Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Forty-Eight: Frozen Finality

Jayler jumped out of the way of a swipe from Alba's direction. He ducked below their grasp before following up with a punch of his own, his fingers edged in notable flames. Alba was hit in the stomach and stumbled backward at the contact, their lungs already filling up desperately with greedy gasps of air. "You shouldn't be here to begin with," Alba snarled in his direction. They lunged for him once again, and Jayler threw up his arms to defend himself when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the way of the blow in time. 

Luckily for Jayler, he didn't have to worry about defending himself much after all. Zephyr flicked their wrist, and a barrier of sparking magic appeared around Jayler. He looked up with wide eyes and saw that turquoise sparks had manifested around him, and Alba was unable to get out of the way in time. The shield slammed into them when Zephyr prompted it to grow outward slightly. The electricity immediately swarmed through Alba's body before they fell to the ground. 

Tavi summoned a spear to one hand, and he launched it through the air in Alba's direction. Alba rolled out of the way at the last moment to keep from being hit square in the chest with the weapon. They managed to push themselves to their feet a moment later, and Tavi snapped his fingers to disintegrate the weapon as soon as he saw that his attempt had been unsuccessful. 

He may not have been able to deal any damage to Alba this time around, but Zelda was having much different luck. She came up behind Alba with her two blades flashing in the light, and she slashed fiercely at the Lakinya with everything that she had. Twin gashes opened along the backside of Alba's body. They didn't need to wear warm clothing in the cold temperatures due to their Ice magic protecting them from the chill, and it became abundantly clear as Zelda attacked them that this was a mistake. There wasn't too much blood, but there was more than enough for it to be concerning. Jayler's eyes went wide, and he tried to pretend that he wasn't seeing the crimson dripping onto the ground of the cave. He knew that it was just going to distract him if he got too caught up in it. 

Alba was doing what they could to fend Zelda off, and ice was starting to mount over the injuries that had appeared on their back. The Ice mage had summoned a shield of ice and was using it to fend off each impending attack from Zelda. Her swords clashed ineffectively with the barrier, each strike failing to do much of anything substantial. 

Jay wound up being the one to come to Zelda's rescue. She came up behind Alba and pressed one hand to the Lakinya's back. Jayler was about to question internally what she was doing when he saw heat starting to spread throughout her fingertips. Her hand was turning red as a sign that she was calling upon Fire magic, and a moment later, Alba let out a scream of pain. The ice that they had summoned was starting to melt away, and they faced Jay a moment later, slashing their shield through the air in an attempt to catch Jay by surprise. 

The shield was ultimately intercepted by yet another electric attack from Zephyr. The barrier that they had summoned around Jay not only defended her from the oncoming strike, but it also caused the shield to dissipate into nothingness a mere few seconds later. Alba growled in rage and began to move in Jay's direction once again. Zephyr's shield fell away when Jay nodded in their direction, and the fighter reached for her sword before leveling it at Alba once again. 

"You are my curse!" Alba cried out at Jay. "You are the reason that all of the Lakinya have fallen into such a state of disgrace! If not for Lyloc, none of this would have taken place! If you truly insist on being a thorn in my side any longer, then I'll simply have to dispatch of you myself! Just remember that you brought this on yourself!"

Alba stomped one foot on the ground and sent a streak of magic flying toward Jay, but she jumped into the air to keep from being hit. Lex sent a blast of Fire magic in the direction of the ice that Alba had summoned, and the two opposing energies fizzled against one another before falling apart ineffectively. Jay raised her sword and stared preparing to slash once again.