On the snowy mountain, an old man and a young man were climbing steadily.
Ace, still bleeding slowly from his entire body, looked utterly terrifying.
Thanks to Calderon's earlier antics, Ace had been thoroughly screwed over.
The only good news was that he was now completely free of any connection to Calderon.
Even his talent, Near-Death Power Up, was no longer usable.
Worse still, Ace had to climb the mountain with Shadow Nine.
Fortunately, this snowy mountain was highly unusual. Under its unique rules, everyone was reduced to the level of an ordinary person.
At least Ace wasn't slowing Shadow Nine down.
As they climbed, Shadow Nine suddenly stopped, his expression tense as he scanned the surroundings like a cornered beast.
Ace, sensing the shift, grew nervous and whispered,
"What's wrong?"
Shadow Nine replied seriously,
