The moon hung like a crescent in the sky. It was a waning gibbous nearly reaching the new moon. She offered very little light from above, but one could still feel her comfort. That was unless you were one of the poor souls chosen for tonight's task.

Lumikki, the long-known Demon that stalks the halls of Paradise Dawn was rumored to be training her spells again. Something that was confirmed when the two new recruits from the day patrol had a tragic running with her. They were not privy to the implications of the task before they took it on. No one really warned them, figuring it was better that it was the new recruits than them.

What's more, Brone was looking a little worse for wear. The last time he left on her insistence, he returned with a bloodied armor. No wounds to speak of but the witch knows how to heal. So the people were not fooled.

But now it was becoming the night patrol's problem once again.

And Lumi was already waiting in the training dome for her victims and Uncle to arrive. And one could easily find that it is colder on the inside than it is on the outside. Already hinting that they wouldn't find any comfort in here.

Creed, Troy, Sam, and Benson were on watch during the time Knuckles had first approached Paradise Dawn. Though the Norse warrior had proven himself honorable and worthy to join the guild, Brone was irritable that the Night Patrol didn’t intercept him in time as their job required. So as punishment, the dwarf had ordered the four patrolmen to oversee Lumikki’s next training session at the training dome. The four were aware of how dangerous Lumikki is, all of the patrol knew well and did their best to keep away from the demoness.
Troy, Sam and Benson complained the entire way to the training dome while dreading it. As for Creed, he accepted it and even told his comrades to mentally accept it as well so they can focus on survival. Though no one has yet to die while encountering Lumikki, they’ve witnessed her hellish magic and were sure death was a great possibility.
Upon entering the dome, the temperature dug into their skin. Some shivered and all could see their own breaths. They spotted her towards the center and began to slowly make their way there with Creed in the lead. “We’ve come as ordered by your uncle, Ms. Lumikki” he said with respect though his hand already held his shield; the others nodded but made sure to keep behind Creed.

" Lovely," Lumikki greeted. " I thank ye for taking on the task, though I heard some were wary. Trust, no one of the Dawn would ever be killed by me hands" She clasped her hands together looking just as graceful as a headmistress welcoming a class.

" But that being said, we can't tolerate weakness within the Guild can we? After all, we are the protectors of the North, aye?" Her lips pulled back to a mischievous smile that exposed her fangs. And with glowing eyes, Lumi continued. " Standing together huddled like that would not help ye in this. I'd rather ya further apart."

As the men made sense of her words, Lumi ruminated on her spell. She still had to figure out the last bit of the machinations but she very well wanted it to be quite explosive. Shards of ice flying every which way.

A cackle escaped her lips as she thought about it and the chill in the room rose. With frigid air tugging at the skin of those before her, they became quickly burdened by her power.

The four exchanged expressions as they heard the words of the demoness. It was slightly comforting to hear that she intended to avoid fatalities, but the assurance of pain was something they couldn’t avoid. Creed seem to be the only one that was truly accepting of the task and swelled with pride when Lumikki spoke of the idea of remaining strong to protect the north, like a true soldier. The other three, though care less of it, understood the importance of remaining strong, even if it’s simply for selfish reasons, so they nodded at one another to give encouragement.

They all drew their shields and swords and spread out as the young lady suggested. They took stance and watched the demoness, waiting for her to begin the training session. The temperature dropping quickly and they all were ware but did their best to psych themselves up, letting their heart beat heavily so they could warm their bodies with the adrenaline.

” Thank ye kindly…” Lumi would utter with a voice so echoed and winded that her words almost shattered. Her arms pulled back and her gaze went upward while she harnessed the mana she felt needed for the task. When the energy felt like it was bunching up from within her, she looked back down toward the men. Glancing at each and everyone of them before slowly reaching her arms forward and clasping her hands.

And it was as if in that moment, there was an electricity in the air. As the men could all feel a distinct crackle.

If the Demoness’ form warped or if it was the darkness bending around her. None of them could be sure. She was still in the likeness of a girl one second and then more reminiscent of a demon the other. And her eyes would glow a particular purple. Of course the men would hardly have a moment to think much about it when the lavender magical circle would flash quickly beneath them. And then the true could would arise.

What looked like moving shadow would paint the ground before shards of jagged ice sprouted upward. At first they were in clusters until they bloomed in the likeness of lotus flowers. Each petal looked dainty but sharp and would take up most of the space beside the men, forcing them into tight spots and tighter corners.

” Sheild yerself best ya can.” Lumi warned, as her spell was about to enter the crescendo. And she figured none of their stances would add them from any of the adjacent clusters. Of course she wouldn’t afford them a lot of time to adjust either. The Demoness was eager to inflict her spell and the more damage they could take, the more it would amuse her.

And so with a wicked smile, the rest of her spell begun to trigger. It started with the outer rim and worked its way in, not the usual intention of design but to soak in the look of dread on their faces as her shattering blossoms would pop rapidly toward them. And sure enough the jagged shards were flying everywhere, impaling all that they came shooting toward but being too strong to shatter any further. No it would be on her will that they broke even more.

One the sight of her destructive chaos, Lumikki was giddy. It was like seeing fire works for the first time but far closer. And the sight of humans struggling in the destructive bursts only filled her with more pleasure and joy. But is was not a spell to sustain, so sadly it would come to an end and Lumi would quickly dispel her will on the frost so that it could break away.

” Whether ye think of me as such or not, I am kind. Others would throw spells and attacks like this toward ya with no remorse or care for yer life. If ye can’t brave me training or survive me spells, ye’d hardly enjoy this kinda work. I’ll tell ya that.”

She glanced at all of the men once more but stopped her gaze at one.” But at least I could say, ye’d fair well. Ya did fine mate to survive me storm. May ye not need to train spells with me often…” The Demoness would walk over to Creed and put her hand on his arm. Willing her magic to heal his wounds and stop his bleeding at a time when he still didn’t loose a lot of blood. But for the others, she simply scoffed. ” Yer lot could heal on yer own, but don’t take yer time. Help them over to Viv,” she told the one she healed.

The transformation was terrifying, watching the demon practically reveal her true form as the cold got worse; the four men shivered, trying to keep their eyes on her. Troy was the one who noticed the magical circle appear beneath them, shouting for them to brace themselves. The four men bore their shields just as the black lotus petals sprouted and expanded. Several shields made connection, all were able to deflect the initial blow, save for Benson who got a long cut running up his thigh, cutting through his pants.

The men quickly shifted, avoiding the many petals that sprouted and expanded until the growth managed to slow. A dangerous spell indeed, but they got through it, or so they thought. Panic settled in when the black petals began to explode at the outer rim of the spell, working its way down towards the center. The four men cried out in a shout, though Creed was the one that rallied them, shouting “Together!” And they huddled to one another, their backs to one another while they bore their shields in front of them. Though the flying shards ripped through their pant lets and some bypassed their chain shirts, they were able to mitigate the blunt of the damage. They survived.

The spell ended and the four men sighed with relief, but there were mixed emotions when Lumikki raised and healed Creed, leaving the rest to fend for themselves, but they dare not say a word. They simply left the training dome sore physically and emotionally.

[Exit]