NOVEL NEXT Chapter 119: Frozen Moment
Violet charged forwards at great speed, bolts and spears of nothingness forming around her. A moment later she was followed by the rest of the party, they too beginning to cast what magics they could.
The head? Of the monster whipped around to face the new threat, from one of its undulating limbs sharp shards of wood like bone shot forth.
The attack came so swiftly that Violet was unable to do anything to avoid the blow, scales cracked and split wherever the splinters struck. The black icor coating each one quickly going to work at corroding the dragons flesh.
Growling in a mix of pain and annoyance, Violet quickly blinked away and reappeared several meters away, from her new vantage she unleashed her barrage of spells. Not wanting to give the being a chance to adapt to the new situation.
Yet the monster seemed to instantly know of violets new location, as before she even fully manifested back into reality one of the bark like limbs was already facing her direction and firing off another splinter. Violet managed to angle one of her bolts to intercept the splinter, but to her shock the bolt in question was instantly punched through, the splinter continuing onwards to strike Violet in the side.
Still many more of her own attacks continued onwards, the beings front half being stuck by her barrage and spears. Yet the damage dealt to the creature was… muted, as if the damage dealt had been dampened, or that the mana fuleing the magics had been drained at the moment of impact.
Still the monster was wounded, now sporting many new wounds on its bark like flesh. In retaliation to this more of the fleshy limbs moved towards Violet, yet before more splinters could be shot forth, the attacks of her party soon struck true.
A spear of ice impaled the human like rear end, punching into one of the legs, at the same time arctic frost gathered on the floor beneath the being for a moment, before it shot upwards, wrapping around the two legs of the monster. Violet did notice that the attack struck with the expected amount of force, the spear piercing through the flesh of the abomination and spillling icor with ease.
A bolt of lightning then struck true, yet similar to Violet's own magics the impact was muted. The bolt still dealt damage, yet no where near as much as would be expected. The same happened when the bullets of water from Susan struck the monster. Violet was growing more confused by the moment the more she observed the creature.
Still she had no time to think more on the matter as the monster now retaliated. The front ball of undulating limbs suddenly seemed to explode outwards. All of the disturbing limbs now out and flailing madly, yet each of the now dozens of limbs sent forth a barrage of splinters indiscriminately. More of the wild attacks failed to hit anyone, yet not all of them.
Violet tried to summon a void shield to block some of the damage, yet her defense appeared to do nothing to block the blow. The splinters easily punching a hole through her magics. Strangely though the shield itself still remained, only now sporting numerous holes through it. Somewhat expecting this Violet once more blinked out of reality.
She intended to stay incorporeal for only a second to avoid the attacks and then reappear before unleashing more spells. Yet when the splinters were about to pass through her, she felt a stabbing pain unlike anything she has ever experienced. It felt like her very soul had just been struck, the mind numbing pain forcing her out of the strange realm her skill sent her too. She tried to regain her ballence after appearing back in reality, yet everything seemed to spin and darken. Before she knew what was happening she collapsed to the floor with a thud.
Luna looked over when she felt the sudden sharp stab of pain from her companion, just in time to see Violet reappear. Black veins seems to have appeared through her scales with blood seeping from each horrific vein. Luna felt the stabbing pain of her companions soul being attacked, and upon seeing Violet collapse to the floor something snapped within Luna.
Without even registering anything else her head snapped back towards the monster that did this to her companion. A frigid chill emanating from her, the very air itself seemed to tremble from the cold.
Taking a single step forwards Luna appeared besides the monster. Her form being shrouded in etherial ice, the cold that surrounded her causing the icor that was leaking from the monster to freeze. In fact, everything seemed to freeze. The nearby stream of water falling from the sky above slowed to a stop, the rippling puddles on the ground froze mid ripple.
The monster itself seemed to slow to a crawl. Several of its limbs, which before moved with incredible speed now moved at a snails pace.
In this moment of frozen time two swords of ice formed in her outstretched hands. They were simple straight swords, no embellishments other than a gleaming edge that sparkled in the muted light of the forest.
Taking a single step to the side an illustration copy of Luna appeared, also brandishing two ice swords. Above and around her form dozens of spears of ice formed. Then as Luna raised her arms, her actions mirrored by the illusory copy of her. She sliced down on one of the flailing limbs, her razor sharp sword easily cutting through the appendage.
Her copy too struck down on another limb, yet it only passed through without dealing any damage. At least until a fraction of a second later, when one of the floating ice spears shot forward and copied the arc of the sword, slicing apart the monsters limb.
Then the second sword fell, another limb was sliced through. Then another strike, followed by another. Her movements gracefully yet deadly, all the while her illusory copy mirrored her movements with one of the floating ice spears acting out to deal the damage the illusion was unable to do.
As more and more limbs were cut off in this frozen moment ice was insidiously creeping through the body of the being, at the same time each slice from Luna was dealing grater and greater damage.
Then their were no more libs to slice through, only the body of the creature. She was down to but a couple of floating spears, her illusion too was about to fade. Raising both blades in her hand, her illusion mirroring her she sliced through the being, the frost bitten flesh of the monster shattering at the impact of her strike. The two last spears too came crashing down, cutting the monster apart.
As the monsters body began to collaps the world seemed to crack but for a moment, the sound of shattering ice ringing out. Then the world unfroze and Luna collapsed to the ground with the frozen chunks of the monsters body.
The last thing Luna saw before passing out being a blinking notification and her companions concern.