The blizzard had already reclaimed the passage.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The white rushed over the ice once again.
It descended along the edges of the newly opened crater...
filled the fissures...
and disappeared between the blocks torn away by the impact.
CRACK...
One of the edges gave way.
Fragments of ice broke loose and disappeared inside.
Farther ahead...
the snow had still not managed to erase the long furrow left by Tristan's spear.
SCRRRT.
The tip slid out of the ice.
Tristan slowly rose to his feet.
The spear settled between his hands once more.
On the other side of the crater...
Ryou straightened her body.
Both Katzbalger remained raised.
Her white cloak lashed behind her.
León appeared a few meters to the left.
His sword held low beside his body.
His eyes remained fixed on the center of the passage.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The white swept through the crater.
A silhouette emerged from within it.
First, the shoulders.
Then...
Boran's enormous body.
His right hand remained open.
Snow accumulated between his fingers.
He closed it.
CRACK.
His joints popped.
Tristan steadied the spear between his hands.
His eyes remained on Boran.
"Lord Cassian was right..."
The spearhead lowered a few centimeters.
"Every blow you receive leaves something behind."
A brief pause.
"Strength."
His eyes dropped to the crater.
"You accumulate it..."
His gaze returned to Boran.
"and make your enemy receive everything they gave you in return."
Boran tilted his head slightly.
A brief smile appeared on his face.
"Hah..."
His eyes swept over the three of them.
"At least you knew how to observe."
His gaze passed over Garrick.
"The fall of the Northern Wall wasn't in vain for you."
León remained motionless.
His sword held low beside his body.
"So... his stories weren't exaggerated after all."
Boran turned his eyes toward him.
León held his gaze.
"Judge of Karma..."
His eyes lowered to his own blade.
"We already know what happens when we give you nothing but strength."
His fingers adjusted around the hilt.
VMMMM...
A white radiance emerged around his body.
It spread across his arms...
wrapped around his torso...
descended along his legs...
until it covered him completely.
The white reached the sword.
Ran along the steel...
until it enveloped the blade.
Boran continued watching.
For an instant...
the smile on his face faded slightly.
"Sometimes I forget you were brothers."
His eyes followed the white as it enveloped León.
"Almost nothing about you was alike."
The smile returned.
"Except for this."
León raised his eyes toward Boran.
"Curious..."
The white radiance continued pulsing around León.
"You speak as though you still hold him in some regard."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Even after tearing his head off."
Boran remained silent.
The white continued reflecting in his eyes.
Calmly...
his gaze rose to León's face.
Met his eyes.
"I see..."
León did not look away.
"It's not just the color of your Anima that reminds me of him."
A brief pause.
"Your brother understood something few men understand."
"Once a path has been chosen..."
Boran's eyes remained fixed on his.
"you don't abandon it simply because its end leads to death."
"I see that this, too, remained in you."
León did not answer.
His rear foot braced against the ice.
CRACK!
The surface shattered beneath the force of his push.
FWOOSH!
León's white silhouette tore through the blizzard.
León descended along the side of the crater.
His blade came with him.
Diagonally.
Toward the base of Boran's neck.
Boran shifted his body before the cut could reach him.
One step to the right.
His shoulder followed the retreat.
León tilted the blade while still descending.
The cut became almost horizontal.
The tip followed Boran's movement.
Boran's eyes lowered to the steel.
His torso twisted.
SHIK!
The edge cut through the fabric below his collarbone.
A shallow line opened across his skin.
León completed the arc.
His momentum carried him another step along the side.
Boran turned to follow him.
His right hand began to rise.
León was already drawing his sword back between them.
The tip remained pointed at Boran's chest as he moved away.
One step.
Another.
Only then...
did the steel lower.
"You still recognize the path..."
The blade stopped beside his body.
"even after abandoning your own for a false lord."
Boran continued looking at him.
A thin line of blood reached the torn fabric.
His eyes lowered.
His thumb passed over the cut.
When he pulled it away again...
a small red stain covered its tip.
"Hah..."
The smile on his face widened.
Farther ahead...
Tristan's fingers tightened around the shaft.
His gaze passed over the wound below Boran's collarbone.
Then it found León.
VMMMM...
A red radiance burst around Tristan.
In an instant...
his body and spear were enveloped by his Anima.
The red traveled along the shaft...
until it surrounded the tip.
Tristan moved his rear foot back.
The weapon aligned itself with Boran once more.
On the other side of the crater...
Ryou adjusted the positions of her two Katzbalger.
The right remained forward.
The left drew back beside her hip.
VMMMM...
Cobalt blue enveloped her silhouette.
It spread across both Katzbalger...
and stained the steel with the same glow.
The light reflected off the ice before her feet.
Ryou lowered her center of gravity.
Her eyes remained on Boran.
Boran did not move.
His eyes passed over León.
Over the red enveloping Tristan.
Then...
over Ryou's cobalt blue.
The smile remained on his face.
"Faced with such determination..."
His right hand opened beside his body.
"it would be disrespectful to continue empty-handed."
A few meters ahead...
CLINK...
Dharmapala's chains moved.
The snow accumulated along the shaft slid away.
CRACK...
The ice surrounding the weapon split.
Boran kept his hand extended.
CRRRAAACK!
Dharmapala tore itself free from the ice.
FWOOSH!
The enormous weapon cut through the blizzard.
His fingers closed around the shaft.
THOOM!
The weight made his arm give way a few centimeters.
In the same motion...
Boran spun the weapon around his body.
FWOOOOOSH!
The chains spread through the air.
CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!
The monstrous blade stopped beside his body.
Around Boran...
the snow changed direction.
First, a few flakes.
Then dozens.
The air seemed to ripple around his silhouette.
His eyes returned to the three of them.
The smile remained.
He moved two fingers of his free hand.
"Come."
BOOM!
A red streak tore through the blizzard first.
Tristan advanced.
Almost at the same instant...
Ryou burst forward from the opposite side.
Along the flank...
a white line cut through the passage.
The three converged on Boran.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The blizzard closed over all four.
An instant later...
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
the impact shook the passage.
The ice trembled.
Cracks raced across the surface...
and disappeared beneath the snow that continued advancing.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The white pressed onward.
For a few seconds...
nothing existed beyond the storm.
Then...
CLAAAAAAAAANG!!!
a golden flash exploded within it.
Fragments of ice tore through the white.
Golden furrows cut through the ice below...
crossing one another in different directions.
FWOOSH!
An Alaric tore through the blizzard.
The golden sword came first.
Selvaria spun through the air.
One of her enormous ice wings closed in front of her body.
CLAAAAANG!
The gold struck the crystal.
Selvaria kept spinning.
The second wing unfolded with the movement.
FWOOOOOOOSH!
The crystalline edge swept across at the height of Alaric's chest.
He raised his sword diagonally.
CLAAAAANG!
The gold met the ice.
His arm flexed.
His feet were dragged to the edge of one of the furrows crossing the passage.
CRACK!
The already fractured ice gave way beneath his heel.
Alaric rotated his shoulder.
He let the wing pass along his side...
and advanced beneath it.
The sword swung back toward Selvaria's ribs.
Her Claymore came down.
CLANG!
The blow was driven downward.
Selvaria completed her rotation.
One foot found the sloping surface of a block.
Around it...
broken stakes remained embedded in the ice.
Some cut flush with their bases.
Others crossed by golden lines.
Alaric advanced before she could establish her second foothold.
The tip rose beneath the Claymore.
Selvaria spread her wings.
FWOOOOOOOSH!
The force tore her body away from the block.
The sword passed beneath her armor.
Snow exploded between them.
Alaric cut through the white with his arm still extended.
Above...
the tips of one wing tilted toward him.
SHIIIIING!
Ice stakes, shaped like sharp feathers, pierced the gust.
Alaric shifted his footing.
The first struck the place where his foot had been.
CRAAACK!
The second met his sword.
CLANG!
It deflected against an already broken formation.
The impact dislodged the half that still remained standing.
Alaric passed beneath it.
BOOOM!
The block collapsed behind his body.
Selvaria followed his movement.
Her wings tilted.
Her descent took the same direction.
At that same instant...
another Alaric appeared on the ice to her left.
The golden sword was already raised.
Selvaria drew one wing inward.
Her body changed its angle in midair.
The Claymore met the cut.
CLAAAAANG!
The impact deflected her descent.
Her feet touched the ice a few meters ahead.
Her injured leg bent.
Small crystals broke away from the ice sealing the cut in her thigh.
Selvaria shifted her weight onto the other leg.
A golden sword cut through the snow in front of her face.
She ducked.
SHIIING!
The edge passed over her hair.
The Claymore swung back upward from below.
Alaric leaned his torso away.
The tip followed the movement.
It passed through his chest.
For an instant...
gold opened around the steel.
Alaric dissolved among the flakes.
Selvaria was already drawing back her sword when the flash appeared to her right.
Her wing closed.
CLAAAAANG!
A golden blade struck the crystal beside her head.
Cracks spread across the surface.
The tip broke through one of its extremities.
Selvaria tilted her face.
A fragment passed close to her cheek.
On the other side of the wing...
Alaric advanced.
The sword began sliding through the opening.
Selvaria spun on her supporting foot.
The damaged wing opened all at once.
The movement pushed the steel away.
The other followed the rotation.
FWOOOOOOOSH!
Alaric retreated.
The crystalline edge passed in front of his throat.
Continued through the space he had abandoned...
and tore the top off a formation behind him.
CRRRAAACK!
Selvaria did not interrupt her spin.
Both wings swept through the snow.
The white rose around her body.
Alaric raised his sword.
Fragments struck the gold.
CLINK!
CLINK!
Selvaria's silhouette disappeared behind them.
He shifted his foot.
The tip followed the gust.
To the left...
the white parted.
Alaric turned.
A wing cut through the blizzard.
His sword rose to meet it.
Before contact...
the ice withdrew.
Selvaria emerged beneath him.
The Claymore thrust toward his abdomen.
Alaric pulled his hip back.
He swung his sword downward.
CLAAAAANG!
The blades met in front of his body.
Selvaria planted her foot firmly.
Her wings beat behind her.
FWOOOOOOOOOSH!
Alaric was pushed across the ice.
His heel crossed one furrow.
Then another.
The golden sword remained between them.
He tilted the steel.
The Claymore slid to the side.
Selvaria followed the deflection.
Her shoulder moved forward.
Behind Alaric...
a second golden sword was already cutting through the snow.
The tip emerged over Alaric's shoulder.
Straight toward Selvaria's face.
She halted her advance.
The Claymore was still off-center.
Her wing closed between her body and the gold.
CLAAAAANG!
The impact tore away fragments of crystal.
Selvaria yielded to the pressure.
She drew her sword close to her body...
and beat her other wing.
FWOOOOOOOOOSH!
Her body was hurled backward.
The snow rose between them.
An Alaric cut through the gust.
The sword remained pointed toward her.
Selvaria spread the wing that had sustained the block.
Its tips broke away.
SHIIIIING!
Ice stakes, shaped like sharp feathers, pierced the space he intended to occupy.
Alaric halted his advance.
CLANG!
His sword deflected the first.
He twisted his body to avoid the second.
CRAAACK!
The ice shattered beside his foot.
Other stakes embedded themselves between him and Selvaria.
She spread her wings completely.
Her retreat lost speed.
Her feet touched the surface a few meters ahead.
SCRRRT...
The Claymore once again occupied the space in front of her body.
Gradually...
the snow lifted by her wings settled.
Alaric remained on the other side of the stakes.
The golden sword tilted beside his body.
His eyes met hers.
Selvaria steadied her footing.
Her wings partially folded behind her shoulders.
Neither advanced.
CRACK...
One of the broken tips of her wing began to rebuild itself.
Crystals spread across the fracture.
Alaric followed the movement.
Then...
his eyes lowered.
To Selvaria's leg.
"I misjudged how much you had left."
Selvaria held his gaze.
A brief laugh escaped her lips.
"And yet..."
Her eyes passed over her own leg.
"you keep looking for where it ends."
Alaric kept his gaze on the layer of ice covering her thigh.
Then...
his eyes returned to hers.
"Your limit was never difficult to recognize."
A brief pause.
"What I never knew how to measure..."
The golden sword remained low beside his body.
"was how much you were willing to lose for those you chose to protect."
The slight curve of Selvaria's lips faded.
"Limits..."
The word left her lips almost without haste.
"You always knew how to recognize them, Alaric."
"When you handed Laziel over to the Temple..."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the hilt.
"where did you draw yours?"
Alaric did not answer.
For a few moments...
his gaze remained fixed on hers.
Then...
he turned toward the space beyond the stakes.
In the direction of the Second Wall.
Selvaria noticed at once.
Her fingers tightened around the hilt.
Her wings moved slightly away from her back.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
Snow swept through the space between them.
The wall remained hidden.
Even so...
both continued looking in that direction.
Alaric raised his sword.
"What an abomination..."
Selvaria looked at him again.
The gold was already traveling across his hand.
"I can no longer afford to prolong this confrontation."
The Claymore rose in front of Selvaria's body.
Alaric turned his eyes toward her.
— Sól.
VMMMM...
A golden circle opened behind Alaric's shoulder.
Wide as a shield.
Another appeared beside him.
Then more.
The circles spread out in both directions...
rose above his head...
and descended until they were close to the ice.
An enormous golden fan took shape behind his body.
Alaric remained at its center.
His sword held low.
His free hand raised in front of his chest.
Selvaria followed the formation with her eyes.
The light from the circles reflected off the surfaces of her wings.
Alaric spread his fingers.
— Umsátur. (Siege of Light)
The center of each ring shone.
The light stretched in both directions.
Backward...
it formed long shafts.
Forward...
it narrowed into sharp points.
Golden spears.
One suspended at the center of each circle.
All pointed toward Selvaria.
VMMMMMMMM...
The shafts thickened.
The tips took on defined contours.
The rings remained around them, holding them suspended in the air.
Selvaria adjusted her footing.
Her front knee bent.
Her enormous wings projected backward.
The Claymore rose between her hands.
On the other side of the stakes...
Alaric slowly lowered his hand.
The circles followed the gesture.
The highest spears tilted downward.
Those at the sides rotated inward.
Selvaria moved her eyes between the tips.
Some were aligned with her chest.
Others...
with her legs.
At the outer edges of the fan...
the last ones pointed toward her outstretched wings.
The golden light covered the ice between them.