Chapter 423 - Third Floor: The Haunted Forest of Winter Deers (19)

Nearby, Athena stood her ground, her fingers crackling with mana as she launched spheres of compressed ice toward the advancing Deers. The frozen blasts hit like hammer blows, sending creatures sprawling as they shattered against the cold ground. But the relentless press of enemies meant that Athena couldn't remain stationary; with each spell cast, she quickly changed position, slipping through gaps in the oncoming swarm to avoid getting boxed in. She summoned a spiraling shield of frost around herself, the glimmering cold reflecting the chaotic scene, before letting it explode outward in sharp, icy shards that drove several Deers back, buying her a brief reprieve.