In the deepest and darkest halls of the abyss, the Lord of Death waited for news from his servant. As soon as his bottomless gaze fell upon him, Maurice stepped forward and bowed with utmost respect.
"Greetings, Lord of Death," Maurice said.
"I see you did not take long," the Lord of Death said, his voice echoing like the slamming of tomb doors. "You gathered the information quickly."
"My lord, there is no trace of the overwhelming power you spoke of," Maurice reported. "During my surveillance, I found nothing of what you described. When the blood bears attacked, the boy used a weapon powered by an energy stone and was nearly killed. He would have died if not for the Vice-Captain of the Ice Knights intervening at the last second."
"Is that all you see in that boy?" the Lord of Death asked, his tone dripping with mockery. "You do not yet understand his capabilities, Maurice."
"Capabilities?"
"Yes. As I recall, I asked you only to observe. But instead, you set a trap that nearly killed him without my explicit command."
Suddenly, the air in the hall shifted. The oxygen turned into a crushing, suffocating pressure—a terror so absolute that the tortured spirits and demonic commanders hiding in the shadows vanished into the walls in sheer panic. Maurice could not move; his limbs were literally being crushed under the weight of the aura. He tried to speak and defend himself, but he could only force out a single, desperate word.
"Forgive... me."
The Lord of Death withdrew his power, restoring the dark hall to its normal state. He spoke with a deadly calm. "From now on, every breath you take and every movement you make is at my command. Do you understand, Maurice?"
Maurice coughed, gasping for air. "I understand, my lord."
"Good. I want you to continue watching that boy, and I want you to set traps that push him to the very edge of death."
"I don't understand," Maurice asked, bewildered. "Do you not want him alive?"
"A person does not know his true power until death knocks on his door, Maurice. The boy will not unleash his demonic power except through the raw experience of dying. So, prepare for him whatever you can."
"Understood, my lord. But he is currently under the protection of the Ice Lord, so this will be difficult."
"And who is this Ice Lord?"
"He is a terrifyingly powerful man, my lord. Powerful enough that he descended into the depths of the freezing sea and tamed the legendary guardian beast all by himself."
The Lord of Death's eyes narrowed. "You say a human went down to the depths of the Ice Sea alone and domesticated one of the ancient guardian beasts? Then prepare for him, and watch this Ice Lord closely as well."
As the Lord of Death spoke, the massive stone chair he sat on—which was carved in the shape of a demonic dragon—suddenly ignited with glowing blue flames. The stone dragon's head turned toward the Lord of Death, as if awakened and enraged by the mention of its ancient rival, the sea beast.
"Nivron," the Lord of Death addressed it coldly. "The time has not come."
But the dragon did not listen. The blue flames surged across its body until it became a raging inferno, its pride wounded by the human's achievement.
The Lord of Death's voice carried an absolute, undeniable authority. "If you disobey me... if you insist on this rebellion, you may fly wherever you wish. But before you spread your wings, you will leave your severed head right here. I have no need for a rebellious dragon, Nivron."
Upon hearing that crushing threat, the dragon's flames instantly died down. It returned to its rigid stone form, falling completely silent.
"Maurice, you may go now," the Lord of Death commanded.
"Your orders, my lord. I am going."
Left alone, the Lord of Death stroked the head of the stone chair, whispering, "Nivron, I know your ancient rival was tamed by a mere human, and your pride drove you to disobey me. But you know the consequences... if you defy me, I will make your own flames consume you until you are nothing but ash."
The Lord of Death smiled a chilling smile, as if awakening to a highly entertaining new era. "Andrei... do not make me wait too long. Awaken that power and let my dream come true."
Meanwhile, at the Ice Knights' headquarters, anger filled the ruined halls.
"Which one of you heroes did this to our headquarters? Tell me! Do you know how difficult it is to rebuild this place?" Julian shouted, wiping his face in exhaustion.
"The blame falls on William for stealing my protein," Henry defended himself stubbornly. "He ate half of it!"
"Half?" William protested. "It was only two bites!"
"Two bites? You greedy muscle-lover!"
"What is wrong with you two? You ruined the house... you and your dragon, Daimon!"
Julian interrupted them with a firm voice that silenced everyone. "Stop it! Whoever did this will rebuild the headquarters from scratch. And there will be no food for anyone until it is finished. I set the meal schedule here, and you will not bypass it."
Julian glared at Henry. "Did you say something, Henry?"
Henry swallowed hard in fear. "No... nothing at all."
"Very well. Now, we have a new member. Introduce yourself."
I stepped forward and said calmly, "Hello, my name is Andrei. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Oliver sighed with cheerful relief. "A new member of the team, finally! I was getting so tired of seeing Henry's face all the time."
"What did you say, you idiot?!" Henry roared, preparing to chase him.
"Calm down and introduce yourselves immediately!" Julian ordered.
They stood in a loose, messy line.
"Hello, I am William. My power is water."
"My name is Henry. My power is earth."
"I am Harold, and this is my dragon, Daimon. We control fire."
"As for me, I'm Oliver. I can teleport and travel between dimensions."
"And I am Iris. I control the element of wind."
I looked around the hall and asked, "Wait... where are the rest? Isn't the squad supposed to be fifteen members?"
"Yes, don't you remember?" Julian answered. "They went to look for the Dymas. When they return, I will introduce you to them. For now, welcome to the team, Andrei."
Before I could ask what a 'Dymas' was, angry shouts echoed from outside.
"Knights! Come out now and return that pendant... immediately! Or we will force our way in!" a voice yelled from the courtyard.
Oliver whispered anxiously, "Do they know the Commander is absent?"
"It seems so," Iris replied.
Julian drew his weapon. "Andrei, we will talk later. Let's go, team."
"Wait, I am coming with you," I said, stepping forward.
"No, your wounds are still bleeding. Not today," Julian ordered. But I ignored him and followed them out to the courtyard anyway to see what was happening.
The knights stood facing an armed crowd wearing crimson fur cloaks.
"Leader of the Crimson Bear Tribe, you honor us with your arrival," Julian said calmly and respectfully. "Please, come inside and speak."
An old woman holding a spear, leading the crowd, replied strictly, "Enter and speak? You already know what we want. We want the pendant that belongs to my granddaughter, Rose. I want it, and I want it now."
"I am sorry, but it is not with us."
"I know that when the Ice Lord travels to that specific place, the pendant is not with him. Do not insult my intelligence!" the old woman snapped.
"I am truly sorry, but he is the one who will return it to you if he wishes to. It is none of our business."
"Step aside and let us search for it!" the old woman screamed in anger.
"This is our headquarters, and we cannot allow that."
"You cannot? Then it is war!"
The tribe members attacked fiercely. Julian shouted at the top of his lungs, "Team! Anyone who harms them, even with a single scratch, will be punished by me personally!"
Without a moment of hesitation, the team replied, "We understand the orders!" and rushed into the fray.
I watched the battle in utter disbelief. The Ice Squad did nothing but evade the attacks. They didn't launch a single strike! They simply took hits, fell, got back up, and continued dodging to avoid hurting their attackers.
Why are they doing that? I thought to myself. Why don't they fight back?
The fight continued until a heavy blow struck Henry's head. He fell to the ground and didn't move.
"What? Henry isn't moving!" I shouted.
"Don't worry," Julian said while dodging a sword swing. "He isn't dead. He is just temporarily paralyzed."
The battle dragged on, and the heroes began to fall one by one, restrained or paralyzed, completely refusing to use their lethal powers.
The old tribe leader panted, looking down at the fallen team. "If you had fought seriously, you would have won. But you kept avoiding our attacks... and that is your weakness." She then turned her glare to me. "Tell me, new boy. Will you also keep avoiding our attacks?"
Julian, struggling to stand, answered for me. "We were ordered to remove you unharmed."
"So what will you do now? The simplest thing would have been to beat us until we retreated!"
"Then fight properly! Attack!" the old woman screamed.
Amidst all the chaos and the tense atmosphere, the weather suddenly and violently changed.
Massive ice storms shot into the sky, causing the clouds to swirl into a gigantic, dark vortex. Freezing, bone-chilling winds howled, and everyone froze in terror. When the tribe leader saw this horrifying display, she screamed at her men in despair, "Drop your weapons to the ground! We have no chance to defeat him!"
A tremendous, overwhelming pressure radiated from someone approaching slowly. I felt the pressure crushing the breath out of my lungs, realizing instantly that I had to kneel like the others. Who was this person whose pressure rivaled that of the Hero Commanders... or perhaps even surpassed them?
The figure stepped through the swirling ice storms until he stood right beside me.
"Crimson Bear Tribe," the man said, his voice as cold as the frost of death. "You take advantage of my absence and attack my team, relying on the fact that they follow my orders and will not retaliate."
"We came to take what is rightfully ours," the old woman said, her voice trembling.
"Do you mean that pendant? Its owner is the one who gave it to me."
The old woman dropped to her knees, begging, "I beg you... that pendant is all that remains of my granddaughter, Rose. I beg you, I want it. It is the last piece of her memory. Will you not spare an old woman who stands between life and death?"
The Ice Lord replied with a tone devoid of any pity, "I am sorry, madam. But the time to return it has not come."
"You say you are the protectors of this kingdom, yet you are the cause of everything happening to this land!" the old woman cried out bitterly. "I know you will never give up that pendant."
Understanding that the confrontation was over, the tribe members began to retreat. The Ice Lord stood in absolute silence, looking out at the frozen horizon. He did not speak another word.
From the distant shadows of the trees, Maurice watched the entire scene unfold, deeply delighted. He whispered to himself with a sly smile, "The great Ice Lord... It seems I have found something truly interesting here."