The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

-- POV General --

For several minutes, Ralph and Emilia had fought in the middle of this cloud of horrible and repulsive creatures without weakening but needed rest. Almost of one and same voice, they had thus announced to the remaining Commanders to replace them the time to rest a little. Thus, it was Luna, Persea, Ynir and Caipy's turn to enter the battle. Unlike the half-human cat and the young woman hybrid, they weren't specialized in close combat but they could handle themselves just as well.

Persea and Ynir always worked together, but in a situation like this, Caipy had joined the group. In only a few moments, seeming to understand each other without speaking, the three Commanders coordinated their attacks perfectly. Ralph and Emilia had left behind them a scattered and chaotic horde, much less effective than at the beginning which was perfect for their strategy.

"Ynir, your illusions !"

"It's coming !"

The half-butterfly woman then began to flap her wings gracefully, rising a little from the ground as she incanted her spells, almost as if she were singing a lullaby. Her beautiful, transparent, rainbow hued wings were magnificent and the more Ynir whispered, the more they suddenly began to glow. They glowed slightly as suddenly a veil of mist slowly slid towards the creatures.

"There's not much light but given their low levels it should work !"

Commander Ynir always used the reflections of light to intensify her illusions from the fog. In this huge room with no sunlight or moonlight as a catalyst, it was very hard to have effective illusions but Ynir mastered her fog to perfection. It came out of her wings and was actually tiny particles of powder invisible to the naked eye, forming this effect.

"Don't worry we'll take care of the rest, stay focused I promise to protect you !"

Persea, who knew her partner well, had shouted this phrase as the smoke engulfed the surrounding Nightmares one by one. They were not caught in complete illusions but the effect was powerful enough to stun them. In the middle of this maze of pillars, it was therefore possible to see creatures almost motionless, their eyes white, as if hypnotized. The Nightmares that had not been affected by Ynir's mist did not understand what was going on and pushed the ranks ahead with even more fervor.

"Caipy !"

The half-human butterfly had screamed, signaling that they were ready to be killed now that they were still. Commander Caipy was running and weaving through the middle while making sure to throw her poison needles. Her section was only for medical support but in a situation like this the dark elf knew how to fight as well. Her needles were attached to her thighs, arms and were all soaked with powerful poison of all kinds.

There were deadly ones, paralyzing ones, numbing ones and many more. In addition to her mastery of plants, Caipy could also recognize the creatures' weak point at a glance due to her extensive knowledge of flora and fauna. Thanks to Ynir's fog, she was now sneaking through the middle, this time with stabs. She didn't want to use up her supply of needles so she had switched to another technique : stabbing with precision.

While at the front, Caipy, supported by Ynir's magic, was wreaking havoc, Persea was fighting just as fiercely on the sides. Brambles sprang up from the ground to catch the creatures and separate their heads from their bodies. They extended like fists and even beat the living tide by exploding the Nightmares on the ground. Bodies fell, limbs exploded, and skulls shattered in an outpouring of blood and organs.

Like natural whips full of thorns slamming into the huge room, the creatures were being swept away. Each time the large branches rose to the ceiling to fall again, the bodies of some of the monsters would hang on, impaled by the deadly thorns. Persea, despite her look similar to Gaya's, maternal and gentle, had no pity at this moment while her face showed rage, seriousness and determination.

"Itham right now !"

"Yes Commander !"

Itham, Ynir and Persea's elf Lieutenant, had remained in the background, but under the dryad's strangely dominant voice, was making walls appear. He mastered the element of wood and was in charge of blocking the passage with his walls and his wooden stakes that were rising up to hit the enemy like missiles. It was a true teamwork without counting the fact that Nella, Liz and Zak the Lieutenants of Trioa, Ralph and Emilia assisted him.

Their battles had been less severe because they had not been in the forefront like their Commanders and therefore still had plenty of energy. Liz, with her whip, lacerated the bodies, tearing off large shreds of green skin, making the Nightmares scream in pain. The cracking of her whip echoed through the room along with the sound of explosions, severed limbs, screams and chaos.

"I've cleared the way Zak !"

Just after the passage of the half-tiger, Zak the bear with the red fur charged just like Emilia but by taking well care not to move away too much because he had less experience and strength to survive alone in the middle. Although the creatures appearance was repulsive, Zak was snapping his big jaw tearing arms, legs and even necks. Despite the taste of foul blood dripping from his mouth and fangs, the bear didn't stop and even swung his paws with power.

Nella and Itham, acting as backups with their elements, protected their two comrades and friends from deceitful attacks. They weren't from the same section, but during all their training in the Empire, they had all learned to fight side by side and even against each other. In fact, despite the separation of several groups in the Elysium army, they were made to fight together, each filling in the gaps and weaknesses of the others. Together, just like their Commanders...they were one.

"Beautiful."

Freya, who had not yet moved, was still watching as an excited, almost crazed smile appeared on her face, minute by minute. The Empress grew more and more proud as she watched the tide of hideous monsters recede a little further as the battle went on. There were only 18 of them and yet they were fending off thousands of Nightmares without ever collapsing and knowing almost perfectly where they should be.

"Both the Commanders and the Lieutenants are doing a very good job. It's not perfect but they're efficient enough to not get hurt."

On the right were Persea, Nella, Zak, Liz and Itham while in the middle were Ynir and Caipy supported by Trioa. Freya, turning her gaze to the left where Nixia, Naia and Thorunn were fighting, could see them being replaced this time by Luna, Kurumi, Ash, Leon and Nina. The Commanders were fighting on the front lines and were the ones using the most power and killing the most Nightmares. As a result, they would tire faster because the excessive number of monsters despite being weak was difficult to deal with in the long run.

"Oh~ let's see..."

The Empress was ready to act at a moment's notice, but wanted to observe their fighting style first, for although almost surrounded, her soldiers so far were largely dominating the fight. First there was Luna who, like Ynir, was busy immobilizing as many Nightmares as she could.

The half-human panther, was spinning through the many slimy bodies while using her lightning element. She aimed for the jugular and hit it every time no matter how many claws or sharp jaws were thrown at her. Like an acrobat, Luna twirled over heads that tried to bite her, went under arms that tried to grab her and broke nails that tried to pierce her.

From her ten fingers came lightning bolts that struck the necks of the Nightmares sending them into an instantaneous shock. In this way, they all ended up on the ground, motionless, unable to move as they convulsed in glutinous noises. Luna was precise, quick, and even seemed to disappear into the shadows, imperceptible, elusive, and unreachable. No matter how much the creatures looked around, the only thing they saw was a shadow and a flash of lightning before falling helplessly like their neighbors.

The only thing Lynn could see was the collapse of the front lines without knowing what was going on, as if a deadly shadow had fallen over them. One by one, the Nightmares coming from the left were falling by the hundreds, paralyzed and only under the hand of one person...Commander Luna. The young woman, like her Commander friends, was giving it her all and was as focused as she had ever been.

Luna fought with ferocity, determination, and a zest for life like she had never known before. She wanted to uncover the secrets of this place, to make her Empress proud, to protect her friends and soldiers but what kept her going without fear was much more than that. More than anything else in the world, Luna wanted to return alive to the woman she loved, who was waiting for her and made her heart burn with a fiery flame.

Once still for those who were not dead on the spot, Kurumi the elf handling the stone, second to Nixia and Naia passed behind. Lynn could see her in the distance, covering herself in stone armor that might seem heavy at first glance but light for its wearer. The young elf with pink hair, passed behind Luna who had paralyzed the creatures to explode their skulls with violence and speed. She only needed one blow and everywhere she went, brains splattered on the ground.

Ash, Commander Luna's half-leopard second-in-command, was also in charge of sneaking up on the enemy to kill them silently. He couldn't use magic, but he blended in perfectly with any environment as if he was invisible and elegantly assassinated with his daggers. Ash's fighting style was very similar to Luna's and it was easy to tell that he took a lot of inspiration from his superior.

"Nina on your right !"

Ash had shouted this phrase, lost in the cloud of monster as he saw Nightmares sneaking through his nets. The dryad, Caipy's second in command, could not use magic and fought by throwing poison needles. Of all the Lieutenants, she was probably the weakest as she was not used to fighting and easily panicked. However, Nina could count on Leon the Kobold who was no longer fighting next to Thorunn. He also mastered the wind, even if his attacks were much weaker, but he still managed to support Nina by throwing his threads of air capable of holding as well as slicing. Because of this, they had good coordination especially when Luna and Ash were dealing with the first ranks and Kurumi with the second.

"Your Highness, we're going back !"

Whereas Freya always looked at the scene, Ralph, Emilia, Nixia, Naïa and Thorunn had again advanced to participate. In this labyrinth of pillars, all the Commanders and Lieutenants of Elysium were now fighting. The room was a battlefield which could have ended in ruins if the structures were not strangely, extremely solid.

There were hundreds and hundreds of bodies on the ground, brains, entrails and dark green blood covering every inch of the stone slabs. Nightmares were piling up one by one, literally overwhelmed by the power of these rampaging warriors who fought with determination and pride. The Empress hadn't even moved a finger since the attack with her aura and yet the monsters were retreating.

Suddenly, as if with one voice, the hundreds of remaining creatures raised their heads to scream in unison. Like a cry for help, a song of death, or a cry of despair, the Nightmares clicked their hideous tongues, creating an unmistakable sound made by saliva. Just then, a loud, deafening roar shook the walls and the huge room suddenly fell silent.

"Behind me !"

Freya had suddenly shouted this order to all of her soldiers in front of her, who in a second, complied without question. Heavy footsteps then shook everyone as the Nightmares fled in their directions seeming to even snicker. The Empress, who until now had been smiling, now had a serious face, her eyebrows furrowed and a hand on her katana.

"This thing that's coming up is not on the same level at all. You've all done a great job so far, it's now up to me to close this battle that has gone on for far too long."

As the she-wolf spoke these words, her alpha wolf instincts kicked in as her tattoos seemed to grow darker and darker, her violet eyes tinged a scarlet red. Freya's aura changed as the thing approached, causing the Empire soldiers to back off slightly...she was different.

"It's here..."

She had almost growled those words because at that moment, this was the first more powerful enemy the Empress had come across in a very long time. It was also the first serious fight she'd had since her half-evolution and what she didn't know yet was that her demon side had awakened along with the tattoos.

A figure as huge as the room began to take shape among the pillars as torches suddenly lit up, finally illuminating the dark place. Before Freya and the others stood a huge version of the creatures they had previously had to fight.

It was a huge, muscular Nightmare whose skin seemed hard and impenetrable, hidden behind armor protecting his chest. When he grabbed the pillars, those that had withstood the previous chaos cracked like sand without him even having to force it. His tongue hung out and touched the ground, leaving a trail of foul drool behind him as his white eyes rolled aimlessly.

He was horrible, terrifying, repulsive, but one thing was undeniable, to the soldiers of Elysium, his aura was almost as striking as the she-wolf's. What was such a creature doing here ? While many questions filled the minds of Freya's warriors, she turned with a face that startled them. The demon had awakened.

"I'll take care of him ! Stay on guard, there are still minor Nightmares lurking around to attack you at the first opportunity !"

"Y-Y-Yes ! We will also support you when you ask us !"

The Commanders and Lieutenants pounded their fists on their hearts as they watched their demonic Empress advance towards this powerful and colossal monster. In front of them was going to be a battle of titans, a battle between two beings that exceeded their abilities in every way.

A battle...to death.

____

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Level : 36/70

Exp needed for next level: 16 600 / 37 000

HP : 120 000 / 120 000 MP : 26 000 / 60 000

Strength: 500

Defense : 500

Agility : 506

Endurance: 503

Speed : 502

Intelligence: 500

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 5)

Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 4)

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

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)

Master of souls (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]