Bab 17: Claudius vs Ice Phoenix(1)

My steps were stumbling as I made my way towards the castle gate. The air was charged with something indescribable, as if the world around me was holding heavy breaths. However, I was not ready for what awaits me outside.

As soon as I pushed the heavy door, a windy wind slapped me as cold as deadly ice. It was not just a wind, but a blizzard that resembled nothingness itself, swirling in violent whirlpools, carrying with it fragments of sharp ice. I tried to retreat, but the force of the wind pushed me back.

Amid the storm, two glowing sky-blue eyes appeared. And then the whole figure appeared: a huge ice-blue bird, its huge wings are like mountains of snow moving with frightening flexibility, and its voice cleaves the sky with indescribable grandeur and terror.

I couldn't think. Suddenly, the air around me froze, and the storm became even more fierce. Everything was indicating that I was done here. However, something broke through that storm.

"Stab the void."

Claudius's voice was like an echo coming from another dimension. And from the middle of nowhere, black Rays pierced the storm, violently dispersing the wind. His spear was soaring in the air, surrounded by a dark black aura pulsing with energy, like a heart beating with life.

With one blow of the spear, a huge wave of black energy formed, as if it had split the storm in half. The air around me returned, and I found myself on the ground looking at the majestic shape that stood between me and the bird.

Claudius.

"I told you to run away, didn't I?" he said in a voice that sounded like coming from a being beyond being human.

I looked at him, then at the bird that reshaped the storm as if nothing had happened. At that moment, I realized something cruel: everything I thought was power... It was an illusion.

"What the hell is that?!" I screamed, feeling my voice fade amid all that grandeur.

"It's an icy phoenix, a sacred magical creature"

Claudius laughed, the sound of his laughter was full of madness and indifference. "He is a spiritual companion of the dissident guardian. He seems to have sensed the remains of his master the moment I opened the book and signed it."

"So... This is your goal from the start? Call this thing?"

He smiled, but that smile was only a small window into his madness. "Goal? No, white. This is just a small bonus, nothing more. My plan is much bigger than you can imagine now."

"And what are they?"

He shrugged carelessly. "I won't spoil the surprise. It wouldn't be fun if you knew everything now."

He turned towards the Phoenix which began to flapping its huge wings, creating a new snow vortex.

"Head to the border across the mountain. If you want to survive, don't stop," he said without looking at me, and then set off toward the formidable creature like a black hurricane, whose spear pierces the air with deadly intent.

I stood for a moment, staring at the battle between Claudius and the Phoenix. Something seemed majestic and scary at once. I felt like a little piece in a complex chess game, not knowing where the king or queen was, not even the purpose of the game.

"Look at yourself, white..." I whispered to myself. "Just a former slave, Lumini has nothing but illusion. You think you're strong... That you are different. But in the end, you're just a denial in front of this scene."

But suddenly I started laughing as I understood what was happening.

"Is that what it means to be strong?" I whispered to myself. "To become part of this chaos, this sacred struggle between opposites? They're just tools, too."

Then I smiled hard, as if I had finally reached what I needed: accepting weakness.

"Yes... Weakness is my true strength. It's the only thing I can control."

I decided to move on. My footsteps were heavy as I turned towards the mountains, leaving everything behind, and yet I couldn't get rid of the question that stuck in my head: "What does Claudius really want?"

~~~~~~~~~~

The moment White disappeared, the battle was even more intense.

The icy phoenix was gigantic, its wings shining with flying snow and deadly cold, its body covered in ice pieces intertwined like broken bones, and its eyes radiated with a cool blue glow that left behind a path of snow and sweeping wind.

The Phoenix Glacier was the first to move. He launched from the top of one of the dilapidated towers, his wings flapping hard and creating an ice hurricane around him. Rocks shattered from the rubble under its weight, and around it scattered fragments of sharp ice, deadly blades that penetrated the skies and headed towards their target.

Claudius, the sixth-level wizard Altima, had taken a step back. He looked at the icy phoenix, which was considered a magical, sacred creature, full of desolation and deadly coldness. He smiled, his eyes shining with defiance.

He raised his spear high, and muttered a talisman in a quiet voice:

"Armor of moving structures!"

Immediately, a circle was formed around him from skeletons. Each one was holding a glass shield glowing with a crimson color, withstanding the attack. The Phoenix brought on himself the icy winds that flared around him like a frozen sky, most of the ice blades broke when they hit those shields, and some penetrated them, leaving Claudius with a deep wound in his left shoulder.

"That's it! Have more fun with me ha ha! "

Claudius sped wildly as he jumped through the rubble. As if his injury had made him more thirsty to fight, he pointed his spear at the Phoenix who stood on the edge of the tower.

The Phoenix responded quickly, jumping high into the sky, his wings manipulating the air to leave behind a trace of falling ice. Then, suddenly, a barrage of giant ice feathers, each feather the size of a pole, was unleashed as it rushed like destructive arrows towards Claudius.

At lightning speed, Claudius jumped back and shouted:

"Vacuum offset!"

The castle's shadows moved around him quickly, as if coming to life. It clustered around his body, and in one moment, he disappeared from his position to appear behind the Phoenix.

"I'm here, little bird!"

From behind the giant bird, Claudius raised his spear and launched a new spell:

"The shaft of the three gods!"

The spear split into three giant copies, each one covered with a different energy. The first was covered in black fire, the second with live ice, and the third with lightning electricity. The three versions set off towards the Phoenix at unbelievable speed.

The Phoenix tried to block the attack, but could not. The glowing objects emanating from the spear collided with his frozen wings and chest, penetrating his radiant body. With each strike, feathers and ice exploded, the Phoenix cry was like an earthquake, and its frozen blood splattered like shrapnel everywhere. But he did not fall. His wounds began to light up, and the ice in his body began to rebuild the torn tissues.

"You use pain as energy?... As expected of a creature like you," Claudius shouted with unjustified happiness.

The Phoenix reacted quickly, opening his giant beak to release a dark blue roar that turned into a huge ice wave, sweeping everything in its path.

At the last minute, Claudius immediately jumped, using his spell:

"Bloody Bridge!"

From under his feet, a tangled web of glowing red bridges was formed. Use them to dodge the wave, jumping between bridges like a bird flying with wings of shadows. From above, he shouted:

"Split fragments!"

The spear split into dozens of small copies. Copies began to haunt the Phoenix like meteorites. The bird tried to dodge them with its wings, but could not repel them all. Each blow left a deep wound in his glowing body.

The Phoenix, with its wounded wings and bloodied feathers, rose high above the rubble, screaming a chilling snow cry. A storm of ice and wind blew from his body, as if nature itself was revolting with him. The ground beneath Claudius froze, the rocks broke under the weight of bitter cold.

"So! Have you decided to end the fighting?"

Claudius, trapped in the midst of this white hell, stood still, watching the bird with eyes that sparkled with muffled madness. Then he sat on the floor.

Instead of attacking, he threw his spear away, to be immersed in the destroyed ground. This movement confused the Phoenix for a moment. He seemed to stop moving, his torn wings slowly swaying, his glowing eyes looking at him in confusion.

**"Did you give up your weapon?" **If the bird had a human voice, it would be filled with ridicule. But Claudius had begun his last spell, the sound of his words is low and frightening, as if they were whispers of the afterlife... And for the first time the book of his magic comes out and opens it.

The earth stopped shaking, the air froze, even the ice storm became stationary for a moment. The giant bird stopped in the air, as if it sensed the coming danger.

"Cursed meat spell ! "