Hey guys, I'm back with another LONG-OVERDUE chapter of IHIE!
yay!

First off. Doombots. Fucking OP.
Secondly. I've been playing Resident Evil 6, XCom Enemy Within, Terraria, Starbound, LoL and State of Decay. That explains my lengthy period of no updates xD

Anyway, I worked alot on this chapter, so it should be good for all of you! I hope you all enjoy it~!

- Wings Senpai

PS: I just realized there is an admin of a facebook League page with the admin-tag "wings"
Just to clarify, that guy isn't me xD I do not own nor admin any league pages [though I'd like to]

PPS: I'm looking for an Artist who's willing to do me a freebie to draw a few of my characters from this story! On the upside, your art will get featured on this story, which will increase your popularity as I happen to get around 900 readers per chapter. I won't take favourites; If you make an artwork for me, I'll feature it no matter the amount I like it. :D So, whether you're a professional artist willing to help me or just a hobbyist who loves to draw stuff, now's your chance! PM me with a link to your art or leave the link in a review! [You'll have to use spaces in between all the periods/dots and slashes in the link or fanfic tends to omit parts of it. I'll be smart enough to cut the spaces out ;) ].

For Koneko-chan, whose warmth melts the ice coating the shackles of my soul.

In her Icy Embrace

Chapter 7

Everything was nothing. Nothing but a dull throb of pain. Pain everywhere. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be dead. Or on fire. Or to be a badger. Badgers tended to be pissed off every waking second of their lives, so they must always feel like this.
Focus, Alan, back to the topic. Oh right, almost dead. Ugh. Argh. Uhh.

"Why are you making those weird noises?" Lydia asked in distress, almost beginning to panic as Alan's eyes slowly opened.
"Uh… Did I do those out loud? Sorry…" Alan said as Lydia began checking all of his vitals again, "Oh no, what happened, are you okay, is everything alright, what's wron-"
"I'm fine, Lydia… Well, aside from everything hurting…" He muttered, realizing that once he woke up, all the pain just seemed to magnify. He was also feeling very feverish.
"Ah, okay." She said, calming down as she put a light hand onto his forehead. Her cool hand felt very welcome against his heated forehead as he let out a content sigh.
"Your fever seems to have gone down a bit. I'm sorry, but since healing potions tend to give a fever of their own, we couldn't use it." Lydia said apologetically as Alan nodded weakly.
"Yeah… I know, healing sickness… Mind explaining it to me?" He asked as Lydia looked at him with a tilt of her head. "But the way you're talking about it, you look like you already know about it." She said as Alan shrugged.
"Well, I've got nothing better to do other than get distracted away from all the pain." He muttered as Lydia nodded. "Well, healing sickness is when you take too much healing potion at once. It gives you a bad fever and heats your body up greatly. If you continue to take it even more, you either die from overheating your internals cells and killing them or you burn up into ash, depending on the potency of the health potion." She said as Alan smirked. "Always nice to be reminded of the fact that there are worse ways to suffer." He muttered.

Just then, the tent door was flung aside as Lissandra stood there. She rushed into the room, followed by another man who seemed to be the lead healer. Alan managed a weak smile as he looked at her. "Hey Liss…" He muttered as Lissandra quickly walked over to his bed, taking the spot that Lydia had vacated when they entered.
"How… How are you feeling?" Lissandra asked, seeming to stumble over her words as if she found it difficult to say. Even through her mask, Alan could feel her guilty gaze.
"Bad…" He muttered as the healer, who was talking in a quiet voice with Lydia in the background, came forward.
"Hello Alan. My name is Jory Romanec Gale. I'm Lydia's father and Lady Lissandra's head healer." He introduced as Alan took a closer look at him. Like Lydia, he had platinum blonde-ish hair, although his one seemed whiter mainly due to his age. He had a hard face, similar to Reinhart's face in the way that he looked like he was a war veteran, yet his face didn't hold the type of intimidating power that Reinhart held. Instead, this man looked like he had seen it all. He also wore glasses.
"Well Doc…. How bad am I?" Alan asked as Jory pushed his glasses up his nose with his forefinger, making the light reflect off of his glasses, concealing his eyes.

"To put it blunt; you're lucky to be alive. Or rather, lucky to be 'kept' alive." He said as Alan raised an eyebrow. Lissandra, however, seemed to harden at that very moment as the very temperature of the room decreased.
"Are you saying… What I think you're saying?" Lissandra asked in a deadly calm voice. At that exact moment, Alan noticed Reinhart standing near the entrance of the tent, guiding Lydia out quickly while looking inside at Lissandra skeptically, with a hint of worry. Jory did not falter, however, "Yes. Ashe purposely missed his vitals. Each of her arrows were methodically and strategically aimed and shot. She didn't want to kill him but… She did seriously maim." The doctor said as Alan became aware of the fact that his entire right arm was numb. He could feel it and move the fingers a bit, but it was a buzzed-feeling. It felt like his right arm was a fuzzy blur to his mind, while all the other body parts registered as sharp and defined.

"Sharp fragments of ice shredded the muscles in his forearm, and two arrows to his shoulders, one that went clean through, have fractured his shoulder blade badly. Another arrow wound in his left shoulder. There is also a slightly deep wound on his chest as well as a scratch on his sternum; his closest encounter with death, if it had not been for his armor. Or rather, if it had not been for Ashe's remarkable aim." The doctor concluded as Lissandra seemed to bristle, the room becoming bitter cold from her anger.

"You're commending Ashe for supposedly not killing Alan!?" She hissed in barely-contained anger, but Jory didn't falter in the face of her icy wrath. "You and I both know her well, Lady Lissandra. She can hit a man inbetween the eyes at more than 200 paces, without a falter of accuracy. Nothing escapes those keen eyes of her. An inch to the right or to the left would've made the arrow go inbetween the ribs and through his heart or a vital blood vessel." He said, staring at Lissandra flatly as she gritted her teeth, almost trembling in rage. For a minute, Alan thought she would attack the healer. Then… Her shoulders slumped as she relaxed, the anger flying out of her and being replaced with bitter resentment.

"This insult will not go unanswered." She said in a dark tone as Jory looked down at Alan again. "That can wait. We must help Mr. Frost here recover from his injuries first. His shoulder blade is primarily fixed; it just needs to settle. As for his arm, it requires time for the flesh to knit, and even then he will need months for it to completely heal. But it will become notably better within the day. However…. I believe you two had better discuss the other… 'matter'… without my presence." Jory said, his last sentence being worded carefully. Alan glanced down at his hands again, raising his left one to look at them. His words caught in his throat as he felt like choking.

Blue lines crisscrossed over his hand, down to the middle of his forearm. His veins, normally a very, very pale blue like normal human beings, was now a pronounced dark blue. They crisscrossed over his arm and under like some elaborate tattoo, fading to normal near the middle of his forearm. Bringing his left hand upto his face, he laid his palm against his cheek, feeling it's icy coldness. The words Ashe had said to him came rushing back to him as his mood darkened. Jory had walked out of the room, leaving him and Lissandra inside. Grunting, he sat up, experiencing a nauseating lurching feeling as he did so. He took a few moments to recover before he turned his head up towards Lissandra, looking at her. She sat in the seat next to his bed, her stare hidden behind her mask.

"You lied to me." He said darkly, anger brooding behind his words as Lissandra barely stopped herself from flinching at his accusation. Even though she expected him to say this, it struck her harder when it actually happened.
"I did not." She answered calmly.
"You did not tell me anything about this happening." Alan raised his left arm, his right still numb to his commands, showing her his blue markings. "Ashe told me everything." He said.

"Oh, were you busy listening to her tales? Was this the reason you lost to her?" Lissandra asked, sarcasm dripping from her words.
"She came to visit me hours before I was to leave. To warn me about you. To tell me you were lying. And I told her I didn't care about that. I swore my allegiance to you after I had drawn this fabled sword of yours." He said. Lissandra opened her mouth, about to say something, but Alan cut her off.
"I WAS READY TO DIE FOR YOU!" He shouted, his hair covering his pained eyes. Lissandra's words died at her throat, her mouth remaining open for a few seconds in shock before she closed it. "That night… I was absolutely no match for Ashe. I thought I was going to die. I kept fighting till the end, refusing to die, yet deep down, I knew I was going to… And I was prepared to die for you."

"And the most you did was not tell me that even if I survived it all, even if I fought all your battles and won you your throne, I would die regardless." He ended his words with that quiet statement. Lissandra was keenly aware of the hollow feeling inside of her. Why was she feeling like this? This was all planned, other than Alan finding out about It so soon… But then why was she feeling like her stomach had filled up with lead?

"I…. I'm… " Lissandra swallowed, trying to swallow her bruised pride with the same gesture. It was not easy for her to be doing this, but a part of her was pushing her to do this. "I'm so-"

"Save it. Your words won't change anything now. I was prepared to die for you… And I still am. That's what I signed up for when I drew Frig Ascutis. And besides, I owe you my life for rescuing me out of that avalanche." Alan said, his icy blue eyes seemed to glow from behind the curtain of snow white that was his hair. "Look me in the eyes, Lissandra. Look me in the eyes and tell me you won't hide anything from me again." He said, his voice resolute. Lissandra's mind was searching for the words to deny him, but then his hand reached for her face, his fingertips gently caressing along her jawline. The words in her mind faded as her breath caught in her chest.
"Atleast… let me see… let me know the face of the Queen… that I will fight and die for." He whispered, his voice low and whispery, like a gentle winter's breeze. She sat as still as a statue as he reached up with his on hand, to the mask that covered her face. His thumb traced the edge and then hooked inside… A small tug and the entire helmet came loose at its seams. He gently pulled it out, the movement causing the rest of the helmet to fall to the ground around her and stared at her in awe.

The rest of Lissandra's face had the same skin coloration as her revealed parts had suggested; a light shade of blue. Her eyes were that same shade of periwinkle that he had once seen, but this time, he could also see flecks of light blue arranged around her iris like a starburst, originating from her pupil. But the biggest surprise was her hair. It was white, that much was known before hand. But on top of her head…

"Are those… ears?" He asked as a pink tinge entered Lissandra's cheeks, the ice queen looking more like a abashed schoolgirl than the imposing lady she had been a few minutes earlier. In response, one of the two furry white protrusions on her head twitched, confirming his question. "Yes… Iceborn who are born with as much innate magical power as I was have ears like these. They're quite sensitive so I tend to keep them well protected." She said, trying extremely hard to keep her composure, like it was nothing to her. Her attempts were failing very visibly as she trembled from the effort, a large pink tinge covering her face.

"They're… cute." He muttered, blinking, staring at them as one twitched again. Lissandra became even redder as she made a small yelp of embarrassment and drew her fist back. A second later, her fist shot forward at Alan and everything was black.

…

"I'm sorry." Lissandra said, her helmet back in place as Alan finally regained consciousness again, massaging his jaw with his uninjured hand. "Ow… That really hurt."

"Well, serves you right." Lissandra said indignantly, seemingly losing that shyness she had earlier. "Next time you touch my helmet, I will have Reinhart neuter you." She said as Alan stared at her incredulously.
"Woah, just take it easy man." He said, raising his hands.

"I'm a woman." Lissandra corrected, with a small hint of irritation.

Before they could say more, Reinhart entered the camp.

"M'lady, we have a problem." He said solemnly, glancing once at Alan.
"What is it?" She asked, standing up, rigid straight, losing all trace of the ease she had while talking with Alan moments before. Alan thought Lissandra resembled the arctic winds quite a lot. Just like the winds, she seemed to be one person at one moment then completely change into another person.

"Ashe's forces march on us." He said as Lissandra was silent for a few seconds in shock.
"…What?" She finally said.
"She knew we wouldn't be expecting an attack since we're the ones about to siege their city. And with our champion down, she's taking this opportunity to lay assault." He said.

"Assemble the men at once. Leave no hole in our guard." Lissandra said as Reinhart nodded. "At once." He said, ducking out of the tent. Lissandra turned back around to find the bed empty. Looking around the room, she found Alan near the other side of the tent, where his armor was placed on a mount. It had been polished and small repairs had been made so it looked good as new from the wear-and-tear it had received in the battle against Tryndamere. Alan was struggling to pull his hauberk on with one hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lissandra asked, storming over to him.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting ready for war." He said, wincing as pain shot throughout his body, namely his right arm.
"You're badly injured, I do not think you will be going anywhere." She said firmly as Alan finally pulled it on, staring at Lissandra with that same icy fire in his eyes he had a few minutes ago. For some reason, that fire in his eyes always seemed to make Lissandra's icy wall of indifference tremble like it was made of jelly.

"I'm your champion Lissandra. Now, last time I checked, I'm not a direct subordinate to you. So while I do have to follow your lead and fight your battles, I do not necessarily have to obey all of your commands. So we can sit here and dawdle about it all day or you can help me put my armor on." He said as Lissandra blinked at his determination. He was a very curious person. He was childish at times, like a young boy, but during moments like these… He seemed to be a man who took duty and responsibility seriously.

Seeing as there was no way to deter him, she sighed and grabbed his armor. She helped him strap on his breastplate, then the plackart. She then helped him put his gauntlets on, namely on his bandaged right arm. He winced slightly as she tightened the straps on it. She then helped him attach the pauldrons onto his shoulders and breastplate, locking them firmly in place. He didn't wear any besagews or couters, as they would limit his mobility. He had recently decided not to wear a gorget or a helmet, as that limited his visibility.

Finally, he picked up Frig Ascutis from its place upon the sword mount next to the armor mount. It thrummed in his hand, as if it was happy at being reunited and Alan himself felt a surge of power go through his body. Placing Frig Ascutis on its familiar spot at his waist, he turned around to look at Lissandra. She stared back at him, aware of the awkward silence stretching inbetween them. Seeing nothing to be spoken, Alan sidestepped her with a small "Thanks." For helping him with the armor and began walking out of the tent. Just as he was about to exit-
"Alan." Lissandra said as Alan stopped at the threshold, turning around to look at her. "Yeah?" He asked as Lissandra turned around, her lips flat as the mask of indifference settled on her. "Don't die. That's a command." She said as Alan smirked. "That, is a command I'll obey to the best of my capabilities." He replied, walking out as Lissandra watched him go.

…

Two large scale battles within a such a short time. Alan didn't know if this was good or bad. But there he stood, at the head of the vanguard. His presence strengthened the morale of all the troops, as they had cheered when they saw him walk into the field, his long cape of blue flying behind him. Though he wore the armor of the Congelate Elite, his armor was slightly different, unique in its own way. It was armor fit for large battles like this, yet less heavier and more ornate than the other Congelate Elite's armor. And on the pauldrons and cape, where the symbol of the Congelate Elite should be, was Alan's own unique symbol, made from an adaptation of Lissandra's faction insignia with a black and white sword going down the middle. The sword was separated with a jagged line in the middle of the blade diagonally, easily recognized as Frig Ascutis with its half black-blade and half dark-ice blade.

They were at the same open area infront of Rakkelstake as they were when they battled Tryndamere's barbarians, so Alan got a strange feeling of Déjà vu. He watched Ashe's force slowly march towards them, waiting. He closed off all of his senses, focusing inwards so he could hear the pounding of his heart.

dubDub... dubDub…. dubDub….

Slowly, the world around him came back into focus as he pulled at his mana, pouring it into Frig Ascutis' blade, as well as pulling some of the mana out of the blade's reserves and into the blade itself. This felt natural to him. He didn't know why he was doing this, but it felt like instinct. And he knew not to distrust his instinct. Soon enough, his sword, which had taken its usual 3 foot form, was glowing with diffused blue light, emanating a hum of power. Cold air visibly misted around the sword, emanating from it in waves as Alan felt it humming in his grasp. Finally, the two armies were close as warhorns trumpeted on both sides.

"FOR LISSANDRA!" Their army shouted.
"FOR FRELJORD!" Ashe's army shouted.

Both sides charged at each other, but a whistling noise brought Alan's attention up. Arrows arched up from Ashe's side of the battlefield, reaching high into the air and slowly beginning to dive down at them. His stomach fell at the sight, as he didn't have a shield like most others hand.

"MEN! PHALANX AROUND THE CHAMPION!" Gunther, the captain of the vanguard, shouted as the men around Alan suddenly stopped running forwards. Instead, the pushed at Alan from all sides, catching him by surprise and forcing him down onto his knees. Alan didn't know what was happening, about to protest until he saw the men around him hoisting their shields up over their heads, locking each shield with the next to form an impenetrable ceiling of metal and darkice. All around the vanguard, all the soldiers did the same, while the soldiers at the edge placed their shields towards the outside, forming walls. Alan was caught in the middle and it was obvious this was to protect him.

The hail of arrows landed on them like raindrops of metal hitting a roof of metal. Clanking noises began echoing all around him, hundreds upon hundreds of noises. Some arrows fell through gaps in the shields. Here and there, Alan heard the pained cries of those who got hit echo inside of the phalanx.

Finally, as the barrage stopped, Gunther shouted out another command, incoherent to Alan in the echoing din of the shields all around him scraping against each other as they all got out of formation. Then, a shockwave seemed to go throughout all of the men around Alan as they collided with the Freljordian charge. He grabbed a soldier next to him and said, "Hold your shield at an angle towards me and stand there."

The soldier looked confused but complied, quickly pushing through others to go ahead of Alan, where he had told him to go, his back to the main battle behind him. He crouched down and slanted his shield, like Alan had told him. Alan took a few steps back then ran forward, jumping off of the shield of that man, almost flying over the line of shields and spears where the Iceborn met the Freljord.

"FOR LISSANDRA!" He shouted above them, swinging his sword down at them and releasing all the energy that was stored in the blade.

A blue wave of energy exploded from the sword, arcing outwards and hitting the Freljord army beneath him. As soon the wave hit, it exploded, dark ice tearing out of the ground. Soldiers were frozen instantly or cut into shreds by the razor sharp dark ice. And it didn't stop at only his arc. Crystals of razor sharp dark ice were sprouting up all over the Freljordian side of the battle field, as Alan landed in the midst of a crystalline circle. The Iceborn cheered as they saw the enemies dying like flies and, with one large push, broke through the line of Freljords and entered the battle in whole. Alan stood there, his icy blue eyes glowing with the fervor of using so much mana in one go, staring across the battlefield at Ashe, who stood way back in the battlefield, leading the Archers. Their eyes met for an instant and Alan saw her icy periphery give nothing away. His own frigid gaze was directed back at her, a moment that seemed to stretch before he had to disengage the visual contact to fend off the man who had rushed at him.

This time, Alan was fighting to win, not to survive. He used both his combative skills and his powers in cryomancy hand in hand, parrying a blade only to launch a shard of dark ice into the exposed midriff of his opponent, or making a slick sheet of ice on the ground in front of him so the 3 men charging at him slipped and fell, sliding over to him where they met their ends at his blade. Finding a moment's reprieve, he took a look at his surroundings.

The battle being waged was still quite the equal fight, with the chance of it going either way. But Alan was making a difference as the Iceborn were pressing more on the Avarosans. Lissandra was slowly advancing at the rear of the army, laying down supporting fire via her cryomancy, summoning large shards of ice to slice and dice through any Avarosan who had the luck of becoming her target. Reinhart was right there infront of her, guarding her along with the other members of the Congelate.

Alan himself was like a piercing arrow, as he had cut his way through soldiers until he was in the midst of the Avarosan sea. Soldiers surrounded him on all sides, but strangely, they were not advancing on him.

And then, the soldiers infront of him stepped aside to allow a fully armored warrior to enter the circle. Alan stared curiously at the man. He was covered head-to-toe in silver armor, a winged helmet covering his face. He was as tall as Alan was, and thinner than Alan would've thought the person to be, given his seemingly heavy armor.

"You will meet your end here, Alan Frost." The man said, with a voice muffled and deep.
"The last few soldiers that came at me said the same thing." Alan said as he raised Frig Ascutis infront of him, pointing the tip of the blade at the knight. "Now they are dead."

"As you will be." The knight said, pulling out a peculiar looking weapon. It looked like the grip of a bow, black in color, with two jagged black edges protruding from both ends of the grip. The black metal of the bow-like weapon seemed familiar.

It was only when Alan's Frig Ascutis throbbed in his hand did he realize as his eyes went wide. "No way."

"Did you believe Lissandra was the only one in possession of one of the 3 ice weapons of legend? And that you were some sort of unique chosen one? " The knight said, in a slightly mocking tone; his muffled voice made it hard to tell. The knight held up the weapon in his hands, as the air suddenly froze around it. Two long blades of ice formed on both sides of the grib, making a very large, very deadly looking crescent shaped dual blade. Alan stared at it in shock. "That is…"

"Some call it a faeblade. Others call it crescent blades, moonblades, demon wings. Even Warglaives. But its true name… Is Frig Dinte. 'Cold Fang.' " The knight said, spinning the blade around infront of him before taking a stance, low to the ground, with the blade held above and behind him. "Come on then, Alan. Let us see how your Edge holds up against my Fang."

Alan only spared himself a few more moments of shock before he steeled himself and ran forwards. He realized how big of a mistake that was and changed his mind after he had closed half-the-distance, and decision saved his life. The knight suddenly lunged forward, whipping around Frig Dinte as cold winds with bits of ice and snow followed his spinning motion, almost turning him into a whirlwind of razor sharp ice. As the lunge came near Alan, he managed to jump backwards, falling onto his back as Frig Dinte sliced through the air where he had been standing moments before. If he had kept running forwards, he wouldn't have had time to dodge and he would probably be dead.

Alan couldn't find a moment to reflect on his brush with death as the Knight raised his Twinblades over his head, spinning it around and stopping it so that it was vertical, one of the points glimmering wickedly down at Alan. Alan did a backwards-vault, pushing off with his hands when he was upside down and jumping back to his feet a few feet away, as Frig Dinte was brought down viciously, almost half of one of the blades digging into the snow where Alan had been moments ago.

"You're better than I expected." The knight said as Alan steadied his breath. The man pulled his weapon out of the ground and fluidly got into his stance again. Alan decided to outsmart his deadly opponent. He jumped forward, swinging his sword at the knight, just so that the tip of his sword would slice into his opponent, which would in turn…

…cause the knight to backstep away from his strike, as the knight just did. As soon as Alan's Frig Ascutis sliced through the air, his right arm came up and shot a shard of dark ice at the knight. In a flash, the knight's own free hand came up and a thin, rectangular pillar of ice suddenly shot out of the ground at an angle. Alan's ice shard hit the angled pillar in a way that it was deflected into the ground. Alan stared in shock.

"You're a cryomancer?" He said in disbelief as the knight stomped down on the pillar of ice he had made. The pillar was actually quite thin, but its angle made the shard deflect harmlessly instead of the shard shattering through the wall. It was quite an ingenious move that saved a lot of time and mana for the Knight. Alan swore he could feel the smirk of the knight as the man replied, "I never took you for someone who underestimated his opponents."

"You make the mistake of underestimating me." Alan said, his bluff halfhearted. He had been using his left arm so far, as his right arm was still injured. But against an opponent like this, he didn't think he could win with his left arm alone.

This time, they both charged at each other, slashing at each other and parrying as well. Alan was forced into the defensive within the first few seconds; his ineptness with his left arm playing a factor but the main reason was how fluidly the knight used both blades of his Frig Dinte, not to mention how the knight switched hands easily in between the battle, moving his own body constantly so he could not be an easy target either. Every now and then, their energy flared up as their cryomancy clashed, Alan always looking for an opening to fire a shard of ice at, only to have that opening become protected by the Knight's own cryomancy.

His thoughts became split-second long words, all of his focus invested in parrying the strikes that came at him.
Left right left left down up right up left down right right up right lef-

Alan ducked under the sweeping slice and dove through the knight's legs, executing a forward roll to come up into a crouch behind the knight. He swung his sword backwards, only for Frig Ascutis to meet the blade of Frig Dinte. The Knight had blocked his attack and just as he retaliated, Alan rolled forward again, creating some distance from the knight and dodging the retaliation. Standing back up again, Alan panted, his exhaustion showing, but the Knight must've been even more tired in that huge armor and heavy weapon of his.

Suddenly, Alan had an idea. Standing up again, he lunged at the Knight, thrusting his sword forwards. The knight planting his Frig Dinte into the ground vertically, the top of Alan's Frig Ascutis hitting the edge of one of the blades of Frig Dinte and skidding off to the left, as the knight dodged right. And suddenly, Alan poured his mana into the dark ice blade of his sword, morphing his blade into something resembling a Pickaxe, with a sharp curved teeth protruding downwards from the middle of his blade. And that tooth was formed just a split second before it sliced through the Knight's right shoulder, cutting through metal and mail and into flesh. The knight cried out in pain and surprise as Alan took the opportunity to detach the dark ice blade from Frig Ascutis, leaving the heavy blade attached to the knight. With Alan no longer supporting the blade up, the weight of the blade caused the tooth to dig deeper into the knight's flesh, pushing him off balance and off guard as Alan spun around from the other side of Frig Dinte, another blade of dark ice already forming on Frig Ascutis, this one short and sharp.

Alan stuck it into the left shoulder blade of the knight, disabling both of his arms as the Knight uttered another cry of pain, stumbling back, his hands coming loose from Frig Dinte. Alan pressed to his advantage, detaching the blade again as he pulled Frig Ascutis back and landed a solid kick into the knight's midriff.

The Knight fell backwards from the kick, slamming into the ground as a trickle of blood poured from both of his injured shoulders. The dark ice blades were still embedded, otherwise there would be a lot more blood. Alan gasped from the small burst he had gone through, his mana reserves almost completely gone as his body seemed to shudder with exhaustion. But he had won the battle, as cheers all around him indicated that the Iceborn were now surrounding him, not only the Avarosan. Seeing their champion had fallen, the Avarosans all began retreating as Alan forced himself to stay standing, looking over the retreating backs of the Avarosans to lock eyes with Ashe again.

Ashe's eyes were cold and furious, obviously angry at him for having defeated her Champion. Alan rose his Frig Ascutis up, pointing the jagged black unfinished blade at Ashe, his hands shaking but his message clear and firm.

You're next.

I know what you must be all thinking.
"Wao such cliffhanger much plottwist very Frig weapons 3battle5me rito hire tis gui nao alan so sax who is knight?"

Most of it will be answered next chapter. Stay frosty, bros.

- Wings Senpai