Bianca. My old name.
It was a name I never wanted to hear again.
When I heard those three syllables, which I had wanted to bury in my memory forever, my heart started pounding.
“What’s the matter, Bianca? It’s been a while, and you won’t even greet me?”
Her nonchalant tone made my face contort.
Rage boiled within me.
Lily, the dragon who had betrayed me long ago.
An old comrade I never wanted to see again.
Why was she here?
“Why are you here…”
Our meeting couldn’t be a coincidence.
The way she greeted me, as if she had been waiting, was incredibly ominous.
“Just wandering around, you know. I wanted to see Mount Norstel.”
Who would have known she was staying in the snowy mountains?
The barren and desolate mountains weren’t a fitting place for a dragon.
“And you still hate the cold, I see.”
“…”
Even as the strong winds blew, Lily didn’t flinch.
She was unique among dragons, nearly immune to the cold.
A rare case of being born with a resistance to cold.
Her younger sister was the same.
Elli, Lily’s sister and another dragon like us.
I remembered Lily always being with her sister, Elli.
But now, she was alone.
“Where’s Elli?”
“Probably at the summit, with that wretched woman.”
My ominous feeling was spot on. This was all part of Lily’s plan.
After a sudden ambush and falling off a cliff, I met an old comrade out of nowhere.
Anyone could see how contrived this situation was.
I had a hunch, but it was already too late.
“Why are you doing this…”
“What? Are you really asking because you’re curious?”
At my words, Lily smirked and started mocking me.
“Don’t you remember how you used to strut around, calling yourself the leader?”
“That…”
“And during the battle against the Demon King’s army, you just yelled and did nothing.”
“…”
“And then you took out your anger on us when we came back from the fight.”
Each word from her was like a dagger.
I faced the mistakes of my past that had haunted me.
Impulses surged within me. It was all my fault.
The words of self-reproach sank into my heart.
But I steeled myself.
‘I am… Kayla.’
A dragon serving her lord. That is my reason for being.
Since forming the contract, it was as if I had been reborn.
I didn’t want to turn away from my past.
But wallowing in self-pity would change nothing.
‘Of course, I can’t erase the past. But I can’t live forever clinging to it.’
I recalled my lord’s words.
They were right. This wasn’t the time to regret the past.
And I couldn’t let myself be swayed by my enemy’s words.
“Anyway, I’m surprised. You have comrades now? Still acting like a leader?”
“…No.”
I shook my head immediately. Absolutely not.
I always bow my head in service to my lord.
But Lily’s taunting didn’t stop.
“Then are you trying to make that man your stud?”
“…What?”
“You used to say you wouldn’t even look at a man weaker than you. So, what changed?”
I had heard enough.
I quickly conjured a magic circle above my hand.
I swung a massive flame at her.
As expected, she easily dodged.
At the same time, a magic circle appeared.
Ice around her began to melt slowly.
The snow turned to water droplets and floated in the air.
The floating droplets split into dozens and took aim.
They turned into sharp spikes and rained down.
I quickly raised a wall of fire.
Those arrows, made of mere droplets, should have evaporated instantly.
But I was wrong.
The pillar of fire didn’t completely block the arrows.
I quickly dispelled the magic circle and moved out of the way.
“How about now? Better than before, right?”
“…”
I didn’t even bother to respond. There was nothing to say to her.
To me, Lily was now just an enemy.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Once again, I conjured flames.
The stinging sleet continued to pelt down.
I pushed my limits, unleashing my magic power to intensify the fire.
The power was satisfactory, but it came at a significant cost.
The mana consumption was far beyond what I expected.
The worst enemy in the worst environment.
I gritted my teeth. Long ago, she had been much weaker than me.
But now, it was different. If I let my guard down, I could lose.
“So, how about a fight for old times’ sake?”
At the same time, a jet of water shot up from the ground.
An underwater binding spell. Memories of our past training sessions came flooding back.
I quickly moved out of the way.
Leaping from my spot, I set the ground on fire.
The grasping tendrils of water dissipated immediately.
But the attack didn’t end there.
A massive water cannon surged towards me.
I quickly inhaled flames and breathed out a fiery blast.
Mixed with the fierce wind, the flames lost their potency.
The weak flames were swallowed by the torrent.
I barely managed to twist my body to dodge.
Had I been a moment slower, I would’ve lost an arm.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
I steadied myself.
I couldn’t use my specialty, fire magic.
I had few options left.
Weak wind magic and hand-to-hand combat.
There was only one way to win.
The moment my feet touched the ground, I charged at her.
Ice arrows filled the sky.
I dodged them as I advanced.
She knew she was at a disadvantage up close, so she kept her distance.
The gap was closing.
Just a few meters. I lunged and threw a punch.
But my attack didn’t connect.
Lily had spread her wings and taken to the air.
“What’s wrong? Can’t you fly?”
She taunted, knowing I had no wings.
At this rate, I had no chance. My stamina was depleting fast.
Her mana versus my stamina.
It was clear which would run out first.
Another magic circle glowed.
Dozens of water jets shot towards me, trying to bind me.
Calmly, I moved and summoned a wind barrier.
The scattered water jets lost their direction.
As long as she only attacked from a distance, she couldn’t win.
The fruitless standoff continued.
The longer it dragged on, the worse it was for me.
I had to end it quickly.
I created a gust to disturb the air around us.
Lily wavered in the turbulent wind.
Realizing my plan, she quickly landed.
I dashed forward. The distance closed in an instant.
A hastily fired magic arrow grazed my cheek.
“Ugh…!”
A cold sensation spread from the wound.
A chilling numbness spread across my face.
But I couldn’t stop. Her face was right in front of me.
She tried to spread her wings again, but it was too late.
My punch landed solidly. Right on her face.
“Damn…!”
I didn’t give her any chance to recover. I followed up with more punches.
Memories of the past flashed in my mind.
Strangling was the easiest way to subdue her.
I knew because I’d experienced it firsthand.
She focused more on dodging than guarding.
She kept retreating to create distance.
I seized the opportunity and grabbed her shoulder.
Panic flashed across her face as she reached up to protect her neck.
But her hands didn’t make it.
“Ugh…?!”
Before I realized it, my legs were frozen.
As I staggered, losing my balance, I felt a blow to my head.
I fell flat on the ground but quickly rolled away to get out of her reach.
The distance between us widened again.
At the same moment, a massive water cannon struck my abdomen.
I gasped for breath, and my head spun.
A cold chill pierced me to the bone.
“What’s wrong? Why are you so weak?”
I barely restrained the curses that threatened to escape my lips.
Losing to someone like her filled me with shame.
Could I even win at this rate? I wasn’t sure.
But I couldn’t afford to lose.
Rushing in blindly wasn’t an option.
I couldn’t use fire magic, and wind magic wasn’t enough.
So, what could I do?
Succumbing to helplessness wouldn’t change the situation.
I had to think calmly about how to overcome this.
“Isn’t this too much? I knew you were weak to the cold, but I didn’t expect you to be this pathetic.”
I ignored her muttering as much as I could. Responding wouldn’t do any good.
I surveyed my surroundings. The location wasn’t favorable.
Even if I had to retreat, it was better to change the setting.
I quickly turned around and started running.
“What? Are you seriously trying to run away?”
She laughed mockingly and pursued me.
I heard the ominous sound of wind behind me.
I ran, dodging the endless barrage of arrows.
The snow on the ground slowed my pace.
My breathing became labored.
Though I still had stamina, the relentless cold was draining me.
The flat terrain gave way to a forest.
The cries of monsters echoed around me.
There was a risk of being surrounded by monsters.
I carefully scanned the area, looking for a suitable place.
Then, I stopped in my tracks.
“Is that…?”
There was a pond, a blend of eerie surroundings and mystical ambiance.
I hurriedly hid behind a nearby tree.
This place was as bad as it could get.
Considering Lily’s magic, I had essentially walked into a death trap.
But there was a reason I stopped.
Near the edge of the pond, transparent ice flowers were blooming.
