"No point staring. Come on...let's get out of here!" Not sparing even a moment to be in awe of the scene before them, Evaline calls out to Rosseweisse and grabs her by the hand before dragging her away to the side. Her labored breaths creating puffs of fog as she huffed.
"Lady Kyrie! Let's go!", Maria - who apparently had been following Kyrie after she parted ways with them earlier, comes running after her and Evaline while mowing down a bunch more Chorts who tried to bar her way.
On the other hand, "Guard Skill, Sunfire!" with a defiant shout, Kyrie activates Sunfire again then follows after Rosseweisse and Evaline.
"Insolent mortals!", the disembodied voice growled as the blizzard wind began to intensify once again, "None of thee shall escape the chill of winter's wrath!", it declared so.
Rosseweisse and the rest hastily trudged through the snowy wilderness. Desperate to get farther away from the monsters and the source of the disembodied voice.
Looking at her companions, Rosseweisse could see that they were spent; Evaline's already labored breaths became even more heavy and her voice has started to slowly turn coarse, Kyrie - albeit still using Sunfire, was obviously trying to act tough but it was obvious that she is almost as tired as Evaline, Maria on the other hand looked a bit better than the other two but she is still injured from all the fighting.
"I should-"
"Oh no you don't missy! Just keep running!", before she could even suggest using her Privilege for the nth time, Evaline stops her and continues to drag her forward.
"Guard Skill, Force!", Maria supplements their escape with a Skill, forcing all who approached Rosseweisse and Evaline who were at the front to be pushed away.
With the blizzard unable to reach them due to Sunfire, Rosseweisse managed to make out their surroundings a bit clearer than before;
They were now on some wide open area where there were barely any trees, and judging by the sudden dull thud that her feet made with the ground, she assumed that they must have found themselves on a road of some kind.
"Thou shalt not go further!"
As if commanded by the invisible voice, a large number of Chorts rushed forward and overtook both Evaline and Rosseweisse blocking their path forward.
"Tch! We were too slow!", Evaline grimaced as she pulled Rosseweisse back.
Their two other companions arriving shortly after and immediately positioned themselves to guard the rear.
"Your Highness..."
"Keep your bloody concerns. Focus on the enemy before us..."
Evaline interrupted Kyrie who showed concern for the young princess' already failing condition.
"Thou hath led the winter on a wild chase across mine land.", the disembodied voice's tone somehow felt lighthearted. As if it was amused.
"Well, I was taught to run away at full-speed the moment danger presents itself.", Evaline scoffed, "And if that attempt at mine and this lady's lives were any indication, I'd say it was bloody obvious I would run away from you."
"Hmph!"
Rosseweisse hears the disembodied voice scoff in response then the blizzard around them was silenced.
"Wha-"
Before Kyrie and Maria could finish their words, the vicious blizzard that had been swirling all around them instantly dissipated. Revealing their surroundings for the first time since they stepped foot into the tundra;
A horde of Chorts numerous enough to cover their entire vision surrounded them. A far cry from the number they saw when the blizzard still blew all around them.
"So many..."
"Yeah, no bloody shit Ms. Sherlock...", Evaline growled at Rosseweisse.
Rosseweisse looked behind her and saw Kyrie and Maria who had their backs toward her while readying themselves for any one of the Chorts that dared to attack their rear.
'This is...quite the predicament...', Rosseweisse was now lost on what to do. She remembers the Heavens tell her to 'Flee towards the sun.'. But with how everything went, she obviously failed at that.
What should she do now? The question she had been asking herself since her Privilege was rejected time and time again by her protectors.
'If I try using it, they'll just force me to stop again.', she needed to help Evaline and her companions but they just won't accept it. This troubled Rosseweisse greatly and now...she can think of nothing else she could do to help.
But as she was lost in her own thoughts, the Chorts in front of them stepped to the side as if letting something pass from behind them;
"Zdravstvuy, ditya Klyatvoprestupnika."
An elderly woman wearing a long white robe and holding a tall staff appeared surrounded by an aura of white frost.
"Kind of late to say a rather peaceful 'Hello' there lady.", Evaline replied while pointing her sword at the elderly woman.
"Hmph. Thou truly are that one's spawn.", the elderly woman turned towards Rosseweisse, causing her to feel a deathly chill run down her spine as the ice-like eyes stared her down with such enmity.
"I don't know who you're talking about, but I am the daughter of Ashen Creed, the Knight King of England.", Evaline positioned herself in front of Rosseweisse, "If you are planning to kill us, then prepare yourself! I shall not simply accept such an end without making you work your hardest for it!"
"Hmph. Thou art beset by a fate far worse than what thou hath conceived in thine mind.", with a scoff, the elderly woman raised her staff up high and shouted, "Zamorznut' i razbit'sya!"
As her cold and ruthless voice echoed, the already freezing temperature dropped even further to the point that Rosseweisse could feel even the water on her eyes start freezing causing her to close her eyes.
"Shit! Sowelu Thursiaz Algiz!"
She hears Evaline cast a spell which brought warmth to them.
"Guard...Skill...SUNFIRE!!!"
'Guard...Skill...SUNLIGHT!!!"
Even Kyrie and Maria followed suit and used their Skills even though Rosseweisse could tell from how coarse their voces were that they were now extremely tired.
The warmth intensified. But before Rosseweisse could even think of opening her eyes, the warmth disappeared and the ever deathly chill of the elderly woman's spell rapidly clung to their bodies.
"Urgh! She overpowered my spell-!"
This time, Rosseweisse hears the sound of cracking ice and the sound of a heavy thump.
Worried, she dared to peek with her right eye and was horrified;
Evaline was down on the ground. Ice now creeping over her body slowly encasing her in a coffin of blue glass.
"Your Highness!", her eyes inadvertently went wide open as she anxiously called out to Evaline.
And just as she was worrying about Evaline-
*Thump!*, *Thump!*
-she looks behind to see both Kyrie and Maria also having fallen to the ground and also on the verge of being encased in ice.
"Lady Kyrie! Lady Ma-"
"Now not even thee shall be spared, vessel of the False God!"
The elderly woman mercilessly intensified her spell and this time, even Rosseweisse felt ice creep up her body causing her body to slowly turn numb.
Falling to her knees, she looked anxiously at all three of her companions.
'No! I must at least save them!'
She tried moving her body but she felt no response as the creeping ice has quickly encased her until her neck.
'At the very least-!'
"For the crime of slaying mine child, thou shall fall here...and suffer eternal torment in thy glacial coffins!"
That was the last thing Rosseweisse heard as the ice completely encased her, forcing her to fall into the dark oblivion of unconsciousness.