I woke up dazed, my chest throbbing with a dull ache. I slowly sat up on the soft bed, blinking against the warm light, and began looking around the rustic room.
What is this hut? I thought to myself.
The wooden door creaked open, and a tall man with snow-white hair walked in, wearing the heavy cloak of the Ice Knights.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"I am Julian, Vice-Captain of the Ice Knights," he said, offering a small, reassuring smile. "Welcome to the Southern Ice Region, Andrei. And welcome to the ranks of the Ice Knights. We have finally arrived."
I rubbed my forehead, trying to piece together my fragmented memories. The snow, the blood bears, the betrayal...
"Wait," I said sharply, looking up at him. "There was a merchant and a little girl with me. Are they all right?"
Julian crossed his arms. "You were nearly torn apart, and you are asking about them? Take care of yourself first."
"Just tell me," I insisted.
"Yes, they are fine, thank God," Julian sighed.
"Good. So... are we in the Zero Ice region?"
"No. You are in the White Snow Village. The Zero Ice outpost is about three kilometers from here."
"Why didn't they just say that instead of telling everyone I was going to Zero Ice?" I asked, confused.
"Because the Zero Ice area is infamous for its unnaturally intense, deadly cold," Julian explained. "It became famous because of it, so people often use the name to refer to the entire southern territory."
Julian pulled up a wooden chair and sat beside my bed. "Now that you know where you are, I welcome you again to the Ice Squad. And... I ask you to forgive the girl, Emily, for what she did to you out there."
"Her name is Emily?" I asked.
"Yes. Her father uses 'Diana' to protect her identity when they travel. She has survived a past... a nightmare that even I might not have been able to get past."
I looked down at my bandaged hands. I remembered the sheer terror in her eyes when she stabbed me. It wasn't malice; it was blind, absolute panic.
"It's okay," I said quietly. "The important thing is that she is safe. I don't know her past, but I forgive her."
"I don't want your forgiveness, demon."
I looked up. Emily stood in the doorway, her eyes red and puffy, but her glare as sharp as ever. Marco stood nervously behind her.
Julian frowned. "Emily... didn't we agree you would wait outside until I gave the signal?"
Emily ignored him and marched into the room, pointing an accusing finger at me. "If you think I am here to ask for your forgiveness or anything like that, you are wrong. If it were up to me, I would have killed you in that snow. I am not sorry. You are a demon."
"I am a human!" I snapped, my patience wearing thin.
"Then what is that mark on your neck?" Emily yelled, tears welling in her eyes. "Tell me! It is not a decoration! It is the Mark of a Demon Lord!"
"It is a curse!" I shouted back.
I grabbed my black sword from the bedside table and yanked the cloth wrap off it, revealing the heavy, chain-wrapped blade. The dark aura pulsed slightly in the room. Everyone in the hut froze. Julian instantly stood up, his hand resting on the hilt of his own weapon.
"That sword is the reason for the tattoo," I said, breathing heavily. "It's a curse bound to me. I can't leave it. It chose me!"
"You demons always say that," Emily spat, her voice trembling with raw hatred. "You hide in human forms, you act like you care, and then you betray us! You betrayed us just like he did to my mother!"
"Emily..." Marco whispered, placing a trembling hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Calm down. There is no need to bring that up."
"No!" Emily cried, shrugging his hand off. "He should know! He needs to know why I made my vow! I swore I would never leave a demon alive!"
Julian sighed heavily, stepping back. "All right, Emily. Tell him. But remember your promise to me."
Emily nodded, wiping her eyes fiercely. She looked at me, her gaze piercing through my soul.
"My father was a merchant in a small village, and my mother traveled with him. Our life was perfectly ordinary until we met a man who called himself Li. He seemed like a normal, kind traveler. I was only five years old. I would visit him occasionally so he could tell me stories of his adventures. His stories fascinated me so much that I began visiting his tent twice a day."
Emily's voice began to shake. "But one day... my mother was baking a cake, and my father wasn't home. I wanted to take a piece to Mr. Li. But when I got to his tent, the door flap was tied shut. I thought he was asleep. I wanted to surprise him... so I peeked inside."
Tears began to spill down her cheeks. "I found him in a different form. He had horns, glowing red eyes, and a body covered in blood. And on his neck... he had the Mark of a Lord. It was slightly different from yours, but the symbol was drawn inside a horn tattoo. He was standing over a fresh corpse."
I listened in complete silence, the weight of her words settling heavily in the room.
"I was terrified. I couldn't move," Emily whispered. "When he heard my breath, he smiled. He dropped the corpse and vanished. When I turned around and ran back to our house, he was already there... in his human form. Master Li."
She closed her eyes, reliving the nightmare.
"He told my mother he was leaving the next day and just wanted to say goodbye to me. My mother told him I was asleep and asked him to wait. She went to my room, but she couldn't find me. When she realized I was missing, her maternal instincts took over. She grabbed him and demanded to know where I was."
"What happened?" I asked softly.
"He dropped his human disguise," Emily said, her voice turning cold and dead. "He revealed his demonic form right in our living room. I was hiding in the closet, watching through the cracks."
Emily took a shuddering breath. "Two local knights, Arthur and Lux, heard the commotion and burst into the house. They fought bravely. They pierced his shoulder and struck his arm. But the demon just laughed. He pressed his hand to the floor, and a massive cage of human bones erupted from the ground, trapping the knights inside."
Julian lowered his head, clearly knowing the tragic end of this tale.
"The demon used blood magic," Emily continued, her voice hollow. "He ripped the bones from their own bodies and used them as weapons. He slaughtered the knights in seconds. Then... he turned to my mother."
Emily fell to her knees, sobbing openly now. Marco knelt beside her, wrapping his arms around his weeping daughter.
"He proposed a game to my mother," Emily cried into her father's chest. "He told her that if she won, I would live. If she lost, he would tear me to pieces in front of her. He told her... he told her she would be eaten alive by his summoned beast. But she had to endure it without making a single sound. If she screamed... he would kill me."
My blood ran cold. I stared at the little girl, entirely horrified by the sheer cruelty of the demon.
"He cut his finger and let his demonic blood drip onto my hand to seal the vow," Emily whispered, holding up her scarred hand. "My mother hugged me. She stroked my hair. She told me she loved me, and she made me promise not to cry or move, no matter what happened."
Emily looked up at me, her eyes completely shattered. "The monster started eating her from the feet upward. Every bone, every tendon, every piece of flesh was ground between its teeth. My mother endured it all. She just held me close and stared into my eyes, refusing to make a sound. I wanted to scream, but her look stopped me. I watched my mother be eaten alive until there was nothing left... except her arm."
The room was suffocatingly silent. Only the sound of Emily's quiet weeping filled the air.
"The demon grabbed her remaining arm," Emily choked out. "He handed it to me. He smiled and told me that if I wanted to live, if I didn't want my mother's sacrifice to be in vain... I had to eat a piece of it."
I felt physically sick. My grip on the black sword loosened.
"I couldn't do it," Emily sobbed. "I put her blood-covered fingers to my cheek and begged her not to leave me. The demon laughed. He handed me a knife and told me that if I had any courage, I would cut my own hand for causing my mother's death."
Emily looked down at the deep, jagged scars crisscrossing her palms.
"When he finally left," Emily whispered, her voice hardening with an ancient, unbreakable resolve, "I took that knife and stabbed my own hand. I made a vow in my mother's blood. I hate them. I hate demons. I will kill every last one of them. I swear it."
She looked up at me, pointing to the black mark on my neck.
"Now tell me, Andrei," Emily said, her voice devoid of all emotion. "Tell me why I shouldn't want you dead."