Shadow Slave: Immortal Ice

Huff Huff Huff

Eirwen huffed, his gaze locked onto the towering behemoth before him. Its rage seemed to grow even more. First, its partner was killed, and now its tusks had been shattered.

The battle around them turned even more chaotic. The Nightmare Creature, shaking off its earlier daze, began stomping and thrashing without control. Knights were crushed under its enormous feet one after another, their armour barely holding against the sheer weight. Still, they managed to injure the beast enough to make it limp, though it continued its rampage.

Eirwen glanced up at the body of the dead creature and saw the longsword still stuck in its neck. 'So Bernard's still alive,' he thought, pushing himself up to his feet despite a painful wince. His entire body ached, especially his arms, which felt like they were burning from overuse. For now, though, he had managed to avoid being hit directly by the creature.

It was, in fact, quite impressive how Eirwen had managed to avoid taking any serious hits from the Nightmare Creatures so far. Aside from that single wind attack from the Terror Bird, he had dodged every strike, stomp, or lunge thrown his way. Somehow humans actually damaged him far more often than the Nightmare Creatures did. He thought it was his pure skill, but he also understood that his [Lucky Bastard] Attribute was helping out.

Even so, Eirwen knew that one solid hit would be more than enough to kill him on spot. He was aware of his limits in this body, it was strong in speed and attack but lacked the durability needed to withstand even a single blow. He was a pure glasscannon. The lack of an Armor-type Memory only made it worse. He was running around and fighting with only pants on since the beginning of the Nightmare.

As the remaining beast let out a deafening roar that shook the ground beneath him, Eirwen's focus sharpened instantly, and his expression hardened. His eyes widened slightly as the pupils in them dilated. The world around him seemed to blur as he locked onto the beast's every move but also on the battlefield around him.

Eirwen huffed heavily, his breath rough and uneven, before exploding himself forward in a blur of motion. "Hold it! Distract it! Throw yourselves under its feet if you have to!" he roared, his voice cutting through the chaos as he sidestepped a flying body with a sharp pivot.

More pain flooded his body with his muscles straining to the limit. It felt as though his flesh and muscles were on the verge of tearing apart or setting ablaze. Just this one last kill and he could rest for a bit probably. 'Who knows maybe after this fight is over, some other deadly Nightmare Creature will come to finish us off,' he cursed, annoyed by the fact that this could actually happen.

The knights roared back at his command, their voices rising in unison like a war cry, their helmets making it sound more metallic. It was as if his words had ignited some fiery determination within them. Full of adrenaline they rushed forward like madmen.

The Shields charged first, slamming their massive shields against the beast in an effort to tackle it down. Their armour clattered as they crashed into its legs. Behind them, the Spearmen thrust upward with their golden spears, aiming for the creature's exposed belly, where the darkened flesh seemed much softer than on its legs and back. With each stab, thrust or push they groaned and roared, determined to take the beast down.

Meanwhile, the Swordsmen faced the beast head-on, fighting against its massive maw as it snapped and snarled at them. They slashed at its face with all the strength they could muster, each swing aimed at drawing its attention away from their comrades.

Once Eirwen entered the chaotic mass, he weaved through the knights like a streak of lightning, his movements fast and fluid. Not once did he drop his speed, carefully maneuvering to avoid crashing into anyone or anything. The world slowed down slightly; he could clearly hear his breath as every other sound went into the background.

There was definitely something wrong with this body of his, it was just too amazing, too fast and too strong. Could it be that the Prince was actually a Master or something before the Spell put Eirwen into his body? 'That would explain why Bernard just handed me over that sword without questions. He must have assumed I destroyed my own weapon type Memory on the way here' Eirwen concluded. 'But then why can't I use this body's Aspect Ability?'

Shaking these thoughts off he finally saw the sword he was rushing towards. It was still there, stuck in flesh and glistening in the dim light of the hallway.

Eirwen's eyes widened in sharp focus as he surged forward, his speed doubling in an instant. At this point, it was no longer running, it was a series of powerful, bounding leaps. His bare feet barely touched the blood-soaked ground, hovering just an inch above the mess of blood and guts. One wrong step and he would slip, but fortunately he was too lucky for that to happen.

His gaze flicked downward for a split second as he adjusted mid-air, narrowly avoiding a jagged piece of shattered armour peaking out in a knight's mutilated body from piercing his bare feet. His feet up to his ankles were full in dried up blood, flesh under his nails. He would be disgusted by the state of his hygiene if he wasn't so focused.

Placing his right feet on the corpse of a random knight with a sharp inhale, Eirwen launched himself diagonally, using the extra force to propel toward the massive carcass ahead.

Mid-air, Eirwen took in the massacre below. The narrow battlefield was a scene of chaos, littered with grotesque bodies and shattered weapons and armour. Only a handful of swordsmen and spearmen still stood, their movements sluggish and desperate as the adrenaline started to wear off. The Shields fared slightly better, though a few had been swept away like debris by the monstrous tail of the remaining Nightmare Creature. The massive limb had swung through them as effortlessly as a broom would clearing dust, pulverizing everything it hit into red mist and shards of black armour. The battlefield was getting filled with more blood and corpses. The red liquid pooling thickly on the cracked tiles. The stench was slowly becoming horribly noticeable as well.

The remaining Nightmare Creature was also looking bad though. Its thick legs and softer underbelly were riddled with deep gashes, leaking streams of black, sticky blood that resembled crude oil. Its tusks were gone and a golden spear jutted grotesquely from its left eye socket.

Eirwen landed heavily on the carcass, his knees buckling from the impact. The landing rather ugly. His bare feet skidded across the blood-soaked hide. The thick, stony skin tore at his soles, but he ignored the pain. His hands latched tightly onto the longsword's hilt; his grip was tight as momentum carried him forward.

Twisting his hips sharply, he let out a guttural roar that reverberated through the carnage. The remaining Nightmare Creature snapped its massive head in his direction, its dull, bloodied eye narrowing as it looked at Eirwen with deep hatred and fury. Another fresh wound appeared on the back of its front limb, but it completely ignored it.

Planting his feet for a split second, he drew in all the strength from his burning muscles. With an ugly and savage pull, he tore the sword free from the flesh. The blade resisted, grinding through layers of muscle and hide, only to wrench free with a wet, squelching sound, sending pieces of blackened flesh and black blood across the already ruined battlefield.

Eirwen didn't stop. His slide transitioned into a forward lunge as he pushed off the carcass, this plus the previous momentum catapulting him upward. With the longsword raised high above his head, he surged forward like a missile.

The Nightmare Creature, already disoriented and bloodied, turned its hulking head further. Its remaining eye caught the faint shimmer of steel and the blurred outline of a figure hurtling toward it. It tried to turn its head around and swallow the enemy, but there was only less of a second left.

Crash

Before it could even react, something crashed into it from the side like a speeding train, forcing it down in pain and confusion. Bernard had somehow recovered and returned for revenge.

Eirwen grinned, his sharp teeth stained red from the blood that had splattered into his mouth.

He brought the sword down in a powerful, sweeping, red arc, the blade slicing through the air with insane force. In a second, it sank deep into the neck of the beast, the sharpness of the Memory amplified by the force and speed of the strike. The tough hide gave in with ease, but the deeper cut he needed wouldn't come. The sword ground to a halt, caught in the beast's flesh, as it howled in pain, shaking the room with its roar.

The monstrous roar proved too much for some of the knights. They screamed in agony and pain, their eardrums finally giving up after enduring roars. Clutching their helmets, they desperately tried to block the noise, trembling as they sank to their knees, overwhelmed by the pain. Thankfully, the giant was too busy with trying to shake Eirwen off, its neck squirmed in desperate attempts to free itself from the sword, but that seemed to drive it only deeper. Deeper, but not down. He was trying to cut its head off, or at least half of it.

Eirwen, losing his grip, started to slide down the creature's thick neck, but he managed to brace himself with the sword. His teeth gritted together as he pushed with every ounce of strength left in his body. He used his feet to dig into the beast's flesh to pull the sword deeper. "Move down, damn it!" He growled, when his eyes widened in sudden realization.

A rush of air hit him from behind, and his heart truly skipped a beat for the second time. The first time being when this same Nightmare Creature nearly created a gigantic hole in his stomach with its tusk. This Creature was really starting to get on his nerves. 

He froze, the sensation unmistakable. He was falling.

He cursed under his breath as the realization hit him. The damn Nightmare Creature wasn't trying to shake him off, it was instead bringing itself down on top of him. It was crashing to the side, its massive bulk crashing down like a falling mountain.

Bernard yelled something to his knights, but Eirwen barely heard it, too focused on surviving to catch the words.

In a split second, Eirwen yanked himself up, attempting to somersault over the beast's body. But just as he reached the peak of his movement, his leg was caught beneath the creature's crushing weight as it slammed against the marble floor.

"RAGGHHHHH!" Eirwen screamed, the pain coursing through him like fire as he was pulled back down, hitting the marble floor with his rear and the back of his head. His leg was trapped beneath the creature's massive weight. He gritted his teeth together, his face contorted in agony as he squeezed his eyes shut, gasping for breath. It felt like being crushed by a boulder the size of a house. 'It hurts It fuck*ng hurts!' he cursed repeatedly in his mind. The Memory was shattered too, crushed between the marble floor and the beast, leaving him with no weapon.

Eirwen couldn't hear, couldn't see; everything was consumed by the horrible pain. His mind barely took in anything except the crushing weight pressing down on him. Below his left knee, it felt like there was nothing left but broken, mangled flesh. It would be a surprise if there was anything left in the first place. For some reason this hurt too much.

When he finally forced his eyes open, he saw shadows around him intensify. His vision blurred. But it wasn't death. It wasn't him losing consciousness either. No, it was something else, something much stranger, like his very senses were being replaced by something. The sounds also grew silent to the point he could hear the blood rushing through his body.

As if possessed, Eirwen's face twisted from agony into sheer anger in an instant. A guttural roar erupted from him as he thrust his hand forward -his fingers closed together like a blade- driven by an uncontrollable surge of rage. Right before him was the soft spot of blueish skin. His hand blurred right into that spot like a bullet.

The beast, now lying on its side, presented its back like a wall. The nape was exposed and defenseless, right in his line of sight and reach.

At that moment, Eirwen's vision blurred, consumed by a fog of curses and thoughts of nothing but ending the Nightmare Creature's life.

His hand shot forward with blinding speed like a whip, fingers extended and close together, nails sharp. They tore through the creature's skin like a knife through butter.

The Nightmare Creature let out a horrifying roar of pain, its massive body thrashing, trying to rise and escape. But something was holding it down. Bernard, with monstrous strength, gripped the underside of its neck in a chokehold, holding the beast in place. Meanwhile, Eirwen's hand drove deeper into the exposed flesh of the creature's nape.

With a guttural groan, Eirwen forced his arm deeper into the creature's flesh, his forearm sinking inside as he searched for the spine. His other hand pressed flat against the creature's back, bracing himself before he pushed further, the flesh yielding to his force. Finally, his fingers brushed against the hard, rigid spine.

A devilish grin twisted across his face as he seized the spine with a death grip. He pulled with all the strength he had, which seemed to multiply for no apparent reason, as if something was helping him pull.

The Nightmare creature let out a roar, no longer filled with rage, but pure agony instead, as its spine and skull were slowly getting pulled from its body. It squirmed helplessly, limbs thrashing in frantic, desperate attempts to survive, but it was too late. Eirwen pulled with relentless force. The strain grew unbearable, and the spine finally snapped with a sickening crack.

The Nightmare Creature immediately stopped moving, only its tail twitched for a second longer.

[You have slain an Awakened Monster: Column Elephant]

[You have received a Memory: Bone Gauntlets]

"Not again, for God's sake!" Eirwen groaned suddenly, his voice thick with hatred as his vision blurred and faded to black. His body, exhausted and drained, couldn't hold on any longer.