The blizzard howled, a churning maelstrom of white and gray that swallowed all sound and sight. Visibility was a cruel joke, barely reaching 20 feet before the thick, whipping snow rendered everything an indistinguishable blur.
Despite the blinding conditions, almost all the units had successfully arrived at their designated positions. A few teams were nestled on the top of the lower keep, right below the wide, snow-choked path leading to the town.
Another three units, including Elria’s, were positioned above them, right at the entrance of the mid-keep or the town. Only two units remained unaccounted for: Baron Nusayel’s and the Captain’s.
A heavy, undulating mass of snow draped over the path, making it impossible to see beyond the immediate drifts, further obstructing any already non-existent view of what lay to either side or ahead.
Elria furrowed her brows, channeling her perception to pierce through the blizzard. Her wind aura strained, pushing against the chaotic flows of the storm, but she could barely manage an extra ten feet before the messy, wild aura currents ruined her extended sight in an instant.
Honestly, she wasn’t worried about the Baron’s unit that much.
He was a formidable warrior; even if they encountered something truly powerful, they could always escape using that boy’s portals.
Her concern lay with the Captain.
It hadn’t even been a few days since he’d recovered from his severe injuries, yet he had insisted on taking on such an important and dangerous assignment again. She could only hope he wouldn’t encounter peril once more and end up being corrupted by the Lament Shroud’s influence.
Although the half-elf healer had cured him and the others later, Elria still couldn’t help but feel something was wrong, a persistent knot of unease in her gut.
She shook her head, muttering to herself, "Don’t be negative."
The plan wasn’t perfect, but it was alright at least. They should arrive soon. Maybe they were just late due to a delay at the anchors.
"Hey, where’s the monster? There aren’t any Mistborns here either?" one of the guards spoke up, his voice barely audible over the wind, causing Elria to stop her worrying thoughts and facepalm herself inwardly.
Their enemy was a spectral one; there was no way they could see it if it didn’t want to be seen. And how could her own guards forget Mistborns’ innate ability to blend into the very elements of the storm?
Still, she couldn’t help but wonder where their target was.
She initially suspected it might have surrounded itself with its own kind, like many Alpha or Elder beasts would do. But as the guard said, there was nothing in sight.
Elria tightened her grip on her spear.
Baron warned repeatedly that the monster was cunning; they must be hiding and waiting for an ambush.
A trail of a loud scream tore through the howling wind, a sound of pure, unadulterated terror.
Elria’s head snapped up. Below them, on the snow-choked path, she saw a figure scrambling.
A guard, no more than a blurred shape through the snow, slid wildly down the banked snow, shouting something incomprehensible, either from fear or raw adrenaline and disappeared.
Other figures began rushing toward the path, clearly intending to follow him down into the white abyss below.
"STOP!" Elria roared at the fools. "Someone has to stay above!"
The advancing figures hesitated, then reluctantly gave up, their inner frustrations palpable even through the blizzard.
But then, a low, guttural growl vibrated through the very air, deep and resonant, causing a wave of intense dizziness to wash over everyone.
The world seemed to swim for a disorienting second. When their vision cleared, the true horror began to unfold.
From the mass of snow shrouding the path, something began to rise. Slowly, impossibly, it ascended, its form blurring between solid reality and shifting nothingness.
It seemed to expand with every inch it gained, casting an immense, glitching shadow in the swirling snow. Instinctively, every soldier, including Elria, took a staggered step back, their breaths caught in their throats.
The unspoken question hung heavy in the air.
After a few agonizing moments, it fully rose from the snow, towering, immense. It stood a terrifying sixty or seventy feet in height, its head a massive, swirling vortex similar to the lesser Mistborns, but far more defined, its features eerily clear: a cavernous mouth, perpetually open, and deep-set brows that seemed to convey a chilling malevolence.
It looked down upon them, its form an impossible presence against the white, its gaze sweeping over the clustered figures as if they were nothing more than insignificant insects.
A collective shudder ran down everyone’s spine.
"W-We are gonna die!"
Soldiers, overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the terror, stumbled backward, falling into the snow from shock and sheer, paralyzing fear.
There was no doubt about its identity now, this must be the monster they were looking for!
"Damn it," Elria’s hand instinctively gripped the hilt of her longsword, her fingers tightening around the cold metal.
Can we even fight this?
The thought of drawing her blade against such a monstrosity made her stomach clench.
But she bit her lip, drawing blood, forcing her trembling legs to still. The shock and the monster’s recent growl had probably affected their minds, amplifying their fear.
Her unit, these men and women, wouldn’t stand a chance against this.
They’ll die. They’ll all die.
The words repeated in her mind.
"RUN!" she screamed, her voice tearing through the wind and the soldiers’ terrified murmurs, a desperate command ripped from the depths of her lungs.
Even as the word left her mouth, she turned, not towards the monster, but running into a more open space, away from the clustered, paralyzed troops.
As she moved, her greatsword flashed, and she sent a rapid series of [Gale Rend] at the towering monstrosity, not expecting to harm it, but to draw its attention, to distract it, to buy her people precious seconds to flee.
Contrary to her expectations, the soldiers didn’t break and run. Instead, as if jolted awake by her desperate cry, they pushed themselves back up from the snow.
Their eyes, though still wide with terror, found new resolve. Hands, no longer trembling, gripped their weapons tightly.
A quiet, grim determination settled on their faces, as if they had decided to fight, even at the cost of their lives.
They couldn’t leave their vice captain alone!
Elria roared again, her voice laced with incredulity and frustration, unable to comprehend their defiance in the face of such overwhelming power.
"YOU ARE GONNA DIE-!"