The Mythos Trials

Chapter Twenty-One

Gwen's breath hitched as the first attack came.

Hundreds of ice shards formed in the air, all flying toward them at the wave of Noc's hand. Most of these found Forneus's barrier, the sheen of the nearly-incandescent dome flashing angrily at each point of impact. The rest of the shards either hit Noc's intended targets—more than a few fenris and yokai releasing pained howls—or hit the snow with dull thumps.

Few others were snatched out of the air by clawed fingertips, and still others rained down in the form of water droplets, having passed through the pocket of heated air surrounding Phenex.

In the next breath, things had dissolved into an all-out battle.

Somewhere between the Leden Siva's arrival and the first attack, the fenris and yokai had entered into an unspoken alliance with the three of them. Gwen saw the evidence of this when one of the Leden Siva broke away from the horde and levelled at hand at her, only to be intercepted by a ram-horned yokai, one massive paw sweeping the Prodosian soldier off his feet before the first ice shard flew.

At the sound of the two forces colliding in a mixture of armour and claws, Gwen shook herself out of her stupor and readied her own weapon, its weight as comforting in her grip as the armour surrounding her body.

As she swept her blade in a horizontal arc, locking it with one of the soldier's, she felt the blistering warmth of Phenex's fire passing on her left, followed by the crackle of indigo-violet lightning as it fell from the sky, jumping from target to target.

Several bodies toppled to the ground, clouds of snow rising into the air where they fell, temporarily obscuring their paralyzed forms from view. Gwen managed the barest glimpse of Forneus, one hand raised high above him, rings aglow with white light, before her attention was dragged back to her opponent.

With the Prodosi being double her height and nearly double her girth, her strength had already begun to flag, both arms trembling with the force of keeping her weapon locked with his. Agony burned throughout her biceps, her stomach quivering as much from the effort as the fear the frost demon instilled with his black-eyed gaze, irises a terrifying shade of red.

"Do I frighten you, little human?" Wicked teeth flashed in a smile, yellowed with age. "Surely even one of your species is smart enough to know when they are beaten."

You haven't beaten me yet. Calling upon the armour, Gwen watched with a certain amount of satisfaction as tendrils rose up from either side of her and wrapped around the soldier's arms, his eyes widening in surprise.

Just as quickly his surprise melted into anger, eyes bright and teeth bared.

"It will take more than magic tricks to subdue me, human filth!"

The impact was so sudden that Gwen didn't immediately feel it, didn't realize what had happened until she was sent skidding across the snowdrifts, white powder kicking up in her wake until she slammed into something hard and unyielding. Dazed, she glanced up, blinking away the shower of frost that fell from the branches overhead, noting the curious red and white blend of the leaves.

The sound of approaching footsteps brought Gwen back to her senses, her gaze darting toward the soldier lumbering toward her and the two others shadowing him.

This isn't good...

Clambering to her feet, Gwen gave herself a furtive once-over, relieved to see that despite the soldier breaking free, the ethereal armour was still intact. Distantly, she was aware of the battle continuing beyond the snowy slope she'd been driven down, caught the briefest flash of fire and golden light.