CHAPTER 36: BLIZZARD MAULERS

Kassie did not give the creature a moment to rest. She yanked back her hand and smashed it into its face. Once. Twice. Three times. Each impact hit with enough force to make the thin tree behind it shudder violently, exploding splinters of wood into the air.

To my astonishment, though, the tree still held.

The massive creature swung its large hand at Kassie, but she merely shifted her weight. Then she swung her legs up and brought them down in a swift, sharp fall—slamming the hand to the ground and impaling it with the jagged thorns of her boots. Bluish putrid liquid splattered out, painting the white snow in unnatural color.

The creature’s face was already covered in blue blood, rivulets running down snow white fur. Kassie extended her hand backward, fingers splayed.

That was when I noticed.

’Her sword’s not with her.’

She had ditched it for speed. Smart. Instead, she’d used the thorns on her shoulder pauldrons to impale the spirit beast, turning her armor into a weapon. The sword standing embedded in the ground began to vibrate, then wrenched itself free—flying straight into her waiting palm. She caught it without looking and impaled the creature in one fluid motion, squeezing out blood in a guttural spray that misted the air and splattered across the snow covered grass.

All of us stared in silence.

Kael gulped audibly, his eyes pale and wide.

Charlotte and Celine shivered beside me, their eyes equally wide. Charlotte turned away suddenly and emptied her stomach onto the grass.

Then there was Elena.

She stood there, watching everything unfold with a blank look on her face. No flinching. No nausea. Nothing.

’Come to think of it... she’s Russian, isn’t she?’

Perhaps the rumors were true after all.

But we couldn’t just stand around and do nothing.

This was merely the first one.

"Everyone!" I yelled, my voice cracking slightly. "Snap out of it! We’re gonna die!"

Just in that moment, Kassie shifted her stance and glanced up. One more was plummeting down from the tall trees, massive shadows against the canopy. I squinted as the number seemed to multiply.

’Two... three...’

Five!

’Shit.’

Immediately, I released an overwhelming crimson aura that flooded outward in a wave, instantly strengthening my physical abilities. It would weaken my enemies—probably—but the main focus was the buff it would give to my allies and me. I curled my hands back, summoning the daggers Tristan had gifted me, and at the same time leaped away from where they would land.

As I began moving, so had the others.

Elena shot away in the opposite direction, grabbing Charlotte by the arm and yanking her clear. Celine was already quick on her feet—she leaped backward, and her summon followed suit. Much faster than her, it caught her gently mid-air and flew away with powerful wingbeats.

The creatures landed in the center with earth-shaking impacts.

Kael and I were on the right side. Elena, Charlotte, and Celine were on the left, surrounding the pack of creatures in a rough circle.

Elena yelled, thrusting her hand forward in command.

"Tempest!"

Her summon exploded upward into the sky, then crashed down in the center of the massive creatures. Snow detonated outward in a white wave, and I shielded my face for that moment, squinting against the stinging cold.

Kael was shaken, but he seemed to have stabilized. He sent his summon forward too. Ironhold lumbered ahead with heavy, methodical steps, wielding his massive hammer from behind with both arms.

The creatures themselves were massive ape-like beasts, easily three meters tall, covered in dense white and charcoal-gray fur. Jagged blue ice crystals jutted from their shoulders, elbows, and spine like natural armor. Their faces were framed by thick manes of white fur, and frost constantly formed on their breath in visible clouds. They had long, striped tails that left drag marks in the snow as they charged.

Ironhold swung his hammer overhead in a brutal arc, then slammed it down on the arm of the nearest creature—which was easily taller than him.

The ape beast held for a moment. Then it looked down at its arm and growled, a sound like grinding ice. As if mocking the summon.

Then it shot forward to grab Ironhold, who was already moving on Kael’s mental command.

Just as the hands stretched out, though, Kassie intercepted—rolling forward with her greatsword spinning like a cyclonic storm. She completed the motion, severing the beast’s arm completely in a spray of blue gore.

Elena had taken control of the opposite side. Tempest struck the belly of one beast with her halberd, then generated a massive discharge of lightning that threw it upward, body convulsing. She twirled into the air with inhuman grace, smacking her halberd against the beast’s side and sending it flying into the forest. Trees cracked on impact.

Simultaneously...

’Wait, where’s—’

I thought I’d seen Celine’s summon moving, but perhaps it was just my eyes playing tricks. Either way, I couldn’t find her anywhere on the battlefield.

An arrow whirled through the air in that moment, biting deep into the chest of one beast. The beast staggered a step backward and growled, then lumbered forward with its massive ape-like arms raised. Another arrow came from above—from the trees—and buried itself into its right shoulder.

For that moment, I saw Silvaris flipping over its head in a graceful arc.

’Stealth ability. Nice.’

She clearly had some kind of stealth skill, masking her presence and letting her strike effectively from hidden positions. Charlotte, despite her earlier state and still-pale face, was also focused now.

Her summon seemed particularly brutal—a complete opposite of the glamor that her blonde hair and blue eyes suggested. The summon twirled its massive double-bladed battle axe in a battle-crazed manner, then shoved itself forward. It swept the axe low against the ground, aiming to sweep multiple targets off their feet.

Ironhold tanked another blow from a different ape, staggering back just two steps. The impact would’ve sent me flying.

Kassie had already moved, driving her sword into the throat of the beast she’d severed the hand from. She raised it up—the greatsword sank deep, then plunged out completely from behind the beast. Blood bubbled in its throat as it tried to growl, a wet, gurgling sound.

Kassie swiped leftward in a vicious arc, cleanly sweeping away the head of the creature.

And then I saw it.

[You have killed a Tier 4 Spirit Beast: Blizzard Mauler]

Surprised, I looked down at the sudden Lodestar runes that announced Kassie’s kill, glowing faintly in my vision.

’Just like a game!’

But at the same moment, a realization struck me.

’Wait... this isn’t the first spirit beast Kassie killed.’

I jerked my head to the side immediately. The spirit beast that Kassie had struck down before—the first one—was gone. Completely gone. It left behind only an empty, thrashed tree with gory blue stains smeared across the bark.

’Bodies don’t just disappear. Do they absorb back into—’

Just at that moment, a shadow fell over me. Something descending fast.

I looked up.

’Oh... no.’