Walking in a winter horror land

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It was a typical day inside the Sabertooth Guild hall, or what Jarnbjorn knew as the regrown Yggdrasil. It was a marvelous sight to behold and the fact that it was not only regrown by the efforts of Kite and the other members of Sabertooth but it was somehow better than he could have ever imagined. Once just a tree it was now a fortress that stood in between the realms beyond Fiore and Fiore itself. It was rough to tell what season it was when you were in the guild but on the otherside in Earthland, the locals were all preparing for the seasonal change into winter as well as the festivities that came along with it. Bjorn wasn't quite accustomed to what these holidays were due to them being something not of his time. There was news of some sort of gathering across the land and he was quite curious to see if there was substance to match the hype that he had seen. "The question remains, who should I have accompany me?" he would ask himself as he sat in the large dining area with his large plate of meat and large horn of mead. He didn't exactly have what as known to the common folk as a holiday spirit so whoever it would be to join him on this adventure would have to be someone who might be able to show him the true meaning of the holiday, but there was more to it than that. Being a war harden veteran he knew that the winter season can bring out the worst of forces. As he took up his horn and sipped from the mead to wash down the mouth full of steak he took a bite of, "So I would need someone who can hold their own in a fight but also perhaps show me this holiday spirit. But who?" his eyes would scan across the room locking onto one person after another until his blue eyes locked onto a young man with scarlet colored hair, being held up by a head blue head band with the Sabertooth emblem on it. It was at that moment that there was that familiar feeling, it wasn't exactly a voice in his head but more like a feeling in his gut that told him that this one was the person he was indeed seeking.

He took his final bite and washed it down with the rest of the mead before he would push his dishes up to the middle of the table, stood up from his seat and walked over to the boy. The red headed boy looked familiar to him, it was like the name of this person was at the tip of his tongue but he couldn't quite put it to words, "Excuse me young man, I have a proposal for you." he would speak plain and politely to the boy but his tone had a naturally strong presence with each of his words. What the boy would see would be a man just over six foot in height but build solid except for his right arm which was replaced by a fully functioning metal one. Bjorn was dressed in a tight fitted leather cuirass and a pair of leather pants.

Imai was also emptying his own mug right now. Unfortunately, he hadn’t caught the taste of mead and alcohol as firmly as he should have in his age, so he was just drinking soda right now. Sei was sleeping on his back, peacefully, and things did express this atmosphere of… well, chill. It was a chilly day. Imai had half a mind to just sleep on the table here and now, that was how chill he was. Although he would have to sleep on his belly because of Sei, he clearly felt enticed to just flop on the table and sleep. It was such a random feeling in his stomach, but clearly a feeling that called him to take action.

… Maybe he was just bored. He did wonder how Koguma was doing back at home, playing around with her toys and hanging around with their parents. He had already planned to visit them for a few days, but today, he was mostly just by himself. He had some stuff to attend to in the guild hall, and now he found himself here in the HQ, chilling as the dimension where Yggdrasil resided in wasn’t nearly as affected by the change in seasons as all of Earthland was.

That was when a strange, adult voice called to him. The red-haired brat turned his head to face a tall, blonde Sabertooth Wizard with buff, physical features and clearly not a glass cannon. He had a proposal for the Ace, and Imai detected it as Ace duty, in which he stood up from his chair and straightened his back.

“S-Sure, what do you need help with? Whatever it is, it should be easy game for me!” he declared proudly. Sei let go of his back and floated around his head, eyeing the tall dude as well. How come they always saw new faces in the guild so frequently? I mean, it was obviously a good thing; the guild of Sabertooth was catching the attentions of various personalities, and many people looked to join their gang and their quest to protect Fiore from any evil gods, goddesses, aliens and extraterrestrials who dared threaten their home.

“C’mon, speak up! Your Ace is waiting to hear from you…!” he spoke as he saluted, clearly overacting his role as a model of Sabertooth and a man of authority. He hoped that Kenna-nee could forgive him if he, accidently, scared the blonde build away.

WC: 407

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When Bjorn approached the red haired mage looking to propose he join him on this adventure into Fiore he wasn’t quite expecting the greeting he had received. He watched as the mage known Imai stood in attention but barely came up to his chest. However his size did not match his energy by any means. It could be due to his age or even his magic but this young one was a beacon of energy . Bjorn didn’t speak up right away which prompted the young man to speak once again, showing some of the impatience that came along with youth. Had he not had the residual memories of Kite this might have caught him off guard but on a subconscious level he had expected this. Bjorn would give a hearty laugh, "I see. This must be why he picked you." he said wrote patting the young one on his shoulder. "Worry not ace. This matter is not one of urgency." he would reinsure. He would do his best to give Imai a sincere smile but it was obviously a forced task. "You see I am unfamiliar with the concept of Holiday spirit." he would put a closed fist on his hip and gesture with his hand, "I would like for you to act as my guide and show me what it is about.
" he would smile with his teeth showing. "and what a better place to experience what the holidays have to offer than Era."

It didn’t take long for the pair to reach Era and Bjorn was feeling excited to partake in the pleasantries that this era had to offer during this holiday. Unfortunately the “winter wonderland” that he had heard Era was this time of year was quite the opposite. The town was in pandemonium as the festival being held there was overrun by beings not of the holiday spirit. "I may be new to this holiday tradition but this isn’t what I was expecting." he pulled his axe from his back into his right hand and grinned, "but I like it!" he said before giving a powerful battle cry as he charged into the fray. By sheer chance he managed to find himself standing before what was once the Hot chocolate tasting stand with what seemed like the clerk in despair at the destruction that was brought onto him. "You, beverage merchant. What happened here." wiping away both the sweat and tears the merchant managed to regain enough of his composure to report to Bjorn what had happened. “These strange ice monsters all attacked the city at once. One group of them, human looking but made out of ice were attacking folk but for some reason when they came across my stand they attacked.” Bjorn peered around keeping watch for their possible return. "How did you manage to escape?" The merchant would point to the barrels broken on the ground, “They didn’t attack me. They attacked my barrels of hot coco. It was like they were possessed and attacked ruthlessly.” Bjorn hummed to himself as he began to suspect what could have caused them to attack the coco.
"Were they sealed tight or could they have smelled your beverages." He shook his head, they we’re sealed tight. The only thing that would have escaped would have been the heat.” Bjorn nodded confirming his suspicion. "You might want to vacate the area." the merchant didn’t ask but instead ran for the hills.

"If these ice creature are looking for heat sources and can sense them... then they should flock to me quickly." flames erupted around him to completely cover him in hellfire, once they dimmed it would show Bjorn completely encased in intimidating plate armor with a helm that two horns curving upwards. This armor didn’t provide much protection from outward attacks instead this armor was meant to protect Bjorn’s body and soul from the nature of the flames. Once he adorned with his armor, Bjorn lit up his fiery aura once more this time keeping the blaze lit to act as a beacon for these heat seeking monsters. Just up ahead of him the three humanoid creatures made out of ice turned the corner the one leading them shrieking at the sight of Bjorn and his flames. "I knew it." he said as he lifted up his axe, holding it in his right hand ready for the battle. One of the Ice elementals lifted up it’s hand creating a spear out of ice only to hurl it at him. Bjorn made an upward swipe with his axe to deflect the spear. In on motion he would bring swing and release the axe letting it spin in the air. The axe would embed itself into the chest of the elemental but before it could even attempt to pull it free Bjorn was already starting his next move. With his right hand, he would hold it open for one of two things. He could either call the axe back to him or use the axe as an anchor to pull himself to the axe’s current location. He would choose the latter to suddenly pull himself to the axe’s handle that was still stuck in the chest of the elemental. "So you like fire?" he would shout before lifting up his left hand up spreading his fingers wide before slamming his palm into the elemental’s face, gripping it like a vice. "Then have some.Infernal Punishment." his hell fire would wash over the ice elemental, melting her down. Knowing that this wouldn’t be the end of it Bjorn looked to the elemental to his right and pointed his fingers at it. His thumb and middle finger pressed together until he pushed his finger across his thumb to make a snap, "Burn" would be all he would say making a large explosion to blow her away. The last one had flanked Bjorn and was getting ready to strike but Bjorn had expected this. He opened his right hand to call Stormbreaker back to his hand and in one motion swung the axe at the spear to disrupt the attack. "You will have to try better than that if you want to catch me off guard." He pushed his hand against the chest of the elemental "Combustion" he would spark an explosion directly onto the elemental, shattering it with the force of the explosion and the heat. "Well, that was eas…." he was cut off by the loud thuds being made as the next opponent approached.

"Damn you’re ugly." he would say as the Snow brute made his presence known. It would roar as it charged at Bjorn with no sense of tactics but just a brute mentality. Bjorn stood his ground and let it get close enough to throw a punch. Seeing it lift its fist into the air it would throw it right at Bjorn. Wanting to test it’s might he would only lift his axe up pressing his fist into the blade of the axe and braced for the impact that would follow. He would feel his arm go numb for a moment from the brutes strike. "Not bad but that won’t be near enough." He tossed his axe high into the air and grabbed the brute but the throat. He opened his hand and called himself and the brute into the air but once they were both in the air he would rotate them both until it’s back was facing the ground and his knee was pressed firmly into the brutes stomach. With the hand that was meant to grab the axe he instead lit his hellfire and fired it strongly in the air. The force was so powerful it pushed him and the brute into the ground bellow, "Hellfire impact." The brute would perish under the force of the attack. "I hope the ace is having fun."