Iris narrowed her eyes as she recalled who he was, at his lies and attempt to kill her. How she had to run, and how if it wasn’t for her magic, she would have died.
She glanced to the side where Kaira stepped to her side, swords at the ready.
“He has a priestess prisoner. You and the others need to save her,” Iris whispered. “What’s about to happen… Just… get her to safety. I will catch up after.”
Kaira gave her a searching look.
“Fine. Finish this quickly.”
Iris just nodded and [Focused].
She wasn’t sure that this was going to be quick, but she would finish it tonight.
The Marauder Prince, outfitted in his ebony armor, straightened to his full height, the sheen of his ice-wrought claymore catching the firelight…
It was over the top on so many levels.
“I should have known it would be you who was behind the attacks on my organization ever since you escaped that day... I must say–”
But Iris wasn't there for his monologues. She wasn’t there for his bullshit.
Interrupting his speech, she triggered her [Lightning Step], becoming an entity of pure, crackling energy that surged forward like a storm incarnate. She arrived in a crash of lightning which he countered with a hastily erected thin barrier of ice that was immediately shattered by her magic, showering the area with a spray of frosty mist.
Even as she emerged from the spell, her blade carved a deadly arc through the air aimed at his neck, but the Marauder Prince’s defense gave him just enough of a breather to avoid the lethal trajectory with a nimble duck.
Without pause, she lashed out with her [Mana Conduit] and [Static Discharge] infused gauntlet that hammered into his armored midsection.
The blow contorted the steel, lifting him momentarily off the ground and eliciting a surprised grunt from the man.
Two orbs of lightning exploded outward from the contact point, homing onto another marauder who was immediately thrown to the ground as he convulsed uncontrollably from the shocking impact with twin blackened marks on his body.
The Marauder Prince, however, did not falter.
With a swift movement even as he stepped backward, he raised a hand and conjured a large icicle with a gesture, casting it directly at Iris’s face.
She responded with a swift pirouette, her [Rushing Winds] enhancing her speed and agility, while simultaneously raising her [Storm Armor] that bathed her in electrical energy as he fired two more icy projectiles.
Like unleashed serpents, bolts of lightning sprang forth from her shield, meeting the incoming spells in a fierce display of magical clashes that obliterated them in a shower of shimmering ice before they could reach her.
Kaira’s voice pierced through the pandemonium with a rallying cry for the rest of their party. “On me!”
Iris glimpsed her party charging at the other enemies, their battle cries punctuating the tumultuous orchestra of combat while arrows fired down from the tower behind them.
“You are the Marauder Prince? I thought you were just a knight,” she spat. “On a mission for the Queendom. I see you got some magic, too.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “What a naive, ignorant girl you are. I will regain what is rightfully mine after I finish what I started that day.”
With her resolve recharged, Iris lunged once more at the Marauder Prince, constantly shifting her augmenting spells to whatever she used to attack him with. Her longsword met his claymore in a forceful clash of steel that echoed throughout the camp, and their magic collided, ice meeting lighting in a cascade of shocks and mist.
The prince barely moved as Iris darted toward him once more.
He skillfully shifted to the side, the glacial edge of his claymore gleaming under the twin moonlight as it swung toward her.
Iris kicked off of the ground, using her [Rushing Winds] to amplify her jump and causing her movements to blur in speed and evade his strike.
But he was fast, his steps fluid like a dance choreographed for death as he used a movement ability, and closed the distance between them in a frosty blink of an eye.
Iris swung her blade again, a snaking whip of lightning of her [Arc Lash] radiating from her weapon, aimed at his exposed side.
His frosty aura glimmered and a thin layer of icy magic repelled her electric assault while he avoided her attack. His magic was a wall of chill that pushed back against her storm like winter rebuffing a thunderstorm’s rage.
Iris ducked under the Marauder Prince's next vicious thrust, feeling the cold wind that trailed in the wake of his massive claymore. She grinned, the gleam of battle in her eyes.
In the corner of her eye, she saw Laken, a beacon of calm amidst the chaos atop the watchtower. He was picking off the prince's reinforcements one by one, making sure no one interrupted their duel.
The rest of her party were already out of her sight as they sought to rescue the priestess she and Laken heard about, leaving Iris and the Marauder Prince in their deadly dance.
I hope Kaira stays safe.
Their fights were far from over, and Iris knew it. She just hoped no one got hurt.
But with Iris’s party gone, she didn’t have to worry about collateral damage, so she could finally go all out.
Her grin grew into a smile. It was time to shift gears, to take charge, to flip the table on everything.
She was Iris Stuart, adventurer extraordinaire, and she was a witty bitch.
It’s time to use that to my advantage.
Leaning back on her heels, she sidestepped, narrowly avoiding his next swing. Using the momentum from her dodge, she flicked her wrist, discharging a [Spark] in his direction. The electric orb whizzed past his shoulder, too close for comfort but not close enough to land a hit.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“You’re right. I am a bit ignorant. You know, maybe you can help enlighten me. What is it with men and compensating with big swords?” she taunted, her grin only broadening at his scowl. “I mean, it's pretty telling, dude.”
She continued to move, her footwork agile as she danced around him, keeping him on his toes. Her voice, though soft, echoed through the battlegrounds, ringing loud and clear over the clamor of combat around them.
The sword in his grip became an extension of his arm, striking at her with the relentless chill of winter. The closer she got, the more the frost that seemed to spread from everywhere he touched crept toward her even through the air.
She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew she couldn’t let it cover her.
Iris took a step back, her feet sliding slightly on the frost-slicked ground.
He pressed his advantage and again swung his blade, but this time a mist of frost enveloped the sword and she used her enhanced movement to leap as far back as she could just as his swing erupted in a blast of frost where it would have struck her.
At a distance, she conjured and fired her [Lightning Spear] at him, he rolled under the spear and raised several more thin panes of ice as it curved and re-targeted him. Each pane was easily pierced by the spear of pure energy that shot toward him, but they deflected its trajectory enough for him to avoid the spear all while casting several icicles at her that kept her moving until her bad-guy-seeking missile crashed into the ground and dispersed.
He was quick to retaliate and released another flurry of ice shards toward her.
Iris’s magic was quicker.
Her [Storm Armor] pulsed out in response, lightning lashing out and pulverizing the icy projectiles.
But he was already on the move, his speed catching her off guard.
She could barely make out his form amidst a dense, icy mist he flooded the area with that concealed his approach.
Using her [Mana Sight], she managed to catch sight of him just before he materialized from the obscuring fog, his claymore already swinging down.
Iris used her [Lightning Step] again, bypassing his strike and rematerializing in the midst of the tents in the camp as her body erupted out of its lightning form and created distance from the man.
She spun on her heel and quickly released a series of [Sparks] toward his exposed back.
The crackling energy soared through the air straight at her target, but instead of finding flesh, the three orbs crashed into a thin, fragile pane of ice that appeared just in time to intercept and deflect the attack.
From a distance, Iris could see the lightning illuminating the Marauder Prince, casting a long, ominous shadow on the ground. The crackle of her lightning and the frosty silence of his magic filled the night, two forces of nature locked in combat.
The intensity of their spells, the resilience of their defenses, the fluidity of their movements–it was a dance of power and determination.
But Iris was resolute.
Tonight, the storm would prevail.
Iris squared her shoulders, preparing herself for the next round. The Marauder Prince was a formidable opponent, his mastery of frost magic a stark contrast to her affinity for lightning.
They continued their duel, moving and weaving through the camp in a clash of magic that kept others away.
Bolts of [Chain Lightning], [Sparks], and [Lightning Spears] filled the night along with blasts of frost and blinding sprays of sleet.
Their swords rang as they clashed every time he managed to get close with each burst of speed courtesy of his movement ability.
A thin sheen of frost covered her boots like the icing on a high-flying spy plane, but she kept a constant surge of lightning coursing through her with her [Stormskin] trait and helping to heat up her armor to melt it away.
“Ever think that might be why you've turned to a life of terror?” she continued her earlier insult, her tone laced with mirth. “Because in a nation filled with beautiful women, not a single one wanted you? Or is it because your masculinity can’t handle women in control?”
A dangerous glint flickered in the Marauder Prince's eyes, the frost on his armor seeming to grow colder with his rising fury.
“Your ignorance amuses me,” he shot back, his voice laced with frosty venom. “Your pitiful attempts to grasp the nuances of my motivations and the breadth of my power are nothing more than a sideshow, a comedic interlude in our deadly dance.”
His eyes gleamed beneath the rim of his helm, an icy fury burning within them. “But please, do continue spouting your frivolous taunts. They serve as the perfect distraction while I bring this charade to its inevitable conclusion.”
With a flicker of amusement, she sidestepped his icy blade, responding with a dismissive air, “So, small dick. Got it.”
His snarl resonated in the frigid air, a low, guttural sound that had once held the power to instill fear in his enemies. With an explosive thrust of his offhand, a barrage of glacial spikes, almost as if he’d ripped some icy stalactites from a cavern just for this use, hurled toward her.
The gleaming shards cut through the night, refracting the ambient light in a shimmering display of deadly beauty.
Her storm armor sprung into action, arcs of electricity snapping out toward the incoming assault. Yet the sheer size of spikes overwhelmed the protective shield, and several managed to slip past her defenses.
In the blink of an eye, she tapped into the core of her magic, the sensation of electricity tingling beneath her skin as she transformed into a bolt of lightning. In an instant, she was meters away from her original position, the remaining spikes whistling past the space she had just vacated.
But the Marauder Prince was far from done.
With a sweeping motion of his arm, he conjured a swirling mist of frost. It rolled towards her like a wave, a wall of icy particles aimed to disorient and obscure her vision.
“I hope you didn't think that frostbite would slow me down,” Iris chided, her voice echoing through the frosty air.
He frowned as his armor’s icy exterior glistened. “I preferred the fight when you didn’t speak.”
Iris gave a huff of laughter, eyes narrowing as she strategized her next move. “Pretty misogynistic, my dude. Yikes. You should see a therapist about your issues. Or actually, here, have some shock therapy.”
With a jolt, she shot her [Chain Lightning] at him and connected them with the bolts of electricity jumping back and forth between them. His armor hummed as the electric charge met frost magic, their power clashing in a brilliant display. He retaliated with a violent wave of icy shards, their cold brilliance cutting through the dark.
But Iris was prepared.
She [Lightning Stepped] out of the shards' path, landing atop a pile of supplies. From her elevated vantage, she released several [Sparks], the small orbs of lightning darting toward him.
He easily dodged to the side. “What a pathetic display, you wench! Your feeble prattling can’t save you. Not even your little lightning tricks!” he sneered, his eyes glowing an icy blue as his anger rose.
“No need to be so cold-hearted,” Iris retorted, the whirling chaos of her spells lighting up the night. “But I suppose I should take it as a compliment. After all, I am pretty electrifying.”
“Your pride will be your downfall,” the prince retorted, conjuring a thick layer of frost around him as her [Sparks] struck. The frosty armor absorbed the shock, diffusing the electricity before it could reach him.
“Isn’t that why your troops are losing?” Iris taunted, gesturing to the escalating chaos beyond their battleground. “Seems like they’re getting a lesson in the proper pecking order of the forest.”
Ugh. That was bad. Need to brush up on my proper superhero banter.
The Prince glanced back, his icy calm replaced with a flare of annoyance. “A pity you’ll be dead long before it’s over.”
A smirk tugged at the corners of Iris's mouth. “Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we?”
He surged forward, the ground beneath his feet freezing with each step, his colossal blade gleaming menacingly under the moonlight. Iris watched him come, her grin never faltering.
It was just as she wanted.
Every taunt, every jibe, served to keep him off balance, to throw him off his game. And so far, it was working.
With that, she used [Rushing Winds] again, the ground beneath her crackling as she shot forward, blade in hand. The Marauder Prince moved to meet her, frost spreading under his feet as he advanced, his icy blade swinging toward her.
The clash of their blades echoed through the field, sparks of lightning meeting shards of ice, the tension escalating as they fought, one intent on breaking the storm, the other resolute in overcoming the winter's chill.