Shadow Slave: Immortal Ice

Her Aspect materialized beside her, shimmering into existence with a soft glow. The silver mirror hovered elegantly, its reflective surface showing the landscape around them. But then, Eirwen's sharp eyes caught something in its reflection. Something that made his eyes widen.

Countless red dots suddenly flickered to life from the cracks in the towering walls around them.

Eirwen's instincts ignited as his eyes widened further. "Seraphiel! To my side!" he roared.

Seraphiel couldn't even say anything as a grey-skinned humanoid creature erupted from one of the cracks in the wall. With a terrifying shriek, it launched itself toward Seraphiel.

Eirwen jumped forward, summoning his claws, however, to his surprise, the white-haired boy seemed completely unfazed. Seraphiel's expression remained indifferent as the gremlin lunged at him.

Before it could strike, the creature froze mid-air, its twisted form hanging in the momentary stillness inches away from the white-haired boy. Its mouth opened wide, revealing rows of jagged, dagger-like teeth, and two glowing red orbs in place of eyes widened in anger.

With a shriek that made the air vibrate, its long, bony limbs twisted unnaturally, collapsing inward like broken pieces of meat and bone.

Seraphiel flicked his wrist coldly -and quite dramatically-, and in an instant, the creature's body twisted in on itself, contorting violently before turning into an unrecognizable ball of grey flesh.

Eirwen's eyes widened, not in focus, but in genuine surprise. 'That's... impressive for a Dreamer,' he thought, forgetting that he himself wasn't exactly ordinary. It hadn't even occurred to him that others might possess powers as unique and strong as his own. In his mind he was still the only special one.

As Eirwen's claws finally solidified into their usual form, a chorus of growls and screeches echoed from all directions. In an instant, the army of gremlins surged forward out of the cracks.

Snapping out of his initial surprise, Eirwen grabbed Seraphiel's shirt from behind and yanked him back toward himself and Andromeda. "Stay close," he barked, "Or Andromeda won't be able to protect you!"

The boy didn't resist, quickly positioning himself on guard near the two of them. It was clear he was a caster of some sort, as he didn't summon any kind of close-range weapon, instead opening his hands as if readying a spell.

Countless gremlins lunged at them from all directions, some manoeuvring to strike from the front, others closing in from behind. Surrounded on all sides, the trio stayed especially close. Eirwen and Seraphiel moved carefully to ensure Andromeda was protected at every turn.

"Andromeda, let your Mirror fire off cooldown!" Eirwen roared, already catching the first wave of Nightmare Creatures on himself.

His eyes narrowed with pure concentration as he stepped forward, grabbing the closest gremlin by its throat. His hand moved like lightning, not giving the creature a single chance to react. With a sharp squeeze, he crushed its neck with a sickening thud, shattering its spine. The gremlin's body convulsed for a brief moment before going completely still. Its glowing red eyes flickered and died.

The Spell whispered into his ear as he held the lifeless gremlin's body and used it as a makeshift weapon. With a powerful swing, he whipped the corpse at the nearest four creatures. As it collided with them, the body disintegrated into a cloud of dark mist.

[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Elfenlied's spawn]

[You have consumed a Soul]

[Devour the Flesh for more]

Of course, using the gremlin's body as a whip wasn't enough to kill the four new enemies, but it was more than enough to send them flying back a few feet, their bodies crashing into other monsters.

Eirwen had no time to see what was happening behind him, but the sounds told him everything he needed to know. The clang of the Mirror echoed through the air as it deflected attack after attack, each hit absorbed and stored to load up its own explosive burst. The wet, snapping sounds of bone and flesh -far too vile and disgusting to be ignored- also filled the space around him. Eirwen could only assume it was Seraphiel, using his strange powers.

His eyes were wide and focused as he swiftly moved his left arm up to shield himself from another Imp's sharp fangs. The armour, though solid, was thin, nowhere near enough to withstand the full force of the creature's bite. The monster's fangs were unnaturally sharp, long, and far too large for its own mouth, sinking into his arm with a sickening crunch. Eirwen hissed in pain, but he didn't falter. The wound burned as his blood began to seep out.

His eyes were wide and focused as he swiftly moved his left arm up to shield himself from another Imp's sharp fangs. The armour, though solid, was thin, nowhere near enough to withstand the full force of the Awakened creature's bite. The monster's fangs were unnaturally sharp, long, and far too large for its own mouth. They dug into his arm with a sickening crunch. Eirwen hissed in pain and the wound burned as his blood began to seep out.

Biting down on his jaw, Eirwen's eyes ignited with anger, the pain only fuelling his unstable emotions. His free arm shot forward, claws mirroring the world as he thrust them into the monster's head. With a sickening squelch, the claws pierced through the creature's skull, pushing past layers of flesh and bone, until they erupted from the other side. Pieces of flesh and fountains of blood erupted alongside it.

The Imp's body spasmed and went limp, its glowing red eyes dimming as life drained from it. Eirwen twisted his hand, ensuring the beast wouldn't get up again.

[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Elfenlied's spawn]

[You have consumed a Soul]

[Devour the Flesh for more]

Simultaneously, as his hand thrust through the creature's skull, Eirwen twisted his hips, spinning to the left just in time to dodge another creature's dive.

It soared past him and landed with a thud next to Seraphiel. Without hesitation, the white-haired boy raised his leg, bringing it down in a stomp. The Spawn's head exploded into a cloud of dark mist even before Seraphiel's foot made contact, the force of the impact completely disintegrating its large lizard-like head.

Boom

To Eirwen's left, the Aegis Mirror erupted in a burst of white flames, sweeping across the battlefield and eviscerating countless grey-skinned Nightmare Creatures in its path.

The closest ones were instantly consumed, their bodies reduced to ash or crumbling to the ground in charred pieces. However, the creatures farther away managed to survive, their grey, stone-textured skin -that reminded Eirwen of the Nightmare Creatures he fought in his first Trial- blackened and burned, though still intact. The flames left a trail of destruction, but the amount of Nightmare Creatures didn't seem to lessen.

Blood slipped down Eirwen's armour from the bite, but the wound already closed itself, reminding him about his Flaw and the amount of Essence it would consume if he got hurt badly. 

Eirwen already had little Essence left after using [Kraken's Grasp] so he had to be extra careful.

'Now would be a perfect time for a Deal, don't you think Leviathan?!' Eirwen cursed in his mind as another group of Nightmare Creatures lunged onto him. Six of them growled as they flew toward Eirwen, mouths wide open and drooling.

"Ugh fuck it!" he groaned and opened his palm as sparks of light started to manifest out of thin air around his arm, taking the shape of a gigantic war hammer.

"I've had enough of you ugly bastards!" he roared, already swinging his arm sideways before the hammer had even fully materialized.