In an instant shelters of stone rise from underneath the snow, and all of the knights gather in well ordered units in safety as the icicles rain down from above. The only one that sticks out is Peony, that appears to be attempting to use the smaller... flying... fin whale fish-like reptile creatures to climb up towards the big one.

I have two major concerns regarding this... first of all... it's size. It's massive. Landing hits on this thing will likely have... little effect...

Secondly, it's children... or rather, their numbers.

"Peony! Get back here!"

Vitis is screaming at Peony, but Peony has found another way out of the icy hell. It's radius. It is quite obvious how far the radius of the icicles are, for the whale calfs don't get into the area at all.

"Leave him!" I yell back at Vitis to keep him from doing something reckless.

These things were lured by the scent of blood. I can't think of anything else that could have cause the odd tension in the air the instant the feline died. I managed to somewhat rushedly wash my wounds, and Asher is struggling to find bandages... but it won't be long until I need to use healing... and not for my sake... for the sake of these guys.

Should we retreat?

It doesn't appear to be cursed, and nor is it our enemy... but it came for the scent of blood and went all out on us without warning. It doesn't seem like it'll let us pull back.

I glance back to the feline corpse as the icicle rain slows down, and note the fang filled jaws of these flying beasts, as some of the whale calves fly down and start ripping the corpse apart...

I remember vaguely how Lumere told me it got power from the decomposing corpses of magical beasts. The feline wasn't magical though... so they didn't seem to go for that energy... but there couldn't be enough beasts up here to feed this massive a whale cluster with just meat... perhaps omnivores of a sort? Either way, it was clear we were next on their list of things to eat... but even if we deal with the big one, we will still be in quite a lot of trouble with the horde of smaller ones.

I need to work fast.

"Can some of you create stone spears long enough to spear right over the big one?! I'll cast rain so you have two minutes to get your armor on, now!" I don't waste time and cast the spell while keeping an eye on the big whale. It appears to be looking over the area, and the tension in the air is already building again. I start strapping the armor on, and thank my dedication to training for knowing how to get this on quickly.

"A few of us can do it, but we won't be able to cast magic after!" I hear reported back from the knights.

Good, now for dealing with the small ones... I glance back to the knights. Then to Spence who looks cautiously up at the monster.

"Can you redirect the ice shards?"

Spence stares as me as if I said something unreal.

"Ice is a rare mixture of wind and water magic," he responds as another wave of ice shards begins to rain down on the earth walls over us.

...

"Haaaah?! You guys are so bad at dealing with elements! Water is ice affected by fire if anything!" I end up growingly as I strap on the chest plate for my armor.

I shake my head and focus back on the small ones while strapping on my sabatons properly.

"We can freeze the watery snow to make a surface!" One of the knights yell at me from another 'bunker'.

"Good!"

It would be a waste for me to do it, so I'm relieved they can step in.

Okay, three breaths.

"Plan is as follows! Wind and fire mages deal with the small ones! Earth mages, bring earth with you up to use once up there. We are heading on top of the giant whale!"

I know that this is reckless, but if we stay here we are fish food. Sort of literally. We won't be able to fend off the hordes of small ones while dealing with the big one. Should it charge into the earth walls they will crumble. We would get crushed. The only part that makes me bitter is the lack of role for the water mages.

"Are you sure?!" I freeze for a moment at the comment from a shelter a few bits away.

I send a fierce look in that general direction.

"Am I sure?! You better run up those spikes or you'll be eaten by that horde of fish. You are going to run up that spike with everything you have!"

The rain of ice spikes and rain stops.

"Ready?!"

I call to the sergeants as a final confirmation.

"Unit 10 Ready!"

I hear the different squad leaders confirm and look to the guys around me as I pull on the helmet.

I take a deep breath. Then cast the movement spells.

"Go!"

The heavy weight and restriction of the plate armor slows me down, but at least we don't sink into the snow since it's frozen up.

My body feels light, and as we step out of the shelter a rush of blood goes through my body and a scream forces it's way out of my lungs with a burst of energy. I feel light... and in an instant everything seems to slow down and become clear...

Everything... from Asher right behind me, to the knights that start their run hesitantly with screams of lingering fear they struggle to defeat. Even the voices of those that stumble from the unexpected lightness of their legs, as Lumere's grace blesses them.

The ground shakes, as giant spiraling spears rise from the ground beneath our feet and rise towards the sky. A blast of air hits me like a tetsubo as the earth spear sends us into the sky as unexpected help, but with it running becomes as if fighting against a storm, and my roar is washed away in the wind.

Yet, I stand.

I must stand.

Those young lads charged out because I told them to, and because I guided them. There is no return, and I mustn't falter.

Their lives depend on me.

With that realization my heart sinks and the strength in my legs fades like snow in the sun. Can I keep them safe? I failed once, and if I fail again all of these lads will die after I stubbornly made them follow me, and trust me as a leader.

The icy air seems to rip at my heart with fresh stings, with it my footing begins to slip... but I don't fall.

"We are by your side! Go!"

Though the wind nearly steals his words away, they reach me.

The air no longer feels cold, and for some reason my back feels warm. The ground stops slipping and a breath fills my body with heat once more. I am not alone. They give their best, and so must I... I can tremble when there is no longer an enemy alive, till then I must fight! I must not fear!

I step forward once more and charge up the steep spear of stone with renewed energy in my heart again, and as I do I hear the song of my ancestors even this far from home.

The spear stops moving with a jolt, and my feet lift off the surface for but a moment, as we arrive eye to eye with the giant whale.

"Go for the sensory organs! Keep enough magic to catch yourself!" Bursts out of my mouth before I jump in for the eye, sword first.

My stomach twirls as I seem to linger there in mid air. If I fall, I die. The air bashes against my body, and yet, I know I have to make it. There is no choice. I'm leading by example.

I slam against the side of the whale like creature with a metallic whack, and my nodachi lodged deep into the creature's pupil. In an instant, the weight of my body and the plate armor rests only upon the sword in the beast's eye... and the eye gives in with a squish, as the blunt end of the tip of the sword rips up into the squishy organ.

A moan blasts through the air as the mother whale twists violently at its injury. Though I'm not in front of the mouth I can feel the blast from the waves hit me. My inner ear trembles at the sheer volume, but I can't let go. I'm swung violently as the whale rolls over, and my vision blurs at the violent threshing.

At the same time the sky is set ablaze in a golden orange, and flashes of grey blasts past my view and into the scaly flesh of the creature. The impact runs through the beast like a wave.

By the time I get a sense of the battlefield once more, the beast has its belly upwards where most of the knights are still on the stone spirals, slaughtering off the calves surrounding them almost like vermin.

Wait-

"Defense up! Ice incoming!" I bellow up in the distance louder than I ever could... this is when I realize I'm not alone here. Asher has a sword sunk into the eyelid, and a dagger in his shield arm dug into the corner of its eye.

Felix and Darius are stabbing at the other while sending glances to me, confirming when I intend to send orders across the battlefield.

No, everyone from my own unit are there except for Peony.

A rain of ice shards bursts violently into the air, ripping everything above it to shreds, be it the stone spirals or its own young that were trying to gobble up the knights... and as I watch the stone pillars begin to crumble my mind goes blank.

They can't get away from that.

I should just have taken a small force up. I made a mistake.

What have I done?

The beast hits the mountain like a whale hits water, and the air turns white and wet. Rumbles likely go off in the distance, but all I hear is the snow blasting against me like a waterfall.

Then everything goes quiet. No, perhaps my ears are just ringing...

"...m-...l-..dy!...My Lady!"

Ashers voice sounds through the white, and I frantically bash away the snow from my helmet.

The mother beast is grounded.

I dangle a couple meters off ground and rip my sword from its eye, only to make it thrash violently like a fish on land. I nearly get squished as I land next to it and back away to look over the battlefield... and as I do, my heart soars...

The sky may be clear, but balls of stone lie in the snow with knights crawling out of them dizzily, even falling lightly into the snow as they find their feet.

The calves keep a distance to the thrashing mother, and in that instant I know it is an opportunity we cannot miss.

"We need to get the wings to reduce its thrashing!" I call to Asher and Vitis that relay the message to Felix and Darius.

By the wing near us Peony stands and looks confident as the wing has been cut and cauterized at the joint.

By the time the next ice shard attack arrives we curl up cautiously in shelters, or near its thrashing body... but the battle had been settled...

Tonight was a night for sashimi.

The whale's moan of pain only confirms the result. It is helpless other than its violent threshing and belly ice rain, and it cannot avoid its kin with its attacks.

Everything that didn't flee or stayed away was killed. By the end, only the cooling warmth of the beast was left of their feeding horde.

[AN: Chapter 100! As a reward for all of us getting this far, is there anything you want to read, side stories, more knowledge of specific characters ect. ect?]