Volume 6 Chapter 5 The Mercy-Less Absolute Zero
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
[Silver Moon Village, Northern Border, Forest Boundary Line]
From the hill overlooking the battlefield, an uneasy silence hung over the land. The hundreds of Zombies that had once swarmed across the plain no longer resembled living creatures. Sylvia had burned them to cinders, Elara and her unit had frozen them solid, Farrell had crushed them beneath overwhelming force, and Gael had smashed them apart. The remains left behind by the Elf army blanketed the ground in black sludge, while the wind carried the smell of scorched flesh mixed with the foul stench of decay.
That brief sense of relief lasted only a few seconds.
Bloop, glug… squelch.
The earth trembled, and a deep, wet vibration rolled through the ground like muddy water boiling inside the belly of some enormous beast. At the same time, the wind abruptly died. It felt as though the air itself had been blocked by the approach of something impossibly massive. Then the smell reached us. A burning, acidic odor stabbed at my nose, a nauseating blend of rot and chemicals that seemed capable of stripping the lining from my throat.
”Wh-what in the blazes is that?” Gael gasped, his grip on his warhammer weakening.
Narrowing my eyes, I watched as a colossal shape emerged from behind the yellow miasma. The creature stretched more than twenty meters long, and the gigantic body that had once been a Green Dragon was dissolving while still alive. Yellow-green pus seeped endlessly from cracks between its scales, hissing wherever it touched the ground and leaving charred earth in its wake. Beneath strips of peeling flesh, visible through the cage of exposed ribs, a blackened heart pulsed with a slow, unnatural rhythm. Each beat sent ripples of death spreading through the surrounding air. Its eyes had clouded white, half-melted and hanging from their sockets as strands of gelatinous sludge dripped down its face.
So this was the monster known as a Corrosive Dragon.
”ROOOOOAAAAAAR!”
The dragon opened its maw, and the roar that followed was more than sound. The shockwave hammered into the Elves’ bodies with physical force. Sylvia planted her sword before her and braced against the blast, yet the gale was so violent that it tore strands of her blonde hair free. Droplets of saliva splashed onto a nearby rock, and the stone immediately hissed, softened, and collapsed inward while purple smoke rose into the air.
Wheeze… wheeze… gurgle.
The swollen sac in the dragon’s throat expanded like a grotesque balloon. Thick liquid churned inside it with a revolting slosh, producing the unmistakable sound of corrosive substances mixing together.
”Breath incoming! Everyone, brace for impact!” Farrell roared.
The warning came only moments before a torrent of sludge erupted from the dragon’s jaws. The attack spread outward in a deadly fan, raining poison across the battlefield. It was not merely acid but a corrosive flood powerful enough to melt flesh and bone alike.
”I won’t let a single finger touch these youngsters!” Elder Erland declared.
Leaping to the front, she raised her staff and focused every ounce of concentration into her Spirit Power. The humiliation she had endured earlier that day flashed through her mind, and the powerful emotions tied to that memory ignited her resolve. Shame, determination, pride, and the desperate desire to meet the King’s expectations collided inside her chest, generating a surge of power that coursed through her entire body.
”Spirits of the earth, become an unmoving shield! ‘Terra Fortress’!”
KRRRRRR-BOOM!
The ground erupted upward, forming a massive stone dome several meters thick around the Elves. A heartbeat later, the dragon’s breath crashed against it.
HISS! SIZZLE!
The stone fortress groaned under the assault. The corrosive force was so intense that sections of the ceiling began melting away, and droplets of acid slowly seeped through the cracks.
”Eeeek! It’s melting! It’s melting! This is impossible!” Elie-na cried.
Then her eyes widened.
”If you fail to be useful, you are forbidden from using the restroom today.”
The King’s words echoed through her thoughts. Panic tightened her chest as fear pushed her mind beyond its limits.
”No, no, no, no! I don’t want to leak! Calculate, calculate, calculate!”
Her pupils dilated. Instantly, the world transformed into numbers, formulas, and geometric structures. The composition of the acid, its magical properties, its elemental sequence—information that should have required hours of analysis unfolded before her in seconds.
”Component definition: strong acidity and undead attribute!1 Neutralization formula, construction complete! …’Shield that rejects the logic, invert the impurity’! ——’Logical Shield’!”
A pale geometric barrier spread across the interior of the dome. Every droplet that touched it dissolved into harmless steam before falling as clear water.
”Huff… huff… I blocked it…!”
Yet the danger was not over. Purple toxic gas began slipping through gaps in the stone.
”Impurity that defiles the King’s garden… disappear.”
Serafina extended her arms toward the ceiling. Golden light gathered around her as she called upon the spirits.
”Spirits of light seated in the heavens! ‘Sunlight’!”
FLASH!
Radiant particles flooded the dome. The poisonous smoke vanished the instant it touched the golden light, leaving only clean air behind. Within moments, an absolute sanctuary had been established.
From the hilltop, I watched everything unfold without moving. To the Elves, I likely appeared calm and confident. In reality, cold sweat ran beneath my robe, and I dug my fingernails into my own arms hard enough to hurt in order to stop my hands from trembling.
(…Endure it. Both me, and all of you.)
Each heartbeat struck against my ribs hard enough to drown out the battlefield. I could have stepped forward and erased that rotting dragon at any moment. Yet if I intervened now, they would never learn to stand on their own. I would not remain beside them forever. Silver Moon Village would one day depend on them.
This was their trial.
Even so, my patience was nearly gone. The moment the golden light consumed the toxic gas and I confirmed that everyone remained standing, the tension holding me together finally loosened. Relief nearly escaped my lips, but I forced it back down.
”…Pass.”
That was enough.
From here on, I would handle the rest.
As I descended the hill, every step drained warmth from the surrounding air. The killing intent overflowing from my heart transformed into mana, freezing the world around me. The Elves sensed my approach and immediately moved aside, bowing their heads with even greater reverence than before.
”King…”
Covered in mud, Sylvia looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. She was unharmed.
The sight made a wave of relief pass through me. Resting a hand on her shoulder, I felt the heat of her body and the rapid beat of her pulse.
”You endured well. …Leave the rest to me.”
A trembling sigh escaped her lips as the tension finally left her body.
Then I stepped forward and faced the Corrosive Dragon.
The difference in size was absurd. The creature towered over me by more than twenty times. Yet the moment our eyes met, it became obvious which of us stood at the top of the food chain. Even the dragon understood. Its instincts screamed a warning that the small figure before it was not prey.
It was a predator.
Growl…?
The dragon retreated a step and rumbled threateningly.
I did not stop walking.
Casually, I raised my right hand.
”‘Absolute Zero.’”
In that instant, sound vanished from the world.
No ice storm appeared. No frozen spears filled the sky. Instead, every form of motion within the space around me simply ceased. Air stopped moving. Sound lost the medium it needed to exist.
Snap…
A faint crack echoed through the silence.
Nitrogen and oxygen condensed, froze, and fell from the air as pale blue droplets. It was absolute zero made reality—a domain where all energy vanished and every particle stood still.
The dragon’s roar froze inside its throat. Its claws halted in midair. Droplets of corrosive fluid hung motionless like glass ornaments. Color drained from the battlefield until everything resembled a monochrome painting.
White spread rapidly across the dragon’s body.
It was not ice.
Its cells had simply stopped. Activity ceased. Life itself came to a standstill. Regeneration was impossible because regeneration required movement, and within this domain movement no longer existed.
Several seconds later, the Corrosive Dragon had become a pure white statue.
Beautiful.
Blasphemous.
The grotesque monster that had been rotting moments earlier now looked like a masterpiece carved from snow.
”Didn’t intend to get artistic,” I remarked. “If we put some spotlights on it, it might even win a prize at the Sapporo Snow Festival.”
I fired a single Ice Bullet.
That tiny impact was enough.
CRUMBLE…!
The statue collapsed like a mountain of white sand. Its structure had already lost every bond that held it together, and the remains broke apart into glittering dust that drifted across the battlefield on the wind.
The particles brushed against my skin with a cold sharp enough to sting.
Once, that dust had been a dragon.
Drawing in a deep breath, I filled my lungs not with the stench of death, but with the living presence of the Elves I had protected.
—
Summary:
The battlefield is invaded by a decaying Corrosive Dragon that threatens the Elf army with lethal acid. Elder Erland, Elie-na, and High Priestess Serafina each use their own unique brand of devotion and desperation to hold back the creature’s attacks. The King, Ryuichi, descends the hill and freezes the dragon in time using his absolute power, ultimately shattering it into dust. The threat is neutralized, but the psychological toll of the trial leaves the King physically and mentally strained.
—
Trivia:
Ryuichi is forcing himself to maintain a stoic facade while enduring internal pain.
The Elves’ combat efficiency is fueled by their intense, twisted devotion and fear of the King.
Ryuichi’s magic, ‘Absolute Zero’, functions by forcing molecular motion to zero.
Serafina’s purification abilities are tied to her acceptance of the King’s ‘impurity’.
The King uses physical contact to provide relief to his Elves after the intense trial.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Farrell – A captain of the Elf garrison and skilled vanguard commander, he leads with sharp, procedural authority and recognizes the King’s absolute superiority. An elf warrior defined by his thunderous roar, spirit-shattering strength, and aura of green phosphorescent light, he remains shaped by his past defeat by Ryuichi, though he continues to command his troops with unyielding martial discipline.
• Sylvia – A voluptuous white-blonde elf and Silver-rank vanguard known as “Crimson Lotus,” is a formidable warrior and loyal shield to King Ryuichi. Expert with longsword and bow, she channels crimson Spirit Power, viewing combat as obsessive courtship. A mentor to vanguard warriors, she possesses intense survival instincts and a fiery temperament, serving as Ryuichi’s devoted confidante while guarding John and Nier.
• Elara – A 120-year-old Elf unit commander and wife of Gael, she possesses a voluptuous physique and striking moonlit silver hair. Rejuvenated and magically enhanced by the King, she now commands ground-based earth magic with vibrant power. Despite her strength, she hides deep-seated insecurities regarding past infertility and struggles against the King’s manipulative sexual influence over her.
• Gael – A thick-built, mud-covered elf warrior and stonemason from Silver Moon Village, he serves as a disciplined, boisterous field foreman. Devoted to the King who spared his life, he leads repairs with military authority and a warhammer. Fiercely protective of his wife, Elara, he balances his deep gratitude to the Crown with a sharp, vigilant pride in his marriage and his duties to the village.
• Ben – Struan’s son and Torben’s nephew, this young man served as a callous guide at their base, assisting in the family’s slave-trading enterprise. After confessing to his role in Mia’s death, he was bound by Stone Ball magic and drowned by Ryuichi. His corpse was later stored in the Interdimensional Space as a trophy of the protagonist’s retribution.
• Erland – A 320-year-old elven leader and living grimoire, she guides the new Spirit King with deep knowledge of the World Tree. Distinguished by sharp features, silver-rimmed spectacles, and staff-based magic, she balances analytical authority with profound devotion to her deity. Despite her high status, she remains caught between maintaining village order and navigating the King’s intimate, demanding nature.
• Elie-na – A lead Elf researcher and analysis unit member, she possesses a fragile frame, pale skin, bluish-silver hair in a chignon, and silver-rimmed glasses. Expert at tactical calculations and data aggregation, she maintains stability by resetting her neurotransmitters. Though fanatically focused on her work, she harbors a deep, secret terror of losing bathroom privileges, even while supporting her team.
• Elie – An eighteen-year-old virgin research director with pale skin, glasses, and silver hair hiding her eyes. Sold into slavery by her parents to reduce mouths to feed, she now wears a white coat, functioning as a cold, calculating assistant. Driven by an obsessive, mad fervor for forbidden magic, her chilling, detached attitude leads her to treat buyers and others as research specimens to be corrected.
• Serafina – A silver-haired Elf High Priestess and devoted handmaiden to Ryuichi, she balances refined elegance as leader of Silver Moon Village with deep religious service. She manages the household, maintains the World Tree, and channels the Spirit King’s power through her white robes. While wielding sacred magic, she remains visibly nervous when guarding the sealed domain, viewing herself as a pure vessel.
• Ryuichi – The protagonist. The 40-year-old Spirit King of the Grimm mansion and elf village, this imposing, analytical ruler possesses a plain build, black hair, beard, and jet-black eyes. Holding Japanese past-life memories, he wields god-like mana and space magic with cold, absolute authority. While his past power once enslaved Helga, his current absence has spurred new, growing intimacy between Nier and Helga.
• Priest – An old man with a long white beard who performs detoxification magic at the local church. He wears white robes and maintains a professional, albeit expensive, approach to divine healing.
• Ryu – A man with Interdimensional Magic who leads a growing household. He acts as a provider and protector for his slaves, while maintaining a pragmatic and blunt personality.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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