Chapter 6: The White Ruin of Snowria

A sleepless night had passed since then—and the situation remained dire, teetering on the edge of catastrophe.

At the same moment the mysterious dragon appeared, an unmistakable abnormal weather phenomenon struck Snowria.

A frigid chill and ferocious blizzard, far too extreme for even this northern highland’s natural climate.

A frozen hell that obliterated all records of past cold waves with its overwhelming, bone-chilling intensity.

The skies above White Town were shrouded in thick snow clouds and a blizzard that threatened to paint everything white, dominating the landscape with a cold darkness that felt like midnight despite the break of dawn.

If care wasn’t taken, the desperate and precarious situation could lead to people getting lost in the city or freezing to death.

The residents and tourists of White Town had no choice but to huddle indoors, trembling in the cold, praying fervently for this abnormal weather to end as soon as possible.

As if mocking their prayers,

the chill and blizzard grew ever stronger with each passing moment, without limit.

There was no sign whatsoever of the weather improving.

Now, Snowria faced the brink of extinction—

“…The situation can only be described as utterly catastrophic.”

In the grand meeting room of White Town’s administrative hall, where a disaster response headquarters had been hastily established,

Mayor John addressed the gathered staff, council members, and patrol agency officials with a pained expression, summarizing the crisis.

“Due to this unprecedented record-breaking cold wave, the lives of Snowria’s residents hang by a thread. The most critical issue is this extraordinary chill… Millia.”

“Yes.”

Prompted by John, his secretary Millia reported to the assembled group.

“In response to this unprecedented cold, the city council has declared a Special A-Class Emergency Natural Disaster Response Act. Under martial law, the city has fully opened its fuel reserves to the citizens to help them endure the cold. Normally, these reserves would be sufficient for all citizens to comfortably survive a week until central aid arrives… but this cold is simply too intense. At this rate of consumption, the fuel reserves won’t last another day. Central aid won’t arrive in time.”

“W-what…?!”

The upper echelons of White Town’s patrol agency, administrative staff, and council members clutched their heads in despair.

“We must evacuate, Mayor! We have no choice but to load all citizens and tourists onto trains in stages and escape White Town!”

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible.”

Millia continued with a pained expression, responding to the patrol agency chief’s suggestion.

“Normally, the railway tracks in this cold region are made with a material called heatstone to prevent freezing. But in this outrageous cold, even the heatstone has frozen solid. The tracks are now completely covered in snow and ice, rendering them unusable. Furthermore, we’ve received reports that the steam engines have frozen and shut down entirely.”

“N-no… does that mean…?”

“Yes. We are completely trapped here in Snowria, surrounded by the Silvasno mountain range. In this blizzard, crossing the freezing Silvasno mountains on foot is beyond human capability. All we can do now is wait for the fuel to run out and freeze to death… That’s the situation we’re in.”

As everyone grappled with despair, Mayor John desperately rallied the group.

“We, who govern this city, must not give up! What we need is time! If we can buy enough time, aid from the capital will surely come! Until then, we must endure this cold at all costs!”

And so, John issued every conceivable order to the relevant parties.

“Administrative staff, recalculate the total fuel reserves and distribution pace. Make them last as long as possible, even if it’s just one more day or one more hour. And to the patrol agency, the southwestern part of White Town is the old city’s abandoned district, correct? There should still be some unprocessed old fuel depots and woodsheds there. Gather them immediately. If there are any abandoned buildings that can be burned, tear them down for fuel. Everyone, this is our moment of truth. Please, do your best!”

““““Yes, sir!””””

Under the mayor’s resolute leadership, the staff sprang into action as one—

“…It’s so cold… What’s going to happen to us…?”

Sitting in a chair, Sistine Fibel exhaled a white breath, her voice tinged with anxiety.

They were in the lounge of the mayor’s residence. The fireplace blazed red, and the coal stove roared with heat, yet the room was so cold it was hard to believe they were even burning.

Using magic could perhaps alleviate the chill in the room, but with the uncertainty of what lay ahead, conserving mana was the only option for now.

“Damn… Things have gotten completely out of hand…”

Glenn Radars adjusted his cold-weather gear, glancing around.

Sistine wasn’t the only one with a worried expression.

Gathered here, Rumia Tingel, Re=L Rayford, Francine, Colette, and even Ginny wore anxious looks, silently exhaling white breaths.

And what concerned Glenn most of all was…

(Celica…)

Celica Arfonia, who had said she wasn’t feeling well, was resting in a borrowed room upstairs in the mayor’s residence.

(That dragon… It spoke in the dragonic tongue, but it definitely called out Celica’s name. And it said its name was… the Silver Dragon General, Le Silva.)

The Silver Dragon General, Le Silva. Glenn remembered that name.

In Chapter Seven of the fairy tale The Magician of Melgalius, a Silver Dragon that protected a certain region was defeated by the Demon King, pierced by the《Dragon’s Key》, and fell under the Demon King’s command. That was its name.

Indeed, despite being a dragon, it was one of the Demon Generals under the Demon King.

(I’m not gonna ask why a Demon General from a fairy tale is showing up in reality now. Honestly, I’m sick of this pattern. The Demon Blade General Al-Khan, the Flame Demon Emperor Via Dhol with her《Flame Sword》, the Iron Cavalry General Accelo Iero with his《Ship of Flames》, and now the Silver Dragon General Le Silva…)

The evidence was undeniable.

(…Most likely, The Magician of Melgalius isn’t just a fairy tale. It’s a “record” depicting certain truths about the ancient civilization known as the super magic civilization. The Demon Generals were real… and the Demon King who led or ruled them was, in all likelihood, a real person as well…)

But that raised a single question—

(Why do they—the Demon Generals—know about Celica?)

That, above all, was utterly inexplicable.

(Even if the Demon King and their Demon Generals were real, they’d be from roughly 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. How could people from that era know about Celica, who’s living in the present?)

True, Celica was an Immortalist of unknown origin, with no memories from before 400 years ago.

But that was still only 400 years.

(No matter how you slice it, the timeline’s way off, right? Even if she’s an Immortalist with no memories, Celica’s still a modern human. There’s no way those ancient beings should know her!)

Could it be that, as an Immortalist, Celica had lived continuously since 6,000 years ago?

…That was impossible.

Because 400 years ago, after awakening, Celica had apparently traveled the country searching for traces of her past or connections. Yet, she found no evidence, no signs, no one who knew her from before those 400 years.

If she had lived for 6,000 years, there would surely be some trace of her existence, some connection, somewhere in the empire. Thus, the idea that Celica had lived continuously in this world for 6,000 years… was simply impossible.

(No, Celica’s true identity doesn’t matter right now. The problem is that Silver Dragon… the Demon General, Silver Dragon General Le Silva.)

If Glenn’s suspicions were correct, the cause of this abnormal weather was likely—

It was at that moment, as he pondered vaguely.

“…Excuse me.”

Mayor John, covered in snow, entered the room accompanied by Millia.

“Mayor… You’re back.”

“Yes, just to grab some documents. Glenn-san… How is Celica-san doing?”

“…She’s sleeping upstairs. She was pretty out of it.”

“I see…”

John fell into a pained silence, then cut straight to the point with Glenn.

“I have a question. During the dedicatory dance earlier, a Silver Dragon appeared before us. That’s a fact, correct?”

“…You remember it, Mayor?”

Glenn was surprised.

The fact that a Silver Dragon had appeared before them was something almost no one outside this group remembered. Most had even forgotten the dedicatory dance itself.

The Dragon’s Shout—had temporarily shattered their minds.

Many who witnessed the Silver Dragon’s appearance had, in their dazed state, dismissed it as a daydream or something similar.

Even Francine and the others, who had barely clung to consciousness, might have written it off as a dream if Glenn and the others hadn’t confirmed it was real. The mental destruction caused by the Dragon’s Shout was that intense.

Now, only rumors of the Silver Dragon’s descent circulated faintly through the city.

“I don’t remember it clearly. But in my hazy memory, I feel like I saw the Silver Dragon… and then, this abnormal weather hit.”

“I see…”

“And this abnormal weather… the cause is likely that Silver Dragon, isn’t it?”

At Mayor John’s sharp observation, Glenn let out a sigh.

“Yeah. An Ancient Dragon—that’s gained sentience and wisdom over thousands of years can control the natural phenomena and disasters in its domain. If a dragon like the Silver Dragon actually exists, it’s definitely an Ancient Dragon. In that case, this abnormal weather is, without a doubt, the Silver Dragon’s doing… Otherwise, a natural phenomenon this unnatural wouldn’t be possible.”

“…I see.”

Mayor John closed his eyes in frustration.

Everyone in the room vaguely understood it… the only solution to this crisis.

“I don’t know why that Silver Dragon suddenly appeared before us. Maybe the《Silver Dragon Cult》that’s been acting suspiciously lately did something… or perhaps there’s some other sinister plot at work in the shadows. I don’t know, and at this point, it doesn’t matter. The one thing that’s certain is…”

Glenn voiced what everyone knew but avoided saying.

“Unless we defeat that Silver Dragon, everyone—every human, every living thing in Snowria—will perish.”

A heavy silence weighed down on the group.

Dragon hunting. Normally, such a task would be a massive military operation undertaken by the army with meticulous preparation.

But in this situation, hoping for aid from the capital was futile.

The people currently in Snowria would have to carry out the dragon hunt themselves—

“…Sensei.”

Sensing Glenn’s resolve, Sistine quietly offered a suggestion.

“In the fairy tale The Magician of Melgalius, the righteous magician confronts the Silver Dragon—Silver Dragon General Le Silva, controlled by the Demon King—at ‘the peak closest to the heavens among countless ridges.’”

“It matches up that perfectly, huh? That’s creepy. Who the hell is Loran Ertoria…? Whatever. Mayor, what’s the highest mountain around here?”

Instantly grasping Sistine’s intent, Glenn questioned the mayor.

“…? What exactly does that mean?”

“The eighth peak of the Silvasno mountain range—Avesta.”

Millia answered in place of the confused mayor, and Glenn declared with certainty.

“Got it. That’s where the Silver Dragon is.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so certain, but… you have some basis for this, don’t you?”

Mayor John nodded to Millia, issuing orders.

“Millia, immediately notify the vigilantes and guards to organize a subjugation team—”

“No way!”

Glenn’s shout drew everyone’s attention.

“Going up against a dragon with sheer numbers is pointless! What we need is quality, pure and simple! To be blunt, in this cold wave, the only ones who can survive, reach the mountain’s summit, and fight are mages. In other words—”

With a resolute expression, Glenn looked at Sistine and the other students.

“—we’ll do it. If there aren’t any other mages, it’s gotta be us.”

Sistine and Rumia, startled, met Glenn’s determined gaze.

“I’m really sorry for dragging you into this every damn time, but… White Cat, Rumia, Re=L. Lend me your strength. I need you. You get it, right?”

At that,

“Yes, leave it to us!”

“I’ll do my best!”

“Mm. I’m Glenn’s sword.”

Sistine and Rumia nodded eagerly, happy to be relied upon.

“Hold on a second, Glenn-sensei!”

“Yeah, yeah! We can fight too, y’know!”

“Ugh… What a pain.”

Francine, Colette, and Ginny stood up as well.

“W-wait, Glenn-san! You can’t seriously send those kids—!”

Mayor John, flustered, tried to intervene.

“It’s fine, Mayor.”

Glenn flashed a fearless grin at him.

“These kids are mages too. Honestly, in terms of mage skill, they’ve already surpassed me. And they won’t be the ones on the front lines against the dragon. Naturally, that’ll be me and—”

“!”

“—the world’s strongest mage, right?”

At Glenn’s words, Mayor John and Millia gasped.

Yes, right now, in Snowria, there was the world’s strongest mage.

Celica Arfonia. If anyone could take on even a legendary Silver Dragon, it was her—

“What incredible fortune…”

“That’s right, Celica-san…! She might just…!”

“She went and ruined the dedicatory dance, so I’ll make her pay it back.”

With that,

Glenn left the room to speak with Celica.

“Still… she didn’t look so good. I feel a bit bad about this…”

Glenn headed toward Celica’s room.

Indeed, Celica was the world’s strongest mage, a seventh rank—Septende.

In this situation, with no hope of military aid, Celica was the only one capable of taking on the Silver Dragon. Her power was absolutely essential in this unprecedented crisis.

But at the same time, they couldn’t push her too hard. After the incident at Taum Celestial Temple, her power was still considerably restricted.

“That’s where we come in. We’ll get her to the summit where the Silver Dragon is without putting too much strain on her, and then we’ll support her fight however we can… It’s simple, but that’s all we’ve got.”

The question was whether Celica would agree to this plan.

“…She’ll agree, right? Please, say yes. If she pulls that ‘I’m not in the mood’ or some selfish crap at a time like this, I’m begging you, spare me. We really don’t want to freeze to death…!”

Muttering what didn’t entirely feel like a joke, Glenn shivered at the thought of such a scenario and stood before the door to Celica’s room.

He raised his hand to knock.

At that moment,

“Hm?”

Glenn noticed a fierce howling wind coming from the other side of the door.

Was the window in the room open?

“…Huh? The window’s open? …Wind?”

That was odd. The windows in this cold region’s houses were double-paned and fixed shut.

They shouldn’t be able to open at all.

“—!?”

A violently bad feeling surged through Glenn, and he forgot to knock, kicking the door open instead.

Instantly, a blinding white world assaulted Glenn’s vision.

“Celica!?”

Glenn stormed into the room, where a blizzard raged inside.

He saw that the window at the far end had been broken outward, as if kicked from within.

Naturally, the room was filled with freezing snow from the blizzard blowing in. The coal stove had long since frozen solid.

And as expected, Celica was nowhere to be found—

“Professor Arfonia’s gone!? No way!? Why!?”

Sistine, pale with shock, pressed Glenn for answers as he returned in a panic.

“I don’t know! Where the hell did she go at a time like this!?”

A bad feeling gnawed at him. A fiercely bad feeling.

This had happened before. That time, Celica had gone off alone—

As Glenn burned with anxiety,

Boom!

Suddenly, a tremor shook White Town.

“What!? Don’t tell me the Silver Dragon’s attacking again!?”

With Glenn in the lead, everyone in the room bolted outside the residence.

Emerging into the front courtyard of the mayor’s residence, they were, of course, battered by a ferocious blizzard and biting cold.

Their body heat was mercilessly stripped away… but they couldn’t afford to care.

Searching for the source of the tremor, Glenn and the others looked around—

“Sensei, look!”

“Wha…!?”

Glenn’s eyes widened as he followed Sistine’s pointing finger.

The mayor’s residence sat on relatively high ground, offering a good view of the distance.

Thanks to that, even through the raging blizzard, they could see a crimson blaze flickering faintly in the darkness far ahead, like a single point of light.

“That’s in the direction of… the base of Avesta Peak. What in the world…?”

Millia tilted her head in confusion at the sight of the flame.

But in this frozen hell of extreme cold, the number of things capable of producing such firepower was limited.

“That’s Celica’s assault spell! What’s going on!? Is she fighting something!?”

As if to confirm it, another tremor shook the city… and before their eyes, several bursts of light flared up in rapid succession in that distant darkness.

There was no mistaking it now. Celica was fighting in that location.

Whether her opponent was the Silver Dragon or something else,

in this horrific weather, no one but Celica could engage in such a flashy battle.

“Could it be… Professor Arfonia…?”

“Yeah, probably exactly what you’re thinking.”

At Sistine’s murmur, Glenn clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

In his heart, the words the dragon had spoken to Celica resurfaced.

—Let us settle this, Celica! I await you at the promised land—

“That idiot… She went to settle things on her own…!”

He didn’t know why. Why she’d taken such a reckless action alone.

But the circumstantial evidence spoke louder than anything, proclaiming the truth.

“What do we do, Sensei!?”

“What do we do? There’s only one thing—”

“Of course we’re going after her! Hurry up and get ready, you lot!”

Glenn was about to respond when… it happened.

“Th-this is a disasteeeer!?”

In the midst of this ferocious blizzard, a group of several people came rushing toward the mayor’s residence.

It was the security officers and vigilantes of White Town, each clutching weapons like sabers or batons, their faces etched with frantic panic.

“Oh, come on, what now!?”

“Mayor, it’s a disaster! A total disaster!? If this keeps up, the town… the town will…!?”

“Please, everyone, calm down. What exactly has happened?”

“M-monsters…! From the direction of Avesta Peak, a horde of monsters…!?”

“What did you say!?”

With that news as the catalyst, the situation began to spiral further into chaos—

The northern district, the gateway to White Town.

There, a nightmarish scene was unfolding.

Beings that could only be described as messengers from hell were swarming in droves, roaming the streets.

“W-what the hell are these things…!?”

Before the security officers, who had formed ranks in the grand plaza, stood their adversaries—

In a word, they were skeletons crafted from ice. The ice skeletons clattered their jaws, walking on two legs, extending their icy bony arms… and lunging at the officers.

But these were security officers, trained day in and day out to protect the citizens. They didn’t flinch at mere monstrosities, wielding sabers, batons, and pistols in a desperate counterattack.

However—

“It’s no use, Captain! No matter how much we stab or strike, we can’t bring them down!?”

“Tch!?”

No matter how many times they attacked, shattering the ice skeletons’ parts into pieces… the skeletons reassembled themselves, rising again to resume their assault.

And the number of enemies pouring in from the north only grew… it was utterly hopeless.

“Hii!? W-we should fall back for now, Captain!?”

“No way! These things are breaking through windows and doors, invading homes, and attacking residents left and right! We have to hold the line here until the residents can evacuate!”

“But our equipment can’t take these things down! If this keeps up—”

A creeping sense of panic and despair began to spread among the officers—when suddenly.

“Raaaaaaaagh!?”

Someone burst through the blizzard, charging fiercely into the fray.

“Take this!”

Glenn’s fist, enchanted with mana, struck.

“Hiyaaaaaaaah!”

Re=L’s greatsword, similarly enchanted with mana, flashed.

The vanguard of the ice skeleton horde pressing toward the officers was blown away, shattered into pieces.

“《O crimson lion・in righteous fury・roar and rage》—!”

Sistine’s modified Black Magic [Sacred Burst] unleashed purifying flames—

“《O holy guiding flame・lead them to the underworld・illuminate their journey》—!”

Rumia’s White Magic [Saint Fire] conjured sacred flames—

Together, they swirled with overwhelming force, engulfing the ice skeletons in an instant.

The skeletons shattered by Glenn’s group or melted by Sistine’s purifying flames showed no signs of rising again.

“What!? They… they actually took them down…!?”

“Everyone, listen up! These ice skeletons are the kin of the Silver Dragon General!”

At Sistine’s shout, the officers exchanged bewildered glances.

“The… kin of the Silver Dragon General?”

Indeed, these ice skeletons were documented in The Magician of Melgalius.

To quote the text—

“They are the souls of those once slain by the Silver Dragon General, frozen and trapped in that snowy mountain! Ordinary weapons won’t work on them! Please, officers, fall back!”

Amid the howling blizzard, Sistine shouted desperately to make her voice heard.

“You heard her, officers! Focus on evacuating the residents and tourists! Get them to the southern district, now! We’re setting up barricades at the boundary as we speak!”

Following her, Mayor John, breathless from his sprint, issued urgent orders.

“Mayor!? We don’t fully understand, but…”

“…Understood! We’ll handle the evacuation!”

With that, the shaken officers regained their composure and sprang into action.

“But—this is bad!?”

Glenn, pulverizing ice skeletons with precise thrusts, gritted his teeth.

“At this rate, we’ll never get to Celica in time!”

Using his magical vision to peer into the distance, Glenn saw the ice specters pouring endlessly from the foothills of Avesta Peak. Their onslaught seemed boundless.

“B-but if we abandon this place, the people of White Town will—!”

Sistine, unleashing Eve’s fire spells, grew increasingly anxious.

“But if we don’t take down the Silver Dragon, this’ll go on forever! We’re just wearing ourselves out—!”

They had to aid Celica and defeat the Silver Dragon.

But abandoning this place to help Celica would spell disaster for White Town.

Trapped in this impossible dilemma, Glenn and his group were at a loss.

And the merciless deadline of the town’s dwindling fuel reserves loomed ever closer.

(Damn it…! What do we do!? How do we…!?)

As Glenn gnashed his teeth… it happened.

“Heh—leave this place—”

“—to us—”

“…and go.”

Suddenly, three girls leaped in front of Glenn, charging into the heart of the ice specters.

“Raaaaaagh!”

Colette, her fists ablaze with explosive flames—Black Arts—smashed through the ice specters’ ranks.

“Hah!”

Next, Ginny hurled countless kunai etched with exorcising runes, each one piercing the specters’ foreheads with pinpoint accuracy.

In the next instant, a white shadow darted through the ice specters at divine speed.

“《I who peers into the mirror・thou who is reflected・we stand as two sides of the same coin・pursuing the truth》—!”

Summoning [Call Ego Advent]—Francine summoned a white angel, Maruaha.

This magical servant, a living reflection of her soul, spread its wings and soared. The sharp rapier wielded by its slender arm sliced the ice specters to ribbons.

“Whoa!? T-they’re strong!?”

In an instant, that section of the battlefield was cleared, leaving the officers wide-eyed in shock.

“Not bad, huh…?”

“…They’re… pretty impressive…”

Even Glenn and Sistine couldn’t help but let out awed murmurs.

“What do you think, Sensei?”

“We’re pretty good, aren’t we?”

“Ever since then, we’ve been training hard… to become the real deal.”

Colette, Francine, and Ginny turned back to Glenn with smug grins.

And following their lead…

“Everyone, follow Francine-san’s example, desu wa!”

“All of you, back up Colette-neesan!”

The students from St. Lily Magic Girls’ Academy, who had come to Snowria, rushed in, unleashing spells against the ice specters.

A total of about forty girls, each fighting with ferocious vigor, pushed back the specters.

Amid the chaotic melee…

“Hey, Sensei! Go save Professor Arfonia!”

Colette, swinging her flaming fists and knocking out specters left and right, shouted.

“Indeed, desu wa! Leave this to us!”

“Well, we did have that life-or-death snowball fight together. It’d leave a bad taste if we let her die.”

The quirky trio of Francine, Colette, and Ginny took down specters with surprisingly flawless coordination.

Their reliable performance against the relentless horde of ice specters was nothing short of inspiring.

A certainty welled up in Glenn—this place was in good hands.

“…Sensei.”

“Yeah, I got it!”

At Rumia’s urging, Glenn nodded firmly.

“You lot! We’re leaving this to you! Let’s go, White Cat, Rumia, Re=L!”

““““““Yes, sir!””””””

The girls responded in unison to Glenn’s call.

With his usual trio in tow, Glenn left the scene behind.

“Officers! Detach a unit to support these girls in their fight! Even if you can’t defeat the enemy, you can still slow them down! Please, we’re counting on you!”

“Understood, Mayor!”

At Mayor John’s command, the officers moved to support Francine’s group.

And so, in the midst of the blizzard, the battle to defend Snowria began in earnest—