Victorina’s jaw dropped just a little. But eventually, it turned into a wide smile.
"Ooooh, girly’s got flair! Look at you, turning into a frosty little freak!"
The ice-covered Hermes now crouched in the middle of the crater like a predator, eyes glowing pale blue, breath misting out in unnatural fog. Cracks of frost pulsed beneath his skin, crawling like veins. He stood taller than before, bulkier somehow, each breath rattling with feral excitement.
Eirwyn looked genuinely alarmed. "That doesn’t look like Cryoshift... It looks like a transformation."
Somner’s fingers dug into his palms as he backed away from the battlefield.
He couldn’t take his eyes off Hermes. Not out of concern. Not entirely. No, this wasn’t just fear.
He thought that Hermes looked... beautiful.
There was violence in Hermes’ stance. Hunger. The wild grin didn’t belong on a hero’s face—but it did suit him.
"Heh." Somner muttered under his breath. "So you have even more tricks up your sleeve, huh? Master..."
The beast that wore Hermes’ face launched forward, skating over the field as ice erupted with every step. Victorina’s undead army lunged in tandem, but Hermes zipped past them, slashing through one saber-toothed tiger with a jagged claw, freezing it solid.
He spun under a mammoth’s tusk, used the ice to boost into a wall-run, then leapt off and speared his fist into a caveman skeleton’s chest.
Frost exploded outward, reducing the undead to brittle shards!
Victorina giggled as she twirled her staff. "Now we’re talking, baby! It’s giving final boss energy!"
She raised her wand high. Glitter rained from the sky, raining down in golds and pinks—until it twisted. The glitter hardened, gaining form.
Three of the cavepeople started dancing while holding their spears.They pirouetted toward Hermes with unnatural speed, slicing ribbons of light in their wake. Hermes blocked one with an ice wall, but a Neanderthal jabbed Hermes in the ribs with a glittering cane.
"Ghhk—!" Hermes stumbled, laughing as blood trickled from his mouth.
"You really don’t hold back..." He growled.
"Neither do you, sweetie!" Victorina cartwheeled off the giganotosaurus’s back and landed gracefully beside her undead dancers. "Now give Mama a twirl!"
Hermes inhaled sharply and clapped his hands. A storm of ice erupted around him, freezing the air so fast it cracked the bones of two nearby dancers. He rushed forward again, claws out—but Victorina was ready.
She twirled, her massive tutu spinning like a glittering saw. Hermes slashed, she blocked with the wand, and then backflipped away, letting her zombies try to pin him again.
This time, he was ready.
He placed a palm on the ground—ice shot through it like an explosion of thorns. The skeletal giganotosaurus screeched as one of its legs was frozen solid.
Then, Hermes did something horrifying.
He slammed his arm into his own thigh, letting the blood flow freely... and froze it.
Spikes of bloody ice jutted out of his skin as he yanked the frozen dagger from his own body!
Victorina blinked. "Okay, that’s some freaky stuff... Vera really digs that."
"Hrrrrgghhh... Let’s see you dance through this." Hermes growled.
He hurled the blood ice with force and it whistled through the air. Victorina parried with her staff, but the shards shattered and rained down with icy backlash, slowing her movement.
Hermes charged, his shoulder hitting her square in the gut!
Victorina was knocked back, cracking through two columns of rainbow pillars she’d summoned for ambiance. She rolled mid-air and landed hard, wand clattering from her grip.
Somner stood from his seat. "He’s going too far!"
"No," Eirwyn held up a hand. "He’s holding back."
Somner blinked. "That is him holding back?"
Eirwyn only smiled, the soft kind of smile that came from understanding. "He’s learning how much is too much."
Victorina was panting. One eye was shut, her tutu was shredded, and her knees shook as she stood.
Hermes approached slowly now. No leaping, no skating—just slow, deliberate steps.
The monster was still smiling.
"...You done?" he asked.
Victorina grinned through bloody lips. "Never, girlie. I always finish my routine."
Then she did something surprising. She threw her wand upward and caught it again but not in her hand.
She bit down and shattered it.
A blast of glitter exploded from her body, sending a shockwave that knocked Hermes off his feet again.
Everyone gasped. Even Somner flinched.
Victorina stumbled through the glittery haze, eyes glowing gold, body pulsating with residual necromantic power. "It was a one-time move. I call it the Final Pose."
Hermes pushed himself off the ground. His left shoulder was dislocated. His right eye was blinded by a shard of rainbow glitter.
"I think I’ve just become a fan."
Victorina wheezed. "Get in line, girl."
But she was slowing. Her Final Pose had spent almost all her mana, and her zombies were fading, one by one.
Hermes looked up at the falling wand shards around him.
He formed a small ice puck beneath himself and launched toward her like a cannonball, fists wreathed in frost.
Victorina braced for it—
But he stopped short.
Instead, he stabbed his ice claws into the ground and created a column of spikes—then flipped it, launching himself over her head.
Before she could turn, Hermes had landed behind her and—
Chopped the back of her neck with a single, vicious, ice-coated karate chop.
She stiffened—then slumped.
The field was silent for a beat. Then—
"Victorina is down! Copy Cat wins!"
Fiero whooped. Cam blinked. Vera nodded in approval.
Victorina’s body sparkled softly, her unconscious face still wearing a satisfied grin. Even her zombies were clapping as they dissolved into sparkles.
Hermes stood panting, his monster form melting away. His muscles shrank. The ice flaked off. The blood stopped dripping.
He looked human again.
Somner was staring at him. Hard.
"Mr. Somner?" Eirwyn asked gently.
Somner didn’t respond. His eyes were locked on Hermes. His raw body, trembling hand, cracked smile.... The monster had disappeared.
But Somner found himself also falling for this soft, sweet side too.
"...I’ll have a word with him later," Somner muttered, jaw clenched. "For now, do what you need to do."
Eirwyn nodded and went to work, using Rewind to heal Hermes and Victorina.
Little did they know...
Someone was watching from the windows of the Golden Apple’s clinic, glaring daggers at Hermes’ direction.