Death Guns In Another World

Chapter 1678: Chapter 1496: Number 2



In the cold, dimly lit chamber, Maria unleashed her icy fury upon the doppelganger. Half- Maria, half-monster, it crumpled under the weight of her relentless assault. The stolen flesh, once a chilling mockery, now resembled a grotesque sculpture trapped within a cage of shimmering frost. Its mismatched eyes, one reptilian and one icy blue, locked with Maria's in a silent battle of determination. But despite its entrapment, the doppelganger was far from finished.

Ever watchful, Maria sensed a shift in the creature's energy. It wasn't defeated; it was regrouping. An almost imperceptible layer of frost formed, spreading outward from the doppelganger's form. It was a desperate attempt to counter Maria's power and buy time to devise a new strategy.

A sly smile curled upon Maria's lips as she belittled her adversary.

"Pathetic," she hissed, her voice reverberating through the chamber.

"Even your stolen magic is nothing but a feeble imitation."

Yet beneath her confident facade, a flicker of concern danced in her ice-blue eyes. This doppelganger was unlike anything she had encountered before. Its ability to mimic not only her form, but also her powers, presented a dangerous complication.

Suddenly, the doppelganger spoke, its voice a chilling blend of Maria's icy whisper and a guttural growl. "You underestimate me, Ice Queen," it rasped.

"I may be a copy, but I am an improvement. I have learned from your mistakes, absorbed your weaknesses. You rely on brute force and predictable patterns."

A tendril of frost snaked outward from the doppelganger's icy prison, a desperate attempt to break free. Maria swiftly countered, reinforcing the frosty cage with another layer of shimmering ice.

A suffocating silence descended upon the chamber. The doppelganger's struggles had ceased, its stolen form a shattered parody encased in an icy tomb. The victory, however, felt hollow. This fight, as brutal as it was, felt like a mere sideshow. With a growing sense of dread that gnawed at the edges of her icy composure, Maria realized that the true confrontation had only just begun.

There was another presence in the room. Not a hulking monstrosity or a shapeshifting terror, but something far more insidious. It lurked in the shadows, a formless entity that attempted to conceal its existence with a cloak of darkness. Though unseen, Maria could sense its presence, a malignant awareness that sent shivers down her spine despite the omnipresent chill. It was a presence that pulsed with a cold, calculating malice, a stark contrast to the creature she had just subdued.

Maria, ever the pragmatist, knew this charade was over. The doppelganger, for all its bluster, had served its purpose. It had revealed its secrets, its stolen magic a testament to her own abilities. Now, it was time to confront the true mastermind behind this macabre display. With a flick of her wrist, the icy cage encasing the doppelganger shattered. The creature within, a grotesque mosaic of stolen flesh, lay inert, its stolen power spent. Its defeat, however, wasn't the focus. Maria's icy blue eyes, usually reserved and emotionless, now burned with a cold fury as they scanned the inky shadows.

"Enough of this cowardice," she boomed, her voice echoing through the vast chamber.

"Show yourself! Face me, whatever lurks in the darkness!"

A faint tremor ran through the air, a ripple in the oppressive silence. The shadows writhed and contorted, taking on an unsettling life of their own. Maria held her ground, her hand crackling with a nascent frost, ready to meet whatever horrors this place might unleash.

From the swirling darkness, a voice emerged. It was a voice devoid of gender or age, a chilling whisper that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Welcome, Ice Queen," it rasped, the words slithering into existence.

"You have proven yourself... worthy. But are you prepared for what comes next?"

The shadows coalesced further, taking the form of a monstrous silhouette. It was a being of pure darkness, its form ever-shifting, impossible to define. Yet, despite its formless nature, a single, glowing red eye emerged from the swirling shadows, fixing Maria with a malevolent gaze.

Maria stood tall, her resolve unwavering. This was the true test, the reason she had been sent to this desolate place. She was ready to face anything.

"I was born ready," she declared, her voice ringing with icy defiance.

"You fight with borrowed tricks," she retorted, her voice dripping with a dangerous calm. "But tell me, creature, what happens when the original is far more powerful than the copy?" The doppelganger emitted a frustrated screech, its sound echoing through the chamber. It thrashed against its icy restraints, the stolen flesh cracking under the strain. The creature was trapped, its arrogance shattered like the ice beneath its desperate movements.

Yet, amidst the struggle, an unsettling feeling settled upon Maria. Although powerful this thing wasn't the source of the constant chill gnawing at her core. It was a mere puppet master, a tool for something far more sinister.

"I just have to kill this one and force that person to come out and play," she muttered, her voice laced with icy determination. This wasn't a battle of brute force; it was a game of chess, and she was determined to checkmate the unseen player.

Taking a deep breath, Maria unleashed a torrent of power unlike anything the formless entity had ever faced. "Cocytus!" she roared, her voice echoing through the chamber like the howling of a glacial wind.

At her command, the very air grew thick with frost. The temperature plummeted, dropping far below anything the entity, or even the corrupted realm itself, could have anticipated. It was as if Maria had ripped open a portal to the heart of a frozen world, unleashing a wave of unimaginable cold.

The formless entity shrieked, a sound that defied definition, as the encroaching ice began to solidify the shadows it called home. The chilling tendrils of Cocytus, named after the legendary frozen river of the underworld, snaked through the chamber, relentlessly consuming everything in their path.

With a snap of her fingers, Maria unleashed the final blow. The air crackled with pent-up power before the entire chamber exploded in a maelstrom of shattering ice. The formless entity, its form ripped apart by the sheer power of Cocytus, was no more.

Silence descended once more, broken only by the soft hiss of settling frost. The chamber was a frozen wasteland, a monument to Maria's power. But as the frost slowly began to recede, revealing the shattered remnants of the bone throne, a new wave of unease washed over her.

Maria's voice cut through the air, her arms defiantly crossed.

"Now isn't the right time for you to come out!" Suddenly, a shadow materialized, forming the silhouette of a human. It took the shape of a girl.

"Nice to meet the Ice Empress," the girl said, her voice filled with a strange mix of reverence

and something more.

"I'm Number 2." With a graceful bow, she introduced herself.