"W-wait…! What did you just…?"
The creature finally flinched and gasped, but at that moment, a circle of light extended from underneath Rotsard's feet, and the disjointed ephemeral wings of light spread out over his back as he raised one hand so the creature wouldn't be able to miss it.
"Attempting to ambush me from the rooftops was such a stupid idea. You would have had a better chance of getting me with the whole swarm of them right from the start."
"YOU...! DIE! DIE! LET ME GO! DIE!"
Rotsard snickered, firmly holding one of the creature's legs as it lost any semblance of composure and started swinging its arms that grew grotesque claws in place of fingernails at the youth's head.
"GAAAAUUGH!"
But the pathetic attempt at attack has ended as fast as it started. As the few initial hits connected, the only result was the creature's claws and fingers either breaking or getting ripped off without harming a single hair on Rotsard's head.
"Pffft…! You actually thought that you had a chance?"
"!!!"
That display made Rotsard snort and laugh, openly mocking the creature, causing it to freeze up despite all the pain it was in.
With its eyes widening, it looked around…
The figures of the gedwyld-corrupted townspeople on top of or on their way to the rooftops entrapped within a thick layer of ice…
The swarm of the gedwyld-polluted humans, unable to run over and rush to its rescue because of their feet being frozen to the frost-covered ground…
"I-impossible…! When…! When did you even figure out…?!"
*crack*
*thump*
The creature panicked and leaned away, only for its torso to break off unevenly at the waist, causing it to pathetically wave its arms on its way to the ground.
"!?!?"
With its child-like face twisted with unspeakable terror, the creature discovered that it felt no pain whatsoever despite getting bisected, the horror of the situation rendering it speechless.
If it had the clarity to properly examine its bottom half still stuck to Rotsard's shoulders, the answer would reveal itself to it rather fast.
Ice.
Ice mana to be exact.
The ice mana that sipped into its legs has frozen them solid, cutting off the sense of pain.
If the creature didn't jolt back as it did, it would have frozen over within the next minute or two without ever noticing a thing…!
"What do you mean -when-? You never had me fooled. Idiot."
Rotsard looked over his shoulder at the helpless creature, his beastly yellow eyes showing nothing but deep-seated disgust…
*click*
*WHOOOSH*
"!!!"
…and he snapped his fingers, causing by far the strongest gust of wind to blow across the town!
This time, though, the wind carried particles of snow and shaved ice, causing the half of the creature to raise both hands in an attempt to protect its face and eyes.
"!!!"
When the wind passed, and the creature lowered its hands, it trembled as the entire area was covered in a thick layer of ice dust and snow… with no traces of any of its forces anywhere…!
Well…or rather, there were traces of them... everywhere…
"You were doing your best to speak as little as possible. Seeing that indeed, even pathetic, braindead weaklings like you are incapable of lying was… oddly reassuring. So thank you. Now, you can die in peace. Lucky, aren't you? Don't worry, it won't be long until I'll send the Arch Deofol to keep you company in hel. "
"N-no! Wait…!"
*click*
Rotsard's expression darkened for a moment, only for him to crack a little smile before snapping his fingers the second time, completely ignoring the lesser deofol's attempt at pleading.
*WHOOOOOOSH*
"!!!"
The next moment, the cold wind picked up again, within a single heartbeat it gathered all the snow and ice, including what was left on Rotsard's shoulders, and sent it all at the lesser deofol, filling its mouth and nose first and then simply piling more and more on top of it.
But it wasn't as if it was just burying the creature.
The more snow and ice gathered, the more it condensed with a nauseating crackling and oddly metallic screeching. The moment that Rotsard's circle and wings of light dissipated, what ended up in place of the bisected lesser deofol was a perfectly round off-white ball the size of a large apple, while not a speck of snow, ice, or frost remained within the entire town.
Rotsard went ahead and picked it, weighing it in his hand, staring at it with a peculiar expression.
*click*
With his free hand, he snapped his fingers, and while the bluish-white light flashed for just the fraction of a second, a pane of foggy ice appeared in front of him.