Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 81

Chapter 81.

"Your Grace."

Just then, Frank—having moved the last survivor out—called to me.

"Good luck."

"See you soon."

Only after Frank had completely left did I turn back to face forward.

The ice wall was fully cracked—it would shatter any moment.

"You know, Senior Rutland—"

I called Marcus as I watched the cracking ice.

"What happens when a shrimp officially joins a whale fight?"

"You mean that eastern proverb? It doesn't just break its back—it gets completely crushed."

CRASH—!

The ice wall shattered into thousands of fragments.

"Subdue them!"

Haywood and Orange Market surged in, weapons raised. Tony's group, seeing only us left, hesitated and stopped their attack.

But before they could fire, everyone lost their balance and fell.

THUD.

The ground had caved beneath them.

I quickly gathered Logan and the others.

"It seems another snow monster has awakened."

"Another snow monster? You mean..."

"Yes, Senior—the reason Mr. Lowell invited us here in the first place."

Frank had asked us to move the frozen snow monster elsewhere, just like we'd moved the tidal wave.

And now it seemed to have awakened.

Given the clown monkey's rampage, its seal might have broken too.

That was entirely possible—the ice had been melting.

RUMBLE—!

A tremor as if the earth itself were turning over swallowed the parade waiting room.

The ceiling lights shook wildly, and snow poured down like a waterfall through the beams.

"I—I have to get out!"

"Let's go!"

Survivors scrambled to escape, barely keeping their balance.

They'd been aiming guns at each other moments before—but now there was no time for that.

CRASH—!

With a deafening explosion, the entire building tilted. A massive crack split the floor like lightning.

CRUNCH—!

The thick floorboards broke apart, and people staggered.

"Ahhh!"

"Watch out!"

Some fell, others dropped their weapons. I caught an Orange Market survivor sliding into the gap.

A hand reached out from behind—Logan helped lift them back onto solid ground.

"Th-Thank you."

We helped each other—enemy or not—and eventually all made it outside.

I instinctively looked toward the carousel.

Ice fragments were exploding high into the air.

"...It's free."

Logan said—the seal was broken.

The massive ice pillar behind the carousel—it was shattering from the inside.

Crack— crack—

A massive hand pushed through the ice.

An arm several times thicker than a human's, dark blue skin visible beneath white fur.

CRASH—!

The ice pillar exploded completely.

A snow monster, at least ten meters tall, rose up, gripping the carousel.

Just by standing, it bent and twisted the carousel's central pillar.

"Oh my god."

Someone gasped.

Click— click—

In the dawn light, the sound of weapons being loaded echoed.

It was still early morning—barely dawn—and the cold made our hands shake.

Fighting that snow monster in this temperature was insane.

Everyone's lashes were thick with snow, barely able to see—except me, who could regulate my body temperature.

Logan was also an exception—he existed outside human limits.

Haywood, Orange Market, Tony's faction, and Acorn Village—none of them were targeting each other anymore.

They all had one goal.

The snow monster's gaze slowly turned toward the parade waiting room.

Its burning red eyes looked at all the humans standing before it—just as prey.

It was so terrifying I couldn't move. But we had to come up with a plan.

Its official name in the story was Snow Titan—a giant ape.

Its traits, as I'd said: using its hands, and devastating destructive power.

"Logan—how did you fight it in your past lives?"

"...?"

Logan tilted his head as if it were a strange question.

"I just killed it."

...How anticlimactic.

"Hmm... even I would have trouble alone. It's not impossible, but it'd take time—and casualties would be high."

"So we need cooperation."

But I wasn't sure we had time.

Everyone was panicking, firing wildly as the Titan approached.

Think—use my head.

What if I absorbed all the Winterstones?

I didn't tell Logan—he'd worry.

If he asked why I had to go this far, triggering his trauma...

I would proudly say: I have to.

"In the end—isn't it only a hymn to humanity that can save this ruined world?"

They say if you want to change your life, you have to walk a path you've never taken before.

I reached my hand toward the pouch Logan was holding.

I suppressed the energy as much as possible—I could control the light so others wouldn't notice.

Blue, silver, red, and gold crystals gathered into my palm one by one.

Focusing all my attention on my hand and suppressing the glow, the Winterstones were absorbed quietly, unnoticed by anyone.

Cold energy swept through my body.

I glanced at Logan.

He was looking down at the empty pouch in his hand.

Drip—

My nose bled. A nauseating feeling rose, and—

Cough—

I coughed up blood.

I'd had nosebleeds before, but never blood from my mouth.

Marcus and Graham, their faces pale, rushed to me.

Through it all, Logan remained calm—expressionless, cold.

I'd wanted him to be calm—but now that he was, I felt... hurt.

Wait—what's there to be hurt about? I brought this on myself.

Snap out of it, Eve. Assess the situation.

I couldn't hear what they were saying—only my own heartbeat.

Thump— thump—

My heart pounded powerfully.

Why did it feel like it was speaking to me?

I pressed my hand to the ground—snow flowers bloomed from my palm and spread across a radius of dozens of meters.

They reached the Snow Titan's feet as it attacked the survivors.

The Titan froze.

The snow flowers that bloomed beneath its feet twisted upward like ice chains—wrapping around its ankles, its calves, binding its massive body to the ground.

CRASH—!

The Titan's giant fist slammed down, crushing the space around it—but the more it struggled, the faster the ice flowers spread, like living vines.

Huff.

I finally straightened up, wiping the blood from my lips with a satisfied expression.

I pulled out my pocket watch—about thirty minutes. I could hold it for at least that long.

I can't kill it with this power alone.

Before I could speak, Logan had already gathered all the survivors—though not gently. They were battered.

Marcus said Haywood had good snipers, Orange Market had explosives, and Tony's group was specialized as field engineers.

I had no intention of persuading them—there was no time.

Like Logan, I'd show them through action.

I snapped my fingers.

CRUNCH—

Ice erupted from all directions, arcing through the air to form a massive dome—like petals closing above us.

"Wh-What is this?!"

We were all trapped inside my ice dome.

Now—let's begin the negotiation.

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