The spiral ice staircase towered high above, winding upward in a cold, gothic fashion.
Ryen didn't even need to confirm—after all, in the entire Aurora Palace, there was only one staircase like this.
After taking a glance, Ryen spoke softly:
"Same as usual—Cloud Retainer, you stay here and look after Klee and Nahida. We'll go up and deal with the Snow Queen."
Cloud Retainer blinked, looking a little unhappy.
"Why is it me again? All the monsters around here have already been cleared out—it's safe, isn't it?"
Ryen didn't argue. He just chuckled lightly and patted Klee on the head.
Klee looked up at Cloud Retainer with pleading eyes, then shuffled closer and hugged her leg.
"Cloud Retainer sis… you don't like Klee?"
The pitiful look on that small face instantly melted Cloud Retainer's resolve.
She quickly picked Klee up and comforted her:
"How could that be? Cloud Retainer loves Klee the most."
Klee's eyes curved into crescents as she beamed happily.
Ryen said in an unhurried tone:
"Could you really bear to see Klee and Nahida all alone here in this frozen Aurora Palace? What if some monsters suddenly show up to attack them?"
Cloud Retainer gave him a complicated look.
That excuse—she'd heard it at least five times before in past monster hunts.
Nahida and Klee weren't exactly weaklings.
Nahida needed no introduction—she was a god, after all, the Dendro Archon.
As for Klee…
Even in the Minecraft world, the bombs and grenades Klee carried were easily powerful enough to blow the entire Aurora Palace to rubble.
And given how much Ryen adored the two, they probably had the most weapons and lifesaving gear of anyone here.
Each of them carried two staffs apiece and around three hundred grenades on average.
Forget the respawning mobs—even the Snow Queen herself would have a hard time surviving a well-timed bombing run.
But…
Seeing Klee's pleading eyes, Cloud Retainer just couldn't bring herself to refuse.
"Alright, alright! Honestly, you always use this trick on me!"
"You guys go ahead—I'll take good care of Klee and Nahida."
Ryen grinned and snapped his fingers.
"Appreciate it, babysitter Cloud Retainer."
Cloud Retainer pouted but said nothing more, watching as Ryen and the others ascended the staircase toward the sealed chamber of the Aurora Palace.
The staircase was tall, made entirely of ice—slippery and freezing cold.
No one felt like lingering in such a frigid marvel.
They moved quickly, and before long, reached the sealed chamber.
Everyone except the Cryo Archon appeared calm.
After all, they'd fought countless monsters like this before—each battle giving them more experience and insight.
But the Cryo Archon hadn't gone through such encounters. Despite her power, she couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
The moment they stepped onto the top of the staircase, they saw her—
The Snow Queen.
Her entire body gleamed white as snow, dressed in luxurious violet robes, a crown seemingly carved from pure ice crystals resting atop her head.
From a block-world perspective, the Snow Queen was undeniably a great beauty.
However…
Even though the Snow Queen looked almost lifelike, in the end, she was still a block-shaped being.
At the very least, taking her down didn't bring much guilt.
The moment she noticed intruders stepping into her domain, the Snow Queen's eyes glowed a menacing red.
She muttered a few deep, incomprehensible phrases—like a declaration of war.
Then, she slowly rose into the air, summoning countless shimmering ice crystals around her.
At once, the Snow Queen began darting through the sky at incredible speed.
Instinctively, Tartaglia tried to build his way upward, wanting to leap up and strike her in midair—
—but before he could move, Ryen stopped him.
"You really don't read the situation, do you?" Ryen said sharply.
"She just summoned the ice crystals, and you're already trying to climb up? You want to get hit by falling shards and take fall damage too?"
Tartaglia froze, then rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Sorry… got carried away."
"When have you not gotten carried away in a fight?" Ryen rolled his eyes, flipped his gun around, and pulled out a light machine gun.
Before he even needed to shout a command, a hailstorm of bullets swept through the entire chamber.
Unfortunately, while the Snow Queen floated midair with her feet upon a layer of Ice Cloud, she was completely invulnerable in that state.
However, the ice crystals she had summoned began to shatter one after another under the relentless barrage.
Ryen kept firing while carefully tracking the direction the Snow Queen was flying.
When only one ice crystal remained, he raised his hand—signaling everyone to cease fire.
They watched silently as the Snow Queen drifted toward the far corner.
Then, Ganyu aimed and fired—her arrow striking true and destroying the final crystal.
The Snow Queen froze for a moment—then her body burst with overwhelming frost energy as she plummeted violently to the ground.
The entire sealed chamber of the Aurora Palace trembled with the impact.
A massive crater spread across the icy floor.
Fortunately, everyone had already retreated from that position.
Otherwise, with the Snow Queen's destructive dive, someone would've definitely triggered their Totem of Undying again.
While the Snow Queen was still stiff from the crash, everyone built up quick ice steps to higher ground.
They lifted their guns and unleashed concentrated fire.
Her health dropped rapidly—but compared to her enormous total HP, the damage wasn't exactly thrilling.
After enduring a barrage of attacks, the Snow Queen rose into the air once more.
But this time, the team had experience.
They focused their fire to push her toward the wall corners each time she fell.
The rhythm continued steadily—it almost felt routine.
That was, until after her third dive, when the Snow Queen suddenly began charging up a Frost Breath—this time, without the usual post-dive delay.
Thankfully, everyone here was a seasoned fighter.
They immediately built up more ice steps and leapt out of the attack's range, dodging the freezing breath with practiced precision.
After regrouping and unleashing another round of heavy fire, the Snow Queen's health dropped to a sliver.
She was on the verge of falling.
Ryen raised an eyebrow, lifted his hand, and said calmly:
"Hold on—I want to test something."
Everyone blinked in surprise but obediently lowered their weapons.
The Snow Queen, unlike other bosses, didn't regenerate health automatically.
Even with their attacks stopped, she remained in her near-death state.
"Ryen," Jean asked cautiously, "what are you planning to do?"
~~----------------------
😬 Lotta mistakes in last chapter. Sorry
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