Kibishi's POV

  And just like that-

  Blow!

  An intense wind counteracted Tao, Kuma, and David's attack. The merged pure energy slowly froze over. Bit by bit, the ice took out the heating energy that was supposed to hit its target. Soon, it was fully frozen and halted mid-air.

  Crash!

  It didn't take long before it crazily crashed to the floor and froze the whole area once more. A huge gust of cold wind appeared in the air, making everyone and everything drop below the temperature it was supposed to be.

  I covered my face. The wind was very strong and very terrifying.

  It's like I'm inside a freezer, but only colder.

  Ah.

  I see.

  That monster used its breath to counterattack instead of using its usual methods. I could tell by the way it exhaled while being inside that cloud of smoke. The air was so cold that we could even see our breath at that point. Every breath I released froze and turned into gas. At least, that was what I thought it turned into.

  At any rate, the pce wasn't good for any of us.

  If we stayed any longer, then we would never beat that thing on time. Kuma, David, and Tao slowly stepped forward with their weapons in hand. Swords that they represented each and every one of them. David's fingers seemed to be turning a different color despite his skin tone. Despite being a bit darker color, brown that was, I could see it turning a hint of dark red. That pce was really doing a number on him. His skin was even changing a bit as well. But still, it was that brown skin tone despite all of it. I could say the same for Tao and Kuma. From a pale color to somewhat red. Like a shading of some kind.

  I looked at my own hands, and I could tell my skin was turning different colors as well.

  "We need to get out. We have to leave!"

  "This pce is dangerous!"

  That is what my mind was telling me.

  Oh man. If we were having a difficult time with that monster, then imagine the remaining six-

  Dash!

  "What?!" I shouted as I saw the intense speed it was going towards three of my friends.

  In the blink of an eye, it appeared near them. I looked back at the location it had been, and all I could see was a very strong wind blowing in that particur area.

  "Tch!" David lifted his weapon to counter-

  Ssh!

  But he ended up getting sshed across the front of his body. Five cw marks appeared as his blood started to bleed out from that mark!

  "David!" I shouted.

  "Damn it!" Kuma leapt on top of the monster's back and spun her sword, holding it above the monster's head. She aimed her bde at it, readying to thrust through.

  The monster's eyes suddenly glowed inside its cloud and left a trail of light when it fixed its sight on Kuma. Kuma realized and leapt back to gain some distance-

  Thrust!

  Gush!

  But unfortunately, Kuma ended up getting stabbed through her right shoulder. The same right side that had her hand that was holding her sword, dropping it as Kuma's eyes lowered with a shocked expression.

  Spreee!!!!!

  Gush!

  Before Kuma could even catch herself, the monster decided to stab through her stomach and pull out its cw, leaving her insides spilling out.

  "KUMA!!!" I shouted.

  What the hell am I doing?! I gotta move!

  Yes! I had to move! Now!

  But when I tried to move my body, it was like cement on the side of the street. I tried moving again, but my body wasn't obeying me.

  "What the hell?!" I said in anger. I looked down and saw that my feet had ice on them.

  Where the hell did they come from?!

  Really?! Why the FUCK did this ice have to come at a time like this?!

  No, never mind that now!

  I bent my knee and readied my knife to break the ice.

  Sm! Stab! Sm!

  Gush! Gush! Gush!

  "Ahh!" I heard Tao's voice.

  One stab. Two stab.

  "GAAHH!!!" I heard David's.

  One stab. Two stab.

  "Ahhh!!!" I heard Kuma.

  I tried my very best to break the ice and help out my friends.

  Sm! Stab! Sm! Stab!

  "AHHH!!!" I heard David.

  Gush! Gush! Gush!

  "AAAHH!!!" I heard Kuma.

  "Come on... Come on!" I started to feel my heart racing.

  Stab! Stab!

  "AAAAAAAHHH!!!" I heard Tao's.

  Gush! Gush! Gush!

  "Damn it- AHHHH!!!!" I heard David's voice once more.

  I kept stabbing the ice with all of my might. Like some twisted game, with every stab I did, I heard my friends scream.

  Stab! Stab! Stab!

  "Ahhh!!!" I heard Tao's voice once again.

  Gush! Gush! Gush!

  "AAHHH!" I heard Kuma's again.

  Stab! Stab! Stab!

  "AARGGGHHH!!!" I heard David once more!

  STAB! STAB! STAB!

  With every scream, my eyes widened as my brows lowered so deeply that it felt like they were going through my eyeballs. But who gave a damn about that! With every stab I did, I heard my friends, and I could hear the ice trying to break. My knife kept slipping while being coated with the color red. But I didn't care.

  My hands were bleeding out as my fingers were now purple. They were in pain, begging me to stop stabbing the ice that was hitting them. But I didn't care.

  Every time I moved, my breath became heavy, and my body was getting stiff. But I didn't fucking care!

  "Grr! Argh! Gah!" I grunted with every hit I did with my knife.

  Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

  I couldn't get that ice off of me!

  What the fuck... what the fuck?!

  With my mind in a state of panic alongside screams getting worse and worse, I could feel tears falling from my face.

  Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

  Damn it all! Damn it all, damn it all, damn it all! That stupid ice wasn't coming off! How the hell did it come to my feet in the first pce?!

  I asked myself that, but I knew the answer the moment I stabbed it the first time. While I was panicking thanks to my friends in danger, the back of my mind told me that it was the moment that the giant ice from the merged energy hit the ground. That must've caused the snow around my feet to freeze up and keep me there while my friends were in danger. I must've gotten a lot of snow on my feet without realizing it.

  Stab!

  "DAMN IT ALL! THIS FUCKING SNOW WON'T COME OFF OF MEEEE!!!!" I shouted from the top of my lungs.

  "Calm down, Kibishi. You'll make David and Tao worried if you keep up this act." I heard a familiar female voice.

  "Huh?" I widened my eyes as more tears fell on my face. They must be ice at this point, though.

  "Good grief! This is why I told you to stick with me, damn it!" I heard another familiar female voice.

  I turned around and slowly widened my eyes.

  That was when more tears fell from my eyes.

  It turned out to be Riley and Jir! They both seemed to be wearing different clothing from before!

  "Riley... Jir...?!" My voice felt a bit tired thanks to the consistent screaming.

  Riley grinned at me.

  "Don't worry, Kibishi! Riley is here to save you and David from the clutches of that beast!" Riley closed her eyes. "It's time for a counter strike!"

  ... Huh?