Nitis was about to charge into the city, prepared to fight to the death versus an unknown foe, before a single thought rooted him in place. Neia.
He spun and watched his daughter from afar. Neia was just now beginning her clash with the ‘leader’ Troll. Indecision clawed at him. He had a duty to ensure the city, but… this was his daughter—the last remaining bearer of his love. He was about to rush to her in an attempt to end this farce quickly when he heard a voice.
“Go. I will watch over her.”
He gazed down at Lee, who was still pale and frightened by Nitis’ panicked outburst. Lee spoke to him earnestly.
“She will not die as long as I am here. By my word.”
Lee put his thumbs and pinkies together and raised them to his head. Nitus saw the glow from the Oathbinder emanate from around Lee. That was all he needed to see.
Lee watched as Nitis turned back to Neldam’s entrance and sped away. He basically vanished from the speed at which he moved. It was unreal to Lee. He moved fast enough to break the sound barrier, but there was no rush of air or any indication of it being so.
Since Nitis had left to find ‘Jud’, Lee turned to his Aquavista and watched over Neia, almost as if he was her guardian angel.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------
Neia had just finished drinking her mana and stamina potion after facing the last group of monsters. The only obstacle left was the sapient Troll. This was much harder than she thought it was going to be. She had, of course, participated in monster sieges before, but not as the breaker. The unofficial title that was given to those who ended sieges.
In her first siege, she had volunteered to be at the forefront. A noble position that showed bravery and courage, the position Lee had taken during this siege. She was impressed with his will and was glad he came out stronger. He was going to need it for all the lofty goals he set himself.
What would she have done were their positions swapped? Transferred to a world completely foreign and alien to all they believed and were raised upon. Rising to the defense of the weak, of a people she didn’t know even existed a mere month beforehand.
It was a shame that she wasn’t in a position to ponder, the leader was coming, and she was the breaker. This was her moment of triumph! The moment she made her mark! She would show her father and all those watching that she, too, was able to rise to the challenge.
She had around thirty seconds to prepare herself before the final battle began. Frozen Focus was keeping her keen and aware of her goal, her path. She checked her HP, MP, and resonance.
HP: 565/615 (565/695)
MP: 725/1080 (725/1225)
Tress Resonance: 13%
She tsk’d at the lower resonance. She swung her braid over her shoulder and saw the blood, dirt, and loose streaks of hair, along with a host of other problems. She couldn’t up her resonance with so little time.
She gripped her sheathed khopeshes and lurched forward, almost as if she was in a sprinters position. She was going all out on this battle; she had saved as much of her mana as she could just for this moment. It was going to be all or nothing.
She stared into the eyes of the furious Troll lumbering forward with nothing but the desire for destruction when she heard the voice of her father.
“Nitis Sindris city alert. An unknown high-level monster has passed the barricades. Shapeshift/illusion spells or artifacts. Most recent known description: Dark Elf, white hair in a top knot, ornate spear, un-darkened leather armor. Highest Level Alert. Stay in your homes or the closest building available.”
Her Frozen Focus shattered, and her mind blanked. Cold sweat dripped down her back as she registered the announcement. She looked back to the ‘leader’ Troll and came to the same conclusion her father did. She took in the appearance of the monster in front of her.
The Troll slowed in its approach as it had also heard Nitis’ announcement and its bloodthirsty visage faded into one of contempt. The Troll gave up the facade of unintelligence and sneered at Neia. The Troll came to a stop, then began to slowly circle Neia like a predator hunting prey.
This wasn’t the leader of the monsters. This was a distraction—a ruse. One they fell for single-handedly.
Two sapients in a single siege was unheard of. Never in her 712 years of living had this ever happened. This was supposed to be her moment. The moment she made a name for herself. The moment she made her father proud. It was all falling apart. She would have to trust her father to handle his end, as she had to stop the obstacle that was currently in front of her.
The Troll was circling her, eyes radiating fierceness and calculation. Neia, still in her sprinting position, kept her Spacial Awareness working overtime as she followed its movements not only with her eyes but also with her skill. She was about to unleash her Moonlight Draw when the Troll completed a full rotation around her. It showed its yellow and decayed teeth in a twisted smile and… spoke.
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“Tricked.”
Caught off guard in the moment of her astonishment, the battle began. The Troll, whom Neia had assumed would be a close combat fighter, jumped backward and cast a spell. Her Survival Instincts and wisdom screamed at her to move away from her position, so she lunged forward and began her stream of skill activations.
Moonlight Draw, Icyline Finish, Elemental Ignition, and Razors Edge. Each overlaid on top of one another to create her opening gambit, one she was the most confident in. As she launched forward from her sprinting stance, she closed the gap in mere moments. Her crossed arms drew forth her twin khopeshes, revealing them to be covered in glacial frost, sparking flames, and gleaming moonlight.
Her draw was the attack. Her crossed slashing blades came directly at the Troll’s midsection as a lava plume erupted from her former location, and rock and stone gathered across the body of the Troll.
Her blades sliced through the earthly armor with ease and began cleanly slicing into the Troll’s upper chest, piercing cold, searing flames, and the ethereal glow of moonlight burst forth as her blades came to a sudden stop.
Flabbergasted, Neia stared at the wounds she had inflicted. There was no blood flowing from the giant X-shaped gouges, and she could clearly see the Sternum and Ribs of the Troll.
They were made of metal.
A staff slammed into her shoulder and pummeled her flat onto the earth.
- 98 HP
She rolled across the ground, avoiding another swing as she began unloading her stored mana. She cast Frozen Tomb on the Troll as she evaded. Deep blue glacial ice apparated around the Troll, locking it in place by covering it entirely. It was thick, measuring at least 6 inches from the dark brown bumpy skin of the Troll.
She rolled back onto her feet as her skill Mana Siphon began stealing mana from the Troll, giving it to her. She instantly began casting another spell. Shatter. This was another combination she had planned. Shatter had a casting time of 10 seconds, and she had never met a foe capable of escaping her expert-tier glacial Frozen Tomb.
Until now.
Lava appeared above the troll from seemingly nowhere, coating the trapped Troll encased in her icy tomb. The glacial ice began to melt, but the lava itself cooled rapidly, creating sizzling sounds and bubbles of splattering lava. Steam began shooting out of the pockets of cooled lava, obscuring the area.
Some of the splattering lava landed on Neia herself, causing searing white-hot pinpointed pain.
-22 HP
-24 HP
-18 HP
She never moved from her spot as she had to finish casting Shatter. If she stopped, her surefire kill combination was gone.
The lava began solidifying on top of the icy tomb as it lost its heat. The spitting lava ceased, and Neia was sure of her victory.
That was until her Survival Instincts and wisdom screamed at her to stop casting and MOVE!
She jumped to her right as a spear of hardened lava rock launched from the covered Troll in a spear. The sharp pointed lance of hardened lava almost pierced directly into her head. She rolled from her dodge, coming up to her feet once more, as she heard a large sound of a CRACK.
Neia peered into the depths of steam as she began unleashing Daggers of Frost into it.
A frost and stone-coated Troll burst forth from the steam with a bellow of fury. The Troll completely ignored the Dagger of Frost as it charged straight into Neia. The Troll led with its staff horizontally and cast a spell as it charged.
A curved spikey wall of Earth appeared in Neia’s Spacial Awareness directly behind her, cutting off escape. With her only option being forward and fearing that she was unable to cut into the Troll’s metal skeleton, she began her final planned combination. One she wished she never had to use.
She activated her longest cooldown skill, one gifted to her by Selene, the Goddess of the Moon. Breathlessness. Time slowed and came to a near stop as Neia held her breath. She ran forward, not affected by the slowing of time, and wrapped her arms around the Troll’s midsection. She stared into the eyes of the Troll, which, ever so slowly, began to follow her movements.
She held her breath as she began casting her spell, which had the longest casting time of any of her spells, one minute. A spell she was forbidden to use unless she was in serious peril. Glacial Annihilation. The spell that was taught to her by her mother. It was the greatest spell her mother created after she had learned Glacial magic, the magic of her daughter.
This wasn’t all she used, though.
She had used an active skill as well, Spell Overload. She poured every single point of mana she had into casting Glacial Annihilation.
In the slowed time, she held her breath. She could feel her mana escaping her body as a frozen stillness encompassed everywhere around her. Time crept onwards as she stared into the now caught-up eyes of the Troll. She took pleasure in watching them slowly widen in pure fear and terror. The Troll’s wisdom let it know that the end was indeed coming.
She began to struggle with holding her breath, her face slowly turning red, but she had trained for this. She wasn’t going to breathe until the spell was completed.
Ten seconds remained in the casting of the spell as the Troll's slowed movements brought her forward ever so slowly into the earthy wall of spikes. The Troll's last ditch effort wasn’t going to make it in time, but it didn’t know that.
3...
2...
1...
The spell was completed as Neia took a breath, and time resumed.