Crimson and Ice

[Ayla's pov]

"They're breaking through the gates! Guards, hold them back as much as possible!" The royal guards would scream at the top of their lungs, the fray guided by a warrior with hair dyed in crimson, his blue eyes peering straight ahead, never looking behind him, not even for a moment.

The place was riddled with chaos and my worry grew even greater.

"I won't be with you…"

"There's something I need to take care of…" His words echoed in my mind once more as I connected the dots, gritting my teeth before looking towards the gate.

'I'm sorry, but I can't just stand by anymore!' I apologized in my head, gripping my staff and running up ahead.

I squeezed through the chaos, broken buildings lay everywhere, guards stopping to help citizens trapped and in need of help.

The cacophony of battle enveloped me as I sprinted through the ruins of a once peaceful city. Flames flickered in the distance, their tongues licking at the remnants of homes, shops, and dreams. I dodged past fallen beams and rubble, my heart pounding in sync with the desperate cries of those around me.

-bang-

A great collision ruptured the earth I stood on, as the battle continued between man and beast I stood before one that seemed more humanoid than the rest. She walked out with a yawn, stretching lavishly before stepping out of the crater she had created.

"And who're you?" I pondered, getting myself at the ready for any sign of hostility. Now that I get a closer look at her, her skin was quite pale, and her eyes were a bright yellow, a stark contrast to her long flowing black hair. 

She smiled and yet didn't say a word, eyeing me up and down before iniciating combat.

My eyes widened when she took her first steps, it was all a blur, her fist was already driven into my gut in hardly a second, I was sent flying, the pain delaying by seconds before it finally struck home. 

My eyes dilated in the pain, yet I still tried to chant. 

"God of water, heed my prayers-... lend me your strenght…," water started to seep from the crushed flowers as I aimed my staff behind me creating a bubble which I was swiftly trapped inside stopping me from hitting a wall.

"That was close-" I managed to say, still holding my gut, my eyes widened in horror as I saw the creature coming straight for me regardless.

"Divine goddess, act as my shield, ice!" I shouted, seven layers of ice starting to form before me. The woman pulled her arm back, coiling her torso while still airborne, and released all her pent-up force on my shield, driving it to the ground.

The collision hit deep, my shield barely hanging on. My adversary stood on top of my creation, coiling her arm once more, getting ready to strike at it repeatedly. I gritted my teeth and waved my staff again. 

"God of water, heed my prayers bless me with your eternal fountain, and guide my magic through the hearts of my enemies, Ice Spikes!" At her first strike, the shield started to mold, spikes forming out of the shield and piercing her feet and hand. Blood started to taint the ice that surrounded me.

'Now's my chance!' I thought, running out to the side and aiming my staff at the monster whose eyes still follow me.

"God of water, heed my prayers bless me with your eternal fountain, and guide my magic through the hearts of my enemies! Ice drill!" I shouted again, they started to form around me, the water I used to make the shattered shields melted and turned into drills that would spin rapidly in place. 

They whisp past my ear with a brutal force, driving themselves into the gut of the creature. They poked holes in their body, driving them to the ground as blood spewed from their wounds, before falling back lifelessly on the floor.

I let out a soft sigh and collapsed to my knees, my staff held close to me.

"That was way too scary-" I muttered, panting softly as my eyes started to feel heavy. "I didn't know how much of those blows I can handle…"

I struggle to get up on my feet, towards the floor between hooded eyes, "I need to get to him…"

"Hahahaha! That was fun, that was really really fun! So fun!!" I heard laughter in the distance, my eyes snapping open to see what it was, my body felt heavier than usual, it was like I couldn't move, much less breathe. 

The creature from before stood tall directly before me with a devilish grin, gaze down cast on my pitiful state, and its wounds fully healed.

"H-huh!?" I tried to step out of the way but it was too late, The creature stretched its arm out, grabbing me by the hair, its fingers digging into my scalp as it lifted me off the ground. 'Ngh–!' I groaned, trying to pry its hand away, but its grip was too strong.

I can feel my head starting to burn from the intensity of its grip, my hands soon falling, as I grew exhausted.

"Tired already? But we were just starting!" It started to shake my head harshly, my body loosely following the path behind my head. I weakly grabbed onto its arm again, trying to break free in any way possible, its smile returning once more when it realized I was trying to fight back.

I felt an overwhelming pressure as tears pricked the back of my eyes, I wanted to scream, but I was too scared to, the creature pulling back its arm once more, as I closed my eyes and prayed….

"P–please… someone-"

________________________________

[Mihalis's pov]

I've gotten used to battling these things, I panted for air and stood my ground, pivoting my feet to dodge the onslaught of attacks that come from one beast and the other.

Two of them remained, both of them watching me intently before both darting in opposite directions in an attempt to overwhelm me. I started to see semi-transparent images of them, both running to sides and shooting off to me with an earth-shattering force, one to my head and the other to my legs.

I hopped backward, watching as they executed the move I already read into, their tail reaching for me while still airborne. I grabbed one and dodged the other, slamming it into the ground and watching it struggle to stand, its scales dug into the earth. I grabbed my claymore and sliced open the stomach of the beast, crimson leaking onto my blade and the grass beneath it.

It focused on me yet again, charging to attack, its tail shooting out to me as I attempted to block, alas the force was too much, knocking the claymore out of my hands, sending it flying into the forest.

I gritted my teeth and charged forward, head to head-with the creature. Pushing against it as hard as I could.

I grunted and groaned as my feet kicked up the dirt behind me, a big semi-transparent circle being planted on the head of the creature.

[System adaptive protocol, weak spot Identified!]

My mouth was agape at the news before regaining myself and taking a deep breath, clenching my jaw and slamming my head as hard as I could into the creature. It's mask-like face cracked under the collision, purple ooze spewing from the cracks as the creature screeched in agony before falling to the ground.

"The last of them-" I muttered, sitting down on the floor before letting off a heavy sigh, body fatigued and tired.

"Well done, well done!" I heard a voice in the distance, followed by slow clapping and the sound of a blade being dragged through the earth.

I turned to see who it was, my eyes widened when I saw a woman with six arms being carried by a golem-like creature in one hand, her body hardly covered by her attire, her top, a harness-like design, and her bottom a incomplete dress that shows off her thighs on the side, carrying some weird symbol in front. She had striking red eyes that glared at me through her flowing white hair.

"You had surpassed my expectations!" She grinned. The golem tossed my Claymore to me, the shock in my eyes hadn't left even still as it wisped past my face and landed beside me, the blade drawing blood from my cheek long after it had landed.

"Stand." She commanded, getting out of the Golem's hand and walking towards me with nothing but her bare fists.

I hurriedly got to my feet, grabbing the blade by the hilt and gritting my teeth together, getting ready for battle.

"Hahahaha!" She laughed a manic laugh, letting out a happy sigh before stopping in front of me, only then did I realize the size difference between us, my gaze slowly raising the closer she got until she was an arm's reach from me, my face only up to her stomach in comparison-

"This'll be fun…"