Snow landed lightly on the scorched ground.
The environment around him was nothing like home.
Black-barked trees stretched into the sky, their trunks cracked with glowing streams of lava flowing through them. The air was heavy, burning, and unstable like the land itself was alive.
Snow took a slow breath.
Then exhaled.
His gaze sharpened.
Several auras.
Watching him.
Hiding.
"You might as well come out," Snow said calmly, his voice echoing through the molten forest.
"You're terrible at hiding."
His eyes shifted slightly locking onto two separate locations.
WHOOSH
A dagger shot toward him at high speed.
Snow tilted his head slightly.
The blade missed by a hair and embedded itself deep into the ground behind him.
His eyes narrowed.
In the next instant
He moved.
Snow dashed backward in a zigzag pattern, his body blurring as multiple daggers struck the exact spots he had just left behind.
Precise.
Calculated.
Deadly.
Two figures emerged from the bushes.
A third dropped silently from a tree above.
All masked.
All dangerous.
"So there was one more…" Snow muttered, a faint smirk forming.
"I didn't sense you at all."
He glanced at them casually.
"Who sent you?" he asked. "Not like you'll make it back anyway… so you might as well talk."
The female assassin tightened her grip on her daggers, watching him carefully.
Snow's gaze turned colder.
Sharper.
He wasn't joking.
"…I hate jobs like this," she said, taking a stance. "But a job is a job."
The nimble assassin beside her laughed.
"You're too soft, Angelina. Aren't you an assassin? Just do it."
"Don't say my name, idiot," she snapped.
The third one stepped forward.
Massive.
Silent.
"This kid…" he muttered.
"…he's not normal."
Suddenly
His body transformed.
Black rock spread across his skin, layered with glowing magma-like lines. Flames flickered from his eyes and mouth as heat distorted the air around him.
"Kid," he said slowly, his voice heavy.
"From what we know… your powers don't excel in hot environments."
A step forward.
"So give up. We'll make it quick."
"Yeah…" the nimble one added, spinning his daggers.
"What he said."
Snow stared at them.
Unbothered.
"Oh… a fire attribute user," he said calmly. "You came prepared."
He stretched out his hand.
Frost gathered instantly.
Ice formed
Shaping itself into a long, elegant blade.
An odachi.
Snow lowered his stance.
Quiet.
Focused.
"This is my domain, kid," the magma assassin growled.
"You were destined to lose the moment you arrived."
He vanished
Reappearing in front of Snow with a powerful strike aimed straight at his face.
Snow moved.
Clean.
Precise.
He parried the attack to the side and slid back, boots scraping against the ground.
"Strength and defense type…" Snow observed calmly.
"…based on your form, your beast is probably a golem."
His eyes flicked upward.
"You leave yourself wide open."
A pause.
"But I guess… you can afford to."
The magma assassin smirked.
Snow exhaled softly.
"You're right about one thing," he said.
"I'm not strong enough to break your defense… not yet."
But...
He raised his hand.
The temperature dropped.
A chilling aura spread outward from his body.
The air shifted.
The ground began to frost.
Within seconds.
A 30-meter radius around Snow transformed.
Mist filled the area.
Icicles formed midair…
…and began to fall.
Angelina's expression changed.
"…This is it," she said quietly.
"From the reports… this ability wiped out everyone sent after him."
"Stay sharp."
The assassins tensed.
Too late.
The nimble assassin vanished.
Reappearing behind Snow, daggers raised to strike.
But the moment he entered the mist
BOOM
A violent force repelled him.
He was thrown back instantly.
Silence
Then...
Within the mist…
Something opened.
Two massive, glowing blue eyes appeared.
Watching.
Ancient.
Cold.
Alive.
The air grew heavy.
Breathing became difficult.
Even the magma assassin froze for a split second.
Snow smirked.
"…Hey."