SHRAAAAAAAAAAM!
A torrent of icy blue energy exploded from the Skarthrax’s mouth, tearing across the ruins with devastating speed. Jagged masses of ice erupted in its wake, spreading across the ground like frozen scars as the blast raced towards the three of them.
"RUUUUUUN!"
As Star yelled, he had already thrown himself towards Sarah and Zuru, who were too shocked to react. The icy torrent was mere inches away from turning them into a collection of frozen statues when Star crashed into them.
The sheer momentum of his leap sent all three of them tumbling out of the way just in time, while the blast slammed into the spot they had occupied a moment earlier and continued forward, washing over three nearby houses. Within seconds, the structures were completely encased in ice, their roofs groaning under the sudden weight before shattering and collapsing into the frozen ruins below.
Meanwhile, the three of them crashed several feet away from the pile of jagged ice, rolling and tumbling violently across the ground until their momentum finally gave out.
They groaned in pain, but Star barely had time to lift his head before he saw the beast already turning towards them, another stream of frost gathering inside its enormous mouth.
"Shit!"
He cried out as he did the first thing that came to mind. Throwing both hands forward, crimson matter rapidly gathered in his front, and in the next instant, a thick crimson wall was smithed into existence before the three of them.
The torrent slammed into it with a deafening BOOM, the tremendous force driving Star’s feet deeper into the ground as veins bulged across his arms. His teeth clenched, but he held the wall firm.
The beast, however, had no intention of making things easy. More and more ice piled against the shield, spreading across its surface until jagged spikes began curling around the edges, creeping past the wall in search of anything they could impale.
Sarah and Zuru scrambled towards Star, keeping themselves tucked behind the center of the shield as the creeping ice closed in around them.
"Don’t let go, Star! Don’t let go!" Zuru cried, shaking violently as panic took over. Blood was already running down from the cut across his forehead.
The Skarthrax suddenly leaned backwards.
Star’s eyes widened. "Oh, no..."
The beast thrust its head forward and...
SHRAAAAAAAM!
The torrent intensified, slamming into the crimson wall so violently that cracks immediately raced across its surface. Zuru’s heart skipped a massive beat.
"Just hold on!"
Star gritted his teeth, every muscle in his body straining against the force.
"I’m... trying..."
BOOM!
The crimson wall shattered.
For a fraction of a second, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The force of the impact launched the three of them into the air like they weighed nothing.
Zuru screamed as he flew wildly through the air before crashing roughly into a building, while Sarah was sent tumbling in the same direction. Star, however, was hurled much farther, his body spinning helplessly through the air.
But Star wasn’t about to let gravity collect the final word.
His eyes sharpened and at the last possible moment, he twisted his body in mid-air, flipped himself around and planted one foot down.
Crimson matter instantly formed under his foot, and in the next second a thick crimson cube appeared in mid-air.
Star stomped onto it as though it were solid ground. The earlier momentum carried him forward, and before his body could fall, another crimson cube formed beneath his other foot.
Within seconds, Star was running through the air, his body almost horizontal as he raced across a staircase of crimson matter that he was creating beneath his feet faster than he could destroy them.
The Skarthrax didn’t give him even a second to admire his own handiwork.
It leaned backwards again.
Star’s expression hardened.
Another sea of icy blue energy came roaring towards him.
’Not again.’
He immediately broke into a sprint, deliberately angling himself away from the direction where Sarah and Zuru had crashed. The last thing he needed was to dodge the blast only to send it straight into them.
His crimson platforms appeared faster now. Behind him, however, the icy torrent devoured the cubes one after another before they could vanish.
Star ran harder. But then he noticed something. The beast was still keeping its distance.
’So that’s what you’re doing. trying to keep me away from you. Maybe you’re not very good at close combat.’
A grin slowly pulled at the corner of his mouth. ’Then let’s find out.’
Star changed direction. Instead of continuing away from the beast, he began curving back towards it. The distance between them shrank with every step, but so did the time he had to react. The icy torrent was moving faster now, tearing through the air behind him with enough force to freeze anything it touched.
Star glanced at the remaining distance, then at the incoming blast.
Reaching the beast before the torrent caught him wasn’t just a zero-percent chance. It was a very angry-looking zero.
In that moment he studied the beast, the angle of is frost breath, how fast its huge size allowed it to turn it’s head, and then he noticed something else. A faint pulse beneath its hide, down at the base of its throat.
’change of plans.’ he murmured.
And at once, he deliberately slowed his pace, and immediately the icy torrent immediately gained on him.
Sharply, Star thrust one hand forward. A crimson cube appeared directly in front of him.
"Ya!"
He leapt onto it, planted both feet against its surface and used the momentum to flip backwards.
The icy torrent swept beneath him by mere inches.
For one terrifying moment, he was suspended directly above it, the freezing energy roaring beneath his body. But the attack wasn’t finished. As the torrent passed, jagged spikes of ice erupted upward from its frozen trail, their sharp tips shooting towards Star’s back.
He twisted violently in mid-air and flipped over the rising ice, narrowly clearing the jagged tips before extending his hand.
A crimson cube formed beneath him and he landed on it in a crouch.
His eyes immediately locked onto the Skarthrax.
The beast was still exhaling the last remnants of its frost breath, and beneath its thick neck, close to where its heart should have been, the faint blue glow remained.
Star’s eyes narrowed. ’I guess am right... That’s the core.’ Determination flickered in his eyes. ’All I have to do is hit it.’
Without wasting another second, Star charged forward, now facing the beast head on. Crimson cubes rapidly formed beneath his feet, each one appearing just in time for him to plant his foot on it before the previous one vanished behind him. He sprinted across the air, closing the distance between himself and the beast with every step.
The Skarthrax four eyes glowed brighter and another frost breath began gathering inside its enormous mouth.
But Star didn’t slow down.
Ofcourse he knew exactly what would happen if that torrent touched him. He would be frozen solid before he could blink. But that was precisely why he already had another plan.
The Skarthrax leaned backwards.
SHRAAAAAAAAAAM!
The torrent exploded from its mouth, moving faster than any frost breath it had released before.
Star acted immediately; he thrust one hand forward and slanted it sharply downward. Crimson matter gathered beneath him in an instant, spreading outward before bending into a smooth, sloping platform that curved downward like a gigantic slide.
Without hesitation, Star dropped onto it feet-first.
The frost torrent came screaming overhead, carrying a chilly wave that turned Star’s breath misty.
Star slid down the crimson slope at terrifying speed, the wind whipping against his face as he gathered momentum. Then, just as he reached the bottom, he made the slide curve upward.
Star’s eyes locked onto the blue glow beneath the beast’s neck.
’gotcha!’