Their pace was fast, and the squad steadily advanced deeper into the stronghold. The further in they went, the more strangely the temperature began to rise—but the bone-deep sense of dark evil only grew heavier.
Soon, cages began appearing along both sides. Inside were humans, elves, dwarves, and other intelligent beings, half-frozen and barely clinging to life. They were clearly slaves or sacrifices captured by the dark faction.
"Peter, Clint—you two handle the rescues. Get these people to the safe exit!" Strange ordered.
The two of them moved immediately, breaking open the cages in various ways and guiding the terrified captives to retreat outside.
Saitama, Strange, and Wanda continued forward. In the end, they reached a massive ice cavern, as if the entire interior of the iceberg had been hollowed out into a vast chamber.
This was the core of the stronghold.
At the center of the cavern wasn't a magic circle—it was a gigantic vortex of pure darkness and ice, constantly rotating like a miniature black hole, giving off a terrifying aura that seemed ready to devour everything.
Beside the vortex stood a tall figure.
He wore an ornate black robe inlaid with deep-blue ice crystals, and held a wand carved from extreme ice that would never melt. At its tip was a huge, heart-shaped gemstone that throbbed with black flames.
His face was pale. His eyes were cold and razor-sharp. A suffocating pressure of immense magic radiated from him.
At his feet, three grotesque creatures crouched low—each different in form, but equally monstrous.
"One was a frost hellhound covered in bone spines, exhaling a foul, spectral-frost–laced breath.
One was a shadow panther, flickering like a phantom, able to split into countless afterimages.
And one was a massive ice-rock demon spider, its shell etched with bizarre runestones.
He was clearly the dark sorcerer guarding this place.
Seeing the intruders, the sorcerer's lips curled into a cruel smile. "You managed to break through the outer barrier. So you're not completely useless insects. But trespassing into the master's holy hall is your greatest—and final—mistake!"
He didn't waste words. He raised the ice-crystal wand.
"Kill them!"
The three dark beasts lunged at once!
The frost hellhound charged straight at Saitama, spewing a breath that could freeze the soul.
The shadow panther became streaks of afterimages as it wrapped around Wanda, its claws ripping the air with shrieking screeches.
The ice-rock demon spider stomped forward heavily toward Strange, while spraying a thick, sticky web imbued with powerful freezing effects.
Meanwhile, the dark sorcerer began chanting a long, powerful spell. The heart-gem atop his wand blazed with light as the cavern's dark energy surged wildly toward him—he was clearly preparing something horrifyingly destructive.
The battle exploded instantly!
Saitama faced the hellhound's breath without dodging at all. The freezing torrent swallowed him, but it couldn't leave even a trace of frost on his body. He casually threw a punch—only for the hellhound to dodge with shocking speed.
Saitama's fist smashed into the ice floor instead, blasting out a deep crater.
"Oh? Pretty fast," Saitama muttered.
Wanda was harassed by the shadow panther's illusions. Her chaos power swept outward again and again, shattering one afterimage after another—but the real body was eerily hard to lock onto, slipping in with lethal sneak attacks whenever it pleased.
Strange, meanwhile, had to dodge the demon spider's lunges and webs while raising magical shields to block, all while keeping an eye on the dark sorcerer charging his ultimate spell. For a moment, he was stretched thin.
The ice cavern turned into a savage battlefield, magic light and energy shockwaves bursting in every direction.
(End of Chapter)
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