Steel Eyed Faker

Chapter 31: Frozen Hellscape Part 2

Beta read by Shigiya, GamerCrusher55 and Paragon of Awesomeness

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-Kyoroch Outskirts-

The forest was unnervingly silent.

As Wave pushed through the undergrowth, a growing sense of unease settled over him with every step. He was not alone. Run and the rest of the Jaegers followed close behind, their reactions varying as they advanced through the forest. Some appeared just as concerned as he was, while others, such as Dorothea, seemed largely unbothered by whatever awaited them ahead. Even so, the deeper they went, the stronger the feeling became. At first, he feared the assassins had launched another surprise attack and caught them completely off guard.

"Be careful," Run warned quietly, his nose twitching as he tested the air. "I smell blood."

The group immediately slowed. Moments later, they reached the edge of a clearing, and the source of the disturbance revealed itself. What lay before them made Wave's stomach sink.

The entire area had been swallowed by ice. Frost coated the ground in every direction, while thick sheets of frozen crystal spread across the landscape, glimmering beneath the filtered sunlight. Trees had been shattered, many of them split down the middle as if struck by overwhelming force. Massive boulders lay broken across the clearing, reduced to scattered chunks of stone that looked as though they had been tossed aside like pebbles.

"The General was attacked..." The words escaped him before he could stop them. His eyes swept across the devastation, trying to make sense of it. "She was the main target this entire time?"

"That is very unlikely." Run crouched near a section of frozen ground, his gaze carefully studying the battlefield. "This approach would be far from ideal for an assassination. An attack of this scale draws too much attention and leaves too much evidence behind." His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued examining the damage. "Still... seeing this much destruction, I cannot completely dismiss the possibility. Either the attackers were confident enough not to care, or they had objectives beyond simply killing one person."

Wave fell silent for a moment, knowing Run had a point.

"Perhaps there were multiple targets," the older man concluded. "Or perhaps something happened here that forced both sides into a direct confrontation?"

"Wait!" Wave suddenly shouted, his eyes locking onto a disturbing sight in the distance. He recognized the figures immediately. "Isn't that..."

The same group that had fought him before as part of a test, the memories of his battle against Sten still making him shiver on the spot. One of them was none other than Ibarra if he recalled correctly, or what was left of him. His body was hanging suspended in the air, impaled on a massive icicle that jutted up from the ground.

It was a macabre display. The man was still alive, somehow, his body twitching feebly in agony, even if he was too weak to even scream. Frostbite covered his skin, turning it a ghastly black and blue. Blood had been dripping from the wound, but it was frozen stiff now, creating crimson icicles. The spike of ice had pierced straight through his back and out his chest, miraculously avoiding any immediate vitals, though Wave doubted he'd last long even with medical attention. Several smaller icicles had stabbed through his limbs, pinning them in place and making any movement impossible.

Nearby, Mez had met a similar, yet uniquely horrifying, fate. Her limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, her left hand completely frozen and shattered into pieces. There was barely any blood, and from the looks of it, she had been frozen from the inside out. Her body was impaled against a large rock formation by more jagged spears of ice. Most horrifying was the fact that he could see her eyes moving. She was still alive? How... A bit further away, Wave could see the body of the other woman of the group. Suzuka, very much dead.