[Vol. 9] Chapter 60: Appraisal Complete, What a Fool
Veranica’s pupils shrank slightly. Even though they had only exchanged one move, she could already deeply feel how strong the other person was.
Although that earlier deflection was probably done with skillful technique, and the girl had even humbly said a few strange, modest words. The fact remained, she did block the strike. Just being able to do that meant her power was extraordinary. On the entire Icefang Island, there were probably no more than five people who could pull off such a feat. And judging by her calm expression, Veranica suspected she hadn’t even used her full strength.
Before the astonished commander could say anything, another young girl suddenly stepped forward as if crossing through thin air. She had black hair and wore white clothes. Unlike the cold, elegant first girl, this one immediately shouted in protest.
“Hey, hey! Didn’t we agree to let her choose on her own? Why did you jump in all of a sudden? That’s cheating! Totally cheating! Can’t you play fair for once?”
“?”
The first girl, surrounded by six fluttering ribbons, glanced at her companion with a slightly helpless look.
“This person may be a prisoner, but I can tell she hides many secrets. Her nature isn’t evil. Winning or losing a bet is one thing, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch her get hurt when I could stop it. Miss Violet, don’t you think you take games a bit too seriously?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re turning it around on me now? I never realized you could be this shameless before!”
“I just think—”
The two of them went on bickering endlessly, completely ignoring the person actually involved. Watching them argue like noisy birds, the commander’s cold, sharp eyebrows twitched in irritation. The shock and tension she had felt earlier, because she hadn’t noticed their presence and because of their overwhelming strength, slowly faded, replaced instead by curiosity.
These two clearly weren’t locals from Icefang Island. Veranica was certain of that. Such lively, carefree people simply couldn’t come from this harsh, frozen place, something she knew all too well.
As they even began arguing over who should pay the penalty for “breaking the bet,” the commander finally lost patience and cut in sharply.
“From what you’re saying, you’ve been secretly following me for quite some time, haven’t you? Do all strong outsiders have this much free time?”
“Eh?”
Realizing that their cover was blown, the playful black-haired girl froze for a second. Then, scratching her nose awkwardly, she gave a forced laugh.
“Ah, well… haha, don’t worry about the small details! We didn’t mean any harm, anyway. Besides, if it weren’t for us, you might not have even made it in here, you know?”
Hearing that, Veranica’s eyes narrowed slightly as she remembered the moment when a flash of silver light had appeared beneath the hot spring, along with a faint, cheerful female voice.
So it was her after all. That teasing tone was exactly the same. There was no doubt about it.
Realizing she had indeed been toyed with from the start, Veranica could only sigh inwardly. The mysterious power and confidence these two showed were so overwhelming that she didn’t even feel like staying on guard anymore. Instead, she asked her questions directly.
“So, you two were the ones who helped me get in here. You came to Icefang Island from the outside world, are you here for the relics left behind by the Great God Sinong? And the troops outside… were they sent by you as well?”
Without even hearing her name yet, the black-haired girl waved her hands impatiently, looking annoyed as Veranica fired off questions one after another.
“Stop, stop! So many questions, are you some kind of ‘why machine’? Relax, I’m not interested in stealing what belongs to you. It’s just a law-type divine weapon, no need to get so nervous… If you have questions, go ask her.”
She pointed at the snow maiden beside her. Without waiting for Veranica’s reaction, she walked straight toward the ice coffin, clearly intending to pick up the thick, nameless book that Veranica had wanted to examine earlier, but had been stopped from touching.
“Wait, what are you doing? That book—”
Veranica tried to warn her, but the other girl waved her hand without even turning around, as if she already knew what Veranica was about to say.
“Since we’re already here, let’s just deal with it quickly. I know what you’re worried about, but don’t worry, it’s fine.”
“……”
The Ice Demon girl frowned slightly, but in the end, she didn’t speak or try to stop her.
After all, no matter who these two mysterious girls were, their strength was clearly far above her own.
And judging from their actions so far, they didn’t seem to mean any harm. If they had wanted to take things by force, there would’ve been no need for tricks or pretending. And if they were after her divine weapon [World Burner], they wouldn’t have just stood by and let her claim it.
There wasn’t much room for negotiation anyway, and since that strange book looked dangerous, it was better to let them handle it.
Sure enough, when Veranica stayed calm and cooperative, the snow maiden’s clear, beautiful eyes showed a hint of approval. She didn’t go join the priestess to study the book inside the ice coffin. Instead, she gently pulled the puzzled leader of the [Scavenger Gang] aside, as if to have a serious talk.
“Veranica… right? My name is Moraya. Miss Violet and I have actually been observing you for a while. To put it simply, we’d like to discuss a possible cooperation.”
“Cooperation? With me?”
“Yes. But before we get into that… how much do you actually know about the secrets hidden in your body?”
……………………
On the other side, the priestess didn’t pay much attention to their conversation. The moment her fingertips brushed against the nameless book’s cover, Violet confirmed what she had already suspected.
As she thought, this book should not exist in this place.
It belonged to another god, one whose power was completely different from that of the Snow God, [Sinong], or the Fire God, [Faer].
Its nature was broken, cursed, and poisonous, like a crystallized law made of pure corruption.
It was a Book of Truth.
“Truth” itself was poison. That wasn’t just a metaphor. Ever since the God of the Azure Sea and Truth perished after peering too deeply into a forbidden truth. His divinity shattered, his soul destroyed, the law of “Truth” itself had become tainted beyond description.
A Book of Truth, a vessel made from fragments of divinity, was not something that just anyone could handle.
Even someone like Nitila, a direct descendant of the God of Truth with extremely high compatibility, had suffered severe backlash.
If a person like Veranica, who had no connection or resistance to that law, were to touch it, she would likely be harmed just from contact… or worse, it could plant some kind of dark, lasting curse deep within her.
Moraya, who had once fought and absorbed part of the god Octavier, and who now carried traces of divinity herself after taking in the remains of gods beneath the Frozen Sea, could instantly sense the danger within the Book of Truth, and had acted quickly to stop Veranica.
Though Violet often sounded argumentative, she actually understood why Moraya had intervened.
The real question was...
Why would a Book of Truth appear in a place like this?