The most dangerous creatures are the ones that walk among us unnoticed.
Unknown:
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But before Amel could move his hands away, two voices rang out in unison, shattering the moment:
"Amel, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"Uzrul, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"
The words echoed like thunder through the clearing, freezing Amel mid-motion and sending a sharp chill down Uzrul's spine.
At the edge of the clearing stood two imposing figures: Ymir, the frost giant in his human form, his icy glare cold enough to freeze the air itself, and Yuno, the fiery witch, whose pink hair seemed to spark and flicker as her temper brewed.
Ymir's frosty breath misted in the air as he pointed an accusing finger at Amel. "Explain yourself, boy, before I crush you like the insect you are!"
Amel froze, his mind racing for anything resembling an explanation.
His gaze darted between Ymir's towering, frost-laden frame and Yuno's piercing pink eyes, which glowed faintly with restrained fury.
They looked like two predators cornering their prey, and Amel felt his stomach churn.
"I—I swear this isn't what it looks like!" he stammered, raising his hands in frantic defense.
"Oh?" Ymir's voice was low, each syllable laced with menace. "Then tell me, boy, what does it look like?" His fists clenched, the ground beneath him groaning as cracks spidered out despite it being a fluffy snow.
Before Ymir could advance, Yuno stepped forward, her fiery gaze now fixed on Amel.
Her arms were crossed tightly, and the faint flicker of embers danced at the ends of her hair. "Amel," she said sharply, her voice cutting through the icy tension, "why, exactly, is Uzrul's… uh, backside suspended like that?"
Her tone was controlled, but the simmering annoyance was unmistakable. For some reason, the ridiculous scene unfolding in front of her was grating on her nerves far more than it should have.
Amel opened his mouth, struggling for words, but his brain felt like it had been encased in ice. The absurdity of the situation hung heavily in the air.
Meanwhile, Uzrul, still awkwardly face down with her bruised rear hovering above the snow, let out a long, dramatic groan. "Kill me now…" she muttered, her voice muffled and saturated with the humiliation of the situation.
"I was just helping Uzrul with her… um, sore spots."
Amel's poorly chosen words only deepened Yuno's simmering irritation.
Uzrul's head snapped toward him, her silver eyes blazing with a volatile mix of panic and fury. "You're not helping!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her cheeks now tinted an icy blue from sheer embarrassment.
Still awkwardly suspended midair, she groaned theatrically. "Hey, Amel! Put me down! I swear, if you don't put me down right now—"
In his panic, Amel abruptly canceled his telekinetic hold. Uzrul dropped like a sack of potatoes, landing with an unceremonious thud on the snow-covered ground.
"Ughhh! Ouchy!" Uzrul winced, clutching her already tender backside. "What is wrong with you?! Couldn't you have lowered me down gently?!"
(Note: Uzrul is not harmed by snow due to her connection with the cold. The pain is coming from the lingering bruise on her buttside.)
Yuno, standing off to the side, snorted, struggling to stifle her laughter. "Gentle isn't exactly his strong suit, is it?" she teased, her mood noticeably lighter now that Uzrul had been so unceremoniously dropped.
Amel shot her a brief glare, but before he could retort, Yuno's laughter abruptly died. One sharp look from Ymir was all it took to silence her.
The frost giant's imposing figure loomed over Amel like a storm cloud about to unleash its fury.
His icy aura crackled in the air, a palpable reminder of his immense power. "And what exactly do you mean by 'helping,' mortal?"
Ymir's voice rumbled like distant thunder, each word dripping with barely contained menace. "Explain yourself before I lose my patience."
Amel froze, his hands still raised in surrender. He desperately tried to look as non-threatening as possible under Ymir's piercing gaze. "I swear, it's not as bad as it sounds," he said quickly, his voice trembling despite his best efforts to remain composed.
"Your daughter fell, and I was… uh, alleviating her pain with some healing magic."
Her father's icy gaze shifted to Uzrul.
His expression softened slightly at the sight of her obvious distress, though the edge of his authority remained sharp. "Is this true, Uzrul?" he asked, his tone gentler but firm, like the calm before a blizzard.
"It's true!" Uzrul blurted out, her voice tinged with desperation. "He… he's a bit of a horny idiot, but he wasn't doing anything inappropriate! Really!"
You're not helping. Amel thought, his face twisting in sheer exasperation.
Unfortunately, Ymir's sharp ears had latched onto just one word. His frosty aura flared dangerously as the word "Horny!" echoed in his mind, drowning out any rational explanation.
"You bastard!" Ymir's voice thundered like an avalanche, and the very air around him shifted, turning even colder by the second. Snowflakes hung frozen in midair, caught in the rising storm of his fury.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Amel yelped, stumbling backward, his hands flailing as if he could somehow push the impending doom away.
His face was a perfect portrait of panic, wide-eyed and pale, but Ymir wasn't listening.
The transformation began with a deep, resonating hum, like the earth groaning under an ancient weight. It was as if the very air vibrated with an ominous energy.
Ymir's body shuddered, the sharp crackle of ice echoing as frost crept across his skin. Pale blue light seeped from within him, casting jagged, glowing fault lines across his flesh.
Suddenly, ancient runes emerged, etched into his skin like scars of forgotten power.
They pulsed with an otherworldly rhythm, each beat radiating cold energy that sent shivers through the air. The glow intensified, bathing the clearing in a flickering, ghostly light.
Ymir's form swelled, growing impossibly larger, as veins of frozen energy spread like lightning across his body.
His skin hardened into an icy exoskeleton, jagged and sharp like the edge of a glacier. His fingers elongated into clawed talons, each nail a shard of frozen death.
His legs thickened into massive, pillar-like limbs that radiated a bone-deep chill, leaving frostbitten scars in the snow wherever he stepped.
The glow from the runes on his chest burned brightest of all, throbbing like a heartbeat and casting waves of pale, cold fire across his towering figure.
His eyes blazed with an intense frost-fire, twin orbs of searing cold that seemed to pierce through reality itself.
Every exhale released a plume of icy mist, freezing the air and leaving shards of frost suspended in his wake.
As the transformation reached its peak, the ground beneath him trembled violently, as though bowing to the sheer magnitude of his power.
Shards of ice exploded outward with each pulse of the runes, carving the earth with frostbitten cracks.
When Ymir finally spoke, his voice was a guttural roar, carrying the weight of glaciers grinding and the howl of an endless Arctic storm. It was a sound that shook the soul.
"I will kill you!" he thundered, the words reverberating with an ancient fury that made the very atmosphere tremble.
"Father!" Uzrul cried out, her voice edged with panic. Her silver eyes widened in shock, disbelief etched across her face. Why had he taken on his war form?
Her mind raced, confusion swirling like a storm. To kill a mere mortal, her father's normal attack would have been more than enough. There was no need for him to unleash the full might of his war form—an overwhelming display of power reserved for true threats.
There had to be something she wasn't aware of, something more to Amel than she had realized. The thought gnawed at her, a shadow of doubt creeping into her mind.
Yuno, standing beside Uzrul, remained calm, though the embers in her hair flared briefly as if reacting to the freezing air.
She stepped forward with a flick of her wrist, scattering faint sparks into the cold. Her gaze, however, was locked onto Amel, sharp and accusing.
"Come, Uzrul," she said, her voice calm but firm, an undertone of steel threading through her words. "Let the men settle their matters. Meanwhile, you can explain everything that happened."
Uzrul hesitated, glancing between her furious father and Amel, who looked like he was contemplating his own obituary.
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she recalled what had just transpired. Her breath hitched, and she stumbled over her thoughts, struggling to find the right words.
Yuno's voice softened, but her tone remained razor-sharp. Each word was laced with judgment, every syllable striking with the precision of a blade. "Let's start with how he assaulted you, shall we?"
'Kill me.' As Uzrul cheeks burned more.
"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Amel protested, his voice rising with frustration.
"Yeah, right." Yuno retorted sharply, not even sparing him a glance. Her dismissive tone cut deeper than any insult, making it clear she wasn't interested in his defense.
"But…" Uzrul hesitated, her voice faltering as a flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
Could this mortal—this seemingly foolish human—really survive a direct confrontation with her father?
"Don't worry about him. He's strong," Yuno interjected with a calm certainty that sent a chill down Uzrul's spine.
Her pink eyes burned with unwavering determination, their fire an unspoken promise. The sheer confidence in her words left Uzrul momentarily speechless.
Reluctantly, Uzrul nodded, stepping aside with an uneasy glance at her father. "O-okay…" she murmured, though her voice wavered, betraying her lingering doubts.
As she moved out of the way, Ymir stood like a looming storm, his silence more menacing than any roar of anger.
His icy aura swirled around him, each breath misting the air, each step seeming to freeze the ground beneath him.
Uzrul glanced back at Amel—not out of affection, of course, but because she couldn't shake the growing knot of worry in her chest. This was the first time she had ever been caught in such a bizarre, chaotic situation.
But then, something happened.
Something she never expected.
To her utter astonishment, Amel's body began to change.
His frame started to expand, his mortal form shedding its limitations as though it had been nothing more than a disguise.
His muscles rippled, his height surged upward, and an aura of raw, unyielding power surrounded him.
Uzrul's silver eyes widened in disbelief as she watched him grow—taller, broader—until he stood as an equal to her father, his stature matching that of the frost giant who loomed so menacingly.
Her jaw dropped, words failing her entirely. She could only stare, flabbergasted, as her mind scrambled to make sense of what she was witnessing.
'Just… who is he?' she thought, her mind a whirlwind of confusion and shock.
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