The Freed S*aves Became Obsessed

Rumble!

The avalanche caused by the Yeti’s stomping roared down the mountainside.
Trees, rocks, and animals were all swept away in an instant, unable to resist the force. The ever-growing avalanche, swelling with accumulated snow, rushed toward the group with terrifying momentum.
“If you don’t want to end up as a frozen corpse, run!”

The warriors sprinted with all their might, turning their backs to the avalanche. Their bodies, strengthened through years of training and enhancement techniques, allowed them to run as fast on snow as they would on flat ground.
“Linbar, at this rate, we’re going to get caught!”
But escaping a natural disaster was no easy task. It wasn’t the Yeti but the avalanche itself that threatened to kill them.

Linbar ran with all her strength, but beside her, Ashies hopped lightly over the ground as if on a casual stroll. Even with the avalanche just behind her, she showed no signs of panic.
Her face appeared blank, as if she didn’t care about the world, but for once, she was actually thinking.
She was aware that the current situation was her fault. Her attempt to help had only made things worse.

If things continued as they were, the others would surely be caught in the avalanche.
She felt no guilt about this. Even the ability to feel guilt was sealed away within her.
However, people would blame Ashies, and the responsibility would ultimately fall on her master, Karami.
For some reason, she didn’t like that.
She couldn’t explain it, but it didn’t sit well with her.

She decided that she needed to stop this from going any further.
Whoosh.
Sliding to a stop, Ashies turned her body. She planted her feet firmly on the slope and faced the oncoming avalanche.

“Miss, why aren’t you running?”
Despite the urgent shouts, Ashies didn’t respond. The others, realizing there was no time to retrieve her, continued running downhill, leaving her behind.
Ashies closed her eyes.

She reached deep into the core of her being, beyond her emotions, to her soul.
There lay the icy curse of a dragon—a curse that had frozen her very spirit.
She tapped into it.
The cold that seeped from her soul gathered into a single point. Grasping the extreme, compressed cold, she pulled it forth.
As if drawing a sword.

Ashies produced a blade from her side—a sword made entirely of ice.
The blade gleamed white, as though forged from winter itself. The pommel was empty, bearing only the marks where something might once have been embedded. A chilling mist flowed from the blade like vapor.
While witches might use staves or yokai their fox beads as magical catalysts, Ashies’ sword resembled such tools but served an entirely different purpose.

This wasn’t a tool to facilitate magic. It was a weapon, pure and simple.
“….”
Ashies stared quietly at the sword in her left hand.

She didn’t fully understand what it was, even though she had created it herself. The act of crafting it had been entirely instinctual.
Yet, holding it felt familiar, comforting even.
Gripping the sword tightly, Ashies focused her gaze forward.

A massive avalanche surged down the mountain ridge like a white tidal wave, roaring as it swallowed everything in its path.
The boundary between earth and sky disappeared, leaving only snow and wind in their frenzied dance.
In the heart of the chaos—

Ashies stood still. The wind whipped her white hair, and the deafening roar of the avalanche filled the air, but she remained calm.
Crunch.
Ashies took a step forward. The snow yielded, bowing to her as it encased her legs.

She lightly swung the ice sword.
Crack!
The avalanche suddenly froze in place. The tumbling snow solidified into transparent, glass-like ice.

Wind, snow, and sound—everything halted as if time itself had stopped.
The avalanche transformed into a magnificent, lifelike sculpture of winter.
Crack!

One section of the frozen avalanche shattered as the Yeti burst through. Even in the midst of the frozen chaos, the Yeti remained unaffected.
Roar!
Beating its chest, the Yeti let out an enraged roar. Like an avatar of fury, it charged across the snowfield.

Its massive hooves crushed the ice beneath them, and the snowfield howled in its wake.
The beast’s shadow loomed over Ashies.
Ashies raised her sword.

Her movements were slow, like winter itself, but precise.
Shing!
The blade sliced through the air, grazing the Yeti’s arm.

Roar!
The Yeti let out a pained scream. The same arm that Jorn had hacked at repeatedly without success was severed cleanly by Ashies’ blade.
A fountain of blood erupted from the wound, staining the pristine ice like a vivid crimson brushstroke on a canvas.

As the Yeti swung its remaining arm at Ashies, her sword glowed, and ice began to consume the creature—not from the outside, but from within.
The exposed wound allowed the freezing magic to infiltrate its body, freezing its blood, organs, and every internal structure.
The Yeti was resilient to cold, but only its fur provided protection. Inside, it was just as vulnerable as any other living being.

Its exterior remained unchanged, preserving the Yeti’s final expression, creating the image of a lifelike statue.
“Haa….”
Ashies exhaled, her breath crystallizing into ice before dissipating.

The once-turbulent snowfield was now silent. Ashies stood as if she were the sovereign of winter, and the sword in her hand dissipated into mist.
She opened and closed her empty hand, feeling a strange sense of loss.
 

Despite a slight incident, the Yeti hunt was a success.
The soldiers who had fled downhill survived thanks to Ashies stopping the avalanche, and Jorn had safely withdrawn to a secure location with exceptional judgment.
To take down a Yeti, often called the lord of the snowfields, without a single casualty—there was no better word to describe it than “success.”

Of course, it was still hard to believe. Even Linbar, who had witnessed Ashies fight the wyvern, was left astonished.
Linbar scratched her head.
“I was trying to show off back there… now I just feel embarrassed.”

“Yeah, seriously. Did we even need to do anything?”
In the face of Ashies’ magic, the coordinated movements of the Northguard seemed like child’s play.
“Miss, have you ever thought about joining our tribe? We’d treat you well. How about becoming the chief?”

“That’s a great idea. A pretty chief would be way better than that stiff old leader.”
Ashies, with her overwhelming beauty and power, had already won over the warriors’ admiration.
Jorn interrupted, cutting off their banter.

“Enough nonsense. Recover the Yeti and return to the village.”
“Looks like the chief felt threatened. He’s wrapping things up fast.”
“….”

“Fine, fine. Just joking, Chief. No need to glare so intensely.”
The warriors chuckled.
The Yeti’s condition was immaculate. With only its arm severed and its internal body frozen, the pelt remained pristine.

Given its size—larger than average—and its excellent condition, it would undoubtedly fetch a high price.
The warriors couldn’t help but smile as they made their way back to the village, their steps as light as the falling snow.
Encouraged by the battle, they began pestering Ashies with questions.

“Miss, who are you? I’ve never seen magic like that before.”
“…….”
“You’re so secretive. You’ve got a lot of mysteries about you, huh?”

Ashies didn’t respond. How could she, when she didn’t know the answers herself?
The warriors, realizing her nature, didn’t press further. Instead, they marveled at the idea that someone so pure could exist in the world.
Even so, a sense of doubt naturally sprouted in Linbar’s mind.

“Miss, you said you were that guy’s slave, right? What was his name again?”
“Rami…?”
“Rami, was it? Weird name. Anyway, how did you end up as a slave to someone like him?”

Ashies tilted her head, her eyes darting as if in thought.
“I don’t… know?”
“What? You don’t know?”

Ashies nodded.
She didn’t even know how she had become a slave. This realization planted a nearly certain suspicion in Linbar’s mind.
“That bastard must have forced you to be his slave!”

It might seem like all slaves were forced into their positions, but in Ashies’ case, it felt slightly different.
Ashies was far too powerful to be enslaved. Someone of her strength could overcome any form of oppression the world threw at her.
Such strength couldn’t be bought with money. It could only be taken by force.

Yet, Ashies seemed too naive, too simple-minded, for someone with her abilities. Her innocence gave her an almost childlike charm.
Surely, Karami must have tricked her into becoming his slave.
It was the only explanation.

“Miss, you do know that being a slave is a bad thing, right?”
“…?”
“That guy’s a slave trader. A bad person.”

“Rami… is a bad person…?”
“Of course slave traders are bad!”
“So you didn’t know. No wonder things seemed off. Someone like you being a slave—it doesn’t make sense.”

Ashies, someone so powerful she could spark wars between nations, being enslaved to someone like Karami? It was absurd.
The warriors were convinced Karami had exploited Ashies’ innocence to make her his slave.
They felt sorry for her.

Their desire to help her grew stronger.
“Don’t worry, miss. We’ll make sure to set you free.”
Ashies didn’t fully understand what they were saying, but they seemed excited about it.

She nodded.
At times like these, nodding seemed like the right thing to do.
 

Following the flags, the group found their way back to the village without difficulty.
At the village entrance, the reindeer they had sent ahead were neatly lined up. The warriors who had gone ahead had returned safely.
To have such a successful hunt in just one day was cause for celebration. It was enough to warrant a feast of meat—a rare occasion.

“Let’s report to the chief.”
It was tradition to report the results of a hunt to the chief. Even though Darka was far from lucid, the Northguard valued respect for their leader.
Jorn and the hunting party headed toward the chief’s tent.

Something felt off.
The guards stationed at the tent’s entrance wore uneasy expressions.
“What happened?”

“The chief… that slave trader caused some kind of commotion…”
Jorn’s eyes narrowed. He stormed into the tent without hesitation.
Inside, even the most hardened warriors would have been shocked by the scene.

“Oh, my sweet child~ You’re eating so well. Here, have some more.”
“Haha, I’ve had plenty, thank you. Oh, Jorn, you’re back. How was the hunt? I hope my slave didn’t cause any trouble?”
Karami, lounging on the chief’s fur, greeted Jorn with a wide grin.

Darka, holding a rare fruit from the North in her hands, was personally feeding Karami.
The two looked like nothing less than a mother and her child.