The monster that stepped from the chieftain's hall was nothing like the others. Twice the height of a grown man, its hunched form dragged thick, clawed hands through the snow. Its body was pale blue and laced with jagged scars. Black ice jutted from its shoulders like armored plates, and a crown of frozen bone circled its skull. Its eyes, glowing dimly like twin lanterns in a blizzard, fixed on Lira with inhuman focus.
A low growl escaped its throat, deep and guttural.
The ground trembled as the monstrous figure stepped from the large building at the center of the ruined village. It was unlike the goblins they had faced before. Taller than any creature they had encountered, its hunched form still scraped the upper beams of the broken rooftops as it moved. A thick frost covered its hulking limbs, its hide armored in layers of frozen plates that shifted and cracked with each movement. Its eyes glowed a sickly blue, devoid of reason but full of violence.
Lira stepped forward first, her new blade gleaming faintly in the cold light. Flames flickered along its edge as she channeled her Vyre into it. Korr flanked her left, his axe resting on his shoulder, his steps heavy with anticipation. Adel vanished from sight, her body blending with the shadows as the whisper of her Vyre shrouded her form.
Gray, Orrin, and Renn watched from the distance behind broken masonry. Renn's voice trembled as he flipped through the monster catalogue. "That thing... that thing isn't just a brute. It's likely Rank D. Maybe even a low C."
Gray narrowed his eyes. His muscles were still sore from the last battle and his Vyre was low. But he couldn't sit still.
Without warning, the monster charged.
Its roar shattered the stillness like a falling mountain. Lira met it head-on, slashing upward with her flaming blade. The strike left a searing line across its chest but barely slowed it. The creature swatted her away with the back of its massive hand. She tumbled through the snow, a gasp of pain escaping her lips as her body slammed into a wall.
Gray's eyes widened.
'N-no way...'
"Lira!" Korr shouted, his body already in motion. He sprinted to the side and leapt onto a tree. With a guttural cry, he launched himself into the air. Axe raised high, he brought it down with all the strength he could muster. The blow landed on the creature's shoulder, splitting through the outer frost. A deep bellow of pain erupted from the beast.
But the retaliation came swift.
With one arm, it backhanded Korr straight into a nearby building. Wood splintered. The walls collapsed. Snow exploded outward as the impact echoed through the village.
Adel moved next. Her movements were quiet and fast. Even the monster was unaware of her movements.
From the shadows of the rooftops she emerged, her daggers coated with a faint shimmer of poison. Just as she leapt toward the creature's exposed side, a whistling sound cut through the air. A sharp pain tore through her shoulder. She cried out mid-air and fell hard into the snow. A crude arrow jutted from her back, dark liquid already spreading from the wound.
"Shit! There were more of those sneaky bastards!" Gray hissed. His body moved before he could think.
He sprinted forward.
Lira lay on the ground, dazed and coughing. The monster raised its arm, ready to bring it down on her.
Gray arrived just in time.
He threw himself in front of her, his katana drawn, held with both hands. The impact of the creature's strike crashed against his blade. The force drove him to one knee, snow bursting out around him. His arms screamed with pressure. But the blade held.
Barely.
Gray gritted his teeth, forcing the pain to fuel him. Just as he had done before, he allowed it to build, to pool deep within his core. His vision blurred. His breath came out as white mist. When the threshold was reached, he screamed and unleashed Severing Bloom.
A crimson burst of Vyre exploded from his blade, carving through the monster's chest in an arc of fury. The beast reeled back, stunned, a deep gash leaking blackened fluid from its side.
But it did not fall.
Instead, it roared. Louder than before. The cold around them intensified as it raised both fists above its head, eyes now burning with hatred. It slammed the ground. The shockwave threw Gray backward like a ragdoll. He crashed into the snow, vision flickering.
He tried to stand. He willed Severing Bloom again.
Nothing.
He quickly pulled up the system screens and saw the words, no longer a bright blue but rather a dull gray. They were also fuzzy, making it hard to read.
[Skill Severing Bloom is unavailable]
He blinked in disbelief. His body had not recovered enough. The pain had faded. He had used the skill too soon. And now he had nothing left.
The monster stomped forward.
Its shadow covered him.
The limb raised overhead again.
The world moved in slow silence.
Gray's knees hit the frozen earth. His katana, dulled and bloodied, slipped from his grip and landed in the snow with a soft hiss. He could hear his own breath, ragged and thin, misting out in short bursts that vanished into the cold. The monster loomed above him like a mountain of ice and bone, its single remaining arm raised high, claws glinting in the dim light.
He couldn't move.
His legs had nothing left. His arms dangled by his sides. His vision swam.
He stared up at death and did not flinch.
'If this is how it ends, then so be it.-
The creature let out a churning roar, its breath like the howl of a glacier cracking apart. The claw fell with the weight of a landslide, casting a shadow that swallowed Gray whole.
Then the world ignited.
A searing wall of flame erupted between Gray and the monster. The heat struck like a hammer, blistering the air and melting snow in a sudden hiss. Gray's breath caught in his throat as the temperature around him spiked from deathly cold to unbearable heat. The monster shrieked in pain, stumbling backward as its arm was swallowed by fire.
The limb burst into molten shards, torn free at the shoulder in a blast of steam and burning ice.
Gray, dazed, blinked through the shimmering haze.
Footsteps crunched beside him.
And then he heard her voice.
"You're not dying. Not today."
He turned his head and saw her.
Lira stood tall in front of him, her cloak fluttering in waves of heat, eyes locked on the beast. Her blade was aflame, veins of fire coiling through its metal like molten rivers. Sparks danced along the steel, trailing upward with every breath she took.
She didn't look like a human anymore.
She looked like wrath itself.
Gray stared, barely able to comprehend what he was seeing. Her stance was steady. Every muscle taut. Her breathing sharp and controlled. No hesitation. No fear. Just purpose.
"Lira…" he rasped, barely able to speak.
She didn't look at him. Only raised her sword again, stepping forward into the monster's gaze.
The beast roared in defiance, blood and ice pouring from its scorched stump. It lunged again, more cautious now, swiping with its remaining hand.
But Lira moved before it could close the distance.
She dashed, a trail of flame bursting behind her. Her sword screamed through the air, carving a molten arc toward the monster's side. The impact was thunderous. A burst of fire exploded on contact, sending blackened chunks of armor and frozen sinew flying.
The creature stumbled back, howling in confusion. Its footing cracked the ground.
Gray gritted his teeth and forced his arms beneath him. The heat had melted the snow where he knelt, revealing the frozen stone below. He pushed himself up slowly, pain screaming through every muscle. His eyes locked on Lira's back as she stood between him and the monster, a wall of flame in human form.
She had come for him.
When the others could not.
When he had fallen.
"Why?" he whispered to no one.
And he knew the answer even before he finished the thought.
Because he would have done the same.
A flicker of warmth, true warmth, stirred in his chest. Not the kind forged from fire, but something more human. Gratitude. Resolve. Maybe even something dangerously close to trust.
He reached for his katana.
"I'm not done yet," he said softly.
Lira turned her head slightly, just enough to glimpse him from the corner of her eye.
"You better not be," she murmured.
Then she faced the beast again.
"Let's finish this."
And together, they rose.