The pain inflicted by Gunther's ice dagger was piercing, even her blood seemed to freeze. But her left arm was now stiff as if her body was slowly turning into a lump of ice. He was Avalon's General. Of course he wouldn't lose that easily.
Valerie was grateful she forced Kyle to stay away. Because he would not hesitate to kill humans.
"You haven't wielded that cursed weapon for long, looks like you haven't even been able to bring out its true power yet," Gunther commented.
Valerie was silent and just stared at him blankly. She hadn't given up yet but her current situation wasn't very favorable to her. She had died before. But her death at that time did not hurt. This time she would probably experience it again.
The girl had not long been acquainted with Apollon. The fast-paced war situation made Raphael not teach her enough. Valerie was only asked to use Apollo as effectively as possible. Was she too rash? Even if she faced a General who was half crippled—he was still one of the strongest vampires. Valerie also just found out that General Leonard Gunther was a cursed weapon user.
But she bet with her life down the abyss not to die. She wanted to confirm Florentia's victory. The war in Taverin lasted about two months. If Avalon found out their general had lost at the hands of the enemy—their spirits would drop. The war could be over more quickly. There was no need for too many casualties.
It was a simple and naive wish from Valerie. Maybe she shouldn't be here alone. Valerie thought—if too many knew of her plan—Avalon would save Gunther sooner. In addition, each soldier has their own task and focus.
Valerie felt her left shoulder pierced by Gunther's ice dagger go numb. A feeling of discomfort and soreness spread throughout her arm. The spiky ice pillars that were sticking out from underground also surrounded her— so she couldn't move.
"You don't want to talk, do you?" Gunther asked. She was a little breathless. Valerie realized that despite being tough— the general endured a pain that was hard to hide. He tried to control his Khione sword with his broken right hand. Even his Vampire power alone couldn't heal him quickly.
"I'm not here to be friendly..I don't need to talk to the dead," said Valerie, showing her courage. She knew that might sound ridiculous. Because she was helpless right now.
Apollon was still in her grasp. But a pillar of ice pinched her right shoulder so that he nearly knocked her down.
"Okay, if you don't want to. I'll just kill you. You don't have to worry, I'll bring the cursed sword back to your family. Maybe after a bit of 'greeting'—the new owner is willing to join Avalon," he chuckled.
Valerie's eyes narrowed. She gasped and thought back to Raphael's warning. Dubois was a weak noble family. They were not famous for producing tough warriors. Valerie didn't even know Apollon belonged to her family. She didn't know what happened to the previous Apollon owner. But if the Avalons pushed Dubois to their side by force — Lapella would no longer be at peace.
Valerie didn't want that. Apart from her, there was only Jasper. He was too weak and even had to wear an umbrella and a hood when he left the mansion during the day. Jasper must have been concerned about Lapella's safety and was finally willing to change sides If they threatened him.
Now her neck was cold. A cold wind enveloped her and a blizzard could be seen spinning around her. She coughed, trying to breathe normally. But the pressure of the air around her and the snow made it hard for her to even just pump her lungs.
Valerie couldn't see anything up ahead. So this was the power of a Avalon's General? The girl was almost giving up now. Her eyes began to close. Maybe she shouldn't be a hero. She could have forced his way back to Lapella after coming back to life. Now she was putting the Dubois family in danger.
A series of memories flashed through her head. She saw the faces of her father and mother. And her brother Jasper. Her little heart wanted to believe that they loved her. Maybe everything they did has a reason. No matter how disappointed she was with her father's actions—her conscience told her never to betray them. They have lived a dozen years of their lives happily. Would Valerie let Avalon threaten her family?
Valerie gasped. She was as cold as swimming in a river in winter — but she wasn't frozen yet. With her elbow— Valerie broke a pillar. She then looked at Apollon who was somehow engulfed in a dazzling bright orange light.
Crack!
Crack!
Valerie swung Apollon with her half-stiff right hand to make a path in front of her. Her elbows were dripping with blood which immediately froze from the blizzard. Her hair turned stiff and white.
Valerie couldn't use her running speed this time because she had to tread hard trying not to get carried away by the wind. She believed in Apollon who seemed to guide her to keep going. At this moment, Apollon emitted a warm glow. She was looking for Gunther in the thick of the blizzard.
"Shocking, even though you can accept an easy death, you choose to fight. Let's get this over with the painful way— Ice Dagger!" Valerie gasped. A frozen white breath was exhaled from her mouth and nose. Gunther shouldn't be able to walk yet. But he couldn't be seen because of the thick snow.
"Apollon!" Valerie shouted. She wanted to gather her spirits, as well as establish communication with her sword.
But she nearly collapsed, as dozens of sharp ice daggers scratched and pierced her body mercilessly. She wore a battle helmet and a sturdy iron woven vest. But some of the daggers were still able to tear her flesh.
After a few seconds of enduring the pain—Apollon now shine even brighter and the light almost blinded her eyes. No one had taught her enough about Apollon but something seemed to be whispering inside her.
Valerie spun her sword, as if scraping through empty air. She created a fairly large invisible circle. Then a magical mirror was created floating in the air, slightly wavy like a mirage.
"Burning Lights!" Valerie shouted.
The circle glows and becomes a duplicate of the sun. Then an extraordinarily bright light shone from it. The blizzard stopped. Now Valerie could see Gunther who was apparently strong enough to stand up. He was startled by the blinding light hitting him.
He screamed in pain as his exposed skin blistered as if on fire. Then he collapsed to the ground to ashes. Leaving the bones that were also black. Khione's sword fell into the ground around him. The blue light was now dimmed as the General died.
Valerie was still standing still. With her body covered in blood from the rips of dozens of ice daggers. Some of which were still stuck to her body.
"According to your name, Apollon... So is this, the power of the sun god...?" Valerie muttered weakly before falling to her knees unconscious on the cold ground.