Chapter 44: The princess has returned!    

As Eugène cursed and hid beneath a monster’s corpse, Felix quickly shielded himself with his shield.  

The supreme-rank mages had no need for concern.  

Sercia, enveloped in protective mana, watched the cascading ice thorns with satisfaction.  

“It’s pouring down nicely.”  

The snow continued to fall, and Blena didn’t stop her spell.  

The lizards that had swarmed in darkly were pierced by the sharp ice thorns, writhing on the ground.  

“Thorns of Bitter Cold.”  

Seth joined the fray.  

Lacking finesse in water magic, he was a beat slower than Blena, but as a first-class mage, his lethality was superior.  

Thanks to the barrage of ice thorns obscuring their vision, the situation briefly tilted in their favor.  

“Wow…”  

Unable to replicate the spell due to his inexperience, Alois gaped at the spectacle.  

“It’s about time to wrap this up…”  

Seizing a momentary gap to free herself from the monsters’ restraints, Rita glanced at Blena.  

As expected, Blena’s face was pale from nearly depleting her mana.  

When Seth also collapsed from exhaustion, the torrent of ice thorns ceased.  

Still, it had given Rita the chance to escape. 

Smiling at Blena, she gripped her staff.  

“Thorns of Bitter Cold.”  

Just as the power of a second-class mage’s spell differed from a first-class mage’s, the magic of a supreme-rank mage like Rita far surpassed both in strength.  

Her spell was more powerful, sturdier, and faster, piercing through the lizards with devastating force.  

“She’s sweeping them away spectacularly.”  

“That’s what makes her supreme-rank.”  

Rita’s pinpoint accuracy was unmatched.  

With snow still falling broadly and her mana overflowing, this battlefield was hers to command unless someone intervened.  

If it’s snowing at the base too, things might have improved there.  

Meanwhile, Satan’s expression crumpled as the tide turned. The sharp ice thorns left small scratches even on its tough skin.  

“Filthy humans who should just be prey…”  

Satan glared hatefully at the relentless snowflakes.  

No matter how transcendent a being it was, it couldn’t control the climate of nature itself.  

Baring its fangs and seething, Satan slowly stepped back.  

Rita’s brow furrowed as she noticed.  

Meeting her gaze, Satan suddenly grinned wickedly.  

“Looks like this isn’t my place to be.”  

“What, you’re running away?”  

Despite Rita’s provocative question, Satan nodded readily.  

“I’m not foolish enough to stay in a losing situation. I’m a being who wants to live longer and satisfy my instincts.”  

Shrugging, Satan spread its arms wide.  

Ashen wings unfurled from its back where nothing had been.  

The flapping wings stirred a reverse snowstorm.  

Hovering in the air, Satan looked every bit the demon.  

“I’ve changed my mind. There’s a better place for me than here.”  

With a vile laugh, Satan’s body shot upward.  

Rita’s eyes wavered as it soared high into the sky in an instant.  

“No way…”  

“Try to survive. I’ll deal with you later.”  

“Stop it! Catch it now!”  

Halting her spell, Rita quickly adjusted her grip on her staff.  

She fired ice arrows at Satan’s wings, but the distance was already too great.  

Attacks from Eilin and Floria, launched simultaneously, fared no better.  

Satan, now in its slender human form, flew higher and veered in another direction—toward the south, where their base was.  

“Wait! Is that bastard heading to the base?”  

Eugène shouted, and Rita pushed through the monsters to reach a relatively open space.  

“Spear Woven from Dreams…”  

Her gesture to summon a flying mount froze.  

Rita, realizing her mistake, scanned her surroundings.  

Whether by Satan’s command or not, monsters were pouring out of the forest above like a tidal wave.  

‘I can’t go.’

If she chased Satan on a summon, she might catch it, but the safety of those left behind would be at risk.  

In her past life, Rita would’ve chased Satan without looking back.  

But not now.  

‘Then we’ll all teleport with return stones…!’

Frantically searching her pockets, she hesitated again.  

For stable teleportation, they needed at least 30 seconds without interference.  

In the midst of battle, that was impossible.  

Even if it works, someone might…  

Biting her lip at the dilemma, Rita realized there was only one option.  

Defeat the monster horde quickly and pursue Satan with her team.  

“Everyone! I’m sorry, but please help me for a moment!”  

Rita shouted, sweeping away trailing monsters with a wave.  

Sercia signaled with her eyes.  

Understanding, Bailey and Valery rushed to protect Rita.  

Within the supreme-ranks’ protective range, Rita planted her staff in the ground and raised her hands.  

She closed her eyes, focusing.  

This wasn’t an ordinary spell, requiring meticulous attention.  

I tried this a few times in my past life, but always failed due to insufficient mana. 

This time, it’ll be different.  

Golden mana from her fingertips reached the staff’s tip, seeping into the ground.  

The mana spread like a spiderweb across the frozen earth, extending widely.  

It took about a minute for the pattern to glow vividly gold.  

Rita’s eyes, slowly opening, gleamed just as brightly.  

“Surging Frost.”  

Pulling her staff from the ground, she struck it down with force.  

The golden web froze white, and massive reverse icicles, the size of a person, erupted from beneath every monster caught in the web.  

They mercilessly slashed through the monsters, staining the white ground with red blood.  

“This is…”  

“Unbelievable…”  

The supreme-ranks, halting instinctively, stared in disbelief.  

Over a hundred crisscrossing icicle pillars had impaled most of the ferocious monsters, leaving them dangling limply.  

The white and red scene was chaos—nay, a disaster.  

“Is this… what a Grand Mage can do?”  

Stunned, Valery turned to the usually stoic Eilin.  

Even from Eilin’s perspective as a mana user, this area-of-effect magic was absurd.  

The mage trio—Blena, Seth, and Alois—stood dumbfounded, weapons lowered.  

“Monster.”  

“An area-of-effect attack spell…! I thought it was just theoretical, but… as expected of Lady Rita…!”  

Seth and Blena muttered simultaneously, while Alois couldn’t contain his awe.  

Blena laughed it off, calling Rita a genius, but Seth insisted her skill showed practiced mastery.  

‘I was worried I’d fail by casting too wide, but it worked. My head hurts, though…’

Exhaling deeply after completing the spell, Rita fought the headache from extreme mental strain.  

But she couldn’t show weakness.  

“It’s mostly cleared. We should head to the base.”  

Her area spell had felled most of the lizard horde, leaving the surroundings eerily empty.  

The supreme-ranks were stunned as the monsters they fought dropped dead instantly.  

Thanks to this, the tide turned, and the remaining monsters began retreating cautiously.  

“We should use the return stones. There’s a temporary teleportation circle at the base…”  

Blood trickled from Rita’s nose as she urged haste. 

Wiping it casually with the back of her hand, she faced her team.  

They frowned, clearly concerned about her condition.  

But they couldn’t force her to rest—her personality and the urgent situation left no room for that.  

“Alright, but get your body healed first,” Sercia said, patting Mikael’s shoulder before turning away.  

It was her best call.  

***

“The princess has returned!”  

The moment they broke their personal return stones and teleported to the base’s magic circle, a thunderous cheer erupted.  

The scenery shifted to a region near the southern port city, the final defensive line used as a refuge in emergencies.  

“We made it back, but…”  

“This doesn’t look good.”  

Normally, this place would be bustling with civilians assisting soldiers. 

Now, it was chaotic with injured soldiers.  

In the distance, smoke rose from the north, accompanied by booming sounds.  

“I’m gonna die!”  

“Priest, please… my wounds…!”  

Screams and groans of pain mingled, creating a grim atmosphere.  

Rita stared at a snowflake on her palm.  

Snow fell under dreary clouds, but it was too weak to be used for magic.  

Blena and Seth, also eyeing the snow, shook their heads, noting it wouldn’t help the situation much.  

“Princess!”  

A knight, Kyle, with a splint on his right arm, ran up with a haggard face.  

Recognizing him as a knight under Marquis Grendel, the acting commander, Sercia immediately asked,  

“Explain the situation.”  

“Forty minutes ago, lizard-like monsters attacked the northeastern outpost, then swept through the forward camps. Within twenty minutes, they reached this main base. Ten minutes ago, a giant winged lizard appeared in the sky, spewing flames.”  

“Satan,” Valery muttered, his face twitching, now familiar with the fragment’s name.  

“Where is it now?”  

“We… don’t know. It burned the northern forest and then vanished.”  

“And the commander?”  

Kyle hesitated.  

“He led the troops but was caught in the winged lizard’s flames…”  

Unable to finish, Kyle swallowed his anguish.  

Sercia, who highly regarded Marquis Grendel for leading the subjugation force in her stead, could only remain silent at his death.  

“Now, Count Roya, the deputy, is leading the troops.”  

“I see…”  

“Sorry to interrupt, but where are the Mage Tower’s mages?” 

Blena asked urgently.  

Kyle glared at her for her rudeness but froze under Rita’s chilling golden gaze, recognizing her as the Grand Mage and oracle bearer.  

Quickly softening his demeanor, he answered, 

“The Tower Master and some mages headed to the northeastern outpost, but… I don’t know more. The holy knights and mercenaries went there too!”  

Eager to avoid trouble, Kyle added updates on the other forces.  

Eugènee, about to raise his voice, relaxed.  

“Then we head to the northeastern outpost,” Valery said.  

Before he finished, Princess Sercia took the lead, and the others hurried to follow.  

Passing the central tent, the acrid smoke thickened. Satan’s flames had reached here, with patches burning.  

“The situation…”  

“Ugh…”  

Further up, they encountered soldiers retreating from the northeastern outpost.  

Injured soldiers wept at the sight of the supreme-ranks, their cheers sounding like, 

“Why did you take so long?”  

“Let’s hurry.”  

The group, now more solemn, picked up their pace.  

The situation at the northeastern outpost was dire.  

Under Count Roya’s command, a defensive line held, but it was being overwhelmed by a massive enemy force.  

Worse, adult monsters had breached the line, slaughtering soldiers.  

“Ugh… I need a moment…”  

“Having to get used to something you shouldn’t…”  

The inner defensive line, a former battlefield, was littered with mangled corpses—human or monster, indistinguishable.  

Traces of fire and the battlefield’s stench made breathing difficult.  

The visible scene was despair itself.