Aren barely had ti to catch his breath, his eyes already scanning the battlefield.
What had started as a formation was now nothing more than scattered figures fighting for space. Lines carved through the stone in every direction as the Worms tore in and out of the ground, their massive bodies slipping through rock like water.
Marcus stood at the front of one of those, one hand on his wound while another on a knife as another Worm burst upward beneath him. Imdiately, his knife drove downward the mont its jaw opened, the blades scraping against its jagged teeth before sinking right in.
The Worm shrieked, its body twisting violently as it slamd back into the ground. However, in the very next second, another Worm erged from the ground.
"On your left, Marcus!" Aren tried to yell out.
But it was too late. The creature’s entire bodyweight slamd into the senior, taking his breath away as he was sent flying.
Shit! That looks bad!
Aren began to move, but stopped when Iris appeared behind Marcus, just in ti to cushion a bit of the blow as both of them slamd straight into a wall of ice, leaving a large crater into it.
For a split second, neither of them moved before Marcus coughed, blood staining his mouth but he wiped it away.
"Iris, why did you..."
"Don’t...just don’t. Now’s not the ti."
Another line tore through the ground. But the mont the creature erged, Iris was already moving. Imdiately, she jamd it into the Worm’s jaw—but instead of holding, she kicked off its head, using the recoil to slide backward before it went limp.
She landed right beside Marcus, holding out a hand before nudging her chin. "Up."
Marcus didn’t argue, taking her hand before grunting and pulling himself up.
Okay...they look fine for now. What about—
Across the fractured field, Daniel and Emily were barely holding their ground.
There were at least 3 Worms approaching them at breakneck speeds. But Aren noticed sothing, particularly about Emily.
She fidgeted, hands trembling as she held onto her knife. Emily hesitated...and that was enough of a window to strike.
The ground split open right in front of her.
"Emily—!"
Daniel stepped in without thinking, his body turning as he drove his knife upward into the Worm’s open jaw. The blade sank in just enough to trigger the violent convulsion as the creature’s body twisted upward—
And slamd straight into him.
The impact took the air out of his lungs but he didn’t retreat. He ripped the blade free and got in front of Emily imdiately.
"Stay behind ."
Emily nodded softly as she tried to make herself as small as possible behind the senior’s back.
Then, more lines ca straight for them, two at once.
"...Seriously? They just won’t stop!" Daniel exhaled, already getting into a stance.
The first Worm dove straight at them, but Daniel t it head-on without any hesitation. His knife drove cleanly into its inner jaw before it could fully erge. Then, with a sharp kick, he pushed its body back into the ground.
The action looked almost effortless and flawless, if not for the slight limp in his legs and his whole shirt being stained red.
But the second one appeared seemingly out of thin air. Daniel turned, but not fast enough to strike. So he did the only thing he could. He brought the knife up and blocked.
Emily’s eyes widened.
"Daniel—!"
The jaws crashed down onto the blade, and it was obvious, even from where Aren was standing...
That knife isn’t gonna hold! Shit, I need to get to him.
The creature’s weight bore down on him, its body twisting as it tried to force through his guard.
Aren sprinted toward them as fast as he could. Then, out of nowhere, Emily yelled.
"GET OFF HIM—!"
There was no technique. The senior simply ran straight toward the intense clash before raising her knife and bringing it down with everything she had.
The blade plunged straight into the Worm’s open jaw and hit sothing soft. The reaction was instant.
The creature convulsed violently, its entire body locking up as a sharp shriek tore through the air. It’s body lost connection to each segnt as it fell over with a deafening thud.
Aren just barely managed to reach them, placing a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. "Hey, you doing okay? You’re bleeding pretty badly."
"Yeah," the senior exhaled slowly, trying to stand up. "If it wasn’t for Emily here, I would’ve been a goner."
He stumbled as the words ca out. Aren barely managed to catch him before helping him stand. Emily was still there, knife in hand. But now that everything had quieted, just for a second, she dropped it.
"...I got it," she murmured, almost like she was convincing herself. "I actually—"
Her breathing ca in short bursts, shoulders rising and falling as the reality of what she’d just done began to settle in.
"Saved big ti," Daniel cut in, steadying himself with a hand on Aren before turning toward her. His usual easygoing tone was still there, though his expression seed a bit more serious.
"I an it," he added, voice quieter now. "That thing had . If you hesitated even a second..."
He let the rest trail off.
For a brief mont, the three of them just stood there trying to catch the most of their breath before a voice rang out from their left.
"You three! Are you guys alright?!" Iris’s voice cut in as she rushed over, Marcus close behind her.
Aren glanced up just in ti to see her stop right in front of them, eyes flicking rapidly between the three, checking for injuries.
But it was pretty obvious. Everyone was exhausted, with cuts and bruises running along the entire body.
"You look terrible," Marcus threw a remark aid at Daniel before walking over to Aren.
"I’ve got him," the senior said, grabbing Daniel’s arm from Aren before shifting it over his own shoulder.
"? I’m still just as handso as before though?" Daniel snorted, but almost imdiately winced from the transfer.
Iris rolled her eyes before looking back at the scene. It was a lot quieter now that most of the Worms had been dealt with.
Across the fractured battlefield, the last of the Worms surged upward and was t with a single strike.
It wasn’t even aid at the creature’s soft interior jaw. No, the strike split the Worm cleanly down the center before its body collapsed in two and crashed back into the ground.
Every pair of eyes locked onto her.
Professor Sterling stood alone at the center of the field, her posture straight. She sighed softly before sheathing her knife back into its holster.
There wasn’t even a hint of strain or injury on her. If anything, she looked the exact sa before and after the fight.
After a second, the professor’s gaze finally landed on them. Her expression softened as she began walking toward the group.
"...You all—"
BOOM!
The ground behind her imdiately collapsed as a blur dashed across Aren’s vision and landed right on her.
A massive section of stone caved inward as the club mbers all struggled to keep their balance.
"PROFESSOR—!" the scream tore out of soone’s throat.
Aren’s body moved before his mind could catch up.
"Daniel—!"
"I see it!"
Marcus planted his foot down hard, forcing himself forward despite the uneven ground, while Iris’s eyes snapped to the point of impact, already trying to track where the blur went.
But there was only the aftermath.
The spot where Sterling had stood monts ago was gone, replaced by a crater of shattered stone and ice. Frost spread outward unnaturally fast, crawling across the ground like veins as the sa chilling pressure washed over the entire battlefield.
Aren’s chest heaved, each breath difficult and painful while his muscles almost locked up imdiately.
This sensation...is it really—
The creature stood within the center of the field, its form partially obscured by the drifting mist. For a mont, it looked almost...weightless.
Then one of its tails shifted, then another, and another.
Six.
"...What the hell...?" Aren’s breath caught.
Six tails fanned out slowly behind the creature, each one moving with a life of its own as cold mist expelled from its tips.
Its body was sleek, almost elegant, fur shimring faintly with a blue-white sheen as if created from the frost and ice itself.
"No way...isn’t that a Frost Fox?!" Daniel exclaid, pointing at it slowly.
But the creature didn’t lock eyes with the group...but on the figure beneath it.
Professor Sterling was still there, one knee pressed into the shattered ground as both of her hands were raised upward.
The fox’s forelimb had co down with enough force to collapse the earth beneath them, yet her arm remained locked in place beneath it, threads of shimring ether just barely reinforcing her arm.
"Tch—" she clicked her tongue.
"Kids get back!" she yelled as ether started surging within her. Thin layers of threads now wrapped around the fox.
With a single flick of her hands, the threads tightened before...
CRASH!
The entire creature’s body was suddenly flung into the nearby wall before the threads snapped.
Aren raised a hand to cover his eyes as dust and snow drifted everywhere from the impact.
Yet from the crater, the fox erged as if nothing had happened. It’s white fur not stained even through such force.
Their gazes locked onto each other before Sterling cracked her knuckles.
"I really have to go all-out, huh..."
User Comments
0 comments from readers