Using heavy stealth spells and magics, Damien, Riveria, Tiona, and Tione navigated Floor Fifty-Nine and Sixty quietly.
They made a point of not engaging in a single battle. Every step was calculated, every movement timed to avoid patrols of monsters and the wandering tendrils of the Corrupted Spirit. They moved through shadows, through gaps in awareness, through the narrow spaces where attention did not fall. Their goal was simple: reach the Ice Garden without alerting their enemy.
The plan was simple but efficient.
On Floor Fifty-Nine, Finn and Gareth led the charge. They slaughtered their way toward the lower floor, supported by Damien's shadows—all of them. Every elite shadow soldier Damien commanded had been left behind to aid the distraction. Igris. Diana. Adonis. The Ice Elf archers. The Ice Bears. The Lizard Knights. All of them.
Damien had kept no shadows for himself.
That was how much force the others needed.
The Corrupted Spirit was still attacking the Ice Garden, her tendrils battering against the frozen barrier that had appeared from nowhere. But when Finn and Gareth's assault began, she had to divert her attention. Her tendrils rose from the depths, spreading across Floor Fifty-Nine to guard against the invaders, joining the natural monsters of the floor in a desperate defense.
It was chaos. It was exactly what they had been banking on.
With the Corrupted Spirit's focus divided, the infiltration team moved.
They reached the edge of the Ice Garden without being detected. The frozen domain stretched before them, white and silent and impossibly cold. The castle loomed in the distance, its spires glittering like frozen starlight.
Riveria raised her ice spear wand.
"O frigid end, O silent world of white…
Kneel before the queen of winter's throne…
Let all that freezes be denied,
Let all that stills be unmade…
Manifest, sovereign of frost…
Elg Fimbulvetr Aegis."
Crimson light erupted from the wand, swirling around Riveria, Damien, Tiona, and Tione. It coated them like a second skin, a thick layer of magic that pulsed with warmth against the biting cold. The air around them shimmered with the spell's power.
Damien stepped forward.
He crossed the boundary into the Ice Garden.
Cold washed over him—bone-deep, soul-deep cold that would have frozen him solid moments ago. His fingers tingled. His breath crystallized in front of his face. But he did not freeze. He did not turn to ice.
He was standing.
"This is good." He turned back to the others. "It's working, Riveria."
Tiona crossed next, shivering violently. "Sheesh! It's still super cold!"
Tione followed, her arms wrapped around herself. "Couldn't you have cast a stronger spell? This is a genuine hindrance."
Riveria stepped through last, her expression calm despite the chill. "Be happy you aren't frozen already. This is a supreme level spell. It is supposed to negate ice effects, not just resist them." She looked at the castle ahead. "The fact that we still feel cold means the spell cast on this garden is divine level."
Damien's eyes narrowed. "How long will it last?"
"Usually, this spell lasts four hours." Riveria's jade eyes studied the frozen domain around them. "But due to the effect of this place, I am not so sure. Let us assume an hour. Maybe two."
Damien nodded. "Then we need to hurry." He started toward the castle, his steps crunching on the frozen ground. "Come on. Let's go."
The four of them moved deeper into the Ice Garden, the crimson aura of Riveria's spell the only warmth in a world of white.
...
"We're making great progress, thanks to the Ganesha Familia." Hedin Selland's voice was calm, measured, the voice of a strategist who had already calculated every variable. He stood at the head of the elite team, his pale elven features illuminated by the soft glow of magic crystals. "Goliath and Amphisbaena are both down."
Leon Vardenburg leaned against a pillar, his massive frame relaxed despite the depths they had already descended. "Looks like Loki's expedition wasn't playing around. We can easily assume that they have taken out Udaeus as well." He glanced toward Ottar, who stood apart from the group, silent and still. "You think we really need the big guy? They could have already beaten Balor."
Hedin shook his head. "Most likely not. From a tactical standpoint, it is better to ignore Balor and sneak past him. Taking out Balor is a waste of time, resources, and members."
He gestured to the map spread across the makeshift table, his finger tracing their path downward.
"We have reached the halfway point. But let us not get cocky. We may have spent a few hours to get here, but the rise to Floor Sixty will only become harder now. The Ganesha Familia's support will stop after Under Bridge. From then on... we are on our own."
His finger stopped at the Fifty-Ninth Floor.
"Reaching Balor is not much of a problem if we are smart about it. Ottar shall hold Balor for us as we pass, then he shall retreat." He looked up at the assembled adventurers. "But we all know how dangerous Floors Fifty to Sixty are. Some of us here have never even been there."
His gaze moved across the group, lingering on a few faces.
"So I urge you to remain vigilant."
He turned to face two figures directly.
"Leon Vardenburg. Mia Grande. We will rely on you. Unlike the rest of us, you two have reached Floor Sixty before. While we recognize that the Corrupted Spirit may have changed the terrain, the experience and knowledge you can provide shall be a key factor in our plans." He inclined his head respectfully. "So please. We will rely on you, seniors."
Leon chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Huh. Hearing you call me a senior when you are much older than me is a bit weird."
Mia Grande simply nodded, her massive cleaver resting against her shoulder. "We'll do our best, Hedin."
"Good." Hedin straightened. "Now... rest for now. We move in an hour."
The elite team dispersed, settling into whatever patches of relative comfort they could find. Some checked their weapons. Others ate quickly, conserving energy for the push ahead. Ottar remained where he was, eyes closed, waiting.
They would need every ounce of strength for what lay below.
.....
Meanwhile, on Floor Sixty, within the frozen domain of Thalia's Ice Garden, Damien, Riveria, Tiona, and Tione had stopped.
They stood at the edge of something that made even the bravest among them hesitate.
In front of them were tens of frozen bodies.
Not random monsters. Not some ants or wyverns or serpents they had fought to reach this place. These were something else entirely. Something that should not exist in such numbers.
Balors.
Dozens of them. Massive, horned, terrifying...The strongest known monster rex, the creatures that had killed countless adventurers who dared to venture too far. They stood frozen mid-motion, some with arms raised to strike, others with mouths open to roar, others already in the act of retreating.
All of them dead.
The ice had claimed them. Preserved them. Displayed them like trophies in a hunter's hall.
Damien stared at the frozen graveyard before them, his breath crystallizing in the air despite Riveria's protection spell.
"So.....This is the sort of place Thalia's Ice Garden is"
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