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Chapter L6 - An End To Extremes
🕑 Added 2018-11-15 20:23:42 +0000 UTC"What do we do?" Xaggavea asks. The ground is shaking as the water that seeped into the porous volcanic rock turns into ice, spreading further underground.
"Get back from here!" Lenoly jumps sideways just in time to avoid getting swallowed by a rift opening under her feet. Then Szaga swoops in and takes her into the safety of the air.
"To the communal halls!" Hakon leaves his heavy stone slab of a tower shield behind to run away faster while waving at the fire giants who are rooted in place due to fear and looking around in confusion.
"We have to get back to the workshop!" Nezera screeches in fear and flies ahead of everybody else. She's worried that the damage from the spreading quakes could reach Aslaug's workshop and cause the vat to be damaged - or the whole place to come down.
The decision where to fight has been made for them now, as the ground crumbles away and the ceiling rips open. Rock and snow from the surface begin to slide in as if to fill the deep cracks in the ground, while fire giants and demon maids alike run from the cave-in as quickly as they can.
Many of the former don't make it.
If they hide in the workshop and leave the other fire giants to their fates, there will be no guarantee that Zylos won't find them once everything outside it is over. At that time, they would be trapped and be hopelessly outmatched. However, even if they fought, they know that they could never hope to stand up to a god.
Lenoly looks back to see that where Flan remained moments ago without moving has disappeared under the avalanche. There's no doubt in her mind that the blonde demon has escaped from there without a problem. Even though she supposedly came along to help them, she hasn't done a single thing outside of warning them too late each time.
"We have to hold out for as long as we can. Anthera, you stay with Chaos." Lenoly says while being carried in midair. Now would be the worst time to reveal that the one they're risking their lives to protect actually isn't the person they think she is. "If..."
"I know." The moth maid says and lowers her head. Even though her attitude is relaxed and air-headed most of the time, she isn't stupid; she can read the situation and was clearly paying attention to the flow of the earlier conversation.
"Szaga, be ready to collapse the entire tunnel when they're about to break through." Without dwelling on Anthera's response, Lenoly moves on to give each of the demon maids a role in the upcoming defensive battle. Their fighting strength is pretty low compared to that of giants, and their magic won't be of any use against the god of frost if he decides to march in personally.
Lenoly grinds her teeth. If her body wasn't so fragile that a single hit from a frost giant could kill her, her magic could have been the most useful here. Unfortunately, the bakari are specialized at cloaking their bodies in flames and casting powerful spells at the range of a spear thrust. Even studying at the academy hasn't helped improve her range much.
Xaggavea, who was most adamant about taking Asoko out of the vat and run away although the thawing process isn't finished, is one of the weakest maids in terms of magic. But under these circumstances, even she has decided to come along to the front, in hopes to delay the enemies just a moment longer.
Nezera may possess strong dark magic, but similar to Lenoly, it's only useful at close range. Being able to fly will ensure that she can survive longer than the bakari girl though.
Ultimately, Szaga is the only one who's a proper combat maid in their group. They formed this team to sneak through enemy lines undetected and to break out of sticky situations by force when there's no other way, not to fight a war like this.
Everybody's hopes lie in Asoko's awakening now.
They fly through the tunnels as dust and small rocks rain down on them from the cracks opening in the ceiling. If this goes on any more, the whole mountainside could cave in and bury the entire village of the fire giants. Then the enemy wouldn't have to come in and risk losing their lives in battle. They do have a sense of honor, seeking to finish off their enemies by their own hands instead of leaving it to a force of nature - in this case, their patron god.
However, suddenly everything goes silent, and the tremors stop. Either all the water has been turned into ice by now, or Zylos has decided that this was enough damage for the time being.
"The enemy has broken the side of the volcano!" Hakon's roar echoes through the entire cave system. "Come and defend your homes, save your loved ones!"
The champion of the fire giant's voice is calling everybody back to action, and some are coming out of hiding all along the tunnels where Lenoly and the maids are moving towards the place they decided to make their last stand in. Many of them understand that if they don't fight now, they'll be picked off one by one in their own homes, along with their families.
"They are coming!" Then, the champion's voice announces that the frost giants are storming in now.
More and more fire giants come out of hiding, and Lenoly even spots women among them. The enemy won't make a difference between men, women, and children when they get through, so they know that it's better to die fighting than getting slaughtered helplessly in their homes.
"I pray they hold out long enough." Xaggavea, who has been running on the wall rather than the ground, says more to herself than the others, but her voice carries far enough for Lenoly to hear. It's a grim prayer, as she believes they won't survive and are only good to buy time now.
When they reach the doorway to the workshop, they find that Aslaug is peeking out from it with a worried expression.
"They're coming, huh?" She asks when she sees the group of maids coming her way.
"How is Chaos?" Instead of answering the fire giant's question, Lenoly poses one of her own.
"Still in there." Pointing behind herself, the inventor replies. "It's looking pretty bad out there, isn't it?"
"Yes." That's all the little bakari says in response, as she begins to direct the maids.
The damage from the ice hasn't reached this far, so they quickly set up a defensive line. Szaga creates spikes on the ground which should serve to slow the enemies down, while Nezera hides among the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, hoping to slash passing frost giants from above.
Because of the scattered defenders, the enemies flooding in aren't met by an organized force. The sounds of battles are breaking out throughout the village, echoing through the tunnels and reaching them. It's clear that it's only a matter of time until they're overwhelmed, and even before then, some could circumvent the defensive line and approach them.
"There's a group of three coming towards us." Xaggavea has laid out her web all across the pathways leading up to their position. She didn't have much time, so she couldn't do a job as thorough as she would have liked, but it's still enough to spot giants who don't care about being stealthy.
Szaga creates a pillar ready to be launched the moment an opponent shows himself. Lenoly prepares her magic just in case one manages to make it through the ballista-like shots that the gargoyle maid can launch. They can't allow even one of them to pass this point.
This is their final line of defense.
The frost giants are flooding in through the caved-in ceiling and pushing their ways deeper into the tunnels. With the only other exit sealed, the fire giants are fighting a battle for sheer survival now. Their numbers have diminished greatly now, and they have no proper defensive positions; all they can show is desperation in trying to protect the lives of their families, sometimes cowering in fear only a few steps behind them.
However, Hakon isn't the champion for nothing. His spear of heated rock pierces one enemy after another, as he defends the entrance to the communal hall, where the elders and children alike have retreated to. He leads the only semblance of a defensive line, as he and the other warriors hack and stab at the frost giants coming their way.
Due to their size and physical properties, neither kind of giant creates weapons that use mechanical parts. Let alone ballistae or crossbows, they don't even wield bows, as no material for either the elastic limbs or the string could withstand their strength. Throwing spears and slinging molten stones is all they can do.
Therefore, the fire giants can hold out as long as they are. Since the demons aren't nearby, they can cause their bodies to erupt in fiery explosions which keep the enemies at bay.
But even that ability is limited, as it uses up the heat stored inside them, which needs to be replenished over time or by bathing in the caldera of their volcano. Neither is an option now, and the freezing aura of the frost giants only compounds on their cooling. Eventually, their limbs will harden and become porous like volcanic rock.
Now isn't the time to worry about such things; if he holds back now and gets overrun anyway, the defenseless people behind him will die as well. The defenders by his side know that and fight with stalwart vigor, albeit born out of desperation rather than in hope for survival. After all, no reinforcements will come, and the flood of the enemies is still unabated.
"You will not pass here!" Stabbing through one frost giant and hitting the one behind him with a single thrust, Hakon roars. Upon hearing his conviction, some enemies look fearful and hesitate in their advance. Taking this opportunity to attempt scaring them back, the champion of the fire giants moves toward them with a fresh heated spear pointed at their faces.
"I will be your enemy!" Suddenly, a frost giant more than a head taller than his peers approaches from the far back, pushing his way forward. A cheer runs through them, signaling that he must be their very own champion.
Leveling his spear, Hakon waits for him to reach the front, where the latter shows the giant club made from ice that he's dragging along the ground behind him.
"My name is Isvardr, the wielder of Everfrost." He announces himself in a roaring voice. His figure is impressive, as he easily towers over Hakon and his head seems to scrape the ceiling.
"I am Hakon, Champion of Fire!" Letting the fire that covers his head like hair burn brighter, Hakon walks forward to meet the challenge. The warriors on both sides step back to form a circle around the two contenders, who begin to face each other silently.
Isvardr makes the first move by swinging the massive club called Everfrost with one hand. Hakon steps back to avoid it, and the weapon crashes into the wall next to him, leaving a crater in it. There's no sign of the club having sustained any damage from it though. It must be a weapon that Rimfryst himself created with his indestructible ice.
Taking the opening the wide swing left behind, the fire giant champion lunges forward with his heated spear, but Isvardr dodges it unexpectedly nimbly. He pulls Everfrost back and performs an upward swing to create some space between himself and his opponent.
With that first exchange, both stand at the same distance to each other as before, but now they both have a wall behind their backs. The fire giants remain silent, watching the duel with bated breath, while the frost giants cheer for their champion. If the former died here, the defenders would lose their most powerful warrior, while the latter would still have incredible numbers on their side.
Once again, Isvardr goes for a horizontal sweep, but Hakon judges the distance just right to step aside a little; the massive ice club hits the wall and stops short of touching him. This time, he doesn't go for a thrust at the frost giant's body but slashes at his hand, which is still gripping the handle of the weapon tightly.
Ice evaporates as the heated spear tip burns all of Isvardr's fingers away. Everfrost falls to the ground as its wielder holds his hand in pain. Without wasting any time to think about his imminent victory, Hakon lunges forward and stabs his spear into his opponent's stomach. It pierces through the frost giant's body and exits on his back, but the weapon has cooled down completely now.
However, Isvardr suddenly jumps forward and pushes Hakon down to the floor, causing all the rock spears stuck in the latter's back to run him through, before piercing the former as well. The surface of his body evaporates quickly as he comes into contact with the fire giant, and his whole upper body soon disappears completely.
The frost giants have gone silent, as they watch Hakon slowly push himself up from the ground with half a dozen spears emerging from his chest. Fire giants usually store them in their backs to heat the tips, as they possess no organs that could be damaged by it. But the inferior minerals from the rock spears melting into his body now will cause him to slow down.
"Who's next?!" The champion pulls one of them out and levels it at the rows of enemies, who stare at him without making a sound.
Then, suddenly a small figure with bluish-white skin and dark blue hair emerges from between the frost giants and walks forward. It looks like a human in both appearance and stature, but all fire giants know who this is at a single glance.
"Rimfryst!" Hakon lunges forward and stabs his molten spear tip at the god of frost.
But the god lifts his hand and casually stops it with his palm. Then he looks up as if only now noticing that the fire giant was there. His eyes are as cold as the deepest winter night, and he emotionlessly regards the champion.
"Wha-" Before Hakon can finish expressing his shock his whole body solidifies into a frozen statue in an instant.
"Four more are coming." Xaggavea announces, and Lenoly looks at her in despair.
A dozen frost giants have already come their way, and they have only been holding the position because Aslaug eventually decided to help them by using a prototype ballista she created. By now, the wrought steel wire used as the bowstring has snapped, so they won't be able to rely on it anymore.
Nezera is lying unconscious after the wind pressure from a wild swing from a frost giant blew her against the wall. Szaga was hit by unfortunately angled ice shrapnel when an enemy's upper body shattered from a fortunately angled impact of a rock pillar. She's bleeding profusely and seems about to collapse, and even first aid bandages are unable to staunch the flow.
Lenoly was able to fend off two that had broken through to get within her range one after the other, but with the state the others are in, the enemies will be able to advance unhindered and in larger numbers now. Xaggavea isn't of much help in a direct confrontation, as she requires preparation time - and even then, her strings have little use against giants with immense physical strength.
Aslaug prepares her sling. She has very bad aim and is generally weak compared to the other fire giants because of her smaller size and more human-like shape. The only thing she can contribute with now that her weapon broke is to try and intimidate the enemies with the threat of being hit by molten rocks.
The first frost giant comes around the corner, and Szaga slaps her hand on the ground, causing a pillar to emerge before her. But she staggers to her feet only to fall back down again; she doesn't have the strength to stand up and launch it anymore. Two more appear around the corner, and then the fourth, making up the numbers that the spider girl announced.
"More are coming! I count..." She begins, but her face goes pale when she senses more and more converging on their position from all directions. "The fire giants must have been overwhelmed..."
That means this place really is the last line of defense. The gargoyle girl tries to get up one more time, to fight to her last breath, but her legs give out completely this time, and she falls onto her bottoms, unable to even move anymore. Nezera still hasn't awoken, so it might be more than just a concussion - which means that she's out of commission as well. At this rate, they'll be overrun immediately.
Suddenly, molten rock drips down from the ceiling and stops the frost giants' advance on their position about halfway down the tunnel. Within the rain of red-hot lava, a human figure emerges and lands on the ground effortlessly despite a drop of nearly fifteen meters.
Lenoly immediately recognizes who it is, remembering when Rewera fought her in the castle, and how she nearly died as collateral damage. However, now she finds herself unexpectedly hopeful at the person's appearance in this darkest hour.
It's Kanundra, Bearer of the Flame, the patron god of the fire giants.
With a single wave of her flaming hand, half a dozen frost giants standing before her evaporate on the spot, and the ones following behind them stop their advance immediately.
"What have you done..." Her voice has a low and rumbling sound like a volcano about to erupt, as the flames that make up her hair begin to glow hotter and hotter, visualizing her anger.
"Lady Kanundra!" Aslaug calls out to her but receives no answer. Instead, the goddess of fire walks forward as the heat exuded by her living lava body reaches even Lenoly and washes over her like a physical wave.
But the temperature suddenly drops again, when from between the retreating frost giants another figure emerges. Standing slightly taller than Kanundra, his bluish white skin and dark blue hair are telltale signs that he's something other than human. The fact that his presence alone could counteract the effects of the fire god's flame is enough evidence for his identity.
"Zylos!" With a roar of flames, Kanundra calls out his name. He's the god of ice, Winter's Frost, and patron god of the frost giants.
This is no longer a place where Lenoly and the demon maids can contribute. A clash between two gods could destroy the whole volcano, if not the entire mountain range. If they got caught up in it, nobody would survive.
"We need to get out of here." The little bakari turns to Xaggavea and Szaga with a fearful expression.
"Why are you here?! We agreed never to interfere in their battles!" The god of fire seems to be level-headed enough to hold a conversation still, even though she seems about ready to explode.
"Because of that." Zylos' voice is ice-cold, and he shows no emotions when he lifts a hand to point it at Aslaug. She takes a step back in surprise, being suddenly focused down by the enemy's patron god's intense gaze. "How long have you been hiding it?"
"That has nothing to do with you!" Kanundra stomps her foot and shouts.
"You broke our agreement first. I have come to rectify it." Stepping forward fearlessly, the ice god seems unaffected by the staggering heat his opposite is putting out. "You can start over."
"No, I won't let you do that!" The god of fire runs forward while her body grows hotter. With a swing of her hand, a wave of pure heat assaults Zylos, but only his hair is blown backward by it. He shows no hint of being affected, while the frost giants behind him evaporate in an instant without having time to scream.
"You cannot defeat me, sister." Saying in an emotionless tone, he steps right up to her. At this range, her heat must be able to evaporate even rocks, but he doesn't look the least fazed by it.
"Zylooos!" She screams and throws a punch, but he catches her glowing hot fist with his palm.
Then Kanundra's flame disappears, and her skin tone returns to that of a tan human's with reddish-brown hair. Like a light turned off, heat from her body that should have lingered in the air immediately disappears to give way to the absolute cold that Zylos exudes. Even though she's naked, she isn't immediately turned into a frozen statue like Asoko had been, meaning he's holding back against his sister.
He walks past her and slowly approaches Aslaug, who steps back into her workshop fearfully. However, before he can get there, he will have to pass Lenoly and the others, who were watching the clash of gods in awe and terror.
"Demons, here?" His voice and expression don't change, but he seems to be surprised to see them living with the fire giants so far from the Dominion. "It matters not. Nobody will leave here alive today."
"Stop!" Kanundra runs past Zylos and stands in his way with her arms spread as if trying to physically halt his advance now that her powers seem to have vanished.
"Why would you risk your life for that?" He asks as if genuinely wondering. His eyes glance at Aslaug before returning to stare down his sister, who may be powerless and naked, but possesses the determination of a person who has something important to protect.
"Because she's my ch-" Before Kanundra can finish answering, a huge mass of black tentacles appears out of nowhere and buries her underneath their countless numbers.
For the first time, Zylos' expression changes; he's frozen in place with his eyes wide open in bafflement.
The swirling mass of appendages draws back and consolidates into a humanoid form, which crawls across the ground seemingly in agony. The individual tentacles twist and twitch, as it loses its form repeatedly, and the hands hold its temples as if it suffers from a headache.
Then the being appears to calm down, as it slowly gets up on its feet and the tentacles draw back together to form a human woman's shape eventually. Long blond hair, blue eyes, spotless white skin but a face that has some uncharacteristically Japanese features - they are a familiar sight for the demons and the god of ice alike.
"Asoko!" Lenoly suddenly exclaims when she sees the naked girl standing in the tunnel before her. Finally, after six moons of being frozen into a statue, she has reawakened.
"... Lenoly?" The other half of Chaos turns around with a confused look. Then she seems to realize that she's naked and begins to shiver from the cold. "Wh-where is this?"
"You...? What have you done to Kanundra!" Zylos' menacing voice comes from behind her, and she spins around again.
"Zylos?" Taking a step back in surprise, Asoko stares at the god of ice.
"Give me back my sister!" He takes a step forward and points at her.
"What?" Even though she has awakened, it seems she ate the god of fire unconsciously. But since her powers had been taken away by her brother of the opposite element, she easily fell victim to the Crawling Chaos' hunger.
"You've eaten Kanundra, the Bearer of the Flame!" Lenoly quickly calls out to Asoko, who spins her head back and forth between the little bakari behind her and the furious god coming towards her. "You can fight!"
"I ate her?" Blinking while looking down at her hands, Asoko thinks about it for a moment. That means she should have the powers of fire at her disposal.
"Give her back!" With an angry scream, Zylos runs forward and reaches out with his arm. His hand grabs her chest.
"Ahn, pervert!" Opting for a moment of unnecessary comedy, Asoko staggers back while her whole body catches on fire and begins to glow from the inside. Even though the god of ice touched her, she didn't freeze into a statue this time.
"Im... possible..." Zylos stares at the girl before him, who appears to be using the same abilities as his sister she swallowed moments ago. But unlike with her, he can't seem to shut off this one's power.
"Hey, even I know that while heat seems to have no limits, the cold can only reach a set point." Shrugging, Asoko comments while her body glows at the intensity of a miniature sun. "So heat will always win out."
"That is not how Absolute Zero works!" Pointing at the air above her, Zylos shouts. A massive block of ice appears out of thin air - maybe he actually froze a chunk of air itself in an instant - which falls onto the glowing Crawling Chaos. But before it even touches her, it evaporates again. "What?!"
"What do you mean, Absolute Zero? It's just negative some two-hundred seventy or so degrees. I should be at several thousands now. How could you ever hope to defeat that?" Grinning, Asoko points at him in a mocking gesture. "I don't really understand how and remember when I ate Kanundra, but now that I have, you won't ever defeat me."
"You ignorant creature! These powers are-" Before Zylos can finish explaining that their abilities come from technology rather than actual magic - and that absolute zero means the cessation of even quantum processes - a beam of heat pierces his chest and stops his voice.
He looks down at himself to find a hole the size of a volleyball seared through the center of his chest. It doesn't seem like he's in pain, but his expression shows that this was an unexpected attack.
Asoko stares at Zylos, whose eyes grow more intense despite the missing part of his body. But unlike when she used spirit spears in their last battle, he somehow isn't fixing the damage this time. Maybe this heat attack was as effective as she thought it would be?
"I will..." He begins to say but trails off. Then he falls forward face-first without even trying to break his fall and stays down.
"... is it over?" Although she knows the common trope of the heroes posing this question, only for the opponent to emerge from the dust cloud completely unharmed, Asoko still lets herself ask it. After all, there is no dust cloud this time, and the enemy is lying on the ground, not moving a muscle and with a sizzling hole in his chest.
Everybody remains silent, while they stare at the downed Zylos. Then, the realization dawns on them that it's really over now.
Asoko just defeated two gods back to back without much of an effort.
