Chương 35: Chapter No.35 Frozen Death

[Third Person's POV]

The battlefield had descended into chaos, a frozen wasteland strewn with bodies and shattered armour, frost glinting like jagged teeth under the dying sun. The Leviathan Axe hummed in his hand, its runes glowing faintly as if feeding off the devastation. The icy mist swirling around him was alive, a phantom that obeyed his every command, creeping into the hearts of those still standing, whispering of their doom.

"Pathetic," He muttered, stepping over a frostbitten soldier who crumbled to shards at my touch. The next wave was approaching, shields raised, spears bristling like the claws of a wounded beast desperate to defend itself.

"You're not worthy of this struggle," Aditya called out, his voice ringing clear and cold. "Turn back, and perhaps you'll live to see another sunrise."

The soldiers hesitated, their advance faltering at the edge of the icy wasteland that had consumed their comrades. Whispers of doubt rippled through their ranks as Aditya's words cut deeper than any blade. Many shifted uneasily, their grips tightening on their weapons, yet none could muster the courage to step forward.

Lord Ernesh roared from his position, his voice desperate to cut through their fear. "Cowards! Press on, or you'll face my wrath instead of his!"

The soldiers surged again, driven by fear of their lord rather than courage. Aditya almost pitied them. Almost.

"Very well," Aditya said, raising the Leviathan Axe. "If death is what you seek, I shall oblige."

...

"T-This!"

"H-How!"

"I can't see this!"

Every other noble watching from the palace walls was speechless and frozen in place, their minds struggling to comprehend the massacre unfolding before their eyes.

Aditya stood amidst the carnage, an untouchable force of nature that defied all reason. Each swing of his Parshu unleashed torrents of frost magic, shattering shields, freezing weapons, and turning the battlefield into a frozen tomb for those foolish enough to approach.

"This is Dharma! A True King's Dharma! If traitors are allowed to live, then they will one day or another become a threat to the kingdom, to its people, and to all that is right!" Mahamantri Siddharth shouted as he saw his foster son hack and slash through the enemy ranks with ruthless precision, the chilling cold of his Leviathan Axe leaving a wake of frozen corpses in its path.

The battlefield now resembled a scene from a nightmare: men frozen in mid-charge, their screams cut short as ice encased them, their weapons rendered useless as the frostbite spread through their limbs. The ground beneath Aditya's feet had transformed into a smooth, frozen expanse, slick with the blood and shattered bodies of those who had dared to oppose him. Yet, he remained unfazed, standing tall amidst the devastation like a king who had claimed his throne.

Lord Ernesh, now atop his warhorse, looked on in disbelief as his army crumbled before him. His once-proud soldiers had been reduced to statues of ice and broken flesh, their desperate attempts to charge repelled by the sheer force of Aditya's might. The aura of dread that clung to the prince, born of the wrathful magic of the Leviathan Axe, had stripped away the soldiers' will to fight.

Ernesh's eyes darted around, seeking a way out, a way to turn the tide. But all he saw was the ruin of his own forces. His once-feared army, which had been the cornerstone of his power, was now but a shattered remnant, their spirits crushed under the weight of their terror.

"Glaive Storm!"

Aditya's voice rang out like a thunderclap, and in that instant, the Leviathan Axe hummed with an ethereal energy. A pulse of frosty magic shot through the air as the axe was hurled from his grasp, spinning with a deadly precision. The axe seemed to defy the laws of nature as it cut through the air, its runes glowing brightly, each strike in its wake leaving a trail of frost. The moment it left his hand, the surrounding air grew colder, the temperature plummeting as if nature itself bent to his will.

The first soldiers in the path of the axe barely had time to react before it found its mark. The axe collided with their shields, shattering them into fragments of ice and sending them tumbling backwards, their bodies frozen in place. Aditya's attack continued its deadly arc, seeking out its next target with ruthless efficiency. The axe darted through the ranks of Ernesh's forces, striking down one soldier after another, each blow sending them into a state of near-paralysis from the intense cold. The freezing energy imbued in the axe caused their limbs to lock up, their bodies unable to move as the frostbitten pain coursed through them.

With each strike, the battlefield became a more desolate and terrifying place. The soldiers who had once surged forward with weapons raised were now scattered, frozen in place, unable to escape the unstoppable storm that was Aditya's fury. The Leviathan Axe, returning to its master's hand with a magnetic pull, reappeared as if summoned by his will, its surface gleaming with fresh frost as if it had just tasted the blood of its victims.

Aditya stood at the center of the devastation, his expression unreadable as he surveyed the carnage. The battlefield had been transformed into a frozen wasteland, a graveyard for those who had dared to challenge him. His enemies lay in shattered heaps, their frozen corpses frozen in grotesque positions, their faces twisted in terror and shock.

Draupadi, from her vantage point in the palace courtyard, watched with an unsettling expression of pride mixed with something far more dangerous—a deep, unyielding possessiveness. Her eyes followed Aditya's every movement, the way he wielded the Leviathan Axe like an extension of himself, as if it was a natural part of his being. She saw not just a prince, not just a warrior, but a man who had become a god of war, a ruler in his own right. Her heart swelled with devotion, the sight of him unleashing his power driving her to the brink of total obsession.

Lord Ernesh, who had once been so confident in his position, now stood atop his warhorse, his face contorted in disbelief and desperation. The remnants of his army, those few still able to stand, were scattered and broken. His forces had failed utterly, shattered by the very weapon that Aditya wielded so effortlessly. The wind howled around the battlefield, carrying the sounds of distant wails and the crackle of ice as it enveloped the remnants of Ernesh's army. There would be no mercy here.

"How... How is this possible?" Ernesh muttered, his voice strained with disbelief. He turned toward the few remaining soldiers who had managed to avoid the worst of the attack, but even they were shaking with fear, their courage long since spent. He raised his sword in a futile gesture of defiance, hoping to rally his troops, but the damage was done. The morale had been shattered beyond repair.

Aditya, standing alone amid the carnage, surveyed the battlefield with a cold, detached expression. His voice echoed through the frozen wasteland, carrying an icy finality.

"Your arrogance was your undoing, Lord Ernesh," he said, his voice calm and unwavering as he wiped a streak of blood from the edge of the Leviathan Axe with a casual motion. "You thought yourself invincible, that your forces would crush a single prince. But you were wrong."

Ernesh's eyes flickered with fear, his sword trembling in his hand. He had once been a powerful lord, feared across the land, but now, standing amidst the remains of his army, he was nothing more than a desperate man grasping at the last threads of his dignity.

"You—" Ernesh's voice cracked, the weight of his situation finally sinking in. "You cannot destroy me. I have... allies, power... You cannot—"

Aditya took a step forward, his eyes narrowing with an intensity that seemed to freeze the very air. "Enough."

"I AM YOUR UNCLE PLEASE HAVE MERCY—" Lord Ernesh flustered, his voice cracking with desperation. "I beg you, Aditya, I am your flesh and blood! Show mercy, I implore you!"

"You— you are telling... truth. Interesting~ and why do you think this new piece of information changes anything," Aditya's gaze remained cold and unwavering as he regarded the trembling figure of Lord Ernesh. The man who had once been a towering figure, proud and defiant, now stood before him like a broken shell, desperately clutching at the last vestiges of his power and pride.

"I-I..."

"Then tell me, where were you when every single member of the royal family was getting slaughtered by Takshaka?"

"I-I... I was—" Lord Ernesh stammered, his voice wavering in the cold, his mind scrambling for some semblance of justification. He could feel the weight of Aditya's gaze pressing on him, suffocating as if the very air around him had thickened into ice.

"You were nowhere, weren't you?" Aditya's voice cut through the fog of Ernesh's fear, his words dripping with venom. "You saw an opportunity and chose to sit back and watch as my family was slaughtered, did you not? You stayed silent, waiting for your moment to seize power. Your loyalty was never to the throne, to the kingdom, or to our bloodline. It was only ever to yourself."

Ernesh's eyes widened in shock, as if the truth had been a slap to his face. He opened his mouth to protest, but no words came. The weight of his betrayal was too much, and the hollow look in his eyes said everything.

"You knew exactly what Takshaka was capable of. You saw it unfold before you, and you chose to stay silent, perhaps even to support his actions from the shadows," Aditya continued, his voice growing colder with each syllable. "Do you think you can hide your treachery behind your bloodline now? The blood of my family stains your hands as much as it stains Takshaka's."

The silence between them stretched, thick and suffocating. Lord Ernesh's knees buckled, and he staggered back, his hands trembling as he clutched at his sword like a lifeline. His mind was reeling, caught in the sudden realization that the man before him, the prince he had once considered a mere obstacle, was not just his superior in strength, but in will.

"You may be my uncle," Aditya said, his tone dripping with contempt, "but that bond means nothing in the face of your treachery. I am no child to be swayed by empty pleas. You have already sealed your fate."

With that, Aditya lifted the Leviathan Axe high, the blade glowing with a fierce, malevolent light. He swung it downward with a grace and speed that belied its size, and the power of the strike shattered the air itself. The ground beneath Lord Ernesh cracked, and in the blink of an eye, the axe's cold edge cut through the lord's armor like paper.

Lord Ernesh let out a strangled cry as the icy blade buried itself into his chest. A final, chilling gasp escaped his lips, but there was no one left to hear it. His body crumpled to the ground, frozen in place as the frigid magic of the axe spread through him, encasing him in a tomb of ice.

Aditya stood above him, the once-proud lord now nothing more than a frozen statue at his feet. His expression remained impassive, his eyes cold as the grave. He did not need to speak any further; his actions had already delivered the final judgment.

The battlefield fell silent. The last few soldiers who had clung to life under Ernesh's banner had already fled or succumbed to the freezing wrath of Aditya's power. The remnants of Ernesh's army lay scattered, their bodies frozen in a grotesque tableau of defeat.

Sigh~

"This Truth Sensing power is something else..." Aditya muttered under his breath as he survay the frozen wasteland.

—Frozen Death.