Sunrise had yet to grace the lands, and the cold winds blew adrift. She shut her eyes and let her skin welcome the frigid sensations all over her body.
"What kind of magic should I use?"
"Whatever you want, Ana." Levi flicked his rapier to the side while he ought to roll his shoulders.
'Ice magic is, and perhaps I can show him a tad of trust.'
They all could feel the temperature plummeting. Unbeknownst to her, shivers ran through their spine as warmth blew from their misty breath to the cold morning.
"Shall we?" Anasthasia's eyes widened.
Liam scrunched up his face. Right now, he sweated profusely but for different reasons. "Whenever you are." He started to bend down, gripping the hilt of his sword.
Anasthasia's eyes glinted; they noticed it, and Liam raced, foot leaving a dent on the ground.
'Ice Wall!'
An array of thick glaciers protruded the ground, surging forth in conical form. Liam slashed with brute force, shattering the crystalline glaciers ahead of him. Only to find out the fragments swirled and flew like a bullet aiming at their vitals.
With Liam rolling in haste, Levi shot, meeting the shards halfway, and destroyed them to pieces.
"We need to break through her defenses!" He then clicked his tongue, glancing at his other twin. "Levi, switch up the plan!"
With Levi bobbing, he dashed, bounce after bounce, leaving afterimages. Anasthasia, seeing their silhouettes, was confident in her abilities.
Levi, going near the next ice wall, thrusting his rapier, and blasted off with a flurry of piercing wind. Penetration between walls resounded the air, followed by Liam's brute force that ravaged the ground, wobbling the ice's foundation.
The crowd grew anxious at how Anasthasia laid the initial set-up. It was pure intimidation, but their morale soared as they noticed the cracks spread faster than they all thought.
Anasthasia wasn't slow to pick up the pace, noticing how they planned to make a combination attack. She clasped her hand, pulverizing the walls into pellets.
'Sleet Rush!'
The tiny fractals blew, akin to a blizzard, afore her. The twins braced for the cold storm brewing.
Both Liam and Levi glowed with green light, a bright one at that, or at least to her eyes. Even marveled as they shuffled their way out of the bitter cold.
'Frostbite!'
Glob of amorphous ice immobilized their feet. The flurry cold front assaulted them freely.
Liam, this time, took the risk. He roared and slashed the ground, rupturing a heavy load of dirt. Rumbles and cracks spread to her direction, and she jumped to the side as she gapped the distance.
In midair, she furrowed her brows in silence. 'They blocked my vision, and this one is similar to Daniel's—This again! No, to the left!' She eyed sideways, and, in the nick of time, she saw the blurry image of Levi with his rapier's gleaming tip.
But his fierce attacks almost met her demise.
Dread crept up to her spine that she blocked with her arms encased with ice and met the piercing strike.
So sharp it shattered, and the pain in her arms spread like wildfire to her soul. She hissed and rolled unto the ground. She tried to stand when a shadow cast, emerging so large, on top of her.
Liam held by the hilt, both grips, as he tried to plunge the sword, aiming for her neck.
'Glacial Pierce!'
Ice spikes launched, meeting its tip and only to find him shattering it, layer by layer.
Her eyes rattled as she flipped to the side. She then set forth a sheet of ice and crawled towards the punctured sword on the ground, freezing it but appalled Liam smirked smugly.
Ground rattled once more, she pranced to the side and cast, 'Flash Freeze!' and skid away from them. Levi ran to the other side while he shot up piercing winds.
Anasthasia tried her best to block his projectiles, but a panic swelled her heart when Liam charged at her like a bull. Instincts crawled once more, but in a blink of an eye, Levi was on her blindspot.
'A Pincer attack!'
'I'm running out of reserves, and the temperature is—I need to use it!'
She somersaulted away from them; this time, her hands glowed brightly and threw off a cyan sphere.
With their unstoppable momentum, they clashed but evaded; however, they never saw it coming. At close contact, the sphere detonated—The strong shockwave thrashed the twins from afar.
They soon gained a foothold but Anasthasia spread her arms, and small pellets of the same effect flinched them. She arced her arm towards them, which then followed her whim.
Liam frantically dodged, and his legs largely imbued with air that glided past them. Levi slid sideways, shooting out like a true marksman.
But such explosions had them stagger and tripped more than once.
'Deadly Icicle!'
Anasthasia dashed while those ice missiles didn't ebb from the assault. Icicles brushed past her as hands that danced, calling forth suspended a giant block of glowing ice—on top of their predicted location.
Her eyes glinted when she also noticed the frozen grassy ground, and she cast 'Permafrost!'
The twins fell into her traps. Frost from the frozen ground slinked to their footwear; on the other hand, death loomed over them. But they weren't out of luck as they hoisted midair, dodging the impending death by a hair's breadth.
Simultaneous explosions startled the spectators, which made them distance even further.
She moved close to them, twirling her hands, and then swung to the ground.
'Frozen Waves!'
The frosty spell sent conical waves of ice but fiercely shattered by Levi forefront, his eyes ablaze, and this time, he's the one charging at her. With impetus, she tried to parry but welcomed his feigned moves.
A kick welcomed her side, which had her thrashed away.
She tried to regain her balance back only to see the incoming air whirlwind in her way. Her eyes almost fell out of their sockets from the mighty wind.
'Frostbite!'
But the ice could no longer swallow the fierce squall; by and by, it got devoured seamlessly. She shifted to the side, only to block her advances.
"Since when did—Liam! So, he laid a trap as well," she muttered aghast. "They coordinated well this time.
Inside the whirlwind, her vision blocked. There she stood, trying to feel their presence. Their silhouettes emerged from the thick winds.
'There!' She spread her arms and shot out ice beams, freezing the side. But her front and back tingled from the hostility.
'I know you two will do feign attacks once more.'
'Winter's Embrace!'
She hugged her arms, embracing herself, and formed into a cocoon of ice. Their swords slid past her. From afar, they could see how pristine the crystalline surface was. Her poise looked graceful, even trapped inside. Their swords stuck on the surface in which the bitter frost crawled and froze the blade.
A beautiful lady in a glacier with swords that criss-crossed—it was lovely for an insignia, indeed.
Liam and Levi tried to tug them, with one hand, but it led to no avail; they stood upright with their chest rose up and down quickly.
The crowd was in awe and gave a round of applause. This shocked the twins. Soon, the cocoon of ice slowly shattered and vanished into a thin mist. Anasthasia smiled at both of them.
Both weren't able to take such and could only avert their eyes as their faces flustered.
Few but slow claps heard by their backs; the group of knights stood upright and gestured. Out of curiosity, they turned around only to see Eirwen Aureole that approached slowly.
"I'm impressed."
The twins greeted, but Anasthasia remained steadfast, standing with poise. Instead, she gave him a warm smile.
"I'm more than glad that you enjoyed the spectacle."
Eirwen paid no mind and quipped once more, "I do. I was skeptical about how you fight the first half as though I met the invokers once more. Even more on the latter, I noticed the shift of fighting style."
"I do change from time to time; It was meant to entertain the crowd, though. Right Levi, Liam?"
Both of them gave a shaky nod, retrieving the towel from their back and wiped their sweat nervously.
Eirwen chuckled deep. "It reminds me of—"
"Iris Frostmourne." Anasthasia anticipated his reaction, a glint from his emerald eyes suddenly turned dull. He raised his hard-angled eyebrows, highlighting the intricate lines of his forehead woven by age.
"...I beg your pardon, but who are you referring to?."
She squinted her eyes, but she brushed it off and went off to ask him, "Why did you call Lucy this time around?"
"It's a trivial matter undeserving of your attention."
"An elegant answer to saying 'Mind your own business'; unfortunately for you, I'm her teacher. I have the right to know."
"Well, I get to meet you, so it's trivial now." He turned around, saying, "You may leave."