Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume13 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 1===

After setting off from Frost Town, several hours had passed.

Reaching halfway up the mountain happened even later.

It was currently noon but the sky was blotted by thick layers of clouds, making it totally impossible to see the sun.

The blizzard was blowing harder and harder. Mixed with frost and snow, the raging winds howled while they rampaged.

The view was just a wide expanse of white.

"...It's almost impossible to see ahead!"

Inside the blizzard, Kamito yelled towards Rinslet.

As soon as he opened his mouth, a strong gust of cold air went straight into his lungs.

"You must keep Fenrir's tail firmly in your sights!"

Rinslet's voice could be heard from somewhere.

She was supposed to be advancing while riding Fenrir's back, but given the pure-white view, Kamito could not even tell which direction was which.

Relying on Rinslet's voice, Kamito tried hard to find the figure of Fenrir the vanguard.

More precisely, he was looking for the light from the spirit crystal tied to Fenrir's tail.

The faint light swaying in the blizzard was the only beacon to guide Kamito's direction of advance.

Finally finding that faint light ahead in his view, Kamito adjusted his direction slightly.

To prevent sinking into the deep snow, Kamito focused divine power into his legs, staying in a state akin to floating. This was a technique for moving over snowy terrain and it required extensive training to master.

(...This turns out to be more exhausting than imagined.)

The Academy's uniform was already woven with magic for resisting cold, but even together with extra winter clothing, this extreme cold was still unbearable. Entering these snow-covered mountains without sufficient preparation would undoubted lead to getting frozen to death.

Of the prepared fire spirit crystals, two were already about to become spent. Once exhausted of power, fire spirits would return to Astral Zero, turning spirit crystals into something indistinguishable from transparent stones.

Although Kamito was struck with an impulse to simply release the Demon Slayer's power to blow apart the blizzard, actually doing so would probably cause a massive avalanche.

Kamito quickened his pace and finally caught up to Fenrir ahead.

"...H-Huff... Although I prepared myself mentally... Nothing less expected of the Kyria Mountain Range."

Almost out of breath, Kamito stabbed the Demon Slayer into the snow.

"From now on, the road will get even tougher."

Riding Fenrir, Rinslet looked back and said.

"Say, it's about time for a break, right..."

"No, you must break past this place before the blizzard exhausts your stamina."

"I guess you're right..."

Looking around, Kamito saw that there was no place at all to stop and rest.

Taking out a water bottle, Kamito took a sip of black tea which had plenty of sugar and raw ginger added, warming up his chest instantly.

There was also a tiny piece of fire spirit crystal inside the flask to prevent the tea from freezing over.

"I remember there's a cottage built for hikers up ahead. There is a stove inside there, so we could warm up some milk and make some pancakes."

"Then I'm looking forward to it."

Rinslet's pancakes were probably his only hope in this freezing hell.

"But you see&mdash;"

Kamito looked up at the sky with its heavy layers of clouds.

"It really doesn't seem like an ordinary blizzard..."

"...Indeed. I have never seen it snow like this in all my years growing up."

Rinslet nodded.

Even if someone possessed a spirit with flight capabilities, it was probably impossible to fly under these conditions.

"Could it really be Zirnitra...?"

"...Zirnitra?"

Kamito asked with curiosity.

&mdash;Speaking of which, he seemed to have heard this name at the tavern yesterday as well.

"It's an ancient legend in the lands of Laurenfrost."

Rinslet explained.

"Zirnitra is the guardian spirit of Laurenfrost. A thousand years ago, during the Demon King War, spirits that were fighting under Demon King Solomon's banner were sealed into this Kyria Mountain Range, so the story goes."

"Uh... In the end, it's just a legend... Right?"

"Yes. However, no one knows for sure whether that kind of spirit actually exists for real."

Rinslet shrugged and took out a slightly larger spirit crystal.

"I shall release Fire Magic's Protection. Please step back slightly."

"Yeah, got it."

"&mdash;O burning flame of protection, I beseech thee to grant us thy protection."

Pouring divine power into the spirit crystal, Rinslet recited an incantation of releasing.

Instantly, the spirit crystal released powerful heat, covering the surroundings with warm air.

An anti-snow barrier was deployed from the spirit crystal, finally freeing up visibility that had been invaded by the snow.

However, Kamito could not help but gasp at the scene before them&mdash;

A giant valley of two opposite walls of ice. The path running along the precipitous cliff suddenly became very narrow. A single misstep would mean falling directly to the bottom of the valley.

"...Are we taking this route? It's going to be a pain."

"There is actually a safer route, but if we followed that one, it would be impossible to traverse this mountain today."

"I see, then it really can't be helped..."

Kamito took a step forward. Fragments of ice underfoot rolled and fell to the valley's bottom.

"We should hurry, Fire Magic's Protection cannot persist for long."

If the spirit crystal's effect vanished halfway, survival would definitely be impossible.

With Fenrir heading the vanguard, the two of them followed cautiously after him.

Along the way, Kamito saw countless ice caves on the opposite cliff face.

"Those ice caves, are they naturally formed?"

"People say that those were the homes of Frost Giants."

"I see..."

The Frost Giants were a race that had come from Astral Zero to this continent and built a vast empire before the rise of mankind. Although they had already gone extinct several thousand years ago, the countless ice caves dug out from the walls of the cliff remained preserved and untouched, giving a somber feeling of history.

Just as Kamito's emotions stirred while he was looking at the ice caves...

He heard the sound of wings flapping overhead, sounding strong enough to tear the air apart.