Shadow Slave: Immortal Ice

Eirwen concentrated and summoned his new Memory for the first time. It materialized around on an instant. In a second, everything below his forearms was clad in grey. The Bone Gauntlets were clearly named after the Bone Blades, since the Gauntlets themselves were made from grey steel instead. Their design was stony and fierce as he clenched and unclenched his fist. Inside the gauntlets, there was additional leather, making them surprisingly comfortable to wear. Despite their strength, they weren't overly bulky or thick too. Overall, they were great in his opinion.

Bernard heaved his shield with slight effort, lifting it high before slamming it into the ground in front of him with a loud thud. The ground underneath it trembled and caved in. The shield began to grow, expanding until it matched his full height and breadth. It now towered even larger than the already massive shields carried by the Shields.

The bear paused for a moment; its massive form still partially hidden in the darkness. Then, with a roar that shook the tunnel, its growl grew louder, echoing off the stone walls. Several knights visibly winced, their heads shaking slightly from the intense noise. 'No surprise Bernard has to shout all his orders,' Eirwen thought with a touch of humor. 'These guys must be practically deaf by now.

"Brace!" Bernard shouted suddenly as the bear charged forward. Its massive shoulders scraped against the stone walls, a guttural growl rumbling from its throat as it surged toward them.

The Shields obeyed immediately. They dug their feet into the ground, dropping their shields onto the floor with a heavy thud. The spearmen tightened their grips, ready to impale the beast as it came closer.

The swordsmen stood still, their eyes locked on the creature, waiting for the perfect moment to strike through the gaps in the shields the instant the bear got within reach.

Eirwen braced too, as much as he could with only one leg.

'Two, one…' Eirwen counted in his mind, bracing for the impact.

And then it came. Akin to a meteorite crashing down. The Nightmare Creature hurled itself at the shields with no self-preservation, disregarding the spears entirely. It was a move fueled by pure anger and madness, the spears were mundane so they couldn't damage its thick hide anyway. They shattered on impact, some shards embedding into its flesh, but it barely flinched. It didn't even bleed, it was more akin to a scratch. 'It's of the lowest Rank, Awakened Beast probably,' Eirwen immediately analyzed its actions.

'Why are they all so damn sturdy though?!' he cursed as the shockwave from the collision hit him. He nearly lost his balance, but he reacted quickly, thrusting the butt of his spear into the stone floor with all his might to keep himself from falling.

Suddenly, one of the spearmen beside Eirwen launched his spear with a grunt, his body straining as he shot it forward with explosive force. Eirwen's eyes widened as the spear blurred past him, breaking the sound barrier in a split second. 'That's a regular human?!' Eirwen nearly exclaimed, watching as the spear shot towards the Nightmare Creature's face.

It missed by an inch, embedding itself into the hide just below its left eye. A sharp 'tsk' echoed out of his helmet as the spearman cursed under his breath, rushing forward to support the Shields.

The Bear roared in fury, shaking its head violently until the spear dislodged from its flesh. Once free, it reared onto its hind legs, towering menacingly in the narrow tunnel. With a guttural growl, it slammed its massive front paws down onto Bernard and the Shields. All of them visibly burrowed into the ground, their greaves and shields digging into stone.

Eirwen could hear the grunts and groans of the knights as they braced against the relentless assault. The Bear's long, jagged claws screeched against the metal shields, sending sparks flying.

"Swords!" Bernard bellowed, his voice cutting through the chaos. At once, the swordsmen ducked under the shield wall, stepping forward to slash at the Nightmare Creature's exposed belly.

As the three swordsmen slashed at the Bear's belly, the creature leaned heavily on the shields with its massive paws, forcing the formation to strain under its immense weight. Its enormous head dipped low, maw gaping wide.

One of the swordsmen, too close to the beast, screamed as the Bear's jaws snapped shut, clamping down on half of his body. The horrified screams quickly turned into muffled gurgles as the Bear lifted its head, swallowing the knight whole as if he was nothing but a small fish. Crimson blood flowed down its maw, painting most of its thick neck and belly red.

Despite their comrade's gruesome death though, the remaining two swordsmen didn't falter. They hacked and slashed with all their strength at the Bear's belly. The Beast bled dark blood on the floor. But the cuts weren't deep.

Behind them, the upper half of their fallen comrade crumpled to the ground with a thud, guts and organs spilling across the tunnel floor. The air was already thick with the iron stench of blood.

Bernard groaned, his body straining as he dropped his shield just enough to let the Bear's massive paw slide off. With that tiny opening, he jumped up and threw his sword with all his might, burying it in the creature's left eye.

It roared in agony, a deafening sound that shook the walls and sent dust pouring from the ceiling. The swordsmen beneath it staggered, blood leaking from the gaps in their armor, their eardrums bursting from the overwhelming noise. They nearly lost their footing, disoriented by the shockwave of the roar.

The Bear, enraged, swung its massive paw in retaliation. It slammed into the two swordsmen, sending them flying into the wall with a loud explosion. Their bodies crumpled upon impact. The sound of bones and armour breaking echoed through the tunnel as blood leaked from their armour.

Bernard quickly dismissed his sword and began summoning it once more, but the Bear was too close, and the creature was furious. He quickly leapt back and picked up his shield once more. His muscles strained. He groaned as he lifted the massive shield quick enough to block another paw flying directly at him. He held one hand free and open for the sword to materialize in it.

Eirwen couldn't help but feel a twisted sense of excitement watching the battle and chaos in front of him.

But then, Eirwen's ears picked up something weird. Faint but growing louder footsteps. They were coming from above them, which wasn't unusual, but there were too many. As the sounds intensified, Eirwen's eyes widened when he heard a sudden burst of screams from above, followed by more heavy footsteps and roars. His excitement quickly vanished.

Two battles were now unfolding at once: one in the tunnel, and another directly above them. Eirwen realized the danger. If this kept up, the tunnel could collapse on them at any moment.

"We need to move!" He roared to Bernard who didn't visibly react and kept fighting, but Eirwen knew that he acknowledged the order. 

"Forwards!" He ordered, his voice echoing through his helmet and then again through the tunnel.

The Shields started to pressure forward, holding against the bears massive paws. They were extremely strong for humans. 'There is something about them I am sure,' Eirwen admitted. 

As the chaos grew more intense with each passing second, the knights slowly began to push the bear back, bit by bit.

Every minute, the Shields swapped, new knights stepping in to replace the ones who were exhausted from holding their ground. The previous knights staggered back, trying to catch their breath as they rested their strained arms for as long as they could in the middle of the chaos. Meanwhile, the swordsmen pushed forward, attempting to create an opening in the beast's defenses to allow Bernard to strike its other eye.

The only way to kill the Nightmare Creature was by driving something deep into its eye, so deep that it would reach its brain. But Bernard would need to leap onto the creature's massive maw to make that strike, since his longsword wouldn't reach it otherwise, and it wasn't an easy task.

"Do you not have a spear or a bow Bernard!?" Eirwen roared from behind, his voice strained as he leaned against a knight with a shield, helping him hold his ground against the bear's massive paws. His grip tightened on his own spear so he doesn't fall, and he could feel the steel shake with every impact the creature made. 

"No, your Royal Highness! This longsword is the longest weapon I have!" he screamed through the chaos. The battle above them was only intensifying as well. Bernard kept striking the bears paws, trying to cut them. But in vain, the hide was just too thick, all the cuts he made were too shallow.

Eirwen hesitated for a moment, considering summoning the Whistle again. It might have worked on the bear, it was just an Awakened Beast after all, the same rank as his Memory. But then he realized the risk behind it. There were too many people around. If he used it now, the sound could travel up to the humans and beasts battling above. The strain it would put on him would be too much and he wasn't sure if he could handle it.

'Wait… What if…' Eirwen thought suddenly as his eyes widened, struck by a new idea.

"Bernard! Create that bubble of no sound again!" he shouted from behind, already starting to summon the whistle. 'Bernard should be the least affected since he's the strongest here, more or less.'

Without hesitation, the commander responded. He didn't question Eirwen's orders and quickly summoned the wooden tool. It resembled a human ear and appeared in between his two fingers. He was holding both the ear and sword at the same time.

With a flick of his wrist, Bernard threw the wooden ear to the ground and activated its enchantment. Instantly, the area around them was enveloped in a soundproof bubble, muffling all noise from outside and not letting any sound from inside escape.

Eirwen grinned, "Attack immediately when you can move! Be prepared! Everyone in defence!" He shouted commands as the Whistle finally materialized between his lips.

Eirwen took a deep breath, leaning slightly forward as he blew into the whistle with all his strength. The shrill, piercing shriek filled the air, sending a shiver down everyone's spine. The beast froze, its large frame not moving for a second. Even the knights around Eirwen faltered, their senses overwhelmed with fear.

But while it was stunned for a second, Bernard could already move after a moment.

The commander sprang into action. His greaves slammed into the ground, shattering it beneath his weight as he leaped forward. With a roar, Bernard raised his longsword high and crashed down onto the bear's maw. The sword buried deep into its eye with a sickening thud, dark oily blood poured from the wound. The beast's roar filled the tunnel.

The bear snapped out of its stupor, its massive paws thrashing wildly as it tried to shake Bernard off. Its roars grew louder, and the sound of claws scraping against metal and stone echoed through the tunnel.

The two front Shields were caught by the bear's frenzied strikes. Its paw crashed down on them; their shields flew aside as the force of the blow sent them crashing to the ground. The two knights beneath them were crushed instantly though, their bodies reduced to nothing more than mangled remains beneath the beast's clawed paw.

The bear's paw lifted, pieces of mangled armour and torn flesh stuck to its pad as it prepared to strike again. But the knights recovered from their momentary stupor and quickly scrambled back into formation. Shields were raised once more, the clanging of metal ringing through the tunnel as they braced.

The remaining swordsmen, sensing an opportunity, slipped through the Shields and moved swiftly to the bear's sides and rear. They harassed the creature from all sides, slashing at its thick hide with their swords while their commander tried to drive his longsword deeper into its eye. The bear howled in pain, its movements growing more frenzied.

"Fools! Don't let it stand up on its hint legs! What are you hitting it for with your toothpicks?!" Eirwen roared, swinging his arm in fury as he watched the scene turn even more chaotic.

Just when the bear was about to throw itself into the wall, Bernard roared and drove the longsword down to its hilt. The Nightmare Creature struggled for a bit longer before finally falling, taking a knight with it. The weight of its massive body crushed the knight beneath its belly as blood spluttered from beneath the large corpse.

Eirwen sighed and recalled his Gauntlets and Whistle, both transforming into sparks of light.

Everyone panted, trying to catch their breath when suddenly the whole tunnel trembled. Bernard dismissed his Wooden Ear, and in an instant, they were bombarded with two different sounds. One was a furious and loud rattle-grunt. The other was a hiss, deep and murderous, filled with hatred, like a massive snake.

Eirwen cursed under his breath as he glanced back to where they were when the battle against the Nightmare Creature had just begun. His eyes widened in panic as the ceiling groaned, straining and shaking before it collapsed in a loud explosion. Light and dust billowed into the tunnel as the shockwave tore through them.

"Run!" Bernard shouted, rushing toward Eirwen and lifting him over his shoulder.

Eirwen's eyes widened in surprise, like a startled cat , as he was suddenly lifted and carried. "Drop me, you moron!" he screamed, but Bernard ignored his Prince and kept running. The knights followed him, their heavy, thick armour clanking with each step. Despite the weight, they moved faster than any normal human should be able to.

As they sprinted down the tunnel, more of the ceiling -well, the floor from above- started to collapse. The roars of the two massive beasts grew louder, and then, with a single whip of a long and dark tail, the dust cleared. Eirwen looked ahead in shock. Where the tunnel had initially collapsed, a gigantic dark snake was coiled around a creature that resembled a massive albino honey badger, both of them bleeding and snapping at each other furiously.

Two monstrous creatures, locked in a battle of pure destruction and chaos. Those were the exact words used by Gale to describe a battle between Saints…