Azael pressed his back into the ice, teeth gritted so hard his jaw ached. He didn't dare breathe. Didn't dare move. Blood seeped through the cloth tied around his wrist, warm at first, then chilling fast against his skin. Every heartbeat sent a fresh throb up his arm sharp like a warning.
Then he heard a footsteps. Not the clumsy stomp of the smaller bears, it was more heavy.
Thoom… thoom… thoom…
It was the big bear that azael saw in the hole
He risked a glance. Just an inch. Peered around the edge of the ice block. Her enourmous size filled the doorway.
Taller than the others. Sleeker. Her fur wasn't pure white it shifted like storm clouds, pale blue bleeding into ivory along her flanks, her shoulders, the curve of her spine. And her face… not bear looking, its more like a feline. Ears tapered to sharp points, twitching slightly, as if listening to something beneath the ice.
Then it spoke.
"What happened here?" the creature murmured, its voice low and layered feminine, but echoing as if two or three tones spoke at once.
Azael's blood froze not from the cold. "What?, did that Monsters just talk, how's that possible?" His mind raced. If she can speak… what else can she do?
She tilted her head, surveying the collapsed entrance. Snow dusted her muzzle. "Seems me and my baby will have to claw our way out–"
Then she stopped mid-sentence Azael's breath hitched. He ducked back to hide himself. A wet pop echoed in the chamber.
He didn't see it happen. But he can sense it.
An eye, pop out of nowhere from behind the monster back. It has Black-pupiled. And it's Human-sized. It blinked once. Slowly.
Then it turned. The eye itself. Rotated in its socket, and locked onto the ice block.
Azael slammed back into the corner, heart slamming against his ribs. His whole body locked up. Did she see me? Why does she have an eye in its fucking butt?!
The eye narrowed. Squinted just slightly like it was trying to pierce the ice.
three second, turn to ten second. Then pop. It retracted. Sank back into her fur like a stone dropping into water. Gone. No scar. No trace.
"…Huh." Her voice held no alarm. Just mild annoyance. "Thought I sensed someone. Guess it's just those stupid maggots again."
She turned and walked away. Tail flicking once elegant, dismissive. Azael didn't move. Didn't breathe. Not until the last echo of her steps faded.
Then he let go, slumped. Gasping. Hands shaking so badly he nearly dropped the torn cloth from his arm.
"How… how is that possible?" His whisper was raw. "Is she even an Ice Bear? Or something else?"
He looked at the sealed entrance tons of ice, fused solid by the cold. "there's no way I can go out from that way"
Azael think for a while than, he swallowed hard. Pressed his forehead to the ice. "guess my only choice is….. to go deeper."
Azael rose quietly and peeked into the next chamber, checking if the massive bear-like creature was still nearby.
"No sight of it… good. I need to move."
He stepped lightly, trying not to make even the slightest sound.
But then. His foot pressed down on a brittle shard of ice he hadn't seen. The sharp noise echoed throughout the cave.
"…Seriously?"
His voice shook. He abandoned stealth and hurried back into the room covered in strange markings, hiding behind a tall ice formation.
He reached around, searching for anything he could use to defend himself, and broke off a sturdy piece of ice from the wall.
"This will have to do." Soft scraping sounds approached.
A smaller Ice Bear padded into the room, much less massive than the creature he'd seen earlier. Its six eyes scanned the shadows while its long tongue searched under the rocks for cave insects.
Azael watched it, breathing slowly.
If I distract it… maybe I can disable it before it overpowers me.
He checked under the rock he was hiding behind. Small maggots squirmed beneath it. He picked one up and squeezed it lightly so it chirped in distress.
The bear froze and turned toward the noise. Its tongue extended under Azael's rock.
"Now".
Azael lunged forward, using the moment of surprise to grab hold of the tongue before the creature could react. The bear jerked back in shock, struggling, but Azael held firm.
"Not this time," he whispered.
With a burst of determination, he used the makeshift ice shard to stab it in the bear tounge, enough to stop it from being used again. The bear recoiled, disoriented and unable to use the long appendage to catch him or drag him.
Drops of cold black fluid smeared across his hands as he shifted his grip, dragging the bear closer. Its panicked snorts filled the room, echoing off the walls. The creature tried to retract its tongue, scratching the ice impatiently as it struggled.
Azael grabbed the ice pick that was penetrating the bear tounge, and stab it violently multiple times.
The bear let out a harsh, muffled howl as he struck, and the tongue convulsed violently. The force nearly knocked the pick from his hand, but Azael gritted his teeth and stabbed again. And again.
The tug-of-war escalated, the bear's weight slamming against the opposite side of the rock, shaking ice dust loose from the ceiling. Azael's arms burned. His chest tightened from the cold and the strain. His breath came out in sharp clouds of frost.
He didn't stop. He couldn't. One final pull and the tongue came free.
Azael stumbled backward, falling onto the icy floor. The shock numbed him for a moment, but then he scrambled up, gripping the pick tightly. Black fluid dripped from the severed tongue as he pulled the weapon free, the sight sending a cold shiver through him.
He moved around the rock.
The bear was collapsed on the floor, weakened and frightened, its eyes wide and trembling.
Azael hesitated.
For just a moment, guilt pricked at him — the creature's fear was plain, almost human in its expression.
I'm sorry… but if I don't do this, I won't survive.
He steadied himself, took a breath, and stabbed the smaller bear in its head, ending the fight.
A familiar screen appeared before him:
[You have defeated a Hellhound Creature: "Ice Bear."]
Azael took a breath, trying to push down the guilt that pressed on his chest.
"I had to," he reminded himself quietly. "If I didn't… it would've hurt me."
Another message appeared:
[WARNING!, your soul energy exceed the limit, this creature soul energy won't be stored!]
No item followed.
He sighed. "Right… probably because I already have its invocation."
He looked back at the creature carcass.
Despite everything, sorrow lingered."I'm sorry… truly." The body slowly dissolved into faint black smoke, vanishing into the air.
Then there's a sharp sound near the entrance.
Azael turned.
Two larger Ice Bears stood there, their eyes steady and full of anger, as if they understood what had happened.
"…There's two of them," Azael whispered. He tightened his grip on the ice shard.
"Can I even win this?"
One of them charged.
Azael steadied himself, ready to fight again.
He didn't want to hurt anything but he had to survive... no matter what.