Dungeon of Niflheim-Chapter 919: Assaulted from three sides

An Urumi (a flexible whip like sword) from the left, a toothed Kukri from the right and a pair of hook swords from the front, held by the strongest of the three aggressors. Their target Neve who had charged deep into the enemy lines in response to the death of her friend. A reckless and foolish endeavour that had landed her in some pretty hot water.

Her mind rapidly churned, anxiously seeking out an avenue of escape but it came up empty each and every time. The best she could hope for was a critical injury that would kill her eventually instead of instantly....her death was a foregone conclusion.

But instead of wallowing in her inability to deny the inevitable she stood bravely in the face of it, her eyes determined and radiating an intense fire. If she was to die this day then she was going to go out fighting. With her right hand tightly grasping the handle of her fan Neve honed in on the man wielding the Urumi, he had the ugliest appearance and the most insidious laugh making him the ideal choice for the journey she was about to undertake. The scales needed to be balanced after all.

Her choice made the other two evil men practically vanish, becoming invisible and inconsequential within the breadth of her gaze. She moved quickly and aggressively towards the man with the Urumi, her sharp canines appearing like fangs beneath her satin cloth and the viciousness in her eyes giving her a beast like presence. Her bloodlust was so intense that the scent of death was thick in the air, even the three men who had unleashed untold evils upon the world felt a shiver run down their spines and a sharp knife press up against their necks.

Prey should not be capable of such resistance, a lamb should not invoke fear within a wolf yet here they were, terror blooming from the depths of their hearts in response to Neve’s outburst. The man with an Urumi for a weapon feeling the threat far more than his colleagues who reacted with increased movement speed while he briefly froze, stunned by the beautiful woman launching herself at him with a weapon in hand.

"Die!!" Neve spoke a single word but in her voice was such intense gravitas and presence that it affected the area around her, she had managed to invoke a pseudo aura, the final step before reaching B-rank. This along with the man’s innate fear towards her slowed his reactions even more, practically leaving him wide open as Neve rushed in, his Urumi slicing off the cloth that covered the lower half of her face, leaving a significant gash upon her snow white skin but ultimately failing to stop her.

Caring not about her exposed back Neve reached the torso of her target and unleashed two thunder cracking strikes, slicing the man from shoulder to hip, a large x shape that exposed his vital organs and several of his bones but still left him with his life....she would take that with her third and final slice.

Her back would be attacked any moment now and then and only then would she launch her final gambit, ending the life of the man in front of her with a swift cut across his neck and thus briefly evening out the scales.

However the pain never came, there was no pressure propelling her forward despite her anticipation.

’Strange’ She was confused by the situation but lacked the necessary information and the time needed to investigate. Her entire focus was centred on the man wielding the Urumi, she was blind and deaf to what was going on around her thus despite her confusion she carried on, her fan opening up to reveal a snow laced forest with a pair of intoxicating eyes hovering in the centre. These eyes were the last thing the man saw before the fan decapitated him, slicing cleanly through his flesh as if it was butter, his neck bone providing nothing more than a slight bit of give.

Neve attacked him with her full power, leaving not even the smallest vestige of strength within her body, an aggressive choice made under the assumption that death was unavoidable. She therefore fell to her knees powerless and exhausted after the deed had been completed.

Curious however to understand why she didn’t feel a sharp, excruciating pain in her back she turned her head and felt a splash of something wet striking against her exposed face. It was too thick and viscous to be water and had a somewhat metallic smell to it.

’Blood?....but who’s?’ The splash of blood was quite large, momentarily blinding her vision but it didn’t take long for her to understand.

"K...Kiba!" Standing behind her as she kneeled over the corpse of her kill was Kiba. The moment he saw her surrounded by the enemy he didn’t hesitate, not for a second. Honouring the order given to him by his master he set out to protect her, charging in between her and the other two aggressors. Alas the timing failed to provide him much in the way of preparation, all he could do was use his large body to block them.

The two hook swords held by the peak C-rank landed near the base of his right wing, cutting it deeply and shredding many of his feathers while the toothed Kukri was thrust into and through his shoulder which resulted in the splash of blood hitting Neve’s face.

"RAAWWWRRR!!!" Kiba released a mighty roar before using his weight to violently send the two evil men flying backwards, their assault quickly brought to an end but at what cost.

Doof!

They may had failed to kill Neve but Kiba the 2nd most formidable enemy after Frost was injured, the damage to his body being so heavy that he slumped to his knees, his blood flowing like a river through his fur and before falling onto the rock floor.

"Hah the beast is down!"

"Kill it and take its pelt!" Invigorated by this sight the two men who had been knocked back by Kiba shouted with glee, their eyes sparkling with insidious hunger. To them killing and slaughtering their enemies was the greatest form of entertainment.

They wasted no time in swiftly pushing themselves back into attack range, their weapons primed to cut deeply into Kiba’s sturdy flesh.

"No!" Neve was heartbroken, because of her recklessness Kiba their saviour’s battle mount and the one who had been so vehemently protecting them all this time had suffered grievous injuries.

Their invincible guardian fell to his knees, his right wing half destroyed, and his shoulder pierced cleanly through by a toothed weapon alongside the injuries he already bore. He saw the two men coming at him and tried to stand but his limbs refused to listen, he was exhausted.

"Grrrr[Master]" Kiba released a sad whimper thinking of his master as his death approached, the spectre ready and waiting to take his soul. It even appeared smiling as though relishing in the sufficient bounty of today’s reaping, so many strong souls with ancient bloodlines.

"Lord Kiba!!"

"Quick someone stop them!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I can’t make it!" The Lunar maidens screeched, several desperately trying to reach him in time but thanks to the efforts of the other men, their position and the sheer velocity of the two attackers’ movements there was no hope. Their attacks, spells and even the rocks that two of them picked up to throw would only arrive after the fact. Knowing this they felt anguish and despair, but they didn’t stop their efforts, if the two men wanted to kill Kiba then they’d have to endure their revenge as a price.

As their weapons came down upon Kiba’s vitals the young Glacial winged tiger closed his eyes as if accepting his death with a peaceful heart... but that was in fact nothing but a false pretence.

"[Freezing fireball]" From the shadowed path where Frost and Valend engaged in their poignant duel a voice emerged followed by two rapidly moving balls of cold fire.

The two men attacking Kiba were violently struck by these fireballs, the late stage C-rank was knocked to the floor, his body bouncing repeatedly against the hard rock as the fire froze the arm in which he wielded his Kukri. The peak C-rank however being a little stronger and not as lost in his revelry was able to react, using his hooked swords he swung at the fireball causing it explode before it hit him. He was forced backwards but took no damage unlike his colleague.

"Who?" He asked as his eyes locked onto the shadowy pass.

"Really you’ve forgotten me already, I normally leave quite the impression." His looks weren’t exactly common, even those who were used to seeing elves and similarly beautiful species would find themselves stunned when they laid eyes upon Frost.

"Y...You...But...That’s impossible!" Frost left to duel their boss, Valend the local tyrant and the most powerful individual the vast majority of these elites had ever seen. How did this pretty boy return? Where was Valend? The faces of the evil men revealed expressions filled with shock and disbelief, their faith in Valend’s strength unquestionable.

"Where’s the boss?"

"Valend... dead of course." Frost exaggeratingly tilted his head to the side as though mocking the man for asking such a stupid question.

"YOU LIE!!!"

"Yeah the boss is invincible!" Two of the elites immediately and aggressively rejected his statement, the idea of their boss losing, inconceivable to them.

"Tough and durable I’ll admit but invincible hardly." A mocking smile grew on Frost’s lips as he reached behind his back and tossed Valend’s severed head onto the rock floor.

"..." There was stunned silence amongst the evil men as well as the Lunar maidens, that massive, powerful and nightmare inducing tyrant that had been plaguing them for weeks was now dead, his severed head placed at their feet as proof.

Frost could have easily used their shocked state as an opportunity to cull the number of his enemies but given the difference in their strength he needed no advantage so instead he walked over to his wounded companion, Kiba who acted as if his every breath was an ordeal, his limbs shaking and struggling to support his weight.

"You can stop milking it now you faker."