Chapter 16
"What did you do that for!?" Katsuki shouted, enraged and confused by the greenette's words.
"Something I should have done a long time ago." Izuku spat.
A strong right hook came after receiving his answer, easily dodged by the green-haired necromancer. Izuku responded to his childhood friends' assault was a left cross, colliding against the explosion-user's own punches. Their connected attacks resulted in a minor shockwave, sending the two reeling back briefly under the aftereffects. Regaining their strength, the two Heroes respective hands went flying at their target, their blows matching.
Neither side was willing to lose, fury and rage pouring out of Izuku whilst outrage and frustration fuelled the strikes of the explosion wielder.
However, Katsuki soon found his hands and legs restrained by Denki Kaminari and Izuku felt the strong grasp of Cole Chill. Both of the young Awaken strained against their respective holder's vice-like grip but failed to break free. Izuku reared back and slammed his elbow into the foreigner's stomach only to hit something cold and hard.
"Enough!" Denki shouted, eyes lighting up with power. "Now isn't the time to fight amongst ourselves!"
"Tell that to the Quirkless turd over there!" Katsuki hollered, trying to break free.
"Maybe if your head isn't up your ass then you could've seen this coming!" Izuku shot back.
"Hey, hey, maybe we cool our heads off here?" Cole suggested.
"Shut up!" Izuku and Katsuki roared back.
Face turning red with rage, Katsuki was able to rush forward until a white blur whisked past the blonde's ears. All four paused in their action, turning to the arrow in question.
It was a bleached white arrow, one made of out a literal bone and on a closer look, runic inscriptions decorated the bolt's shaft. The foreign words glowed with power and he had only a brief moment to read them before the intensity grew. Izuku could do nothing as he was dragged away by Cole, a bright glow of light and frost combusted to life and sending snow flying everywhere.
All four managed to evaded the blast radius; Cole having dragged the green-haired Necromancer away and Denki doing the same for his colleagues. Fear and unease crept in as Izuku knew those weapons are the sort used by the Ice Elves.
"Not good." Cole commented. Izuku even notes the man sounded fearful.
For a moment, Izuku wondered why only for the realization to strike him. There are towering trees all around them. With his eyes, he could see movements amongst the foliage of the massive trees. One of the few species of monsters that resembles humans, he recalled reading how the Ice Elves act like hunters and often utilize hit-and-run tactics. Their kind were even noted to be rather tactiturn in battle as well.
Eyes tracing hard, he spotted one of the assailants and called forth his familiars. Bellion and dozens of Myrmidons and Salamanders in anticipation of any threats to their master. Garudas, on the other hand, flew towards the trees, each one smashing through the foliage with their body and pave way for the other bird summons. A smile crept up Izuku's face as two of the Garudas made themselves known, their prize in their claws which was an Ice Elf.
The monster struggled briefly before one of the two Garuda smashed it's beak into it's head, effectively destroying the cranium and spilling out the content. The body begun to plummet as it died, crashing into the ground as life lft the body.
"Hey, you knife-eared fuckers! Come down here and face us!" Roared the only foreign hero, breaking a fragment of ice armor and hurling it at the trees. While it did not hit the intended target, a loud and bellowing sound soon came after. Confusion grew amongst the three Japanese heroes but Cole's eyes widened in realization.
"Scatter. We gotta leave now!" Just as soon as Cole yelled those words out, the ground beneath them shook. The shaking grew in intensity and soon enough the trees in front of them were knocked down by a herd of massive mammoth-like creatures, each one taller than the trees surrounding them and wider than a stack of trucks.
Pristine white armor cover their body and brown fur cover the unprotected areas. Scars riddled their bodies. Every last one has four menacing long, sharp and jagged tusk as large as the trees and a trunk thicker and larger than a building. Unlike their real-life counterpart, their trunk ending in a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth.
It was utter chaos. Navigating through the massive furred foots dropping down onto them, Izuku could feel the mana siphoned off as his Summons were getting trampled and regenerated from their wounds. Although the massive furred beast were occupying his vision, the greenette saw Bellion and a handful of the Garudas and Myrmidon fighting against the monsters. Despite their best effort, they were getting shot by the Ice Elves if the exploding frost arrows were anything to go by.
'This is their tactics!' Izuku realized. Now, the greenette was slightly thankful he'd done what he did. If the rookies took part in this, only certain death awaits them although he can't fully say as he had no knowledge of their exact strength.
The Salamanders were faring slightly worse than his other summons, their flames proved ineffective against the gargantuan beast's armor and fur whereas their claws only nicked the mammoth. For a brief moment, he saw Katsuki flying around a mammoth. Blazing orange flames trailed in the blonde's wake as he crashed into the creatures' face foot-first.
One hand reaching for the furry monster's eyes and one of the largest explosion Izuku ever bear witness was detonated. The air was practically vibrating and the same was said for the necromancer's body because of the powerful explosion. What was left of the beast' head was a gnarly, gooey mess. Using the colossal deceased body as a spring board, the fierce Hero made a beeline for another monster. A barrage of arrows pelted the man in the side and an explosion followed shortly, engulfing him.
"I'll take out the elves, you help Katsuki and Cole," Denki snapped, lightning crackling as he powered up. Before long, a cloud of snow was kicked up and the ground trembled as the ninja-themed hero bolted off.
In the treelines, he saw bright lightning crackling amongst the leaves and cries in strange languages erupted out of the trees. It was a logical assumption that the shinobi-themed hero is taking the fight to the skirmishers. Even with the Garudas summons' aid, arrows are still coming out of those trees. Izuku prayed that Denki would succeed.
Unlike the other two, the lone foreign hero was a one-man army; facing the elephantine monsters head-on. Mace held steadily as he stood his ground, the man swung his mace and shield like a frenzied beast unlike the conventional Tanker. Every blow were accompanied by Cole's laughter, relishing in the damage he's bringing.
'Focus on yourself first!' Izuku chided himself. 'Garuda, help Denki and Myrmidons and Salamanders, try and provide support for Katsuki and find the other one. Bellion with me.'
Orders issued, Izuku turned around and ran towards one of the Koios, leaping high into the air. Familiar cooling black armor whipped around the greenette as he turned on Sargas Might. Tucking in one leg close to the chest, he snapped the leg forward in mid-air as he drew closer to his target. They collided and Izuku's entire body vibrated from the sheer recoil of his attacks. As he fell to the ground, Izuku shifted his position to ensure he lands on his feet.
Watching the monstrous mammoth stumbled backwards by a couple of steps and crashing into others of its' own brought some joy to the green-haired awakened. Before it can recover, Izuku leapt onto the creatures' tusk, creaking under his momentum. Raising both hands up, he then brought them down as hard as he can. Under the third strike, it broke in twain and Izuku made a lunge for the snapped off tusk, picking it up easily.
He could feel the creature begun to shift and for a moment, their eyes met. Turning on the ball of his feet, he spun in a 180 degree and drove the sharp, broken tusk into its' forehead. Surprisingly enough And he loved every part of it.
By the second strike, the tusk shattered into pieces. Throwing away the destroyed makeshift club, the young Awakened leapt high into the sky and felt the familiar frigidness welling in his stomach under the activation of Ddraig. Moments before it could get up, the Koios was greeted by a torrent of purplish-black flames washed over the gargantuan beast, engulfing it in it's entirety which slowed down his descent as well.
From above, he saw how some of the other Koios looked upwards, each one having multiple eyes narrowing in annoyance .Together, they sucked in as much air with their trunks and blew just as hard as they did. Powerful gust and equally cold winds blew onto the dark flames belonging to the young hero-in-training. Izuku attempted to turn up the power. What struck the greenette odd was how the flames were not extinguished but were slowly getting engulfed in ice.
[Warning, User is now afflicted with Frost.]
[Warning, User now suffers a reduction in speed.]
Gears churn within the green-haired necromancer's head on the various possible actions until he settled onto one. Turning off Ddraig in favour of Frostwolf, Izuku turned in the air in a way where his feet covered armor would touch against the frozen flames. He leapt from frozen flames to the other, using the sharp talons on his armor of pure magic to slow his descent.
Clawed feet of pure magical energy cutting but not splitting the frozen fires as he slid down. Ascertaining the range between them is safe for his next action, Izuku dug deep into the frozen flames and twist using as much force as possible. He then used it like a springboard and jumped off, heading towards one of the elephant-like monster.
Pouring as much Mana of Darkness into his hand as Bladefist was used. Rearing back the knifehand and a roar accompanied him as he leapt toward the gargantuan beast. It quickly stopped as it attempted to try and punch him with its' massive, meaty appendage. Sounds of broken bones made itself known as Izuku's darkness encrusted fist connected against the monster's forehead. The blow sent the monster reeling back by a couple of steps whilst Izuku lands safely on the ground.
Through a mixture of fear and rage, the mighty tree-sized trunk was raised and a powerful gust of wind came forth. Immediately, the man leapt away as he had no intention of getting caught in the crossfire. Already he is suffering the frigid effects. His whole body had never felt so cold!
[Warning, User will now suffer a decrease of 3% of health every 10 seconds.]
Infuriated by his own weakness, Izuku used Frostwolf and Darkness Transfer together, increasing his mobility as much as possible to move away from the freezing breath. Jumping over a boulder, he quickly command several nearby Myrmidons to converge on the Koios he's facing.
'Come on,' he begged, looking for any thing to use as a weapon. Picking up a rock, he aimed and hurled but cursed at himself for missing. Enraged by the meagre human, it rushed forward but the ground beneath it caved in and he fell through. It's attempt to get out was halted by the Myrmidons, each one holding down onto its' foot.
Seizing the self-made opportunity, Izuku made a mad dash for said beast, unleashing Hellscream at close range.Forced to endure a hellish scream at close range, the monster stumble backwards and caused itself to crash into another Koios. As it attempted to get up, Izuku unleashed another Ddraig unto the beast.
The smell of charred flesh filled the man's sense of smell. From teh corner of his eyes, Izuku saw its' kin attempted to provide aid to their brethren but Bellion and a handful of Myrmidons' interfered. The ground underneath the beast gave way, the heavy monsters falling into the makeshift holes and six Myrmidons crawled out, biting and clawing at the monsters' legs. Bellion raised his blade still-extending and lashed out at the entrapped beast's eyes.
A pained trumpet was made by the injured beast. Focusing on the task at hand, Izuku's black flames lasted for what felt like minutes and only the occasional notifications filled the green-haired necromancer's mind.
[Bellion has levelled up 2x]
[User has levelled up 12x]
[2x Jagged Tusk]
[1x White Fur]
[Frost Breath Runestone 1x acquired]
Grinning at the massive experience dump, Izuku stopped Ddraig at the notification of the Koios' demise. Denki ask for support and the man shall receive them.
"Arise!"
A triumphant bellow made itself known, hinting to Izuku at the addition of another servant into his army. A massive shadow erupted out of the charred corpse. The newly reborn summon wasted no time, ramming itself straight into the exposed side of a clueless mammoth. For a moment, Izuku felt bad for the beast as it was essentially betrayed by its' comrade.
[What would you name your newest Summon?]
"Tusk!" Spoke the young necromancer, slightly irked by the sudden notification. In the heat of moment, he was reminded of this tedious aspect of the System. Although it was mitigated by the implication that this newest addition is by far the strongest he has. A quick glance at his Summon List further cements this as Tusk is an Elite Knight-Grade Summon.
Bellion by his side in an instant, Izuku grasped the winged warrior as he turned on Darkness Transfer and dumping as many of his dark energy as humanely possible. For the briefest of moment, Izuku swore he saw Bellions' eyes widen in slight bafflement only for it to disappear. Ignoring the pop-ups detailing how Darkness Transfer is levelling up, Izuku kept pouring it in.
[Bellion is now equal to an Elite Knight-Grade Summon]
[Bellion is now equal to a Seneschal-Grade Summon]
'Whelp, I at least know what comes after Knight.'
Satisfied, he ordered Bellion take out the Ice Elves to which he flew off. As he ran, Izuku felt a powerful wind blew past him and he saw the masked foreigner of their group. Bolts of arrows sprouted in his ice armor, breaking them off only for the man to fix it anew. Before he could say anything, the man leapt towards one of the bestial abomination and collided hard against it.
If he were to go by experience alone, their best chance of escape would involve defeating the Runaway Construct. Quickly he climbed on the back of the recently named Tusk and poured as much of his mana as possible into the beast and stopped when a pop-up appeared.
[Tusk is now equal to a Elite Knight-Grade Summon]
Satisfied, he turned off the skill and commanded the monster to attack the closest enemy. Sitting atop the giant elephantine creature, he got a view of the battlefield. In the air, Katsuki is weaving through the shots by the Ice Elves alongside the Avian Summon under his command with Katsuki blasting Koios left and right. The occasional flash of light from the treeline and a singular black tendril whipping through the trees were proof that Denki and Bellion were playing their part. The same could be spoken for Sub-Zero, a physical brute smashing through the trampling war beast left and right with gleeful abandon whilst ignoring what few projectiles hitting him.
The Myrmidons and Salamanders were doing their best but their best weren't good enough. At the current levels, they're locked in a stalemate and Izuku realized they need to end it fast. As Tusk trudged forward, Izuku turned Soul Observation on every monster he could find while simultaneously cast 'Arise' at the sight of a deceased monster. More and more Koios came back to life and attack their former comrades.
"Ensure none of them makes it out of here!" Izuku's command echoed across the battlefield. Every Summon under the green-haired necromancer roared in approval, their resolve strengthened. The humans on the other hand merely fought to the best of their abilities.
Everything after that felt like a blur to Izuku. The necromancer spent a majority of the battlefield issuing orders to his summon from atop of Tusk before eventually getting down and into the thick of things. Throughout the entire battle, he brought back as much of the slain as possible and boosted anyone's power. All of his summons had steadily grew in power as the battle rages on. Slain Koios and Ice Elves join his ranks, attacking their former comrade in arms without care; the opposite of their still-living comrades.
The battle raged on for what felt like hours but they pushed through. By the time it was over, all of the enemies were slain.
Satisfied, Izuku leapt down from Tusk back to gather with the others. The moment Katsuki saw Izuku, the greenette's rage reared its' ugly head but before the necromancer could do anything a hand reached out to halt the young hero.
"Whoa man! Save that for the enemy, necromancer." Cole snarked. Green eyes met the foreigner's blue eyes. For a moment, Izuku silently cursed himself for showing his powers out in the open but resigned to it. If he hadn't used it, they would've likely lose one of their own. Besides, people will learn about his powers sooner or later.
"Chill-san, I suggest you best watch yourself." Denkis' words got the man nodding. He then turned to the others.
"Considering there's no gate opened yet, it's safe to say none of the monsters we've killed is the boss." Denki stated, glancing at Izuku briefly.
"Does your map tell us where our target is?"
"Kinda? Honestly, it just shows me the area of the place. Like any noticeable landmark or anything of that sort." Explained Izuku, slightly taken aback by the blonde's sudden hostility. Denki nodded and motioned to the greenette to take it out. Complying, he unfurled it and read it.
"Well, there's a place to our southwest called...Dagur's Peaks and the other is called Frozen Plains which is 150 kilometers away from us east. We're currently in a place known as the Snows' Land. If we walk north for the next two hours, we'll find a den packed with Ice Bears."
"That's all I could gleam from it anyway." Izuku shrugged. Cole only watched him with silent intrigue. Katsuki and Denki shared a quick look. A silent conversation seems to pass between the two as Denki nodded.
"Right, we'll discuss more of this later. First we'll need to find shelter and considering it's now...night time. I say we just camp here. We'll take turn keep watch. Midoriya-san, have some of your Summons scout the area and find any stragglers who may have fled. I already dealt with the Ice Elves but some may have escaped during the skirmish. Chill-san and Katsuki, go and find some wood to keep us warm but bring down only two trees. We'll use the trees to our advantage. If you find any stragglers, do what you need to."
Izuku relayed the commands to the Myrmidons, ordering them to bring down one or two trees for firewood and a handful of others to stick to the leaving A-rankers. Katsuki left without any argument, glaring at the green-haired necromancer briefly before walking away while letting out some sparks in a huff. The singular bruiser trailed behind the A-ranker, eyeing Izuku briefly.
"What are you going to do with that?" Izuku asked, curious at why Denki is marching towards one of the deceased war beast, blades drawn out.
"Koios meat are surprisingly tender and can be cooked rather easily. Or so I've heard. Besides, the one who should carry our rations were left behind in the real world." Denki answered.
"Oh, that's not good." Izuku spoke.
"Yeah. Anyway, can you lend a helping hand here?" Denki asked.
"Sure." Izuku answered.
As he attempted to lend aid, Izuku felt a tug in his shadow. A couple of heads popped out, their light blue glowing eyes staring at the mountain for a flesh Denki was working on. Several of the Ice Elves he'd resurrected seems interested in the carcass.
"You wish to teach him how to skin it?" Izuku's question was answered with several enthusiastic nods. The shadows lengthened as they stepped headed towards the other carcasses, going to work with their corpses. One of them went over to Denki, making gestures towards the areas. The blonde swordsman looked surprised but a quick assuring look from Izuku has him calmed down.
As the summons went to work, Izuku went to take a seat on one of the monsters and opted to take a gander on the Inventory and any other important information he'd missed out on. Naturally the first issue that takes precedence was his stats.
(XxXxX)
[Name: Izuku Midoriya]
[Title: Quirkless Hero (Unremovable) Quirk: None]
[Class: Necromancer Level: 80 ]
HP: 7417.5 MP: 44625
[STR: 124+248=372 DEX: 50+9=59 CON: 69]
[INT: 100 MN: 100+70=170 LUK: 50+15=65]
[ 20 Points]
(XxXxX)
Disappointment crossed the young Awakened's heart at the little leveling up he'd done but quickly shake it off. In hindsight, it make sense considering how strong he had gotten, monsters like Koios are easy and couple that with how Cole and Katsuki pulled their own weight in the battle. Not to mention how each Summon is also levelling up and factoring how Katsuki is gaining strength.
Acting quickly, he summoned forth the Option Menu, headed towards the Party System and kicked him out. A pop-up appeared after that.
[Are you certain to kicking out Katsuki Bakugou from Party?]
[Yes/No]
It didn't took a second for Izuku to choose. Choosing 'yes' left the young greenette giddy at what he's doing. Standing up against the jerk felt great, imagining how Katsuki becoming frustrated appeared in his mind. He'd always got what he wanted as a child.
'No, now's not the time for that. Focus.' Izuku chided himself. Dispelling the Status Screen, he took a a gander at the Skill List to take a look at which one they had levelled up. From what he saw, Izuku was surprised to learn practically all of Skills have reached considerably higher levels than he last saw them.
"Bellion, come out now." Izuku's command received compliance, the winged warrior kneeling as he rises out of his master's shadow. Whilst his height and width remains the same, Bellion's wings have now become larger-fuller-even-as it closes against their owner's back. The blade strapped to his side seems to have become wider as well.
Growing curious, Izuku attempted to call forth the Summon List but had an idea. Barely a whisper, Izuku cast Soul Observation, he was pleasantly surprised to find the desired result.
[Bellion, Fallen Angel of Death]
[Rank: Elite Knight, Level 21]
Apparently during their battle against the Koios and Ice Elves, Bellion was able to contain the energy granted unto him through Darkness Transfer. Knowing he essentially has a small, private army made the young man puffed up his chest with pride. What he had was something no mages-not even the S-rank-are capable of.
"Right, need any help?" Izuku's questioned the lightning-user who in turn seems to be handling himself quite well. Under the guidance of the Ice Elves, Denki is currently stripping down the flesh and fur off his third Koios.
"Oh, yeah, mind having your Summons move some of the meat to one particular area? And have the furs cover the meat." Denki stated, expertly cutting the meat as he did so. Izuku nodded and went to work. As they work, Izuku couldn't help but feel awkward about the entire situation.
"You're not mad at me, are you?"
"What?" Denki asked, surprised by the question. "No, why you ask?"
"W-well, I saw you and Katsuki arguing before we enter this place and I thought it was about me jumping into your attack force uninvited." Izuku stated, feeling queasy as he recall the two going back and forth. A small part of him wanted to make a good impression because he has already caused problems for All Might's agency once.
"Oh, nah man. Just that this'll get more papers and forms to fill out. Or paperwork to do." Denki waved off.
"I...assume you don't like to do those?" Izuku asked, earning an approving nod.
"Yeah. just between you and me. Well, not really since Katsuki, Kirishima, Mineta and a couple others already know, I'm doing it to get chicks. Y'know like the old heroes in pre-Quirk comic books; Superman with Lois Lane, Batman and a tons of chicks, Green Arrow with Black Swallow." Denki answered. "B-but I already got one in a superstar."
"Aah, I see. Also, don't you mean Black Canary?" Corrected the green-haired Awakened, smiling awkwardly. His words caused the man to look at him in new light, admiration twinkling in the eyes.
"Y-you read comic books too?"
"Y-yes?" Replied Izuku, slightly unnerved by the mans' fascinated gaze. What followed shortly afterwards was the two engaging in a conversation about superheroes and their powers as they work on removing the meat. Izuku couldn't help but smile as they converse. As the two continue, Izuku couldn't help but wonder when Katsuki and the others would get back.
(Linebreak)
The sharp tip of the kite shield touched the tree's trunk, Katsuki wondering on the best angle to bring down the tree in one blow. Considering how none of them had an axe or a sharp blade barring Denki, this weapon serves as the only substitute. Since they didn't ask for the blade, they settled on using the shield. Satisfied, he reared back the shield in hand and struck the tree with every strength he has.
Under the weight of his strike, the metal edge cut clean through the wood. Splinters by the dozens flew about as the wooden flora life torn asunder. By the time he was through, the tree began to groan and slowly fell. He watched as the tree fell onto the ground, sending snows and dust and splinters flying about.
"Very nice, maybe we'll draw some unwanted attention. Like some Ice Bears or maybe more elves." snarked the foreign hero. "My shield please?"
Wordlessly, Katsuki free himself of the straps and handed the shield back to the owner who accepted it. Katsuki rolled his eyes at the man's antic before picking up the massive tree with one arm and tying them up with the others. When they had went out for firewood, Katsuki was surprised to hear Cole's instructions; specifically suggesting large trees. The ropes Cole offered were ones made from Ice Elves' hair he had killed in the past.
Strips of white vines-like plants serves as makeshift rope for the bundles of trees, belonging to Cole who had taken them out of his own pockets. At first Katsuki had assumed those were made out of Arachne's silk but was slightly unnerved to find out they were made out of Ice Elves' hair.
"Ice Elves hair works like Arachne Silk. Only difference is one of them can survive the cold winter and the other one can't." Was Cole's explanation for his choice of rope. Begrudgingly, Katsuki agreed to use them, tying the massive lumber together.
He had asked on the purpose of chopping down so many trees and was granted a rather in-depth detail on the battle tactics of Ice Elves. Having seen one of them in action, the explosion hero agreed to his actions. Katsuki promised himself to fill in Denki and Deku about Cole's counter plans for the Ice Elves.
The ones tied into a massive bundle were Cole's handiwork. Katsuki would gladly admit to the ice-themed hero that he dislike him but the blonde can respect competence when he sees them.
"So, how long have you known him?" Cole asked, ducking under the massive log as Katsuki turned around. The foreigner quickly went over to logs he'd chopped down earlier and hoisted them up over the shoulder.
"Who? Deku?" Katsuki asked.
"Yeah, that necromancer." Cole nodded.
"What about it? Heck why you care?" Snorted the blonde. Knowing Izuku was able to raise the dead was a surprise. Heck, the greenette's practically the only magic user who can pull what he pulled. Having this thought alone make the blonde hero tighten his hands in jealousy but he kicked it out as quickly as possible.
"It's just that... he felt cold." Cole stated, earning a befuddled and equally curious look from Katsuki.
"What?"
"I mean that dude feels odd. It's like...I don't know. He kinda reminds me of this one boss-grade monster I fought. Dude was like a Ice Elf, course the greenette isn't one of them." Cole stated.
"Really? What are you trying to say?" Katsuki asked.
"I-I'm just saying that he feels different. Like...I just don't want to be near him." Cole answered.
"Yeah well, me neither." Katsuki replied. He stopped in his track when he felt something near them. One of the perks of becoming an Awakened is the enhancement through magic. The enhancements are pretty simplistic; increased physical prowess and depending on some, the ability to wield magical abilities not too dissimilar to some Quirks such as pyrokinesis and other whatnots. However the potency of the enhancements depends on the quantity of magical energy an Awakened garnered.
Cole looked confused but quickly understood what was going based on Katsuki's hand gesture. Slowly pulling up his mace into a two-handed grip, the two shared a brief glance; understanding passed between the two Heroes. The mace user nodded, already hazarding a guess where their potential eavesdropper is.
Just as Katsuki made a mad dash for escape via propulsion, Cole rushed forward to strike the enemy with his mace. However, much to the duo's surprise, the fellow had rushed out and knelt in front of them. The sight took the man by surprise and Cole had to used a great deal of strength to hold back the mace's momentum, merely standing a hair's breadth away from the young individual's skull.
Silently Cole was glad he managed to stop because if he had gone any further, the stranger's head would be crushed.
"I need your help!" A feminine voice spoke out in the utmost urgency. Katsuki and Cole was shocked to find out it was a young Ice Elf who had spoken to them. Much less in the human tongue as well.
"What?" Cole asked, blinking in surprise at what the Magic Beast had spoken.
"Please, my tribe need your help to get rid of the giant." She spoke again for the second time. In fluent human language, Japanese to be more precise. Realizing who he's talking to, Cole quickly raised the mace once again, wanting to beat the monster to death. The action had the female Ice Elf frightened but she remained unmoved.
"What you just say?" Katsuki asked, pushing past Cole to reach for the female Ice Elf. A quick glare at the foreigner had the man backed down. Taking two steps back to get away from the explosion wielder.
Having a closer look, Katsuki couldn't help but admire how pretty the ice elf look. An unreal beauty like the other members of her kind; heart-shaped face and pupil-less eyes that glows with power. Her long white hair was tied into a ponytail, resting over her neck.
"Oh, perhaps you don't understand me. Okay, ¿Puedes, ayudas a mi clan?"
Katsuki glanced at the foreigner, hoping he knew what the woman meant. Unsurprisingly, the American Hero looked positively confused. A helpless shrug was made by the foreigner.
"I speak English, not...Spanish I think." Answered Cole. Katsuki sighed at the response.
"Lady, Japanese or English is fine. We don't understand what you're saying." Katsuki answered, shocked by how a Magic Beast was able to speak two human language so fluently. He had no idea what the latter was but it was most definitely a human language. Only he had no idea which one.
"Now, explain to me again. Who are you?"