[Freeze]—the skill that freezes its targets.
This one is different in nature from the other skills.
Its target limit is [3].
The current display reads [2/3].
Compared to the others, it feels quite low.
Non-lethal type.
Cannot be used in combination with other skills.
Effect duration: 300 days.
Cannot be dispelled.
It is a difficult skill to find the right timing for.
I placed the frozen insect on a flat stone.
"Eve, could you smash this with that big hammer?"
"What?"
"Hit it with everything you've got, as if you're trying to shatter the ice."
"You want me to hit this tiny frozen insect with full force?"
"Yeah."
"…Understood."
I had asked Eve to retrieve Costello's hammer earlier.
Eve raised the massive hammer.
She lifted it lightly.
Her arm strength really was impressive.
She took aim and brought the hammer down.
Whoosh!
Clang!
"!?"
Confusion flashed across Eve's face.
She must have felt something off about the impact.
"It's abnormally hard."
Eve growled.
"The force should have been more than enough… and the point of impact was good. But this hardness… it doesn't feel like normal ice at all."
"Exactly. It's not normal ice."
I picked up the ice with my fingertips.
"When you apply it to a living target, after freezing, it enters this state that rejects destruction. The ice gains ridiculous hardness."
This was from the first time I had tested [Freeze].
The test subject had been a small insect.
No matter what I did, the frozen insect would not break.
Even when I tried burning it, the ice did not melt.
It probably would not melt until the full 300 days had passed.
"Then next, I want you to hit this one with the hammer."
Eve looked puzzled.
"It looks like the same insect as before…"
I placed the ice on the stone again.
I pointed at it.
"Go ahead."
"…Understood. Knowing you, there must be some reason."
Eve swung the hammer down once more.
...
Her precision was still astonishing.
She had struck the ice of that size at almost exactly the same point as before.
You could say it was perfect.
Crack!
—Crumble—
"Hm?"
Eve noticed something.
"The sound and the feel are different from before…"
Eve slowly lifted the hammer.
Scattered there was ice that had been smashed to powder.
The word "powder" was no exaggeration.
It was so fine it could truly be called dust.
"What is this…? Is it different from the ice earlier?"
"The difference between [Freeze] and the other skills is that it can also be used on 'objects.'"
"But it was the same insect, wasn't it?"
"True, the species is the same. But there is one decisive difference between the two."
"A decisive difference?"
"Yeah—the difference between a living being and a dead one."
"Hm?"
"The first insect was frozen while still alive. The second insect—I froze its corpse."
"I see… so there was that kind of difference…"
"It seems that once something becomes a corpse, it is judged as an 'object.' That's why it doesn't gain that abnormal hardness and can be destroyed."
Corpses are treated as 'objects' under [Freeze].
I scooped up the nearly powdered ice with my fingers.
"And when it's destroyed, it shatters in this special way that's different from normal ice—fine enough to be carried away and disappear on the wind."
△
That was back when we were staying at the inn in Monroy.
I had decided to test an idea I had been holding onto for a while.
The new skill [Freeze] creates a frozen state that cannot be dispelled for 300 days.
Cannot be dispelled.
So what about "destruction"…?
In the first experiment, I had tried striking the frozen insect with a small hammer.
The hardness was extraordinary.
It was clearly different from ordinary ice.
It might have been close to the ice created by Seras's spirits.
I tried various things, but destroying the ice seemed impossible.
I let out a sigh.
I could feel the plan I had come up with turning into a blank sheet.
I moved to the window and looked outside.
To think about what to do next.
Then my eyes caught a piece of wood that had peeled off the window frame and fallen.
Come to think of it, [Freeze] should also work on objects…
I had not tested it on objects yet.
I decided to try it.
The target limit was [3].
Even if I used two slots on the insect and this piece of wood, one would remain.
"Just to check if there's a difference…"
I froze the piece of wood.
Then I struck it with the hammer.
It shattered.
The brittleness was incomparable to the insect.
And it had broken into powder.
As fine as wheat flour.
"Normally you'd expect more variation in the size of the fragments… so is this shattering method unique to [Freeze]?"
I formed a hypothesis.
Humans, animals, and insects are judged as "living beings."
Plants, soil, and stones are judged as "objects."
Living beings cannot be destroyed.
Objects can be destroyed.
"Status open."
I checked the skill information.
The limit had returned from [2/3] to [1/3].
"…So when it's destroyed, the limit count resets."
It felt like something that had come undone was tying itself back together.
With this, it might be possible.
I went outside and searched for an insect corpse.
By chance, I found the corpse of the same species as the one I had used in the first test.
I froze the corpse and struck it with the hammer.
△
"So, the result—"
"It could be destroyed."
"Yeah."
"Hmm…"
Eve let out a low, thoughtful growl.
"I understand that the hardness changes depending on whether the target is alive or dead… but what exactly are you trying to do?"
"I've been thinking about a way to dispose of corpses."
Eve's eyes widened.
"So you intend to freeze the corpses and then…"
"Exactly."
With this skill, I could dispose of corpses without leaving any trace.
"Even so, I still have questions."
Eve still looked like something was stuck in her throat.
"Is there any meaning in deliberately using the skill to dispose of corpses? Wouldn't it be fine to just leave the bodies as they are?"
"That's a fair question. But—"
I glanced at Muaji's corpse.
"The bodies lying here belong to the 'curse-user group that killed the Five Dragon Warriors.'"
"Hmm… I still don't see your aim…"
"I'm thinking of permanently pinning the crime of killing the Five Dragon Warriors on the Ashinto."
The Ashinto corpses would be smashed to powder and disappear.
No one would ever find the Ashinto who died here.
If that happened, the truth would remain in darkness.
Did the Five Dragon Warriors really die from Ashinto "curses"?
Dead men tell no tales.
From now on, no one would be able to confirm the truth with Ashinto.
The only survivors who witnessed the death of the Five Dragon Warriors were Seras and me.
No one else knew the truth.
"The curse-user group that had been claiming they killed the Five Dragon Warriors… one day, they suddenly vanished without a trace."
The culprit behind the Five Dragon Warriors' deaths.
The world would continue to think it "might have been" Ashinto.
As long as Ashinto themselves did not deny it, that "might have been" would remain.
Especially if no other suspects emerged.
An eternally unresolved state.
"Anyone who wants to solve the mystery of the Five Dragon Warriors' deaths will keep searching for a suspect that no longer exists…"
I had never expected the decoy Ashinto to last forever.
I had thought their disguise would eventually be peeled away.
But if things went well, they might become eternal decoys.
As the killers of the Five Dragon Warriors.
"The 'vanished Ashinto' will continue to serve as my smokescreen."
Only two kinds of corpses would remain at the scene.
Duke Zuan's private soldiers.
And the hired mercenaries.
These might also be blamed on Ashinto.
Did they side with the fugitive Eve Speed?
Or did some internal conflict break out?
No one would know what really happened.
I explained the idea to Eve.
"That said, there's no clear reason why Ashinto would suddenly side with Eve. There's a possibility they were dealt with due to some internal strife or betrayal—which means it might also divert attention away from Eve."
"I see… so that's why you didn't want to let even a single person escape."
"Yeah."
"Indeed… if even one witness got away, it would be difficult for the plan to work."
"Well, I figured if some escaped, it couldn't be helped… honestly, I thought achieving this plan would be pretty tough. But thanks to all of you, we really managed to finish everyone without letting a single one get away."
Even if it had failed, as long as we took out their main fighting force, we would still be able to reach the Demon Zone without further obstacles.
From the moment we were pursued, my plan had always been to crush their main force anyway.
"Eve, wait here a moment."
I went to retrieve the item I had asked Seras to prepare.
A long medium-sized hammer.
I had not expected Costello's weapon to be a giant hammer.
I had originally planned to have Eve smash everything with this hammer.
But now it looked like I could help too.
I picked up the medium-sized hammer.
"Thanks to that guy Costello, we now have two work hammers. Let's split up and smash the Ashinto corpses. Honestly, it's not a pleasant job… but can you handle it?"
It was not something I could ask Seras or Liz to do.
Nor was it something they should see.
Still, I wanted to rely on Eve's arm strength.
"Hmph."
Eve snorted.
"I have seen more than enough gruesome scenes in the blood arena. My hands are already stained with countless lives… so you don't need to show me any such consideration."
"Those are reassuring words. Eve—"
I casually shouldered the hammer.
"If you sense anyone other than Seras and the others approaching, let me know right away. I want to avoid anyone seeing us smashing the ice. The moment you detect any presence, we'll stop working and leave immediately… there's still a chance a fourth wave might show up. Well, even if we can't destroy all the corpses, just taking care of Muaji and the core members is enough."
The other Ashinto could be treated as having killed each other along with the duke's private soldiers and mercenaries.
That scenario would work too.
For the corpses that had died from poison without visible wounds, we could just stab them with some random poisoned arrows or swords.
Eve nodded.
"Understood."
We began walking with hammers in hand.
"All right, let's get to work."
△
Perhaps because the location was far from any city or village.
Or perhaps because it was deep in the night.
In the end, Eve's senses never picked up any intruders.
After finishing the work of smashing the Ashinto corpses, we left the area to regroup with Seras and the others.
I organized the information I had gained during the corpse-smashing process.
The hardness of the corpses had been different from when I froze the piece of wood.
It seemed the hardness changed depending on the target.
That meant originally hard objects might be difficult to destroy.
I probably could not turn everything into powder just by freezing it.
"..."
Ever since a while ago, the clouds had been rumbling.
If it rained like this, would it nicely wash away the scattered "powder"…?
I glanced behind me.
There were no longer any "Ashinto" left there.
『No one can prove the non-existence of a curse.』
According to Seras, Muaji had said that with a smug look.
"Yeah."
I murmured.
"No one can prove your existence anymore, either."