Is the Frost Queen that scary for her?
Riley glanced at Anica.
The dragon who had been casually teasing him the entire way here was now stiff.
Her shoulders were straight, her eyes lowered slightly, and the playful tone from before was completely gone.
Considering the fondness in her voice whenever she ntioned her Queen, Riley had assud their relationship was... closer.
Less rigid.
But this?
This felt closer to worship.
"...P-Please enter first..."
Anica’s voice was quieter now.
"What’s wrong?" Riley asked calmly.
"N-Nothing," she replied quickly. "Yes, nothing at all. Just... think of it as customary formality of those who stand before the Frozen Throne."
Her tail flicked once behind her, betraying her nerves.
"...Is that so."
Riley didn’t push further.
He was curious.
But not enough to dig into dragon hierarchy politics.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
The mont he crossed the threshold, the air changed.
The chamber inside was enormous.
Not just large.
Overwhelming.
Frosted pillars rose toward a ceiling so high it almost disappeared into pale mist.
Each pillar was thick enough that even Anica’s full dragon form would look small beside it.
The floor was smooth white ice, polished to a mirror shine.
The walls were carved with intricate frozen patterns — snowflakes, ancient runes, swirling frost designs that seed almost alive under the faint blue light filling the hall.
It wasn’t just beautiful.
It was majestic.
’So those are her generals...’
Riley’s gaze shifted forward.
Lined along both sides of the hall stood figures in heavy frost armor.
Their heads were bowed slightly, their presence contained but unmistakable.
He had sensed them earlier — back at the dungeon’s entrance.
But seeing them up close was different.
Their mana was denser than he initially estimated.
Each one kneeled perfectly still, like statues carved from ice.
Riley’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Under the right circumstances...
They were probably strong enough to give Snow real trouble.
If they attacked one by one, she could handle them.
If they attacked together — like they did in the ga — it would be far more difficult.
’Maybe even Seo would have a hard ti fighting them all at once...’
Especially in this environnt.
The only reason Snow and Riley had an easy ti during the last monster wave was because of compatibility.
Affinity.
Riley, as a divine being, naturally stood above most elental creatures.
His very existence disrupted lower-tier magic.
And Snow... well, this was her elent.
Ice didn’t resist her.
Most of the frost-born monsters simply had nothing they could exploit.
No elental advantage.
No environntal edge.
They were fighting opponents who were either immune or superior within the sa field.
As Riley continued walking forward, the sound of his footsteps echoed softly across the frozen floor.
The hall was silent enough that even the faint shift of armor from the kneeling figures carried weight.
He eventually stopped just behind them.
The Queen’s generals.
Up close, their presence was clearer.
A Frost Giant.
Massive even while kneeling.
His skin was thick, pale blue stone layered with frost.
Muscles like carved boulders.
Even with his head lowered, he radiated raw physical power.
Next to him—
A gigantic frost creature.
At first glance it looked like a frog.
But no... more reptilian.
A lizard-like being, hunched but still nearly half the Frost Giant’s height.
Its back was covered in jagged ice growths, and faint mist leaked from between its teeth every ti it breathed.
Then—
A hooded old figure.
Thin. Slightly hunched. Staff resting against the floor.
Most likely a Frost Shaman Orc.
Unlike the others, his presence wasn’t heavy.
It was sharp.
Controlled mana, tightly compressed. The kind that could explode outward in a second if provoked.
And if he counted Anica—
Who stood now a few steps behind him—
That made four.
Four subordinates.
Each of them strong enough to threaten a country on their own.
None of them looked at him.
Riley narrowed his eyes slightly.
He was certain that no matter how loyal they were to their Queen, there should at least be curiosity.
Two humans had entered their domain.
Two humans had slaughtered wave after wave of frost-born creatures.
That alone should’ve drawn hostility.
Especially from the Frost Giant.
His race was already on the decline in the outside world.
Nearly extinct in so regions.
And yet—
No anger.
No tension.
No killing intent.
Just silence.
"Are you finished with your assessnt?"
A calm, serene voice echoed through the hall.
It wasn’t loud.
Yet it filled the entire chamber effortlessly.
"Does the beauty of my subjects interest you?"
Riley slowly lifted his gaze.
".... So you’re the Frost Queen..."
She looked exactly like he rembered.
A goddess-like beauty.
Long white hair flowing down her shoulders like fresh snow.
Eyes pale and almost colorless — like frozen lakes under winter light.
Her skin looked flawless, smooth like sculpted ice.
There was a natural glamour around her.
Not the cheap kind.
Not sothing flashy.
Just presence.
Like a perfect statue carved by sothing beyond human hands.
She looked human.
But she wasn’t.
Not even close.
Under normal circumstances, that single line from Riley would’ve been enough to get him crushed into the frozen floor.
Casually addressing her without kneeling. Without formality. Without reverence.
The generals would’ve reacted instantly.
If not for one thing.
Her prior order.
He was not to be hard.
"I see my Anica has guided you properly," the Frost Queen continued calmly.
Her gaze shifted slightly.
"Though I may ask... did you lace her with fear, perhaps?"
Riley turned his head just slightly, looking at Anica.
The Frost Dragon straightened imdiately.
"No. I have nothing to do with her current state."
"T-That’s right, my Queen!" Anica quickly added, her voice unusually stiff. "The human has nothing to do with ..."
She sounded far too defensive.
The Frost Queen’s eyes narrowed faintly.
Not in anger.
In observation.
".... I see."
The hall went silent again.
Then her gaze returned to Riley.
"In any case, I am sure you are curious about my invitation, young human." Her voice remained composed. "But before we proceed... may I have the honor of hearing your na?"
That question caused a subtle shift in the room.
The generals’ ears twitched.
The Frost Giant’s shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly.
Why was their Queen speaking like this?
So mild.
So... formal.
To a human?
"Riley Hell," he answered without hesitation.
The Frost Queen studied him for a second longer than necessary.
"I see," she said softly. "That is a beautiful na."
A faint ripple of surprise moved through the kneeling generals.
Beautiful?
Despite the subtle tension and curiosities.
The two at the center of the hall, however, ignored everything else.
It was as if the hall had narrowed down to just the two of them.
...
"Good girl~"
The voice didn’t echo in the hall.
No one else heard it.
But Anica did.
And the mont it brushed against her mind, her heart felt like it had been seized in a claw.
Her body trembled.
Her blood scread.
Her bones scread.
No—
Even her soul scread.
Do not defy it.
Do not anger it.
The being that had latched onto her essence wasn’t sothing she could fight.
It wasn’t sothing she could even properly comprehend.
Just hearing that voice made her vision blur.
"You have beautiful eyes... it would be a sha if you lost them, right?"
The whisper was soft.
Cold.
Almost playful.
Yet beneath it was sothing vast and ancient.
"Y-Yes... i-it would truly be a sha..."
"Hmm that ice doll put up quite the interesting barrier... so I can’t really see properly inside... so be a good observer and watch my darling carefully~"
Her body moved in the real world, barely forming words.
But her mind—
Her mind was sowhere else.
She was no longer in the Frozen Throne Room.
She stood in a world drowned in red.
An endless sea of blood stretched beneath her feet.
Thick. Warm.
Rotting.
Every step sank slightly into the mushy surface.
The stench was unbearable, tallic and suffocating.
Above her—
The sky churned in chaos.
Red clouds twisted violently. Black lightning cracked across the heavens, splitting the world apart again and again.
And below the dark crimson sea—
Two gigantic eyes slowly opened.
Primal.
Ancient.
So vast that even her full dragon form would be nothing more than dust before them.
The mont those eyes focused on her—
Every instinct she had as a dragon activated.
Submit.
Obey.
Survive.
As a dragon, it was only natural to recognize what stood before her.
The Primordial Dragon of Chaos.
Not a descendant.
Not a bloodline.
The origin.
W-Why is the Chaos Dragon connected to that human...?
The thought ford—
And she crushed it instantly.
Knowing more would only bring harm.
Curiosity was dangerous.
"Don’t worry," the voice cooed gently. "Nothing bad will happen if you continue being the obedient little girl you are now~"
The sea of blood rippled slightly.
"If my darling notices... or if that ice doll notices..."
The massive eyes narrowed.
"I’ll swallow you whole. Alright?"
"A-Alright..."
"Though," the voice added lazily, "after this you’ll have to willingly give your tail, okay~?"
The sky cracked again.
"After all... you tried to mark sothing that was mine."
"..."
"...."
A pause.
"It’s only natural paynt for your punishnt, right?"
Anica’s body trembled harder.
Her tail in the real world stiffened unconsciously.
She could only nod.
Silently.
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