Death... and me

Chapter 3389: Glacial Decay

The others also saw how Rean's attack was almost useless against that cover of snow above their heads, finding it surprising. 

"Let me give it a try," Gram quickly got up, accumulated his own Divine Energy, and attacked the same point Rean did a moment ago.

*Boom!*

The insides trembled even fiercer. No doubt Gram used even more strength than Rean did. Yet, Rean's attack earlier left a small mark on the snow. As for Gram's attack... not even a mark was formed anymore. "That's ridiculous!"

They didn't have time to think about it, though. In the next moment, as if using the sound of the attack to guide itself, a deep blue light began to seep into the hole slowly. No, it was not simple light but the Deep Blue Freezing Energy light! Looking in its surroundings as it passed through the snow, it was easy to tell that it was the reason for the snow to become that resistant all of a sudden.

"Not good!" Gram, Duleti, and Farlo immediately stepped back. They could tell with their Divine Senses. That Freezing Energy was the most concentrated one they felt so far, definitely on par with the attack that the Seal used against the ships earlier that day.

Kentucky glanced at Rean. "Do you still think it is just its natural response? I still don't see how we are 'the path of least resistance' inside this hole."

Rean bitterly smiled, having to agree with Kentucky whether he wanted it or not. That blue freezing light was indeed targeting them on purpose. Otherwise, this situation wouldn't make any sense.

Of course, Rean didn't just wait for the Blue Light to reach them. His Sky Energy accumulated, and he made a grabbing motion. It was the same movement as he did when he was back on the ship. He was trying to capture that light so he could have a good look at it.

It wasn't the best choice, though. The Freezing Energy in the light immediately reacted, and to Rean's surprise, it used his Sky Energy as a path to rush straight to his hand.

"What?!" Rean was taken aback, his Sky Energy failing to keep the Freezing Energy at bay. He quickly let go of his Sky Energy and jumped back as well. Still, a tiny bit of that Freezing Energy light touched his hand, and in the next second, half of Rean's hand had become frozen solid. "Holy mommy!"

Gram, Duleti, and Farlo opened their eyes wide. Rean and Kentucky had had no problem fending off the Freezing Energy so far. However, that Freezing Energy just now seemed to completely ignore Rean's resistance. If even Rean's hand was frozen that easily, they would stand even less of a change.

"What do we do?! We are trapped here!" Gram asked as the Freezing Energy continued to seep into their hole. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes to reach their bodies.

Rean accessed his Spatial Ring, which had one of his Swords there. It wasn't his Black Star, but it was almost as good. Right after, he slashed against his frozen hand, cutting it off. A burst of Light Element quickly followed, and a new hand grew in its place. He didn't need Roan's nutrient pills for this since his own body's reserves were enough.

Sure enough, Gram and the others were even more astounded with Rean's healing capability. It's just that Rean had no time to address their surprise. He quickly turned around, his expression serious. "Everyone, down we go!"

Before anyone could answer, Rean's Sky Energy circulated, and he attacked the ground!

*BOOM!*

Again, an enormous hole was blasted open, with the dirty being sent into Rean's Spatial Ring nonstop. They were deep enough that they had surpassed the snow field. "Inside!"

Their group quickly jumped in, and Rean released the dirt back into the air, using his Divine Energy and meager Earth Element control to harden it back above their heads.

It didn't take long for the Freezing Energy to reach that entrance of dirt. From deeper down, Rean and the others saw the dirt freezing, a layer of frost covered the room, and icicles quickly took form from the top where Rean had sealed the passage. 

Inside the icicles themselves, the Freezing Energy began to seep inside, coming from above. Yet, as if acting as a magnifier, it made it easier to look at the Freezing Energy, and Rean noticed several extremely tiny runes in that Freezing Energy Light. "Fuck, I know what it is! That's the Glacial Decay Runes! There has to be a Glacial Decay Airstream passing above our hiding place."

Back in the city, Ranfal had commented on some of the dangers of the Glacial Overflow phenomenon, the Glacial Decay Airstream being one of them. (Chapter 3379)

Duleti and Gram looked at each other. "The Glacial Decay? We mentioned it before, remember? We were caught by it on our last trip to this place. Still, it wasn't anywhere near as dangerous as this thing!"

Rean scratched the back of his head. "Well, seems like absolutely everything is going bonkers after that Demon Beast appeared. Let's keep going; we need to continue tunneling away from this thing."

Everyone nodded, and they used their Divine Energies and Spatial Rings to help Rean open a deeper hole, always using the dirt to cover their heads. After reaching a good profundity, they changed direction and began to tunnel sideways, still doing the same process of opening a path and filling it behind with the same material.

Three Space Bending Realm Experts and two Sky Void Tempering ones. None of them had Earth Element Affinity, but they still could more or less use some of it. With such an entourage, the tunnel was being opened and closed behind at a rate of hundreds of meters per minute. None of them had any intention of staying behind to see if the Freezing Energy of the Glacial Decay was still following them or not. As to why it was purposely targeting them, that didn't matter right now.

It wasn't before several hours that they finally stopped. From Rean's calculations, they probably moved almost two hundred kilometers away from their original position by tunneling efforts alone.

They could have gone much, much further. However, no one wanted to run out of Divine Energy, so they only kept a speed that they fought to be enough to outrun that Freezing Energy coming after them.

"Do you think it is still there?" Gram couldn't help but ask, looking behind after they stopped. They were probably a whole kilometer underground at the moment.

Rean wasn't looking behind, though. Instead, he looked above their heads. "The Glacial Decay Airstream covers a big area, so if it is targeting us, it would probably come from above first instead of the path behind us. Well, let's hope that's not the case."

*Zlizlizlizli...*

Yet, Rean was right. Only a few minutes passed, and the ceiling above the tunnel they had dug began to create a layer of frost. Not long after, the same icicles took form, and that confirmed Rean's theory. As long as they are within the range of the Glacial Decay, it would come down after them.

And as always, any Golden Tickets and Stones are welcome. ;)