Tales of Zestiria: The World Beyond

Chapter 30

Celica opened the door again, the serpent monster looked angry, it charged a beam of electricity and fired at her. Arthur went in front of her and blocked the attack, he swung his downwards so that the electricity was sent to the ground instead of continuing up to his sword. He raised his sword again just as the serpent began to cover itself in electricity and was ready to attack. Sorey and Vanessa also took their stance and waited until the serpent attacked. When it did, they were ready, the electricity was shot from its body to them and they blocked the attack.

Arthur took a step forward, not intimidated by the monster's size. He charged his sword with mana and shot a beam of energy to temporarily freeze it, the air became cold and ice started to cover the wall. The serpent's movements were slowed down which made it easier for Vanessa to hit it with her halberd. The monster launched itself at Vanessa and Sorey stood in front of her, he parried the monster back while Celica used an arte to push the monster back.

Arthur jumped up and stabbed the monster, he slipped up so instead of hitting its head, he got the back of its neck. He was stuck on its back, so used another ice arte to slow it down while Vanessa and Sorey hit it enough for it to throw him off its back. It backed up and opened its mouth, from it, flames surrounded its body and it released a powerful fire beam. Arthur jumped from the monster's back before the flames hit him and placed his hand on the ground. Spikes made of ice shot up and formed a wall between the party and the serpent.

Sorey charged at the serpent and swung his sword at full force, in a panic, Vanessa grabbed him and got him out of the way just as the serpent raised its tail. It pierced the floor, causing it to get stuck where it was. Sorey thanked Vanessa, she saved him from getting stabbed. Arthur and Celica took over while Sorey and Vanessa regained their stance. Arthur created a sword out of ice, which he held with both hands and charged his attack, Celica stood in front of him to protect him against any attack that headed his way.

She finally jumped to the side once he was ready, he held his sword with one hand and pointed it at the serpent. He waved his sword, leaving a trail of ice behind as if it was a pen on paper, then when he was done, he placed his left hand on the symbol he created. The symbol glowed and he threw the ice sword through it, the sword transformed into a larger version of itself and pierced through the serpent, causing it to scream and the entire temple to shake.

Sorey paused when he started hearing voices, he whipped his head around and saw that the room behind them was crumbling. Blades blasted through the walls and layers of ice, Arthur and Celica stayed in the back to defend against the blades while Sorey and Vanessa attacked the serpent. Looking around, Vanessa saw that the blades were being shot at them at a faster rate, she got Celica's attention, she planned to defeat the serpent, there was a chance that the temple would stop attacking them if it was down.

Vanessa ran around the wall as Celica used a wind arte to push her, she swung her halberd down hard on the monster to make it stop it from attacking. She jumped back as Sorey stepped in, Celica created a small tornado under his feet to help him up and Arthur summoned ice pillars to block attacks aimed at him. Sorey was propelled forward and slashed the monster hard enough to send it flying back.

"You're stronger than you look, yet..." the serpent's voice sounded rash and harsh as if it hadn't spoken in years. "You're not the same as the divine."

"The divine?" Vanessa asked.

"The ones who imprisoned the angel here. Tell me, travelers, what do you seek in this place?"

"We're looking for a way to defeat Lucilius," Sorey responded. "To stop him from destroying this world."

"The answers you seek lie further below, but beware, danger follows where the truth lays." The serpent disappeared in a wave of light, dropping Arthur's sword, and the floor glowed in a circular pattern.