In a certain room in a certain building in Moscow...
"Ugh...the snow won't let up..."
"What do you expect? This is Russia."
Two people exchanged words as they sat across each other beside a rather large round table.
"I mean-", one of them - a young woman with short black hair and wearing an ensemble of pure white military garb, groaned, "-can't it like, I don't know...at LEAST slow down a bit? I'm like freezing here!", she rubbed both her arms in a gesture to show her discomfort.
"You expect snow TO SLOW DOWN in Russia? Girl, do you even realize what you're saying?", the other, a slightly older woman with long blonde hair and wearing the same ensemble of clothing retorted. Her tone filled with utter exasperation.
"Come on now, Captain. Don't tell me this snow isn't bothering you one bit!", the young woman asked.
With a disgruntled huff, the older woman stood from her seat and proceeded to leave the room her clothes whooshing along as if to show some form of dramatic effect.
"Enough chatter. I have received a signal. Get off your rear and ready yourself.", she replied with a command.
"Eh?! Wait! Why?!", the young woman complained while hurriedly straightening herself up before chasing after the older woman.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"What is?!"
"We're going to go and receive the Saint."
******
[Flee towards the sun.]
Those were the only words she received from the Heavens.
"Towards the sun...", Rosseweisse muttered. Though she did not fully understand the revelation given to her, she nonetheless believed that it was the answer to their predicament.
"Lady Evaline, Lady Maria!", she called out to her companions, "We must flee to the west!", she pointed out.
Evaline pushed away the chort that had charged at her and then looked at Rosseweisse incredulously, "Are you kidding me?! That's the opposite direction of Miss Kyrie's location!", she pointed to a distance not too far from them where the flickering radiance of Sunfire had just disappeared from.
An unpleasant emotion started welling within Rosseweisse as she realized, that she had forgotten about Kyrie who had been separated from them for a long time.
'She's all alone and fighting that large one...'
"But-", before Rosseweisse could utter a word to reply, Maria cut in;
"We don't have time! I'll see to getting Kyrie back!", she beheaded a couple of Chorts, "Your Highness, see to getting the Saint out of here! Head west as she has said!", without even waiting for a reply, Maria turned the other way and with a loud war cry, used some kind of flame-based spell that burned through the oncoming horde of Chorts and carving a path towards Kyrie's last known location.
"Tsk! Bloody hell!", Evaline cursed and turned the other way, "Come on! We can't waste time here!", she grabbed Rosseweisse and proceeded to drag Rosseweisse away.
"Wait! What about Lady Maria-?!"
"Shut it! We go now or never!"
However, as always- reality has a habit of turning for the worst when you least expect it.
*BOOOOOM!*
The two stop as they heard the sound of the muffled boom. Rosseweisse now feeling even more frantic, looked back. Only to see nothing as the blizzard intensified to a point that -
"What the hell?! I can't see a thing!"
-even Evaline could not see.
"Lady Maria!"
Rosseweisse worriedly called out but her voice was drowned out by the howling of the blizzard wind.
'What happened?'
She thought so worriedly.
"Not gonna happen you bloody ape!", with an ungraceful shout in a tone unlike what a princess should use, Evaline pulled Rosseweisse closer and beheaded the Chort that had attempted to maul Rosseweisse.
But of course, that was not Rosseweisse's concern right now.
"Lady Evaline! We have to go back for Lady Maria and Lady Kyrie! They might be in trouble!"
She asked Evaline who was busy burning the headless chort with magic.
"First, you tell me to head west, now you tell me to head back into the bloody horde! Where do you even want to go?! Get that noggin of your straight first before you go around telling any one of us what to-"
"Vstan' na koleni!!"
A cryptic voice drowned out the howling blizzard and echoed all around them.
In a near instantaneous moment, Rosseweisse felt something compel her body to fall to her knees upon the cold snowy ground. Evaline who had stood beside her didn't seem affected but the princess was frantically looking around. Most probably, to find where the voice had come from.
'What is this? Something is causing me to remain on my knees...'
Rosseweisse wondered as she felt the snow soak her clothes and an ominous chill creep up her spine.
"Bloody hell! Something very dangerous is approaching us!", Evaline grimaced as she wrote another rune in the air, "Urus Alghiz!", she chanted.
Suddenly the ominous compelling force that had been pressing upon them abated a little, allowing both of them to breathe a little easier and raise their heads.
"Hmph! Ancient words floweth from thine mouth. Treacherous thine heart be, but to dispel mine power even a little is quite the feat."
The voice was cold, callous, and felt ancient. It sounded like it was nearby but when Rosseweisse and Evaline looked around them, they saw no one. Not even a silhouette or a shadow within the raging blizzard.
"Ah...art thou the Oathbreaker's spawn? Thine treachery is understandable."
The voice continued to speak and this time, it mentioned some kind of a name that felt oddly familiar to Rosseweisse before it turned the atmosphere into one of absolute malice.
"In response to mine people's plea, mine hands shalt be the weaver of thine demise! Bud'te pronzeny belymi nozhami!"
The howling of the blizzard quickly turned into crackles as the snow formed blades of white ice and mercilessly rained upon them.
Rosseweisse could do nothing but only stare upon the vicious blades but as luck would have it, she was not alone;
"ALGIZ ISA!!!!"
With a fervent cry, Evaline casts another spell which created a dome of fire that burst out from under her feet and protected them both. Melting all the icicle blades as they made contact with its scarlet flames.
"Futile..."
The disembodied voice muttered and soon, not only raining blades of ice, but also the snow in their immediate vicinity stirred and in an instant, spikes of ice burst forth which mercilessly pierced through the flames.
'Is this the end?'
Rosseweisse thought.
But-
"I'm not done yet! URUZ HAGALAZ!"
-Evaline had other thoughts.
In the instant the ice spikes pierced her flames, she stabbed the cold, hard ground with her sword and cast another spell. This time, it formed a dome of earth around them. Effectively stopping the ice spikes.
But it seems, that was not the end of it,
"Close your eyes and grab onto me like your life depended on it! EHWAZ RAIDHO! DAGAZ EHWAZ!"
Casting a succession of spells with no hesitation, Evaline commands Rosseweisse to close her eyes.
Not having any other choice - rather, completely ignorant of what she should do otherwise, Rosseweisse closed her eyes and grabs Evaline's arm. Holding tightly to her chest and in the next instant, she felt her body grow light and all the sound fade until nothing but the sound of absolute silence filled her ears.
It was only for a couple of seconds however, and soon the sound of the raging blizzard returned and the voice of Evaline calling out to Rosseweisse could be heard.
"*huff!* *huff!* Lady Rosseweisse...you can open your eyes now..."
Hearing her voice once more calmed Rosseweisse and soon, she opened her eyes. Only to see an extremely fatigued Evaline before her, looking like she was about to fall unconscious.
"Lady Evaline!"
Rosseweisse worriedly cried out as she caught Evaline who suddenly fell to her knees.
"What did you do?! You were not this exhausted a few moments ago!"
It was not just that, somehow even with all the chill, Evaline was sweating bullets and was now gasping for air like crazy.
'What did she do in the instant I closed my eyes?!'
"Never...mind me...Lady...Rosseweisse...", Evaline dropped her sword, "We must push onward..."
"But your current state-!"
"Just-! Bloody hell!"
Without warning, something unseen came rushing at them from the front and Evaline was just barely in time to tackle Rosseweisse - who did not notice it, away avoiding the unseen force which sundered the rocks that were behind them.
'The rocks-!'
"Hmph! Tenacious thou art be.", the disembodied voice had returned. Only this time, the blizzard wasn't as intense as the last time.
"Tsk! Even...with a Pathfinder Combination...you still caught up!", Evaline grimaced while positioning herself before Rosseweisse ready to intercept whatever that may come.
"Lady Evaline, you cannot! Your body is currently not in any state to continue onwards!", it worried Rosseweisse but then she realized something.
'I still have the Privilege!'
"Lady Evaline, I will use my Privilege upon you so please stay still!", declaring so, Rosseweisse readied herself to use her Privilege.
"You bloody idio-! Don't!", Evaline tried to stop her.
"Foolish puppet!", the disembodied voice mumbled and then another unseen force howled and could be felt heading straight at them from an unknown direction, but then-
"GUARD SKILL...SUNFIIIIRE!!!!"
A familiar voice roared as a wave of orange flames washed over the land and something large falling down before Rosseweisse and Evaline.
"EH?!"
"Lady Kyrie! You're pushing yourself too much! You're already suffering from severe Skill Rebound!"
Another voice echoed. This time, a large number of dead chorts rolled out from the white gloom and from it, the battered Maria trudged out of.
Relief filled Rosseweisse's heart as she saw her companion safe albeit incredibly battered due to fighting.
'Wait...she called out to Lady Kyrie earlier...'
Anxious, she looked around but only saw the large beastly corpse before her.
'Where-'
Before she could finish the thought however, a figure rose up from atop the large corpse.
"I'll be damned! Hehe...she managed to do it!", Evaline chuckled.
Battered and bruised, the figure slowly stood. Bloodied sword in hand and a silvery shield in the other, the sight of the Guard, Kyrie, cut a heroic figure as she defiantly stood her ground before whoever it was that dared to approach.
"Lady Kyrie!"
"Foolish mortal. Though hath better of a chance to have fled away, never to return. Why turn back?", the disembodied voice mocked.
But Rosseweisse could see, Kyrie was not perturbed in the slightest.
"Apologies, whoever you are...but...I was entrusted with the safety of the Saint.", Kyrie readied her shield, "and I'm not about to shirk from that duty for a second!"