*In the wreckage of the collapsed building that landed on Morgan, Jade, Raika and Sanada, everything is quiet as the dust begins to settle. In some of the wreckage, a large ice knight with a shield emerges from it along with Morgan and Jade completely fine and unharmed*
(Jade): Phew. Good job on summoning your ice knight at the last minute. It really saved our asses.
*Morgan waves his wand to make the ice knight disappear*
(Morgan): Wait! Where’s Raika and Sanada?
*Morgan and Jade begin to look around for them and start to panic when they didn’t see any trace of Raika and Sanada*
(Jade): Raika! Sanada! If you’re out there, let us know!
(Sanada): We’re down here!
*Hearing Sanada’s voice, Jade led Morgan to where he and Raika were. They arrived at a hole that was covered by a large pipe and building wreckage. Peeking through the cracks, they look down and see Raika and Sanada are safe*
(Jade): There you guys are. How’d you get down there?
(Raika): Sanada cut a hole in the ground and we fell. I don’t know where we are now.
(Morgan): My guess is the city’s sewer system. The city beneath the city. Hang on, we’ll get you out from there.
*Before Morgan and Jade could get started on removing the large pipe and wreckage, a bullet almost hit Morgan. Morgan and Jade turn around to see that six Hargus soldiers were beginning to close in on them*
(Jade): Shit! Hargus!
*Hargus soldiers begin firing at Morgan and Jade again*
(Morgan): Ice shield!
*Morgan channels magic into his wand and creates a transparent blue shield made of ice to protect him and Jade from the bullets*
(Morgan): Keep moving and find another way out! We’ll catch up to you when we’re done here.
(Raika): Roger!
(Sanada): May the winds guide you to victory.
*Raika and Sanada begin to run down the tunnel while Morgan and Jade use the ice shield as cover to run toward the Hargus soldiers. Morgan points has wand toward the Hargus soldiers as it begins to glow blue*
(Morgan): Freeze!
*Ice slowly begins to cover the barrels of the guns the Hargus soldiers were using before they became completely frozen. Morgan dispels the ice shield with a wave of his hand and Jade goes on the attack. She takes out her macuahuitl to smack the head of the first soldier to send him flying. The second soldier receives a roundhouse kick to the face, followed by the third soldier who receives a back hand across his face. The fourth and fifth soldier drop their guns and take out their knives. They run towards Jade who throws her macuahuitl in the air before ducking the slashes of the soldiers. She does a handstand and spins on her hands to deliver spinning kicks to both of the soldiers on their jaws and knocking them both out. Jade returns to her feet in time to catch her macuahuitl and stares down the last soldier who was a female soldier visibly shaking. The soldier drops her weapon and begins to run away. Jade smiles at this and throws her macuahuitl like a boomerang toward the soldier. The macuahuitl spins through the air before finally striking the back of the soldier’s head and knocking her out. The soldier falls to the ground face first and Jade goes to pick up her macuahuitl*
(Morgan): Amazing work as always.
*Before they have time to rest, more soldiers appear and begin firing at them. Morgan lifts his wand to the sky and clouds begin to form*
(Morgan): Ice storm!
*Shards of ice begin to rain down on the soldiers striking them down and leaving only a few left standing. As the storm stops, Jade runs toward the remaining four soldiers left standing. Morgan uses his wand to create three pillars of ice that Jade uses to get the high ground. When she reaches the third pillar she jumps off the pillar to perform a corkscrew moonsault landing on top of the remaining four soldiers. Another soldier pops out of the corner and prepares to fire their gun at Jade who saw the soldier out of the corner of her eye as she was getting back up. Before the soldier could fire, Morgan appears and hits the soldier with an ice shard from his wand to take them out. Three more soldiers pop up on the opposite side, but Morgan is fast enough to take them all down with his ice shards*
(Jade): Just like that night in Santa Rosa eh, Morgan?
(Morgan): You and I remember Santa Rosa very differently.
(Jade): Hey, is it just me or is the air getting a little chilly around here?
*Morgan takes a second to focus on the air where it does in fact feel chillier than normal. Morgan soon gets a look of fear in his eyes*
(Morgan): Quick! Get down!
*Jade quickly drops to the ground as Morgan plants his wand into the ground to create an ice shell in the shape of a turtle’s shell to protect them. Once the shell is complete, tiny blue sparks flash in the air around Morgan and Jade before an explosion occurs. Once the explosion stops and the dust clears, the shell begins to disappear. Morgan and Jade see snow on the group and layers of ice on the destroyed walls where the explosion took place. The soldiers who were unlucky to get caught in the blast had parts of their bodies frozen solid and were on the ground screaming in pain*
(Jade): What the hell was that?
(Morgan): An ice bomb. Pretty good one too.
(Miho): Impressive. No one’s ever been able to escape my Ice Reaper Bomb. But, I guess that’s to be expected from the Ice Scholar.
*Morgan and Jade look to the side to see Miho sitting on the ice pillar Morgan created earlier overlooking them*
(Morgan): You must be Miho of the Red Fang.
(Miho): *Chuckles* That’s right. And you’re Morgan Lanchester, the Ice Scholar. The great strategist behind the Blazing Knight. Although I’m sure Brutus has snapped him in half by now. I’d imagined someone of your reputation would be bigger. Talk about a disappointment. Oh well, it’ll be that much easier to defeat you. As well as the traitor next to you.
(Jade): Traitor?
(Miho): You turned your back on your brethren and side with these pathetic humans. You are a disgrace just like the other demihumans who try to befriend humans.
(Morgan): What’s wrong with befriending each other? Isn’t that not the better path than foolishly trying to kill each other for no reason other than to sate our own prejudiced views of superiority?
*Miho jumps from the ice pillar and lands by one of the soldiers who has his foot frozen*
(Miho): Because you humans are all alike. You believe you’re vastly superior to everyone out there and value your lives more than others. I’m sure you would gladly sacrifice that wolf’s life in order to save your own.
*Morgan was taken back by Miho’s accusation that he would sacrifice Jade in order to save his own life*
(Morgan): I would never do such a thing. Sure, she’s reckless, wild and uncontrollable but I would never abandon her to save my own skin.
(Jade): Aww~, so you do care about me.
(Morgan): I don’t know what kind of life you had in the past that led you down this route, but don’t judge an entire race because of one terrible mistake done to you.
*Infuriated by Morgan’s ending statement, Miho stomps on the frozen leg of the soldier and completely shatters it. The soldier lets out a crippling scream of pain*
(Miho): A mistake? You call being left stranded on a cold mountain for days without food or warm clothing a mistake!? I bared witness to the cold reality of you humans firsthand on that mountain and I vowed right then and there to make sure you all felt the same cold reality I felt. Every damn one of you. I’ll be starting with you first, Ice Scholar.
(Morgan): Very well. Come at me all you want. However, you won’t win. After all, you’re weak.
*Morgan’s statement pushed Miho over the edge, and she charged at him prepared to pierce his stomach with her ji. Before the ji could strike Morgan, he created an ice shield to block the attack. The ji bounces off the ice shield leaving Miho open to an attack. The ice shield disappears, and Morgan points his glowing wand toward a defenseless Miho*
(Morgan): Ice pistol!
*An ice-like bullet is fired from the wand and hits Miho in the stomach. While the bullet didn’t break the skin, it struck with enough force to lift Miho off the ground and have her fall to the ground back first. Miho screams out in pain clutching her stomach and rolling on her back from side to side*
(Morgan): You made a big mistake challenging me. Unlike Ryuuji and my friend here, I’m not nice when it comes to facing my opponents. Summon!
*Morgan’s points his wand to the ground where three summoning circles appear. In a few seconds, three ice possessors emerge. Two of them are ice samurais, each carrying a samurai sword made of ice, wearing blue samurai garbs and their hair (which is made of ice) tied in a topknot. The third ice possessor is an ice fighter wearing a light blue bandana and a black and blue karate garb. Once the possessors have been summoned, Miho returns to her feet ready to fight with her ji in hand. On Morgan’s command, the possessors attack Miho. The ice samurais clash their weapons with the ji while the ice fighter dashes along a crumbling wall to strike Miho from above. Miho sees the attack coming and jumps back making the ice fighter miss its mark and strike the ground. The ice samurais quickly pursue Miho and begin using coordinated attacks to throw Miho off, but she’s able to keep up with their attacks and block them. However, their coordinated attacks leave her little room to counter. When she finally has a window to counterattack, she gets stopped by the ice fighter who dug a hole and tried to strike her with a surprise uppercut from the ground. Miho barely dodges the uppercut and drags her ji across the ground to create a wall of ice between her and the possessors*
(Miho): *Breathing heavily* What’s with these spirits? They’re a lot stronger than any of the spirits I’ve faced before.
(Morgan): Simple.
*Miho quickly gets a shocked look and turns around to see Morgan standing behind her smiling*
(Morgan): I simply imbued them with the knowledge I have about a certain fighter and samurai I know. It’s a pretty advanced trick, but when done correctly the spirits become way stronger than they normally are.
*With Morgan this close to her, Miho attempts to attack him believing that his hand-to-hand combat capabilities are terrible. When Miho goes for a punch, Morgan dodges the punch and grabs her arm. He delivers a palm strike to her stomach knocking the wind out of her and causing her to drop her ji. Morgan finishes his attack with a judo toss*
(Morgan): You thought you could defeat me in close range combat, didn’t you? I’ll admit that’s my weakness, but even I’m smart enough to know how to defend myself and counter close-range attacks.
*Morgan goes to the ice wall Miho created and uses his wand to create a hole for his possessors to get through. Miho returns to her feet and quickly tries to regain her ji only to fail as she’s attacked by the ice samurais who each hit her with a diagonal slash across the body. Miho lets out a scream of pain before she’s quickly silenced by the ice fighter who delivers a flying jump kick to her chest that sends her flying back down to the ground. Miho struggles to get back to her feet as her body is bruised and exhausted from all the damage she’s sustained*
(Morgan): It’s over, Miho. Stand down. There’s no reason for us to keep on fighting.
*Miho begins to laugh manically as she slowly rises to her feet*
(Miho): Give up to you? To a mere human? Never! Not ever again!
*Miho begins to run rapidly toward her ji with an insane look in her eyes. The ice possessors attempt to stop her, but she defeats them with a swift slash of her tiger claws. She grabs her ji and lifts it up in the air where it begins to glow blue*
(Miho): Death to all humans! Ice domain!
*Miho plunges her ji into the ground and the ground begins to glow blue as a large wave of ice begins to come from the ground*
(Morgan): Foolish.
*Morgan begins to concentrate as the large wave of ice begins to cover the area. The Hargus soldiers who were still in the area started to scream before they were silenced as the wave of ice covered them and froze them solid. Before long the area looks like a frozen mountain peak as snowflakes begin to fall and the only one left standing is Miho. Miho laughs and begins to relish in her victory before she hears the sounds of footsteps walking toward her. Miho is shocked to see Morgan and Jade standing beside him completely fine and unaffected by her attack*
(Jade): So this is the mountain you were stranded on? This truly is a forsaken frozen hellhole.
(Morgan): I’m impressed. Performing domain magic is no easy feat. It requires a large amount of magic, great concentration and a place you have a strong connection with. This is definitely a good ace in the hole.
*Miho stood there stunned. Nobody had ever survived her Ice domain attack and those that did only lasted a few seconds or minute before they succumbed to the cold weather of the domain barely grasping for life and begging her for mercy*
(Miho): How? How are you both fine!?
(Morgan): Haven’t you heard? I’m the Ice Scholar. This level of coldness doesn’t affect me.
(Jade): And I’ve been in colder climates than this. So, how do we get out of here? I’m not familiar with domain magic.
(Morgan): Well the simplest way is to break your way out or defeat the host of the domain. However, there is a third way, overpowering the domain with your own domain.
*Morgan lifts his glowing wand for everyone to see*
(Morgan): Ice domain.
*A bright blue light spreads throughout the area blinding Miho. When the light finally dies down and Miho regains her eyesight, she finds the domain she created no longer there. Instead, the domain now looked like a frozen tundra where the winds were strong and the snow was falling rapidly. Miho began to shiver from the cold and fell to her knees quickly succumbing to the harsh environment*
(Miho): Wh-what is this place?
(Morgan): Welcome to the Zero Tundra. It’s where I saw my first battle. It only lasted for a month, but that one month felt like an eternity. Freezing temperatures every day, comrades dying from freezing to death and the constant threat of Eclipses attacking at any moment. To me, there is no colder, harsher and more hellish environment than the one we’re standing in right now.
*Morgan and Jade walk up to Miho completely fine while Miho’s body begins to freeze over*
(Miho): Pl-pl-please, end this. I-I-I beg of you. I sur-sur-sur-surrender.
(Morgan): Not yet. I have a few questions I need answered. Let’s start with the most important one, where’s Viktor Khaos?
***
*After five minutes of questioning, Morgan dispels his domain. Jade was carrying an unconscious Miho on her back and carries her into a building. Jade lays her down gently on the ground. Her body was cold, but she was still alive. Morgan takes out his radio*
(Morgan): This is Morgan. Come in Ryuuji, Jin, Dust, Amarti, or Zia.
(Ryuuji): This is Ryuuji. I read you. Me and everyone else is accounted for.
(Morgan): Perfect. I have discovered the location of Viktor Khaos. His base is on the northside, not too far from our location.
(Ryuuji): Great! We’ll head your way.
(Morgan): Negative. You guys are too far away. However, I discovered the main base of Hargus is close to where you guys are. If you can claim that base we could end this battle a lot quicker. Leave Viktor to me and Jade. You guys focus on the base. I’m sending you the coordinates right now.
(Ryuuji): Understood. What about Raika and Sanada?
(Morgan): We got separated, but they’re fine. I’m sure we’ll see them down the road.
(Ryuuji): Copy that. We just received the coordinates. We’ll handle the base. Best of luck with Viktor.
(Morgan): Best of luck to use as well.
*Morgan ends the call with Ryuuji*
(Morgan): Any luck reaching Raika or Sanada?
(Jade): No luck. I can’t get a signal. Which means they’re probably still underground.
(Morgan): Alright. We’ll have to go on without them and hope our paths cross.
*Morgan points his wand toward the ground and three summoning circles appear. Within seconds the two ice samurais and ice fighter that Miho destroyed earlier appear*
(Morgan): Keep her safe until we return for her or the knights arrive.
*All of the possessors salute Morgan confirming his command. Morgan and Jade leave the building and return to the streets to continue their mission. Jade couldn’t help but smile at Morgan*
(Jade): *Chuckle* You are such a big softie.
*Morgan blushes a little*
(Morgan): Shut up.
Author’s Note: Note to self. Don’t mess with Morgan. Unlike the previous fight which was a straight brawl I wanted to take this fight in a more strategic direction. Morgan’s not a heavy hitter like Ryuuji or as wild as Jade. He’s a strategist, he uses his spirits to fight. Every move he makes is a calculated move he plans out in advance to get the victory. To him, fighting is like a game of chess or shogi. If you can out think your opponent you can win. A big inspiration for his fighting style was Shikamaru from Naruto. Along with his fighting style I also wanted to show how Morgan is able to be both sides of the story and really does value his friendship with Jade and other demihumans. He’s not blind to the abuse of demihumans, but he’s also not going to sit there and let you take your aggression out on everything around you. Miho’s backstory is probably the weakest of the Red Fangs. The other two will be better, I promise. Look forward to the next chapter as more fights are heading your way. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.