Paragon

Hisui Incursion [24]

Mid-week upload, why not.

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PARAGON

Hisui Incursion Arc [24]

Chapter 76 : One Month Later

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Alabaster Icelands, one month later

Snow blustered about, tearing through the air on streams of cold mountain wind, but luckily, Sabrina, Akari, and Yura were dressed for even worse. Thick coats of maroon wool kept the cold at bay, their furred hoods thick and large enough to stave off the carnivorous snow.

"Careful," Sabrina said, offering a hand to Yura as they hiked up a rocky path. Yura took her hand and Sabrina pulled her up over a stone that jutted out on the path.

Due to the narrowness of the path, they walked in single file up the hill, with Sabrina in front, Yura behind her, and Akari bringing up the rear. Rei's Growlithe loped through the snow behind them, ever vigilant for any potential attackers.

They'd departed from the Pearl Settlement two weeks ago, once Sabrina was fully recovered. Though they'd protested, Irida ordered Gaeric to guide them west, across the northern plains of Avalugg's Legacy, up to a certain point, and he'd parted with them a bit over a week ago.

Try not to die without me! he'd said as he left.

But they were as prepared as could be. Even though they were minutes away from reaching their destination, they still had plenty of food, water, and other supplies. And Irida had also furnished them with a detailed map showing the locations and movement patterns of every Alpha Pokémon in the Icelands. Thanks to that, they hadn't encountered a single one. Additional information from Gaeric about the normal wild pokémon of the region made their journey nearly effortless.

Of course, that didn't mean they were careless.

Sabrina crested the top of the hill, and the alleviation of climbing a slope to finally setting foot on flat ground was euphoric. Due to how warmly she was bundled, she was sweating beneath her clothes and was eager to peel out of a layer or two once she could confirm they were safe.

Her eyes widened upon seeing something at the hill's peak and thrust her hand out, blocking Yura and Akari from continuing forward. Sensing the change in atmosphere, Growlithe growled.

As the seconds went by, Sabrina's heart rate calmed and she slowly lowered her hand. "Sorry. Come on up." Again, she helped Yura up.

Half buried in the snow was an enormous gray boulder-ish pokémon, pocked with dark holes. A black horn stuck out on its head, but its entire body seemed to be just head, and a menacing face stared at them blankly.

"Oh my goodness," Akari breathed. "That's a Glalie. But it's asleep. Or..."

"Defeated," Sabrina agreed. She walked toward it, but sensed no response. With a calmer head, she could now see a layer of snow covering the creature's head on top, meaning it'd been sitting here in the snow for some time.

"It's huge..." Yura breathed. "Is it an Alpha Pokémon?"

"I think so," Akari said, approaching Glalie with a bit more caution. "Normally, they're a fraction of this size."

Sabrina had never seen a Glalie before so she had no point of reference for how big they usually were, but Akari was a lot more familiar with Hisui's pokémon than her, so if she said it was an Alpha, then Sabrina would defer to her. This one looked to be about the size of a house.