Volak began to tell the story, his eyes looking far toward the cabin, as if seeing the ghosts of the past materializing before him:
"This kingdom used to be divided into two halves under the ancient covenant; one part for humans, and one part for demons. But... the demons violated that covenant in the border region located between the Demon Kingdom and the Holy Sword Kingdom, specifically in the Spear Village, formerly known as Kurayami-mura, and the surrounding ice region.
A true hero had to be sent there to protect the innocent. Given the demons' strength and brutality, the Ice Lord was dispatched."
The Demon Attack and the Brother's Courage
"In the Spear Village, hordes of demons would flock every day to launch bloody attacks on the village. They took human forms, but with hideous horns protruding from their heads, and bloodthirsty red eyes that knew no mercy. The village heroes, including my father, protected it with all their might.
On one of those dark days, there was a little nine-year-old girl, no taller than one meter and twenty-five centimeters. She was running in terror while being chased by a demon. And when the demon lunged at her and tried to tear her apart with his claws, a sword blade flashed in the air, severing his head in the blink of an eye!
The demon's head rolled, and blood poured from the severed neck to cover the white snow, dyeing it crimson.
Over the corpse stood a boy, panting from extreme exhaustion, thirteen years old, and one hundred and fifty-eight centimeters tall... That was me.
The little girl cried out as she ran toward me, trembling, "Are you okay, my big brother Volak?"
Rose hugged me tightly, shivering like a wet bird, and cried, "Brother... who are they? I am so scared!"
I gently placed my bloodstained hand on my sister's head and tried to paint a confident smile to reassure her. "Are you worrying while your brother is right beside you? You fool... anyone who tries to hurt you is inevitably dead, so never worry."
As we spoke, three more demons suddenly lunged at us. I tried to cut them with my sword, but I didn't succeed, because these demons were faster and more agile.
In a moment of desperation, I drove my sword forcefully into the icy ground and completely discharged my energy into the snow. The ice cracked violently, making the demons lose their balance and fall back. I seized the opportunity and attacked, killing the first, followed by the second. As for the third, he leaped, trying to stab me from behind!
But before he could reach me, a long, sturdy spear pierced the demon's stomach, lifting him into the air. That was my father, the Village Chief, Zephyr.
My father asked, his eyes scanning the area, "Are you okay, Volak?"
I answered while panting, "Yes, Father. Thank you for saving me."
My father pulled his spear from the corpse and said with a father's strictness, "What are you talking about? I am here to save your sister! Aren't you worried about me? I raised a man so that I would not have to worry about him for as long as I live."
Then he pointed his spear toward the oncoming hordes of demons and ordered me, "Now, guard your sister well. And I will take care of the rest of the demons."
I said firmly, "Yes, sir!"
The Dark Sorcerer and the Rival's Intervention
"The battle was going in favor of the Spear Tribe, our heroes dropping the demons one after another. But... in a dark corner, a demon sorcerer stood in his place the whole time, watching silently. Suddenly, he moved his magic staff.
The staff glowed with black energy, and amidst the shock and terror of everyone, the severed parts of the demons began to gather and fuse back together, returning to life!
A villager screamed, "This is impossible!"
I was guarding my sister, while the rest of the children were hiding in a safe cellar inside the Chief's cabin.
I told Rose quickly, "Sister, get inside the cabin and lock the doors quickly, for this magic bodes ill. And I will stay here to protect you. Go!"
Rose said fearfully, "Okay!"
But when Rose turned around trying to enter, a speed demon lunged at her and almost cut off her hand! I intercepted his path with my body, receiving a deep cut on my arm, but I stopped his attack.
Rose screamed, "Brother!"
I said through my teeth, "Do not worry, I am fine!"
I tightened my grip on the sword, enduring the pain, and attacked the demon. But another demon lunged at me from behind. I dodged the attack with difficulty, and the two began attacking me from different directions. I was blocking their strikes with all my might until I was completely exhausted.
When the two raised their weapons to finish me off together, I thought this was the end.
At that exact moment, a sharp feminine voice rang out, "Severing Wind!"
A storm of sharp winds struck the area, forcing the two demons to step back and halt their attack. A girl appeared, holding her sword confidently.
She asked me with a provoking smile, "Do you need help?"
I complained despite being saved, "Iris... the last person whose help I need, and my rival!"
Iris laughed, "Really? Even though I do not consider you as such."
"What? You're joking, right? Do I look weaker than you? That angers me, because you and I are equal in strength!"
Iris said as she readied herself for combat, "That is what you think. But for now, let's focus on these demons."
We attacked together, and we killed the two demons. But their severed parts returned to fuse together again.
I said in frustration, "The demon holding the staff is hiding with a strange power, and no one can see him to destroy him. They never end!"
Iris said defiantly, "More demons then? Let's see who can kill the highest number."
I looked at her in astonishment. "Are you challenging me in a situation like this, Volak... I mean, you fool?"
She answered confidently, "Yes, for you will not kill more than me!"
I smiled despite the pain, "Challenge accepted!"
The Dead Hands Trap and the Childhood Mistake
"We used our maximum power, and we started attacking and cutting the demons to pieces. But this time, only half of the demons were reassembled, while the rest of their parts remained torn on the ground.
Iris shouted triumphantly, "Look! They are not all assembling! It seems the sorcerer's powers are weakening and draining."
I said excitedly, "Yes! Then let's keep going!"
We tried to attack again, but this time... something unexpected happened. The dead parts that didn't assemble suddenly moved! The severed hands grabbed our legs and bodies like zombies, rendering us completely unable to move.
I said as I tried to break free, "So, this was your plan, you cursed sorcerer! But it won't work!"
And when I tried to cut the arm holding me, I was shocked to find that the severed hand split into two, then regenerated and multiplied to tighten its grip on me even more! It was useless to move.
Amidst my shock, I looked around to find that Iris had also been bound, and some of the village fighters and my father had fallen into the same terrifying trap.
"What is going on here? Was this their plan all along? To paralyze us completely?"
In the midst of this despair, the children in the cellar were trembling in fear, because one of the demons was walking above them, but its footsteps faded away. As for Rose... she was hiding away from the cellar to watch me. And when she saw me bound and being squeezed by the demons' hands, she stepped out of her hiding place in terror for me.
It was the worst hasty decision a child could make.
Because the demons immediately noticed her presence, and attacked her savagely!
Iris and I screamed at the same time, "Rose! Run!"
I tried to move with every ounce of my energy, Iris tried, and my father, who was meters away from her, tried... but the regenerated demon hands bound us like steel. And every time my father lunged, the demons dragged him to the ground.
Rose's heartbeat accelerated madly. The feeling of death drew very close. She froze in place, crying, not knowing what to do as the demon's sword rose to reap her soul.
The Ice Lord and the Stoppage of Time
"And suddenly... amidst all this despair, a calm, deep, and freezing voice echoed from nowhere:
"I caught you now... you deceitful demon."
An empty patch of ice cracked open, revealing the hidden demon sorcerer, choking in the hands of a mysterious man!
The man said with his icy voice, "Ice Power: Absolute Freeze!"
A terrifying ice storm erupted from the man's body. It didn't just freeze the sorcerer, but the storm expanded in fractions of a second to freeze every demon in the square, and every severed hand holding us, turning the demons into statues of pure ice!
In the midst of everyone's shock and the silence that swallowed the battlefield, the man let go of the frozen sorcerer, letting him shatter on the ground, and moved with calm, confident steps toward that trembling little girl.
He knelt on one knee before Rose. He looked at her, finding her hands and small body shivering violently from fear, her tears falling on the snow.
The man took off his warm white scarf, gently wrapped it around her with paternal tenderness, and said with an affectionate voice that melted all her fears:
"Little girl, it is alright. Everything is fine now. So rest assured... because everything is fine, for I am here."
He smiled at her kindly and continued, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hyuga... the Ice Lord, and the Seventh Knight of the Kingdom's Knights. I came here to ensure that what happened today never repeats itself."
Rose was looking into his confident eyes, and at that moment... it seemed as though time had completely stopped for her. She had seen her true hero, the savior who came from nowhere to give her back her life."