Vivian's eyes widened, her heart racing for a moment. What the hell had happened?
That's when she saw it.
A shield of bluish energy was revealed around the Aligodon, an icy layer that seemed to solidify the very air around it. The heat had been consumed, absorbed, eradicated effortlessly. And then, before she could react, that translucent shield thickened, darkening into an opaque navy blue that swallowed the entire creature in a cocoon of pure imminent destruction.
Vivian's blood froze in her veins. Gregory's scream tore through the silence like a deadly warning.
"RUN AWAY!!!!" The words echoed in her ear, and Vivian, with instinctive precision, turned and shot with all the strength in her body, running at an unbeatable speed towards her bunker. The sound of her breathing mixed with the tumult of her racing heart.
Behind her, the sphere expanded, an uncontrollable force, a mass of pure destruction that spread with breathtaking speed. Swallowing everything around it with voracity, extending and growing with each passing second, taking over the landscape and threatening to consume even Vivian.
But Vivian was faster, agile enough to reach her hiding place and take shelter in its safety, breathing a sigh of relief in the light darkness.
Outside, a sepulchral silence took over the battlefield. There was no sound, except for the low, macabre whisper that emanated from that sphere about to collapse.
The light was not intense, as if the universe itself had gone quiet, but a soft blue-cyan hue illuminated the scene in an ethereal, almost hypnotic way, as if it were the calm before the storm.
And then, a hellish and frightening noise.
SSSHWWwooooosshhhh BOOOOOMMMMMMMM
The sphere, finally reaching its critical mass, imploded with unbelievable violence, releasing a shockwave that tore across the landscape like a raging beast. The sound of the explosion was deafening, a deep roar that seemed to tear the earth itself apart, followed by a reverberation that traveled for miles, bringing with it a carnage that defied comprehension.
The battlefield was transformed into a plain of destruction. The explosion was even more devastating than the previous one, a boom that tore out roots and trunks, instantly turning vegetation into ice dust.
Trees within a radius of 100 meters were frozen and pulverized in fractions of a second. Those further away were ripped from the ground and thrown far away, swept away by the overwhelming force. The icy wind swept everything in front of it, like a plague of ice, leaving a trail of death and desolation.
But the horror didn't stop there. In the distance, the ground crystallized, the cold touch of the explosion turning the earth into glass, as delicate as a macabre work of art. Trees cracked, their frozen sap exploding from the inside out, releasing razor-sharp shards.
The air seemed frozen, brittle, forming fractal patterns of ice that floated briefly before shattering to the ground, like glass shattering under a deadly blow.
__________________________________
On the battlefield, after the devastating explosion, only a deathly silence remained. The already chaotic terrain had expanded brutally, transformed into a barren landscape of ice and ash. The surrounding forest was nothing but a white graveyard—trees petrified by the extreme cold, their trunks brittle as glass, frozen the instant the blast consumed them.
The Aligodon stood motionless in the heart of the devastated battlefield, surrounded by a desert of ice and ash. The silence that hung in the air was almost absolute, broken only by the faint rustle of crystallized fragments falling from the dead trees. His thick breath turned to white mist as it touched the frozen air.
His massive body, covered in scars and still-open wounds, resisted firmly, as if pain were an irrelevant concept to a beast of that magnitude. He sniffed the air again, his piercing eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of movement. His instinct screamed that his prey was still there, hidden in the pale landscape. Every muscle in him was prepared, every fiber of his body eager for a new attack. His roar echoed like thunder among the icy ruins:
GRRRWWGAAHHHGGgg!
The challenge echoed for miles, a warning and a summons at the same time. If his prey was still alive, it would have no choice but to reveal itself. The Aligodon was no fool. It would wait. All it took was a sound. A smell. A mistake. Then, it happened. Something moved.
A shadow burst from the ground in a swift leap, like a predator ambushing its prey—but this time, the threat was against him. His gaze instantly fixed on the rising figure. He knew it before. That damned shield.
The monster's patience snapped.
With a brutal twist, it dug its claws into the frozen ground and lunged forward. The explosion of force caused the ground to crack beneath its paws, sending snow and debris flying around.
The melee erupted into a storm of fury and killing instinct. The Aligodon advanced like a crazed predator, its colossal jaws snapping shut with each failed attempt to devour its prey. Rebecca was quick, agile as lightning, dodging the creature's brutal blows while keeping its attention focused on her. Each dodge was a deadly dance between life and death—one mistake, and she would be crushed.
Just as the clash began, Louise and Daira emerged from the shadows. They separated without hesitation, moving like seasoned hunters: Louise ran straight toward the Aligodon, while Daira crept stealthily toward Zara's hiding place.
The monster's wild eyes caught the movement. Her instincts screamed that Daira was the weakest prey, and her body reacted before her mind could process it. But just as he began to move, a sharp flash slid through the air.
SHHK!
Louise's blade passed through one of the Aligodon's open wounds, reopening the cut with a precise strike. The effect was mild—a graze irritating for a creature of its size, but enough to give it pause.
The monster let out a low growl, its head snapping toward Louise with growing fury. It wasn't pain it felt, but the annoyance of a persistent insect. Still, that tiny interruption was all Rebecca needed to keep its attention.
As Daira entered the hideout and positioned herself beside Zara, she raised the radio to her lips.
"I'm here."
The answer came almost immediately, Gregory's steady voice ringing through the radio.
"Very well... For now, just stay on standby. Prepare the second dose of the cocktail to take as soon as I give the order."
The silence lasted only a moment before another voice appeared, full of irritation and impatience.
"It would be much more efficient if we helped them... This way, we are only wasting time. This could have been over already if we had gone all out from the beginning..." Vivian protested, her frustration spilling over into her tone.
Gregory did not hesitate to answer, his voice sharp as a blade.
"If we had done that, we would either be dead or, at best, crippled and on the verge of death. Or do you really think you could compete in power and resistance against that ice blast? If so, say so now and save us time and effort."
The silence that followed was heavy. Vivian did not respond, but everyone could imagine the expression on her face.
Gregory let out a short sigh, satisfied with the lack of response.
"That's what I thought… Now, await my orders."
The transmission ended, leaving only tension in the air.
____________________________________________
The Aligodon moved like an absolute predator—its paws crushed the frozen ground, its thick, injured muscles tensing with each step. Its eyes glowed with a cruel gleam as they fixed on Louise, who held her sword tightly.
Rebecca spun around the creature, her feet sliding over the crystallized surface. Her shield rose like a wall between the monster and Louise, diverting its attention.
With a fatal blow, the creature tried to crush them both with a swipe of its paw. Rebecca, who chose not to dodge, used her shield to absorb the impact, which worked very well, but she was still dragged back by the blow.
It was the space Louise needed.
She advanced like a blade, her sword describing a sure arc. The blade glided exactly over the open wound, tearing with some difficulty the creature's flesh. Violet blood sprayed into the frozen air.
The Aligodon snarled in fury, its eyes filled with hatred as its tail twisted like a whip, slashing the air with force. Louise, with impressive agility, leapt away, but Rebecca was struck by the violence of the tail and was thrown away, her body crashing to the ground with a crash.
The monster, without hesitation, launched itself at Rebecca, its enormous jaws open, ready to devour her.
However, Louise did not hesitate and, with a shout of command, ran towards the Aligodon. With a sure blow, she hit the open wound in the monster's side, cutting deeper.