Shadow Slave: Immortal Ice

Eirwen held the whistle between his lips, inhaling deeply through his nose as his cheeks puffed in preparation to blow. 'Am I stupid?' he thought suddenly, hesitating. The battle raged on in the background, the spearmen steadily driving the beasts further down the hallway.

'Who even said they're weak enough to get stunned? What if some of them are Awakened? They'll kill me!' he criticized himself, shaking his head sharply before dismissing the Memory altogether. Here he was excited that he could finally use his first ever Memory.

Just as the Memory dissolved into sparks of light, a knight in full heavy armor flew past him, crashing violently into the railings of the stairs. His armor dented upon impact, and from what Eirwen could see, his spine shattered as it bent unnaturally, killing the knight instantly on impact.

The tall knight commander glanced back, his gaze immediately locking onto Eirwen. At least, that's what Eirwen assumed, since the black helmet hid any view of the man's eyes.

"Your Royal Highness!?" he screamed at Eirwen, leaving him momentarily stunned. But everything clicked into place in his mind. 'The Nightmare Spell transports me into someone else's body after all. That explains why I woke up in that luxurious room,' he understood before quickly stepping toward the tallest knight. "Name yourself," Eirwen ordered, glancing behind him at the battle. The spearmen and shields were still holding their ground, though Eirwen assumed they wouldn't last much longer unless he did something. First, though, he needed to figure out if helping them was even worth it.

"Awakened Bernard, my Lord! Commander of the Red Cloaks!" Bernard introduced himself, not even questioning why his prince didn't recognize him. 'Good thing I didn't use the Whistle. He could be loyal, but he could also just as easily kill me if I used them as bait to survive,' Eirwen silently praised himself, nodding in response to Bernard.

"We sent a team to escort Your Royal Highness. I assume they perished while doing so, since I don't see them anywhere?" the towering knight asked his prince. Only then did Eirwen realize how truly gigantic the man was. Bernard towered over him, despite Eirwen being at least 6'3" in this body.

"No, I had to fight my way through," he answered briefly, his gaze flicking down to the commander's sword, dismissing the topic of his arrival there altogether . "I need a weapon."

Bernard nodded and handed over his longsword before manifesting another Memory, one lesser in strength he assumed. This new blade was shorter and didn't seem nearly as dangerous as the one Eirwen now had in his hand.

Eirwen spun the sword a bit in his hand, feeling its weight, before nodding in approval. He spoke little and showed few expressions, not wanting to give away more than necessary. He didn't know how the prince typically behaved, so he tried to keep his demeanor as neutral as possible. He was worried that if he showed too much, the commander might realize the real prince had been replaced. Maybe he was overthinking it, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Eirwen started walking towards the two slowly retreating behemoths. The moment they were cornered, the knights would lose. They needed to die, and fast. A cornered beast is always deadlier. It has nothing left to lose at that point.

Eirwen had already made up his mind to fight. The main reason behind his decision was simple, with Bernard and the knights, progressing forward through the castle would be far easier. Basically, he had just gained free soldiers for himself. All he had to do was help them take down the Nightmare Creatures. From his perspective, that was a solid deal. Plus, Bernard could fill him in on what was really going on. He only hoped that they all wouldn't die while fighting these two giants.

"Bernard, what can you do?" Eirwen asked calmly, unnervingly calm given the chaos surrounding them.

For the knights, this was a battle to the death, a last stand where one little mistake meant they would get crushed to death. For Eirwen, though, it was different. If the worst came, he could simply flee and wait it out, saving his time until the Nightmare resolved itself or an opening appeared. Even if he died here, he would simply reset to the beginning. Still, the idea of dying and starting over again made him mad.

Bernard shifted beside him, his sword dragging audibly against the marble floor, leaving faint sparks in its wake. He paused, his helmet tilting slightly as he replied in a cold and metallic tone, "I know where their weak points are." His voice sounded echoed, likely because of the thick black helmet he was wearing.

Eirwen nodded and sprinted forward, Bernard followed him closely. His heavy armour producing loud thuds as he ran. "On their backs!" Bernard suddenly barked, his voice sharper now as he quickened his pace to keep up. "There's a patch of skin near the spine, it's small but soft, easy to pierce if you can get close enough!"

With a sharp nod, Eirwen blurred forward like a bullet shot out from a sniper, leaving a faint gust of dust and air in his wake. The commander's voice rang out as he barked out his commands, "Spears! Open up!" The knights responded instantly without a second of delay. The wall of spears shifted, a narrow gap forming just wide enough for Bernard to barrel through, his heavy armour clanking with every step as he rushed forward.

As the opening formed, the Shields moved, closing in from either side and tightening the grip around the massive beasts. Their formation turned into a suffocating square, leaving the Nightmare Creatures nowhere to move. "Now!" the commander barked again, and swordsmen charged in. They swung at the creatures' legs and bellies, blades clashing against thick skin and scraping over hardened flesh, sparks flying as their weapons struggled to pierce anything at all.

The beasts roared, the force behind it made the knights tremble slightly. The Nightmare Creatures fought back with violent stomps, their legs -thick as tree trunks- smashing into the ground and destroying everything. Knights screamed as they were flung back or straight up crushed. Their armour offered little defence against the pure weight behind these stomps.

In the chaos, Eirwen's eyes widened, his senses locking onto winning as he launched himself into the air. The world around him blurred red and black colours. A knight stumbled into his path, but he didn't hesitate. Eirwen used the man's head as a launch pad, his bare feet planting on the polished steel helmet for just an instant before he propelled himself even higher.

The two Nightmare Creatures, too busy crushing knights in a frenzy, didn't even notice him until it was too late and he landed on one of them.

As soon as one of the Nightmare Creature felt Eirwen land on its back, it let out a blood-curdling roar, thrashing violently in an attempt to shake him off. The force of its movements nearly sent him flying, but Eirwen reacted quickly, plunging the sword into its thick skin to steady himself. The blade barely sunk in, but it was enough to give him a firm hold. "What the hell is Bernard even doing?!" he groaned curses under his breath, clinging to the sword for his dear life.

His grip tightened as he felt the Nightmare Creature shift suddenly, its massive body buckling as one of its legs gave out. It crashed onto one knee, the impact sounding through the whole hallway. That's what Bernard was doing.

This was the opening he had been waiting for. Gritting his teeth, Eirwen yanked Bernard's sword free. With a burst of speed, he took two large strides up its massive back, each step making him feel the muscles and weird, rough skin beneath his bare feet.

There it was. The small patch of exposed blue soft circle contrasting heavily against the creature's otherwise dark, rough skin.

Eirwen raised the longsword high, gripping it tightly with both hands as he lined up the blade with precision. He exhaled sharply, lowering himself onto one knee to ground his stance and build momentum. With a guttural roar, he drove the sword downward with all the strength his body offered.

The blade pierced the blueish circle effortlessly, sinking down to the hilt. The Nightmare Creature roared in pain and rage, its voice so deafening it felt like the walls themselves might crumble. The force of its roar sent ripples of air and energy down the hallway, rattling armour and weapons of the knights below. Still, they didn't falter and kept fighting.

But the beast was done for. Its body collapsed further, falling onto its front legs as its strength drained away. The spearmen seized the moment, lunging forward to poke their long golden spears into its eyes, while the knights swarmed its exposed neck, hacking away at the thick flesh as much as they could.

The remaining beast wasted no time though, lunging at Eirwen with terrifying speed, its massive tusk aimed directly at his chest. The speed and force of the attack left him with no chance to dodge. There wasn't enough time to pull the sword free or leap away either, so he instinctively stepped back and raised his arms to shield his vitals.

"Shi—!" he cursed under his breath, bracing for the impact. The tusk blurred toward him. It would shred through his body like paper.

Clang!

A sudden shower of sparks erupted in front of him, momentarily blinding him as a dark figure intercepted the attack. Bernard simply blurred into existence before him, his towering shield absorbing the full force of the blow. The tusk smashed into the shield with such intensity that the sound rang out like a bell, echoing through the hall and nearly deafening Eirwen.

Eirwen's eyes followed Bernard's trajectory. The knight was thrown backward like a ragdoll, the momentum of the strike launching him into the air. His body slammed into the wall with a deafening explosion, the impact sending dust and debris outward, shrouding the scene and making it impossible to see whether Bernard was simply a mush against the wall or alive.

Eirwen cursed sharply as the Nightmare Creature lowered its head, preparing for another tusk strike. His eyes widened in focus once again as he concentrated. Just as the massive bone lunged toward him, he jumped up, narrowly avoiding the attack. Mid air he saw the damage on the Nightmare Creatures tusk. A crack split along the base of it from its earlier clash with Bernard's shield. 

The beast swung its head violently, aiming to catch him while he was airborne, thinking that it was an easy kill.

Eirwen twisted his body mid-flight. His arms spread wide like wings before clapping together with a force that he didn't even know he had. He had copied the Terror Birds wind attack once more.

Boom

The wind and sound that got produced by the clap mixed into one deadly blast. It flew directly into the Beasts face, striking its jaw and tusks with brutal precision. The shockwave sent Eirwen hurtling backward, the force flipping him in the air like a ragdoll. He could feel the bones in his arms crack slightly from using the move.

But the already messed up horns of the Nightmare Creature shattered into tiny pieces as it shook its head in confusion and pain. It was worth it after all.

Meanwhile, the other Nightmare Creature fell. With a final, guttural roar, it lashed out in a frenzy, its jaws clamping down on an unfortunate knight and tearing away a massive chunk of flesh as he screamed in agony. Blood sprayed across the already ruined battlefield as the creature collapsed and finally died.

Eirwen landed roughly, sliding across the slick, bloodstained floor. His bloodied chest heaved as he looked up, assessing the damage. One beast was dead -he regretted that he wasn't the one to deal the killing blow though- and one crippled.

He lost his sword. The Knights were kind of useless. Bernard was out of combat too.

Eirwen cursed and spat blood on the ground as he looked up at the remaining Giant.