I waited for an eternity, but that moment never came.
Did I die instantly?
As I thought that, I realized I wouldn't have been able to think that if I was already dead.
I am unable to reason what has happened.
However, I no longer hear any sounds.
Perhaps, I have already appeared here in the world after death.
I'm scared, but I open my eyes.
Filling my view was a sight beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
It was a world of ice.
Death Road Tarantula, Iron Crawler, and Mad Skull.
All had become statues of pure white ice.
The Mad Skull, which was inside the inner part, collapsed with a crunching sound and fell apart.
The skull and the main body cracked and collapsed onto the ground with a loud sound, similar to a window breaking.
It was completely frozen to the very core.
Compared to my own Frost Nova, which only freezes the surface, this power is in another league entirely.
I doubt there is a demon left alive after this.
"...Eh?"
I don't understand what just happened.
I reached for my staff, while being confused.
"Hyaaah!"
The staff was so cold, that I dropped it instinctively.
In this world of silence, I heard a clanging sound.
Was that the reaction to the sound? One voice reached my ear.
"Ahh, what a relief..."
Walking confidently between the statues of ice, it was a solitary young man.
The moment I laid eyes on him, I began to feel my heart beating really fast.
It was the man of my dreams.
Features that seemed kind, and hair that seemed to be soft.
He was tall and wearing a robe, but despite appearing to be a magician, he also seemed to be solidly built.
Dressed in grey robes and holding a large staff, he came towards me.
He looked down at me with a face that seemed to be openly relieved.
"EHH? Ehh?"
I was embraced tightly.
It was a warm, powerful, and reliable pair of arms wrapped around me.
It was a lightly sweet scent mixed with a little bit of sweat. However, it seemed to be a nostalgic smell to me.
He squatted down, and buried his face into the nape of my neck, and as he inhaled deeply he was moved to profound emotions.
"Su~u...."
"....!"
And then I had noticed something.
I had not had any kind of a bath for about a month.
"Ah!"
The second I realized this, I pushed him away.
"What's this?"
His face had a surprised look.
Ah, I'm hopeless. I did something inexcusable like that.
Even though he just came to rescue me.
Ah, but still, I don't want to be thought of as stinking...
Ah, no... wait... do I really need to worry about such a thing right now?
What's this?
I can't follow this line of thought.
"S-Sorry, I think it may be a little smelly..."
"S-Smelly... is it? Ah, I'm sorry!"
I received a bit of a shock when he started to smell his sleeves.
"Ah, not that! I meant myself. Because I have been trapped in here for a month now."
"Oh, that's what you meant? Well, I don't happen to mind it, you know?"
"Well, I do happen to mind it."
I shouldn't have said that.
Well, it was fine as it is thought.
I should first give him my thanks.
Then, I should properly hear his name.
"Thank you very much for taking the time to rescue me."
"No, it's only natural that I do."