~Adrian PoV~
I felt scared. I was in the middle of Feon's clones who were shooting out spells unceasingly. They were also protecting me from the enemy formation, not allowing anyone to get near us. The situation was completely chaotic and with the pressure of handling my buffs on six people, I could barely stand still on my feet.
The surge of spells kept whizzing past both of the groups. Loud explosions could be heard throughout the mansion, only a few moments had passed ever since our raid began. None of the parties tried to take initiative to go on the offence.
The guards who were firing in front of us were trying to stall for time, while we were secretly destroying the magic wards which were placed around the mansion. We were halfway through, things looked hopeful for us. If we kept up with this pace, then Feon would be able to enter the mansion without any problems.
The only thing that had worried me was the presence of the new potential Pope. It wasn't a title which could be given to anyone easily. One had to have immense potential along with the knowledge of the Church of Parlene to be granted that title.
This new pope which Feon had warned me about had yet to make an appearance. This was a relief for us, but on the other hand, it meant that she would be approaching the battlefield any time soon. Once she appeared, things were going to take a turn for the worse.
I had become tense when I considered the ensuing danger and indicated Feon to increase the pace. It was a risky move since it would increase the chances of our tactics being exposed, but I couldn't dare to waste time anymore.
I waited a bit before the mana swirling around the clones grew to new heights. It seemed that Feon had the same thoughts as me and agreed to my suggestion. With the firepower of our group having increased, the opponent's formation became more oppressed.
I could relax my shields slightly and focus more on supplying buffs. The wards decreased one by one, soon there weren't many wards left to destroy. Things were going well, or so we thought.
As we kept firing spells, a sudden pressure could be felt originating from the mansion. I couldn't help but unconsciously gulp from it, a mighty entity was approaching us. Both Feon and I realized her identity, we could only prepare our guards before Riela's sister arrived.
The clones were no longer holding back and started firing off spells with everything they had, we didn't have time to dawdle. The enemy formation finally realized our intentions and started regrouping around the wards to protect them, but it wasn't very effective as our firepower overpowered their defences.
Ten... seven... five… there were now only two wards remaining. We just needed a bit more time, just enough so Feon could enter the premises but... then she emerged.
"I was expecting you guys."
A chilly voice spreads throughout the mansion, the temperature suddenly felt a lot colder than before. The figure which said that was wrapped in an icy aura, snowflakes gathered around her with bluish light emanating from the surrounding frost.
Her words felt like the cold blade of the reaper, ready to reap our souls at any moment. I started quivering at the thought of that, I knew she was strong but no preparation was enough to overcome this fear.
As I was shaking, I felt a hand placed on my shoulder. It was one of Feon's clone, she looked at me with eyes filled with determination, unwilling to back down. Seeing that I solemnly nodded, now wasn't the time to quake in fear, I had to fight to save my prince.
As this was going on, the sister's frigid glare pierces through us, she was extremely angry right now.
"Which one of you whores disturbed my precious time with my brother? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter, you all will be dead by the end of it."
She declared, her attitude pompous and commanding. She didn't consider us as threats, rather she looked at us as if we were some pebbles on the sidewalk.
Her hand stretches forward, numerous shards of ice start forming around the sky and angled towards our location.
"Spread out!" I commanded and rushed away from our formation.
The shards then instantly speed towards us, all the clones headed to different directions, avoiding the area where the projectiles were concentrated at.
CRASH!
The shards of the ice splintered and punctured into our flesh. The sharp pain was then accompanied by frostbites which were slowly spreading throughout our bodies, I quickly used my support magic to offset the freezing effect.
"Sunshine!" I cast a spell which gave freeze resist to our bodies. A spell of this tier normally wouldn't have much effect but under my hands, its strength multiplied. The frosted area soon turned to normal which I followed up with a healing spell.
Riela's sister just watched expressionlessly. Her hand stretched again, this time the magic circle formed was much smaller but the light around it was incredibly condensed. "Ice Spear," she said as a white flash headed towards me.
I tried to avoid but I was too late, I could only think that this was the end for me. Unexpectedly, one of Feon's clones had rushed to my aid in time, we barely managed to avoid the spear, though it still grazed the clone's back.
There was a terrible gash on her body which I quickly healed. But before we got enough time to stand up, another ten spears headed to our direction.
"Aegis Shield!" This time I was more prepared and activated my defence spell instantly. The spears shattered against the floating shield one by one, forming deep cracks on it.
The guards also started aiming their attacks at the same time, putting us into a crossfire. Our formation was a lot more loosened due to spreading out so I couldn't bring the other clones under my protection. Their health started to gradually decrease under the intense barrage of attacks, multiple wounds had formed on the clones' bodies.
"Adrian! All the wards are down, just hold off this bitch for as long as you can." Feon's clone informed me, the urgency was apparent in her voice.
As she said those words, a huge shadow covered our surroundings. All of us looked up, what we saw shocked us. A ridiculously sized boulder of ice was floating above us, it was around the size of a house. With the impending doom awaiting us, I applied all my buffs to their utmost limit.
"Hold her off for as long as I can… Easier said than done." I said to myself in a derisive smile. Feon better saves Riela before I lose to this monster.