“Haah…” Etta blew out a breath, letting it fog up. A sight only seen during winter. Her 18 year old sister got married last season, and now was living with her ex-boyfriend now husband Taris. The still five year old was walking around with her parents, making patterns in the snow as they talked to the other villagers.

All the preparations for winter was already done. The firewood was collected, the food preserved and ready to eat, and the house repairs finished. With winter she had cut on the training since it was too cold.

“Ughhhh.” Even while casting a flame spell for heat she still felt cold, ugh how she hated the cold. The invisible fox’s form was jumping around, burrowing its snout to try and hunt the mice under the snow. She felt annoyed seeing her pet all happy as if it’s owner wasn’t suffering.

“What was your reaction when he proposed to Hitta? It must’ve been so shocking.”

“Haha it was quite suprising, I almost dropped my clothes basket on my foot” Her parents were happily gossiping with her neighbours. Her father was still getting red at the mere mention of Hitta getting married. Even after approving of the marriage.

This was too boring. There was no training to take her time. No Theo for her to bother since he caught a cold. And the worst of all it was snowy and cold. Her aversion to the cold made her unable to play in the snow like other children, who was joyfully building snow sculptures and playing snowball wars. There was even a giant snowbear sculpture, albeit a bad one.

“Etta, do you want to drink something hot? I have some extra hot cocoa here.” The kindly auntie handed a hot mug of cocoa. The entirety of the small outskirt village was like a close knitted family. Everyone knew each other and cared for the others.

“Thanks auntie, *sluurpp.*” She thanked the small woman sincerely, using the mug to warm her hands. The drink warmed her insides, finally she wasn’t cold for once.

Even though she hated the snow, she couldn’t refute that the scenery was beautiful. Surrounded by the high walls and watch towers. The snow gleamed under the sun, creating a beautiful and heartening view.

She wrapped her now signature red scarf around her face and neck even tighter, only leaving a gap to drink the hot cocoa from.

She wondered if she could create same velvet flames as the fox, since they were contracted why not?

*Poof* A velvet fire, hotter than any normal fire burned. “Why hadn’t I thought of this before!” She snuggled to the fire, the velvet flame didn’t burn its owner. Just like how it did to the fox. This was too great! She now had a new favourite invention right after flamestones!

“MOONSTER!!!!” Multiple guardsmen yelled. The big bells rung loudly from the watch towers, the village usually encountered monster waves. Even that didn’t require the bells to be rung. Judging from the way the guardsmen said it, it was only a single monster.

“*BKOOM!!!*” The giant walls were brought crashing down by an even more gigantic monster. It was roughly in the form of a giant centipede as wide as an entire house. Colored black and a deep purple, even light was having a hard time escaping its carapace.

 Instead of just a normal carapace it was covered with big, long, and sharp needle-spikes, oozing with a purple aura. Warning of its obvious danger. “*Shiiing!*” Its needles shot out of the high tier monster, blocking out the sun with its spikes. It had already began regenerating the needls preparing to shoot again.

All manner of spells, from weak to strong, from earth to water to air to fire. It didn’t matter what attribute, all of them didn’t penetrate the nightmare bearing exoskeleton.

“RYLIA!!!!” Varika roared, “Take Etta to safety!” he then summoned his bearded axe, it gleaming with vigour as he rushed forward.

Etta was led by her mother to their house, hoping to find safety under its roof. They ran and ran and ran, not looking back to the disaster happening behind them.

*Tchk* “Agh!” as the mother got pierced in the shoulder by a needle she never even thought to stop, only knowing she must get her daughter safety. It was the duty of a mother.  Not caring when her previous shield spell was pierced, she casted new barriers. Three layers of the most durable barriers she knew.

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“Hyagh!” Varika swung and slashed the monster, facing its pincers capable of cutting him in one swoop. To defeat a high tier monster, he in his prime had to team up with other powerful adventurers and hunters to even think of fighting one. Now he was past his prime, he was the strongest hunter in the entire village. The others lacked the training and experience.

He used hit right arm to swing the axe, and his left to cast spells even faster. But all was for naught, the carapace and its spikes deflected his and the other’s slashes and pierces. It’s aura dispelled all weak spells and it seemed to be immune to all spells and curses.

Spirits wasted their life force to try and save their owner’s from the monster onslaught, but even that wasn’t fruitless. None escaped it terror, then it spewed out acid from in between its pincers. The acid corroded anything and everything before spontaneously catching on fire spreading even more chaos.

He knew it wasn’t a battle that could be won, but he hoped to stall for enough time for his daughters to escape, using that single fact to fuel the fight. *Khick!* Ice he casted broke off from the monster. Then he tried summoning spikes of ground and crystal to pierce the monster from below like a skewered centipede. That too didn’t work.

“*Krik Krik Kriiik!!!!*” The centipede made an ear screeching sound in recognition to its sole obstacle. Ignoring the other warriors it aimed every single needle on its carapace toward the bulky man, then the barrage of poisonous and venomous needles descended.

Recognising the opportunity he struck, in this moment the carapace was weakened due to the disappearance of its needles. As the barrage rained upon him piercing his body, he dashed forward madly. “HAH!” A single silver streak went downwards as he slashed his axe with both hands. And a single streak created upon the beast, just above its eyes.

“”KAAAAKGH!” The monster wailed in pain, it hadn’t been hurt in over a year. The nostalgia of pain removed even the last of strategy from the monster. It madly dashed forward, spewing rivers of noxious acid. Its spikes shot out as they grew, releasing an even more unrelenting rain.

Everything was getting beaten down, people were dying left and right, buildings crushed and fell beneath the rain, and a mist of blood was forming. It circled around the warrior, opting to attack the surroundings. Outmanoeuvring with speed.

The man chased after the beast, in this state the beast could spontaneously start heading in the direction of his family, and wasn’t going to let that happen. In a furious strike he recaught it s attention. Time for round two.

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Rylia held her daughter’s hand even as she bled.  “Pkuh.” She coughed up an egregious amount of blood, her body has been getting weaker with every step. She knew she wasn’t going to make it, but her daughter will. Motioning to their house just a distance away. “Go! I’ll right behind you.” She told a lie if to just lighten her daughter’s heart.

She sat on the ground. “B-But mom…”, “Just go!”. As she viewed her lovely’s daughter retreating back, she prayed, for her daughter’s safety, her daughter’s prosperity. Hoping even without Rylia there her daughter could still live a life worth living.

She laid on the ground, closing her her eyes. All the pain fading away as she took her last breath.

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His left hand was gone, Varika’s right wrist was absolutely bloody and broken. Only due to the piece of cloth tying his axe to his hand did he be able to fight. The centipede now had a plus shaped scar upon it head. Other than that its body was covered in minor scratches.

“Haaah…” A sigh of fatigue escaped from his lips. He knew even if he won now which was unprobable he would die from losing too much blood. At the very least he knew with the time he had bought Etty is probably be inside the basement right now safe from danger.

There were no more voices other than his, no more spells casted other than his, no more strikes struck other than his. Everybody else was dead, children, women, elders, and even the men. In the bloody mist the attention of the monster was his and his only.

Preparing for his final and most powerful strike he lowered his stance. Coalescing a blade coating of mana and fury, waiting for the centipede to dash forward. As it moved forward he also did the same. *BOOOM* as the sound of them colliding echoed the centipede gaining a new mark upon its forehead.

Varika’s story fell down, its owner already turned to nothing but tiny pieces of flesh. It had turned into a lost story. Different from other stories that disappeared after their owner’s death. It remained, the will of its dead owner still remaining true.