Before we could even examine our new enemies, the mountain lord set into motion, covering the body of the hydra that followed closely behind it. The third enemy was nowhere to be seen after it disappeared.
“Be careful, I don’t know anything about them. That third one should be some kind of assassin. As for the mage it may have even stronger spells.”
Alice gulped down, clenching her sword with whitening fingers. Sarah instead held her bow, the string quivering from her shaking fingers.
“Don’t worry,” I tried my best to sound calm, “we’ll defeat them.”
I saw the two nodding at me, relaxing at my words. At least they calmed down a bit. I stretched my hands to form a circle, my flames flickering inconsistently. Now it would be better if I also could do it myself.
Now that it was fighting together with its companions the lord changed its style, jumping far into the air to come crashing down on us. Quickly we dodged out of the way, only for the heads of the hydra to come next, two heads pushing through between us while the other three attacked Alice.
You’ve focused the wrong one. Let’s see how you like being frozen. I dashed towards the head next to me, only to stop when a foot crashed down before me. Its owner smirked at me at its fist came next, striking down at me. I barely dodged out of the way before my body was blown backwards.
I rolled over the floor, gritting my teeth as I pushed my hand into the earth to force myself to a stop. Without the world spinning before my eyes I saw Sarah before me, firing shot after shot at the hydra, to no avail.
“Watch out!” I stretched my hand, forming a barrier to block a strike coming from her back, black mist forming behind her. She shot around, coming face to face with a dagger that pushed out of the fog only to disappear in the blink of an eye, the fog along with it.
“Tha… Agni!” She shouted in a hurry, but before I could react I heard a gushing, followed by a torrent of water crashing down at me. My vision changed as it lifted me upwards, the snakehead rushing upwards while carrying me in its throat. I grasped for air, but the water just streamed into me, filling my lungs.
I struggled to break free, but the water hindered my every movement, allowing me to barely turn around before it pressed onto me, holding me steady like the grasp of the deep sea. Below me I saw Sarah, her arrows flying towards the point where this head connected with the body while she dodged the attacks of another head. Alice instead struggled against the three heads attacking her, cutting of one after another only for them to grow again and again.
My flames got weaker as any source of oxygen was cut off, flickering weakly as my vision distorted, slowly turning darker. My mind turned heavy as I started to lose consciousness. In a last attempt I created a circle.
I dodged another torrent of water, ignoring my attacker as I looked into the sky. Far above in the sky Agni was trapped inside the snake, his flames completely snuffed out. I strung another arrow on my bow, fixing my aim higher to strike at a thinner part.
“[Arrow Rain; Modify: Exploding Arrow]!” Once more my arrow flew forward, but like the times before the flames were just snuffed out, the split arrows just harmlessly pinning into it. I couldn’t help but shout in frustration.
“Alice, help him! Do something!”
“I’m trying!” She hacked another head off, rushing past the other two. She slid over the ground, pulling her sword backwards, before shouting out. “[Cleaving Wind]!”
Her slash rushed forward, biting into the neck as it separated it bit by bit. But before it completely cut through it stopped, the split part already reconnecting with strings of water.
“Damn, to shallow, I need to get closer.” She rushed forward, only for the mountain lord to block her way.
“Let her through!” I filled another arrow with mana, but before I could shoot it, I heard a blade rushing through the air. I rolled to the side, losing the mana I gathered into the arrow as I saw a knife stabbed into the position I was just at. This time the goblin appeared beside it, grinning at me while pointing behind me.
“No way I’m falling for that!” But just after I screamed at it, I heard the torrent behind me. The goblins grin widened, as if telling me that I should have heard on it. I jumped to the side, though I didn’t expect to escape from it. But instead of a watery grave I only felt the earth scraping at my skin. When I faced the place I escaped from I saw the goblin, its grin disappearing as it looked at the snake that somehow stopped moving.
It looked strange, somehow its flow was abnormal. Before I could infer what was wrong bubbles appeared inside it. Is it… boiling?
Suddenly it snapped backwards, lifting its head upward and rushing toward Agni. The other three heads joined it in its rush, leaving us alone down here. But before the heads could get near the one around Agni burst apart, an explosion lighting up the sky.
The fire breached into my lungs, burning away every trace of the other mage’s spell. Still I couldn’t fill them with oxygen as that was also burned by the explosion. Released from its shackles my body was caught by gravity once more, falling downwards.
I forced my eyes open, staring at another four heads coming towards me, their mouths wide open to tear me apart. But as they clasped down I didn’t feel them tearing into me, instead a screen of fog started to appear as they evaporated.
Eventually my flames flickered once more, before starting anew with a burst. I pushed my lungs to breathe in once more, my mind clearing up as oxygen filled my brain. Then I noticed how the fog beneath me got thinner, clearing up only to show my impeding end when I crash into the ground.
“Damn! [Flame Spear; Modify: Geyser]!” I shot the spear downwards, continuing a steady stream to slow down my fall, only to ultimately crash into it, spreading my flames far and wide in the moment.
I felt my arms cracking, inflicting a sharp pain. My ears rang from the explosion, blocking out any possible sound. But my eyes were everything I needed as my vision was already covered in water. It pressed down towards me, evaporating like before, only that this time even more water pressed down from behind it.
It breached down at me, trying to drown me once more, while the fog disintegrated, supplying my flames once more. Though it wasn’t enough as the water swallowed more and more of the remaining space. I raised the heat even further, melting the earth beneath me in the process, but to no avail.
Then I saw him. Floating inside the water was the enemy mage. Though it was distorted through the water I could see it frowning as it struggled to hold the spell up. You’ve finally shown yourself! I reached out, my flames sizzling as I reached into the water.
“It’s time for some payback, [Frozen Fire]!”
With my hand as the starting point the water started to freeze, quickly encroaching upon the goblin. A hint of fear could be seen on the goblin’s face as it released its spell. But the water didn’t just disappear, making him flee upwards through another spell while the mass of water fell apart. Though it couldn’t flee from the spreading coldness as the ice closed around its foot, creeping upwards until it stopped at its neck, its head reaching out of the water by now.
When I finally trapped it, I released my spell, the heat from my body freeing my arm once more. Step by step I walked through the ice, melting it around me, till I saw the battlefield once more. I turned around, facing the mage that was stuck in front of me, screaming to be saved, to create another circle.
“[Flame Spear; Modify: Piercing].”
Fire shot out from the circle, dashing towards the mage, as suddenly the mountain lord sprang in the attack, cowering over the mage to protect it with its body. It screamed out in pain as the spear gouged into its back. But before I could finish it an arrow flew past me, deflecting a knife that sneaked upon my heart.
Even though its attack failed the assassin still continued onwards, making me stop in my barrage. With a furious roar the mountain lord shot around, making the assassin disappear, only to reappear on its shoulder. The two looked down into the hands of the giant that was bleeding profoundly from its shoulder. Inside were charred remains.
Weakly the mage lifted its hand, a circle, visible to the naked eye, appearing above it.
I wonder if he'll learn the Hydra spell