The Heavens Shall Fall

The place where the group had settled to establish their ambush was in a shallow, bowl-shaped depression where the ground dipped a little before rising again into a low ridge. If they waited for the right moment and sprang their attack when the stag was at its lowest position, they would have the advantage of the high ground. Not to mention, the snow was thicker here, with a traceable cut-through where it was packed tight by repeated passage of beasts, the clear route they were taking when passing by. The trees were spaced farther apart thanks to the depression; their branches glittered with icicles hanging from them as the sun shone down on the group, breaking through the splintering clouds.

Everything felt... perfect.

"Keep to the plan," Rinmei said as they took up their positions, hiding to the best of their abilities. "Harrik, you take up the center-left position." She pointed toward a slight rise where the snow had piled up, allowing his bigger frame to disappear behind it. "Your helper can mirror your position on the right flank; you will be the opening for this hunt."

"Don't forget that when we split the rewards," Harrik grunted once, but he was already moving to take up positions. Although he constantly had something to say and complain about, at least he managed to cooperate with everybody when it truly mattered.

"Kae'Lin," Rinmei ignored his grumbles as she continued, turning without pause, "You go to the high right. Your helper should stay two steps behind and attack in rotation. Harrik will keep the beast's attention, your job is to injure it..."

"Don't worry, this is not my first hunt," she answered with a smile, nodding and flexing her fingers, disappearing to her position, getting ready for the battle.

"Jarek," Rinmei said again, "you hold back until I say. When I do, you commit to the attack in your fullest, but only then."

"No problem, just make sure to bring me back," Jarek cracked his neck, coughing once, and even his helper swallowed, but simply nodded, already positioning himself where Rinmei could easily see them.

"Ryn," Rinmei added, turning toward the scout, "you and your partner stay light and eyes open. The commotion can easily draw in an opportunistic beast, so if you say retreat, we retreat."

"Don't worry, nothing will jump us," She inclined her head once and disappeared within the treeline.

"Nue," Rinmei turned to her at last, looking at her, "You should take up the rear arc, circling around the pathway. Make sure you hide while it passes by and then don't give it a chance to retreat back to the trees."

"Don't worry, it won't," She rolled her shoulders once, and was a bit surprised that Rinmei wasn't done, because she opened her mouth once again, speaking to Siu... yet he wasn't a core member.

"You stay behind my position," she said to him, "Have your beasts survey the area, just like Ryn, and the moment they sense something, you alert me. Understood?"

Siu nodded without comment, ignoring Nue's gaze, who was probably about to order him to follow her... but now she couldn't. After everyone took their places, forming a loose circle around the noticeable trail, at the edge of the bowl-shaped area, the group was mostly ready. Each helper they brought mirrored their leader's role, falling silent, simply waiting in the cold, crouching as low as possible, hiding within the trees and snow.

Soon, ten minutes had already passed... then half an hour... An hour. Nothing. By then, Siu slowed his breathing considerably, letting himself sink into a half-meditative state, still alert, hearing his contracted beasts' thoughts and noticing any movements, his eyes barely blinking as he filtered out any unnecessary noise. At the same time, he also began drawing in essence from the cold air surrounding them, using the opportunity to fill himself to the brim, well, at least as much as his current cultivation allowed him to capture. By the turn of the first hour, even his beasts became bored, and Arya had gone still somewhere ahead of the line, while Marly hovered close by to him. Only, she was now perched much higher, clinging to a branch, her eyes going back and forth where the rest of the team was hiding.

Then, just as another ten minutes had passed, Arya's bored look was gone in a snap when she sensed something. Her head immediately turned in that direction, and she felt something coming from there; her nose started to twitch as she began sniffing, the white fur on her body shooting towards the sky, turning her into a ball of fur.

"Something is coming! Master... this is... dangerous, hauh, very wrong! Not good, we must run! Escape! We must go, now!"

"Damn it... Stay put, don't act...! We will run when it's time to run, but until then, both of you, stay safe and hidden!"

Of course, he hadn't relayed that part to the rest, only moved his hand to signal Rinmei that something was coming... There was no way to tell them or convince them about anything else. Flexing his muscles, pulling every part of his body into readiness to move at a moment's notice, he also realized he felt calm... and way calmer than he expected.

As the realization hit him, the trees at the far end of the depression parted, and the Icecrown Stag walked out, following the trail, like a king walking through his own kingdom. What he noticed first were its antlers coming into view, looking way too big for a deer, branching into multiple, sharp splinters, without any actual rhyme or reason.

The second thing to notice was their color, as they were shining in a crystal-blue hue, as if made of pure ice, giving it an immaculate sheen. Each little spike caught the present sunlight, just to fracture it, scattering iridescent reflections across the snow right before its body, making it as if it were walking on rainbows.

It was beautiful... and horrifying, because it was larger than any deer, stag, or moose Siu had ever seen or heard about. It was not only taller but also, at the shoulder, broader, which kept true to the rest of the animal as it fully walked out of the trees, hiding who knows how powerful muscles under a coat of pristine white fur.

When it stepped into the depression, heading downwards, it showed no signs of noticing them or expecting trouble. It kept breathing out flakes of ice from its nostrils that were as big as Siu's fists, and that was when he noticed its eyes. The creature began scanning the edge of the bowl-shaped, and they... They swept across them all. When it passed by where he and Rinmei were, Siu caught how the stag's eyes were an unnatural blue, confident, and... How proud they were.

With a neigh-like scoffing, it shook its head, while walking, keeping to the route it had already passed by multiple times, but... Siu's senses, along with the warning coming from both Arya and Marly, told him that they were in grave danger. Those blue eyes... the confidence. Not good! It sensed them, it knew they were here, and it still chose to walk into the ambush!

He was about to warn everyone, but by then, the Icecrown Stag had made its move, right when it reached the lowest part of the depression, as if announcing itself to be ready. One of its massive hooves pressed down into the snow, then stopped, its front settling down, bracing itself, and then there was the gathering of a breath, along with inhaling a powerful flow of essence through and from the air. It was the first time he had seen it happen, but it was not hard to realize it was the beginning of a spell forming as its antlers lit up, like someone turned on the light beneath the ice. By the next moment, a beam of frost blasted forward, like a chilled breath from a dragon, flowing directly towards Rinmei.

At a last-minute dodge, she managed to roll away, watching as the snow under and behind her turned into blue glass, or in this case, ice, creating a surface that not even a hammer strike could crack.

By then, Hadrik had moved in as the snow exploded where he stood. He propelled himself forward like an avalanche, his helper matching him a half-step behind, coordinating with him in a well-experienced manner. Under his clothes and armor, Harrik's body was hardened as the essence he had within himself got carried by his breathing, hitting the stag in the side, crashing into it like a meteor.

The impact was monstrous, at least looking at it from the outside, watching as Harrik slammed into the stag's left shoulder, both arms locking around its front legs as his helper struck low, driving into the packed snow beneath the beast's hooves, both of them trying to immobilize the creature. The ground they stood on fractured with a thunderous explosion, ice, snow, and whatever else was hidden beneath it splashing outward as Harrik braced himself, all his muscles bulging grotesquely as he tried to flip the stag onto its back.

For a heartbeat, it seemed to work; even the Icecrown Stag staggered by half a step as its massive body was forced off balance. But... then its body lit up, its white fur bristling and creating an icy hue, using whatever power was within him to manifest, causing Hadrik to yell out and release it, feeling his fingers freeze, which was akin to touching molten lava.

The moment it got free from his hold, the stag's head snapped past them, ignoring the two and Kae'Lin, who was already in motion to attack, seconds away from landing on its back... With time ticking like it had slowed to a snail's pace, Siu saw those glacial blue eyes flick across the clearing in a single, terrifying sweep, mapping positions, distances, and threat vectors from everybody who began showing themselves to take it down... Siu could feel it... this one was confident in winning against them all.

It... it even welcomed the challenge, it was using them as a whetstone to advance itself! The realization hit Siu like a bucket of ice water... or more like a glacial waterfall. By then, the stag's body twisted into an almost impossible angle for something so large, dodging Kae'Lin's attack, kicking out with its back legs, and hitting the girl in the arms as she managed to raise them in a blocking motion at the last moment. Still, she was sent flying like a ragdoll... disappearing the moment she hit the snow and trees.

The moment the stag's legs touched down again, the beast blasted forward at an incredible speed, aiming at the weakest link of this ambush, directly at Rinmei. Harrik tried to catch its legs, but he was ripped free and hurled aside like a discarded toy, crashing through a tree and bringing it down with him. His helper was not as lucky as his body was dragged under the creature's hooves, causing a loud crunch, a massive splatter of red, and what remained of him was a mangled corpse, stomped deep into the snow.

The stag didn't even look back; it just charged straight through the difficult terrain, its bloody hooves hammering the ground, its head going down as it lowered its antlers, straight toward Rinmei.

"SCATTER!" Siu yelled, grabbing Rinmei's body at the last moment, yanking her out of the way as the stag stampeded past the two, only to turn in an arc like a rhino, aiming to head back towards them, unwilling to give up the fight... it wanted this battle.

Hells... it welcomed it!

Not even Rinmei argued, and by then they all knew this was over... A beast that opened with the use of essence? With a spell attack? That meant it was akin to someone at a higher stage of Blood Resonance! It could already command the power of the world to flow the way it wants... and have it willingly access it.

"Retreat! RETREAT!" Rinmei yelled, watching as the stag was closing in, way faster than any of them were.

Without thinking, Siu used his movements to change direction at a sharp angle. As the stag passed by him, it was clear that the beast was focused on eliminating Rinmei first, ignoring the rest, and as it registered in his mind, the opportunity was there. While in the middle of his dodge, feeling the time ticking by the tenth of its usual speed, he saw the creature be only an arm's length as it rushed by him... So, Siu switched to counter, punching out, just to hit the stag straight in the neck, his fingers pushing against the fur and muscles below it.

But it did nothing, well, almost nothing. It caused the stag to flinch, move its eyes, looking directly at him, before focusing back towards the front, watching as its antlers stabbed into the fleeing Rinmei's back. What Siu's attack achieved was only that the icy spikes went through her lower back and not her torso, but... it didn't seem that it mattered much, because with a flick of its head, her body was flung away like nothing, splashing red blood everywhere.

"I am not joining any hunting group anymore..." Siu muttered to himself, watching as the stag stopped to look around, surveying his remaining enemies, then turned its head, measuring Siu with a way too calm look. "Not unless I'm the leader..."