Chapter 280 – Land of Ice

000

The feeling of turning the heavens and earth upside down.

In a place where gravity doesn’t exist, Amelia is constantly moving in the direction she was thrown.

What happened?

The moment she thought that her strong light was covering her eyes of her, the scene that covered her surroundings was reversed with the feeling that her feet were going out of her.

What I feel around me is the screams of those trapped inside, the madness, and the terrifying sense of magical power that is slowly eating away.

If you don’t protect yourself.

Amelia instinctively felt it, and even in a situation where she could n’t see properly, she somehow raised her magic power of her and wrapped herself around her body of her.

Her divine magical powers will protect her from her other-dimensional powers that try to devour her.

However, there was a limit to the amount of divine magic she could create while disconnected from her Holy Spirit.

As a result, an incomplete protective shield spreads and covers her body, but the magic of the other dimension turns into a thorn like a life with a will and tries to break through her defenses her.

If Amelia winced her eyes at the giddy sensation that covered herself with her solitude her.

Using that as a starting point, dark magic seemed to cover her entire body.

And the next moment she thought there was only silence left.

Following her, there was something that jumped into the gap in another dimension.

Equipped with a firm will, it flew at high speed and approached Amelia. It flew like a silver shining star and grabbed her body her.

Her silvery comet her blows away all her filthy magic that surrounds Amelia, and surrounds her to protect Amelia from her loss of consciousness.

And together, the two were constantly falling somewhere in the banishment realm.

001

Something cold touched my cheek.

And, something was shaking him.

The return of Amelia’s consciousness was by no means a natural phenomenon, but an artificial one.

There was no pain in her body, but for some reason her limbs had no strength.

“…Amelia…”

He heard a voice calling out to her.

She may have heard of it somewhere.

However, her floor was cold but soft, and she clung to herself and would not let go.

The second I thought I heard a sigh, voila! Her own cheeks her tingled as she rang out.

“Rise black, Amelia!”

Only after hearing that voice in her, realizing that this was a reality that could not be overlooked, Amelia hurriedly raised herself.

When she opened her eyes and looked in front of her, there was a gray-haired figure indistinguishable from a boy or a girl – Gray.

“Grey…? Why did you… Rather, this place is-“

Only then did Amelia understand why it was so cold around her.

The two of them were on a dark snowy field.

As if the light of the sun didn’t exist, the pitch-black sky, like drawing paper on which black paint had been turned upside down, continued forever.

On the land where the snowflakes falling little by little are piled up, there is not even a trace of dried and twisted trees, and only a white floor spreads out.

“Phew, it’s finally happening… I was worried that something was wrong with the shock of the fall.”

As her gray brushed her chest and let out a sigh of relief, Amelia looked at her gray her, still unsure of what had happened.

Then, Gray dropped his eyes from Amelia’s face and spoke.

“The princess fell to this place because of the strange guys who were targeting her at the royal party.”

“…Exia…”

And, as if she remembered now, Amelia muttered the name of the girl she met for the first time today.

Just before something happened, a suspicious figure appeared on the podium.

At a time when everyone didn’t know how to react to the sudden incident, he called Exia, who was clearly standing behind him.

And when Exia answered it, Amelia lost her balance and fell through the portal with her mouth open.

However, if that were the case, Gray’s presence here was a bit questionable.

“Why is Gray…”

“It was the hole the princess fell into, and I also fell after it. Not only the princess, but also Mr. Cleon and Crown Prince Cassius, who were there, also fell into the hole like the princess.”

Amelia jumped up when she heard the story.

Wearing on her body her was a dress that was slightly thinner than what she usually wears, so the intense cold hit her, but it wasn’t the time when she was paying attention to it.

“Cleon and… Her Highness the Crown Prince…? Where are the two of you…”

As if to calm Amelia, who was bewildered and restless, Gray grabbed her arm.

“It’s a calming sword… Probably, both of them must have fallen somewhere in this space.”

“… What kind of place is this space? You must have traveled a long distance since you passed through the dimensional door.”

When she asked that question, Gray looked up at the sky.

There, without sun or clouds, there was only endless darkness.

“This is a space commonly called the rift of another dimension. We were banished to this space.”

“…A gap in another dimension…”

Amelia knew the name too.

The dimension they live in and another dimension.

For example – a different world that originally could never be connected, like ‘hell’, the home of demons.

The space between the two, where there is a near-infinite distance, is called the ‘different-dimensional gap’.

I read that it was written in a book written by the great sage Sophia, one of the few wizards who could walk inside.

Inside the rift of another dimension, there is something called magical power of another dimension that erodes and transforms those who enter.

Also, there are monsters that have been mutated like that.

A place where human common sense does not work and madness pollutes people’s will.

That’s why, a place where humans should never set foot.

Amelia felt a creeping dread rise in her heart as she recalled all the bad information she had read and learned about the rift in the other dimension.

Soon, her fists were clenched and she rallied to contain them.

Gray glanced at Amelia’s fist her, then she made eye contact with her and asked.

“… There is no need to pretend to be strong. As the princess knows well, this is a very dangerous place. Among them, it is an even more troublesome place… It is because it is the ‘Exile Zone’ .”

“The zone of exile?”

“It is a realm where wastes of a dimension that exist inside the rift of another dimension are banished and confined.”

When Gray answered that way, Amelia couldn’t help but be silent because she wasn’t sure how much she understood exactly.

At that time, from above the snowy field, I saw something eagerly running toward us.

Gray turned his back on her, so it was Amelia who checked first.

“Grey, something happened in the back…!”

Amelia says so, though Amelia, worried that a monster might pop out, puts her hand on her pendant and tries to accept the blessings of her Holy Spirit from her.

In the unconnected space due to entering the dimensional gap, her pendant her and the Holy Spirit did not give any answer.

The next moment, ‘it’ jumped out of the snow with a great leap.

As it is, it lands on Gray’s shoulder his.

“Ahh! It’s cold, Hermes!”

[Be patient, Gray. My body is metal, so I can’t help it.]

It was a brass-colored machine-automata in the form of a rat.

“… Automata…?”

“It’s the first time I’ve shown it in person, but this is my partner, Hermes.”

Saying so, Gray pressed her fingers over Hermes’ head.

[I’ve been watching you by Gray’s side until now. I didn’t expect the opportunity to speak directly like this, Princess Amelia.]

“…Awesome. Do you really have an ego?”

When Amelia asked, Gray nodded her head.

“Of course! Hermes is an artificial spirit that can think for itself!”

[To be precise, it’s a little different, but it’s quicker to understand it that way.]

After Hermes said that, he continued talking to Gray and Amelia.

[Gray. As you asked, I looked around a bit and came. As I expected, this is the territory of the Higher Being, which exists within the Exile Realm.]

“Is that so…”

Gray nodded her head with a slightly subtle expression, but Amelia still looked at them with a puzzled look as they were talking too much jargon.

Then, after thinking a little about how to explain it to Amelia, Gray spoke.

“A country exists even within the rift of another dimension. A being with very strong power covers the inside of the realm with his barrier, and you can think of it as a space formed by magical power.”

“…Is it like a ‘small area’ that some wizards or demons can create?”

“That’s right! It can be seen that it was made incredibly large.”

Gray said, ‘As expected, the princess is well-informed!’, And when he spoke in praise, Amelia only looked back at the snowfield that stretched out forever.

“…The higher being is the ruler of this place.”

[Yes, princess. And fortunately, she found out where the ruler of this place is. There seems to be at least a place where people can escape the snow and cold, if not people…]

Gray’s face lit up at Hermes’ words.

“Then let’s go there quickly! If we stay in a place like this, we’ll both freeze to death! There’s no next time this time!”

When Gray shouted that, Amelia nodded her head as well, but she paused, perhaps sensing something strange about Gray’s words to her.

“…Next?”

“Ah-ah, keuhum. It’s nothing!”

When Gray realized that she had slipped her tongue, she cleared her throat in embarrassment and led Amelia in the direction Hermes was pointing.

As Amelia chases after Gray, she suddenly feels as if something is looking for her, and she looks back for a moment.

Soon, perhaps because the feeling was too weak, she was consumed by the cold and dizziness, and looked forward again.

002

The place where the two and 1 arrived was in front of a huge, black, stone or ice castle.

The walls of the royal capital were also splendid and high, but the walls surrounding the castle in front of me were incomparably taller and stood firm.

“…Is it really here?”

When Gray asked Hermes a question while standing in front of this huge barrier blocking his way and the door, Hermes nodded his head.

“That’s right. I can feel a huge and powerful magical response from within. Without a doubt, the higher beings who rule this realm are within this.”

“But, this big door… Can I open it and get in?”

When Amelia asked that question, Gray put her hand on the door.

“Faint! It’s cold! After all, this isn’t stone, it’s colored ice…! Dong, I almost got frostbite…”

However, she could not bear the cold and quickly removed her hand from her.

It wasn’t the size and weight to open it even if two people joined forces, and that doesn’t mean there was no other way.

At least, if I had the power of the Holy Spirit, I could have strengthened my body somehow…

Gray whispered quietly to Hermes.

“…Hermes. How can it not work by strengthening the body in split thinking mode…?”

[Sorry, but that level of spec enhancement is not expected.]

“…Well…”

Even if Hermes’ mind was transferred to Gray’s body his, and his body his was strengthened by disabling his magical power limiter, it seemed that he would not be able to move such a huge door.

Glancing at the troubled Gray, Amelia clenched her fists.

As the Saint Princess, I couldn’t just watch the residents of the royal capital in trouble.

Something, if you don’t use your hands.

Thinking so, Amelia looks around for a while and finds what appears to be a ‘bell’ at a height that people can’t reach.

“…Maybe I have to ring that to get inside?”

“Ugh… It’s a very high sword. I can’t go up there. The walls are also ice and slippery…”

Gray dropped her shoulders and shook her head as if giving up the bell Amelia had pointed to.

[As a part replacement, it would be possible if you use the soles with spikes. I don’t have that part here, so it’s impossible for me now.]

After hearing the two of them, Amelia nodded her head knowingly.

“…Then, I’ll come back.”

“…?!

Gray says it with disapproval, but Amelia shakes her head.

“It’s okay. I have to go inside, right? Gray came to help me, so let me help him too.”

“…But, how…”

Amelia listened to Gray’s words, and she took a deep breath and drew up her own mana, which was produced within herself.

Although the amount of divine magic that he could create on his own wasn’t great, he had done countless times to control it.

Even just a little bit is fine, divine magic that can be condensed into physical power.

When Amelia concentrated her mind and let it flow into her hand, a pair of awl-like condensed objects of divine magic appeared in her hand her.

[No way, you’re going to climb up the wall with it?]

Amelia nods her head, but that means rock climbing without ropes.

“Ah, no way!? At first glance, 20m seems like a good height, but if you go up like that without any protective gear…”

Gray talks to Amelia, but Amelia’s mind has already made up her mind her.

Carefully, if Amelia takes the awl to the wall.

The awl of divine magic penetrated the ice wall like a heated knife cutting through butter.

It wasn’t like the awl being stronger than the wall or Amelia’s hidden strength.

The magic power of the awl penetrated through the cracks in the invisible molecular units of the ice.

Amelia, who believed that she could somehow support her own body with just that, took a deep breath and drove her magic awl into a position higher than her own height her.

“…I’m sorry…”

However, the chill of ice was also created by magic.

The coldness transmitted through the awl seemed to freeze her hands in her.

“…As expected, it’s impossible. Rather, make snowballs from below and throw them upwards…”

[That is also impossible.]

“Ugh…”

Hermes spoke clearly, but his eyes were silently watching Amelia.

Soon after, Hermes bounced off Gray’s shoulder and moved onto Amelia’s shoulder hers.

[Princess Amelia. Even if you stick an awl through it, if it collapses, you will be seriously injured. As much as I can, I will give you a suitable location for inserting the awl. Grey, if you think the princess is about to fall, be prepared to receive it from under her.]

“…Thank you, Hermes.”

Amelia, who gained a little courage from Hermes’ words, nodded her head.

Then, Amelia carefully climbed the ice wall and began to climb.

The black ice was disguised as stone, but in reality it was solid ice made entirely of someone’s magic.

It is said that magical power reflects the human mind, so they built such a huge wall and rejected the outside so strongly that they could not even feel the presence of people from the inside.

Amelia felt it every time she put her hand her on her wall her.

Once, once, moving her arm her, each time Hermes thrust the awl into the designated spot.

The thought came to them that the entity they would meet inside might strongly reject them.

So, halfway up, I saw Amelia’s awl blur.

“Sss…!? Magical power…”

She herself may have been unconscious, but the magic of her other-dimensional rift was clearly present in this place as well.

She was constantly consuming her magic power her to protect herself from it, so the lack of her magic power her to maintain her awl her quickly came.

Amelia’s hand her seemed to slip from the awl of her magical powers her, weakening her physical reality her.

Hermes swiftly transferred some of her mana her, which could be said to be her power her, to her her.

“Thank you, Hermes.”

[Follow me and you were correct. But even this can’t last long. Let’s speed it up a little.]

At Hermes’ words her, Amelia nodded her head and hurriedly moved her arms and legs.

And, when she somehow reached the location of the large bell hanging on the castle wall.

Amelia’s fingers her were barely moved by her statue of her.

Somehow, the awl that she was barely holding on disappeared as she hung her body on the part of the pole protruding from the wall where her bell hung.

Looking down, I could see a gray figure below, like a dot.

“It’s good to go up… But it’s a problem to go down…”

[…Right.]

“…For now, I’ll ring the bell.”

Hermes agreed, but there was no way to do it after coming this far.

Amelia reached the place where the bell was, moving on top of the hanging place as if she was almost crawling.

Soon, move her foot her and kick the bell.

A large bell rings, reflecting off the walls and returning.

The sound of the bell, louder than she thought, shook her walls as well as the pillar she was on.

“Laugh… Ah!?”

Losing her balance, Amelia slips off her pole.

“Amelia!”

She heard Gray calling urgently from beneath her, and held her arms open to receive herself, but Gray would be seriously injured if she let herself fall from this height.

“Avoid, Grey!”

“Because it’s fine!”

While Gray said that, he did not think of getting out of his seat her, and soon the two would collide strongly.

No, it was meant to be

The next moment, if someone hadn’t accepted Amelia.

What suddenly appeared was a cloud-like collection of snow that came down from the top of the castle wall.

It moved unnaturally through the sky, picking up Amelia as she fell in her air her, and lowering her to her ground with her slow motion.

Amelia and Gray, dumbfounded, simultaneously looked at the top of the castle wall where the snowballs had appeared.

And there, a blonde woman in a beautiful dress.

An elegant woman wearing a blue ice crown on her head and a dress of the same color.

She was looking down at the two of them with an expression as cold as the ice she had touched so far.

“… Human…?”

More than anything else, the fact that she was human surprised Amelia.

At that time, the door that had been firmly closed in the castle wall started to open with a loud sound.

It was clear what that meant by accepting them.

Gray and Amelia exchanged glances for a moment, then nodded and moved forward.

Once again, when they looked up at the top of the wall, the figure of her looking down at them was gone.

“I wonder if she is the ruler of this realm…?”

[Okay. The magic she had sensed was felt in her. It’s too much magic for one person to possess. …What the alternative identity is…]

“——Queen.”

Amelia said so.

Gray and Hermes looked up at Amelia at the same time.

[Do you know her?]

“Oh, no… It’s not like that… But for some reason, it felt like it was supposed to be called that.”

“Certainly, she had the feeling of being a queen… As the ruler of the realm, she might as well be called the real queen.”

Gray seemed to accept Amelia’s words simply, but Hermes just looked at Amelia quietly.

And, when entering the castle, a huge space spread out as if everything was frozen.

The falling snow and the cold outside were blocked, but now I had to be careful not to slip every time I walked inside.

And in the distance, at the top of the great tower, a blue light shimmered, as if calling for two people.

It seems that the place to go is right there.

“…Let’s go, Grey. I think she’s waiting.”

“…I understand.”

And then. Amelia seemed to hear her voice her calling her once more.

She is the voice of the person she has come to rely on most recently.

“…Cleon?”

When I muttered that name involuntarily and looked back at her.

Still, it was such a small and subtle sensation.

Yes, he knew for sure that he was looking for him.

“… Wait, Cleon. I will definitely find you and Her Highness her the Crown Prince.”

With that promise, Amelia walked along with Gray.

For the queen who will be waiting there.