Reincarnated into a Snow Griffin-Chapter 87

I do not think twice before diving in the air and moving closer, changing forms midway and using the runes silver glamour on my feathers to give it the armor look and not scare the lady with real owl wings at my back as I beat my wings strongly to hoove over the water, barely seeing white fingers as the person splashed around, trying to stay floating above the liquid, but not only is the water dark and thick but filled with movement like that makes it harder for me to see or get closer to do something without getting myself wet too.

As I could not save her by getting dragged in the water myself I can’t simply try to swim especially because I do not how to, and because I... well, am afraid to even try, so instead I get closer while staying in the air and without much space for maneuvering my feet almost touch the water as I think of pulling the person out by the arm, desperate for action and in short of time to help a drowning person, my reactions thus far have been swift and quick as possible while being this close to deep dark water, eyes glancing and fear making my heart pound faster, shuddering my fingers, and distracting me.

Distracting me enough to only realize later that something is... odd.

How could someone be almost drowning for this long... and how could someone have reached this far into the lagoon only to have a splashing fit on its calm water?

And why would there be a person here, in the middle of nowhere, in the first place?

As if sensing my hesitation the struggle intensifies as I frown upon the sign, torn between the urgency of helping a person out and of just standing there, stupidly watching a person die instead of saving them, but up close I could... sense something wrong about it, almost as if reading the micro signs in the water, and the situation as a whole.

And because of my attentive gaze and my prepared mind that I’m able to take in the details of the situation once I get close, on how its petrol dark waters hid a pair of glassy eyes, of how the hand reaching out to my has too much wrinkles, it is deadly pale with purple veins contrasting out, long black nails out of webbed crooked fingers, and how can barely make out the shadow of a long white body being concealed in the depths of the water bank.

But what gave away the most, and the first thing to catch my attention, is the animalistic fanged smile spreading through its face under the surface of the water, even more twisted by the ripples on the water caused by its own movements.

Of course such creature would know that, by now, its cover was blown, one of the reasons it made such a ruckus before, to hide its true appearance in a fake display of despair, and was ready to strike the moment the prey got close enough to figure such trap out.

So when it launches to close the small distance between us and grasp my hand I was not surprised, and once its dripping wet frogged skinned hand wraps around my wrist I am not scared, but actually prepared for such an attack.

That’s why, in my other hand, concealed by my clothes, is already the metal fan I’ve used before hand, its blue surface shimmering with the power of my runes as I draw him forth in an arch as a whipping cutting wind follows its moves, my own wind sword stretching out, invisible, from the handle, a sword of sorts concealed as a fan.

I may have attacked too soon for most of the monster’s body is still concealed and protected by the water, and as such only the upper body is fully hit by my attack as the liquid takes part of the hit of the rest, and yet it had been enough to make a clean long cut on the woman paper white upper body of the monster as it howled in pain and let go of my arm.

And yet not even two flaps from my wings away it was already launching another attack, something akin to a worm white body moving under the water, the shape wrong and fat with things growing out of it, but working well to twist and launch the human looking part of its body out like a snake would, outstretching its hands and teeth like a gaping mouth.

Since I do not have time to prepare the fan wind sword again, moving back to my side still, I use my other hand to gash out a swirl of cold air that coils down and works fast on the surface of the lake’s water.

"Freeze!" I say as it does so, the black murky water turning into solid crystal clear ice, starting from the base of the monster’s body, cutting its way back and exposing its front, but working first on stopping its launching attack from going any further and the moment my ice starts to spread the creature’s glassy eyes expand, resembling as much of a fish as a dead person’s eyes, and quick thinking it starts moving its body around to break the forming ice before it can solidify enough to contain its movements.

It doesn’t work.

Instead of focusing on expanding its surface I put all my strength into deepening the ice around the creature’s body, keeping a good ledge that is easily broken at first, but as my ice grows deeper and encaged the rest of the body underneath the amount of strength it could put in wriggling about decreased by the passing second, and soon I was able to keep the creature’s body in place while increasing the circle of ice around it.

It ends as quickly as it was deadly, like most fights to the death are, mere seconds away from oblivion.

And yet, that moment it took me to take a breather, pull back and assert the angle of the next deadly Cutting Wind attack that would surely severe the up half humanoid part of the monster in haft, in a crazy attempt to save itself the strange creature launched the last attack that should not suffice to be deadly.

And yet it did.