"Fen, Quetz, I entrust my Lady to you for a moment."
Gabriel spoke to Alice’s two spirits as he took a few steps away from the holes that the lizard-men had made to sneak into their midst. Fen and Quetz naturally didn’t need such a reminder, already sticking close to Alice, and by extension Teresa.
He cast a glance at Caine for a moment, but there was no way he would need any help. The rest of the knights were also managing just fine, even with the lizard-men starting to pop up from below them. Well, it wasn’t their first venture into the mountains so they were probably used to adapting to unexpected situations.
"Alright then, my Lady, please give me a moment."
He stepped back further with a small bow, counting his steps and calculating the distance. He once again glanced at the knights, calculating the distance for a moment before Alice cut his thoughts off and put him at ease.
"I’ll warn the others, so just do it as you please."
Alright, if she was going to handle the others then that would make things simpler. He stopped stepping back and just crouched down instead, placing both his hands on the cold snow that had been so pressed down that it was almost like stone. Judging by how deep the tunnels were, he would need a bit of distance to bury them. Great distance, great mass, great amounts of movement, using both hands would make it easier to focus and control it.
"Katush, Motak Tarman Hui Veras." (Water, Heat Gather and Move.)
The magic flowed as his fingers traced the dense snow, creating a formation of messy lines. The magic was quickly completed, but the surface showed no signs of change, not even a drop of water seemed to exist on this frozen waste. But still, his arms started to move.
The magic formation in the snow was erased as he slid his hands across the snow, erratic lines forming as he pushed the snow about. He was like a conductor directing his orchestra, mana flowing with his every move, sinking into the earth and vanishing into the depths.
"Okay everyone, it’s going to get a bit messy after a little while so pleas be ready. When I say now, please jump into the air and have your magic users keep you afloat while you move to the sides. It would be terrible if you got caught up in it."
Alice’s voice reached him as he worked. She was warning the others, but he could feel her gaze linger on him, it felt like fire as it burnt the back of his neck. His gaze occasionally drifted towards her recently, but it almost seemed as if this Lady of his never stopped looking at him. Well. With her looking he felt that he couldn’t disappoint, thinking about the face she would make in that situation made another knock on his ribs sound out.
"Karas, Sarash." (Darkness, Swallow."
His right arm stopped moving and formed a new magic formation before it started to move again, tracing grooves in the snow. Word-wise, the Karas spell was a lot smaller than the Katush spell, but Gabriel always found that spells belonging to the Divine Star seemed to drain more of his mana. Thus, this one actually ended up draining a bit more than the first spell.
As his hands moved, he heard the sound of crunching snow and subdued growls. He could feel the three lizard-men that had made new holes in the ground and were charging at him, weapons already held high. But his hands didn’t stop moving. He could feel it. Below. Cracking and crumbling, a rumbling no one could hear. Perhaps the lizard-men felt it too, perhaps they feared.
Crack
There was a crunch from behind him, a cold splatter hitting the back of his head. He could feel Fen’s gaze on him, a snarl hanging in the air. The lizard-men behind him were probably reduced to a pulp by now, snatched up by the beast’s ‘Jaw’. Gravity, one of the two domains that Fenrir reigned over.
Another sound of crunching snow came from around him, but a light swish cut through the air before Fenrir could even move. Gabriel heard the sound of heads hitting the ground as bodies collapsed, Caine was looking at him. His gaze felt inquisitive, curious as to what he was doing.
Well, be as curious as you want, it was time to unveil it.
"My Lady. It’s done."
His hands rose from the snow as he spoke, smoke-like violet-black mana trailing by his fingertips before dissipating with the wind.
"Okay, Gabriel. Please, bury them."
A sweet and soft voice was returned to him, a whisper that dug into his skull, like the devil seducing its victim. Such a simple request. Thus, he raised his right leg.
"Waraya."
A Simple spell. A single word. Strength, nothing more, that was all he needed.
"Waraya."
He cast it again just to be sure, stacking strength upon strength as a pinhole-sized light flashed in the depths of his pupils.
"Alright, everyone. Now!"
Alice called out the order and moved at the same time. Quetz curled up so that Alice could step on her tail while holding on to her head, Fen hovering next to her as Quetz flapped her wings and took to the skies. The knights all jumped because Arioch told them to follow the order, and Gabriel brought down his foot.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
A rumble unlike any other. A cracking and a crumbling as if the earth was heaving like the ocean. Cracks spread out from around Gabriel’s foot, markings akin to a spiderweb spreading all around him. And then the ground collapsed.
It started at the centre, right around Gabriel. A pit directly beneath him, jagged edges like the maw of a beast. And then it spread out as gravity did the rest of the work, tugging at the edges and dragging everything down into the depths.
A mere handful of seconds after he stomped, a sinkhole about 100-metres in diameter had formed around him, a bit of wind from Quetz keeping him airborne. The tunnels made by the lizard-men had been torn apart. The earth, ice, and snow from above had crashed down on them and pushed it all down into the cavern that had appeared beneath them.
A deep pool of water and gravel was now resting at the bottom of the sinkhole, mangled corpses buried within the mess. In one fell swoop, everything beneath them had been buried and crushed.
The theory was simple, really. The water warmed up enough to melt the ice that gathered beneath them, and then Gabriel just needed to move it about, digging out ice and earth as the water crushed about. He used a bit of darkness to speed it up, creating a new cavern beneath the tunnels. Then, he just needed to apply a bit of force and let gravity do the rest of the work.
"This…?"
While he was hovering there, the first voice that reached Gabriel was actually Caine’s, not Alice’s. He raised his head slightly but saw that Caine wasn’t actually looking at him but rather past him, beyond even the mess down below. Alice was also looking in a similar direction so he turned his head again.
When he focused his gaze he could see something at the edges of the sinkhole. Crimson lines marred the edges of the pool that had formed, and between some of the rubble that had formed he could see that the lines continued along the bottom of the sinkhole. Well, rather than say they the lines existed at the bottom of the sinkhole, it felt more correct to say that the sinkhole was only that deep because the lines stopped it from sinking further.
"How… Is this here?"
The words seemed to leak from Caine’s mouth without his notice, his eyes swimming with confusion. Alice however looked at the markings with a bit of glee, Teresa with hardened determination, Arioch’s expression more one of amazement. From the looks of it, Gabriel was the only one among them who was unaware of what this was.
"Iras, Devak." (Lightning, Burst."
Alice didn’t waste a second, didn’t give anyone time to react, her magic activated instantly. Lightning fell from the cloudy sky and struck the pool and debris, tearing through it as it erupt in a crackle of sparks.
"Iras, Devak."
"Iras, Devak."
"Iras, Devak."
Alice had seemingly already prepared the spells in advance. While the first crackle of lightning was still fresh in their ears, three more fell from the sky and ruptured the pool and rubble in the sinkhole. Everything was blown away in an instant, revealing the fresh crimson lines that stretched across the entire bottom of the sinkhole. From the looks of it, they even seemed to continue further, vanishing into the ancient glacial walls.
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"Alice, you have to…!"
Caine sprung into action, placing himself above the sinkhole with his hands spread out, colour already leaving his face. No, he couldn’t allow this. He had no idea why the seal was here when it should only be at the very depths of the mountain range, but he couldn’t allow Alice to touch it further, even if it may just be fake. That thing… If she awakened any part of that thing without Azuras here to swallow it… How many of them would be able to walk out of here alive?
"Iras, Tarman Hui Devak." (Lightning, Gather and Burst.)
Caine’s voice was drowned out by Alice completing her spell, his plea never reaching anyone’s ears. The lightning that had struck down and exploded, dancing across the water and ice, all gathered again and exploded into a pillar that shot into the sky.
…And thus, Barong swallowed Azui and left him in his crimson-lined stomach until the time Iras comes along to finalize his last rites.
Thus ended the legend about the creation of this glacial expanse, the ancient beast that would become the progenitor of the northern duchy swallowing the demon blessed with the name of Ice. In its stomach it would rest until Iras (Lightning) came along to grant it that eternal rest.
Alice looked at the white dust that rose after her lightning exploded, her eyes naturally drifting towards the man she kept afloat a bit below her. The time to fulfil that legend had come, but the one who would give that dead demon its final rites wouldn’t be Iras, it would be Gabriel. And in the process, he would become that much more powerful.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGRRRRRGRRRRRGGGGRRR
A terrible sound came from within the white dust, a rumbling akin to the air getting torn apart. Deeper than the rumbling of thunder, heavier than the stomp that finalised the sinkhole, colder than the winds that whipped this land.
Rising from the dust was a claw. Just a claw. Detached at the wrist, it stood there, sharp nails piercing into snow as if it was jelly. Pale white scales covered it, deep blue veins running across every inch of it, a cold mist oozing out from every scale. It looked far more draconic than human, but it had nine long talons, there were even eight large eyes blinking on it, peach-coloured eyes with slit pupils looking up at them. It was just a claw, yet it filled most of the sinkhole, none who saw it would want to think about what sort of beast it came from.
"A claw… Just a claw… With this…"
Caine muttered to himself in a quiet voice, partly in relief, as he looked down at the thing that rose after the crimson lines faded. A claw… The seal he kept checking on was supposed to be the heart, could that mean that the entire thing was sealed here, just in parts? But good… A claw should be doable, they should be able to survive a claw.
"Stop dawdling!"
A shout, or perhaps a roar was more fitting, tore through the stunned silence that followed the claw’s arrival. Gabriel. He was the first to react, the first to sense the horrifying danger that thing posed. And thus, he was the first to act.
"Karas, Tarman Veras!" (Darkness, Gather Harden.)
Darkness bubbled into existence in front of and beneath Alice, who still looked stunned. It solidified and kept gathering into a thick wall before suddenly bursting, something flying past Alice. A shard of ice, barely larger than a normal nail. Several of them had flown up from below and torn clean through the wall Gabriel made, he barely managed to redirect them so that they missed Alice.
"Argh!"
"AAAHHH!"
Others weren’t as lucky. Gabriel could hear the screams as some of the knights were run through by the nails, their screams quickly silenced as their bodies became chunks of ice that fell to the ground. Death had arrived, but Gabriel had no time to pay it any mind. Alice was in danger, he had to act.
"Karas, Aset!" (Darkness, Switch.)
He switched places with the wall of darkness that had been run clean through. Seven spells left if he kept being this generous with his mana. The darkness that appeared where he was previously was freezing, just like the bodies of the knights.
"Alice, we need to leave, now!"
There were others around, but this wasn’t a time to worry about whether or not he addressed her properly. His instincts were screaming at him that the thing below was dangerous, they had to get away from it.
"It… It was supposed to be dead…"
Alice still looked momentarily out of it. From the looks of it, she had known that this thing, this seal, was here within the mountain. Was she expecting a dead demon to be residing within it?
"Fen, take care of Teresa! Quetz, Stick close to Alice! Arioch, we need to retreat, now! Caine, stop dawdling already!"
Now wasn’t the time to think about what she had been planning or expecting, now was the time to act so he quickly called out orders to everyone around.
"Karas! Vash, Lagu Hui Veras!" (Darkness! Whip, Bind and Harden.)
The darkness bubbled forth again and lashed out like an angry octopus, tendrils wrapping around the quietly moving fingers of the claw before they dug into the ground and hardened to become chains. Six spells left. Two of the eight eyes focused on Gabriel, a terrible sensation filling his chest as he quickly pushed Alice aside.
"Karas, Aset!" (Darkness, Switch.)
Small nails of ice shot through the air where he had just been, freezing the darkness that popped up to take his place. five spells left. Sadly, the place he appeared wasn’t opportune, directly beneath the claw. He could only change places with darkness he had created through his spells, teleporting to other shadows and the like was a much higher level spell.
"Katush, Alect Hui Devak!" (Water, Rise and Burst.)
"Waraya, Alect, Alect, Alect!" (Strength, Rise, Rise, Rise.)
He had to make the best of a bad situation so the grabbed his sword as he cast the spells, the water that remained within the pool rising like a geyser, the water instantly freezing as it touched the claw. Three spells left. The claw was pushed down slightly so it seemed as if the people above were properly reacting now and launching their own attacks.
He held his sword tightly and swung it sideways, he was beneath the claw so he couldn’t get access to one of its eyes from here. Thus, he aimed for the nearest talon so that he could sever at least one of them.
Cra~clang.
A mix between cracking and clanking. His sword dug a few centimetres into the talon before it came to an abrupt halt, a crack spreading across the blade. Really, even with that much strength put into it.
Something heavy hit the claw as he pulled back his blade, its joints bending as arcs of lightning scattered through the surrounding. It was getting heavier and heavier so Fen was probably working with Alice to crush it. There was also heat from below, so he could tell what she was trying to do.
"Karas, Aset!"
Two spells left. He vanished from beneath the claw, switching places with what little of his darkness that had yet to freeze after the previous attack. As he vanished, the ground beneath and around the claw melted and ruptured, magma pouring out to drown the claw.
Alice, the one who cast the spell, wasn’t next to him as he appeared there, already falling since he couldn’t fly. She had moved a bit to the side, probably so that she could get a better look at his position before she unleashed the lava.
Arioch and the knights had moved to the edges of the sinkhole, it would be too hard for them to do anything if their wind mages had to keep them in the air. Fen had brought Teresa away, but she had brought out a lot of vials and was already using her magic on them. Poison, she had prepared plenty of it, and now she would use it. As fro Caine and his attendants, he had sent his attendants to Arioch while he remained standing in the air where he was. He already held his sword and was swinging it ceaselessly, slicing up the pool of lava beneath them with a tense and pale face.
He didn’t seem to think that this would be enough to stop the claw, and neither did Gabriel as Alice had Quetz use a bit of wind to keep him afloat. And indeed, the claw launched itself out of the magma.
Five out of the eight eyes were focused on Gabriel as it soared into the sky, the icy mist around it freezing even the air into sharp nails it could launch. The attack flew as quick as lightning, Caine quickly rushing over while Alice launched her own magic. It was focusing on Gabriel so luckily they only had one place to defend.
But the moment they cast their magic, Gabriel saw the claw’s eyes move. In an instant, they all focused on Alice. The claw kicked off the air as if it was solid and launched itself towards Alice, its attack still flying towards Gabriel, who was being defended by Caine and Alice’s own attacks. As a result, Alice was left undefended, only Quetz at her side because Fen was a bit away with Teresa.
The claw bent one of its talons. Was it not able to use its ice to attack again within such a short duration? Or was it just confident? Whatever the case was, having experienced how hard the talons were, Gabriel knew that getting hit by that would be bad news, terrible even.
He could see it, he didn’t even need to close his eyes to envision it. Violet hair dyed red, crimson eyes that became murky and cloudy, splashes of crimson that dyed the snow. He saw it, he felt the knocking on his chest. And thus, he acted. Faster than anyone else, more assuredly than anyone else, more determined than anyone else.
"Karas, Takt." (Darkness, Mask.)
One spell left. Darkness welled up around Alice and Quetz, bubbling like tar as it surrounded her and blocked her away from the world. Held her as tight as only he could. But it wasn’t enough, the claw, its talon already rushing forward, would be able to tear right through that darkness.
"Karas, Aset." (Darkness, Switch.)
No spells left. Gabriel vanished from his spot and appeared where Alice used to be, and the darkness covered Alice appeared where he used to be. As the darkness faded from her body, a few tendrils slithered out from it, coiling around her.
"Nergal! Not a hair on her body, understood!?"
An order tore through the air as Gabriel looked at Alice with bloodshot eyes. Nergal, that cute little spirit of his. He could form darkness, but Gabriel couldn’t switch spaces with that darkness, nor could Nergal switch places with his own darkness. He was still young, still weak. He hadn’t eaten enough.
The tendril wriggled for a moment, and then the claw struck Gabriel. He raised his sword to block it, but the cracked blade shattered under the attack, his armour quickly following suit as he was flung away like a broken doll.
Something hard hit him. Or did he hit something hard? Was it the ground? Yeah, the claw had struck him so hard that he shot down to the ground like a cannonball, bouncing along it like a doll whose strings had been cut. As he bounced, his gaze turned skyward for a second. And for a moment, one that felt like eternity, he could see the sky.
1,100,067,989.
Again, the number there had risen, climbing back to 1.1 billion.
Ah, are you enjoying this, you twisted viewers? Would you not be happy until the villainess was miserable and lost?
The thought had just struck him when he felt darkness descend on him, the world around him vanishing as he sank into the void.
"Hello, *^*^**#%."
A voice in the darkness. It greeted him, but the second word it tried to speak, that name… It sounded like rusty metal plates grinding against each other. It tore at his head. He didn’t know when, but a familiar figure had appeared in front of him at some point, standing in the darkness as it looked at him.
A tall and muscular frame with a slightly bent back. Black hair and brown eyes that were as normal as they came, as dull as they came. A large scar went down across its left eye, going from its forehead all the way down to its mangled upper lip, its gums and teeth practically fully exposed. It wore a familiar uniform, his old death squad, its arms crossed in front of its chest, a measly seven fingers remaining on its hands.
"We’ve been waiting for you."
Thus it spoke to him, to himself.