"You'll be at the base tomorrow night?" Minerva confirmed, speaking to the mana stone before her.
More than a bit of eagerness had spread through her body due to this call. Longer than a month in planning, she was finally going to make up for the mistake all those years ago. An incorrect decision, the wrong subordinate sent... she'd meticulously searched for an opportunity to snatch the girl ever since, and being patient had finally paid off. The Nivari had given her the opportunity she needed.
It couldn't have come at a better time, either. The search for the progenitor's research had been in progress for almost ten years already, and yet no one had turned up any results. Minerva herself would almost doubt its existence entirely if not for their master's surety of it being in these mountains. The quadrant they were in currently was one they'd yet to search through. Minerva already had plans to begin scouring this area once the N'moran chip was secured.
"We plan to camp there by nightfall and begin up the mountains the following morning after some preparation," the young woman on the other side of the call responded.
Refocusing on their conversation, Minverva grinned widely, showcasing her jagged teeth as her black wings rose a bit in expectation. She took a deep breath to calm herself back down. Now was a time to confirm everything was in order, not to be hasty and overexcited.
"You're sure?" Minerva asked one last time. "If you're wrong-"
"I'm sure! If it changes, I'll call again. Now let me talk to him!" the voice demanded. "You said I could-"
"Yes, yes, shut up!" Minerva replied angrily, rolling her eyes.
Any other day and Minerva would have hung up or beaten the child cowering on the floor behind her, but a giddy feeling left her uncaring for the slight. Instead, she turned around and placed the orb on the ground in front of the small boy.
"Your traitorous sister wants to talk," she chuckled out. "You get twenty seconds."
The weak bundle of Elerian on the ground before her slowly reached for the orb, looking up at it with tears in it's eyes.
"Krissa," the thin Dresmyr on the floor of their temporary residence coughed out.
They'd needed to relocate closer to the base of the mountains as the time to raid the caravan got closer at hand and had settled in a larger dungeon, clearing it out and taking the mana stone for their cause.
"Aphel, Aphel it'll be over soon," the voice on the other side cooed.
Minerva turned her head to the side while pursing her lips, stopping herself from grinning at the irony of that statement. She was having trouble keeping her excitement under wraps.
"Krissa, you can't... do this. Warn them-"
"It's going to be ok," the voice on the other end of the orb interrupted. "We are going to be ok."
"Five seconds," Minerva stated, leaning against her desk while watching the small boy plead into the orb.
It was disgusting to her, the way he pleaded every time they spoke. No regard for his own situation, always begging his sister to do the right thing.
"Please, don't let them do this!"
Minerva's teeth clenched in irritation.
"Krissa you can't-"
"Ahh. Times up," she interrupted, bending down and swooping the orb up from the ground.
"Warn them!" the weak boy yelled, reaching up as the woman on the other side yelled something illegible in response same time.
Minerva rolled her eyes and kicked the reaching boy into the wall, watching as he gasped for air and curled into a ball.
"I said, times up," Minerva coldly stated.
"What did you d-"
"Shut up," Minerva sighed out, interrupting the voice coming through the orb. "You're ruining my day. And I was enjoying myself a moment ago, too."
"You said you wouldn't hurt him!" the voice yelled back through the orb.
"I said I wouldn't kill him," she corrected. "And I haven't yet. He'll live as long as they're there tomorrow like you say."
"And you'll let him go like promised?" the voice asked hopefully. "You promised-"
"Yes, yes. You may come to collect him once we are done collecting the N'moran child," Minerva said, rolling her eyes again. "But if you're not here by sundown or anything goes wrong tomorrow, he's dead."
With that, she ended the call and threw the stone into her desk drawer. It glowed faintly still, indicating that the other caller was still on the line, but that was usual. If she let it be, that woman would stay on the stupid stone as long as possible talking to her wretch of a brother and the mana in the enchantment would have run out long ago.
Pushing in the drawer, the stone left her view and upon glancing up, Uhren entered it.
"Preparations are ready," the older gentleman stated.
Minerva met the man's eyes, an intensity relayed through that matched her own. They'd both had their reputations damaged because of Charles's failure, and both had been longing for this chance ever since.
"It's finally happening, Uhren," she replied, irritation fading as she stared up at her second.
"The Nivari are ready, along with our own troops," he responded with a nod. "Though the weather seems to be taking a turn for the worse, that will only assist in our operation. These three," he said, pausing to gesture to three men behind him, "are my best. They'll handle the grab while I distract their chief. We've chosen a group of ten to break through the lines; they'll hide inside that group until it's time."
Minerva shook her head.
"You'll go with them and personally deliver her to us; I want no mistakes. I'll handle their precious leader."
The man stared at her for a moment longer, likely offended that she didn't believe his men were enough. She believed his word that they would be enough, but if she could take on the extra burden to ensure their operation succeeded, she would.
"As you wish," he eventually responded with a nod.
After, he lifted his right hand above his left shoulder and waved those behind him away. With the motion, they turned and left, once again leaving the two alone. Uhren turned and began to leave himself when he hesitated, looking back at Minerva and opening his mouth.
"We... finally get to right the wrong Charles made all those years ago. Emerson and the Mistress will be proud."
"Yes, we do. And yes, they will," Minerva confirmed, smiling for a moment before the sounds of a dying, mewling, pitiful creature caused her to frown.
Uhren seemed to notice her look, glancing past the desk at the floor.
"What is going to be done with that?" he asked, stepping back in the room.
Turning around and looking at the thing one last time, Minerva crouched down and grabbed the boy's throat.
'Perhaps if you hadn't ruined my mood again...' she thought, chuckling a little at the ridiculous notion. 'No, not even then.'
"Your sister was right, Mr. Bellin. It will be over soon. In fact, it ends right now," Minerva said, hauling it up and pinning it against the wall. "You are the reason this is happening. You are the reason they die tomorrow," she chuckled out, nails digging into its throat as it began to cough and scratch at her hand, eyes opening wide. "All your mewling, your begging... it means nothing to your selfish, traitorous sister. That caravan will be destroyed tomorrow, and it's all your fault."
"N-no," it coughed back, tears streaming down its face. "I... couldn't-"
Minerva laughed in response, tightening her grip and interrupting the fool.
"You couldn't do anything? Wrong. You could have taken your own life to preserve theirs, huh?"
The boy's eyes widened, and Minerva's smile finally became genuine.
"All your begging and pleading, all these months in captivity... you knew it all along, didn't you? But you never did, why?"
At her question, the boy's eyes turned away from hers for the first time. Minerva reveled in his broken spirit, grin widening and hand tightening in an excitement she so rarely let herself feel. Most of her entourage and Hellials, in general, gave in to their lust for blood and violence much too often, causing them to die unnecessary deaths, but not Minerva. She bided her time, suppressed her emotions, and waited for the best moments to act, all leading to this moment. The moment when her plans came to fruition.
"Yesss. That's it! The look of a coward, I love it. Any last words you'd like me to pass along to your sister? I'm feeling generous," she said, loosening her grip on its throat as her eyebrows lifted in surprise a half-second later. "Or not. I broke it, pathetic," she scoffed out, throwing the limp body to the ground beside the desk. "Leaves a bad taste in my mouth yet again; couldn't even die right. Feed it to the animals."
"Yes, ma'am," Uhren replied with a nod, reaching down to grab the corpse by its foot, turning and heading for the entrance as it dragged behind.
"Tomorrow will be wonderful, Uhren," Minerva stated as she watched him walking away. "I can't wait."
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"What... is that... stop-" Damien said, rolling over on top of Alexa as the sound of a horn blazed in the distance.
"Get up," Alexa complained, shoving Damien off as she slowly opened her eyes.
"I'm... no... Tired... Get up?"
"It's the scout horn!" Vanessa yelled, poking her face into their tent for a brief moment before it disappeared.
Damien's eyes shot open, mind waking in a panic at her words. Sitting up abruptly, he ran out of the flap Vanessa had left unzipped within seconds and was standing outside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as of yet, but the sound of the horn rang loud through their camp. The crisp morning air was whipping through the camp, bringing a chill to his naked body as he observed the hired guards begin to don their weapons and armor in a light drizzle.
"Get to the center! Those who can fight on the outside, those who cant on the inside!!" an older guard bellowed, back facing Damien.
Damien's eyes widened as a second horn blazed through the morning sky, coming from the front of the caravan.
'This... is real,' he thought, watching other groups of people already funneling at a jog to the center of their caravan.
Turning around, he lept inside their tent, heart pounding. Alexa was already halfway dressed while Kastra had laid his clothes out, the Fae already prepared herself. Damien nodded in her direction as he grabbed his pants.
"They're getting people to the center. Grab your-"
"Let's go, kids!" Garrett's voice yelled in, interrupting him as he explained.
"Almost done! Grabbing our gear," Damien heard Alexa reply as he fumbled in the low light to get his shirt on.
Damien heard mumbling outside and more orders being called out. After another twenty seconds, the group of three began to exit the tent to see Vanessa, Garrett, Emily, and Adrenna already geared up and waiting for them.
"Oh he's dressed this time," Vanessa teased.
"Let's go. They're-"
"I need to get my swords-" Damien interrupted Emily, turning for their coach but not making it even a step before a hand grabbed his shoulder and wrenched him back around.
"That's in the opposite direction," his mom responded as the rest of their group was already moving.
"It would take less than-"
"No," she growled out, surprising him as her iron gripped yanked him along with the rest of them as they began to jog. "You aren't supposed to fight and if you need to, you'll can borrow someone else's weapons. What if we are surrounded and you get caught out alone? All it takes is one second!" she lectured, continuing to pull him along.
Damien reluctantly nodded as they began to run. If he were a combatant, it would be more than a little stressful not to have his weapons along with him, but it was a fact that he didn't necessarily need his swords to fight. Looking down at his ring, he realized he'd forgotten to utilize the one weapon he did have on him so far. Cursing under his breath, he kicked it into overdrive, the soft whirring sound bringing him a bit of comfort as they continued to run on.
A loud explosion boomed from the direction they were running as the ground trembled, causing him to stumble. Damien cursed at himself once again and sent out his mana sense in response, upset that he'd forgotten something so crucial. They'd trained in getting ready for a fight quickly and yet here he was, forgetting everything vital once a real situation arrived.
Kastra landed on his shoulder as they continued onward and rested a small palm on his neck.
"Take a deep breath. We'll be fine."
Damien nodded and sighed to himself, taking a deep breath and shaking his head lightly. Panicking and being upset wasn't going to help anyone.
Lifting his head with determination, his eyes caught the sight of smoke billowing in the distance as they sped by the line coaches off to their left. The smoke from the battle was being blown back up into the mountains. As he looked up, another explosion rocked their feet, frustrating Damien as he instinctively reached into the ground and nullified the trembling, saving himself from stumbling again.
"Whichever of you did that, keep it up," his dad called back.
Damien obliged and continued to stop the vibrations in the ground from making it to their party as they all ran. Their pace almost instantly sped up due to not having to dance every time the ground shook, and within a minute they had finally reached the large group of civilians they'd been advancing to. Damien looked around, not seeing anyone fighting in their nearby vicinity. It didn't seem that any of the enemies had made it this far yet.
"Combatants on the outside, Mages behind them, Healers and non-fighters in the center," a guard yelled out, catching sight of them as they got close.
"Vanessa, stay with us until there start to be injured," Emily ordered. "Garrett, you're in charge of the kids. I'm going to scout with Adrenna."
Damien watched on as the two disappeared without a word. His dad hadn't agreed, but it felt like that was unspoken as the rest of their group approached the guard.
"My name is Garon. I'm in charge of organizing the pedestrians. You're the last group. Where'd those two go?" the guard immediately asked, holding out his hand.
"Garrett. They're going to scout; we're all fighters," Garrett responded, taking the man's hand as they began to all walk around the outside of the group of Elerians.
"You should get them back here. We have our own-"
"They're already gone and don't listen to me," Garrett interrupted with a shrug. "Where do you want us, and what's the situation?"
Garon nodded in response.
"Good luck to them then. Hellials are attacking from the base of the mountain," he started, causing Damien's heart to begin beating nervously again as Alexa reciprocated the same feelings through the pact. "The forward unit has engaged them, but the group of enemies is at least sixty strong -- expect a few to make it through. It doesn't seem they have enough to surround the caravan, but they don't need that many to cause serious damage. We can't see them from here because of the line of carriages, but they should be engaged about one thousand feet that way," he finished, pointing ahead and to the left, through the line of coaches.
"Why are we using a circle formation then? Why not a front?" Garrett asked immediately.
"Great point. We'll invoke that right now," Garon responded, pointing to the ground beneath himself and stopping as they finally got to the front of the large group.
"There's-"
"No one here, I know," the man interrupted, turning toward the large group behind them. "LISTEN UP!" He bellowed, voice echoing loudly over the talking crowd before him. "CHANGE OF PLANS! COMBATANTS COME FORWARD, MAGES BEHIND THEM! NON-FIGHTERS STAY NEAR THE WATER AND BEHIND THE REST!"
The crowd silenced almost instantly as people began to move around, Damien himself impressed by the commanding presence and adaptability the man possessed. Not at all caught up in his own self-image, he recognized the incorrect strategy and listened to another's suggestion. Damien began to move toward the group, a little unsure of what they'd actually need to do or if they'd need to do anything, but encouraged to help this man before him.
Looking back over his shoulder towards the sounds of battle, Damien wondered if the enemy had anyone like Garon with them. In pure combat ability, their caravan should be able to handle a group of Hellials that large with the guards alone, though they'd lose most. Even in the off chance they had a few exceptional fighters among them, it might be a tie. But even then, with civilian support, the Hellials should have no chance of winning this battle. So, with that being the case...
"Why are they doing this..." Damien began to mumble.
"They're Hellials, boy. They don't need a damn reason. Now go get situated," Garon responded.
Damien met his eyes for a moment, then nodded and began to turn away. As he turned, the sound of wood splintering exploded out from behind him. His head quickly rotated back towards the mountains where a person was tumbling across the ground three hundred feet or so away. Glancing left, Damien saw the destroyed carriage he'd come through. Worriedly, he looked back to the person that had come through as they began to stand when another figure slammed into their midsection with an explosion of fire.
Both flew in the direction of the impact, floating just above the ground as the second figure grabbed the downed person by the throat. With a thrust, he slammed the ragged man into the ground, dragging him through it until the two stopped with a flourish of wing right before the river.
"No..." Alexa whispered under her breath as Damien's heart sunk.
In one swift motion, the second figure released the first as its other fist rocketed downward, driving into the throat of the first with another bout of flames.
"GOT ONEEEEEE!!!!!"
Nothing moved for what felt like ten minutes to Damien, but was only a few seconds. The victor was looking upward, bloody hand raised in the sky and excitedly screaming. Finally, he stood up and kicked the unmoving mass beneath it to the side, cackling loudly before turning toward the group that was watching the horrid spectacle. It's black wings spread out on either side of it as Damien could almost make out a wide grin forming on its face.
"FOUND MOREEE!!!!!!"
For the first time since the only time he'd ever killed a man, a Hellial stood before Damien.
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"Damn Fae... every morning... can't even sleep properly," Rouna muttered, sitting against the wall in her makeshift bunker while thumping the back of her head against it.
Ever since the first day she'd learned there would be not one, but two Fae traveling on this caravan, she'd wanted to quit as the leader. Every single day since she'd wished she'd followed her heart back then. Not one day had anyone in this caravan received a break from her endless pranks and teases. It was enough to drive anyone mad.
Her large head eventually found its way down to her knees, where she sat, eyes closed, curled up, and mentally preparing herself for the inevitable wake up that was coming. Nothing she had done of yet was able to stop it. In fact, this fortress was not for protection, but so she wouldn't go mad from anticipation.
Opening her eyes, Rouna stared at the pitch blackness between her knees while wondering whether this was worth the money she and her company were being paid.
Her eyes widened slightly as the ground came into view. The sun had signaled it was time for a new day, and in another thirty minutes or so, she would get up and prepare their group to set off. Or, that's how it would go on any normal day.
"I probably only have a few more minutes of peace..." Rouna mumbled again, resting her head back on a stone wall as her horns scraped against the low ceiling.
Sighing, she took her fist and slammed it into the ground, then opened her palm and set it where she'd hit, waiting. A few moments later, one pulse returned, followed by a second, a third, a-
'No third?' she wondered, sitting up abruptly and tensing.
She waited another half a minute, but never got another response. Making another first, Rouna struck the ground and waited, getting two pulses in return again, but no more than that.
'There should be eight!' she yelled out internally, a sense of dread immediately taking over her being.
It was usual for maybe one or two to not be returned immediately, but she'd trained all of her scouts to use this as a form of reporting in at first light. The fact that so many hadn't responded should only mean one thing.
From where she was sitting on the ground, Rouna leaned forward until she was in a crouch, preparing to arm the camp when a warning horn sounded out from the mountains just a bit further down the road. Standing abruptly, the bunker exploded outward from her as she turned her voice skyward.
"THE HORN!" she bellowed out, frantically turning her view to the mountain for a brief moment before looking back at the caravan behind her. "ENEMIES!"
The sound of the horn and her crashing out of her sleeping quarters caused most to wake, but the moment she had yelled back, the entire camp sprung to life like a well-oiled machine. Her second and those below him were already issuing orders as their group donned clothing and armor for battle. Turning back to the mountain, Rouna saw as the first group of enemies emerged from the treeline. Most on the ground but a couple flying as well, what she feared the most had been confirmed.
"Celestials? Why does the toy think they're enemies?" a tiny, obnoxious voice Rouna had come to hate over these weeks traveling asked from above her.
"Those aren't Celestials, you fool. They're Hellials," she responded, glancing up at the Fae.
Suddenly, Rouna was extremely thankful everyone had been so insistent on bringing extra guard for this trip. Though Hellial raids were rare, they'd begun happening around this mountain range a few years back. With the sabotaging of the teleporter in Hathen right before the graduation of the Academy students, there was a chance this wasn't a random incident.
Looking away from the Fae, Rouna began to scream orders over her shoulder.
"I want my front line ready in half a minute! Protect the civilians before the cargo; we will fight a retreating battle back toward them once having culled their overzealous fighters! Their numbers match ours; we won't hold an advantage in close quarters! Get the Mages raining hell down on them now!"
As she continued yelling, more and more of her retinue fell in line beside her. The Hellial's continued their advance, count settling in around fifty as they ran or flew forward in an unorganized manner. Thanks to the wind and clouds in the sky, most chose the ground rather than flying, but that wasn't going to be a huge factor in the fight, only in keeping them away from the civilians.
"Three thousand feet!" Rouna bellowed, the first few volleys of magic flying over her head into the distance at her words.
Fire, ice, water, and large spears made from stone launched overhead, slamming into the ground around the advancing ten Hellials that had broken away from the rest. One large bout of flame struck an enemy that hadn't cared to dodge, exploding viciously on contact while ripping the man apart. A bestial cheer arose from those around her as the enemy group only increased in speed, incorporating evasive maneuvers as is their comrade's death had reminded them to avoid magic.
"Don't get surrounded!" Rouna reminded her people, gripping her two war maces tightly in anticipation. "Two thousand!"
Another volley began, more substantial and this time, not stopping after the first wave. Rouna grinned madly while watching the enemy get closer and closer, expectations rising.
"One thousand! Advance!"
With her final shout, their volley ceased as the Mages began casting supporting magic instead before falling back further. If they got caught by any Hellials that happened to make it through, it would be the end for the small group of ten almost instantly. Better to have them retreat first and set up behind the civilians, giving them an opportunity to cover the advanced group's retreat.
Rouna lunged forward, leading her group toward the wounded and weakened abominations before her. Their numbers had dwindled below forty, perhaps making this a battle that could be handled without retreat. Hellials were strong individually, but they typically held no real training or teamwork. The only caveat to that was that for them to come out alive on the other side of this battle, many would die.
When she got within five hundred feet of the enemy, teeth showing and maces prepared, Rouna slowed her charge and cursed.
"BRACE!!" she screamed, a volley of magic and projectiles flying out from over the top of the enemy group.
"NIVARI IN THE BACKLINE! MAGES, BARRIER!" her second shouted, but she knew it would be too late.
The magic of what appeared to be at least thirty Mages rained downward, flame and stone slamming into their group as her retinue created what cover they could from the ground around them. Rouna watched a few stray shots slam into the Hellials that were advancing even, one spear of ice entering the back of a flying one and pinning it to the ground.
She leapt to her right just as a bout of flame crashed where she'd been, then plowed forward through a pillar of stone that had been in line with her head, breaking it apart in a cloud of dust and debris. When she finally cleared her eyes of the dust, she looked up quickly only to see a spear of ice on course with her head and a few feet away.
'That's almost unfair,' she thought, sighing and chuckling out in her mind.
Regardless of what she knew was inevitable, though, her body still tensed and tried to intercept the spike, right mace swinging inward.
'Of course its too slow,' she lamented, feeling time crawling by while her mace swung at a snail's pace, the huge spear of ice before her only inches away now.
The sounds around her died away as her eyes shut in a panic. Though her legs no longer held any power in them, she continued forward with her momentum while she waited for her demise.
...
And waited. A second passed, followed by another, but no impact came. Rouna began to wonder whether she was already dead, the massive shard having ended her so quickly she hadn't felt it. A third second passed, yet still, nothing changed.
'What-' she began wondering when her cheek received a slap, an obnoxious voice entering her consciousness at the same time.
"Are you just going to stand here! We have pillaging to do! Onward noble steed, I'll handle the cannonballs!!!"
Like the signal for sound to return, the battle around her came back to life as Rouna opened her eyes. Before her, there was no longer a spear of ice but the gloomy sky above, shimmering a faint bluish-white. To her right, the small Fae sat on her shoulder, pointing forward.
Shaking her head, Rouna wondered whether the Fae had saved her life, or she was already dead.
"ONWAR-"
"ALRIGHT! FUCK!" Rouna screamed back, interrupting the devil on her shoulder as her ear began to ring in pain.
Whether or not she was dead, she needed to let off a let of steam. It had felt like minutes had passed, but in reality, the enemy was only a hundred feet closer. Choosing one to start with while rolling with the situation, a grin resurfaced on the Minotaur's face, bounding forward anew. The Hellial made eye contact with her and smiled maniacally back, coming toward her himself.
"COME!!" her voice roared out, the man before her already dead in her mind as her eyes searched for a following kill.
Looking up briefly, a bout of flame was headed directly for her again, causing her to begin to change her course reluctantly. She'd need a new target if that landed-
"FORWARD!" the Fae on her shoulder screamed, standing while pulling at her cheek and hair. "DON'T DODGE, COWARD! I'VE GOT IT! FORW-"
"I GET IT!" Rouna screamed back again, heading straight for the flaming projectile again.
Whatever the Fae did last time had saved her life, and even if she couldn't do it again, the fire wouldn't truly kill her. Though, that might be preferable to dealing with her new parasite.
The Hellial she'd challenged was a scant fifty feet away now, mere seconds from colliding with them. He grinned widely before disappearing behind the flame that was descending on Rouna, excited for easy, weakened prey.
Rouna prepared a downward swing in time with when she'd collide with the man on the other side, squinting her eyes as the flame got close. When the searing blast collided with her, though, not a single hair of hers singed as it disappeared into the shimmering field above her. A red color appeared next to the bluish-white one instead and her mace continued its downward trajectory. Like a comet, it landed on the surprised man's shoulder, crumpling his body down into the ground, mangled and warped beneath her.
Throwing her head back and staring into the dark, raining skies, she let her voice roar outward, echoing across the battlefield.
"END THEM ALL!!"
Leveling her eyes once again having finished her little moral boost, Rouna met the eyes of two new targets, advancing from her front and left. No doubt they were both drawn because of her declaration, eager to kill her.
'I can do this,' she thought.
She was the strongest in her company, but Hellials were still a force to be reckoned with. While she may be able to take any of them here on in a one on one battle, maybe even two on one, if she was distracted even for a moment and another got a hit in, that advantage would dwindle. More injuries piling on would only worsen the problem, leading to her falling beneath the tide of savagery that so many others had.
'Never get surrounded.'
With a forward and downward sweep of one mace, Rouna lept into action. The mace slammed into the mangled corpse beneath her and shot it forward as she lunged after it. The Hellial before her swept its arms to the side to move the hurtling coprse, leaving its body wide open before her. She began swinging her left arm inward while taking a glance to her left.
'Faster!' she demanded of herself, seeing the Hellial to her left closing in with a fist of its own more rapidly than she'd predicted.
Bones shattered as the Hellial before her crumpled around the weighted mace. Rouna let the momentum from the heavy swing carry her through the impact, spinning down and to the right until completing half a rotation. Her right arm begun to extend away from her body as she prepared to loose her other mace at the second target using her spin, but cringed when she saw it's fist closing in on her.
'So quick!' she cried out in her mind, tensing her muscles and preparing to take the strike.
"My turn!" an excited voice called out from her shoulder.
Eyes locked on the Hellial as it swung downward at her, Rouna's eyes widened when the shimmering field around her glowed a bright blue, ejecting the ice spike from earlier outward. The Hellial's face briefly donned a look of surprise before it impaled him through the upper chest. As if he'd been struck by a bolt launched from a ballista, he flew backward, lifted off his feet and pinned into the ground behind him like a scarecrow.
Rouna's eyes continued turning with her body, rotating until she stared at the ground she was about to hit. Throwing out her left fist into the ground, she halted her spin and took a knee, instantly lifting her head to look again at the Hellial a few feet away. Still pinned, it struggled against the slippery red-streaked ice pillar sticking out of him while gasping and choking on blood. A faint sound of clapping came from her right shoulder as the little creature that had caused this scene mewled in excitement.
"COLLECT MORE AMMO FOR ME, MOUNT!"
Rouna stood up and chanced a glance to her shoulder where the little Fae stood, hands on her hips while showcasing tiny razor-sharp teeth. A wide grin spread across Rouna's own face as her teeth bared as well, once again looking out at the enemies around and before her.
'I may not like her, but this is going to be damn fun.' she thought, standing tall and once again facing the soon to be dead group of Hellials before her.