Chapter 79: Beast of Ice

He watches from above as everyone tries to get ready and reach their stations, yet his focus remains on the mission of the creature they intend to capture.

Suddenly, they start to spread all over the room at a speedy rate.

Sheehan's eyes widen, "Now, Selena!" he orders and they get covered in a fluid that is thin and all around them. The liquid is very clear, allowing for vision as if it doesn't exist when it comes to light and vision.

As for those not in the mech suits or having the equipment or clothing that Aayn and some other have, they instantly freeze.

Some of them falling and breaking into pieces.

Gulping at the sight, Vision looks around.

It isn't even here, yet things have already started . . .

Vision, like Aayn and Sheehan, has also been covered in the insulating fluid instead of a mech suit.

He looks at Sheehan in reassurance as he counters the long-range attack.

Sheehan's thoughts race.

It will still abide by the rules of heat transfer, reset to construct a thin fluid with the properties of a very highly insulating material around us. It is slowing down the freezing process to a very low amount.

He tsks.

It sucks that I had to play the Selena card already, though.

. . .

The frost continues to spread yet again . . . passing under Aayn, and yet it couldn't reach him to entrap or contain him on a thin level due to the liquid covering all of Aayn, the sole of his feet included.

So, instead, a large barrier starts forming around him, attempting to enclose him in a large ice block.

But he swiftly jumps away before that can happen. As he jumps away, the ice continues to try to capture him. It's as if he is specifically being targeted.

Is it just going to keep launching long-range attacks like that? It must have grown cautious seeing that it couldn't frost-freeze us. He is smart and not underestimating us, that is like him, Kayn trained well. He usually served as a back line most of the time anyway as the hot-headed Haco took the front line. It's fine for no–

Something catches Sheehan's attention.

A small ball of ice has formed on the portal's ground.

Damn it! We got distracted with Aayn!

"Everyone be careful!" warns Aayn through the earpiece for everyone. Not more but a fraction after, pure clear ice crystals with pointy sharp edges begin to fire from the ball in all directions.

Large and powerful machines get pierced with each through the tough armor and the insulating layer, blood splatters to the ground and walls, and the still intact frosted people get shattered to pieces as they're struck.

The people start to panic, and whoever could still move or fight aims at the front ball launching the ice crystals and begin to throw all their firepower at it; bullets, rockets, flame throwers or even launching themselves at it if all weapons malfunctioned, they leave nothing in their given arsenal to try and neutralize the threat.

The barrage continues as the fire rate isn't enough to reach the frost ball and get rid of it.

Laying down amongst the rubble, Sheehan looks towards Zahtan's direction, who has candles around him in a protected location with a special barrier, and he seems to be performing a ritual.

It should be over soon, but he will need sight of Iza to cast it, this scenario might be more beneficial at first as we needed to buy time anyway but right now, if the status quo remains . . . we will run out of steam long before he does, that is if he doesn't get us all before we do run out . . .

He turns his head and looks at Aayn who is laying down as well. He is aiming for hi–

Splash!

Sheehan's blood splatters as one of the ice shards strike his left leg, destroying it. The moment of the blast launches him backwards, making him fall on his back.

As he falls, by uncalculated chance . . . luck (?) from their perspective. One of the rockets blows up near the ball and the blast radius barely clips it, destroying it.

Vision races to Sheehan as his bones are broken and his leg is gone, he holds him up with his arms.

"Vision . . . I need– ugh! I need you to bring h–him into this place for the plan to work!" groans Sheehan, "U–use your powers as I am about to say . . . I have set up the conditions for it to work!"

"Wait, I–"

Sheehan holds Vision's hand with affirmation.

"You can do it. I believe you w–won't mess it up this time!"

"Right!" he says, newfound firmness in his voice.

. . .

Vision stares at Sheehan, "Are you sure about this? Isn't that taking it a bit too far? Even if it is fake? Will it even work?!"

"Yes, it is necessary. T–trust me, Vision, this will work!"

". . . alright," replies Vision, grabbing Sheehan's hand and closing his eyes to focus.

"Protect only us four, Selena transfer the rest of your power to him so he can reach his mind," as he says that, another frost ball . . . or 2? . . . 3? . . . 4 appear on floor, walls, and roof. It seems that Iza has changed its mind on how to go about things and will be nuking everything and is doing so in the same method he just attacked, but in greater numbers as to assert the gap of power, befitting of its pride and satisfying its suppressed rage.

Time seems to move slowly for Aayn who is looking all around in fascination.

"Aah, what a beautiful scene! Truly an elegant beast!" he proclaims in magnificence as the insulating shields protecting the soldiers drop, all of them starting to freeze over with time.

A still frame of the first few spikes being launched and Zahtan still performing his ritual plays in front of them and Aayn takes in the beauty.

Vision opens his eyes. They are completely black with pupils of red, and the fluid surrounding him starts to spike and react as if enhancing his power.

And so, he manages to invade Iza's mind . . . and in doing so, he shows Iza a vision of a future . . .

Of Aayn . . . teleporting and getting away . . . never to be found by him again . . .

And the vision right after . . . shows him standing atop the corpse of a large panther, looking down on him and smiling . . .

. . . as he does, he kicks down the corpses of his two owners, Adora and Kayn, at his feet.

"Here, kitty kitty," he says as Iza looks back up, seeing him holding three kittens hanging by hooks like pieces of meat . . . dead . . .

. . .

A moment of silence passes.

. . .

The frost balls suddenly break and even the fired ice shards shatter to dust.

Sheehan smirks.

Tamed and trained as he may be, he is still more animal and beast at the core when pushed enough . . . the chances of him falling for this before would have been lower but now that Haco is actually dead . . .

The ground shakes as a loud roar sounds, and then shatters as a great, giant, white tiger emerges in rage.

However, because he broke through normal ground and didn't go through the portal, he is still upright while the rest are upside down, and he begins to fall with the falling debris till he lands at the ceiling.

With sharp golden eyes, his focus narrows to one absolute goal: Aayn! Rip him to shreds and encapsulate him in eternal ice!

Aayn looks up at it from where he is standing.

"Ah, a plot twist!"

Whatever soldier is able to move, attempts to attack Iza but without their insulating shields . . . a single mighty roar from Iza freezes them all . . . now only four remain.

"Come! Let's give them a good show!"

. . .

Just as Iza was about to lunge and attack Aayn, he missed someone . . . someone he hadn't paid much attention to.

The ritual . . . is complete.

Zahtan, barely able to hold a sign using his hand that forms a circle which has Iza at its center, utters the final words, "Disappear, obsession, wrath, I submit and show all of this to please you, I beseech thee to grant me a middle. In the name of all that I have caused in this world, I cash it all in, smile as you see the labor of my work!"

He smiles, "Behold, mighty beast, a universal law no matter the world. The highest form of power our kind can even come to grasp in any world no matter its laws!"

. . .

"Authority,"