At the bottom of the underworld, inside the dark cave of the Lord of the Dead, the rocky walls shook to the rhythm of a deafening roar that struck terror into the stoutest of hearts. From the depths of the cave emerged a massive skeletal dragon, its size blocking the horizon, its teeth like guillotine blades. It spread its tattered wings and took flight, piercing through the dimensions toward the realm of the living.
A figure was watching this majestic scene in silence. He turned to his master, who was sitting in the darkness, and asked respectfully: "My Lord... did you send the Abyssal Dragon? Are you helping that bastard Maurice?"
The Lord of the Dead smiled a hidden smile that carried no warmth, and answered with a voice that echoed like the hollow sound of graves: "Hanzo... my right hand. If anyone else asked me that question, I would have thrown them into the abyss of hell to be tortured for eternity. But you are dear to me, so listen."
The Lord of the Dead straightened in his seat and continued: "That boy, Andre... hasn't the time come for him to enter a world where everything is clear and harsh? I am tired of seeing him lost, unable to act on his own, always relying on the power of the demon residing within him to get him out of trouble. I see no action in him that indicates his true maturity as a hero or a warrior."
The eyes of the Lord of the Dead gleamed with a wise and terrifying light: "But this situation is different. When a person sees that the whole world is against him; everyone he loved, everyone he knew, everyone he hated, and everyone he had a connection with has turned into an enemy who wants to tear him apart... then, he either breaks and surrenders to death, or rises and fights for himself with his pure strength. I want to see what Andre will truly do. And to do that... I had to remove any strong help that might come to his rescue."
After hearing these words, Hanzo understood immediately. The Abyssal Dragon was not heading out to kill Andre... it was heading out to shoot down the "help" that might spoil this cruel test.
The Fall of Ice
Far from the village, the Ice Lord, Hyuga, was soaring high, patrolling the distant areas atop his giant ice eagle, completely unaware of the nightmare that had swallowed the village, nor the tragedy that had befallen the child and his mother.
Suddenly, his heart clenched, and he sensed a massive, malicious demonic energy emanating from the direction of the village. He let out a sharp whistle, and the eagle responded, banking hard and heading toward the source of the danger.
But Hyuga's combat instincts screamed a warning. The Ice Lord began to run across the back of the flying eagle, and in a swift motion, he used his energy to forge a giant sword of pure ice. He leaped into the cold air, gripped the sword with both hands, and brought it down in a crushing blow toward the terrifying entity that had suddenly appeared from the clouds behind the eagle!
The Abyssal Dragon was preparing to pounce! Hyuga's sword clashed with the dragon's jaw, pushing it away with a force that created an explosive boom in the sky. The Ice Lord hovered in the air for a second before his eagle caught him once again.
The dragon vanished into the clouds. Hyuga stood on the eagle's back, his eyes precisely scanning the sky, trying to locate the beast. Suddenly... he felt a massive energy and a deadly heat gathering directly above him.
He looked up to see the dragon opening its massive jaws, ready to unleash black hellfire. The Ice Lord did not hesitate; with lightning speed, he formed a massive frost power as a sturdy shield.
The white clouds in the sky turned a terrifying crimson hue like hell, and the black fire cascaded down like a waterfall toward the Ice Lord. The absolute frost clashed with the hellfire, resulting in a terrifying, massive shockwave that pressed down heavily on the eagle and the Ice Lord, pushing them with irresistible force toward the ground.
To make matters worse, amidst this freefall, the Abyssal Dragon lunged from between the fire and smoke like a nightmare, diving at lightning speed at the Ice Lord and his eagle. Opening its terrifying jaws... it swallowed them both together into the belly of darkness!
The Symphony of Despair in the Village
Returning to Andre; the village was experiencing the moments of the apocalypse. Screams, blood, and innocent people turning one after another into deformed demons. Andre and Volak stood paralyzed, not knowing what to do or how to face their neighbors and friends whose features had twisted.
The moment of horrifying shock ended when the rest of the Ice Eagles Squad arrived (Julian, Iris, and Harold). Without hesitation or mercy, Julian shouted a decisive order: "Squad! Attack anyone who has turned into a demon! Try to only knock them unconscious, do not deal lethal blows!"
Andre gathered his courage, drew his sword, and joined the fight. The squad struck the demons with the flats of their blades and the hilts of their weapons, knocking them to the ground and rendering them unconscious one after another without cutting them.
But... only a few seconds passed before the fallen demons opened their red eyes, sprang up again, and attacked with even greater ferocity, as if nothing had happened!
From a high, distant place, Maurice stood watching, laughing hysterically while clutching his stomach: "Fools! Are you trying to return them to their natural state by knocking them unconscious? How will you do that? There is no returning to their old selves, ever! I put a concentrated dose of an 'old friend' liquid in the village's drinking water over the past few days so they would be saturated with it. Do you think you can bring them back? Hahaha! Try until you tire and die!"
Maurice looked sharply toward a dark alley, where he saw a figure sneaking quietly, carrying an infant. Maurice smiled wickedly and whispered: "Hah... so you did not transform, you bereaved mother? Perhaps because your child's healing power was purging the poison from you over the past few days. And perhaps this child is the one who will return your tribe to their human state if he grows up... but how will he do that when he has already turned into a demon in your hands right now? Yet... it amazes me that you try to protect him despite his ugliness. So this is motherhood? Let us see how long you will last."
The Tragedy of Familiar Faces
The mother was walking with extreme quietness and caution, clutching her transformed child to her chest. Suddenly, a demon jumped on her from the roof! She turned her back to protect the little one, taking a harsh blow that slashed her arm.
Despite the excruciating pain and blood, she hugged the child and ran, trying to escape. But to no avail, the demon was faster; it caught up with her, readied its lethal claws, and prepared to deliver the killing blow.
Amidst that despair, the demon suddenly backed away, its instincts sensing a sword swinging toward it to cut it down.
Andre landed like a guardian angel between the mother and the demon, asking her with his eyes locked on the enemy: "Are you okay?"
The mother said with a voice trembling with fear: "Yes."
Andre replied firmly: "Good. Then stay behind me until I take care of this demon."
The demon began to circle like a predatory beast studying its prey, then readied its claws and attacked savagely. Andre blocked the attack with his sword and pushed it away forcefully. The demon attacked over and over, and Andre parried skillfully.
When the demon found that its direct attacks were useless, it changed its tactics. It used a familiar magical power, focused its energy into its feet, and jumped into the air with massive speed to dive directly at the defenseless mother to kill her!
At that moment, without any hesitation, Andre used the technique he had been practicing. He absorbed some mana from the air, focused it in his feet, and launched like an arrow to intercept the demon's path.
But he was utterly astonished when he saw the demon trying to do the exact same move to dodge in mid-air! The demon backed away but stumbled and fell to the ground because it did not execute the move correctly.
In that moment... Andre froze in his place. His eyes widened in a shock that paralyzed his limbs. His heart plummeted into an abyss of terror, and his mind recalled a warm, innocent memory from just a few days ago.
(A Flash of Memory)
"Brother... I am also weak, I have energy but it is very weak. So, could you teach me how to absorb mana into my feet to dash quickly like you?"
"Of course. First, focus and start breathing and feeling the mana around you. Then absorb it and channel it to your feet... then dash."
"Alright, I understand! First I breathe and focus... I feel the mana and absorb it... then I focus it in one part and release it!"
Emily propelled into the air... but she lost her balance and fell hard.
Andre shouted with concern: "Careful! Are you okay?"
Emily groaned, rubbing her head: "Ugh.. yes. But I will need some time to get used to it."
Andre smiled: "Yes, it is okay. Even I stumbled over and over again at the beginning."
Emily looked at him with gleaming eyes: "Yes, you are strong but I am not."
Emily stood up suddenly, and in a quick, innocent motion, kissed him on the cheek. Her face turned red and she said: "This... is as a thank you for teaching me."
Andre got extremely flustered and waved his hands: "Huh? That is not enough! I knew you were a perverted child in the end!"
Emily laughed nervously: "No, no! You misunderstood me! I wanted you to call me sister.. even though it is hard, but..."
Then she painted an innocent, childish smile and said: "Thank you.. brother."
(Return to Reality)
Amidst that warm memory that tore at his soul, Andre's weapon fell from his hand, hitting the icy ground with a sad ringing sound.
His feet stepped backward as he looked at the monster before him. He whispered with a voice choking with tears and madness: "Impossible... no... it cannot be. Emily?"
Andre could not contain himself, his world collapsed before him, and he no longer knew what to do. For the deformed, mutated demon he was fighting so fiercely... was none other than the loving, cheerful Emily.