Bound To The Dead: The Deceptive Class-E Farmer-Chapter 81: Breaking The Ice

Grommon groaned and pushed himself to his knees, spit trailing from his lips.

"You freak... You think you’ve beat me?!"

With a roar, he swung his chain again, with both hands. The spiked ball spun wildly, ripping through the air toward Isaac like a meteor.

Isaac didn’t flinch.

He didn’t dodge.

He simply raised his hand.

And with a sharp backhand, slapped the chain mid-air.

CLANG...

The ball was launched sideways at full force.

It slammed into the ice barrier, embedding itself halfway into the ice with a deafening crack.

Grommon’s eyes widened.

"What...?"

Isaac didn’t answer.

His hand was still raised when the sickle flew from the ground behind him.

Whoosh!

The black metal curved through the air, pulled by some unseen force, and landed perfectly in Isaac’s right hand.

He gripped it without even looking.

Then walked forward.

Grommon stumbled back.

"S-Stay back..."

But Isaac had already decided.

One step. Two steps.

He raised the sickle.

Then...

"I’m not done yet."

The voice came from the side.

Isaac turned his head.

Silveth.

Still conscious. Bleeding. Smiling.

He darted in again, fast and low, with two small knives drawn. His grin was twisted, half confidence, half desperation.

"Persistent, huh?" Isaac said.

The words were calm.

He shifted slightly, just enough to avoid the slash.

Then moved.

Slice.

The sickle traced a clean arc through the air.

Silveth froze.

His legs, both of them, fell away beneath him.

Blood sprayed across the ice.

He didn’t even scream at first. His eyes shook, trying to understand what just happened.

Then...

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

He hit the ground, writhing.

But Isaac wasn’t done.

He stepped over Silveth’s torso.

And swung again.

SHHK!

The left arm came off.

CRACK!

The right arm followed, falling beside it.

Now Silveth lay there, his body convulsing. His limbs are gone. Blood pooling beneath him.

His mouth hung open in silent agony before another scream tore out.

Katros gasped in horror.

Even Grommon stopped moving.

Everyone watched.

Silent. Frozen.

Isaac stood over him, his sickle dripping.

He raised it once more.

The blade hovered just above Silveth’s neck.

Silveth’s eyes widened in panic. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.

Then...

Isaac stopped.

His grip tightened, but the blade didn’t fall.

He lowered the weapon slowly.

And knelt.

"No," he said softly. "Not yet."

He looked into Silveth’s eyes.

"You’ll feel it longer this way."

There was no anger in his voice.

Just cold honesty.

Sadistic.

Detached.

Silveth whimpered.

Isaac stood again, turning away without finishing the kill.

His steps were calm and steady.

His sickle lowered. His steps slow.

But even before he took his second step...

Whoosh!

A sharp gust of air.

Isaac’s head tilted.

Lander was already in the air.

His sword burning with roaring flame, was raised high above his head. The heat radiated off it, warping the air around him.

"DIE!"

His voice boomed as the flaming sword came crashing down.

The fire exploded, growing wilder in its descent.

This wasn’t just a sword strike, it was a judgment.

A force that could split mountains.

Isaac didn’t move.

He looked up.

His left hand raised, calm and steady.

And caught the sword.

Barehanded.

BOOOOOM!!

The impact sent a shockwave ripping through the ground. Ice cracked. The barrier behind Isaac split further. Flames exploded behind him, carving a deep, wide gouge through the floor.

Smoke and steam surged upward.

A few strands of Isaac’s hair drifted down.

Burned away by the heat.

His grip held firm.

The blade didn’t move.

Lander’s eyes widened.

"What...?"

That was all he got to say.

CRACK!

Isaac spun.

And kicked.

His heel smashed clean into Lander’s ribs, launching him backward like a cannonball.

BAM!!

He slammed into the ice barrier with brutal force. Another spiderweb of cracks spread from the point of impact.

Lander coughed blood, body twitching, barely able to breathe.

Isaac exhaled slowly.

His hand was still smoking, skin slightly burned.

Grommon’s hands trembled, His shoulders slumped, his body broken, but his eyes were still alive with fear.

"Katros..." he whispered.

Katros flinched at the sound, still frozen from what he had just seen.

"Bring down the shield," Grommon rasped, voice low. "Now. We’ll escape."

Katros turned slightly, uncertain.

But before he could even lift a hand, Isaac was already there, standing behind him.

"No!"

SHHK!

The sickle pierced through his back, clean and final.

Blood sprayed across the ice.

Grommon let out a sharp breath, then dropped to his knees.

Isaac’s hand moved again.

One clean swing.

THUD.

Grommon’s head hit the ground, followed by his body collapsing beside it.

Then silence.

Until...

Thump.

Katros flinched.

Another thump.

Then another.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It echoed, dull and heavy, from above.

From the shield.

Katros turned to look up.

Hairline cracks had begun to spread across the top of the ice dome.

THUMP.

This time, the sound came with a slight rumble. A ripple of ice dust fell from the ceiling.

Then...

CRACK!

A spiderweb of fractures split across the surface, light shining through.

Katros took a shaky step back. freewebnσvel.cѳm

Then the ceiling exploded.

BOOM!!

Shards of ice rained down in every direction as something huge and furious tore through the barrier.

It was Hopper.

His carapace cracked with dried blood and ice, slammed into the ground with a loud screech.

Right behind him, the swarm came pouring in.

Thousands of locusts. Hissing. Clicking. Screaming.

They surged forward like a living wave.

Katros raised his hand instantly. "Freeze!"

A burst of frost spread from his palm. The air turned white. Dozens of locusts froze midair, falling to the ground like shards of glass.

But more kept coming.

He spun, casting again. "Freeze! Freeze!!"

Locusts swarmed his legs. He screamed as he kicked them off.

Ice coated the ground in patches. Some of the swarms slowed. Some shattered.

But there were too many.

Katros let out a cry and released a final, wide blast of freezing energy.

The chamber glowed with pale blue light.

For a moment, everything was still.

Then...

The swarm broke through.

Locusts climbed over the ice, skittering, tearing through cracks.

Katros cried out, his voice breaking.

"No.. NO... GET AWAY!!"

They flooded over him.

His screams were muffled.

Then silenced.

The locusts kept moving, piling on, filling every space, until the inside of the ice shield was black with chittering bodies.

Lander gritted his teeth.

His body screamed with pain, but he forced himself to move.

Slowly, shakily, he reached out.

His hand closed around the hilt of his sword, still warm.

Wooosh!

The flames reignited, wrapped around the blade.

Lander stood.

One foot. Then the other.

He staggered, but he didn’t fall.

He faced Isaac. Eyes clear.

"This is for Rookheim," he said, voice rough.

Isaac said nothing.

The two stared at each other in silence.

The battlefield was quiet now.

Except for the faint hum of the locusts swarming behind them.

And the soft crackling of Lander’s flame.

He lifted the sword.

Both hands.

"Class-S huh?"

Lander swallowed hard.

Isaac’s tone stayed calm. Empty.

"Let’s see if that can beat a Class-E farmer."