Chapter 436: [ Ice Seed ]

“What are you doing here… Hela? I thought you’re…” Allen showed a confused expression.

“What? Not welcoming me?” Hela smiled warmly but due to her cold expression, it wasn’t obvious and her voice was still cold as before.

Allen’s face was quite red. He seemed like someone who had just reached the age of the first awakening of love. But, whether in his past lives or Solomon’s, Hela was the greatest love of their lives. And now, that someone was in front of him once again, Allen didn’t know what to say or do.

This meeting was just too sudden. He hadn’t even yet prepared!

As he looked at Hela, his heartbeat unconsciously accelerated. He had many things to say, many things to confess, many things to do—but at this very moment, he discovered, he actually doesn’t know where to start…

“That’s… that’s not what I meant. I just, I just didn’t expect you meet you so soon… besides, aren’t you in Helheim…? Did you manage to escape that place?”

Hela sighed. “It’s not like I escaped. This is only temporary. You should know but the Ice Queen was one of my past incarnations that you had managed to usurped… obviously, it wasn’t me, probably fate… fate of you finding that book…”

“… …”

“I am only using the Ice Queen as a vessel and a catalyst for me to show myself here…” Hela stepped forward and the raging flames around them seemed to have gotten scared away and started avoiding her.

She approached Allen, impeded. When she was just in front of him, Hela raised her hand and caressed Allen’s face. “However, I can’t stay for long…”

With her hand on his face, Hela gently passed some of her energy to his body; helping to dispel the heat inside of him and weakening the hot air around him that made him feel so bad.

Allen felt the coldness from Hela’s hand and felt extremely comfortable.

“There’s no problem with you doing this… right?”

Hela’s thin lips faintly curled upwards, revealing a gentle smile. Her elegant face seemed even more charming, as she gently and cautiously lifted up her hand, gently touching his face and the tip of his nose, intimately stroking his delicate skin. Her glass-like eyes twinkled as she stared quietly at the familiar face that she had missed for knows how many centuries…

“I’m sorry, after this, I won’t be able to help you if you needed me. So you must live on and be careful from here on out…” Hela said with a calm voice, the previous coldness that used to fill her voice seemed to have weakened.

“…!??”

“The power I expended to do this was quite enormous. Thus, I would be forced to sleep in slumber for quite a while. I wouldn’t be able to help you if you needed me even if I wanted to…” Hela’s voice sounded bitter and helpless.

To Allen, that familiar voice sounded trustworthy and nostalgic. However, he still feels a bit a pained after hearing what she said.

“I’ll be okay! You shouldn’t have forced yourself like this!” Allen cried out in anxiety.

He really didn’t want Hela to suffer anything because of him. Even if he dies, he wouldn’t let her suffer any mishaps. She had already experienced many awful things and Allen doesn’t want to add another thing again.

Hela smiled gently. She extended her small fist and rapped it on Allen’s head gently, “Silly! If I didn’t come out, I fear that husband will surely suffer some serious mishaps instead…”

“!!?” Allen frowned, his brows furrowed.

“Silly little girl you have there… I don’t know whether he was overestimating your current self or underestimating that Mythical Beast… but even with the help of that artifact, it wouldn’t be able to contain it for long.” Hela sighs helplessly.

“Even with the Ice Queen’s help, it would be useless. She couldn’t let you be corroded by cold energy just to pacify that violent fire essence or else you would suffer unending pain from the ice cold energy that would remain within your soul if she does that… she would instead do harm than help… silly girl…”

“Then, what should we do?” Allen frowned as he finally realized how serious the situation was. If Hela was forced to come out because of this, then his circumstances must be extremely dire.

“Normally, it would extremely difficult to resolve this even with my help. You will still suffer an excruciating pain, in which I don’t want to see.”

“… …”

“Fortunately, you have this!” Hela showed Allen the two roses on her hand.

“That?” Allen tilted his head in confusion.

Hela nodded her head with a smile. “Well, although in your situation, these flowers carried little help but it’s better than nothing. So, I don’t have the choice but to use this too…” At this time, Hela opened her other hand and in there was a small flower made up of ice.

“This is?”

“Ice Seed… or it could be said to be, the Ice Queen’s Ice Essence…”

“What!?”

“If you refine the Ice Seed, then it can help counter the violent flame essence inside your body. Unlike using artifacts, an external source, it would be more helpful to use something within your body instead that can constrain it… and this Ice Seed is the best thing to do the job, after all, more or less they carried almost the same level of power. It somehow help balance things out,”

“Then, what would happen to the Ice Queen? Tell me, nothing would happen to her, right?!”

Looking at Allen’s anxious expression, Hela felt moved. However, she could only sigh. “When you consume this, the Ice Queen would cease to become your guardian beast in your summoning grimoire.”

“What…?!” Allen’s body trembled. “No way!! Then, I wouldn’t use that! I’d rather suffer than consume her!”

“Husband!”

“No!” Allen cried out angrily. He already owed so much to the Ice Queen. Even if she was just Hela’s incarnation—for him, Ice Queen was his Ice Queen. She wasn’t just mere substitute or incarnation of Hela but his own beloved Ice Queen…!

He would rather suffer miserably and die than kill the Ice Queen with his own hands!

“Husband!” Hela grit her teeth. But pain flashed across her glazed eyes. “There’s no other choice…”

“… …”

“If you won’t do this, you will suffer an irreparable damage. Besides, the Ice Queen had already decided. She was also me, so I know what she felt. She chooses this herself!”

“Even still…” Allen felt his heart being gripped. His eyes started to feel hot.

He really didn’t want it… he would rather die than use his family’s life to survive…

Seeing Allen’s pained expression as well as the tears flowing through his cheeks, Hela felt hurt as well as touched. For Allen to feel like this for the Ice Queen, even though she was nothing but her little incarnation meant that Allen really loves the Ice Queen.

And this caused her to feel endless happiness.

The Ice Queen is her… as well as she was the Ice Queen.

Making the one you love so much, love a simple part of you makes you feel being loved entirely! This was just a simple happiness, but for her who had been hated by every people ever since she was born… this simple thing makes her heart feel satisfied.

“The Ice Queen won’t die… she was also me. And, even though you consume her, she won’t really disappear…” Hela moved closer and pulled Allen’s body into her embrace. “She will become a part of you and even without the Grimoire, she can now protect you all the time—that was also her wish and happiness…”

“… …” Allen bit his lips in sadness and sorrow. His numb trembling arms rose up and hug Hela. No words escape from his mouth—only groan and sob.

He had never cried since he had returned. This was the first time, that he had really cried…

The love for the Ice Queen for him is not something he could fathom, nor could he replicate. For him, Ice Queen wasn’t just Hela’s incarnation but the Ice Queen herself…

Allen cried for a long while before his body started shaking due to the pain once again. But he didn’t say anything and just silently endure it. He wished that he could endure and spare the Ice Queen’s life…

But his wish would never be fulfilled.

Allen felt that the Ice Lotus that he had seen a while ago was finally broken through as the pain within him intensified. As if something extremely hot was slowly covering his inside… he felt the excruciating pain he couldn’t describe!

With the Ice Lotus failing to contain the Firebird’s essence, the already terrible circumstances inside Allen’s body became even worse. The high temperature grilled his Mana Paths until they were a jumbled mess. In some tiny areas, the Mana Paths began to gradually form clots, blocking the flow of Mana, giving him excruciating pain. Then, they started bloating like a balloon.

Allen’s massive mana reserve at this very moment backfired on him. Because of this, they started accumulating and gathering, wanting to find a path to go out but couldn’t… thus, started gathering together, waiting to explode…

By this stage, Allen, who had already played all his cards, could only clench his teeth and put in all his effort to endure the pain, waiting for a miracle to happen.

“Chi…” On Allen’s face, a small blood slit suddenly cracked open. Fresh blood flowed out from it, wetting half of Allen’s face with a blood red color.

Looking at him, he appeared like a white and red demon.

Allen was closing his eyes due to the pain that was reaping his soul and so he naturally did not know just how terrifying his outer appearance had become. He could only vaguely sense that there was an intense pain that suddenly appeared on his face.

But he didn’t cry out, as if afraid for Hela to notice.

But how could Hela not noticed it…?

Sighing and with a pained look, Hela caressed Allen’s bloodied face. “We have no choice…”

Allen’s body trembled as he heard Hela’s voice. He tried to say something but found out that his vocal chords seemed to be not working properly.

Hela’s thumb crossed her palm and instant, a deep cut appeared on it. Blood flowed, dripping on the white flower.

“Husband, don’t be hard headed now and listen. Eat this…” Hela took the two roses and offered it to Allen’s mouth. Allen didn’t open it but from Hela’s insistence, he could only obey.

After eating the two roses, the Ice seed on Hela’s hands floated and shot towards Allen’s mouth.

In that instant, Allen felt something wriggling within him. A cold sensation enveloped his fiery body.

Allen’s tears couldn’t stop flowing as he continued to close his eyes.

Seeing him like this, Hela shed out a tear of helplessness and regret. Her figure blurred for a moment. She then unclasps Allen’s body within her embrace.

“I’m sorry, husband… I don’t have a choice. You need to live on, no matter what happens… no matter how many people die, no matter how many members of your family dies, I don’t care… as long as you live.”

She extended her slender hand and gently touched Allen’s face. A warm and gentle smile slowly emerged from the corner of her lips. At this moment, her calm and serene eyes seemed to be filled with a brilliant light.

After being separated for very a long time and had undergone numerous rebirths, he seemed to have changed a bit. However, a calm smile still remained on his handsome face.

But, Hela knows best. Although he always had a calm smile plastered on his face, under that smile she knew how tired he was and how much hardship he had faced.

Her pitiful beloved…

Thinking of this, Hela’s face became ice-cold once again, “You can hate me and despise me but even if it wasn’t the Ice Queen, I will also kill those you treated as a family just to let you live…”

Her body suddenly flashed with an intense killing intent.

“I didn’t let them stay by your side for you to protect and treasure… I let them be, because you wanted it. But if your life was on the other side of the scale, I will not hesitate to pluck their lives in exchange for yours…”

“I’m sorry…” Hela’s ice-cold face revealed a smile even uglier than a crying expression.

She hugged Allen’s body and stayed like that. Just like a sculpture, the two embraced while being surrounded by flames.

Despite being surrounded by the raging flames, the atmosphere around the two was very quiet.

*** ***