The frozen ice cracked into pieces and jumped off the ground, Uragi and his team members rushed to the corners and scattered around the floor.
From the cracks created between the tall ice walls, the fifteen normal-sized elves lifted their heads and pulled their bows by their side. The elf near the entrance popped its head from the side to take a look.
His eyes popped out, his heart jumped out of his throat into his hands. He quickly pushed and crept under his cover. The elf pulled his bow and grabbed a shortsword tightly.
Then he raised his head to warn his mates, "Incoming!" he shouted, "Akhluts! Incoming!"
Like when the last batter is strike-out, the elves broke into chaos. They jumped inside their cover and pulled their bows, and a short blade to defend against the upcoming wave.
A loud howl echoed from the other side into the third checkpoint, followed by a loud roar.
Uragi and his men took cover behind frozen ice but it was of no use cause the ice kept jumping up and down. From the walls, blocks of ice slid down on the players getting covered below.
The ice bounced harder and the sounds of running footsteps grew closer. Uragi clicked his tongue and covered himself behind a shield, 'Just what is going on?' his question was answered when two Akhluts entered the third checkpoint.
"Shit!" Magus grunted.
Hitori leaned forward and sat half-assed on his seat as he pushed himself forward. His eyes scanned the wolf-like creatures.
The ice settled down on the ground, the ice stopped sliding down the walls when the two Akhluts came to a stop and glanced around for their masters. They spotted one Akhitar orc but the other one-- the main Akhitar orc was missing, they both howled at the same time.
"Shit, man..." Magus lifted his hand to face-palm.
A player beside him got annoyed at last, "What is up with you, man? Why are you over-reacting? They are just some wolves, the elves will get them."
Magus removed his hand from his left eye and glared at the player beside him, "Akhluts, not wolves." He rubbed his head, "and the elves would not get them."
The Akhluts changed deadly glances before dispersing into two directions. Akh the Akhlut charged in the right direction while Lut the Akhlut advanced in the left direction.
The Akh's claws dug deep into the ice walls, it tugged hard and jumped into the air before reaching the icy wall once again. Akhlut spread its claws and dug them into the wall once again to accelerate towards an elf.
An elf grabbed an arrow and adjusted it on her string, then she aimed at Akh, before she could release, her hand slipped and she missed the shot.
Sweat flowed from the elves' foreheads and followed down their necks. A few of the elves released the arrows forged from bone and steel, but none of them managed to get a perfect hit.
Magus continued, "It is an Orca-Wolf hybrid. It is Orca in cold icy water and a freaking wolf on land."
Akh and Lut zig-zagged on the icy wall and charged without any limitations. Akh hundred down its first elf and Lut got its first target down too.
The elves near the deceased elves stepped back in fear, their bows fell down the icy wall. They pulled out their blade to protect against the furious Akh and Lut.
The elves that were still safe and away from the Akhluts attacked them with arrows but the Akhluts resulted too fast for the elves.
"Their poison-filled iron claws," Akh jumped in the air, through the cracks of ice and reached the next elf, "that can tear anything easily-- what are these soft, fair-skinned elves then?"
The female elf threw her blade at Akh, she stumbled, then she pulled herself back. Her eyes searched everywhere for cover-- for defense. She picked up a sharp ice spike.
Akh roared at her, it jumped in the air, she threw the spike.
Akh swung its claw to shatter the spike. It landed hard on the female elf's chest.
Akh raised its claw and scratched her face-- leaving nothing but leftover white flesh and her blood.
Ladies from the audience covered their eyes at the sight, Reon too avoided the gore-filled action; but Magus focused on the beasts.
He continued introducing Akhluts to the player next to him, "A tail that possesses the power of wreaking an ice glacier."
Lut took a bite of its prey. An arrow missed it and stabbed the ice beside it.
With an angry growl, Lut turned its head to an elf standing right behind it with a shortsword in his hand.
Lut took a step back and swung its Orac-like tail. The elf's head burst open into pieces as it smashed against the ice.
"Not to mention," said Magus, "it has forty-six interlocking, dagger-like, three-inch-long teeth that can break anything to pieces."
Akh and Lut jumped at their prey at the same time. They first used its claw to tear their prey.
They took care of the back-stabbing elves with the help of their tails.
They locked their teeth against their prey's neck; and then at the same time, with a crack, they pulled the elves' heads.
Blood sprung from the elves' heads like a fountain of blood. The blood fell on top of the Akhluts but that did not affect them much.
"Making it a killing machine," Magus completed.
In a corner, an elf watched his mates die a gruesome death. He looked down and grunted, then he clenched his bow, 'How dare they kill my people?'
A drop of tear flew from his eyes as he shook his head, pulled his bow in front of him, and aimed at the Akhlut.
Without any hesitation but with some fear, he released his arrow.
Sling!
The arrow left his bow with a strong repulse, his bow's string vibrated on the arrow's release.
thwap.
Lut stopped moving. Akh lifted its head and looked back at its partner. An arrow was stuck to Lut's side, little drops of blood had formed near the arrow's head.
The player next to Magus chuckled, "So what?" he looked at Magus, "this world is filled with such dangerous monsters." he shrugged, "but there is always someone stronger than you."
"True." Magus nodded.
Akh dropped its prey and rushed to its friend. The remaining elves were encouraged to lift their arrows and defeat the monsters.
"Ahh!!" An elf screamed at the top of his lung as he got ready with his arrow. He aimed at the Lut instead of Akh.
A ray of hope erupted in the hearts of the remaining elves and so did in the audience's mind. Hitori and Kamiya were relieved to see their elves fighting back for their friends.
A glint flashed in Uragi's eyes, "Shoot them down!" he shouted.
On his orders, his gunmen and archers attacked the elf that had screamed.
shot.
His arrow left his bow but went straight at the roof instead of Lut but Uragi's man's bullet created a hole in his head.
"Fuck!" a guy from the audience clicked his tongue.
One more kill was enough to discourage the elves and make them feel scared. The rest of the elves-- seven elves-- took cover once again.
Akh made its way to Lut as Lut struggled to stay on its feet. Elves hid, Uragi's men hid. No one attacked.
Magus sighed, "So you want to know what makes them different-- dangerous than normal wolves?"
His new friend glanced at him, "Well, you could say that," said his friend.
"You see that orc?" Magus pointed at the Akhitar.
"Yeah."
"They were looked after, and commanded by that orc and the one that was killed," Magus said, "emotions, anger, and revenge for their master."
Akh grabbed the arrow and pulled it out of Lut's body in an instant. Lut stumbled but balanced on its feet. Blood fell out like a water-fall but soon came to a stop-- the healing factor.
"They killed their master."
Akh howled, Lut howled. They dropped their heads and glared at the elves. Drool clung down to Akh's lower jaw, and Lut opened his jaw too.
"And I will let you in on an interesting fact about the Akhluts." His friend turned to him with a confused face.
"They have a special liking for Christmas elves," his eyes went wide, "They are the only predators Christmas elves have after Polar Bears," Magus told.
Akh licked the drool dripping down its jaw, and drool formed in Lut's mouth too.
Hitori was left stunned. Kamiya lifted his hand to cover his face from the horrifying sight, and turned his head to the other side, "Fuck."
The Akhluts cleared the third checkpoint and were headed for the last point-- the boss' main floor. Uragi's men followed them, and the fourth unit led by Gigi had reached the entrance to the Yuki lair.
When their troops reached the final floor, Hitori jumped out of his throne.
Reon lifted her eyes, and Kamiya moved his hand to look at Hitori.
"Where are you headed to?" Reon asked, "sit down," she said.
Hitori looked down at her, "To the boss."
Kamiya removed his hand off his face, "Why?"
"Why? We will lose the lair as long as those two monsters are alive."
"We are going to lose this lair anyway," Kamiya muttered.
"We will have to stop them," Hitori looked at his screen, "Those monsters... are..." Hitori could not complete his sentence.
Hitori took a step forward and opened his teleportation tab.
"God, sit down!" Reon grabbed the end of his cloak and pulled him back to his throne.
Hitori fell hard on his throne, "Do not touch me," he groaned, and Reon quickly pulled her hand.
"Sorry, but, you can not go!" she protested.
Kamiya leaned at the screen and said, "they have encountered the boss."
Akh and Lut were the first ones to enter the last checkpoint before Uragi's men. When Uragi's men caught up, a bright light blinded them.
But Hitori and Kamiya could see a beautiful, teenage elf standing at the end of the lair, her arm stretched forward as a blue beam of light stopped straight at Lut.
Uragi's men's eyes widened at the sight, and the Orc's mouth dropped open. The audience cheered in joy when the boss elf attacked Lut with a deadly magic spell.
The bright beam of light was entering Lut from the arrow wound. Lut could not last ten seconds in front of her-- it fell dead on the ice ground.
The last Akhitar orc shouted at the boss elf in anger, it came out from the crowd and ran towards its dead beast.
The boss elf pulled her hand up and brought it down with an angry frown, "For killing my elves."
Suddenly, the orc's head was pierced with numerous ice spikes, it came to a stop and landed head-on.
The audience and the trio rejoiced but Magus... he gulped, "For God's sake, you should not have."
And Kuzu's smile faded, "Fucking hell."
But Akh growled and howled in the grief of his dead partner and master.
The smile from the audience's face disappeared when Uragi's men equipped their weapons and Akh roared at the beautiful boss elf.
"I can not see it." Magus covered his eyes and turned.
Akh took a step back, she did the same and with a snap-- they both advanced at each other at full blast.
Ice and snow flew all over behind them, and the rest of the players on the floor became audience as the boss elf and Akh clashed with each other.
"Shit..." Kamiya muttered, "I- I can not see her die..." he turned his eyes too.
Hitori glanced between the Akhlut and Elf, and Kamiya. Even he knew the outcome... very well.
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