?Inside the crystalline tomb of the Molecular Snap Freeze, Agent X didn't panic. He watched the gold Stunned notification flicker and die. The moment his mobility returned, he didn't try to break the ice from the inside. Instead, he simply let go.

  ?His consciousness, slipped out of the frozen shell’s torso. He commanded a stream of loose obsidian sand—hidden beneath the shattered permafrost on the ground—to rise and silently drift away from the two Incarnates nearby. To Maximus and Tempest, the demon was still a frozen trophy in the sky. They took a much needed breath to recompose themselves. In reality, a low-profile black cloud was already screaming across the wasteland toward the ice ramparts.

  ?Behind the wall, Aurora’s combat instincts flared. She saw the black streak and didn't hesitate. She unleashed a volley of jagged ice spears, but they merely hissed through the cloud, displacing sand that reformed instantly.

  ?The cloud coalesced. In a blur of violet heat, Agent X stood ten feet from her, his vents hissing with predatory intent. So this is who has been freezing all my sand he thought to himself looking at the perma frost mage.

  ?"Sentry Mode!" Aurora commanded, releasing her grip on the Frost Nova Staff. The artifact hovered in the air, its head pulsing as it began to self-charge like an automated turret.

  ?Aurora slammed her boots into the permafrost, her palms facing the earth. "Permafrost Plate!"

  ?The ice didn't rise from the ground; it erupted from the moisture in the air. A thick, translucent layer of absolute-zero ice coated her limbs, shaping itself into jagged, reinforced armor. Her forearms grew into massive crystalline clubs, and her visor shimmered with a pale blue light. She stepped into striking distance just as Agent X lunged.

  ?The sound of obsidian hitting permafrost was like two mountains colliding. Aurora traded blows with the demon, her ice clubs shattering and regenerating with every strike. Her defense was nothing compared to Maximus. She was faster than she looked, but Agent X was an extreme threat. Every punch he landed sent spiderweb cracks through her armor. Aurora was barely able to repair her permafrost plating between each blow. Her staff providing basic support with automated ice seeking spears. She thought to herself how lucky she is that the other two helped teach her how to fight up close. Speaking of, where are those two. Aurora immediately opens up the team mind link.

  ?The demon slipped past you! Aurora’s voice screamed through the mindlink, strained and breathless. I need help—NOW!

  ?Maximus and Tempest froze. They looked up at the frozen prison in the sky, then back at the rampart.

  ?"Damn it!" Tempest cursed. He didn't wait. He became a streak of emerald light, his speed stat redlining as he blasted back toward the wall. Maximus followed, his heavy plate clanking with every desperate stride. Hold on, Aurora! My bash is on cooldown—I'm a minute out!

  ?Shortly away from where Aurora was fighting the demon. The two uninjured guards scrambled to pull Kaelith away from the epicenter of the duel. Being extra careful not to attrach the attention of the demon. Aurora was losing ground. Agent X caught one of her ice-heavy swings and delivered a knee to her gut that sent her skidding back, her armor shattering where it protected her stomach. Agent X pulls back about to deliver the final blow to the exposed section.

  ?Just as Agent X was about to deliver the finishing blow, a sonic boom announced Tempest’s arrival. The Lancer dove over the wall, his spear leading the way. "Get away from her!"

  ?Agent X shifted effortlessly, parrying the spear with a backhand that sent sparks flying. The battle became a chaotic three-way dance. Tempest acted as the shield, intercepting Agent X’s lethal strikes, while Aurora retreated just far enough to regain her breath.

  ?She melted the ice from her hands, snatching her hovering staff out of the air. "Glacial Seekers!"

  ?Thin, needle-like shards of ice spiraled from her staff, curving through the air with a mind of their own. They relentlessly chased Agent X, forcing him to split his focus between Tempest’s spear and the homing projectiles. Agent X shot off small obsidian darts of his own to intercept the seeking ice spikes. The demon barely had time to launch a spike or two before having to parry another incoming attack from Tempest. Using his fists and forearms to deflect the spear and counter with a kick creating some distance. With Tempest's speed however, that distance never lasted very long.

  ?Outside the wall, Maximus grumbled a string of curses. He hit the base of the twenty-foot ice rampart, his lack of agility mocking him. "I need to put points into Leap," he growled, dreading a slow, heavy climb over the jagged surface with his massive shield strapped to his back.

  ?The fight between Tempest and Agent X again shifted its stage to the sky.

  ?Agent X, tired of the harassment, erupted in a violent burst of fire that propelled him and Tempest into the atmosphere. Aurora followed, riding a pillar of rising frost. Agent X shutting off the fire from his vents, grabs tempest by the ankle and starts to spin. He spins a few times around picking up great speed before letting go and sending Tempest plummeting toward the frozen ground. Aurora knew Tempest could handle his fall, channeled every drop of her remaining mana, her eyes turning into white voids of cold.

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  ?"Absolute Zero Nova!"

  ?A sphere of white-blue energy gathered at the tip of her staff, pulsing with enough power to freeze a lake solid in seconds. It looked like a new moon forming in the frigid air. The very moisture in the air around her begining to freeze and crack. She launched the frost nova.

  ?Agent X didn't dodge. He hovered, one arm stretched out with the other braced against it, his vents glowing with a terrifying intensity. All the loose sand on the battlefield—melted by the fire and broken by the frost—rose into the air, swirling into a massive, rotating drill beside him.

  ?Kaelith’s eyes widened to dinner plates. "Watch out! That’s it! That’s the attack that moved the settlement!"

  ?Maximus finally cleared the top of the wall. He saw the two attacks mid-air: Aurora’s Nova and Agent X’s Kinetic Bolt.

  ?"Sacred Exchange!" Maximus roared.

  ?In a flicker of gold light, Maximus switched places with Aurora just as the two spells collided. The Kinetic Bolt tore through the Frost Nova like paper, its momentum barely slowed.

  ?Maximus didn't flinch. He thrust his shield forward, every rune on the gold surface screaming. "COUNTER!"

  ?The collision was a disaster. The Kinetic Bolt slammed into the shield; Maximus absorbed eighty percent of the force, but the remaining twenty percent was enough to send him off the large ice pillar, screaming toward the earth. Mid fall the counter launched from his shield straight up breaking through the atmosphere into orbit. He hit the ground like a fallen star, creating a massive crater that shook the very foundations of the kingdom.

  ?Agent X hovered above the dust, a distorted, mocking laugh echoing from his chest. He looked down at the broken looking tank in the crater and the other exhausted heroes. Is this.

  ?He stopped.

  ?A massive surge of holy energy—pure, ancient, and desperate—erupted from the highest peak of the elven castle. Agent X whipped his head around looking at the castle in the distant horizon. On the tallest tower, a light as bright as a fallen star was gathering. Its light blinding even from this far away.

  ?King Aver stood there, his robes soaked in his own blood, his hands trembling as he channeled the very last of his life force into the kingdom's defensive relic.

  ?"Apollo’s Arrow!" the King wheezed, his voice choked on a bit of blood as he spoke.

  ?A lance of pure, solidified light, half the size of the tower itself, tore through the sky at Mach speed. It wasn't a spell; it was a sacrifice.

  ?Agent X’s eyes flared as the light filled his vision.

  ?King Aver’s body went limp, his eyes rolling back as he tumbled from the roof of the tower. He fell in silence, a king who had given everything to buy his guests one final, golden opening.

  Agent X's vision quickly became nothing but the massive holy arrow. He had no time to dodge or try to counter. His sand was limited due to the frost mage and his body was still cooling from the last Kinetic Bolt. Agent X thinks to himself well done king. You win this round. The demon was swallowed alive and disintegrated by the attack.

  Aurora looking around at the aftermath, failed to see the demon. She relays a message using the teams mind link. "What's everyones status. I have lost sight of the demon." Maximus lay barely conscious in the pit of his personal crater. "I've been better but im still alive." Maximus grumbles over the mind link. Tempest managed to slow his fall before greeting the ground, resulting in him only breaking a hand full of bones. "Yeah, I'm not doing much better." Tempest chimed in on the link. Aurora smiles a little knowing her team was at least still able to talk. "I don't see the demon but the system hasn't given us the clear. I can only assume its still alive some where. Any ideas where it went?" Maximus let out a sigh before putting in his two sense. "Whatever that golden attack was seemed to land a direct hit. If I had to guess it backed off to heal. We should do the same." Each of the incarnates agreed this would be the best thing to do. They began pulling potion after potion out of their personal stash, slowly regaining their health. Maximus still feeling sore but finally able to move without extreme amounts of pain, began to inspect his shield. He noticed a lot of cracks in his prized shield. A heavy sigh escapes his mouth as he thinks about the shield breaking. At least with it being my S rank gift, if it breaks i just have to wait twenty four hours for it to be fully repaired and equipable again. The three heros regroup with the elven commander Kaelith. They needed all the information he could give them. They already didn't listen to two warnings that almost cost them dearly. Aurora walks over to the still injured Kaelith. She gives a deep bow before speaking. "Im sorry for our arrogance. On two separate occasions we didn't listen to the information you was trying to provide. Please is there anything else we might need to know? I promise we will listen and not dismiss any further information you have to offer." Kaelith looking at the frost hero still in a deep bow was stunned into silence. Aurora looks up at Kaelith and looks him directly in the eyes. "Please. I know the demon is still alive, for our mission remains incomplete. We need to find that demon before it can fully recover." Kaelith stammered a little trying to think what information did he have that could be useful at this point. Then his eyes widened as he thought of something. "That creature had made a kingdom for itself. It took over the human kingdom and reformed the whole district into that obsidian sand. At the center is its castle and three large buildings. We have been unsuccessful at finding out what's inside of them. Aurora nods as her and the other two knew where they must go next. Maximus spoke to the others via mindlink so the elfs in the group couldn't hear. "Any thoughts on what could be in those building?" Aurora just shakes her head no. Tempest tenses up with anxiety before nervously speaking into the link. "That creature is stronger than normal. You. You don't think it has a family do you? Even a handful more like that one and we don't stand a chance." The other two Incarnates snap their faces around to look at Tempest. The look on their faces almost cursing Tempest for even thinking about there being more than one of them.