Epic Of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2327: Oda Nobunaga’s Endless Castle [45]

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Yuki saw her adorable daughter hopping on her body, her expression filled with worry.

"Mamaaaaaa! Mama...? Mwaah?"

"Yudra?! Ahhh! What happened?!"

Yuki awoke fully, looking around with concern etched on her face.

She had slept far too long, haunted by one of those awful dreams where she relived past memories.

Somehow, the fragmented memories coalesced in that moment, and she could finally see...

See it clearly.

Her past.

The death of her previous life.

And how it all unfolded.

"Waaahh... Wawuh..."

Yudra tilted her head, confused, gazing at her mother adorably.

She had returned to her original form, her large dragon shape absent for now.

Yuki glanced around, quickly sitting up, and realized she was alone in a room within a regal, ancient Japanese castle.

The floor was covered with tatami rugs, beautiful paintings adorned some walls, and the doors were crafted from white paper.

"Mama? Awuwuuuh! Awawahh... Awah."

Yudra tried to communicate, waving her paws while attempting to stand on two feet, only to fall on her bottom.

"Ouch."

"Are you okay?! Don’t do that..."

Yuki rushed to her daughter, embracing her and feeling a wave of relief knowing her little girl was safe by her side.

"But what happened? That darkness sucked us all inside, didn’t it? Was that it? That darkness that... Ahh!"

Yuki’s eyes widened as she realized where she was: the dimension born from her previous life’s corpse, the Abyssal Dimension of Grief, Regret, and Pain.

It was an endless sea of darkness where Spectral Yokai spawned incessantly.

"So I’m here... Yes, I can feel her. She’s close, but distracted, controlled by someone else," Yuki said. "I can’t locate her beyond this strange sense of her proximity. Damn it... Where’s Drake? And everyone else?! Hello?!"

Yuki stood, her daughter watching from below as her mother shouted, desperate to find a way out or someone to help.

"Come on, Yudra, we have to move."

Yuki gently lifted her daughter and carried her on her shoulders, but the girl clung tightly to her stomach, like a little monkey holding onto its mother.

It was utterly adorable, and Yuki faintly recalled doing the same as a newborn Monkey Chinchilla with her large, fluffy mother.

Yet her childhood in this life was brief, and she was separated from her mother at a tender age.

Yuki caressed her daughter’s head, feeling her warmth against her belly, as she moved swiftly, running on all fours.

Passing through countless similar rooms, she called out for Drake or anyone else, even Andromeda, but Andromeda could barely manifest, speaking in a glitched voice. Drake and the others couldn’t hear her either.

"Am I all alone? What’s going on?!"

Yuki paused, sighing heavily.

She had a daughter now; she couldn’t afford to act helpless anymore.

Calming herself, she tried to think things through as clearly as possible.

"Okay, alright... Yudra, where do you think we are?" Yuki asked, finding that talking with her daughter was far better than dwelling on negative thoughts.

"Awawah!" Yudra replied confidently.

"Awawah, huh? Yes, that sounds just about right... Pfff... Haha," Yuki giggled, kissing her daughter’s forehead. "You’re too cute for this world."

"Hmm...!" Yudra smiled cutely as she was kissed, then kissed her mama’s nose and rubbed their noses together. "Awawahh..."

"Hm, it’s incredible! Are all kids like this? Just holding one in my arms already makes me feel better," Yuki giggled. "Even though I don’t know what’s going on... Okay, let’s calm down. Let’s think, alright? We love thinking, don’t we?"

"Awuuh...?" Yudra tilted her head in confusion.

"Alright, so this is a castle, a big one... probably Nobunaga’s castle," Yuki said. "From what I can gather, he controls it somehow. Well, he’s that... that bastard Hajun’s vessel, damn it. If we’re separated, that was his plan. He wanted to hunt everyone down individually or something... Drake’s probably alone, and so are the other dragons."

"Awuh..." Yudra nodded.

"Then we’re here, separated, perhaps forcefully or maybe not," Yuki continued. "But I think there’s something behind all this. It’s not just a coincidence... It couldn’t be. That would make even less sense."

"Hmmm... Awah," Yudra said, rubbing her face on Yuki’s chest, signaling she wanted milk.

"You’re hungry? But this place is dangerous, Yudra..." Yuki sighed.

"Awuhhhh! Awaaahhhh! Waaahhhh!"

At her mother’s refusal, Yudra began crying heavy tears, making Yuki feel guilty.

"Okay, fine, but only a little, geez."

Yuki sighed, allowing her daughter to drink some milk to feel revitalized and energetic.

The girl was quite hungry, drinking eagerly, her dragon nature contributing to her appetite.

As Yuki sat to meditate and plan her next move, she sensed something... a presence.

No, several presences.

"What the hell was that?!"

She glanced behind her, but the paper doors remained silent...

There was nothing to fear.

"Was it a false alarm? There’s nothing—"

CRASH!

The paper door exploded, and dozens of Yokai rushed through, aiming for her life. Most resembled giant humanoid frogs, crocodiles, or tortoises, roaring and brandishing long naginatas and katanas at her and her daughter.

"Whoa, whoa! What the hell, dude?! Calm down! There’s a child here!"

"Kill her!"

"She’s that dragon’s ally!"

"Kill her quickly!"

"Nobunaga-sama ordered us to slay her as quickly as possible!"

The Yokai spoke like people, leading Yuki to realize they were likely soldiers of Nobunaga, transformed into Yokai Soldiers through the curse’s power.

Yuki swiftly spread her Ice Phoenix wings and soared toward the ceiling, but the Yokai leaped after her, some resembling crows pursuing her swiftly.

"Damn it! Alright, Yudra, hold tight— You’re still drinking milk like nothing?!"

Yuki was astonished to see her daughter calmly drinking milk. Children often enter a trance-like state when nursing, unbothered by the chaos around them.

"{Freezing Star Shower}!"

Yuki swung her hands downward, unleashing miniature stars of ice that rained down, bombarding the Yokai Soldiers with explosions of blue flames and ice, freezing and burning them.

BOOOM!

"Aaaghh!"

BOOOM!

"Gaaack!"

BOOOM!

"What is that?!"

BOOOM!

"She’s strong?!"

BOOOM!

"They told us she was the weakest!"

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

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