Being a Summoner on our Evolved Earth

Millennium Ice Seal (32)

Lucia couldn't find her way through the dense fog, but she heard foot steps coming towards her calmly. She bit her lip as she backed up cautiously while holding her quarter staff defensively. Suddenly, the sound of someone running towards her from the side could be heard before she was picked up and carried off.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of this fog Princess." Aegis reassuring voice came from beside her.

{Please do, but how can you see?} Lucia asked curiously as she listened to spell after spell flying at them and missing or hitting trees. 

{I can see the outlines of living creatures including plants as small as moss. So I'm just dodging those outlines.} Aegis explained.

{So that's how you found Xantos earlier.} Lucia understood.

{Yes, but due to how strong he is I didn't notice till he was close.} 

As their conversation concluded they burst out of the fog into the clearing outside of the cave they had spent the night at. They continued a fair distance from the fog filled forest and soon Clive came walking out holding an enormous amount of mana in his hands.

"I don't know what spell it's trying to use, but it's draining all my mana to use it!" Clive warned when he saw them. 

{Aegis, grab his attention.} Lucia communicated telepathically. Aegis raised his shield and started to advance forward while Lucia followed behind him and doing her best to stay out of Clive's line of sight. She cast a [Magic Resistance] buff on Aegis as well to protect him from the spell. Though that buff also reduces healing received, so it's a double edge sword. Once they were close enough Lucia used [Instant Summon] on Vicki who had finished fusing with the bat and sparrow and summoned her behind Clive. 

Vicki appeared with wings like a bird and a wing span longer than her length from head to tail. Her feather's were a pastel orange with white mixed in and she also had feather's on her tail and the top of her head. 

"Vicki pin him!" Lucia ordered through the contract. Vicki lunged as soon as she received the order, but Clive used [Blink] to move a short distance away without interrupting his spell. He used this chance to get line of sight of Lucia and threw the spell at her. Aegis wanted to move to block only to find that his feet had been frozen. It wasn't enough to stop him, but it did delay him long enough for the spell to fly past and hit Lucia who also had her feet frozen. As she broke free of the ice the ball of mana collided with her and sent her flying all the way into the cave behind them.

"Ow... That hurt." Lucia groaned. Her vision was blurry, her body was in pain, and she felt cold from her chest. When Lucia's vision returned she saw that a lump of ice had formed on her body and sealed her against the wall while continuing to spread.

"The Millennium Ice Seal?" Lucia recognized the spell from the game as this was the same seal used on the game's most powerful non player character to keep them from helping with the raid. Aegis and Vicki ran over to try to help, but their fire and sword could do nothing to the growing ice.

"Don't waste your energy guys. This spell can't be dispelled, or broken by force. It can only be dispelled with time or by the caster." Lucia explained as she looked at Clive who stood in the cave entrance. His eyes were glazed over now and he looked like a living puppet.

"It's good that you know. Saves me the time of monologuing. Using these one thousand years I shall turn you into someone capable of being a world boss puppet." A raspy voice spoke that clearly was not Clive's. The fog worm separated itself from Clive who collapsed unconscious. Vicki and Aegis tried to catch it, but the fog worm nimbly weaved through the attacks and attached itself to Lucia who could no longer run. In a split second it fused into her, similar to what it did to Clive.

"Fine ugly, let's see who gets to keep this body of mine." Lucia growled as she used her mana to act like a shield to prevent its intrusion. "Aegis, Vicki, in case I get controlled..."

"No you won't!" Vicki shouted.

"We'll find a way to free you!" Aegis promised.

"In case I get controlled, I'm cancelling your contracts." Lucia finished what she was going to say after their heartfelt interruption. The contracts floated in front of them and burned to ashes as they were cancelled.

"But..." Vicki looked like she was on the verge of  tears. 

"Do you remember the oath we made to each other?" Aegis asked firmly.

"Of course to make you strong, but I don't want you to be enslaved by the fog worm if I get controlled." Lucia answered. 

Aegis pointed to the crystalline tattoos that still covered his armor, Vicki's scales, and Lucia's skin. "Even without the contracts, we'll forever do our best to protect you. We'll forever do what we can to free you, whether from the ice or from their control." 

Lucia smiled warmly, "Thank you, I'm really happy to have known you guys. I look forward to when we'll see each other again." The ice had already reached her chin making further speech difficult. Lucia relaxed knowing that she had reliable friend's waiting for her. When the ice finished covering Lucia, she felt her consciousness drifting, like she was so terribly sleepy and cold.

'I will not hand control of my body to anyone!' Lucia thought as her vision went black.

"Aegis, what should we do?" Vicki asked after blowing fire at the ice seal. Inside the ice Lucia had a gentle smile like she was having a sweet dream. Aegis was quiet while staring at the ice in thought.  "Aegis!" Vicki shouted in frustration.

"I don't know..." Aegis finally responded.

"You promised her, but you don't even know what we're going to do?" Vicki yelled angrily as fire wrapped her body.

"We have to figure it out from here on." Aegis glanced back at Clive who had yet to wake up. 

"How about we question that guy? He's the one who cast the spell!" Vicki glared at the unconscious Clive.

"Will he even understand us? Even if Princess can understand us, the other humans haven't been able to." Aegis made his undead body sigh.

"Then, then, then why don't I kill him for revenge!?" Vicki raised her claw up ready to reap his life.

"Wait!" Aegis stopped her.

"WHY?!" Vicki growled.

"Princess was trying to save him from the fog worm, which means she doesn't want him dead." Aegis explained.

"Fine! I'm going to go blow off some steam. I'll come back here later..." Vicki snorted some fire from her nostrils then left the cave. With a few flaps of her wings she took off into the sky and soared into the distance.

"I didn't know she had such a temper..." Aegis made himself sigh again.