Chapter 184: I'm Going to Die

The Flame Gun turned into a crimson meteor, tearing the remaining ice and steam, moving faster than it arrived, bearing the faint light of "Preservation" destiny, and, defying the ice mountain's incoming path, brazenly thrust back toward the distant Kevin!

The Flame Gun shot like a dragon, its fire blazing across the sky!

Kevin's ice‑blue eyes seemed to flicker with a promising glimmer.

He did not dodge, but simply raised the bat in his hand, ready to meet this unexpected Counterattack.

Yet the aftershock of this peak showdown remained a catastrophic disaster for the fleeing souls in the opposite direction.

Qiana kept sprinting headlong, dodging the main ice mountain, never expecting that after Xing Na's Counterattack shattered the mountain, countless sharp ice shards of varying sizes burst and splintered, fanning out like buckshot and blasting outward!

Several of those fragments were as large as a tabletop, their edges razor‑sharp, and—by sheer coincidence—were howling straight toward her disheveled back!

The sound of cutting through the air was sharp and ear‑piercing.

Qiana heard the sound, glanced back in a rush, and felt her soul soar outward!

The ice shard's shadow rapidly expanded in her suddenly constricted pupils—too close, too fast, at a cruel angle—there was no escape!

A wave of icy Despair instantly seized her heart, overwhelming all fear and clamor.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely at that moment.

"I'm going to die… is this how it ends?"

Countless images flashed before her eyes: Yimei's gentle smiling face, the warmth of her fingertips as she tied the scarf around her ("Yimei… goodbye, in the next life, the life after that, I still love you!").

Bronya's perpetually expressionless face, and the limited‑edition Hoom doll she had secretly hidden—Bronya's favorite ("Bronya, I'm sorry, who let you win that game last time and be so… the doll is in the box under my bed, remember to look for it…").

Teacher Jizi's arms, reeking of alcohol yet incredibly reliable, and Aunt De Lisha's loud but caring admonitions…

The revolving lantern of memories spun rapidly, weaving regret, reluctance, and a lingering resentment that she still hadn't truly become a capable, protective S‑Class Valkyrie.

Just as the lethal ice blade was about to strike her spine—

A slightly impatient female voice suddenly echoed deep within her consciousness, clear as if whispering beside her ear:

"Idiot. Open your eyes."

The voice carried a strange magical power, or rather, a command.

Qiana reflexively flung open her eyes at the final instant of near‑death, looking toward the direction from which the voice came.

The scene before her switched instantly.

The suffocating extreme cold, the howling ice shards, the deafening roar… all vanished.

In its place was a bizarre space that seemed to exist between reality and illusion.

And beneath her feet lay the familiar plaza in front of the Saint Freya Academy's main Teaching Building!

The sensation was real, yet no one surrounded her; the academy's structures appeared hazy and silent, like faded Memory.

"W‑What… is this place?"

Qiana looked around bewildered, completely unable to grasp the situation.

Shouldn't she have been in that terrifying Training Room, about to be smashed by ice into 'Qiana‑chan'?

"Look here, you fool."

The female voice sounded again, laced with obvious displeasure.

Qiana followed the voice and saw, not far ahead, a few meters above the ground, a purple silhouette silently hovering.

The light wasn't blinding, yet it oddly distorted the surroundings, preventing her from seeing the figure's exact face or attire; she could only vaguely discern a feminine outline, an elegant posture, flowing hair, and an aura both mysterious and powerful.

The purple aura swirled around her like a living entity.

"Who… who are you?"

Qiana instinctively took a half‑step back, her mind full of caution and confusion, "I… I wasn't hit? Where am I? Hallucination? Or the afterlife?"

"Hmph."

The purple figure let out a cold snort, the voice dripping with the exasperation of "Are you an idiot?", "Of course you weren't hit. Those crude ice shards couldn't even… Hmph, in short, you're fine now; your consciousness was temporarily pulled here."

"Oh… good that I'm not dead, good that I'm not dead."

Qiana exhaled, patted her chest, then furrowed her brows, "But who are you? Why did you pull me here? And what was that Training Room just now? Who were those two people? …"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

The purple figure seemed pained by the barrage of unfocused, wildly jumping questions; its aura flickered, and with an even more impatient tone it said, "One question at a time! Who am I? Even if I tell you, you might not get it! The point is— you're just too weak, aren't you?!"

"Huh?"

Qiana was stunned by the sudden rebuke.

"Look at the cowardice you just showed!"

The purple figure's tone was scornful, "Cowering with your head tucked, all you do is scream for help or close your eyes waiting to die! Where's your battle? Where's your Kaslana bloodline? Where's your… pitiful Valkyrie competence? Got eaten by a dog?! Absolutely disgraceful!"

Qiana, bewildered by the scolding, then a bit defiant, whispered, "It's not my fault… In that situation, anyone would have run… That white‑haired old man wasn't even human! And that gray‑haired girl, she's insanely strong! I… I'm just an ordinary Valkyrie…"

"Ordinary?"

The purple figure seemed to hear a cosmic joke, its aura jerking violently, "What misunderstanding do you have about yourself? Forget it… Explaining to a brain‑dead insect like you is too much effort."

Qiana blinked her deep‑blue eyes, her face full of bewilderment, "Brain‑dead insect? What's that? Can you eat it?"

The purple figure: "……"

A suffocating silence spread through the purple consciousness space.

The cluster of light and shadow seemed to freeze, even the swirling aura halted for a moment, as if some entity was undergoing a severe mental storm.

After a while, the female voice sounded again, trying to stay calm while undercurrents roiled, each word squeezing out like from between teeth: "…I'm comparing you to a single‑celled organism, brainless, only able to writhe on instinct!"

"Oh…"

Qiana nodded vaguely, then asked, "So what exactly are you here for? Just to scold me?"

The purple figure's aura quivered violently again, as if drawing a deep breath, deciding to abandon futile attempts and get straight to the point:

"Listen, idiot. I'm here to help you."

"Help me?"

"Right. Seeing you being chased and beaten like someone is chasing a rabbit, I really… can't stand it."

"His voice was full of the awkward 'I'm doing this for my own face' feeling—'It's too shameful. So I plan to come in person.'"

"Qiana was even more bewildered: 'Come in person? Come for what? To help me take the beating?'"