After listening to her dark past, a heavy silence fell over the wooden hut.
"I am sorry for what happened to your mother, Emily," I said quietly, shattering the heavy silence.
I paused for a moment, thinking about her words, then continued with a firm voice, "I hate this. What I hate are empty apologies; they do not help with anything. They will not bring your mother back, they will not ease your grief, and they will not solve any problem. But... I promise you that I will bring you that demon's head, and I will kill him in a way that extinguishes the fire burning inside your heart."
Emily was surprised by my words, as if those sentences had ignited a buried spark of hope inside her. She said, her eyes wide with astonishment, "This is your promise to me? I still don't understand... after everything I did to you and everything I said, are you really going to do this?"
"Yes," I nodded. "And this promise isn't just mine. I promise you this with Vice-Captain Julian as a witness."
Emily was stunned. This boy she had stabbed and nearly killed had forgiven her, and even promised to avenge her mother's blood. She couldn't respond, so she collected herself and turned to leave. But before she walked out the door, she stopped and whispered with a choked voice, "I am sorry for what I did to you."
Those words marked the beginning of a new page between us.
I stayed in the hut until I had fully recovered, which took three weeks. When I regained some of my strength, I stepped out the wooden door and looked around. What was I looking at? Mountains... endless mountains of harsh snow and ice.
I thought to myself, "Are monsters so stupid that they choose to live in this deadly frost? And the villains too... they must be even more foolish to choose this place."
My thoughts were interrupted by someone slapping my shoulder hard, shouting, "So, you have finally recovered, little hero!"
I turned to find Julian smiling. I said coldly, "There is no need to call me a hero or use any titles. Call me by my name, Andrei."
Julian replied, "Alright, Andrei, that is better. And now that you have recovered, why don't you come with me?"
"Where are we going?" I asked.
Julian said simply, "To catch some fish. Yes, we are going to a frozen lake to fish."
"Do I have the option to refuse?" I asked.
"No, you don't. Move."
I sighed and walked beside him. "Alright, let's go."
We reached a vast, flat expanse of ice. Julian said, "This is the lake. First, we need to make a hole in the ice."
With a single magical strike, he shattered half the ice of the entire lake, sending shards flying everywhere like shrapnel.
I yelled at him in shock, "Vice-Captain Julian, didn't you overdo it a little? You shattered half the lake instead of making a small hole! Or do you just not know how to fish?"
Julian smiled confidently. "I know exactly what I am doing. The fish here possess a power unlike ordinary fish in the capital, so you have to dive after them. If you face them from the shore, you will inevitably lose."
"Lose? How?" I asked suspiciously.
"Simple. The ice beneath you will break easily. Slowly at first, then suddenly it will collapse... exactly like what would have happened to you just now if you weren't with me," Julian said, looking down at my feet. "Then you will find yourself becoming the prey."
Before I could comprehend his words, the ice exploded from underneath me. A massive, terrifying fish with jagged teeth lunged from the freezing water, swallowed me in its jaws, and dragged me down into the icy depths.
But I did not panic; instead, I held on tightly from the inside. Julian instantly jumped into the water, shaped a terrifying, crystalline sword out of his own blood, and with a single strike, cleaved the massive fish in half.
Julian pulled me out of the freezing water and asked, "Andrei, are you all right?"
I cracked my neck, breathing calmly, and wiped the water from my face. "Yes. But you knew that massive fish was coming, and you didn't save me from the beginning."
Julian smiled as he dragged the fish's carcass to the surface. "I wanted to see your reaction. But it seems you have no reaction at all... you almost died and you were completely indifferent. You will need a lot of training, boy. Anyway, tonight's dinner is ready."
I looked at the dead, massive fish and said, "We were lucky today. But... looking closely at this fish, why is it this size? I feel a very strange energy radiating from it."
Julian said, looking at the icy horizon seriously, "You noticed it, then. It is said that deep inside this ice, there is a hidden diamond that contains infinite energy. We have been trying to find this diamond since the Ice Squad took over protecting this region, but there has been no trace of it until now. Speaking of the squad... I haven't introduced you to them yet. Come with me."
We walked toward the Ice Squad headquarters, and instead of the strict military discipline I expected, we were greeted by absolute chaos the moment the door opened.
There was a massive young man shouting angrily, "Liam! How dare you steal my food, especially when I am starving after that cursed training?"
A skinny young man named Liam answered while chewing loudly, "Calm down, Henry, I already ate it all. It was just a small bite."
Henry roared, his right hand transforming entirely into solid iron. "A small bite?! You ate half of my food and you call it a bite! You are doomed today, Liam!"
Liam backed away in fear. "Henry, don't be so angry! I will bring you more food, I promise!"
Henry shouted as he lunged to deliver an iron punch, "You are in deep trouble now!"
Liam ran at top speed. "It seems you are really angry! Goodbye!"
"Come back here, you thief!"
Suddenly, as they were running down the corridor, the sound of a massive explosion echoed from one of the rooms.
A rough, angry voice shouted from inside, "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from my room?! This is the hundredth time! Do you want to die that badly?!"
Liam and Henry stopped in terror. Liam whispered, "This is bad... we angered Harold. And when he gets angry..."
A ferocious, monstrous growl echoed, shaking the walls. Henry whispered, swallowing hard, "He is a dragon, right?"
"Yes. Welcome, Daimon," Liam said with a nervous smile.
Harold shouted from inside, "Daimon, prepare the dragon's fire and roast them!"
Liam screamed, "We need to run now!"
"Get up and move, you idiot, quickly!" Henry yelled.
"Daimon, catch them!"
A massive dragon lunged, opening its flaming jaws, and almost swallowed them, but they suddenly changed direction and crashed into another young man named William, who was just walking out of his room, rubbing his eyes. When William saw the dragon charging at them, he panicked and used his magic to alter the corridor's terrain, creating thick ice barriers.
Liam sighed, panting. "Did we escape Daimon?"
William said in terror, "No, the barrier won't hold! We have to run. Watch out!"
"Wait... did you hear that? Above you! Above!" Henry shouted.
Suddenly, a young man fell straight from the ceiling, landing right on top of William and Henry.
William groaned from under the pile of bodies, "It's Oliver... don't you ever get tired? There is always trouble in this headquarters, and you always drag me into it!"
Oliver said, rubbing his head with a goofy smile, "Nothing happened, right?"
"And why is the dragon Daimon chasing you in the first place?!" William asked angrily.
Henry screamed as he saw the flames melting the ice barrier, "Because it is heading right for us! Run!"
They all ran down the corridors like madmen.
"Wait for me!" Oliver shouted.
"And why should we wait for you?! Turn left, come on, quickly!"
"It's still chasing us!"
William shouted desperately, "Oliver! Use your teleportation and get us out of here, anywhere, quickly!"
Oliver said, "Alright, hold on to each other!"
In a magical flash, Oliver teleported them away. They all landed in a heap on the floor of a different, dark room.
Henry sighed in relief. "Good... we got away from him. Well done, Oliver. But... why do you look so terrified?"
Oliver swallowed hard and said with a trembling voice, looking at the bed in front of him, "That is because we landed in..."
A girl's voice interrupted them, dripping with anger and deadly coldness. "What now? Entering my room again, you bastards?"
Liam whispered in pure terror, "Don't tell me... Iris?"
"Yes," Iris said, a demonic smile forming on her face as her hands glowed with magic. "Welcome."
Before anyone could say a word, Iris punched the closest one in the face, turning the quiet place into a battlefield filled with chaos, screaming, and smashing furniture.
I stood with Julian at the entrance of the headquarters, watching this absolute chaos as students flew out of windows and shattered doors.
I said sarcastically, crossing my arms, "So... this is my new elite squad?"
Julian sighed deeply and wiped his face with his hand in exhaustion. Then he walked with heavy steps into the main hall where the squad members were fighting and objects were flying everywhere.
Julian spoke in a quiet voice, but it carried a terrifying magical pressure that froze the blood in everyone's veins. "You bastards... how many times have I told you not to cause chaos?"
The entire squad froze in place in terror. A drop of sweat fell from Henry's forehead, and Iris stopped with her fist an inch away from Oliver's face.
Julian turned to me with a cold smile. "Andrei, could you stay here for a second? I have some matters to deal with right now."
Then he turned his dark gaze back to his terrified squad. "Who is responsible for this? Tell me who started it."
No one dared to answer. A deadly silence fell over the room, heavier than the ice mountains outside.
Julian smiled a smile that would make the most hardened demons tremble. "So... it seems the squad needs to learn discipline all over again. It is my great pleasure to begin the first lesson."
I took a step back and muttered to myself, "What a disaster. May the heavens have mercy on us all."