Chapter 24
In the paradise of Elysion lived many races, both divine and mortal alike.
“Lady Elinne, please step back. It’s dangerous.”
But not all races bowed to the current divine empire.
“Frost Giants aren’t your average monster. Just approaching them might cause you to freeze!”
“It’s fine. I dressed in thick clothes. Should I make you some gloves too?”
Now adept at wielding Arachne’s power, Elinne nonchalantly waved them off, bundled up in a thick fur coat.
When she handed them gloves spun from the silk of the fluorescent spider, the heroes could only gape.
“…They’re warm.”
Still, no one refused them.
Soon, every soldier nearby was wearing matching fluffy gloves.
Elinne followed them up to the watchtower with a satisfied smile.
The paradise land of Elysion was known for its eternally warm, springlike weather.
And yet, there were times when the sky would turn pitch black and blizzards would rage.
When even the cup of water in one’s hand began to frost over without warning, their arrival was all but guaranteed.
【Frost Giants: A mutated variant of the Titans who once ruled Elysion. Though once said to possess intelligence, they’ve become what they are now through the passage of time.】
Frost Giants were dangerous beings.
Among the monsters that still existed, they were said to be the most grotesque and violent.
And judging by today, the rumors seemed true.
Even Nerva’s face had hardened for the first time.
“Stay calm! Everyone, hold your positions!”
Surrounding Nerva’s palace was a massive wall.
Unlike other divine palaces, hers was built like a fortress, prioritizing function over beauty.
It was that very wall the Frost Giants had begun to attack.
Boom. Boom!
As the Frost Giants swung their enormous maces, the ground trembled like in an earthquake.
If it had been any ordinary wall, it would’ve been reduced to rubble in seconds.
“Those wielding fire relics, step forward! Don’t get caught by the ice barriers!”
Beyond the high walls, enormous shadows loomed.
Towering as high as a three-story building, their bodies were jagged with icy protrusions, radiating a cold so deep it glowed blue-white.
Against Nerva’s army, assembled with the finest heroes, they were no real match, but their appearances had been growing more frequent of late.
Fortunately, the battle ended quickly.
Before the might of the fire relics, the few Frost Giants collapsed in clouds of thick steam.
As soldiers dragged away the corpses, a piece of armor clattered off.
What she had assumed was rugged skin turned out to be armor, frozen solid under a layer of ice.
Underneath the shattered plates, skin of a deep bronze hue was revealed.
The swirling snow made it hard to tell what was flesh and what was armor.
But upon closer inspection, the face exposed beneath the broken helm didn’t seem much different from theirs.
Thick, shaggy hair dusted in ash-gray, closed eyes, only two, and a single nose, a single mouth.
The stories about four-jawed mouths spitting icicles or ten eyes that could see through blizzards were all nonsense.
“Ugh, disgusting.”
Just as she was tilting her head at the thought, a voice cursed beside her.
“Look at that disgusting bloodline. Hideous.”
“It makes me want to throw up. Brainless brute.”
“…But, they don’t look that monstrous, honestly?”
“What?”
The heroes who’d been handling the corpses turned to her, clearly stunned.
Their glares were so openly hostile, it was shocking.
“I mean, I’d heard they were horrifically grotesque, but… aside from the size, they look pretty close to human.”
Trying to understand where her words had gone wrong, she quickly added…
“…Well, I guess it’s not surprising Elinne wouldn’t know.”
The heroes who had bristled suddenly relaxed when they realized who had spoken.
And one by one, they began to chime in.
“It was centuries ago, and she hasn’t lived here long.”
“Right. Just look at her face. She’s obviously led a soft life.”
“But don’t say that kind of thing elsewhere, all right?”
They looked at her like she was some clueless little sister.
It wasn’t a flattering gaze, but she quickly masked her irritation with an innocent smile.
“I didn’t know. It’s my first time seeing a Frost Giant, actually.”
“See, I knew it!”
“Then have you heard of the Hydra? Way up north in Elysion, there’s this snake with nine heads…”
As the topic finally shifted, Elinne joined in with enthusiastic nods to steer the conversation away.
But her eyes kept drifting to the Frost Giant being carried away.
‘No matter how I look at him, he doesn’t look like a monster. Why do they hate them that much?’
She didn’t dare say it out loud, but to her, they looked just like oversized humans—nothing more.
And yet the hatred was so intense. It felt like more than just a war between species.
‘Was there some kind of terrible history behind it?’
Elinne’s gaze fell on a massive helmet that had rolled to the ground.
Snow was beginning to pile over it.
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