The orb fired one beam after another, each that missed the group instead hit a reflective wall or ceiling and only gained more momentum. Even as time passed the first laser shot never dispersed.
So Ivan resorted to having each of them destroyed. Countering them with waves of energy, in other words magic, they only lasted because of the reflective surroundings. But if they met a figuratively brick wall.
ππππππ ππππππ
Then they'd break and disperse naturally. Ivan created a wall using the ground beneath him, bending the ice into a ramp-like shield which allowed him to hold off the attacks while Yue rushed in.
She ignored the attacks to her body, holes tore through her like pressurized air, her clothes poked like swiss-cheese. But none of that ever phazed her, she silently extended her right arm out and supported it by using her left hand to hold her elbow.
π½ππππ!
A trail of lightning soared through the sky and struck its target, the yellow-green floating orb. It bursted in a stunt of brilliant light, but of course things in a labyrinth couldn't be resolved so easily.
As if detecting the elimination of one of its turrets the dungeon went ahead and threw at the group ten more.
"Oh shit, this is like a Star Wars film!" Ivan stopped himself from peeking over cover and yelled out in surprise. The members of his group just gave him questioning stares before turning back to return fire.
'Cave ain't tall enough to warrant the Ice Giant,I guess my only option is to enclose themβ¦' It seemed he hadn't learned his lesson, the dungeon wasn't ever so simple.
π½ππππ!
The transmuted floor curled up to resemble that of a flower bud, in its beauty was a hidden malice to crush the foes standing within it. Ivan watched on as the orbs remained stationary, beforeβ
πππππ
"Shitβ¦!"
They teleported, they fucking teleported!
Their troubles didn't stop there, the orbs kept teleporting over and over, only remaining in place for a single second to launch a flurry of lasers before teleporting again. This created an awkward situation where only Yue, Felis, and Canis could poke their heads out and ignore the damage.
Ivan on the other hand was too occupied creating cover for everyone that couldn't regenerate from having their heads blasted into smithereens.
π½πΌππ! π½πΌππ! π½πΌππ!
Canis ignored the damage done to her body, charging forward with her claws, thanks to her inhuman agility and strengthening magic combined with gravity magic she was able to reach the orbs before they destroyed with enough momentum.
Yue did what she did best, blasting everything in front of her. Elemental dragons, space rifting slashes, gravity shaking attacks, each swipe of her hand and movement of her lips left destruction in its wake.
Felis took it easy and copied her former teacher, from time to time she ran to Ivan's cover, lobbing spells from her memory either from Tio or Yue.
And an hour later, one orb was left.
π½πΌππ!π½πΌππ!π½πΌππ!
However no matter how much the group attacked it, it showed no signs of leaving this world. It just stood there⦠menacingly.
And thenβ there was another bloom of bright light. This time so powerful that it rendered the group blind for a split second.
Next thing they knew, they stood face to face with seven towering golems of ice, bulking in what seemed like muscle, they stood five meters tall. One for each of them.
And as if on queue, the group was blinded once more before each of them found themselves in different rooms. 'So this is just another trial back to back huhβ¦' Ivan grinned facing his opponent, a giant this size made of an element he had power over just put things insanely in his favor.
The voices were still in his head, but for now all he was concerned about were Claire and Ari, who would likely be more susceptible to its effects when separated from those who could repress it.
What was worse was that as he thought the deeper they progressed in the trial the worse it got.
π½πΌππ!π½πΌππ!π½πΌππ!
To his left he could hear repeated banging coming from the wall to his left. "Claire!" He yelled out, telepathy had inexplicably disconnected. It seemed this whole time his favorite feature was at the mercy of the liberator.
'This liberator just might be a pretty cool guyβ¦'
His yell was met with silence, but he was certain his words were heard. In fact he took that silence itself as a response.
"You're way too green if you think you could kill me so easily! Don't ya' remember, not even the heroes summoned by 'god' stand a chance. So don't you be holding back, you're stronger than them so don't keep thinkin' you stand beneath them!"
At this point he was spouting bullshit, whatever was eating her inside her mind he had no way of telling. Pressing her for an answer would only make things awkward between them. His main priority was just getting her to pass the trial, having her worry about hurting him would only end in disaster for both him and her.
'I do wonder what I ever did to piss her off?' His thoughts were caught off as he nimbly stepped to the left to avoid a swiftly approaching fist the size of his body.
He moved forward and used both hands to grab the wrist connected to the outstretched hand, blue light flared out his palms and the connecting points between hand and arm melted into water.
Of course it quickly froze back into ice due to the atmosphere but by then the two had already been completely disconnected. The momentum of the hurling fist sent it flying to the otherside of the makeshift arena.
The golem smashed the ground in front of it using the nub of its arm, in response Ivan dove back and focused his transmutation on the discarded hand. In blinding light it turned into water then needles of ice, and with gravity magic sent back full force at the golem's face.
It brought up both arms to guard its face, specifically its eyes. Ivan mused for a second before charging in, using his volley of ice needles as covering fire.
While running he fired off his exploding needles, waving his gauntlets in front of him targeting the golem's eyes.
"EAAAAGGH!!"
For the first time it made an audible noise. In response Ivan finally made it to the golem's feet, he snapped his fingers before the air around him changed. It's not that activating his field required a snap, it was just easier to visualize activation by creating somewhat of a trigger.
It was also useful in making sure he wouldn't accidentally activate the ability.
The legs of the golem disintegrated, melted, minced, and reduced to atoms. He wouldn't allow it to regather its parts and rebuild. Though it seemed that was inevitable as it turned its head to stare at the surroundings.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of ice. Its intentions were obvious. 'A core, where is it?' The golem was made of ice and yet its insides were so dense it couldn't be seen through. So Ivan prioritized where he'd attack.
'The center of its body, the head, perhaps where a heart should beβ¦ even its groinβ¦' There was no more time to waste, he got closer and climbed its body by making footstools for himself.
It was quite disrespectful but he wanted to hurry up and clear the current trial so he could rest until the others cleared theirs. Time was precious, and he wanted to make the most of it by lazing around to recuperate.
The golem sensed impending doom, with no other choice it revealed a trump card of its own. Its body shone a crystal blue, spike appeared on every inch at a swift pace. It was transmuting its very being.
"Tch! Stingy bastard!" Ivan remained persistent. Every change the golem made he made two more of his own. He was determined to take over the golem's body and disassemble it.
He reverted time in his field and made all the spikes around him recede back into the golem's body. He then placed both hands onto the golem's chest, a second passed and a huge gaping whole large enough to let slip three grown men appeared on its body.
There was nothing, and subsequently it appeared there wasn't a core where its heart should be either.
It's chest was gone, along with both of its legs, all that was left were the arms and head. The arms would be a horrible place to put it as it'd be putting its core in danger every time it swung towards its enemy.
"So in classic fashion, the head it is!" He leaped up with his inuman strength, firing a barrage of missiles to create a cover of ash to hide in.
π½πΌππ!
He firmly pressed both his hands on the golem's temple, digging them in whilst imbuing both arms of transmutation while using his field to increase destruction.
π½πΌππ!
Like a balloon the head popped, revealing an aquamarine marble just about the same size as his head.
He unceremoniously crushed it with his right arm, heaving a sigh of relief as the ice wall behind the golem melted to reveal a new path.
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Me eyes, they burn! Hmm... What's this feeling of deja vu? Anyways the Louise figure I ordered has been taking a real long time to get to the warehouse so it could be delivered to me. I hope everything is fine, and most importantly I hope it arrives in tact. If it gets here when this chapter comes out I'll post a pic in this paragraph!
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