'…The snow is getting worse.'
Indeed, the torrent of snow falling from the sky was starting to becoming a raging blizzard. Luckily, Dan Heng, March, and Sunny himself were resistant to the cold thanks to the Trailblaze. However, it would severely reduce their visibility.
Thankfully, Sunny didn't need his eyes to see. He tapped into his shadow sense, which was only slightly disrupted by the snowstorm. Although the shadows shifted due to the snow, he was still able to differentiate objects.
Sunny wondered how Sampo was able to resist the cold. Earlier, he was able to see the weave of his clothing, which showed that he had an enchantment that dampened his presence by a single Rank. Sunny wasn't quite sure how he knew this, since he couldn't immediately understand what a weave did.
His best guess was that he must have seen something similar beforehand, and was able to deduce that based on the intricate structure of the weave. Sampo might have been wearing a Memory that helped him resist the cold, and Sunny wouldn't be able to tell.
As the the trio followed the suspicious man known as Sampo, Sunny sensed a shift in his shadow sense. A small amount of living shadows were heading in their direction. He could take a guess about the identity of these shadows, but he didn't make any hasty decisions.
Meanwhile, Sampo was trying to lecture them on the best way to evade captivity.
'This guy is seriously a joke.'
"...Rule number seven: Never leave a footprint. I have my own special technique called "invisible snow-walking." Helps me throw off pursuers in no...time..."
Sunny resisted the temptation to sigh. Sampo had an expression of dismay plastered on his face at the sight of those figures. These figures were slightly covered by the snowstorm, but not to a degree in which they couldn't be seen. Of course, it did make their visibility slightly worse.
The approaching group was a team of soldiers that wore silver and blue armor. There armor completely covered their bodies, symbolizing a sense of mindless unity. A few of them carried halberds, while the others held rifles.
Among them was a single person who didn't wear a helmet. His armor was much more elaborate and ornate, as it had protruding crystals of ice forming on it. However, despite the obvious inefficiency of the armor's design, Sunny felt like the armor was much more durable than the other soldiers.
The man had messy light-blonde hair and chilling blue eyes. His face was youthful, yet filled with resolve. Despite the armor covering him, it was obvious that he had a well-built body, one that seemed to be honed from countless battles. In his hand was a ridiculously large object, which Sunny guessed was supposed to be a shield.
'Tch. Handsome bastard!'
The man was quite attractive, and this had Sunny seething at the injustices of this world. Naturally, he glared at the blonde who made him feel inferior.
Dan Heng looked at the approaching soldiers with trepidation.
"...Who are they?"
Sampo let out a nervous chuckle.
"Uh, you remember the Silvermane Guards I mentioned? That's them..."
"Help me, old friends! I don't wanna be caught!"
Sampo took a few steps back, hiding behind the trio. March gaped at the audacity of the man.
"This is your problem! Not ours!"
However, it seemed that the guards didn't seem to agree. One of them pointed in their direction as he shouted:
"It's the suspect and his accomplices! Arrest them!"
Sunny paused for a moment. He pointed at himself and asked in confusion:
"Me? An accomplice…?"
Sunny narrowed his eyes. He didn't like where this situation seemed to be going. In a low tone, he whispered to the other two.
"March, Dan Heng. Only the blondie is an Awakened. Make sure to hold back against the others so that we don't get charged for murder."
March mumbled to herself.
"You're one to talk."
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
It seemed that Sunny wasn't supposed to hear her comment. Summoning their weapons, the three of them faced the group of soldiers. At the sight of the white sparks that denoted the calling of a Memory, the supposed leader of the group called for the others to fall back.
"Don't engage them! You won't be able to fight against these three."
Sunny blinked. It seemed like their captain wasn't all brawn after all. He looked behind to find Sampo.
The man was gone. Not a single trace was left of the sleazy criminal.
'…Did he go to the Dream Realm?'
The manner in which a Master went to the Dream Realm was completely different than an Awakened. When an Awakened went into the Dream Realm, their real body falls asleep, while their soul enters through their anchored gateway.
However, Masters do not have such a distinction between their body and soul.
After triumphing against the Second Nightmare, Awakened become Ascended — also known as Masters. Once this happens, their body and soul merge, becoming one in the truest sense of the word. Their bodies are constructed from scratch, which meant those who are either crippled or dead in the real world will gain a body that matched their soul.
To enter the Dream Realm, Masters did not need to go to sleep. In fact, they were able to sleep without entering the Dream Realm, allowing them to never have to enter the wretched world again. If they chose to enter the Dream Realm, all they had to do was create an anchor in the real world, before pulling on the other anchor that was linked to a gateway.
The process changed again when they became a Transcendent — also known as a Saint. However, that was something to discuss at another date. It wasn't relevant to the current situation after all.
In essence, Sunny guessed that Sampo must have pulled on his connection to the Dream Realm in order to escape.
'…If I see that guy again, I'll definitely kill him.'
Sunny was the most honest man in the world. Two worlds, actually.
March tightened her fist that was wrapped around her bow in anger.
"Grr, that Sampo cheated us all. Wait till I get my hands on him..."
The leader of the guards approached them with his shield in hand. He stopped a fair distance in front of them, not coming to close. Sunny could tell that he was wary of March, since she would be able to attack at such a distance.
The man introduced himself with his bolstering voice.
"I, Gepard Landau, captain of the Silvermane Guards, order you to relinquish your futile resistance."
Sunny watched as a small group of these Silvermane Guards circled the three of them. However, instead of surrounding them, they ran past them in order to chase down Sampo.
'Forget it, it's useless.'
Sampo had completely disappeared from Sunny's shadow sense without exceeding it's range. The theory that he ran off to the Dream Realm only gained more substance.
Meanwhile, one of the remaining soldiers loudly exclaimed:
"Suspect! Relinquish your resistance!"
Gepard just palmed his face in exasperation. It seemed that the guard who had just spoke out had a tendency for not being able to keep his mouth shut.
March didn't seem to happy about that, if the way she grit her teeth was any indication.
"Ugh, so I'm a criminal, huh? Forget Sampo, wait until I get my hands on YOU!"
Suddenly, March rushed forward with terrible speed. She dismissed her bow from her hands as she dashed towards Gepard. The captain of the Silvermane Guards seemed to be taken by surprise by this sudden assault.
Sunny heard Dan Heng groan at her rash actions, but he didn't share the same sentiment.
She cocked back her fist, augmented by the severe cold of Belobog along with her Aspect. The area around her grew extremely chilly, to the point where even the protection granted by the Trailblaze wouldn't be able to withstand it. Those around her would surely freeze to death in such conditions.
However, Gepard did not. Sunny surmised that he must have had his own way of withstanding the cold, which surpassed that of his own.
He promptly blocked the flying fist with his enormous shield, wielding it with a surprising speed despite it's size. The force of the punch sent him skidding a few meters back, with his arms shaking from the recoil.
Sunny gawked at the sight.
'That… was actually pretty cool?!'
Pun intended.
The red on his cheeks was from the cold by the way.
Although her fist rocketed directly into the shield, her hand and arm were not injured whatsoever. Her arms were entirely covered in pinkish ice, all the way up to her shoulders. The ice wasn't even remotely scratched, which revealed it's impressive durability.
At the same time, the ice was strangely flexible. Her elbows were able to bend despite being encased in seemingly rigid ice.
Sunny and Dan Heng shared a look of understanding.
They definitely shouldn't get involved.
Not giving Gepard a chance to recover, March leaped into the air with overwhelming might. Such a maneuver was extremely impractical in a normal fight, as it would lead to the one performing it to become a sitting duck.
Whatever a duck was.
However, this was not a normal fight. This was a battle between those who regularly combated creatures that defy the rules of nature. They were empowered by their own sets of abilities, wielding weapons that were able to cut the world itself.
This was a battle of wills.
A battle between Awakened.
In this current situation, Gepard had three choices. The first choice was to block her incoming strike. Considering what had happened the first time, his legs would certainly give out if he was attacked at this angle. Crossing off the first option, his second choice was to attack while she was still airborne.
Of course, such an option would have been completely viable between normal humans. However, against an Awakened, a blunt blow would be able to completely incapacitate her unless he were to strike her head. Considering that she was falling feet-first, such an attack would be impossible to pull off.
The last option was to avoid her attack entirely. Naturally, this was the only one without any flaws. He would be able to attack the moment that March landed.
Sunny completely dismantled Gepard's thought process with a combination of Shadow Dance and his [The War] Attribute. The only way for Gepard to make any other choice was if he used his Aspect, and Sunny wasn't sure what it was.
So, Gepard showed him.
As March 7th's figure approached him with her legs folded, as if she was about to perform a drop kick, Gepard smashed his shield into the ground. The ground shook slightly from the force.
No… it wasn't from the force.
Rather, it was because something started to form from the spot he had slammed down his shield. A crystalline structure started to spread like a snowflake, slowly encompassing Gepard's figure. Meanwhile, he held up his shield to defend himself.
March's eyes widened in surprise as a transparent, mystical shield appeared in front of her. Instead of being fettered by this obstacle, she instead grinned as power coiled through her legs. Soul essence pumped through her muscles, strengthening her upcoming blow.
Just as March was about to hit the shield, she extended her legs with frightening strength. The sound of something shattering echoed through the snowstorm. The transparent shield crumbled into thousands of pieces, having not been able to withstand the force of her attack. These small pieces glistened like snowflakes, blending in with the snowstorm that was raging around them.
It seemed like March had won.
…But the battle wasn't over.
A hand suddenly grabbed onto March's ankle, causing her to yelp in confusion. Gepard roared as he swung the girl around, not allowing her to get a grasp of her surroundings. He had completely let go of his shield, putting all his strength into a single throw.
Sunny and Dan Heng stepped in opposite directions. Suddenly, a pink blur passed between the two, skipping a couple of times on the snow before hitting a small hill. At that moment, the area exploded in a torrent of white specks.
March was half-stuck in the area of impact, having only her legs sticking out. Suddenly, another burst of snow flew in all directions, revealing March getting back on her feet. She had an enraged expression on her face, with snow stuck in her hair.
"Is that all you got!"
Sunny cheered her on with an excited grin on his face and a fist in the air.
"Yeah! You tell him, March!"
Dan Heng stared at Sunny in disbelief.
"You can't be serious… why are you blushing?"
Sunny blinked for a second, suddenly coughing into his fist like nothing happened.
"Ah… it is pretty cold, don't you think?"