Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Dual Strike

Lex felt awkward for the duration of the fight between the occupants of the castle and the beasts made of Ice magic. She couldn't stop glancing over her shoulder to make sure that Zelda was still watching her, and though she knew that Zelda would always be there, she found herself looking regardless. The striking gaze of the brown-haired woman bothered her in a way that she couldn't quite describe, and Lex couldn't help but feel her skin crawl when she thought about what their conversation would potentially involve. She knew that Zelda wasn't going to hurt her, but her nerves were still oddly stifling. Lex had never been the type to worry much about what happened around her, but this was the exception, and she hated it more than she could hope to articulate at the heart of a battle.

Zelda threw a sphere of purple energy through the window, and Lex looked over at her with a light sigh. She wished that she knew what was going on inside of Zelda's head, but she didn't think that she had a way of prying into Zelda's thoughts until after the battle ended. She was going to make herself anxious if she spent too much longer trying to pull herself away from her musings about Zelda.

The magical energy of the room shifted itself, and Lex felt partially as if she had been punched in the stomach and forced to cope with the aftermath. She glanced around in confusion, wondering what had happened. Lex yelped when she was forced to duck down and throw her arms over her head to avoid a slash from an icy claw in her direction. Zelda followed up by removing her swords from their sheaths and slashing at the offending hand, and Lex gave her a grateful glance as soon as she was able to pull her energy together. 

"The magical core that powers this castle was disturbed," Zelda murmured when she noticed Lex's confusion. "That's how large places like this run. I don't know what we're supposed to do to counteract all of this, but it would be for the best if we kept our composure and kept fighting with everything that we have. Do what you can to keep fighting back."

Lex nodded. She felt another shiver down her spine at the way that Zelda spoke with her, and she almost wondered if she was about to be sick. The nausea pulled at the corners of her stomach and left her with no easy way to rid herself of her own paranoia. She forced the thought away by conjuring a small fireball into one hand, and Lex chucked it through the window as soon as Zelda gave her an opening to attack through. Lex heard a feral screech from one of the ice monsters, and she let out a sigh of relief when she realized that she had been saved from her own struggles for at least a few moments. That was more than enough as far as Lex was concerned. She would find a way out of this. That was how she had always functioned. If she could just hold on for a few moments later, she would be fine.

Zelda took her place in front of the window and created a sphere of purple energy. She tossed it downwards and watched as the icy beasts were sent flying outwards from the powerful momentum. Lex heard the creatures scream as they made contact with the nearby wall of the outside of the castle. She smiled to herself, hating that she had actually enjoyed hearing the sound of the screeches. Then again, if they weren't actually alive, it wasn't quite as twisted for her to be okay with listening to it, right?

Lex chose to not question her morality in the heat of the battle, and she hurled another fireball as soon as Zelda stepped back. Their fighting dynamic was far better than Lex had realized, and she had to confess that the other girl knew what she was doing on a battlefield. She had seen Zelda fight many times during the war on Daragon, but it seemed to take on a whole new meaning this time for reasons that Lex couldn't quite define.

"There are so many of them," Lex whispered as soon as she caught a glimpse of the ground below. The icy creatures were starting to mount on top of each other to make their way towards the windows that they were being attacked from. The beasts had little intelligence as far as Lex could tell, but they were still starting to learn about how to stop the attacks from their enemies. She winced as another claw came her way, and she created a blast of fire that slammed into the hand and sent it flying backwards.