I arrived at the periphery of the forest where the elves gathered, their every movement filled with a sense of purpose and determination. Each combat-abled elven woman was accounted for, brandishing their bows with practiced ease, ready to defend their home. At the forefront stood Irene, her presence commanding respect and obedience. With a single word from her, they would pull the strings of their bows and let loose a volley of arrows upon their foes.
The tension in the air was palpable as we awaited the arrival of the Frost Fire Sect. Beside me, Irene stood resolute, her gaze unwavering as she scanned the horizon for any sign of the enemy.
I had unknowingly walked beside her. Maybe it was just a flight of fancy on my part as I saw the image of my daughter superimposed on her. No matter how old and monster-like I had become, I was still a human inside prone to his emotions.
Suddenly, a group of figures emerged from the shadows of the trees, their dark cloaks billowing behind them as they advanced toward us. Among them, I could sense the unmistakable aura of power – these were not ordinary adversaries.
The three hooded figures in the front had a strong aura around them, one I would feel distinctly from seasoned supers. The flock following behind these three was also not to be underestimated as I could feel each of them had a touch of power in them albeit weaker by wide margins if compared to the trio.
"The Frost Fire Sect," Irene muttered under her breath, her voice filled with contempt.
As they drew nearer, I could make out their sinister grins and the glint of malice in their eyes. They were ruthless, their intentions clear as they advanced upon us.
I wouldn't even need my psychic abilities to know that they had come with ill intent.
Without hesitation, Irene raised her hand, signaling the archers to aim. With a swift motion, she gave the command, and a barrage of arrows filled the air, raining down upon the enemy with deadly accuracy.
The twang of bowstrings echoed through the forest. I resisted fighting alongside the elves, watching the strange supers erect a psychic barrier intertwined with frost elements. It was very interesting… I could detect a hint of esper ability combined with psychic intent.
As the arrows raged on, I could feel the elves feel a hint of despair worming from the crevices of their psyche. There was more to this— hatred, anger, disgust, and despair.
When the elves' arrows were exhausted, Irene drew the daggers from her waist. Her fellow elven sisters in arms did the same— daggers, spears, and swords all made of unrefined iron.
It was a pathetic sight, and it made the elves look the more pathetic as the Frost Fire Sect goons drew their metal, their weapons clearly of a higher quality possibly of steel-make.
The strongest among the Frost Fire Sect members stepped forward, his hood falling to reveal a handsome face framed by long, white hair. He regarded the elves with a smug expression, his voice carrying an air of superiority as he addressed them.
"If you wish to spare yourselves from a fate worse than death, I suggest you cooperate and surrender now," he declared, his tone laced with menace.
Irene's lip curled in disgust at his words. "Fuck off," she spat, her eyes blazing with defiance. "We will never surrender to the likes of you."
The leader of the Frost Fire Sect chuckled darkly at her defiance, his gaze narrowing. "So be it," he replied coldly. "You've made your choice."
With a flick of his wrist, he signaled his comrades to advance. The air crackled with tension as the Frost Fire goons advanced with their steel. I watched the other two powerful presence flank their leader. The three most powerful Frost Fire members stayed on the back while they let their cannon fodder do the work.
This was the perfect opportunity to make the elves owe me. The Frost Fire leader looked quite human to me, unlike the elves. Maybe he was even the same species as me, but I wouldn't care. First, I tested the waters. I didn't have any metal weapons with me. As Irene gave her orders to engage, I used telekinesis to reinforce my physical abilities. I jumped and embedded my fist into a cannon fodder's face… Surprisingly, the poor guy's head exploded.
Amidst the chaos of battle, I noticed Irene's sharp glance darting towards me, a mixture of surprise and concern flashing in her eyes. Ignoring her, I continued to assess the situation. The Frost Fire Sect members moved with calculated precision, their movements almost graceful as they closed in on the elves.
The leader of the Frost Fire Sect, his features still smug, observed the unfolding skirmish with detached amusement. "Such futile resistance," he remarked, his voice dripping with disdain. "Your feeble attempts only delay the inevitable."
Irene's voice cut through the air, filled with determination. "We will never yield to the likes of you," she declared, her words echoing with defiance. "You kidnapped our women, raped them, and now you seek to claim my village! You are a monster!"
But her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the Frost Fire Sect members pressed on, their onslaught was relentless. I couldn't help but notice the fear creeping into the hearts of the elves, their morale waning with each passing second.
I see, so this was that kind of issue… I was a supervillain once, but even villains had lines they wouldn't cross… Well, context-wise, villains have a preference for what lines they would cross.
Feeling the urgency of the situation, I decided to take action. With a swift movement, I directed a telekinetic blast toward the Frost Fire Sect members, catching them off guard. One of them stumbled backward, his hood falling to reveal a face twisted with surprise and anger.
"You!" he growled, his eyes narrowing as he recognized me.
Ignoring his reaction, I turned my attention back to the now-fuming Frost Fire leader. The elves, emboldened by my intervention, renewed their efforts, fighting with renewed vigor against their adversaries.
But the Frost Fire Sect members were not so easily deterred. With a menacing glint in their eyes, they pushed forward, and their determination was unyielding. I simply stood in my place as the elves ran past me and threw themselves to the Frost Fire cannon fodders…
Yep, it was a fight between cannon fodder vs cannon fodder.
Irene, her resolve unshaken, stood at the vanguard, rallying her fellow elves with unwavering determination. "We will not falter!" she cried, her voice carrying over the din of battle. "For our home, for our people, we will prevail!"
At this point, Irene had long discarded her unrefined iron daggers, and was now swinging a short sword and an axe she picked up from the dead… I observed that the Frost Fire Sect members were each capable of summoning thinly veiled psychic shields with frost elements.
It was upsetting that the other side had too many supers on their rank and file. Though inferior, they were still supers in the end.
The two Frost Fire members flanking their leader removed their hoods, revealing their faces— they were twin sisters, with black hair and dark skin. The twins were interesting— one summoned flames from her palm, while the other hurled spires of ice. I mind-controlled a few Frost Fire goons and had them intercept the projectiles aimed at the elves.
"What the?" The ice wielder was befuddled as her spires of ice had not landed at her intended target, and the same was true for her fire-wielding sister.
As the battle raged on, the clash of steel against steel and the crackle of elemental forces filled the air. Irene fought with ferocity, her blade slicing through the ranks of Frost Fire Sect members with precision and skill. Beside her, the elves fought valiantly, their determination unwavering despite the odds stacked against them.
Still, casualties couldn't be avoided at this point.
I used a combination of my telepathy and hypnosis to force those who had suffered fatal injuries into sleep. I should be able to heal them after this, if not, sleep would at least save them from the despair of death.
The Frost Fire leader watched the chaos unfold with a mixture of frustration and anger evident on his face. "This interference will not go unpunished," he snarled, his voice filled with venom as he directed his gaze toward me.
But I paid him little mind, focusing instead on bolstering the elves' defenses and disrupting the Frost Fire Sect's coordinated attacks. With each passing moment, the tide of battle seemed to shift slightly in our favor.
"I never knew an adult male remained, and a practitioner of all things!" The Frost Fire leader was on the verge of losing control of his temper. I could almost taste his anger.
The twins continued to unleash their elemental fury, but my mind-controlled goons intercepted their attacks, preventing any significant harm from befalling the elves. Meanwhile, Irene and her comrades pressed forward, their determination unyielding as they fought to defend their home.
This was too easy. I reinforced Irene with an adrenaline boost and replicated a 'semi-berserk' state, which should be enough to contend with a group of low-level supers.
"We will not be defeated!" Irene's voice rang out, cutting through the chaos as she rallied her fellow elves. "Together, we will drive these monsters back from whence they came!"
But even as she spoke, I could sense the Frost Fire leader's mounting frustration. With a furious roar, he unleashed a wave of frost and fire, sending psychic shockwaves rippling through the forest.
It was rubbing me the wrong way someone had hybrid powers from the esper-type and psychic-type. It was almost like magic, wholly unreasonable and baseless. It was annoying since most powers like this would be a 'unique-type' and something very rare to manifest.
The elves staggered under the force of the attack, but they refused to relent— unfortunately, it was useless as they were either burned to a crisp or frozen to ice sculptures. The aftermath of the attack didn't leave the forest unscathed.
Strangely enough, every Frost Fire member was untouched by the frost and flames.
It was most interesting. I understood by then that the Frost Fire's leader's power was temperature control.
Irene was barely standing hurt by the sight of her sister in arms dying without being able to fight back. Despite frost and flames devouring her without mercy, she remained undamaged as she was protected by my psychic barrier. I was the same. My psychic barrier was a combination of telepathy, telekinesis, and soul energy manipulation.
At this point, I have decided I would turn time back…. But not yet. This was the perfect opportunity for me to experiment with elf physiology.