Ice Queen

I try to hit whoever's behind me with my elbow, but they back away, sliding their sword into my wound and freezing my insides. I writhe in pain. I look back; there's no one.

Ice Queen: "Do you know why I didn't aim for your head? This is your last warning. If you leave and warn the others never to come back, I will spare your life."

I heat up my insides. Nebula helps me heal my wound.

Sun: "That means you're scared. If you could kill us, you wouldn't be wasting your cold saliva."

She narrows her eyes, clearly displeased.

Ice Queen: "Watch your mouth, human."

Sun: "You're human too, aren't you? You look like one, you speak our language..."

Ice Queen: "Don't you dare compare me to your kind. I am far superior to any human AND monster!"

Sun: "Let's see if that statement is true."

I leap forward. Someone kicks me in the side, sending me crashing against the wall. I feel my bones shatter. An ice warrior approaches with his ice sword and punches with his other hand. I roll to the side.

Someone fires an ice bullet at me. Slinger shoots the projectile, destroying it. There are two guards: a warrior, a gunslinger with a pistol.

Ice Queen: "You're getting in the way!"

She slams her ice staff into the ground, shaking the castle. Two figures fly toward Slinger, pushing her body against the wall. They are the crow and the rabbit.

Miguel: "They are too fast, I can't control them!"

Sun: "This is your first task, Miguel. Train your summoning skills with them."

Miguel: "I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything!"

The warrior swings his ice sword at me. I dodge it by jumping. I kick him in the head, unleashing a powerful blast. Unfazed, he tries to cut my legs, but I dodge the blade by dashing to the side. As I step onto the icy floor, I lose my balance and slide across it.

The crow summons ice shards. Slinger shoots at them. The rabbit crashes into her body, causing minor damage. The gunslinger fires at her, but she's faster and destroys the bullets with her own. Nebula fires a beam of water at the queen. She points her staff at Nebula and creates a wall of ice, blocking the jet stream.

The warrior glides across the ground as if on ice skates. I blast forward as I slide backward, trying to block his view. But he's much faster than me and slices part of my torso with his sword, freezing my insides. The gunslinger fires at me, but Slinger intercepts the bullets again.

The crow summons more ice shards. The rabbit runs in circles, summoning a tornado that changes the direction of the shards. Slinger manages to destroy most of them, but one skewers her shoulder, freezing part of her. She shoots at the crow, which darts aside. The rabbit continues running back, bumping its head against her belly. The gunslinger hits some parts of her body.

Nebula aims her magic at the crow. Since its back is to her, she has a chance to hit it. The queen summons an ice spear in her hand and hurls it at her.

Sun: "Nebula, behind!"

The warrior punches me across the throne room. I try to grab the spear with my hand, but my body slides too quickly and slams into the opposite wall. Nebula's back is protected by a barrier, destroying the spear.

Miguel: "Wait, Nebula!"

She fires a beam of white light at the crow. Somehow, it manages to dodge the attack.

Miguel: "Yes, I got it!"

The crow turns and takes aim at Miguel. It begins flying toward him with incredible speed. I punch the wall behind me with an explosion, rushing toward the bird and punching it across the room. The crow lies unconscious on the floor.

The warrior begins to skate toward me. The rabbit also runs toward me. I grab him by the ears and throw him at the guard, pushing his body back. The gunslinger fires rapidly at me. Most of the bullets are intercepted by Slinger, but a few hit me.

Nebula begins to heal me. The queen summons a giant ice orb with her staff and throws it at us. The rabbit leaps toward her, likely Miguel's doing. The queen punches it away.

I extend my glove toward the orb and heat it, releasing a massive explosion that prevents it from freezing us. The gunslinger hits my head with a bullet. Because my head is hotter than usual, the bullet melts before reaching my brain.

The warrior swings his sword in the air, sending an icy slash toward us. Nebula blocks it with her barrier. The crow wakes and hurls ice shards at the queen. She redirects them toward us, scraping our skin. The crow hurls more shards at us and flies toward us. Its trajectory deviates and hits the warrior, causing both to collide against the wall.

Ice Queen: "This is enough!"

She stands up and runs toward me. She swings her staff at me, which I block by extending my glove. Nebula touches her body with her palm and releases a massive explosion, sending her crashing into the wall. Nebula's hand freezes.

The gunslinger fires at us. Slinger destroys the projectiles with her pistol, then transforms it into a rocket launcher, firing at the queen, who summons a wall of ice that is destroyed by the explosions.

The rabbit and the crow aim at the gunslinger. Both pierce through his head, killing him. The warrior swings his sword at me. I hold it with my gloves, which begin to freeze. I warm them enough to neutralize the effect. The warrior punches me with his free hand.

Nebula fills his helmet with water and explodes it from the inside, killing him. The queen grabs his sword and runs toward me, brandishing it frantically. Nebula fires a fireball at her, which she destroys with an ice orb from her staff.

Miguel's slime leaps toward her, along with the rabbit, the crow, and its ice shards. The queen throws her ice staff at the slime, which splits in two. Then, the staff explodes, freezing everyone except her and me. She punches the rabbit and the crow, who were still in the air.

I punch her in the stomach with my heated glove, knocking her back a few meters. She swings her sword, delivering a powerful icy slash that I dodge with a slide. My glove extends and hits her in the head. Then I use my other glove and hit her in the head as well, releasing small explosions.

She grabs my glove. As it retracts, her body flies toward me. She pierces my heart with her sword, starting to freeze faster than usual.

Ice Queen: "I warned you. You killed my servants. Now it's my turn to kill your friends."

Sun: "Heh. When humans know they might lose, they use dirty tricks. You fought well, but I still have one last trick up my sleeve."

She slides the sword inside me. I writhe in pain. I punch her in the stomach. She grabs my hand with her free one. With the other, I grab her eyes and mouth and explode her insides, killing her instantly. The sword slides out of my body, causing even more pain.

Sun: "Every living thing has weaknesses. It's a good thing you had human anatomy. When I got close enough to you, the victory was mine."

I cough up frozen blood. I kneel to pick up the cold sword and put it in my Stocker. I melt the others.

Nebula: "Brother, you did it! I'm sorry we were caught off guard..."

Sun: "Hey, victory is ours. You killed the other guards, I finished her off. It was a good standoff."

Miguel runs to the frozen rabbit and crow.

Miguel: "Sun, can you heat them up? I can control them completely now!"

Sun: "Sure. Uh, about the ice pistol..."

Slinger: "I don't need it. Mine is stronger."

Sun: "I'll take it just in case."

Nebula: "What about the relics?"

Sun: "I'm sure there's a chest here somewhere. If not, we can steal the vases and furniture."