Chapter 627: Deep Winter: The Strongest Pair

[Personal and all group chats have been disabled]

"Of course..." Nix read the message while scanning his new surroundings. He stood in the center of a small, torchlit room. Two passages were visible from his position.

"Hey, Punk bastard!"

Nix turned at the sound of Pon's voice and started trotting toward the western exit. The small hallway had an energy barrier at the midway point; his partner in crime was standing on the opposite side. "Hey, old man."

The two shared a grin.

"This hall leads to another room that has a north exit." Pon shrugged slightly, "looks like we're on separate paths for now."

"Try not to look too upset." Nix gestured over his own shoulder, "I've got the same setup behind me. Let's both explore our north exits, try and keep in shouting range."

Nix reentered the room he left a few minutes earlier. The room itself was square-shaped with a sand floor. "This looks like beach sand..."

"The beach? Sounds like a good idea once we kill this bitch!" Pon's voice carried from the next room. "Heading through the hall."

"Same." Nix stepped into the doorway; the heat from the torches on either side warmed his face.

The corridor leading from the starting room was absent of any torches, but the light hadn't dimmed at all. Nix activated his stealth package and started walking down the center of the slightly curved passage.

Nix has activated [Dragon Eyes].

The next doorway was less than a minute away; he paused for a moment while studying the room. Five howlers were huddled together, talking amongst themselves; one of them was much larger than the others. Having never spoken to a howler, he hadn't known that the lesser ones could also speak.

The sudden sound of a loud explosion west of him made his group of howlers jump. The sounds of multiple blades being drawn seemed loud in his ears. The group turned toward the far exit and broke into a trot.

"Shit... That side is sealed; if they get through, I'm fucked!" Then, without thinking, he ran into the hall. "HEY!"

The group skidded to a halt before the door barrier. "In a hurry?" Nix pushed emerald flames into his bone hilts and strode toward them as his aura flamed up.

[Sword Dance][Master Strike]

Combination successful!

Nix appeared in the center of the group; his blade swept the legs of the two howlers that were already behind him. The emerald dread flame cut both of them off just above the knees, causing their screams of agony to echo in the room.

The howlers on either side of him struck with their ice weapon; out of reflex, Nix blocked each with his blades while kicking the howler captain in the chest.

[Execution: Advanced][Flashblade]

Combination Successful.

Nix's blade removed the head of the howler on his left; instantly, he appeared behind the other and drove both flamed blades through his back. The wounded howlers continued to scream while the remaining captain climbed to his feet. "Why are you guys so loud?"

The howler Captain snarled and clashed his weapons together. Unlike his group, he dual-wielded daggers. His body was long and lean, at least a head taller than normal. He moved like someone who studied blade techniques. "You will die here."

Nix raised an eyebrow in surprise. The howler's voice was surprisingly clear. "You some kind of big Court Captain?" He paused for a moment, slashing through the throats of the screaming howlers that were still flailing on the ground. "Those bastards were fucking loud... HEY!"

That captain moved as soon as Nix killed the disabled members of his team. Instead of attacking, he fled towards the door barrier.

Nix sent a dozen emerald flame strands toward the fleeing Captain.

On the other side of the instance, Pon watched as five burning howlers spun in place a meter off of the sandy floor. "Fire-Nado for the win..." The old man's face creased in a grin as the door barrier north of him turned from blue to green, a sign that he could pass through.

"FUCK!!!" Nix's shout caused the Inferno Mage to pause in the doorway. "SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!"

Pon frowned before raising his voice. "YOU OKAY?"

"NOPE. ONE OF MINE FLED THROUGH THE NORTH BARRIER. I'M SEALED OFF!"

Pon muttered a curse under his breath. "TRY GOING BACK THE WAY YOU CAME! I'LL KEEP MOVING FORWARD."

"OKAY," Nix shouted.

"Why does shit like this happen to me?" The old man stepped over the charred corpses and continued on his path. A short ramp led to a second larger area that was well-lit. As the mage stepped through, the temperature dropped several degrees. "Fuck..."

The white-haired woman stood in the center of the room. Unlike her avatars, this version wasn't young or beautiful. Long fangs hung down over her bluish lips. There was an element of her that closely resembled Aquarions. The hair on her head hung down her back in a tangled mess. "Where's Nix?"

Pon suppressed a shudder at the creepy tone of her voice. It sounded twisted and unpleasant to his ears; her blood-red eyes stared at him with undisguised hatred. He cleared his throat. "I'm Pon, a fire mage from Inferno."

"Pon? Pon, the Magnificent?"

The old mage's face wrinkled slightly in a smile that Nix would have found overbearingly satisfied. "Yes, that's me. So let's get on with this..."

His words were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming toward them. A tall, rangy howler appeared in the doorway. As soon as he saw the Inferno Mage, he charged. "You're not touching the Goddess!"

"The hell I'm not." Pon's aura blazed with heat.

[Balefire: Dread Flame][Interupted]

The Howler Captain jumped in front of the Ice Goddess; his crossed daggers formed an ice shield in front of him when they touched. A momentary pause in combat occurred; obviously, all three were shocked at the result.

Khione's laughed filled the room. "Kill him, my Captain!"

The howler attacked suddenly, slashing at the fire mage while circling him. The creature roared in pain when his blade struck a fire shield that the old man had raised.

Pon cursed before taking a step backward; a quick glance over his shoulder told him that the doorway he entered through was still open. A sudden build-up of power caused him to twist his fire shield toward Khione. Her attack deflected off his flames, but he was forced to take a double attack from the howler's blades.

As if sensing the mage was attempting to retreat toward the doorway, the howler darted towards it, blocking Pon's path.

"Fast fucker..." Pon weighed his options for a moment; unlike Nix, most Fire Mages were quite fragile in melee battles. He couldn't take too many attacks before the situation became dangerous.

[Balefire: Hex]

Miss!

The Howler dived to one side; Pon used the instant to flee toward the doorway before his enemies could surround him.

[Ice Blast]

Khione has landed a critical strike.

Pon arched his back in agony, his health dropping to the halfway mark. Then, for the first time since the battle started, his expression turned cheerful. "Now you're fucked... Half my health is gone." He stood in the doorway, the temperature around him slowly started to rise.

Even from five meters away, Khione could feel the old mage's power, her eyes showing real fear as she motioned for her Captain to stand in front of her. "Block him!"

The Howler Captain nodded and stood in front of the Ice Goddess. The temperature drove both the Howler and the Goddess of Winter back. The old man's aura continued to climb.

"I can only use this strike when my life is below half." Pon's old face glowed with the power of his dread flames. "This old man is no walk in the park."

[Final Strike: Dread Flame]

A plume of white-hot fire turned the air to flames as it blasted toward the Goddess of Winter. Khione's scream of terror echoed in the room when the dread flame tore through her chest.

Pon has landed a Mortal Strike on Khione, the Goddess of Winter.

Blood-red eyes, filled with malice, stared at the Fire Mage. Her skin, flesh, and clothes over her chest had been incinerated. Stark white ribs were clearly visible. Behind her ribs was the only undamaged part of her chest, a steadily beating heart. "That was a good strike, Pon the Magnificent." Although her face was still twisted in agony, the flesh of her body slowly started to heal. "I'm a Goddess... There's no way I can be defeated by a fire ma..."

Her eyes opened wide in shock before staring downward at the pointed tip of a dagger that had been suddenly plunged through her heart from behind. She tried to speak, but the words were drowned out by the sudden screech of a powerful predator.

Pon drank a mana potion and stepped back. Unable to scream, the Goddess of Winter turned into a column of flames that burned for several seconds before disappearing. "The fuck is going on?"

The Howler Captain shrugged slightly; the killing dagger still gripped in his hand. He removed his [Thine Enemy] ring. "Seriously... You're a glass cannon; I barely touched you."

"NIX!" Pon grinned at the Inferno Leader. "You played us?"

Nix nodded. "Yep. Captain Bastard-Ass tried to escape through the door barrier... He didn't quite make it."

Pon grinned suddenly. "That the dagger Tautius gave you?"

Nix nodded. "Yep. Remind me to thank him."

[Phoenix Blade]

Bound Artifact: One-time use.

Plunge this into the Heart of Khione and slay the Winter Goddess.

The two mages stared at each other for a moment before they started to laugh.

"Nice strike at the end, old man."

Pon nodded in agreement. "You're not wrong, crafty bastard."

Nix bent and picked up a small glowing object about the size of his fist.

[Soul of Khione]

Although twisted and evil, the Ice Goddess wasn't always that way. With the corruption cleansed, this remnant of her power is all that remains.

[Quest Updated]