Pete tightened his grip on his bow, the handle biting into his palm. His breath came in shallow bursts, every fiber of his being tense as he faced off against One-Eye.
“You’re hesitating,” One-Eye said, his voice flat. “Again.”
Pete cursed under his breath. The practice had been going on for an hour, each arrow strike from him met with a counter from One-Eye.
“You’re not going to win with your fists clenched like that,” One-Eye said, taking a step back and lowering his sword. “Drop your shoulders. Stop thinking about defense.”
“I’m not built for this,” Pete muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow. “I can’t just… turn off my instincts.”
“If you don’t learn how to fight to win, then you’re no good in a real battle.”
Pete’s jaw tightened. He released another arrow. One-Eye sidestepped almost lazily, his body moving with an unsettling fluidity.
“Again.”
Another strike, another effortless parry.
Yuki watched from the side of the training ground, her arms folded across her chest.
“You’re telegraphing,” One-Eye said, snapping Pete out of his frustration with a single, crisp statement. “You’re trying to fight as if there’s someone else here that you need to protect, and that just doesn’t work.”
Pete adjusted his feet to keep from falling.
One-Eye sighed. “Come on, let’s stop. I think that I’ve helped as much as I can today.”
Pete held out his hand, allowing his bow to dissipate into the air.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I guess so.”
One-Eye walked away to do… whatever One-Eye did.
Pete watched the back of his head disappear into the snow. He heard footsteps approach him.
“Pete,” a feminine voice said. “Did you notice it?”
He turned his head to see Yuki. He shrugged.
“What are you thinking of?”
“His movements. There was something so familiar about them. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that…”
“That?”
“That I knew him from somewhere. There’s something so… familiar about him.”
Pete ran through his brief encounters with the man. The way he moved, his dismissive attitude… it almost reminded him of—
Ezra?
But that was impossible.
He threw out the thoughts and looked down at his hand. He had to learn to be more ruthless, or he’d become another body on the pyre. He wouldn’t let that happen.
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Ezra double-checked the radar. They were getting close. It would only be a matter of an hour or two before they finally came in sight of the Snow King. He walked up to Charles and tapped him on the shoulder.
Charles turned around and gave him a look. “Yes?”
“We’re almost there. It’s in the area, stay on your guard.”
Charles’s body stiffened and he nodded.
“Got it. Thanks for letting me know.”
Ezra watched as Charles leaned in toward someone and whispered a few quick words. The person ran off and quickly whispered something to Prise and someone else. Prise nodded and stopped the wagon.
“How do you plan to do this?” Ezra said.
“Enclose it,” Charles said. “I’ll act as bait, get it to shoot at me. In the meanwhile, everyone’s going to fan out and go from tree to tree. Sneak up on it, you know?”
Ezra shrugged. It sounded like as good a plan as anything else.
Soon enough, the time arrived. Ezra’s radar beeped loud enough to hurt his ears.
A droplet of sweat rolled along the back of his neck. He looked from left to right, sweeping the area. A flash of light caught his attention.
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“Get down!” Ezra said.
Ezra dropped to the ground. A moment later, a white ice pellet whizzed through the air where his head had been and lodged itself into a tree. Charles cursed and rushed behind a tree. He looked in the direction where the ice pellet had come from
“Fan out! You know the drill!” he yelled out.
The group moved silently in the same way that Ezra had seen them do when they were training with Charles. Ezra raised an eyebrow. He was begrudgingly impressed. Charles had been practicing for this moment even back then.
Charles poked his head out. “Hey, you big ugly bastard! I bet your mother was a snow globe!”
Ezra made a distinct expression of disgust. Was that seriously the best that Charles had in his inslult repertoire?
A moment later, an ice pellet whiffed past Charles’s head. He screeched. Hair fell off and onto the snow. He ducked back behind the tree and looked over at Ezra.
“Hey, does it look bad?” he said.
The top of his head looked like someone had taken a razor to it but gave up on the job in two seconds.
“Uh, no,” Ezra said.
Charles sighed. “Thank goodness.”
Ezra looked out. The encirclement had been completed and they were closing in on the Snow King. He narrowed his eyes. There was no way that was the only trick the bastard had up his sleeve.
An arrow twang rang out and Ezra heard an angered roar. A fireball flew through the air and hit it square in the chest. It broke off into a run, only to meet a scythe to the face.
It fell and slumped over the ground.
Ezra blinked. There was no way it could be that simple, right?
A moment later, the landscape started to shake.
“Oh, what the hell?” Ezra said.
Charles fell onto the ground, unable to keep his balance.
A looming shadow appeared over them. The Snow King had expanded in size, becoming some kind of looming giant the size of a skyscraper. It stared down at them with contempt in its black, dotted eyes. It held out a white hand and dozens of large icicles appeared in the air.
Snow King (True) - Golem Lord - The Third - Lv. 81
A moment later, the icicles shot out and Ezra heard the sickening sound of flesh rending.
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Ezra’s mind raced as he attempted to process the situation. Three people had gotten injured, beyond that, Ezra didn’t know. What he did know was that everyone would be dead soon if something wasn’t done.
Could he take this thing out? Maybe, but he’d have to reveal Filamenta, and that would mean that his identity as One-Eye would be blown. If he wanted to take care of the boss monster, he should’ve done it earlier—sneaked out of camp or something.
He growled. There was no time to worry about what-ifs. They needed to get the brats out of here.
Charles had a pale expression on his face as he stared at the monster.
“Snap out of it!” Ezra hissed. “There’s no time for that. We need to save the injured!”
“B-but how!?” Charles said. “You saw how many icicles that thing made!”
Ezra sucked in a breath. This was an opportunity.
“I’m going to draw its attention,” Ezra said.
“You’ll die!”
“I’ll be able to get away.”
Charles blinked, then nodded, some of the color returning to his face. “You’re a better man than I thought, One-Eye. If we make it out of this, I’ll buy you a drink,” Charles said.
Ezra held back an eye roll. “Sure. Just get them out.”
He turned his head back to the Snow King. It held out its hand and icicles formed spontaneously in front of it.
Ezra jumped out and waved his arms. “Hey! I’m over here!”
The Snow King’s attention changed from the Otherworlders to Ezra. It blinked and all seven of the icicles shifted slightly, adjusting their aim to hit Ezra.
Ezra jumped clear, [Cat’s Grace] working overtime and allowing him to move through the thick snow. A moment later, the icicles all smashed into the ground that he’d been standing on.
He ran off in a random direction. He felt the ground shake from the Snow King’s long legs. It was relentless, following him through the trees, crushing and crunching them with ease.
Ezra felt a cold chill down his spine and leaped forward, barely dodging another bunch of icicles.
He looked back. Just a little further and he’ll be outside the range of the Otherworlders.
His body flowed through the woods, all of his Dexterity focused on one goal: get to the end of the forest.
“Filamenta, wake up,” he muttered under his breath.
A presence at the edge of his mind poked at him. It was weak, sluggish. She was tired—but he needed her awake and aware in case something went wrong.
“Filamenta!” he said.
His voice was swallowed by the wind, but that didn’t matter. She still heard him. He felt her mind begin to stir.
The Snow King let out a low rumbling growl. It waved its hand and a barrage of icicles appeared, glittering in the light. They hovered, then launched.
Ezra ducked behind a jagged outcrop. The icicles crashed into the stone around him. The shards of ice sprayed everywhere and cut into his clothes and skin. He gritted his teeth, pushing the pain aside.
He reached into his core and found the connection he was looking for. He’d never done this before, but hopefully it would work.
He tugged on the connection and felt a jolt. She’d woken up.
“I’m here…” her voice was soft. She sucked in a breath. “Shit.”
“Yup,” Ezra said. “Any ideas?”
She went quiet. A moment later, her voice echoed in his mind.
“It has a weak spot, probably the mana core. Like the Unibbits, remember?”
Ezra poked his head over the rock and activated [Mana Perception]. The world flickered into the blue and bright light coming from the center of the Snow King’s chest almost blinded him. He turned off the ability and got behind the stone.
“It’s in the middle of its chest,” he said. “How the hell am I supposed to get in there?”
“You could throw me,” Filamenta said.
Ezra blinked. “What?”
“Turn me into a harpoon and launch me,” she said. “I’ll get in there and mess him up!”
There was a trace of excitement in her voice. Ezra shrugged. It was as good of an idea as anything else.
He popped his head out. The Snow King roared and icicles appeared.
Ezra cast [Polymorphism]. Filamenta expanded in size into a long spear. He reared her back.
The icicles launched.
Ezra threw Filamenta forward. She flew through the air, and if he didn’t know any better he’d say there was lightning crackling around her. Ezra tried to jump away from the icicles, but he’d been too late. One smashed into his leg, breaking it in half.
Filamenta crashed into the Snow King and pierced through the snow body. It went forward and forward, then bumped up against something solid.
“It’s shielded!” she said, her voice coming through their connection. “I won’t be able to get through—!”
A moment later, there was a loud explosion. The world went white, and Ezra knew nothing.