In the depths of the dark abyss, the Ice Lord was battling the "Suppressor Beast of the Covenant" in a fight that transcended human limits. Suddenly, the giant beast stopped moving entirely. In the very next moment, dark, black ice began to form around its tentacles!
Hyuga said to himself in disbelief, "What? Has he begun using my ice power? I feel something bad is coming."
In a fraction of a second, he felt someone approaching from behind at immense speed. Hyuga turned and blocked the attack with his sword, only to be surprised that he was fighting a warrior made entirely of black ice! His shock doubled when the surrounding waters filled with dozens of ice warriors loyal to the beast.
Hyuga did not hesitate. He used his power to create identical ice clones of himself and launched a counterattack. The clones clashed in a grinding underwater war. But... the Ice Lord's power could not match that of a legendary beast that had fed for thousands of years on the blood of the First Human Master and the First Demon Lord. Hyuga's soldiers were vastly outnumbered by the beast's.
Savage attacks rained down on Hyuga. He blocked the first warrior and cut him down, kicked the second away, and cleaved the third. A lethal strike came from behind, blocked by one of his clones, but the attacks did not cease.
Hyuga spoke through his teeth, panting heavily, "This is bad! My depleted energy will not hold out for long like this, but I must endure and not allow it to rise to the surface of the village."
Suddenly, dozens of black ice spears launched toward him from every direction! He had no time to block, so he used his advanced technique: "Ice Power: Passing Illusion."
The deadly spears passed through the Ice Lord's body as if passing through dust, and his physical form remained unharmed. But Hyuga could feel his spiritual energy diminishing little by little with every drain. His anger grew, not at the beast, but at the absurdity of what was happening; instead of the Covenant Beast protecting both sides as the pact dictated, it was attacking him and letting the demons breach the villages to slaughter the innocent!
Hyuga roared with a fury that shook the ocean floor: "O Beast of the Covenant! Do you attack me and let the demons breach the borders you were sworn to protect? Answer me! Is this the justice entrusted to you by both the First Master and the Demon Lord? Answer me!"
As if the legendary beast had responded to the rage, it immediately halted its offensive magic. Hyuga also stopped, wary. In a sudden, treacherous moment, one of the beast's tentacles lunged with the speed of lightning, grabbed the Ice Lord, and dragged him up with terrifying force! It then began delivering crushing blows to him in the open sea.
The Ice Lord's strength failed him, and he began to lose consciousness, sinking slowly toward the dark ocean floor. Deep down, he tried to wake himself up, but to no avail. He spoke to himself, "What is this? My powers are failing little by little. This is bad... if I do not move and get out right now, what will happen to the village and the neighboring villages? I must not lose consciousness, for I am the Commander of the Knights, I must..."
Suddenly, his inner voice ceased, and the Ice Lord's eyes widened underwater. A luminous magical mirror appeared out of nowhere before him, and the person reflected in the mirror... was Rose!
Through that spiritual mirror, Hyuga saw what was happening above.
In the village battlefields, the tide had turned in favor of the humans thanks to Rose's energy. The tribes were eliminating the demons one by one, and the terrified demons were trying to survive. But, in an ominous moment, the flow of golden energy ceased, the people reverted to their normal strength, and their wounds began to bleed again.
The demons realized this immediately. One of the human warriors tried to behead a demon, but his strength was not enough to pierce the tough skin.
The demon smiled sadistically and said, "So, the miracle has disappeared, hasn't it? Let me show you how to eliminate your enemy."
The demon clenched his fist and struck the human warrior's stomach, then detonated his energy inside his body until nothing remained of him but bloody dust.
Power returned to the demons, and the scales tipped once more. Volak was facing three demons, struggling desperately. Iris was fighting one demon but was completely exhausted. Harold fought four recklessly, and Julian faced two.
Returning to Rose in the dark cellar as reflected in the mirror; she was absorbing the mana stones' energy to heal the villages, when suddenly, the light of the stones completely died out. They had turned into useless ash.
Rose whispered in shock, her breath ragged, "No... impossible. Has the energy run out? How?"
The "Spirit" warrior standing beside her answered sadly, "This is normal, little one. These stones, which are enough to supply an entire village for a full year, were consumed in half an hour to heal hundreds of humans all at once. They couldn't have lasted any longer."
Rose tried to move her body to search for another source: "I must find another energy source."
But... how could a body with shattered bones, bleeding fissures across its skin, and near-destroyed internal organs even move?
The Spirit pleaded, "Please, do not move! You are standing on a thin thread between life and death."
Rose said through tears of pain, "I do not care! I have to help the villages!"
She tried to stand, but fell helplessly. She tried to clench her hand to crawl, but her shattered fingers would not respond. She began to scream and cry in despair: "Move! Come on, please move... please!"
The Spirit tried to calm her: "Calm down, little one. Perhaps the demons outside have been defeated thanks to what you did."
She shook her head, breaking down in tears: "No, they were not defeated! Most of them were eliminated, but they were not completely defeated! Do you know how many children, elders, and women are in danger right now because of me not being able to finish the healing? Do you know the danger we face? I have to do something!"
The Spirit asked in astonishment: "Why do you try and cling to all this despite the mountain-shaking pain you are in?"
Rose answered with a bravery that made the dead Spirit's heart weep: "Because this is my duty as a healer, my duty as the daughter of the leader who protects the people... and my duty as a combat member of the Ice Eagles Squad!"
The Spirit sighed deeply, drew his glowing sword, and said: "I understand. So this is your reason. Perhaps I cannot help you heal, because I was born without healing energy, I am only a warrior. I am sorry for that. But... I will grant your final wish."
Rose looked at him weakly.
The Spirit asked her respectfully: "Your name is Rose, right? This great name will be remembered and immortalized by the entire 'Shadow Swordsmen Clan'."
Rose was surprised despite her pain: "Did you say the Shadow Clan? The legendary forgotten village that ruled the world in the past to protect it?"
The Spirit smiled: "It is an honor for us that heroes like you utter the name of our clan. Listen, leave this to me. I will use my sword to absorb the energy of nature and direct it to you, as for you... fight the death that hovers around you. Listen carefully, this energy will not heal them completely; I will only grant them combat energy to defend themselves."
Rose said quickly: "I cannot do that! Convert that energy into healing energy through me!"
The Spirit said in shock: "What are you saying? You will not survive this massive amount passing through your shattered body! You will die instantly!"
Rose replied with desperate determination: "I want everyone to be okay. Your choice will leave the severely wounded and those on the brink of death unhealed. So... if you want to grant my final request, please, transfer it to me as you wish... Shadow Warrior."
The Spirit gripped his sword with both hands, took a deep breath, and suddenly, nature's energy began to gather from everywhere in terrifyingly massive quantities. Rose touched the blade of the Spirit's sword, and began absorbing that fierce power, converting it into healing energy surging toward the villages once more!
But strangely... there was a different effect this time. That energy did not negatively affect Rose like the previous one; rather, it felt less painful and cooling on her burning body.
The power rushed to the villagers. In a single second, everyone who was wounded or had just died returned to normal without a single scratch, and their combat power multiplied manifold thanks to the fusion of healing and nature's energy.
On the battlefield, when Volak felt that superhuman strength coursing through him, he looked toward the village and said anxiously: "You made me worry about you, Rose. I do not know how you are now, but I will end this nightmare quickly and return to you!"
The humans surged forward with mighty force, and all the remaining demons were eradicated in record time. The joy of survival swept through every village.
But in the dark cellar... after Rose felt that the people's screams had stopped and that everything was over, she let go of the Spirit's sword and collapsed onto the floor. Her hands could no longer move, and her entire body was internally shattered. Nothing remained of her but breaths drawn with extreme difficulty.
The Spirit looked at her with deep sorrow: "Everything is over. Everyone is safe now. I must carry you outside so the people can find you and heal you, perhaps you might survive."
The girl tried to speak, and with immense difficulty, her broken words came out: "Leave... me."
The Spirit stopped, surprised: "Why? You have to heal your body, surely there is a way..."
The girl interrupted him: "Please."
The Spirit clenched his fist in anger at his own helplessness: "Do you want to stay in this dark state?"
Rose shook her head with great difficulty, smiled a faint, angelic smile, and uttered: "It is okay. Because I... thank you."
The Spirit marvelled: "Why do you thank me when I stand helpless before your death?"
Rose whispered: "Because you... made everyone safe."
The Spirit ground his teeth in sorrow: "You call this safe? Look at your state! You are the only one suffering and in pain right now!"
Rose felt the weakness and death pulling her soul every second, every passing moment heavier than a mountain. But she kept smiling and spoke to herself peacefully: "Is this... how the first healer felt too when she sacrificed her soul?"
Rose lost her balance, her head falling onto the cold floor. Here, her shield of bravery crumbled, and the child cried with an agonized, broken voice that pierced the heart: "Will I... really die? I do not want that. I am still so young... I still have dreams! I want to officially be in the Ice Eagles Squad... to be with you guys, to wear the badge. I want to be with my father and brother, with the children of the village. I do not want to die... it is... so cold and lonely."