Chapter
19: A willing sacrifice
"Malene!!"
"Dammit
Cryptos, don't!"
Too late. By the time that the words
had left the priest's lips, the wizard had already thrown himself
into the path of the oncoming lightning bolt. Malene was shocked, and
all she could do was cry at the thought of someone risking their life
for her, her tears leaking from under her mask. Though she herself
was knocked back, she still caught him as he fell. Cryptos did manage
one final sentence as the stormy knight set his sights on the
priest.
"Em...ery...get...out of...here...now..."
Nodding,
he quickly teleported away. Seeing that his target was now
defenseless, the Stormy Knight rushed towards them, his sword held
high above his head.
"Blitz Beat!!"
Two
voices called out simultaneously as two falcons, one white as snow
and the other black as night, attacked in perfect synchronization.
The twin Falcons, the deadly duo whose masters were the two deadliest
Hunters in Payon.
"Back off you deformed reindeer, or
I'll rip your icy heart out."
The Stormy knight turned
his attention to the group standing behind him. Aside from the two
hunters standing at either side, there was a knight with a long and
wicked looking spear in his hand, and a priestess with a long staff.
Running up behind them was Emery.
"Alright everyone,
let's show him what we got!"
Jasper, who was the closest
of the group, was the first to initiate the attacks.
"Spear
boomerang...What the hell?"
The knight's attack seemed
to bounce off Stormy's shield. Immediately, he began casting Lord Of
vermilion.
"Lapis! Silence him, quick!"
The
priestess pointed her staff at the monster and cast Lex Divina, but
it was painfully clear that it had no effect.
"...he...can't
be...silenced...and ghost...attacks have no...effect..."
Malene
turned to face the wizard who lay beside her. He though in broken
speech, he still tried to warn them of the dangers that they were
facing. He was weak, but he struggled to stay alive.
"M...Malene...I...I
want you to...have...this..."
He took the blinker from
around his eyes and enchanted it with a spell, then removed her
phantom mask.
"This...will help....you...I...enchanted it
with...sense..."
After wiping the tears from her eyes,
Cryptos fastened the blinker on Malene's head.
"Go...I'll
be...fine..."
Trying her best to stand she readied her
bow and went back to searching for a suitable sniping spot.
Double
strafe!
Holy light!
All other sounds faded into the
background as she tried to focus.
Heal!
Kyrie
Eleison!
All she could think of now was doing what she was
told to do.
Blessing!
Pierce!
With a
quiver full of stone arrows and a heart full of worry, she scaled the
post which stood in her path. Having grown up in a forest, it was
only natural that she had learned to excel in climbing.
Agility
up!
Angelus!
She had reached the top...now there
was only one thing left to do. Loading her Hunter's bow with a stone
arrow, she let her instincts guide her. Listening carefully, she
aimed her bow and fired.
"Double strafe!"
Not enough...she readied a few more arrows for a chain attack.
"Double
strafe! Arrow Shower!"
She continued her rain of arrows
on the icy monster, not even stopping when she sensed another
lightning bolt aimed in her direction.