3rd Person POV
Merith's frustration was palpable as she watched the gargoyles tear through her earlier wave of fire like it was nothing. Her eyes narrowed, burning with renewed determination. If they wanted more, she would give them more.
With a deep breath, Merith dug her heels into the ground, her fingers curling into fists as she summoned every ounce of her magic. Flames began to flicker and dance around her feet, growing hotter with every passing second. The air around her shimmered with heat, and the snow beneath her melted away, leaving patches of scorched earth in its wake.
Raising her hands toward the sky, she called forth a sea of fire, unlike anything the others had seen before. The flames roared to life, towering above them, swirling in great, fiery waves that scorched the very air. The heat was unbearable, searing as if the world itself was about to ignite. She concentrated, focusing her magic into an inferno so intense that the very snowstorm began to evaporate around her, leaving a cloud of steam in its place.
The gargoyles, previously unscathed, screeched as the flames intensified. They flapped their wings desperately, trying to escape the growing heat, but it was too late. This time, there would be no mercy.
The first wave of gargoyles tried to push through the sea of fire again, but Merith wasn't holding back anymore. The flames engulfed them completely, scorching their armor until it melted and dripped from their bodies like molten metal. Their screeches turned into howls of agony as their wings caught fire, turning them into nothing more than blazing streaks crashing down from the sky. One by one, the gargoyles dropped like burning meteors, their charred bodies disintegrating before they even hit the ground.
Lux got close to her and supplied Merith with her own mana to help since Merith's mana reserves couldn't sustain this kind of attack.
The sky above was now a swirling mix of fire and ash, the heat so intense that even the armored gargoyles, once impervious to damage, had no choice but to retreat. Their blackened armor, which had once shimmered menacingly, now glowed red-hot under the relentless barrage of flames. Some of them managed to evade the fire, darting higher into the sky, but Merith wasn't finished.
She stretched her hands wide, commanding the flames to follow them. Pillars of fire shot upward, scorching the skies, leaving no escape. The gargoyles, trapped in the inferno, had nowhere to flee. They screeched in desperation as the flames closed in, their bodies incinerating in the sea of fire that Merith controlled with terrifying precision.
"Not bad for a blacksmith." Lux commented.
Evelyn watched the fight between the twin gods from afar, Artemis was holding her own against Apollo, the two gods clashing with such intensity that the very sky trembled, she was winning even, but she needed this to end quickly as they all needed to run before backup arrived. But they couldn't afford to linger here any longer, especially with the gargoyles still lurking in the distance and the others preparing to make their escape.
She knew what had to be done. A skill she'd learned from her mother, Aphrodite...one far more subtle and dangerous than any blade or arrow. Emotions. She could sense Apollo's inner turmoil, the simmering rage and frustration that Artemis had stirred in him, and Evelyn planned to use that against him.
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Closing her eyes, she reached out with her mind, her powers allowed her to break into Apollo's mental state, something that she couldn't do if he wasn't distracted, she was latching onto Apollo's emotions like invisible threads. She tugged gently at first, probing, feeling the edges of his psyche. His arrogance was palpable, his confidence almost blinding. But beneath it, there was something else...vulnerability, doubt, guilt. All the emotions he tried so hard to suppress.
Evelyn smiled.
Slowly, she began to weave those emotions, amplifying them, swirling them together like a storm inside Apollo's mind. His thoughts, once clear and calculated, began to fray at the edges. Voices whispered in his ears, filling his head with doubt. Every regret, every failure he had buried deep inside himself, Evelyn brought to the surface, flooding his mind with overwhelming emotion.
Apollo faltered, his movements growing sluggish as he clutched his head in confusion. His bow lowered, his once-steady hand now trembling as he struggled to focus. But the more he fought it, the more Evelyn's magic intensified. His breathing quickened, eyes darting around as if searching for an enemy he couldn't see.
"Artemis," he gasped, "what…what is happening?"
Artemis, sensing the shift in his demeanor, didn't hesitate. She was already winning, but now, with Apollo disoriented, her strikes became even more relentless as she then managed to knock him down. Evelyn wasn't done yet as she utilized Skadi's snowfield and had them swirl around her, she then sent it toward Apollo and buried him alive, it shouldn't kill him, but with his mind overloaded with emotions, it should take a while for him to be able to stop the suffocation.
Apollo tried to react, to counter the magic, but his thoughts were muddled, voices and emotions screaming inside his head, drowning out all sense of reason. He gritted his teeth, clutching his temples, but it was no use as he felt his head being banged on from different directions as snow filled his lungs.
"Stop there, he's still my brother." Artemis commanded, "I don't want to see him suffer too much."
"Sure, let's go help the others."
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Leon POV
Mike charged in, his speed leaving only a blur in the air as he closed the distance between us and Skadi, who stood atop a dune, calmly taking aim with her sniper rifle. I followed right behind him, doing my best to match his pace, but Skadi's precision was unnerving. Even with Viper casting shadows over her eyes, trying to blind her, she still managed to shoot with deadly accuracy.
Bang!
A shot ricocheted right in front of Mike, sand exploding from the ground as he narrowly avoided the hit. Skadi didn't hesitate, pulling the trigger again. Her movements were smooth and effortless as if being blind didn't even matter. Another bullet zipped past me, and I knew we had to get closer, fast, or we'd never make it. Mike, using his incredible speed, managed to weave through her shots, closing the gap in seconds. I pushed harder, trying to keep up, but even as I moved, Skadi's shots remained unnervingly accurate. I could hear Viper cursing behind us, pouring more of his magic into blocking her senses. But he can only do so much against a huntress.
When Mike got close, within striking distance, when he tried to lunge at her, Skadi countered far quicker than I could even react, she dodged his attack effortlessly, stepping to the side and using the butt of her sniper to land a brutal hit to Mike's side. He grunted, stumbling back as she followed up with another vicious strike, sending him crashing to the ground.
"I'll block her hearing!" Viper shouted.
For a second, I thought we had her. With her sight and hearing gone, I was certain she wouldn't sense me coming. But I was wrong. Just as I closed the gap, Skadi turned, her body reacting faster than I could. Her hand shot out, a punch aimed square at my chest. I barely had time to brace myself before her fist connected, the force of the blow sending a shockwave of pain through me.
I staggered back from the pain, feeling my ribs strain under the impact, but I wasn't going down that easily. Gritting my teeth, I swung back, my fist slamming into her with all the strength I could muster. I felt the satisfying crunch as my punch connected, sending her skidding back across the sand. She might've had the advantage of precision, but I had raw power, and I wasn't holding back.