Isher Notra

Chapter 9 - Grýla's Overwhelming Might!

"No one can escape the Giant Witch!"

After Stella finally reunited with Lien, the trio now had one last obstacle to overcome, the matriarch of the Jólasveinarnir, Grýla.

"Ma'am, I don't want to fight you! Please, just let me lead this Human to the castle!" The Knight pleaded.

Grýla's expression soured. "And let this wretched Human not get what she deserves!?" She stomped the ground with her left foot, making everyone except the Knight lose their balance. Even he stumbled a bit. "Not a chance!"

The Ogre prepared to launch a fist at the three. The Knight responded by concentrating his Saniya into his right fist. The two girls decided to retreat, knowing very well the shockwave that will result from this.

"ROCKET-"

"Try to survive this, 'hero'!"

"CRASH!"

The two fists collided, creating a powerful shockwave, just as the girls predicted. The much smaller fist compensated with the concentrated, golden energy that fueled its potency. They had reached a stalemate.

"She's matching my strength..." The hero thought, very concerned.

"Not bad, soldier! Even with my jam giving me a little kick, yer still keepin' up!" Her already wide grin just became even wider. "Then how 'bout a little magic show!"

Rather than relying on the cauldron and pego jam, this time Grýla conjured a spell by herself. A hot pink fireball came out from her hand and shot towards the guard. Unfortunately, the girls were right behind him, and there was no time to get them and dodge the ranged attack.

"Girls, get back!" The Knight shouted, right before summoning his golden aura again. He holds the gigantic projectile with his own hands, stopping it on its tracks. However, the fireball began gaining more power and speed when Grýla summoned her own, hot pink colored aura and extended her hand towards the projectile, pushing it further.

"Is that the limit of a member of the Dragon's Guard!?" The Ogre taunted. "Color me unimpressed!"

That was bad. The Knight was losing ground. Maybe stopping with brute strength wouldn't work, but what can he do? If he tries to move away, the fireball will hit him anyway.

Amidst his own desperation, his mind brought to him an idea. If he can override the fireball's Saniya with his own, he could turn Grýla's power against her. 

The Knight started his plan. At first, he managed to "infect" the projectile's structure with his power, demonstrated by it gaining a yellowish coloration. However, it proved very difficult to continue this further. Maybe Grýla was aware of what he was doing?

"Aren't ya cute as a bunny?!" Yep, she was aware. "Do ya think my spells can be so easily-"

Suddenly, Grýla hissed in pain. She looked at her left thigh, only to see Lien biting on it, with Stella riding on her shoulders. The Ogre quickly tried to swat them away with her free hand.

That's it! She was out of focus! The hero was now able to replace more of the Saniya of the fireball with his own. Almost there...

"No, ya don't!" Grýla used her two hands in a desperate attempt to maintain control of her own ranged spell. Thankfully for her, it had worked, returning to the same stalemate, only more favorable to the hero now.

The downside was, now that both of her hands were occupied, Lien and Stella had free rein to climb on her body. The Ogre tried to shake her body to make the Wolf lose her grip, but Lien was stronger than she expected.

Stella landed on one of the Ogre's shoulders, and Lien stood on the opposite one. They started to shout at the top of their lungs! Making it a monumental task to remain concentrated on her fireball.