VIP Chapter 558 Hypothermia (2) (3k)
Everything was going smoothly.
*Thump, thump, thump, thump.*
The light beams struck the shield, only to be “reflected” by the shield with sounds like raindrops.
They advanced unhurriedly as if caught in a torrential downpour.
The dazzling beams even pierced through the small screen, shining on Daisianwei’s face as she watched everything.
“Another dead end… We’ll keep moving along the right wall to get out.”
In the video feed, the three of them had once again run into a “mirror” directly in front of them, blocking their path.
Will strictly adhered to the rule of navigating “a maze with an exit” by walking along the right wall.
Although they occasionally encountered dead ends, like being startled by a mirror.
However, it reduced their aimless wandering in the all-mirror maze.
Will had also tried to break through directly with his attacks, but as soon as he threw an attack, the mirror would grow out from the ground like a plant.
So, they could only conserve their strength and solve this as a maze.
“Ia, can you still hold on?”
“It’s too easy. I’ve already reduced the shield’s strength to the minimum required support, as you instructed, Dear. This allows for the maximum duration.”
“Surprisingly… technically accurate terminology…”
The keywords Ia suddenly uttered from her domain made Treya, the “top student” beside her, widen her eyes slightly in surprise.
“So! It’s fine, let’s move forward!”
Even though they had lost members, even though they were facing the deepest and strongest dungeon, named “Death”…
“Hmm… Ms. Ia, with such a smile, she has indeed added a bright color to a team that has experienced ‘Death’ once.”
Daisianwei, outside the screen, watched Ia smile so brilliantly and spoke slowly.
“Alas, of course I know, Ms. Ia.”
She seemed to have been sitting for too long, so she shifted her body, crossing her legs under the table and then switching their positions.
“For you, laser attacks with ‘density’ but no strength only require maintaining the lowest level of ‘shield’ to withstand them. They don’t even constitute ‘consumption’.”
The strength Daisianwei had applied to the lasers was even at a level that Will felt “safe.”
She followed Ia’s gaze on the screen towards Will.
Will, who had been advancing within the shield, looked ahead with an expression that seemed much more relaxed, perhaps because Ia was by his side in this section.
“Your beloved Will can be well under your protection, and… as long as you don’t deactivate the Ice Array shield, he can keep going.”
Daisianwei’s camera angle shifted slightly.
It panned towards their swaying hands as they walked.
Ia’s footsteps suddenly quickened by two steps.
They could then see her quietly move closer to Will from the side that Treya couldn’t see, and then slowly reach out her hand towards his swaying left hand.
Slowly, she was about to take his hand.
To “commemorate” this brief and rare moment of fighting side-by-side…
“It’s just, Ms. Ia. Have you ever considered that the laser you blocked might actually be designed to maintain your icy shield and, through it, transfer the temperature from your body… away?”
“!? ”
Then, she showed an expression of surprise, and her hand immediately retracted from Will’s palm.
“Oh dear, you’ve discovered it.”
Daisianwei’s smile deepened.
In the screen, Ia’s eyes widened as she looked at her fingers, especially the fingertips that had just touched Will’s palm.
“So… so hot?”
Her eyes grew larger, filled with disbelief.
“Huh? Ia, what’s wrong? Did you just touch me…”
“Stare—”
As Will asked, Ia also felt Treya’s gaze on her.
“Didn’t we agree that if we were to have physical contact, all three of us must be able to see it, to give each other a chance to react?”
Treya said calmly to Ia, but it was precisely this calmness that made Ia’s tail tremble slightly.
“Huh? Wait, you guys would agree to something like that?”
“Strictly obeying Will’s orders. Therefore, we need unified rules to allow us to coexist ‘peacefully’—so, Ia, what were you just doing?”
“N-nothing. I just bumped into you accidentally. Really… really nothing.”
Ia clenched her fingers, as if to conceal something.
This step seemed to be within Daisianwei’s predictions as well. She continued speaking in a “narration” style:
“Yes. Ms. Ia, who carries insecurities, worries most about not being useful, so she will seize this opportunity.”
“However, her teammates might just perceive this as her ‘shyness’.”
“What a pity, truly a pity, as this was the only time you could have stopped it.”
“Ia?”
Will’s eyes shifted from Ia. The lenses of his glasses reflected a faint glint of light.
After changing his angle, his deep blue eyes could meet Ia’s gaze again.
“Listen carefully, Ia.” He sighed. “Here, we might encounter a ‘death’ we’ve never experienced before…”
“I… I know.”
Will patted her shoulder thoughtfully, making sure she was looking him in the eyes.
“If you find yourself ‘walking towards death,’ you must be prepared.”
He ended with a meaningful remark.
“Mmm.” Ia released her clenched hand. “I will.”
After a wait of more than five seconds.
Daisianwei’s smile appeared.
It was exactly as she had expected; Ia had not honestly revealed the scalding heat she had felt.
“Mmm, mmm, mmm—that’s right, that’s how it should be~”
Daisianwei almost clapped her hands, applauding Ia’s slow progression towards “death.”
“That’s right. That’s right. Even if you discover something is wrong, you won’t say it immediately. Because the end is just outside, you’ll believe you’ll be fine once you get out.”
On her “screen,” the blade of the guillotine was positioned over Ia’s somewhat pale face.
“Moreover, is it such a trivial little problem? Right? Ms. Ia.”
Everything was still going “smoothly.”
*Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.*
The sound of the light beams became more frequent.
But…
Ia’s beast ears were no longer perked up as before; they had drooped slightly.
Ia’s grey eyes seemed to be covered by a faint white mist, no longer as clear as before.
Ia’s steps became slower and slower. While it wasn’t to the point of being unable to advance, she was clearly much more “sluggish” than before.
“It’s so cold. You’ll think that.”
Daisianwei, outside the guillotine, commented on Ia, whose pace was gradually slowing.
“Even though it’s summer both inside and outside the dungeon, why is it so cold? You’ll think that.”
She even began to imitate Ia’s tone, then added in her own icy “Daisianwei-style” announcement.
“This cold feels like a winter where you slowly walk alone in that forest. You’ll think that.”
“Why? Why is it like this? You’ll ask.”
“Where did it go wrong? But it’s okay… we’re almost at the end. You’ll comfort yourself like this.”
Ia’s shield dragged on the ground.
“You suddenly feel ‘hot,’ past a certain point, your body feels like it’s under high temperature.”
Daisianwei stared at Ia, who had started rolling up her sleeves.
For a maid, the hottest it could get was rolling up her sleeves.
“Ia, it’s just ahead, we’re almost there. Are… are you okay?”
*Thump, thump, thump, thump.*
“You can’t detect the source of your abnormality, nor can you discover any ‘threat’ other than the laser above your head, but you vaguely feel that you are about to ‘die’.”
*Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.*
More light beams struck the shield, and Ia’s ice-blue shield indeed acted like a large umbrella, protecting the person under it…
The one she loved most.
“And so, you maintain the final shield and arrive… at the destination.”
Daisianwei gazed at the screen.
“Please cherish it, what I’ve left for you… when you still have a trace of ‘warmth’ left, the words you can speak—”
“Think carefully about what final words you should say.”
“We’ve reached the end. Ia, you can deactivate…”
*Thud.*
With the sound of the final laser beam, Will looked at Ia.
She reached out and pushed Will’s back, allowing him to take a step forward onto the stairs leading to the next level, which were free of mirrors.
She stood there. Although Will was only a few steps away from her, she could no longer keep up.
“Ia? What’s… wrong?”
“I can probably… only… protect you until here.”
Ia’s voice was hoarse, her fingers and teeth trembling, as if she were deep inside an extremely cold refrigerator.
“It’s… so cold. But… as long as I think of escorting you all the way here… my ‘death’ will be… enough…”
The moment Will reached out to embrace Ia, Ia “suddenly” collapsed onto his chest.
“So… so cold… Half-beasts should have… higher temperatures… right…”
Even his voice began to tremble.
“That… was actually a freezing beam, wasn’t it? Because my most frequently used defensive skill is ice-attribute, they specifically tricked me into opening my shield…”
“It’s okay… If I have to face ‘death’ one day… this is… this is the best choice for me—”
“I… I don’t feel cold at all, even at such a frigid temperature, I don’t feel like I did back in the forest. Because… you were always walking in front of me.”
“As long as you are alive, every day is like a warm spring day…”
“So, sacrificing myself to protect you…”
“Is my… best…”
She didn’t finish her last words. Her already cold body became even colder and slid down.
Her joints and knees had become “stiff,” and her face was covered in a thick layer of frost.
*Thud.*
The shield in her hand lost its final support and slid onto the ground.
*Crack.*
In front of Daisianwei, the blade of the guillotine…
Fell another quarter of the way down.
The blade, stuck halfway, precisely locked at the position of Will’s neck.
