754. Embracing Death Part Two
“[Fulmination Of Winter].”
I watched as the brilliant white sphere of frost engulfed the volley of spades flying my way. It shone brilliantly. But I knew it was not just light. It was snow— it was ice.
It encased Chordus, stopping her approach. For now, at least.
And I recognized the source of the voice— I knew who it was who used that Skill. Looking up, I watched as a familiar [Hellprince] flew down to me, lowering a sword made of ice.
“Naro? Did you do that?”
He nodded back at me as he came to a halt, hovering in the air to my side.
“That was one of my two Grand Skills. It’ll slow Chordus down as long as she is within its bubble, all the while inflicting frost damage on her. But I doubt it'll be very effective in achieving the latter.”
I blinked back at him, before I eyed the ice sphere up ahead. The bright light began to fade away, revealing a dome of ice there. Inside, I watched as the spades moved at a tenth of the pace they were moving at before. Even Chordus was looking around in confusion at what was happening, but she was trapped in that bubble of cold where her body was freezing over with each movement she made.
I patted him on the shoulder with a smile.“Good job— honestly, I’m surprised you are even still alive!”
“It’ll take a lot more than that to kill me.”
Naro snorted, before he cast his gaze back in the direction of Chordus.
“However, if we don’t deal with her soon, we’ll both be dead. And I’d rather not have that happen.”
The [Hellprince] shook his head as I pursed my lips. I looked towards the direction of Chordus, and I knew she was going to escape from this Grand Skill which Naro had cast. So I decided to help him slow her down for a bit longer too.
Clapping my hands together, I created a bubble of slowed time on top of the dome of ice which Naro had created. It slowed down the [Queen Of Diamonds]’s movements even further, although it was clear my Skill wasn’t as effective as the [Hellprince]’s Grand Skill at achieving that effect.
However, it helped give us more time to make a plan.
“Alright, so I actually have a plan… or had a plan.”
My eyes darted past Chordus, looking at where my [Prison Of Isolation] had been. It was fully formed now. And unfortunately, while I could keep up the spell for as long as was necessary— as long as I had the capacity for it— however, I couldn’t just create it repeatedly.
It was a Skill I could only use every half an hour or so, based on my prior experimentations. So right now, there was no way for me to trap the [Queen Of Diamonds] with it.
Instead, I had to come up with another way to execute my plan of throwing her into the fold between the planes.
Or I’ll have to drag Manos here… I thought as I stared at Chordus disappearing from the spade she was standing on. She reappeared in the foremost spade, flying as fast as she could to escape the white sphere.
It was like she was wading through water. Or better yet— like she was flying through a wall of ice. Even still though, it wasn’t going to take her long to break out.
I was going to have to use everything in my disposal if I wanted to stand a chance of defeating Chordus. Everything in this world— from my corruption to my manipulation of time and space. It was all… necessary… to win.
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My eyes flickered as an idea suddenly crossed my mind.
“Naro…”
Grinning, I turned to the [Hellprince] who just raised a brow.
“What is it?”
“Listen to me carefully—”
As I spoke, Chordus reached the edge of the white dome. I took in a deep breath, before nodding at Naro.
“What we have to do is distract her.”
He stared at me blankly as Chordus raised her sword and slashed at the ice surface keeping her inside the dome. It shattered, and Naro’s Grand Skill came to an end. She shot out, but I concentrated my slowed time around her, keeping her from just launching straight at us.
I looked back at the [Hellprince].
“Come on, let’s go— we have to fight her together!”
“...but you didn’t explain the plan.”
Naro asked, however I ignored him, continuing forward.
“Why do you wish to die?”
A familiar voice resounded in Chordus’s head. She remembered that moment. So long ago. It had always remained in the back of her mind. Although the details had always been faint, because she had been on the precipice of death, it came back to her now.
She remembered—
—--
Chordus lay atop a pile of broken crystals. Her gaze was fixed to the sky, and she watched as the [Queen Of Diamonds] fell, shattered into thousands of pieces. A figure clad in a black cloak descended before the dying Primordial Demon. He was massive— with a pair of horns and crimson skin.
He landed on the ground with a heavy thud as a figure walked up behind him, clapping casually.
“For something called the [Queen Of Diamonds], it didn’t really have many followers, did it?”
The second figure— a Primeval Demon that dragged a long beard behind him— just chuckled as he stopped his applause.
“Unlike you, my King, this false queen ruled over nothing.”
The so-called King of Demons harrumphed and turned away from the [Queen Of Diamonds] as it fully collapsed onto the ground, sending a plume of dust into the air.
“Its Skills made it difficult to slay, and it could create its own minions. However, it was no queen— even if it ruled over this demesne.”
The King spoke as he shook his head, before he brought his hands up into the air.
“Now, this land belongs to me. The Demons that roam here will be my followers.And you will become my follower.”
He turned his gaze down towards Chordus. But she just weakly protested in response.
“I…just wanted to die… please— let me die…”
And the self-proclaimed King of Demons paused when he heard that.
—--
Chordus flew onward toward both the Enemy and the traitorous [Hellprince]. But her movements were still sluggish, somehow slowed down by some sort of invisible magic. But she ignored it as she swung at the Enemy.
However, as she missed, she was blasted by ice and frost from behind. It didn’t hurt her, however it further impeded her movements. She looked up towards Naro, ready to attack him. But then a wave of flames blasted her from the other side, coming from the Enemy.
It drew her attention for a brief moment, before a pillar of the broken world shot down at her, knocking her off her flying spade for a moment. But she quickly landed on another one of her platforms that was zipping by.
Looking up, the [Queen Of Diamonds] cursed as she realized she was being attacked from multiple sides. Wherever she turned, there was someone there trying to attack her. And if she tried to sink into her spade to quickly move between the various other spades flying around her, she would be attacked before she could even fully move.
Her slower speed and having multiple enemies now placed her at a distinct disadvantage. She was engulfed by fiery explosions, struck by icy blades, whilst being hammered by the strange attack that came from this world.
But even then, it was all just whittling her down slowly— not enough to be a danger to her life. However, at the same time, she could feel her heart beating faster.
And she knew her time was going to soon come to an end. So panic started to settle in. A sense of urgency overtook her. She didn’t want to die, but she was going to die. And if she was going to die, she would bring down the enemies of her King for him.
After all, she would die for her King.
She would do anything for him
Her heart beat even faster now as she resolved herself, letting her two assailants barrage her with attacks.
And a new Skill made itself available for her.
“[The King Of the Wild: The Joker].”