Getting all the guards to return from the mountain took the majority of the night to do so with even more time in validating they were actually guards. Even with the Captain having a detailed roster as well individual reports for each guard, it took from the middle of the night to the early morning to get close to finishing. During this time, Princess Anna, Kristoff, and the two visiting royals stayed in his sight at all times.
He kept Ahimoth in his sight the most during the night. The Prince had fallen uncharactisically silent when he started sorting out the guards, turning his gaze in the direction of the fjord and looking far out. The Captain knew in that direction was his kingdom. Stonewell wondered from time to time what he could possibly be thinking about but focused on the task at hand instead. Princess Anna mercilessly hounded Lilian asking her about something while Bjorgman stayed close and also kept an eye on the Prince.
It wasn't until early in the morning a disturbance came up from the front gate to the village. Two horses pulling a sleigh ran through the town square before being halted by some guards. Captain Stonewell ordered everyone be cautious and step away from the sleigh while two of his guards checked the inside. When the two approached and checked the front seat they couldn't help but shout their discovery in shock.
"Queen Elsa?!"
Anna couldn't help breaking away from Lilian as well as charging through the wall of guards to see for herself if her sister was in the sleigh. Stonewell quickly rushed after her hoping he'd beat her there and stop her in case the Queen was not among the living anymore, but failed as Anna reached the sleigh.
Gently laid sideways on the front seat was her sister, her hair was flowing down her back with no trace of makeup on her face. Her ice dress was different, the long cape and thin material was gone and replaced with a more functional dress that allowed more movement. Anna for a moment feared the worst and gathered her sister in her arms hoping to hear her breathing. It was quiet but she could feel her sister's chest rise and fall as well as hear her quiet breaths against her ear. Sheer joy exploded in her heart as she started to shake her sister hoping she would wake up.
"Elsa? Come on wake up, you're home now…"
Despite her attempts, the platinum blonde remained unmoving, that set off alarm bells in the redhead's mind as she doubled her attempts.
"Elsa this isn't funny, wake up. We were so worried about you when Hans said they had you now please wake up!" As Anna began shaking her sister, the Captain put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. She looked at him with tears beginning to form in her eyes as he looked down with a soft calming expression.
"Princess, it's likely she's unconscious, so she should be ok but to be safe I believe we should bring her to the castle infirmary." Anna nodded and backed away as the man picked up her sister as a husband would his bride and turned to head toward the castle. When they arrived, Kai and Gerda were the first to greet them, their expressions of worry were easy to see on their faces but at seeing Elsa they couldn't hide their relief.
The Captain quickly carried the woman to the infirmary where doctor Steward instantly cleared a space for her. He quickly gestured everyone to get out while he examined her for injuries, Anna wanted to refuse but Kristoff put his hand on her shoulder and was able to tug her out of the room. Fifteen minutes later the door opened and the doctor walked up to the Captain to speak with him but Anna got to him first.
"Is she ok, she's not in danger or anything right?"
The older man turned to the Princess with a slight smile. "You can rest assured your highness, she's not in any danger. There are some bruises on her wrist probably from some type of shackles as well as one on her neck but for the most part she seems fine." The collective sighs of relief filled the room at the news but at the back of the group the Prince seemed to be considering something.
"Where on the neck did you say the bruise was?" Everyone turned to him with an eyebrow raised but nethertheless the man answered.
"Toward the middle of the neck just under the jawline."
"Around the carotid artery?"
The doctor narrowed his eyes at the young man, it wasn't common knowledge to know something like that.
"Yes, do you have some medical history?"
The Prince lightly chuckled before answering. "No, I just know quite a few ways to disable my opponent. Since you don't seem to worried I guess she's in no danger of no blood to the brain." The doctor nodded at his explanation but still held the man in suspicion, as did the Captain and Kristoff.
As they were all standing there, a guard ran down the hallway with a hurried expression. Upon reaching the group he quickly saluted his superior before speaking.
"Sir, we've just finished confirming every guard in Arendelle, there are no longer any imposters among our personnel. There is however, a situation at the checkpoint outside the village. The scouts from the main gate reported they saw the carriage carrying Queen Elsa pass the checkpoint she was accompanied by none of the guards manning the checkpoint. When we used a telescope to see where they were, we could see bodies littering the ground. Among the bodies were two men engaged in battle. We sent guards to secure them both but they were completely slaughtered, with your permission, we can mobilize more men."
Before the Captain could answer, Ahimoth began walking away which caught his attention. "Where do you think you're going?" The young man didn't halt in his stride as he replied over his shoulder.
"To the front gate."
Lilian couldn't help but sigh in exasperation as she bowed her head towards the older man. "Sir please forgive his lack of manners. Before anything else, he's a soldier, sitting around while others were fighting is not possible for him. I hoped with his new position he'd learn to leave things to others but he is stubborn in his old habits."
Stonewell looked down at the woman, from what he gathered, she was the voice of reason and grace when it was the two of them. He honestly didn't trust either of them, but she was more likely to earn his given how honest she seemed. When he was verifying guards, Princess Anna had given him a recap of what had happened in the castle, including that the Prince saved her and Lilian was an Elemental. When he learned that she also had magic, the familiar thought that she could be a danger entered his mind but she had saved Bjorgman and the Princess so he gave her the benefit of the doubt.
He turned back to the guard that reported to him. "Send four squads to secure the two men, I will join shortly after finishing here. Also…" He pulled the man in closer and spoke in a whisper so that Lilian wouldn't hear. "...have two guards tail the Prince and make sure they keep their distance." The guard nodded and took off to relay his instructions.
As he ran past, Kristoff couldn't help but look in the direction Ahimoth went. The way out of the castle was in the opposite direction of where he went, the direction he took led back to the guest wing. Something was off about the guy, the way Edward talked made him seem like someone nice to have around. It was just so odd all of this happened the night he got here and he had an Elemental with him the entire time made it far fetched to be coincidental. He wished he could talk to Edward and maybe get some more insight on the guy but he had to go off into the night to warn the Captain.
Wait a second…
Stonewell said he found out there were imposters by checking the guards' posts, not from Edward warning him. If he never warned the Captain then where did he go after they escaped Hans's ambush? The mountain sincerely hoped that his friend wasn't attacked by more bandits, even though he could take care of himself, anything could happen.
Maybe he's the one that orchestrated Elsa's kidnapping.
Kristoff violently shook that thought out of his head. Edward did more than enough to prove he wasn't working with the bandits, he got Hans to confess to his whole plan in front of him and gave him the chance to rescue the royal sisters. Despite the complications, both were now back safe and sound. Edward may have admitted to some bad things but he the person he was now wouldn't do something like this. The ice harvester believed in him and that was more than enough reason for him to clear the guy of suspicion.
The blonde turned to Anna and wrapped her in a large hug surprising her. "Stay with the Captain alright, I'll be back real soon." Before the redhead could say anything he kissed her forehead then ran down the hall after the Prince. Walter watched the display and couldn't help but smile at the mountain man. He was sure the late King and Queen expected their second daughter to be smitten with a well groomed Prince, instead they got a rough ice harvester. However he knew they both would love to know that their daughter was with someone who cared for safety enough to put himself on the line to protect her and her home by keeping an eye on the suspicious Prince.
When this is over, I need to take him out for a drink.
Kristoff made it to the guest wing just in time to see the Prince walk out his room. He was messing with some clawed silver gauntlets that completely encased his hands and forearms. His dress shoes from earlier were switched out with silver boots that went up to his knees. If the mountain man was honest, they looked quite horrifying to be struck by with the small spikes that extended from the knuckles as well as each of his toes having their own talon on his feet.
The large man casually wiggled his fingers and toes creating a small screeching sound as he turned to the awestruck ice harvester. Kristoff managed to close his mouth before clearing his throat to speak.
"I thought you said you were going to the front gate."
"I am, I just needed to pick these up."
"What are they?"
"A gift from Lilian's father."
It turns out Zavis was more of a fighter than Edward gave him credit.
Crossbow bolts rained down from the sky forcing him to kick off the ground to dodge them. A few of them reached him which forced him to swipe them away with the sword he picked up from one of the fallen guards' bodies. After Elsa was sent to Arendelle, Zavis created an explosive which he hurled at the young man. Luckily he was able to dodge but the explosion created a brief smokescreen that let his opponent disappear from sight and launch bolts at him from a distance.
At first all the young man could do was dodge as he scanned for the hunter's location, it wasn't until more guards came that the situation changed. Before he could warn them, another explosive bolt hit the ground between them and created another smoke screen. Edward could hear the sounds of blades meeting flesh as Zavis zoomed by and killed them. The young man managed to avoid his attacks due to having much faster reflexes. He was even able to grab a sword and perfectly time an attack that should've connected with his opponent.
Only for three swords that appeared from black dust materialize in mid air forming a shield that blocked his attack. That left him open for a counter attack from the hunter who rushed forward with a spear that barely scratched his side as he rolled away. Zavis quickly dissolved the swords and spear before pointing his crossbow and started launching another volley. Edward quickly back tracked avoiding the arrows and using the trees for cover hoping to conceal himself. Unfortunately he found that every time he sat still for three seconds, another barrage of bolts would assault the position he was just in.
The young man knew his body could keep with the assault but sooner or later he would tire. Even with his eyes red and his muscles expanded, he couldn't touch the hunter. He needed a plan and he needed it now.
He dodged another volley before throwing his sword in the direction it came from only for it to embed itself into a tree. Zavis appeared on a branch with his crossbow on his shoulder. "Things seem a bit difficult this time around isn't it, well that's what happens when you don't take your opponent by surprise. Still its impressive you haven't been injured yet and as fun as this is i'm running out of time. Perhaps that means I need to change up tactics."
That's when Zavis placed his crossbow on his back before jumping down the tree standing ten meters away from his opponent. Edward couldn't help but widen his eyes, why was he discarding his advantage of being out of his range? His question was answered when two swords appeared in the man's hands and he got into a battle stance with them. The young man eyed his opponent for any gaps in his defense and so far couldn't see any, walking over to another corpse he picked up his sword before getting in his own stance. He almost wished he had his katana, while they were both characterized as swords, his original weapon provided certain edges that complimented his style of fighting. For now Edward hoped his skill overall would give him an edge.
"Let's begin.."
Edward happily took the hunter's words and charged swinging his sword in an obvious overhead swing to see what his enemy had up his sleeve. The man put one of his swords up to block but when they clashed, he felt the strength behind the swing that forced him to put his other sword under his first one to stop the attack. Edward quickly dropped to a knee before lashing his foot out and kicking out the back of Zavis's knees forcing the hunter to his knees as well. The hunter's swords lowered in surprise at the attack and couldn't stop the blade coming for his throat. Just before contact, however, three swords materialized out of black dust and blocked the incoming attack.
Edward kept his eyes focused as he noticed that one of the swords in Zavis's hand had disappeared as the new ones appeared. Before he could theorize about the matter, the hunter put both hands on the sword in his hand and swung with a mighty cry. Since he was still on his knees with Edward's leg keeping them pinned his attack had little reach. The young man jumped back just out of the swords length and waited for it to pass by him so he could counterattack…
Only for the sword to suddenly change into a wooden handle that caught him in the side.
Pain exploded from the area but Edward managed to keep himself upright as he charged again preparing another attack. He watched his opponent pull the handle toward him to most likely defend from the impending attack. He heard the sound of flesh being cut before he felt it, a blade came from behind his back through his side and out the front. Edward disengaged his attack as he clutched his side before rolling away to avoid being open for another attack. When he got far enough away, he turned to his opponent to see him back on his feet with a large scythe in his hand.
Zavis turned to face him before lifting his weapon with one arm and slashed it in front of him. Edward was able to see the attack coming this time, black dust formed at the base of his hand before enveloping the scythe and turning it into a long chain that made up the distance between them. Still holding his side, the young man sidestepped the attack watching the blade at the end sink into the ground.
The hunter didn't seem very pleased his second attack missed but still had a smile on his face as he looked at the blood beginning to seep from his opponent's side. With a wound like that, he would be slower so his dodging would be less effective thus ending his tiring ability to avoid most attacks. Zavis changed the chain blade back into a sword as he generated some dust in his other hand preparing for an attack he had planned.
The pain in Edward's side was distracting and he longed for it to stop but did no such thing. Among his travels he had learned many things about his body and the monster inside of him. While it was true he could now heal wounds extraordinarily fast and strengthen his body beyond human limits there were drawbacks. Doing either took stamina from him, stamina he needed to move his body. Another drawback was that he couldn't maintain his strengthened state and heal at the same time. If he chose to heal his side now, then his senses would become dull as well as his movements becoming sluggish. That would only result in him obtaining more wounds, maybe even 'fetal' ones. By fatal he didn't mean the head or heart, he meant wounds he received if he ran out of stamina. If he were killed while he was in a state he could not maintain his regenerative or strengthening abilities then he would likely stay dead. Fortunately he hadn't died recently and was well rested, while the wound was serious to normal people, for him it was just painful. He needed to preserve as much stamina as possible.
If the same rules applied to him as they applied to his opponent, then he had an advantage. Zavis had been killed three times in the last day and he was abusing his abilities, sooner or later the fatigue would catch up with him. Edward then thought the way his opponent used his abilities, he had only conjured two weapons at once at all times except the one time he aimed for his neck. The sword in his hand got traded in for three to ensure that the attack didn't decapitate him. It was possible he was also trying to preserve stamina and he knew that coming back from death expended quite a bit of it.
That gave Edward an idea.
Releasing his side and ignoring the pain, the young man put more effort in strengthening his body and senses as he prepared for his opponent's next attack. Zavis charged with his sword and this time went with an obvious overextended thrust aimed at Edward's heart. The young man saw the attack coming and sidestepped putting himself in a prime position to counterattack. He could hear the sound of dust swirling behind him as he ducked to avoid the spear appearing where his head was a moment ago. If Zavis was surprise he hid it well as he grabbed his sword with both hands again and changed it into a large two handed cleaver. Hunter spun hoping to cut the man in two but was surprised to see the young man flip over the blade before swinging for his head again.
Zavis watched the sword approach his throat as he thought of his next move. The large cleaver in his hand took a large amount of stamina to make and maintain, at his current state he needed to dissolve a weapon to create a shield of some sort to protect his neck. The spear came to mind but the weapon was small and barely took up stamina like the cleaver did. So he decided to discard the blade in his hand as he materialized two swords to block the attack. The swords held in midair as concentrated on ensuring they were able to withstand the strength his opponent had. He began to materialize a third sword when he felt a blade being stabbed through his heart.
Widening his eyes he turned his head to see that the spear he created was in his opponent's off hand. For a moment his world went dark as he was sure all of his weapons disappeared as he hit the ground. Normally he would play dead to surprise his enemies but he knew that his opponent had saw his revival trick so he decided to accelerate his healing by putting more effort into it. His eyes snapped open the moment he hit the ground and he tried to roll away from another attack only for his left forearm to be stabbed with a sword and pinned in place.
Edward smiled when his plan worked, he knew it was unlikely he would land a blow from his own weapon with his opponent being able to create his own to block his attacks. That's when he decided he needed to catch him off guard with one of his own.
When he first sidestepped the thrust he knew some kind of defense would appear to counter his move. He expected swords to form a shield but his heightened sense of hearing detected dust forming behind him and he dodged accordingly. When he saw the spear he grinned as he waited for Zavis's counterattack. The large cleaver actually caught him off guard, with the way and direction he swung it, the spear would've been snapped in half. Kicking the spear up and flipping over the blade made his side burn with pain but he was rewarded when he attacked pretending to aim for his opponent's neck while he grabbed the spear with his off hand then hiding it behind his back so Zavis wouldn't see.
He strengthened his arm so one sword wouldn't be enough to block his attack and prepared the spear. If the hunter decided to dissolve the spear he was sure that a small calibre weapon would appear given the amount of black dust as well as strain he saw in the hunter's face as he made the cleaver. If he dissolved the cleaver, then he'd be able to form a shield as well as create another weapon in his hands. When the cleaver dissolved and he could see the hunter prepare to attack again he made his move and pierced his heart. The shock on his face was rewarding but not as rewarding as watching all of his weapons dissolve into dust. He did revive himself faster than last time but Edward had his sword ready to pin the man down, now he was at a disadvantage.
The gaping hole in his heart was still mending but when the young man looked beyond the red lightning he saw something glow. From what he could see was a small red stone that glowed but began to grow slightly dimmer with each spark. Edward didn't know what is was but he knew about it, he had one in his own body. It was like a core for him that supplied his unnatural abilities, the closest thing he had to a weakness. When he first broke down into despair and tried ending his life he attempted to remove the stone from his body hoping it'd kill him.
The attempt made the monster inside quite angry.
When he removed it, his body spasmed and writhed as it tore itself apart from the inside out. He remembered feeling every cell in his body disintegrating completely and a moment later he felt them painfully stitch themselves together. His body reformed where the stone was when he threw it away. The monster inside then tried very hard to come out, his soul burned nonstop and he screamed and screamed all throughout the night. It was morning when the monster stopped but it made it's point clear.
Touch the stone again, and the burning won't stop until I come out.
Edward refrained from attempting to kill himself after that incident, not from fear of the pain but of the fear of him giving into the monster.
If removing his core caused him so much pain a definitely qualified as a death, then the same should go for Zavis. The young man quickly shoved his hand into the hole and grasped the stone and pulled despite the weak struggles from his opponent. The sound of flesh tearing filled the air as he worked the stone out of the net of flesh attached to it, with a roar it came free. The hunter's struggle ceased as he could only look in shock at his stone in his enemy's hand. He had already died four times and using his abilities took a toll on him but losing his stone was downright agony. Zavis looked up at his opponent's eyes in rage but his widened when he saw the same blood red eyes he had. Now he understood why this guy gave him so much trouble, they were the same.
As his body began to dissolve he looked at the wound on the young man's side, he'd hoped it would slow him down but now that he knew they had the same abilities he now knew the young man kept the wound to keep using his abilities. No human could dodge his attacks the way the young man did nor could they be strong enough to swing a weapon so hard with one hand. However there was something off about him, the last time they saw each other he could throw a sword fast enough to pierce his target and close the distance between them almost instantly. Today though, he was slower and his throws weren't as fast, what was different from then and today? As he faded away the answer flashed into his head as he let out a grin that confused his opponent.
Edward raised an eyebrow at the expression before he heard snow crunching behind him. Expecting another enemy he raised his sword only to be surprised by Arendelle guards lining up with their rifles ready. "Put your hands where we can see them!"
The young man instantly put his hands up and tried to explain to them quickly what was happening but a voice behind them stopped him. "Hey! Lower your weapons he's on our side!" Kristoff emerged from the wall of guards, happy to see his friend after the night he had. Edward was equally happy to see the ice harvester and was about to run up to him when a second body got through the wall of guards. Ahimoth looked curious as he got past them and looked ahead to see the fighting only to freeze when he locked eyes on his old best friend.
For a moment neither of them moved as they stared at one another, trying to dispel the illusion that was in front of them. Ahimoth was the first to speak as he took a step forward.
"Rahim?"
Kristoff stood off from the side observing how they reacted seeing each other and was about to ask who was 'Rahim' when something began to glow in Edward's hand. The glow attracted everyone's attention as dust began to form around the glow. Thinking quickly Edward threw the stone in the middle of all of them and shouted to the guards.
"Get ready!"
Zavis's body completed regenerating as he stretched and turned to see that he was surrounded. Normally he would've been upset that more people came to interfere but when he found out why his opponent wasn't at his best. He turned to address Edward with a smile.
"I'm quite envious of you, you know. Being able to score not one, but three kills on me while I haven't gotten one on you is impressive. Greed will be furious with me if he finds out that I came back after he said to retreat but I couldn't help it. My nature required me to come find you and learn what makes you so special for such an insignificant human. You followed all the way to our hideout and took our hostage from right under our noses. After seeing you now I finally understand. Here I was thinking I would just kill you and be done with it but now I know it'll take more than my regular methods. I hope you enjoy this, I haven't shown this to many people but you're special.."
As he finished speaking Zavis began to roar toward the sky. Red lightning began to spark all over his body as his eyes and mouth began to completely glow red. His body began to get taller and leaner as his arms started to move in odd angles and the sound of bones snapping filled the air. After a moment both arms completely split apart down the middle causing blood to splatter on the snow before they healed with two seperate arms with claws on the end on both sides. His neck snapped back before extending a few inches above his shoulders. His feet tore apart the boots he wore as they too split into four feet that each had its own set of talons. Finally his bones in his face began to rearrange themselves, his face devolved into what seemed to be the end of his neck. His teeth all became filed into points as is canines grew to the point his mouth remained open. His skin turned from tan to sludge green as the light dimmed and the monster finished its transformation.
Everyone's eyes widened at the monster in front of them as the guards decided to open fire in fear. The sounds of rifles going off made it roar in anger as it faced their direction before holding out two of its arms. They waved in the air for a moment as black dust leaked from them before creating an arsenal of swords.
All the monster did was point and they all flew toward the soldiers, impaling all of them.
With the annoyances out of the way, the monster turned back to face Edward but was enraged to find he was gone. It whipped around to try and locate the other two men and saw they were gone as well. Roaring in anger the monster cracked its jaw a couple of times before shouting to the sky.
"Come on out you coward, you can't just leave after killing me so many times! I know why you aren't as strong as you were when we first met. That enraged expression you had when saw those men with that Elemental spelled it out. You may be like me but your strength is weaker than mine, you can't use the same strength you had last night can you?! I don't know who you are but I'll tell you who I am, I am the Demon Envy the Jealous. Remember that name well because it'll be the last one you'll ever hear!"
The demon known as Envy faced the treeline around him and extended all four of his arms. A large amount of black dust began to form in between his clawed hands before they all condensed into a towering cleaver that was easily taller than a two story building. The four hands grabbed the hilt and with a large wind up slashed through several trees in one swing. The trees hit the ground making everything shake as the demon looked over the damage searching for his opponent.
In the opposite treeline Edward, Ahimoth, and Kristoff were hiding by some trees looking at the demon search for them. Honestly they were freaked out something like that was looking for them. Edward and Ahimoth put aside the fact their old best friend was alive for the moment until they dealt with the enemy in front of them. Kristoff was trying his best not to panic as the demon kept cutting down trees looking for them. Two years ago he was regarded as the weirdest thing when he talked for Sven. A year later he was dating a Princess who had her memories erased by his family, had a sister who could control ice and snow, made friends with a walking talking snowman, then got thrown off a cliff by a large snowman. Now he was hiding from a demon who could create things out of thin air? Sometimes he missed his life being so simple but he pushed that aside as he turned to Edward.
"Last time I saw you, you were going to warn Captain Stonewell about Hans and it turns out he didn't know until he found out himself. Care to explain where you went?" Edward could see the pointed expression the mountain man had and couldn't really blame him.
"I was on my way to see him until a carriage ran by me and I saw Elsa's ice cape in it so I thought she might be in trouble so I followed it. Turns out I was right and I got her out and we rested before coming down the mountain where this guy was waiting for us."
"Oh I see. Well while you were rescuing Elsa did you happen to piss this guy off because he really seems to have it out for you."
Edward rolled his eyes at the sarcastic question as he watched Envy make a particular violent slash as the demon continued to search. "I might've stabbed him through his spine and blew him up with a grenade."
Kristoff shook his head and couldn't help but groan. "And it didn't occur to you that you shouldn't piss someone off who can survive all that?"
Ahimoth chose that time to interrupt them as he placed both his hands on their mouths and made them hit the snow. Envy suddenly faced their direction and made his way over to the treeline. The demon got a few meters away from them and prepared another swing of his cleaver. The three men held their breaths as a whooshing sound went over their heads making snow and trees fall all around them. They remained perfectly still hoping no trees would fall on them and Envy would think they weren't there.
The demon's eyes scanned the site before moving on and cutting down more trees, letting the three men let out the breath they all were holding. Kristoff waited until Envy was clearly out of earshot before turning to the two men next to him.
"Alright you two are the super soldiers, got any ideas on how we deal with this guy?"
Edward didn't know what to say, he knew what to do with Zavis but he had no idea with something like Envy. He didn't even know that something like that was possible, he certainly couldn't do that! Ahimoth on the other hand looked a little more thoughtful as he stared at Edward's red eyes for a moment before shifting them to the ice harvester.
"Ok listen, the first thing we need to do is pool our information. Rahim you pissed this guy off the most, what do you know about him?"
Edward's face took on a pained expression at the name, the two men could easily see it but chose to say nothing.
"Well he's not immortal and those weapons he created aren't infinite, they require essentially his life force, that black dust, to create them. He also can't maintain them and heal at the same time. Back when he looked like a person he could only create a finite amount of swords but now it seems his reserves have increased exponentially with that new form. However there must be a drawback, power always comes with a price."
Ahimoth absorbed the information and studied the demon for a moment before noticing something. Envy's body had small trickles of blood flowing down his body. He remembered when the guards fired a volley at the demon and it responded by killing them. If he could heal like Rahim said then why didn't he do so after killing them?
Unless he can't…
There was no way to prove Envy couldn't heal, Rahim had bleeding wound on his side right now and that demon said they were the same so why didn't he heal?
Power always comes with a price…
The Prince's eyes widened as he turned back to Rahim.
"Is the reason you're not healing because you're using whatever ability you have right now?"
"Yeah, I can just strengthen my body and senses but I don't have the amount of reserves he has."
"So right now in this moment, he can't heal as long as he looks like that and is carrying that large building of a weapon?"
"I guess, how does that help us now?"
Ahimoth turned back toward the enemy and took a deep breath before exhaling. Without warning he sprinted out of the treeline the moment Envy turned his back on them. He quickly made up the distance between them as the demon heard footsteps coming behind it. As it turned around it was met with a claw slashing through one of its eyes causing it to wail in pain. The Prince watched as the demon brought a hand to its eye while using the other three to swing the cleaver in where he thought the man would be.
The Prince was barely able to roll out the way as the force of the swing sent him flying across the clearing. The snow cushioned his landing as he slowly got back to his feet as he watched Envy wail in agony. Now if it was true Envy couldn't heal while he was like that then they had a chance. If they managed to kill him while he couldn't heal hopefully he'll stay dead, Ahimoth honestly doubted it but it was the only plan he had.
The demon focused it's remaining eye and dissolved the cleaver in his hand before creating another row of swords and pointed in the Prince's direction. The swords shot toward him with haste but with the distance they were at, Ahimoth was able to roll out the way as they impaled the ground he was just at. Envy found that unamusing as it raised a hand and made the swords levivate once again then it slashed its hand at the annoyance forcing him to block with his gauntlets.
While this happened Kristoff and Edward were still hiding in the treeline with mouths wide open. The mountain man was able to speak first as he turned to the man next to him. "Your friend really knows how to stick his foot in it doesn't he?"
Edward couldn't help but agree as he watched the Prince block and weave around the swords. "That's Ahimoth for you, charge first ask questions later. But he's not an idiot, look. Envy's eye isn't healing. I think he wanted to test if Envy really couldn't heal, and I don't think it can. That means that we might actually have a chance. I'm going to try and sneak around and attack him from behind, you stay here."
Before the young man could go a beefy hand locked on his shoulder. He turned back around to face the determined looking stare of the mountain man. "Don't think you're doing this on your own, I'm helping."
Edward sighed, he appreciated the gesture but he didn't want to endanger the man. He wasn't a lieutenant of a special military force or a guy who could survive having his head chopped off and had the strength to choke out a bear. "Kristoff, thanks for the offer but look at that thing, you have no chance against it. Ahimoth is barely holding his own out there and I got a blade sliced through my stomach. It's better if you stayed here."
The mountain man shook his head as he stood up. "You're right, I don't stand a chance against that thing, neither do you or your friend out there. But we have a chance though, if that thing really can't heal then I'm betting if we can get its head off, it'll stop moving. Maybe it won't kill it but it'll give us time to come up with something else if it's busy trying to put its head on its shoulders."
Edward was about to argue but a scream grabbed his attention as Ahimoth got stabbed in the shoulder and lost his footing. The swords positioned themselves above his prone form ready to rain down and skewer him. The young man couldn't sneak behind Envy and get to his friend in time. He groaned out loud before thrusting the sword handle into the ice harvester's hands.
"Wait until I give you the signal to strike."
Before he could get confirmation he put even more effort into his body as more veins protruding from his arms and legs as black dust began to form around them. The blood loss from the wound in his side made him a little dizzy but he shook it off as he dashed toward his fallen friend and grabbed his leg as he zoomed by pulling him out of danger.
Envy's eye tracked Edward as it roared before bringing up its four arms and began generating more black dust as it readied its next attack. Ahimoth got to his feet next to him and got into a ready stance next to the young man.
"I was under the impression that you were going to try a surprise attack from behind when we learned he couldn't heal. Not that I'm ungrateful you saved my ass but it was more strategic to launch an attack from behind while I distracted him, you're slipping Rahim."
The young man picked up one of the nearby guard's sword before getting in his own stance before answering. "Rahim is dead Ahimoth, besides who said that sneak attack isn't on it's way?" The Prince scoffed as he scanned the treeline looking for the mountain man.
"You really think that greenhorn is actually going to get a good hit on this guy?" Edward didn't appreciate the tone his friend made but chose to say nothing as Envy threw its hands forward and numerous chain blades fired out of the black dust. Edward rushed ahead dashing and weaving through the blades as Ahimoth stayed behind and blocked them. As he got closer he started slashing the chains causing them to go slack and giving the Prince time to advance as well.
Edward could feel the waves of anger coming off Envy, it helped direct his actions as the demon started directing its chains toward him. He started to slice and dice all that came his way until he was close enough that he jumped and closed the distance between him and tried to slice off it's neck. Two greatswords blocked his strike as two more appeared in the demon's hands and he watched as they both swung his way. Pushing off the greatswords that in front of him he managed to dodge the attack as he sailed through the air for a moment.
Envy materialized a couple of spears and pointed two of its hands at him and he watched them fly toward him. He prepared himself to block them but as they flew closer, they each jerked in a random direction. Edward looked at Envy to see Ahimoth right under its nose with a hard punch to the demon's abdomen. The Prince wasted no time before jumping up and delivering a particularly hard uppercut that knocked his opponent off balance. The demon took a step back and remained standing using the extra balance its four feet provided as it looked down before swinging all four greatswords down at once.
Ahimoth quickly backtracked to avoid the attack that made snow explode in front of him. Knowing it lowered visibility for the both of them, the Prince tried to get more distance between them but two more greatswords came out of the snow cloud from both sides aiming to catch in between them both. Luckily, Rahim appeared in front of him and slammed his sword down where the two greatswords briefly overlapped causing them to dig in the ground. Not missing an opportunity, Ahimoth jumped onto a greatsword as they were pulled back by the demon who replaced them with two overhead swings aimed at his friend. The Prince didn't look back as he jumped from the greatsword as soon as he cleared the snow cloud and aimed a heavy left hook to Envy's jaw.
The punch actually made the demon fall off balance into the snow where Edward jumped right above it and aimed a heavy downward slash at its throat. Envy quickly shook off its dizziness to see the enemy approaching from above and tried creating swords to pierce him as he fell but his opponent leaned out of the way of a few and didn't seem to care if one or two ended cutting into him as he got closer. Knowing there was no stopping him, Envy made a large spiked shield appear in each hand and attempted to cover his body.
Seeing the blockade in front of him, Edward changed tactics. He threw his sword into a gap in between the shields that rewarded him with a gush of blood. He then managed to plant his feet and land safely on a spike before jumping off the shield. As Edward reached the ground he saw that the sword had pierced Envy's chest. The wave of wrath warned him of an incoming attack as he jumped back to avoid a rain of spears aimed at his previous position.
When he landed, he felt his legs go weak for a moment as he dropped to a knee and supported himself with a hand. He took a quick peek below him to see a couple more cuts on his body that had a steady flow of blood that leaked into the snow. The flash of weakness must've been from blood loss, he knew that he needed to heal sooner or later but he couldn't risk making himself an easy target for his opponent so for now he would keep his muscles strengthened. Fortunately the waves of wrath coming from the demon warned him of most attacks.
He could see Envy's muscles tense as it pulled the sword out of it's chest before hurling it at him making him lean out of the way as it sailed past. As long as the demon maintained that pissed off state he could read its moves like a book and counter accordingly. The downside being that with the state his body was in, healing would take away his senses and he wouldn't be able to foresee attacks.
He needed this to end quickly before his body gave out.
Edward could also feel waves of anger coming from Ahimoth, as well as the small amount coming from the treeline directly behind Envy. Kristoff had snuck around and was lying in wait for the signal. Edward slowly stepped to the side until he could he was directly in front of Kristoff's line of sight while facing Envy. He raised his hand and with his thumb slowly dragged it across his throat then pointed at the demon. Envy roared in anger at the taunt but Edward hoped the mountain would understand the message.
The demon raised its hands before summoning more chain blades and launching them at Edward. The young man dodged and weaved the myriad of attacks but a few blades managed to clip him a couple times proving his body was beginning to slow down. One particular chain flew toward his head and before Edward could move out the way, his leg gave out causing him to fall on his knee and watch as the blade sailed toward his head. He braced himself for it to split his skull but it stopped a couple inches from his face before being pulled back.
Ahimoth had enough of staying on the side lines as he charged the demon. He watched Rahim avoid the chain blades but when the young man's leg gave out he saw that one chain blade was making a beeline for him instead of twisting and seeking its target. He managed to grab that particular chain and pulled as hard as he could, halting it from embedding itself in his friend's head. Envy noticed the Prince and diverted a couple chain blades in his direction but he rolled out of the way of them before charging for its body with his arm cocked back.
The demon backpedaled as it tried to stay out of the Prince's reach. Last time it got hit by one of his punches, it lost control of its weapons. He didn't know how such an annoyance could have such a heavy punch but it didn't care. As long as it stayed out of his reach, then it was fine. As Envy kept moving backwards it didn't notice that the chain blades it summoned were heading toward it. When they wrapped around its left shoulder did it notice, looking at the end of the chain was Edward who gave a hard pull. Knowing it couldn't beat the young man in a bout of pure strength, the demon tried to dissolve the chain before he was pulled too far but a bone crushing punch impacted its chest.
The blow pushed away Envy as it let out a spurt of blood out of its mouth as it looked at the Prince. The demon looked at the man and couldn't imagine why he hit so hard. He could tell he wasn't like the other one but there was just something about his punches. Envy then turned its eye toward its gauntlets and they widened in surprise. The silver gauntlets were beginning to glow a flaming red. The demon didn't know why but it didn't want to find out as it rolled back to its feet and faced the two men who stood side to side.
Ahimoth walked forward and crossed his arms.
"I think that's enough…"
The Prince then pulled his arms apart scraping the gauntlets together and causing them both to ignite and catch fire. Edward wasn't surprised when he saw this, he was there when Ahimoth got those gauntlets and boots from Lilian's father. They were infused with his magic that allowed the Prince to strike with the force of a flaming bull when ignited. His boots had the same ability but for both of them to ignite it required they create friction in itself while striking an enemy. Edward wondered how long it would take for them to ignite but he was glad the time finally came.
His eyes flickered back to their regular blue color for a moment and he could feel his body beginning to go limp. Edward was fighting hard not to collapse but he was nearing his limit, they needed to finish this now.
The young man bumped Ahimoth who turned his way and watched him gesture toward the treeline. The Prince shook his head but was met with an adamant stare that made his sigh as he agreed to the plan.
The two took a running start as Envy conjured four longswords and prepared for them to come in range. Edward attacked first with a flying kick that pushed the demon back when he blocked with one of his arms before attacking with the other three. The young man quickly flipped out of the way as Ahimoth charged with a flaming punch but had to stop his attack to dodge the spears that rained down on him. Attempting to use the slight distraction to it's advantage, Envy charged the Prince and swung its four arms in succession hoping to land a blow.
Ahimoth had to bob, weave, and defend against the attacks as he tried delivering his own only to have them deflected. The Prince winced as one of the blades sliced through his leg but was relieved when Rahim came down from the sky with an axe kick that disarmed one of the longswords before he threw a kick that pushed Envy back. With the extra breathing room, Ahimoth was able to unleash a vicious uppercut that stunned the demon. Taking the quick chance they got Rahim rolled to a longsword before picking it up with both hands and turning back to the demon who shook off its daze.
Upon seeing it's longsword in the hands of its enemy, its first instinct was to dissolve it but the flaming first coming its way blocked him from view. Envy created a wall of swords to protect his neck and heart but let out a roar when it felt two of legs being cut off. Dropping to the ground in a heap, Envy looked a bit further away to see Edward with its longsword in his hand dripping with its blood. The man tried to turn and face the demon but his legs gave out as he sank to his knees and tried using the longsword as support. It seems that he finally ran out of strength. Before Envy could take advantage of the situation, it felt a crushing yet searing pain in its other leg. Falling to the ground, the demon turned just in time to see Ahimoth's fist sending it careening toward the treeline.
Edward's bled blue again as he gripped his side and felt the world begin to darken. With the last of his strength he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Now Kristoff!"
Envy's eye widened as the sound of bushes rustling behind it made it turn around only to come face to face with the third man he saw earlier. Before it could even think of creating a weapon to defend itself, the ice harvester swung the sword in his hand with all his might and the demon felt the world turns upside down as its head flew off its shoulders. Envy's body immediately froze as all the weapons turned to black dust and it fell to the ground. Black dust began to form around the body as started to shrink and return to a human form once again. Kristoff watched very dim red lightning slowly crackles on at the neck as the head that rolled away disintegrated. Soon Zavis's head appeared on his shoulders but when he tried to get up he found his body wouldn't move. His eyes had turned brown as he looked up at the Prince who stood over him. The hunter managed to say one more thing before he passed out.
"I'm envious of those gauntlets."
Edward wasn't far behind as he felt himself fall forward as his world turned black as soon as he hit the snow.
Hey guys knew chapter, hope you all enjoyed the battle. It's hard writing a fight scene for basically the entire chapter. Please stay tuned and review.