The Commanders crouched behind a jagged frost-peak near the main gates.
Three elite guards stood watch, flanked by massive, tamed Ice Monsters.
"What's the plan?" Commander Elvis whispered, his eyes on the beasts.
"No time for diplomacy," Commander Kling replied sharply.
"Strike the cores of the beasts first. Then take out the guards."
"Commander Yui, prime your lasers. I'll handle the guards."
"And I'll erupt a volcano under their feet," Jems added, his hands already glowing.
In a blur of motion, Yui focused her fingers.
Twin beams of concentrated photon light hissed through the air.
They pierced the monsters' cores instantly, and the beasts collapsed.
Kling's staff elongated with violent force, crushing a guard's throat.
But the third guard caught a glimpse of their shadows.
Panicked, he flung the gate open and retreated into the city.
The Commanders didn't hesitate; they stormed through the threshold.
Inside, the sight was breathtaking.
A gargantuan castle of shimmering ice towered over a city of frost.
But their path was quickly blocked by a man in impenetrable ice armor.
"I am Treyan, the Queen's second strongest knight," he declared.
"To reach her, you must go through me."
Yui and Lak made a split-second decision.
"We'll find Liuke!" Yui signaled.
"Kling, Jems, Elvis—stay here and hold off Treyan!"
Lak and Yui vanished, becoming streaks of light in the frozen streets.
Back in the cold silence of the cells, the tension snapped.
The heavy thud of approaching footsteps echoed through the hall.
Liuke stood up, recognizing the knight from the throne room.
"You... what do you want?" Liuke asked, his voice trembling.
"The Queen sent me for your 'protection'," Rygar said with a twisted grin.
Suddenly, Rygar shattered the cell door with a single, devastating punch.
"But what if I were to simply kill you myself?"
Rygar lunged, his hand clamping around Liuke's throat like a vice.
As Liuke gasped for air, a thunderous roundhouse kick slammed into Rygar's head.
It was Elysia.
Blood spat from Rygar's mouth, but he didn't fall.
He began to laugh—a manic, hollow sound.
"Still clinging to life, girl? Why save him?"
"Can't you see she's obsessed with him? I have to cleanse this kingdom."
"I won't let you kill her 'Resource'," Elysia spat, her eyes burning.
"Even if I have to kill you first."
"So be it," Rygar hissed.
A three-meter radius of Frost-Fire erupted around Elysia.
She unsheathed her silver-ice sword, dipping it into the flames.
She sent a searing arc of blue fire at Rygar.
He dodged, his ice armor melting under the intense heat.
In a desperate move, Rygar plunged his fingers into his own throat.
He shattered his own Negative Core.
Elysia gasped. "Is he trying to kill himself?"
"You wanted to know why I am the strongest?" Rygar's voice distorted.
He leapt into the air, his body twisting and expanding.
Black scales erupted from his skin. Massive wings tore through his back.
He had transformed into the Ice Dragon, Salvaris.
"Lunara!" Elysia screamed, summoning her beast.
She mounted the creature as they soared to meet the dragon.
"If we don't stop him, he'll burn the entire kingdom in frost-fire!"
At the gates, the battle was reaching its peak.
Treyan watched the dragon soar, his eyes narrowing in contempt.
"You fool, Rygar. You destroyed your core instead of fusing with it."
Treyan was struggling under Kling's gravity and Jems' volcanoes.
Elvis used a Solar Burst to blind him momentarily.
Jems charged a massive Solar Volcano aimed directly at Treyan's face.
In that split second, Treyan gripped his own throat.
He crushed something internally.
The volcano hit with a deafening explosion.
But as the smoke cleared, the Commanders froze in horror.
Treyan stood unscathed.
His body had mutated—half-man, half-monstrous ice beast.
His durability had transcended human limits.
Deep within the silent castle, Queen Sharley sat alone on her throne.
A messenger brought news of the chaos, but she didn't move.
A Black Aura of pure negative energy swirled around her.
It threatened to consume everything in its path.