Chapter 71 - Terrifying Old Man

[Well that was invigorating. Who's next?], Voxea said to me as she clapped her hands together as if to clean dust off of them. As Voxea taunted the much weaker monsters around us, I couldn't help but stare at the block of ice that was right behind her.

I initially thought that Voxea had turned the two Wraithritters into aether when she fired off that [Gatling Hailstorm] technique and let loose frozen fury upon their head(helmets), but to my surprise, they were instead frozen in a giant block of ice. I didn't know expressionless helmets could have looks of fear on their faces until right now.

[Voxea].

[Yes?], she responded while firing off a potshot at a Blitzwolf. The much intimidated wolf made of lightning and rage took that as a sign to run out of the thick fog of war with its tail between its legs.

[How are they not aethered? That technique you just used was platinum grade at least, they should be nothing but dust right now], I asked in shock and awe.

[Oh that? I just dialed back the power by...fifty percent? I figured you could bind one of them or we could use them as a show for good faith to the other binders. Nothing says friendly like a gift produced by a show of force!], she told me with pride.

[Uhhhh, sure. I don't have any drajules on me, but we can use them as gifts...I guess].

[Wonderful! Now we should probably-]!

"LOOK OUT MISS MASK"!

Before Voxea could finish her sentence, she and K had to immediately sidestep as a huge black blob was sent flying in our direction and crashed land several feet away from us and narrowly avoiding the frozen Wraithritters. Monsters being sent flying appears to be a trend for the evening. As the dust settled, I caught a glimpse of a large armored figure that looked way nastier than those two Wraithritters combined.

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Species: Cruelsader

Affinities: Fury/Mystic/Basic

Grade: Gold

Trait: Armed, Invulnerable

Description: Anger is its mantle, hate is its blade stubbornness is its armor and rage flows in its veins. Cruelsader is composed of three conflicting types of aether, which both strengthens and enrages it. It lashes out on others with varying sharp and blunt implements to relieve its constant pain.

Voxea's notes: Nasty with a capital N,A,S,T and Y. Cruelsader was created by a war mage whose title was, "Underworld King of the Nine Bloody Hells". Cruelsaders were designed to be punishers, fighters and tanks. Despite what your Scholars say, they do what they do because they like it, not because they're in pain.

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Just as the Cruelsader was about to get up, a huge monster made of fur, ice and unbridled rage came charging towards it,covered in a strange red aura and huge spiraling horns leveled towards it. Its massive tusks collided with the Cruelsader's weapon, who used it to block the incoming technique.

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Species: Wooly Rammoth

Affinities: Ice/Fury

Grade: Gold

Trait: Iceproof, Thick-skinned, Glacial Fury

Description: A large elephantine majimonster that was once thought to be extinct, but has since been discovered in arctic regions. This monster resembles a furry elephant with thick imposing horns, however, said fur is so thick that scholars debate if those horns are actually tusks. What is known is that Wooly Rammoths live like elephants in herds of three to five, with leaders being the most powerful. Disputes tend to be technique-free affairs of headbutts and horn locks.

Voxea's Notes: I was actually friends with the maji who made them. He was a herdsman ice maji named Garos. He raised wooly mammoths as a hobby and living. He wanted some natural looking monsters to help protect his herds and his domains. He actually ended up with Wooly Rammoths by fusing mountain rams with a mammoth and not by infusing his mammoth herds with aether, that led to something else entirely. As for the horn/tusk debate...well life's more entertaining with unsolvable mysteries ain't it?

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The Wooly Rammoth let out a loud bellow as it raised its trunk high into the air. A thick layer of ice soon formed around the raised trunk, as a ball of ice and spikes formed at the end of it. The binder on the monster's back mimicked the movement with his arm, raising it into the air and forming a fist. The next moment both binder and monster brought down their raised appendages, the only difference being that the Wooly Rammoth's ice hammer cracked down on the Cruelsader's skull.

The black knight looked stunned and confused as it survived the heavy blow to its armored head, but that short respite would not last.

As the Cruelsader stood there in a daze, the old man sitting on the Wooly Rammoth's back proceeded to draw a longsword.

[What's that old man doing? He does know that majimonsters are immune to mortal weapons right?], Voxea asked me as the two of us kept watching. The old man then placed a drajule into the hilt of the sword, causing a series of runes carved into the blade to light up one after the other.

[Well that explains that. It's a binding ritual], I said in response.

After the last rune lit up, the old man jumped off the back of his monster and towards the stunned Cruelsader. Just as the Cruelsader managed to get its head back into focus, it was soon greeted by a flying overhead chop down its middle. A loud "snrrkk" rang out as the longsword cut through the Cruelsader's body.

The Cruelsader broke down into aether as soon as the blade exited its body, but instead of disappearing into the air, the aether flowed into the drajule embedded in the longsword. As the last bit of aether was absorbed into it, the drajule ejected from the sword hilt and into the air. Needless to say, the old man caught it midflight.

[...did we actually needed to help the terrifying old man?], I asked Voxea.

Both the old man and the Wooly Rammoth then fell to the ground into a crouching position, panting for breath.

[Yes. Yes, we did].