The Author's Playground-Chapter 26: Bucking Bronco Mate (2)

Chapter 26: Bucking Bronco Mate (2)

When a 'Queen' came forward,

She carves a path through the ranks.

Pushing forward, hungry for the King's last breath.

The 'Knight', however, rears back like a wild stallion

When the queen threatens.

He guards

When the queen strikes.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

He dances.

And in the storm of annihilation and sacrifice,

When all seems lost.

The match ends, with a Bucking Bronco—

Checkmate.

*****

The air felt heavier with every passing second, as the nightmare's oppressive presence bore down on them like a relentless storm.

Lucian knelt on the frost-covered ground, his hands resting on the hilt of his blade. His eyes remained closed in deep concentration.

'Swoosh!'

'Swing!'

Victoria kept parrying the nightmare's attack with all the spells she had. Eventually, another tendril lashed out, and she barely managed to dodge with the razor-sharp edge grazing her arm.

Blood trickled down, but she didn't falter. Instead, she spun on her heel, her hand slicing the air as she unleashed a concentrated gust of wind that cut through the tendril.

The nightmare growled, its twisted form shifted.

"Human... your... mahika... do... countered... me... but...you... are...still...far... too...weak..."

The nightmare stopped relying on long-range attacks and lunged forward, closing the distance between them in an instant. Its massive claws came down in a savage arc.

Victoria ducked low, her instincts screaming at her to move. She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed.

As she came up, she swung her right hand horizontally, creating compressed air slashing across the nightmare's arm. But as before, the wound closed almost immediately, its dark essence regenerating with frightening speed.

The monster roared, swiping at her again.

This time, she had no room to dodge. She raised her arms, summoning a wall of wind to intercept the blow.

The claws slammed into the barrier, shattering it instantly and sending her flying backward. She tumbled across the ground, gasping for air as pain shot through her body.

"Damn it…" Victoria muttered out loud, forcing herself to stand. Her legs felt like lead, and her strength dwindled rapidly.

But she couldn't stop. Not now. Not when Lucian was still recovering.

The nightmare didn't give her a moment to breathe. It closed the gap once more, its claws swiping with terrifying speed.

Victoria gritted her teeth, dodging and parrying as best as she could. Her wind magic wasn't fast enough to block every attack, and she was forced to rely on pure reflexes.

It wasn't enough.

But then...

'Crack...'

The nightmare's claws froze mid-swing, encased in glittering ice. Frost began crawling up its arms, spreading like a virus.

The air turned frigid, as a piercing chill swept across the area. The temperature plummeted so drastically that the moisture in the air crystallized into delicate snowflakes.

Victoria's wide eyes darted to Lucian, who was finally standing.

His wounds were gone, his posture turned firm, and his eyes glowed with icy blue. His blade radiated the same cold energy, frost spiraling around the weapon.

"What took you so long?" Victoria gasped in relief, the corner of her mouth twitched into a smile.

In the distance, Elijah's lips curved into a knowing smile as he observed."Ah, so the gamble paid off," he murmured. "The Ice Monarch nicknamed by my old readers, truly fits him."

From what Elijah understood when writing his character...

Although Victoria might outshine him when it comes to casting spells, no one can outshine Lucian in pure mahika strength except the original main character; Dae-hyun.

The moment Lucian regained his full health, and took off his restraints. He has proven himself enough of the title being 'S class' and as well, being the 'ice monarch'

"Truly befitting as the queen in my chess piece"

Lucian glanced over his shoulder, as he gazed back at the yellow-haired lass. "Please aim for the wings. I'll back you up."

Victoria wiped the sweat off her brow, standing straighter despite her exhaustion. "Do you think we can win this?"

"No way..." Lucian's lips twitched into a faint smile as he turned his attention back to the monster. "There's no way we will lose."

With a single step, Lucian launched himself forward, the ground fractured beneath him. He closed the distance in an instant, his blade glowed in advance.

The nightmare swiped at him in desperation, but Lucian deflected the strike effortlessly. His sword cut through the air, with each swing releasing arcs of frost that froze chunks of the nightmare's body.

The creature screeched as Lucian's relentless attacks chipped away at its strength. And its regenerative abilities faltered against the sheer cold coursing through it.

The nightmare, realizing it was cornered, roared and spread its jagged wings, attempting to escape. It leaped into the air, shadowy trails stretching behind it as it fled toward the sky.

But Victoria wasn't about to let it go.

"You can't run away!" she shouted, slamming her palms together.

A vortex of wind erupted around her, swirling upward to cut off the monster's wings. The gale intensified, forming a barrier that forced the nightmare back toward the ground.

Lucian took a deep breath. Frost began to gather around him, condensing into intricate patterns of ice. "This ends now."

With a final burst of mahika, Lucian unleashed his final attack.

The air around him turned to snow and ice, creating a storm that converged on the nightmare.

The storm enveloped the monster, freezing it completely in a towering crystal of ice.

The nightmare let out a final, desperate screech as the frost consumed it. The icy prison cracked—and then exploded into a million glittering shards.

And then, its body began to dissipate, unraveling like a mist into the cold air.

Everything went dead silent, all that remained of the creature's existence was a single violet gem, glowing faintly as it dropped to the ground with a soft thud.

The dark red hue of the night sky began to fade. The oppressive, crimson moonlight retreated as the golden glow of daylight returned.

The frozen battlefield transformed back into a serene meadow as if the chaos had never happened at all.

Lucian, with his body drained of every ounce of strength, collapsed to the ground. His blade slipped from his hand, landing next to him with a soft clatter.

"Is it done—huh?!" Victoria's panic snapped through the stillness. She dropped to her knees beside him, her hands hovering over his unconscious form. "Hey! You can't sleep here!"

Elijah approached them with a casual stride. He knelt beside them, placing a reassuring hand on her trembling shoulder.

"You can relax" Elijah replied softly. "I'm sure the instructors will be here soon to take over."

Victoria glared at him, exhaustion momentarily forgotten. "Fuck you... you really didn't do anything!"

"Language princess."

"Grr..."

Elijah chuckled before shrugging. "I really can't do anything to help you two. Besides..." he added, tilting his head slightly, "you both proved yourselves just fine."

Victoria let out a weary laugh with the tension finally melting away.

"Thank you," she murmured, leaning against his shoulder. Her exhaustion caught up to her, and her eyes began to droop. "I'll leave the rest to you…"

Elijah watched as Victoria's head fell fully against his shoulder, her breathing slowed down as she succumbed to fatigue.

He smiled faintly as his gaze shifted to the violet gem left behind by the nightmare.

Reaching out, he picked it up, turning it over in his hand.

Suddenly, a holographic system interface appeared in front of him, flickering into existence with a loud 'Ping'

[ Chapter 1 ended successfully… Calculating views and comments outside the sky… ]