Looking Forward to Another World

*Rumble—*

Across a seemingly endless expanse of snowfield, three enormous beasts raced forward at full speed, sending towering sprays of snow into the air with every thunderous stride.

No matter how fiercely the blizzard raged, it failed to slow them in the slightest, allowing the massive carriage they pulled to glide swiftly behind them as though it weighed nothing at all.

*ROAAARRR—!*

*ROAAARRR—!*

*ROAAARRR—!*

Among the three beasts, the two lesser frost dragons ran on either side, while the golden lion alchemy beast charged down the center, letting out a thunderous roar as the trio sprinted forward, driving the carriage to an even greater speed than before.

Inside the carriage, however, an oddly subtle silence filled the air.

”...”

Yanivette sat with her golden eyes fixed directly on the two people seated across from her. Her elegant brows were tightly furrowed.

Unlike the icy expression she had worn the day before, however, her face was now filled with solemn seriousness, making the atmosphere inside the carriage unusually heavy.

”?”

Being stared at so intently, Euryale tilted her head while letting out a yawn, wearing a thoroughly puzzled expression.

”Umm...”

Lizbeth, on the other hand, shifted uneasily in her seat.

Yanivette’s unwavering gaze made her increasingly uncomfortable, to the point that a faint sense of fear quietly crept into her heart.

Beside them, Lilith watched the scene coldly, her expression completely unchanged.

As for Ivy and Leo, the two of them glared at Yanivette as though guarding against something, though they were equally confused.

”I’ve gotta ask... is this woman really Chloria Michette?” Leo asked bluntly. ”No matter how I look at it, she looks way too different.”

Ivy silently nodded in agreement.

They already knew Chloria’s appearance had been a disguise.

What none of them had expected was that the face hidden beneath that disguise would be so extraordinary. Her beauty rivaled that of a goddess. Compared to the utterly ordinary appearance she had shown before, the contrast was almost unbelievable.

Coupled with her ice-blue hair and those radiant golden eyes, both of which were completely different from before, Ivy and Leo found it difficult to believe that the beautiful young woman before them, who radiated noble elegance and icy dignity, was the same quiet Chloria with her slightly self-destructive tendencies from only a few days earlier.

In truth, it wasn’t just Ivy and Leo who found it hard to believe.

Even Lizbeth could hardly accept it.

Was this really Chloria?

Lizbeth also thought the difference was simply too great.

”Anyway, she calls herself Yanivette. Chloria’s a different personality... or maybe, more accurately, a different soul sharing the same body. Either way, just treat her as Chloria.”

Before continuing their journey, Riezel had already offered that explanation.

Meanwhile, before anyone else could respond to Leo’s question, Yanivette spoke first.

”You two are indeed no ordinary women. It seems my instincts were correct.”

Yanivette looked at Lizbeth, then at Euryale, before finally turning her gaze toward Moslow in Lizbeth’s arms.

”Could it be... that you are...”

Her radiant golden eyes rippled faintly as she spoke before she stopped, leaving the rest unsaid. Yet it was obvious she had already reached some sort of conclusion, as the way she looked at Lizbeth and Euryale was no longer the same as before.

Perhaps sensing danger, Ivy and Leo immediately stepped forward.

”Yanivette, right?” Ivy said coldly. ”I don’t know where you came from, and I don’t know what your relationship with Chloria Michette is. But let me warn you... Don’t even think about targeting Her Highness.”

”I’ve never been the type to go easy on women,” Leo said, glaring at Yanivette. ”So quit looking at Her Highness like that, or you’re dead.”

However, neither of their warnings earned so much as another glance from Yanivette.

”Her Highness... is it?”

Yanivette merely cast a brief glance at the calm-faced Riezel beside them before suddenly smiling and addressing Lizbeth and Euryale once more.

”Interesting. Truly interesting. Who would’ve thought that the final battle from 11,000 years ago failed to wipe out your bloodline?”

”If the people from the clan I once belonged to learned that your bloodline still existed, they would surely be overjoyed.”

”Unfortunately, the moment I chose to leave that clan, I was destined never again to submit to anyone. Not to mention that the master-servant relationship between our two clans came to a complete end with the destruction of the ancient magic civilization.”

As she spoke, Yanivette rose to her feet.

”Girls, would you care to fight me here?”

”I am curious about what abilities the descendants of that clan have inherited. I am even more interested in the two of you.”

”If I defeat you both, then submit to me and become my attendants. What do you say?”

Yanivette had clearly developed fighting intent toward Lizbeth and Euryale. At the same time, she seemed to have developed a trace of resistance toward their identities.

Considering the history between their respective backgrounds, it was only natural that this proud queen would reject that part of the past.

”W-What?”

Unfortunately, Lizbeth couldn’t keep up with Yanivette’s train of thought at all, so when she was suddenly confronted with such a challenge, she was completely at a loss.

”Hm?”

Euryale tilted her head in the opposite direction, apparently finding the situation confusing in an oddly impressive way.

Riezel and Lilith simply watched from the side, their expressions remaining calm.

Ivy and Leo, however, could no longer stand by.

”I can take that as a challenge, right?”

”You’ve got some nerve talking to Her Highness like that.”

Both of them glared furiously at Yanivette and were about to step in front of Lizbeth to block Yanivette’s line of sight, only to freeze in place beneath an icy gaze.

”Thou art but a nobody. This is no place for the likes of thee to speak. Hold thy tongue and stand down.”

Yanivette spoke coldly to the pair without even looking at them, then slowly raised a hand as an astonishing chill burst forth from her body.

””!!!””

At that instant, both Ivy and Leo felt a bone-deep chill spread through their hearts, while their finely honed battle instincts screamed the same warning: the woman before them had suddenly become terrifying.

Before the overwhelming frost even reached them, an oppressive pressure descended upon them, causing both their expressions to change drastically.

If this continued, they would really die!

As soon as they realized that, neither of them could summon even the slightest will to resist. Yanivette’s overwhelming pressure and freezing aura pinned them in place so completely that their bodies stiffened, leaving them utterly unable to move.

Not only them—even Lilith’s entire body tensed in that instant as her sense of impending danger instantly reached its peak. Her eyes narrowed into vertical pupils, while her face twisted into a ferocious expression, as though she were on the verge of revealing her true demon form.

*Buzz!*

For some reason, Moslow, nestled in Lizbeth’s arms, suddenly began trembling as it felt both nostalgic and strangely excited.

Lizbeth, however, had yet to recover from the sudden turn of events and continued clutching Moslow, completely bewildered.

At that critical moment, someone moved inside the carriage.

It wasn’t Riezel, who had remained quietly watching from the side, but Euryale, who had been sitting there with her head tilted in confusion.

In the next instant, the vampire shot forward without the slightest warning. One of her delicate hands pierced straight through the deadly freezing aura at astonishing speed before slamming squarely into Yanivette’s face.

”!!!”

Yanivette’s pupils contracted violently as she tried to react, but it was already too late.

*BOOM!*

A deafening explosion rang out as one side of the carriage instantly shattered.

*ROAAARRR—!*

*ROAAARRR—!*

*ROAAARRR—!*

Only then did the three beasts pulling the carriage realize what had happened.

They let out furious, startled roars as they slammed to a halt, causing the massive carriage behind them to continue sliding forward under its own momentum. It skidded dozens of meters across the snow before rolling several times and finally coming to a stop.

Riezel leaped out while carrying Lizbeth in his arms.

Lilith followed closely behind, carrying Ivy in one hand and Leo in the other.

Before either of them emerged, however, Euryale had already blasted through the carriage wall while holding Yanivette by the face.

Moments later, after plunging into the snowy field, Euryale twisted her body, swung her arm with tremendous force, and hurled Yanivette—still gripped by the face—straight into the distance.

*BOOM!*

Yanivette crashed into the ground like a cannonball, sending snow soaring high into the air as a deafening explosion echoed across the frozen landscape.

Euryale slowly descended from the sky and landed lightly on the snow, then blinked her eyes as she looked at the scene before her, appearing as innocent and carefree as ever, completely untouched by the tension surrounding her.

*BOOM!*

At that moment, a second explosion erupted.

It came from an overwhelming surge of freezing energy that burst outward like a raging blizzard.

Yanivette emerged from the swirling snow, but there was no anger in her expression, nor any trace of fury. Only blazing fighting intent burned within her golden eyes as she stared fixedly at Euryale, while the excitement welling up inside her rose higher and higher.

’Strong!’

’She is incredibly strong!’

’Is this the descendant of that clan?’

’No wonder... No wonder they became the heroes during the era of the ancient magic civilization...’

’If I can defeat her... if I can make her submit... then the status of our two clans will be completely reversed.’

In the past, the Reinnail Clan had ruled over the Theresis Clan, which had existed as their vassals.

However, things were different now, because she, Yanivette, was a queen as well.

*BANG!*

Wrapped in an icy aura, Yanivette blasted through the swirling snow. An ice sword condensed in her hand as she charged toward Euryale like an ice dragon gliding across the snowy ground.

*DING!*

As soon as the ice sword fell, a loud metallic clash rang out, and the tremendous impact unleashed a powerful shockwave that swept across the surroundings, blowing away the thick blanket of snow covering the ground.

Euryale caught the strike with her delicate hand, causing the freezing aura surrounding Yanivette to instantly spread across her arm and encase it in ice.

”Hm?”

Still tilting her head, Euryale gave her slender hand a light shake, causing the ice imprisoning her arm to shatter effortlessly.

But by then, Yanivette had already unleashed a relentless barrage of sword strikes. Countless streaks of sword light, carrying terrifying frost, shot forward like beams of ice, slashing toward every part of Euryale’s body.

*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*

*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*

Euryale swung both hands in rapid succession, drawing streak after streak of claw-like light. Every incoming freezing sword strike was knocked aside, filling the air with an endless chorus of metallic clashes.

In an instant, the battle between the two reached full intensity.

One continuously swung her ice sword while wrapped in a raging snowstorm, releasing one freezing slash after another, while the other calmly waved her slender hands with effortless precision, batting aside every strike from the ice sword one after another.

At first glance, they appeared evenly matched.

In reality, however, the difference between them was obvious.

Yanivette’s eyes blazed with fighting spirit, yet her face grew increasingly solemn.

Her sword strikes became faster and faster, while the freezing energy pouring from her body grew denser and denser. Even the surrounding air froze solid as countless chunks of ice, ice crystals, and frozen shards formed overhead before crashing down alongside her sword light in an overwhelming assault on Euryale.

Euryale, on the other hand, continued blinking innocently, and the look in her eyes held nothing but confusion and curiosity.

Her delicate hands appeared fragile enough to break at a touch, yet they effortlessly deflected Yanivette’s increasingly sharp sword strikes with nothing but bare flesh.

From time to time, she even unleashed claw-like flashes that shattered the falling ice chunks, crystals, and frozen debris, making her appear noticeably more composed throughout the exchange.

Needless to say, the vampire race’s unique body had turned Euryale’s hands as hard as steel and as sharp as deadly blades, allowing them to face Yanivette’s magically forged ice sword without the slightest fear.

As the battle continued, the two women became a pair of humanoid storms raging across the snowy field.

Sword lights, claw flashes, freezing energy, and flying ice fragments flashed endlessly through the air, carving across the snow again and again, sending white powder soaring into the sky and creating an exceptionally magnificent spectacle.

”S-So strong...”

”Seriously...”

Watching the battle unfold, cold sweat streamed down Ivy and Leo’s faces.

”...”

Lilith remained silent, her eyes never leaving the two fighters locked in combat.

”W-Why did they suddenly start fighting?”

Lizbeth still had no idea what was happening, her face filled with confusion.

As for Riezel, while watching Yanivette continuously close the distance with Euryale, unleashing endless sword strikes as overwhelming freezing energy surged from her body, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

’Looks like that woman’s gotten a lot stronger than I expected.’

After undergoing her bloodline awakening, Yanivette’s magical energy and physical abilities had both increased by several levels.

Although she had not yet reached Level 9, she was already extremely close.

Just how close?

Back when Ottar had yet to level up, he had been evaluated as infinitely close to Level 8.

Yanivette’s distance from Level 9, however, was likely even smaller than what could be described as ’infinitely close,’ so she only needed to become the slightest bit stronger before she could be considered a genuine Level 9.

And since her bloodline had only just awakened, she would clearly continue growing stronger.

Just as Lizbeth had continued growing stronger after awakening her bloodline, Yanivette’s rate of growth, even if it wasn’t equal to Lizbeth’s, was still enough that crossing the final threshold into Level 9 was only a matter of time.

’Is this how strong she was at her peak?’

From this brief exchange alone, Riezel concluded that Yanivette, at the height of her power, had possessed combat strength comparable to that of a Level 9 adventurer, far surpassing the so-called strongest individuals of the four great nations.

At the very least, someone like Redson Elieman, whose AGI and DEX alone had barely reached the Level 9 standard, was unquestionably no match for Yanivette.

’No wonder she said she’d never been defeated.’

Recalling the legends surrounding her, Riezel curled his lips into a faint smile.

’Too bad she picked the wrong opponent.’

Just as he thought that, the battle changed abruptly.

*Buzz!*

As the air trembled, a pitch-black magic sword flew out from Euryale’s body, and she caught it in her hand before pouring an astonishing amount of magical energy into its blade.

In the next second, under Yanivette’s suddenly changing expression, Euryale swung the sword.

*BOOOOM—!!!*

A heaven-splitting sword light immediately descended like a collapsing heavenly pillar, crashing heavily into the earth and causing a deafening explosion to echo through the sky.

===

[A bonus Chapter for reaching 400 Power Stones]

[Support and get early access to upcoming Chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]