The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

Chapter 153 The Protective Sky [The Crypt - Part XXIII]

- POV General -

In the huge cellar representing the last room of this place, trapped under hundreds of meters below ground, the warriors of the Elysium Empire would strike as one. The griffin they were fighting was not at its best, but neither were they, and in a few seconds the battle would be decided. Just as Persea's roots had disappeared, so they had all lunged.

All the soldiers had jumped from the ceiling to rush towards the griffin that was now several meters below them. Each of them had prepared what they could in order to strike the demon with all their might. With a synchronized cry from their hearts, souls, and courage, they had dashed forward even though their hands were shaking because they were ready to finish it off.

On the left, Nixia was twirling her fiery spears, Naia was flashing her flaming arrows, Trioa was twirling her sharp bow, and Emilia was brandishing her sword. On the right, Ralph was crackling her fists, Luna had drawn her daggers and covered them with lightning, and Thorunn, who had returned, was preparing her sharp nails. The seven young women were followed by their Lieutenants, who also wanted to end it all.

Together, they all reached the griffin with great speed, thanks to their dizzying fall. The black flames of the beast were still on its body but that did not stop the warriors who fell on it. The impact was powerful and contained the power of each to a different but enormous degree. As the attacks finally fell on the creature, an explosion of elements blew the place away.

The griffin, stunned by the situation thanks to Ynir, had been hit full force and collapsed heavily to the ground with a thud. Feathers and blood flew everywhere as blades sliced, fists struck and the elements raged. The Demon, despite its superior level, was unable to withstand such an onslaught and quickly found itself face down on the ground.

Emilia had struck so hard with her sword that it had gotten stuck in one of its wings, causing intense pain and a stream of blood staining the ground red. The blow had been so powerful and delivered with the last of her strength that the handle had remained in the Commander's hand. Nixia and Naia had aimed for the throat of its eagle head just after Thorunn had managed to slice its feathers as deeply as she could.

The spears and arrows of fire had then rushed into the wound, burning the creature in the process. It had all happened very quickly and due to the speed of their descent, the young women had not aimed very well and the attack had been slightly deflected. The cut wasn't deep enough to kill it, but it was losing life as the blood flowed.

Trioa and Luna had taken care of its already injured wing and while the others targeted different areas, they had helped each other hit harder. The young half-panther woman had thrown her daggers into the early wound sending what little discharge she could with her element. The effect had still worked as her magic had penetrated through the wound numbing the entire limb.

After that, the young wyvern woman had again pierced the griffin, but this time with more ease at the spot Luna had hit. Flapping her wings rapidly and flying through the air as if she were the queen, Trioa had arrived just in time to strike. Her bow, which had blades on both ends, had sunk into the wing to emerge on the other side along with Luna's blades.

Ralph, on the other hand, had been the one to strike the griffin's head with her fiery fists, despite its black crest of fire still burning brightly. With the strength granted to her by her vampire-wolf hybrid race, she had used her entire body to strike. Using rotation to increase her power, her lava-filled fists had managed to sound the creature considerably while the sound of its broken bones had echoed.

As for the Lieutenants, they had also given everything they could using their own means. There were stone spikes, gusts of wind, poison needles, claws and blades and all of them had contributed to the beast's collapse. It had all happened in just a few seconds and this group attack had been a great success considering the situation.

The black Demon hadn't had time to do anything as all the Elysium warriors had fallen on him from the ceiling like deadly rockets. It had been overwhelmed by the attacks and its life had dropped drastically almost reaching the point of no return. Nina, Caipy, Ynir, Persea, and Itham stood to the side and watched the almost surreal scene unfold before their eyes.

A wave of powerful, hot wind swept through the room as the warriors jumped to the floor. The smell of burning flesh and blood filled the room, while dust and smoke hid the body of the beast. Gradually, everything dissipated revealing the state of the griffin that had given the Empress' soldiers so much trouble. Many now had no mana or strength left and hoped that it would not rise again.

The five warriors were the only ones who hadn't joined the group, being far too focused on defense rather than direct attack, but that hadn't stopped them from contributing. Before their eyes the creature was finally collapsing, weak, mortally wounded and overwhelmed by the blows. This 35 level Demon had finally given in and now lay motionless on the broken ground in the shape of a deep crater.

"Is it dead ?"

Nina who was near the wall with Caipy, had asked the question to her Commander who was watching intently. The Demon was no longer moving, its flames were beginning to disappear and blood was flowing from its wings, body, neck and punctured eye. One of its wings had small bones sticking out, the flesh having been pierced, torn and shredded in some places.

Its black feathers and fur were now a bright red and the proud, beautiful beast it had been was now just a battered lump of flesh. Its aura was imperceptible, smoke billowing from its body and it was impossible for Caipy to answer her Lieutenant from where she was. The others were around its body and seemed to not want to get too close just in case.

"I don't know...we'll have to go see I guess."

As the Commander answered, she slowly stood up and walked forward with Nina following. As if the warriors had passed the message to each other, the others who had also stayed to the side began to approach. Those who had attacked were still around, the Lieutenants standing behind their Commander not daring to move.

No one spoke or moved, watching for any movement from the Demon as the pressure slowly began to ease. By the time Caipy arrived, Nixia and Ralph were already near the creature's large head, squinting and watching. Apart from the blood, nothing seemed wrong and its one remaining eye was closed and seemed to remain so.

"Ah Caipy you're here ! I feel like it's dead but...how can I be sure ? It doesn't seem to be breathing but I feel like a slight something.."

"Shall we give it one last blow ?"

As Nixia and Ralph asked questions of the medical elf, she reached around the head to the belly and put her ear to it to listen. Caipy held her ear and concentrated on detecting any sign of life, but nothing came and the griffin seemed completely dead. As she stood up, she answered the others with a serious look on her face, her hand on her chin.

"I can't hear its heart anymore and it's not moving either. I think we can say it's dead but what I find odd is that none of us seem to have reached a new level. Tell those who are tired to stay away so they won't be surprised if something happens, I'm going to stay and look at it some more."

"I'll stay with you ! Nixia you can go warn the others but stay on guard, I also feel like something weird is going on !"

Ralph had spoken up, putting her hand on the shoulder of her elf friend who had just warned them of what she found odd. Despite the Demon's conditions, no one had gotten any EXP points even though everyone had participated in its kill. As Nixia nodded, she went back to the others to pass on the message while the young elf and hybrid woman stayed put.

Everyone was moving away but in addition to the two people still standing there, Nina the young dryad Lieutenant of Caipy had stayed and was behind. She was hidden by the gigantic body of the Demon lying on the ground and obviously hadn't heard what her Commander had said. Then, as if it had decided it was the right time, the beast suddenly rose with difficulty as its last strength carried it.

"Watch out !"

Ralph had reacted quickly and jumped on Caipy to tackle her to the ground as the griffin's tail flipped over them. Its tired, dying gaze was now on the young Nina who had fallen to the ground from the shock, unable to move against the huge creature. She couldn't understand why this dead thing had started moving again and couldn't help but shake, paralyzed.

"Nina ! Get out of the way !"

"..."

As Caipy slowly got to her feet and the warriors further away turned to watch the scene, she screamed to try to get her Lieutenant out of this state of paralysis. Unfortunately, Nina couldn't hear anything and looked at the griffin who was staring at her with one eye, totally stunned and unable to move. The creature's tail struck near her, sending pieces of stone falling on the young dryad's feet.

She found herself stuck but that sudden pain she felt had woken her up but now she couldn't move. The Demon was totally disoriented and couldn't stand on its feet very well as some of them had been broken by the last combined attack. However, it had noticed the only one in front of it at that moment and was about to strike her with its tail.

"Get the hell out of here !"

"Co-Commander I...I'm stuck !"

Ralph had arrived just in front of Nina seeing that the monster was about to strike again and noticed that her lower body was trapped by the weight of the debris. She didn't seem to be hurt very badly, but every piece that was trapping her had to be removed and time was running out. The young Commander couldn't pull Nina's body out without hurting her more than she was and so found herself completely overwhelmed by the situation that had instantly turned around.

For the first time, the young hybrid felt completely overwhelmed as she saw the tail getting closer and closer and her friends running to join them. Unfortunately they had gone to join Lynn and Inferno who were much further away for safety and couldn't make it in time. The young dryad began to cry, seeing her death coming and Ralph couldn't bear to see her like this.

"I... I'll protect you ! Don't cry..."

Were the only words she had managed to utter as she wrapped her arms around Nina, shaking and waiting for the impact. At the moment, Ralph had found no other solution than that, she couldn't pull the dryad out of the debris, she didn't have time to remove them and no one would arrive in time. Her instinct had been to use her body as a barrier, hoping to minimize Nina's injuries with her powerful body.

"Ralph !! Nina !!"

Caipy, who was still on the other side, could only look on in horror, unable to react or help. She felt so foolish for not having checked earlier to see if she and Ralph were the only ones left. The elf could already see the bodies of her friend and subordinate being thrown against the wall with power and knew more than anyone that unlike Thorunn, they wouldn't make it out of there as well.

While everyone was gasping for breath, Ralph had her eyes closed and was hugging the dryad tightly, who at that moment, despite the situation, felt reassured. She felt grateful to the Commander for protecting her at the cost of her own life, and a whole host of other emotions besides fear came over her. Nina was afraid of death, she didn't want to die but being held by such a strong and brave woman at least warmed her heart.

However, as the blow came and many also closed their eyes in fear, Ralph and the dryad waited for the impact but it did not come. Instead, a gust of wind blew behind them followed by a huge noise and a growl. Opening her eyes slowly, the young hybrid suddenly found herself in the dark and didn't understand what was happening as she looked around.

"What..."

Above them was a fur even blacker than the griffin's, tinged with blood, hiding them from the light. Before Ralph and Nina's eyes, the Empress herself had arrived from nowhere as usual and stepped in to protect them. Indeed, Freya, who had torn off the snake's head, had seen the whole scene and had chosen to run towards them, leaving the Fox behind.

At a glance she had realized that the fate of her soldiers whom she saw as companions would be more than bad if she did not act. Without even thinking for a second, she had acted knowing full well that she could endure what her soldiers could not by taking the hit for them.

After all, the Empress of Elysium was the sky itself, watching over her lights so that they would never be extinguished.

___

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya / L??????

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course: Ice Demon Wolf of Chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Unique title (locked): ???? - 10% [ To unlock it, the host must reach 100% ]

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell (crossed)

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Empress of the three colors (crossed)

Level : 40/70

Exp needed for next level: 0 / 41 000

HP : 41 600 / 150 000 MP : 42 610 / 75 000. BLOOD : 70 / 100

Strength: 560

Defense : 560

Agility : 566

Endurance: 563

Speed : 562

Intelligence: 560

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 0

Married to : Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 1239

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 6)

Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 5)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

Demonic form (linked to the title so incomplete) - 10%.

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- L??????'s Threads of Blood (lvl 1)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy