeat her, though, no chance.
I hope so. I can’t wait to cross blades with a fellow Sword Wielder like Yumigawa Sumeragi, the girl said, her one blue and one purple eye blazing like twin stars.
Relax. You’ll get your match with Yumigawa Sumeragi, FrostyLily Dream said, turning with a small smile as warm as tea in winter.
Mm!
