The Freed S*aves Became Obsessed

Where Valcrash reigned, no life would remain.

Those were the words left by a Northerner who once feared him.
An orc who offered his very soul to the ice, swearing loyalty to the Frost Dragon, Skadia. Blessed with the dragon’s power, Valcrash became the tyrant lord of the North.
A towering figure surpassing even the mightiest of orcs, astride his Frost Direwolf, Valcrash commanded legions. Cities he passed through did not even burn—for flames dared not rise in his wake.

A world of death and silence.
His cruelty drove all life to bow its head and leave, as though the earth itself had given up breathing.
Renowned knight orders had once been dispatched to slay Valcrash, but they all became fodder for his twin axes. Their skulls, strung together, now hung as grotesque trophies around his neck.
People no longer tried to stop Valcrash.
They simply prayed he would never come to where they were.

And now, this same Valcrash was walking toward Ashies.
Their eyes met.
A strange sense of kinship, incomprehensible to others, passed between them.
“You… You carry His power.”

Without question. Valcrash felt Skadia’s blessing radiating from Ashies. Her appearance, beyond even orcish ideals of beauty, was anything but ordinary.
“You must be Skadia’s mate. How did you leave His nest and end up here?”
“I… I’m Rami’s slave…?”

“Rami? Who is that?”
“Rami is… Rami…”
“…?”

A questionable mate for Skadia, to say the least.
But her circumstances, her thoughts—none of it mattered to Valcrash. She had dared to intrude and slaughter his subordinates.
It was his duty to punish her and return her to Skadia.

“If you surrender now and bow your head, I will settle for taking one of your arms.”
“No… Give Baskal… back.”
Her defiance was childish, like a child refusing to understand the situation.
Valcrash sighed softly, shaking his head. Then his eyes gleamed sharply as he gripped his ominous, dark-red twin axe.

Thud!
His massive legs pressed into the earth, causing it to sink as the snow scattered violently, as if crying out.
Resting the axe on his shoulder, he gathered his strength. For a moment, his steel-like muscles swelled.

“Don’t die.”
And then he swung.
A merciless strike that made his words meaningless.

The earth split apart.
The ground along the axe’s path tore open, exposing its raw depths.
Like an avalanche consuming all in its wake, the force surged forward.
Ashies flinched slightly, her delicate brows twitching.
It was the strongest blow she had ever faced.

She hastily erected a thick wall of ice to protect herself.
CRAAAAASH!
The strike collided violently with the ice.
The ice screamed as it splintered and shattered.

A cloud of snow and earth erupted, obscuring her vision.
Just as Ashies tightened her grip on her sword, focusing her senses, the ground began to tremble again.
Like a storm incarnate, Valcrash charged forward.

With every step, the ground cracked and cried, the snow exploding into the air in his wake.
He wasn’t attempting a surprise attack.
He marched forward boldly, announcing his presence as he bore down on Ashies. Once more, he brought his massive axe crashing down.
THOOM!

A deafening boom echoed.
Ashies remained unscathed. The ice barrier she conjured at the last moment had shielded her once again.
Yet, for the first time, her expression grew serious.

She and Valcrash were now within striking distance, closer than Karami had ever gotten to her.
Even the berserkers, enhanced by shaman magic, had succumbed to her cold. But Valcrash merely bore a thin layer of frost on his skin.
It was remarkable.

Valcrash had spent his life in the North, blessed by Skadia’s favor.
Yet even he couldn’t completely resist Ashies’ icy power. It meant that the blessing she carried surpassed Valcrash’s own.
To Valcrash, it was an infuriating truth. He had sworn with his very soul and sealed his loyalty with blood, while Ashies… received greater power simply for being beautiful.

But what could he do?
The world was unfair, favoring beauty above all else.
If it was unfair, then he would simply overcome it with his own strength. And Valcrash did have that strength.
Crack.

The ice groaned ominously as faint cracks began to form.
Ashies flinched and retreated.
BOOM!

Just as she moved, the ice shattered, and Valcrash’s axe struck the spot where she had stood.
There was no time to breathe.
Valcrash’s piercing gaze locked onto her again.

And then he charged.
There was no finesse, no technique—just a wild, unstoppable onslaught, like an enraged storm.
To stop his advance, Ashies cast her magic.

Jagged ice spikes shot up from the ground, crisscrossing to pierce Valcrash’s body.
“That won’t work.”
The spikes shattered against him, unable to deal any meaningful damage.

Even when she froze his legs to bind him, it was useless.
Valcrash broke free with barely a pause.
Brushing off the magic, Valcrash closed the distance.
Gripping his axe in his left hand, he drew his right fist back. A sinister red aura swirled ominously around it.

Valcrash hurled his fist—a living sledgehammer.
“…!”
Ashies blocked with her ice shield as always, but the result was different this time. The shockwave from the strike passed through, overwhelming her.

Her body was flung backward.
This opponent was different.
Her instincts screamed it at her before her mind could think.
Ashies spun mid-air, creating a platform of ice perpendicular to the ground.

She landed lightly, then launched herself forward.
Her sword swept diagonally, clashing against Valcrash’s axe.
CRAAAAK!

The sound of ice colliding with metal screeched through the air.
Valcrash swung his axe forcefully, knocking Ashies back. She flew into the air again, but this time, she repeated her attack, using the same maneuver.
Between her strikes, she wove in bursts of magic, forcing Valcrash to defend and divide his focus.

But the battle wasn’t progressing as Ashies intended.
Her combat style blended graceful movements with versatile magic, yet—
 

Valcrash was a power-type warrior, sacrificing speed for overwhelming strength.
Both combatants had their advantages and disadvantages, making matchups difficult to determine. Yet in this case, Ashies was at a clear disadvantage.
Valcrash, also blessed by Skadia, resisted Ashies’ magic.
Her greatest specialty was, for this moment, rendered almost useless.

Her swordsmanship was undoubtedly exceptional, but it wasn’t enough to pierce Valcrash’s seemingly indestructible body through sheer skill alone.
Whoosh!
Valcrash twisted his massive upper body.

A savage spinning slash tore through the air with crushing force.
Unable to withstand the impact, Ashies was flung backward, sliding across the ground.
Valcrash rested his axe on his shoulder, looking down at Ashies with a bored expression.

She was Skadia’s chosen human.
He had expected more from her.
Most challengers who faced Valcrash fell in a single blow.
For Ashies to survive multiple exchanges meant she was more skilled than those before her—a feat worth some pride.

However…
“You are empty.”
Completely empty.

Even the weaker Northern knights had displayed a burning fighting spirit. But Ashies?
She carried nothing.
Her eyes held a flicker of will, but it was far from enough to stir Valcrash’s interest.
It felt like battling a ghost.
His excitement had long faded.

Valcrash was a warrior.
The tyrant of the North who reveled in combat and slaughter.
Amid days clouded by ennui, he had finally found a worthy opponent. Yet, if it ended like this, it would be unsatisfying.
How could he draw out her spirit?

Scanning his surroundings for something useful, Valcrash’s gaze settled on the slaves.
Amid the corpses of orcs, the slaves remained unharmed.
They were protected by a translucent shield of ice—Ashies’ magic.
The irony of Skadia’s chosen mate coming here just to save slaves was not lost on him, but he didn’t care. Valcrash gestured to his subordinates and turned his gaze back to Ashies.

“From now, there is a time limit. Come at me with everything you have. Burn your spirit. If you do not… those slaves will die.”
At his command, the orcs surrounded the ice barrier.
They began striking it with their weapons.

“Please! Spare us!”
The slaves huddled together in the center, trembling.
The unsettling sound of weapons smashing against the ice rang in their ears.

Ashies’ magic had created the barrier, so it wouldn’t break easily.
But it wasn’t unbreakable. With each strike, shards of ice fell away.
“…!”
To protect them, Ashies summoned icy eagles, sending them soaring toward the orcs.

“KWOAAAAAAAH!!!”
Valcrash let out a roar that shook the very air. The deafening sound shattered the eagles mid-flight, leaving nothing behind.
“If you cannot defeat me, you will not reach them.”

“……”
For the first time, Ashies’ cold expression shifted. Her brow furrowed.
Displeasure.
And clear hostility.

Valcrash smiled in satisfaction.
“Now that’s more like it. Yes, that’s the face I wanted to see.”
Ashies lifted her sword and closed the distance in an instant.

A streak of white and blue surged forward.
Her frost-tinged blade danced like a blizzard.
For every single defense Valcrash made, five swift strikes rained down.
When he attacked, Ashies smoothly dodged and countered, hammering his massive body.
An unrelenting barrage of strikes.
Not a single moment was wasted.

At first glance, it seemed like a one-sided fight.
But the truth was different.
No matter how many times she struck, Ashies couldn’t deal any significant damage to Valcrash.
Her attacks had grown sharper, fiercer—but it still wasn’t enough.
The pattern of her blade began to show hints of desperation. Valcrash noticed it immediately.

With a sudden upward slash of his axe—
“Ugh…!”
Ashies barely managed to block it, angling her sword vertically.

But had her strength reached its limit?
The blade, weakened by the ongoing fight, shattered like glass. The ensuing force hurled her backward.
She tumbled across the ground, unable to land properly, before finally coming to a stop. Her once pristine white hair was now stained with dirt.
This time, the blow had been significant.
Ashies struggled to rise.

Even if she stood, what would change?
Her sword had broken.
There was no way to pierce Valcrash.
The will that had carried Ashies wavered. The curse seized the opportunity, trying to snuff it out completely.

The fragile sprout of will, just beginning to push through the harsh cold, was being crushed underfoot.
 
In fairy tales, there is always a hero.

Someone who helps the weak.
Someone who understands their emotions.
Someone who can stop a child’s tears.
Stories that leave the audience warm and hopeful.
No matter the hardships, fairy tales always end happily.
And so—

“Shall I give you a hand?”
It was inevitable that a helper would appear.
To lift the fallen protagonist back to her feet.
To give her a push when she hesitated.
Karami stepped casually out of the fortress.

He twirled a blue-and-white chalice with a careless flick of his wrist.
Wobble, wobble.
It swayed obnoxiously in his grip.