>"Everyone, to me!"
>Race for the approximate midpoint between all of us
>As we gather, use Vermillion Lotus to send a column of warming light directly above us, wide enough to cover the people around us, but no wider. Drive the ice away before it can reach us!
>If this does not seem to be sufficient to keep all of it away, ask Lily to hold her shield out above us
>Ordering your co-defenders to stack up on you, you dash to your northeast. Rin drops down and heads in your direction right away, Lily following a moment after. Komachi tucks in behind her, while the Tortoise miko is the last to move, chanting as she does.
>Rin kicks her flying disc up towards the falling ice as she leaps off of it, leaping the last foot. She then stabs her hand up at her spinning disc and cries, "Explode!" And the wheel does just that, erupting in an explosion of power that consumes an impressive amount of Ice's avalanche. But not enough to render you completely safe, as more icicle and boulders fall after the explosion subsides.
>With the five of you gathered, you point your scepter straight up and unleash your Vermillion light once more. The sensation of warmth that washes over you this time, however, feels more like raw heat, and is not entirely comfortable. But you put it out of your mind and focus on the task at hand. The icefall melts under the assault of your light, but not as fast as you might have liked. And the ice continues to fall.
>Another watery bubble of magic surrounds you as Makie's spell forms, though you know from Ice's last attack this won't shield you completely if you fail to handle Ice's assault. Komachi raises her left hand, and you see that is glowing with an ugly dark energy. She unleashes this power, and the blue shield of divine water is surrounded by another bubble, this one a transparent purplish-black. Fortunately for you, neither of these shields impede your light's path. Unfortunately, you still don't think this will be enough to protect you if your attack fails.
>Without you even needing to ask for their help, both Rin and Lily take up positions to your left and right, their hands pointing upwards.
>"White Retainer's Fire!"
>"Spring Lily Petal Cyclone!"
>A torrent of white flame and a twisting stream of rainbow colored leaves pour out to join your column of light. But rather than staying separate from yours, your fellow Heroes' attacks combine with yours. Lily's leaves wrap themselves around your light, their edges tinging with red energy as trails of multicolored energy begin to flow through your attack. And then Rin's fire embraces this combined force, tinging your vermillion energy with white flames and giving Lily's rainbow leaves edges of bright flame.
>A wave of energy washes over you as your comrades powers meld with yours, and the combined assault blossoms in the sky, spreading out from a straight column into a cone of power. The icy boulders and massive icicles falling at you do not melt so much as they evaporate instantly at the touch of this onslaught. Your spread even moves over the top of the school, shielding both it and potentially the second miko from the Ice Champions attack. And while Ice herself is as silent as ever, the Fire Champion yells something as he flies backwards through the air like a scalded dog, with Ice following behind him to get away from that torrential outflowing of three-fold power.
>When your attack subsides, not one trace of Ice's attack remains in the sky. Not even a drop of water, one sliver of ice, even made it close to the ground. And you are still flushed with energy. Judging from the looks on their faces, Lily and Rin have had the same experience. Fire and Ice are now almost a dozen feet from where they were before the attack, straight back from you.
>"What was
that?" Makie breathes behind you.
>
You can combine your powers? The Fire Champion says over the miko, its hot voice hovering between astonishment and fear.
