Through the veil of mist across the frozen sea, massive objects soared. Pillars of ice flew towards the shoreline, aimed to crush the lonesome human.
He watched them close in before flipping back just as one crashed in front of him. It landed with tremendous force, sticking right into the sand.
Right as his feet touched the ground, the cold air hissed as he looked up, finding another pillar quickly closing in. Dodging wasn't in the question, only having enough time to drive his left fist forward. His arm fired like a cannon, straining his muscles and bones to shatter the dense projectile of frost.
"—Hah," he exhaled.
As the fragments of frost drifted in front of him, yet another colossal fixture of ice came in. It slid across the unmoving sea before charging through the sand.
The size of it and the momentum behind the pillar was like that of a translucent train. He held his hands out, bracing himself as it collided against his grasp.
"Nghh!—" He struggled.
It pushed him back, bringing his boots to slide across the sand. A glance back at the side of the abandoned structure behind him showed where he'd be crushed, if he let it go on.
He pressed his strength against its momentum, attempting to stop it.
[Maximizing strength in arms and legs. Tightening core. Accelerating muscular restoration; increasing bone density.]
[EXP: +200] [503/1000]
He dug his heels into the sand, gaining whatever leverage he could as he brought the pillar down to a halt. Just as it stopped—the block of ice shattered.
In the haze of glistening shards, the silver-haired being revealed himself.
'He's here? The ice was a cover?' Seven realized.
In the hand of the Fulminare, a shard of ice extended into the perfect form of a spear. Without needing a moment to consider it, he already could sense it was being thrust for his gut.
There was no time to evade, only to defend his body—
"Hah!"
An ear-piercing sound like thunder rattling in quick succession echoed. From the left, a hail of burning, azure pellets cast by the Fulminare. Several projectiles scraped against the invader's body, forcing the golden-skinned figure back.
'A Mjolnir shot?' He realized, looking towards the source of the life-saving firing.
With heavy breaths, the burly soldier stood there, wincing and huffing from the recoil of the massive gun.
"Alexander—?" Seven called out.
"I'm here! Sorry for being late!" The gallant man apologized with a thumbs-up.
There was no opportunity for a reunion as Seven noticed the look in the Fulminare's eyes as the otherworldly warrior's gaze shifted to his comrade.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
He dashed, practically throwing himself into the ice-wielder's way before it could reach his partner. While he meant to push his fist against the taller figure's chin, he found the slender, cold fingers catching his wrist.
"--Ah?!"
All the momentum behind his intercepting punch was flicked around as his view was completely flipped. It perplexed him as he blinked, finding the sky below, and the sand above, only realizing what had happened as he smacked into the ground.
'I got…thrown aside?' He discovered.
Kicking his legs up, he jumped back to his feet, only to witness the flashes of azure followed by thunderclaps. Multiple shocks were taken by Alexander, who winced with each firing of his weapon.
Despite the consecutive shots, the widespread gunfire was swiftly maneuvered around by the golden-skinned warrior.
"C'mon! C'mon–I'm right here!" Alexander announced, pulling the trigger as the prototype weapon roared, sending him sliding back.
Through the bright-blue haze, Alta dashed in, closing the distance within a single step. Even the mighty Alexander held a pale look on his face as if staring down the throat of a hungry lion.
Seven pushed himself to his utmost, sprinting in from the right as he led with his shoulder, abandoning all other tact in his approach, "Rrrgh!"
By some miracle, he made it in time before the Fulminare could deliver the counterattack to his comrade, slamming his shoulder against Alta's body. Despite putting his whole force into it, the direct collision hardly seemed to knock the air out of the invader's lungs, only leaving the graceful fighter displaced several meters.
Alta huffed, adjusting his gloves as the wind around his body picked up, stirring up a wrathful blizzard once more, "If you're fighting me and defending your comrade at the same time, you'll both end up dead. Commit to one–don't be arrogant enough to believe you can overcome me while playing at both."
There was no sign left of the once warm, sunny beach, only a shoreline that now resembled a harsh tundra as the winds howled like vengeful phantoms.
"Brrrr…" Alexander shuddered before quickly slapping his own chest, laughing it off as icicles began forming on his luscious locks. "It's a bit chilly, but I'm not slowing anybody down!"
Seven stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, whispering, "My communicator got broken. What's going on down there?"
"Haoyu is having some trouble getting Erebus going. Figures. For the moment, we're just going to have to hold out," Alexander whispered back, keeping his weapon pointed towards the Fulminare. "Just gotta beat a Fulminare, ain't nothing to it, right? Humanity is depending on us. We're the vanguard of mankind."
Hearing words laced with wisdom for once was a surprise from the hot-headed musclehead, though they resonated with him in that moment, staring down the very threat that placed the world on such alert.
"Right," he agreed.
That resolve was tested as a stomp came from Alta, manifesting a sheet of ice that extended from the bottom of his boot. Skewers rose from the expanding frost, jutting out in each direction with the only aim of piercing anything and everything.
"Being the vanguard simply means you will be the first to fall," Alta reprimanded coldly, standing amidst the field of glacial spikes.
Seven was forever to maneuver himself while throwing punches at the incoming ice. As for Alexander, triggers of Mjolnir were used in much the same way.
Crack.
"Grh!—" Alexander let out a gasp of pain.
A quick glance back found the tall figure grasping at his shoulder with clear discomfort. Though it was clear he was in pain, Alexander gave a wink to Seven as if telling him "this is nothing."
There was no time to waste on making sure his comrade was alright as multiple rolls of ice came closing in. Each approached like colossal bricks meant to grind him to paste, forcing his feet to remain swift.
He ducked beneath one block of frost as the cold air passed through his hair, sliding beneath the swarm. The distance was closed as he clenched his fist, letting the muscles in his arm swell.
Every part of his body worked in unison to empower his fist, letting it swing forward—THUD. Intending to punch through the Fulminare, he instead found a dense wall of ice in his way.
It shattered, though it left the golden figure unscathed by the rippling force. That indifferent gaze just a few strides away dug into him; it antagonized him, scorning his weakness.
"You're a one-note fighter," Alta reprimanded, raising his hand as the cold mist formed into a massive, frozen sword.
As the colossal mass of ice was swung downward, he slipped to the left. While he avoided being split in half, it grazed his chest, cutting right through his powersuit.
[Laceration to skin; toughening body in response.]
[EXP: +50] [553/1000]
'He's right. I am "one note." All I can do is punch—I won't reach him this way. C'mon, System…Adapt me a weapon I can use,' he urged himself.