"What is this?!"
Frey blocked the attack, yet not entirely.
She felt time accelerating around her.
As a Demon Lord Seed, she was unaffected, but the surrounding matter decayed, withered, and collapsed in the blink of an eye!
"A time-based magic?"
The spatial barrier Frey conjured eroded visibly under the power of time.
With no choice, she poured more magic into it, struggling to resist.
But the effect was minimal.
Time was a high-level law, and without a corresponding skill, countering it with raw magic was immensely costly.
In other words, Frey's attempt to brute-force the time law with magic revealed her desperation.
"As expected of a Demon Lord."
"But it's not over yet…"
The Snow Empress was thrilled to face an opponent worthy of her full strength.
She raised her hand again.
The second palm descended!
"What?!"
"Why!"
"How do you still have such power after that attack?"
Frey never imagined the Snow Empress could unleash such terrifying strikes in rapid succession without pause.
Frey had already poured out all her magic.
Even if used to counter the time law, her magic should have withstood two of the Snow Empress's palms.
But the Snow Empress wasn't stopping at two.
Bang, bang, bang!
As the divine rings shattered one by one, the second palm was followed by the third, then up to the ninth!
[Eternal Recurrence]
Ninefold unity, enduring countless eons, achieving eternal recurrence!
'I'll… I'll die…'
'I lost?'
'I lost just like that?'
'To some nobody who came out of nowhere?'
Frey refused to accept defeat, desperately squeezing every ounce of magicules from her body to extract more magic.
But no matter how much she poured forward, it sank like a stone in the sea.
'This shouldn't be.'
'How does she have so much magic?!'
Unbeknownst to Frey, this was the terror of the Divine Rings.
They stored powerful secret arts in advance, releasing their energy when needed.
Frey could block one full-force strike from the Snow Empress.
But the second? The third?
And these attacks could stack, resonating together.
Not even Frey, even if twice as strong, could withstand Eternal Recurrence head-on.
"It may be a bit unfair…"
Not long ago, the Snow Empress had unleashed the Rings of Divinity once.
Wasting 99.99% of her magic to suppress Gilgamesh, she had depleted all the rings' stored energy.
Thus, before facing Frey, she had Damien replenish her magic.
"Blame yourself for standing alone."
One-on-one, the Snow Empress might not defeat Frey.
But she had Damien behind her and Artoria by her side, while Frey was alone.
Companions were a form of strength too.
The Snow Empress once didn't understand their importance.
Fortunately, Damien had brought her out of that narrow world.
"Rest assured, I won't kill you."
The Snow Empress had no intention of killing Frey.
If she wanted to, she wouldn't need nine rings.
Three would suffice to shatter Frey's soul core before she could react.
But per Damien's orders, to ensure a live capture, she needed more magic to seal Frey.
Snap!
His plam struck Frey's chest, and invisible temporal energy began enveloping her.
Once this temporal cocoon was complete, Frey would be sealed, left to Damien's mercy.
'I'm not reconciled…'
'Utterly unreconciled.'
Frey felt endless humiliation under the Snow Empress's indifferent gaze.
'No! I won't accept this!'
Frey foresaw her fate.
This strike, even if it spared her life, would cripple her body, robbing her of all combat ability.
She'd become Damien's prisoner, with no chance of turning the tables.
The thought of that future sent shivers down her spine.
Having dealt with humans, she knew the fate of defeated majins.
Even if Damien was a majin himself, slavery existed in their world too.
'If I lose…'
'What will happen to the Harpys?'
As the Harpy queen, Frey could envision her people's fate.
Their nation would surrender, and they, along with their queen, would become spoils of war, subject to Damien's whims.
'Unacceptable!'
'I absolutely cannot lose like this!'
Not just for herself, but for all the Harpies!
No matter what, Frey couldn't drag the Harpy Queendom of Fulbrosia into the abyss!
"I won't lose here!!"
"Never!!!"
In that moment, fueled by intense emotions, Frey's Unique Skill [Transcender] ignited fully.
Six hundred years of accumulated power became fuel, propelling her toward a higher realm.
"Hm?"
The Snow Empress's pupils narrowed, shocked to see Frey, one step from being cocooned, forcibly reverse the process.
"Not good!!"
Sensing danger, the Snow Empress abandoned the sealing attempt and retreated.
Boom!!
A storm of magical energy erupted from Frey, sweeping in all directions.
The Snow Empress's seal shattered completely, and she was hurled back thousands of meters, barely stabilizing herself.
"What's happening?"
The scene stunned not just the Snow Empress but everyone watching.
"This sensation, could it be…?"
Watching from a mountain peak, Hakurou's expression shifted.
"At a time like this!"
Kaede realized the cause of Frey's transformation. "She's undergoing the Harvest Festival under such pressure!"
"What?"
"The Harvest Festival?"
The Snow Empress's face darkened, realizing her pressure had given Frey this chance to advance.
"Master?"
"It's fine, Snow."
Damien soothed the Snow Empress's emotions. "Your plan was sound... overwhelm her with absolute force to neutralize her."
The Snow Empress hadn't underestimated Frey but went all out to take her down.
Yet, unexpectedly, Frey staged a desperate counterattack.
***
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well and staying healthy. I want to let you know that right now I'm working on one of the best fanfics you might ever read.
If you're curious about this fanfic, don't hesitate to check it out.
[Mangaka? Nah, I'm Voice Actor!]
Synopsis:
I was a corporate slave with a normal outlook on life, values, and romance.
My worldview shattered after I get isekai'd, and through a twist of fate, I went with the flow, unexpectedly accepting my new reality in the role closest to the anime world... that's right, I became a voice actor.
---
Yes, just as you read, it's true that this fanfic will tell the story of a main character who enters the world of voice acting in Japan. This fanfic will portray the life of voice actors behind the Japanese anime and games you've been listening to all this time, spiced up with a bit of romance for those of you who enjoy it.
So if you're curious, don't hesitate to read it and show your support.