*CHING!!* *BAM!!* *CHING!*
The siblings decided to bombard me from different directions, attempting to overwhelm my agility.
When the time comes, Irina attacks the opening I purposely reveal. I deflect Clifton's strike and leave my body open. Snow energy gathers around her sword as she throws a thrust at me. I step aside to evade it and counterattack. To my surprise, her thrust was a feint. Her sudden switch of trajectory slams the winter aura into me, pushing me a few distance.
"Huff huff..." Irina and Clifton click their tongue. Despite their resistance, I am seen unscathed with my sword up.
A small part of my blade is frozen, mist continuously expands from it.
...They are growing. That was their first hit.
I swing my sword to dissipate the ice.
"Irina, I think we have to go all out. I can't shake off this dangerous feeling..." Clifton says.
Irina furrows her brow. "A-Alright..."
With a burst of energy, the aura on their blade solidifies and expands a domain of blizzard. Winter descends in this small arena as white graces every corner.
!
As expected, their accumulated mana and techniques are superior...but their aura unleashed is frankly disappointing.
Both siblings appear behind in the blink of an eye, their swords clash with mine and release terrifying gusts of snow. Indeed, the force is stronger.
They jump back in opposite directions and deploy the same tactic. Attack barrage from different angles, this time systemically.
Behind. Left. Right. Left. Front. Right. Behind.
Every guard explodes mist and cold. As time passes, the slashes become harder to predict and their steps seamlessly blend into the blizzard.
Despite that, I could decipher the foundation of their technique. Their footwork represents a snowflake and their swordsmanship represents the raging snowstorm.
Clifton stops his attack and pulls back his sword. A giant ball of snow gathers at the tip and blasts towards me. One slice separates the snowball into two before Irina dives from above. A whirlpool of winter nature dances around her as if the queen of the snow descended.
*BOOOOM!!!*
The avalanche of snow and mana unleashes a formidable torrent seemingly obliterating everything into a snowpack. The surge of kinetic energy trembles the arena through the barrier, rumbling a roar.
"Hah...huff...huff..." Irina stumbles on the ground, barely collecting herself with her sword as support. Chilling metamorphosis assaults both siblings from the merciless grip of cold. Ice crystals of frostbite revealed on their skin, atop their otherworldly pallor.
I see...those movements were a bridge to the final move.
A silhouette appears amidst the chaotic vapour.
!!
Clifton widens his eyes, bewilderment fills his gaze. "H-He..."
The vapour vanishes and reveals my state. Frostbite eats away at my body but my gaze stays resolute.
"Are you done?" I ask.
"Damn...it..." Clifton mumbles.
Irina musters her remaining strength to ask me "How...are you unaffected by the cold?"
...
"Compared to the Land of Death, it's warm."
"T-The Land of Death?!" Clifton exclaims. "You've gone there?"
YOU ARE READING
A Background Character's Fate
Fantasy"In war, commoners are the victims in victory or defeat." Struck by poverty amidst a long and devastating war, an ordinary mercenary dies among the countless corpses on a snowy battlefield. Yet by a stroke of luck, he regressed to his younger self...
