Cyclone carried the arm of a Volatile warrior over his shoulder. It was his trophy, one he earned after flawlessly executing them all before anyone could notice.
The antarctic hell scape expanded far beyond their vision, leaving the world beneath their feet in memories of those who witnessed it. Yarno was still.
Warriors marched as one, keeping their spirits up with more Zegus War Tunes and Thawed March Songs. Each one felt unique. They resonated differently within each Feral as they listened.
At one point, Enoptes howled at the entire battalion and pack. He demanded them to listen to a specific Thawed who stepped close behind Cyclone. They were to echo what she would scream.
"...Then I told 'er, left, left, right, left!" she bellowed.
"...So I stepped left, left, right, left!" they repeated.
Her voice was full of fantasies. Spewing out into the cold air for all to hear and repeat. Which took their minds off their conditions. Especially the Zegi, who were nearly fully transformed into Thawed.
In fact, some even already fully became Thawed. This was how they lived: by living like their ancestors through evolution.
"Little man kept me at a level head!" she sang.
"Keeping me from feeling dread!" they echoed.
Demon treaded carefully behind the entire group. As he walked, he pulled up his sleeves. Getting ready for getting dirty, something he had to embrace. This was the life of a servant.
He looked over his shoulders, listening to his boots crush the snow that was left untouched. A dark cloud was closing in on them, but not a natural one.
These were Volatile warriors coming to halt Infinus. Instead of coming alone, they came with an elite. One by the name of Bile, who patrolled the Yarno-Nixto border.
[Very good, my maiden. Prepare to spectate, I do not want to miss Cyclone's ability to fight back against a heavy foe.]
In response, his maid steadied herself. She was somewhere nearby, keeping a low profile. While the Thawed continued to sing and parade, the maid would mutter 'Vogh'.
Viviry paused, feeling like something was off. His gut was going off like crazy, telling him he needed to warn others about something. The source was not clear, until he turned around and saw it.
"Hey, hey! Stop the damn singing, you hear me?! There's an incoming assault wave!" he screamed.
News spread like wildfire through the crowd, reaching everyone in a matter of seconds. They were unsure of what to do, the elites had to give orders.
"Do not let them harm the escapees," Enoptes said with a weird comfort in his voice. "Decka, stay close by and protect them at all costs. Viviry, get ready to fire. Biku, when they swarm overhead, start lunging bolas at them."
Enoptes spun around, pointing at different locations and ordering others around. It was masterful how he did it. Effortlessly pointing out a flaw and ordering a group of Variants to hold it down.
A metal finger pointed at Hedix. "You're going to keep them busy." Enoptes turned his gaze to the warriors around him, which included Lanzu. "When Hedix attacks, you will assist. Go for stabs only, they will allow you to retreat quicker."
Demon was surprised by what he was hearing. It was almost automatic how Enoptes did it. Assigning tasks to different warriors, who instantly executed said tasks.
By the time the cloud grew larger, Infinus was ready for the bout. The time it took for this all to change was surprising, he could tell Enoptes had a lot of experiance.
That amount of experience could aid him in getting what he wanted. So Demon ordered his maiden.
[Keep a tab open for Enoptes, record it all and pick it apart. Use the pattern he utilized to train Ether.]
When he came back to focus, several beasts came raining down from above. They carried warriors on their backs, who leapt off to surround the travelling Infinus Legion.
Distorted powers sparked to life within the hosts Demon requested. Hedix and Decka felt it grow stronger the second it returned to them.
Fine white, powdery snow stuck to the metallic plates of armor and feeble cloth that encased Volatile forces. The air was ripe for the tainting, all they needed was a source.
Biku hurled bolas to the skies, nearly striking beasts as they passed by. Unuwku and Sky Beasts danced and pulled away from the attacks, carelessly cutting through the skies.
However, when they thought they were in the clear, an explosive arrow erupted nearby. Viviry took aim upon the empty space in the air, aiming at the population instead of the individual.
Arrows detonated in an orange fury, rocking beasts off their flight paths and making them easy targets for Biku's bolas. Striking their wings and talons, hindering them severely.
Creatures swirled as they came crashing down, sometimes catching warriors beneath. The snow became tainted in their wake, trying to hide evidence of the attacks.
Like how Enoptes ordered, Hedix took the lead. He marched through the open space, keeping his eyes narrowed as he stepped forward.
Six warriors pulled out one-handed weapons from their holsters. The barrel pointed right at the incoming force. With a trigger pull, they popped.
Yarno felt alive as the shots careened through the entire area, striking Hedix across his chest. Each ball-shaped bullet impacted with his body. However, there was no pain.
His reaction did not change at all, this was Hedix, numbed by everything. There was nothing anyone could do to make him feel anything. Only he could activate that side of himself again.
When he came into reach, he began picking apart the entire group effortlessly. Their swords barely came down on him before a violent end met with their owners.
"Do not try to stop us," Hedix mumbled. "We are Infinus, the mighty and few. Return to your huts and continue building your fancy tools of war."
Lanzu bellowed into the air, screaming to announce she was ready to drive her group forward. Yarno felt the stampede as they cut through the clearing, weapons drawn, each one pointed at a victim.