The Forest of Ice stretched out in every direction for as far as the eye could see. Thick tangles of spikes blocked any view of the sky and the crimson mist. It would have been dark if not for the golden reflections of the splinter cannons attempting to melt through the ever-expanding canopy.
Growing branches of ice brushed by me as I barely dodged a new pillar rising up out of the ground. Even though I was not the target of the glyph my dad had created, it was not a safe place to be. Like thorns, spikes grew out of every twisted piece of ice with enough force to pierce through a steel plate. If I was not careful, the jungle that Dad had created would quickly overwhelm what little energy reserves I had left after being hit by the light of the splinter cannons.
Still, I was having a much easier time than the Demon. The ice growing around me was dangerous but at least it was not actively chasing me. The Demon could not move a single step without being targeted by hundreds of icicles, all attempting to rip him to shreds. Whenever the ice was broken, the shattered pieces fell back down to the ground. Like scattered seeds taking root, the moment they touched the earth, a new pillar of ice grew. It left the Demon completely surrounded in a frozen hellscape of his own making.
Despite his circumstances, the Demon's mirrors were nothing short of fantastical, able to reflect the force of any attack back in the direction it came from. None of the ice was able to touch him, no matter how many pillars or thorrns attempted to skewer him. The Demon did not submit to his fate. He continued destroying the pillars of ice around him as he tried to force his way out of the frozen jungle. His attacks shook the air and created deafening explosions with every strike. He roared like a beast as he tore the frozen landscape apart with his bare fists.
Unsure how long Dad could maintain this massive glyph, I rushed to the Demon. Green and blue flames swirled around me, a hair’s breadth from touching. As soon as I was close enough, they spiraled towards the Demon.
Completely surrounded by pillars of ice, the Demon could not move away from my attack. Blue and green streams collided together and a deafening explosion rumbled through the frozen forest. Another column of ice shattered and fell to the ground like a shower of glittering gemstones.
Unfortunately, my first attack had little effect. The mirror demon had always been frustratingly difficult to kill. As the golden flames cleared, I saw what looked like a large egg made of dozens of small mirrors. The explosion had not been strong enough to damage any of the reflective surfaces. Instead, it cleared a large area around the Demon, giving him room to move.
The mirrors fell away as the Demon revealed himself. His bright red eyes were full of hatred and disdain as he looked down at my approach. “You may have trapped me here Aurielle but you will not be able to kill me. Nothing can harm me, not your explosions, and certainly not this ice.”
“And I thought I was overconfident,” I said with a grin.
Dom came to a stop next to me and looked up at where the Demon stood. “You are,” He replied in a matter-of-fact tone, “But this Demon is not worth being compared to you. He is little more than an insect.”
The Demon’s face instantly turned dark red as he shouted a Dom. “A lowly human dares call me an insect? Filthy! Insignificant! I will teach you your place!”
Dom brought his fists together. The dull ring of the heavy iron gauntlets echoed through the maze of ice. “Bring it, insect.”
The Demon seemed to completely lose it as he charged towards Dom with a scream of fury. I furrowed my brow at the Demon’s reckless charge.
“Don’t be fooled by his rage and drop your guard. The mirror Demon was always one of the calmest and most collected of Envy’s seven. I doubt he actually lost his temper that easily. Watch out for the other Demons appearing,” I said calmly.
Dom was grinning at the approach of the Demon and barely seemed to register my warning. “I know.”
I frowned at Dom’s lackluster reply and turned to Sebastion. “I am counting on you when the Teleporting Demon appears. With my mom out of commission, you are the only one fast enough to pose any threat to him. I am counting on you, my cute little student.”
Sebastion scowled at my comment and nodded silently. Assured that he would be ready when the other Demons appeared, I turned my attention back towards the one approaching. Dom had already charged forward to meet the Demon. Using his domain as leverage, he threw an uppercut towards the Demon’s chin.
The Demon did not move to block Dom’s attack. At first glance, it was a solid hit. A dull thud of metal rang out, and yet, it was Dom that was sent flying backwards. Just before the moment of impact, a small mirror had appeared under the Demon’s chin. It completely stopped the attack and reflected the force back through Dom’s gauntlet. The man was not hurt by the reflected force but it was clear the Demon had the advantage after the first clash.
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Just as I expected, almost immediately after Dom charged the Demon, three more figures appeared in the jungle of ice. Dom did not look suprised, however, he turned to meet the new Demons with a smile. Rather than trying to stop his flight after being thrown back by the mirror Demon, Dom accelerated straight into one of the newly appeared Demons. With a crack, the two figures collided midair and fell in a tangle of limbs and collided with a pillar of ice.
I took a quick glance at the newly appeared Demons. It seemed that Berith did not deem it important enough to come herself and save the trapped mirror Demon. Aym was not among the newly arrived group either, which made sense. Those two were our biggest targets right now. If they appeared here, we would do everything in our power to make them stay forever. Instead, the Demons that arrived were Seir the teleporter, Abigor, the Demon capable of near-instant regeneration, and the unfortunate wind Demon, Andras, who was currently on a collision course with the ground alongside Dom.
“I want to end the mirror Demon personally,” I said to the others, “Cyra, I will need your help. You as well, Dom, once you get done playing in the dirt. Sebastion will keep the teleporter from interfering. Vissna, Svend… pick a target.”
Svend’s large halberd practically kicked up a wind storm of its own as it moved to rest on the giant man’s shoulder. “I am going to enjoy this,” Svend said with a hearty laugh.
Vissna just let out a deep growl that shook my bones from its intensity. With a nod towards Cyra, I flew up towards the one that injured my mom. He was going to die today. I would make sure of that.
The mirror Demon laughed as the two of us approached. His earlier mask of rage was completely forgotten. “If you think I am going to give you time to repeat that little trick from before, you are sorely mistaken. I am invincible!”
As the Demon spoke, his entire body started shimmering like crystal. Hundreds of tiny mirrors appeared across his skin and formed into a reflective armor. There was not a single gap for either Cyra or me to attack. Even his eyes were covered in reflective surfaces. The nearby pillars of ice still attacking him were dashed to pieces against this new armor without leaving a scratch.
“Cyra, do not bother attacking him directly. Keep as much fire as you can manage burning around him at all times. Give it all you have and trust me.”
Cyra nodded and bright yellow flames ignited around her. My own fire joined hers and a sea of flames expanded outwards. Up, down, and every side was nothing but fire.
The mirrors on the Demon’s skin reflected the flickering light as he chuckled. “What are you hoping to accomplish? Nothing you try can hurt me.”
The Demon dashed towards the two of us but was intercepted by a figure bursting through the sea of fire. Dom and the Demon collided once again as Dom threw a haymaker at his head. With another dull thud, the blow once again failed to do anything to the Demon. The only difference this time was that Dom was not thrown back. He braced for the reflected force and withstood it firmly.
The Demon just shook his head in disdain and ignored Dom as he continued to slowly walk forward as if none of us existed. Dom threw more than a dozen heavy blows at the Demon but none of them had any effect.
Despite the threat of the Demon approaching me, I did not move. Green flames gathered in each of my hands as I spoke. “You have gotten rusty, Dom.”
“I am aware of that!” Dom shouted back as his heavy gauntlets rung out, again and again, blow after blow.
Fire licked at the Demon’s feet, completely unable to touch him through his armor. Gathering the flames in my hand, I created a green cyclone that completely surrounded the Demon. alongside the flames Cyra created, the heat was so intense that I wanted to take a step back. Still, I persisted. My flames may not have been able to break the Demon's mirrors without a trick like what Cyra and I had done before but that was never my goal.
Standing at the center of the cyclone of fire was not just the Demon but also Dom. His attacks were still doing next to nothing but they had managed to draw the ire of the Demon. The Demon’s fist struck out at Dom, punching him solidly in the gut. The sound of striking flesh rang out. Dom grunted and his domain buckled under the weight of the blow but he did not back away from the next attack already on its way.
“Annoying gnat, I am going to rip your flesh apart!” the Demon shouted as another heavy blow landed on Dom.
Cyra looked at me with worry. “Should we fall back? I don’t think there is much we can do with those mirrors protecting him like this.”
“Don’t worry,” I replied with a grin, “Dom always takes a while to warm up but once he does, this fight will end.”
Cyra watched the man and the Demon slugging it out. The two of them traded blows in the center of a sea of fire without any sign of blocking. Blood seeped through Dom’s shirt as one of the Demon’s strikes split open his skin but still, the man did not back down. Instead, he seemed to be speeding up.
The first sign of change was the heavy gauntlets on Dom’s hands. The once cold iron now glowed red hot and if you looked at them closely, you would see why the man could stand amidst the sea of fire without being hurt. With every punch Dom threw, the flames in his surroundings reacted. They flew away from his body and into the heavy gauntlets. With every blow he struck, the gauntlets glowed hotter and hotter.
Once again, the man and the Demon traded blows, both striking each other in the chest. This time, however, it was the Demon that grunted in pain. He looked down at his chest in confusion. The mirrors were still intact but the smell of charred flesh had filled the air.
“How?” The Demon asked in shock.
Dom chuckled as he moved in and threw another uppercut at the Demon. The Demon stumbled backwards in disbelief as he was once again hurt despite his ability still being intact.
“Your voice still passes through the mirrors despite there not being any cracks. You also seem to be breathing just fine under that armor,” Dom explained as he casually shook his wrist. More flames gathered towards the gauntlet with every movement of his hand. “That means your mirrors cannot create a perfectly sealed environment. In that case, I do not need to be able to break your defense to kill you. I’ll just cook you inside that perfect suit of armor until all that is left is dried insect jerky.”