"Hey Andrei... Andrei, wake up! Andrei... can you hear me or who am I calling? It is me, Volak, it is time for training! Hurry up!"
I grumbled with a sleepy voice without opening my eyes, "I am too tired... leave it for when I actually wake up."
I was drowning in a deep sleep, feeling as though I was flying peacefully. I did not care about a thing because I thought I was covered in my warm blanket, my head resting on my comfortable pillow. But suddenly, that gentle sensation of flying vanished, and I felt myself falling fast, before slamming into something hard.
"Now, Andrei, it is time for actual training!"
I was thrown forcefully onto a thick layer of snow. I jumped up in a panic, shivering from the extreme cold, and screamed at the top of my lungs, "It is freezing! Freezing! Is there any sane person who throws someone like this?"
Volak stood before me, smiling coldly. "Come on, Andrei, since you are fully awake and energetic now, let us begin your training."
I looked around in shock; we were on the peak of an ice mountain! I asked in astonishment, "Training? How did we reach the mountain in the blink of an eye?"
Volak answered simply, pointing to a thick wooden stick, "I carried you on this stick. You were climbing a towering mountain while sleeping and carrying a stick? Do not worry, it is sturdy. I tied you up, wrapped you in a scarf, then tied you to the stick and climbed up while you were snoring."
I screamed in anger, "Are you trying to kill me or what?"
He ignored my screaming and said seriously, "Now that you are awake, it is training time. Are you even listening?"
I asked, trying to find an excuse, "And how am I supposed to train without my sword and my squad uniform?"
Volak answered with a provoking smile, "Do not worry, I took care of everything. I dressed you in your official uniform myself, and I brought your black sword with me."
"What?!" I looked at myself in shock, finding that I was indeed wearing the heavy Ice Squad uniform. "That gives off a disgusting feeling... that you dressed me while I was sleeping!"
He ignored my comment and said firmly, "So, let us get to the point. What will we start with? Allow the demon to take over you now."
My eyes widened in terror. "What?! You are joking, right?"
"No, I am not joking. There is a matter I want to confirm first and confront, so hurry up."
I took a step back. "Will you be okay if I do? You faced extreme difficulty confronting him and were almost crushed just by feeling his energy!"
Volak said with a confidence I had never seen in him before, "Trust me. Alright?"
I sighed helplessly. "Alright... but I do not know how to make him take over me by my own will."
Volak took out a small vial containing a dark liquid and said, "That is why I brought this elixir. It will help you summon the demon and break the barrier between you for a limited time."
I asked with suspicion as I looked at the liquid, "An elixir? Where did you get that strange elixir?"
"I have my own ways. So, drink it."
I had no escape. I took the vial and gulped down the liquid all at once.
In an instant, I felt total darkness invade my heart and mind. The veins on my neck began to glow with an ominous crimson color, and I completely lost control of my body... letting the Demon Lord take my place.
When the Demon Lord took over the body, he opened his crimson eyes and looked at Volak mockingly. "So... you summoned me yourself. Do you want to die that badly, you arrogant human?"
Volak stood firm, without trembling, and answered calmly, "No, I need to speak to you."
The demon laughed with a voice that shook the snow beneath their feet. "Speak? I thought you wanted revenge for your crushing defeat at my hands! But to speak? My time is more precious than this nonsense you ask for."
Volak said with a mysterious tone, "The Lord of Death desires to see you more than you realize."
The Demon Lord stopped laughing for a moment and smiled cunningly. "Look at this... have you become a messenger boy or what? What do you want to talk about then? It seems you will entertain me with some news."
Volak began his interrogation. "First, why did you choose Andrei out of everyone to be your vessel?"
The demon answered coldly, "Is that a question? It was not my choice, but fate that decided the matter."
Volak provoked him, "Even fates choose with reason, not by luck, Demon Lord. Are you getting philosophical with me now?"
The demon said, bored, "If I must choose an answer to satisfy your limited mind, it would be because his heart is black."
Volak asked cleverly, "Isn't it because he possesses no magic or mana to resist you?"
The demon denied it confidently. "I do not consider that a reason. Even if he were born with powerful magic, it would not affect my possession. As for his heart... it is the pure raw material that I feed on and through which my dark energy grows."
Volak nodded and said, "Then, my second question... what are the terms of the contract you signed with Andrei for him to draw your power?"
The demon evaded a direct answer. "The contract is simple; whenever he wants to gain power and protect his miserable life, he will find me answering his call."
Volak cornered him firmly. "Do not play the fool and tell me all the hidden conditions!"
The Demon Lord grew angry, his eyes glowing like blood. "Play the fool? Boy... do you know who you are talking to?! With just a swing of my sword, the winds tremble from the sheer intensity of my power! And as punishment for your insolence, you will be cut to pieces right now!"
The Demon Lord moved the black sword in a lightning-fast strike, and the fierce winds shifted, turning into sharp, deadly air blades that attacked Volak from every direction.
The demon mocked, "Now, show me how you will block these!"
Volak breathed deeply, activating his light power with high concentration. With simple and highly precise movements of his light sword, he began cutting the wind blades heading toward him with a skill that amazed the demon.
"Not bad, human," the demon said with malicious appreciation. "Let us see if I gather the energy again into one devastating attack... will you block it, or will you fall to your knees in fear like last time? Come on, do it, for I am getting more excited to crush you!"
The Demon Lord gathered a massive amount of dark energy into the blade of the sword, then unleashed it all at once toward Volak.
Volak stood firm as a mountain, gathered all his light energy, and struck the dark attack with his sword. The two strikes continued to violently clash against each other, wrestling in the air to create a storm of light and darkness, until Volak finally managed to disperse and stop it.
But he collapsed onto one knee, panting heavily, completely exhausted from the intensity of the collision.
The Demon Lord mocked as he advanced toward him, "I am surprised! You have become stronger since our previous encounter, but... you got tired this quickly? Get up fast, human, for my second strike is about to come to end your life."
Volak raised his head while panting, and smiled triumphantly. "Unfortunately... your wish will not come true."
The demon furrowed his brows. "Why? Do you think I am as weak as you to stop?"
Suddenly, the demon's eyes widened in shock. He felt his control over Andrei's body weakening severely and fading rapidly!
Volak said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, "No, but unfortunately, your plan to kill me will be delayed because the elixir's effect is gradually wearing off right now, and Andrei's consciousness is returning to expel you."
The demon shouted in anger and frustration as he lost control. "So, you thought of everything and calculated the time perfectly! You survived this time too, Volak..."
Volak replied quickly before the demon disappeared. "I am merely a messenger. The Lord of Death tells you that your waiting to control this body is useless, for the end is already decided in his favor, so just surrender!"
The demon laughed with a voice that overlapped with my returning consciousness. "Surrender?! That word died before I was born! For I am the hell of this world, and nothing will survive me... especially him! And also, tell Andrei if he wants to use my power freely, let him grant me the conditions first, or let him come to me and defeat me in his mind! Tell him to come to hell and try to extinguish it if he can! As for you, Volak... do you truly feel the power, or is it merely a temporary effect of the blood you drank?"
With those cryptic words, my consciousness was forcefully returned to me, and the Demon Lord vanished into the depths of the sword once again.
I fell onto my hands and knees, panting from exhaustion. Volak asked me with concern, "Andrei! Are you okay? Did anything happen to you?"
I said with difficulty, "Do not worry... I am fine. You guys only talked, right?"
Volak smiled with relief. "Yes. And besides the message, I learned and confirmed your weakness and how I will begin your actual training. This is an excellent step."
I asked him tiredly, "And the second step?"
Volak said with a wide, provoking smile, "Your second training is... that you will carry me on your back while you walk down the mountain."
I stared at him in disbelief. "You are joking, right? You are taller than me and have a larger build and mass! Is there something wrong with your brain?"
"Huh? No."
"Then why should I do that?"
Volak answered with the strictness of a coach. "Start carrying me and descend immediately. I haven't taught you my technique of walking on air yet, have I? No, I haven't. Until you learn it and control your mana, you will carry me down every day. And this is an essential step to build your weak muscles."
I complained loudly, "My ass muscles!"
Volak grabbed my head and began squeezing it with painful force. "Do not complain and move!"
"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts! Alright, alright!"
I began descending with extreme difficulty while carrying him on my back, my steps sinking into the snow.
Volak shouted from above me, "Come on! Go down faster!"
I answered while panting and sweating in this freezing cold, "I am trying, but you are too heavy!"
Volak complained while hitting me on the head again. "Huh? I have lost some weight recently! You are just weak in will and body. We will repeat this grueling exercise every day."
"Whatever!" I grumbled.
"Are you complaining again?" He squeezed my head.
"Ouch! No, sorry!"
Watched from Afar
While we were descending the mountain in that chaotic and comedic scene, Louis (Maurice) was standing far away on the peak of an adjacent mountain, watching us through a magical spyglass.
Louis smiled darkly and whispered to himself in amusement. "Oh, naive chess pawns... the first pawn has moved successfully."
He closed the spyglass and turned to leave, adding in a low voice carrying a terrifying threat, "Only three steps remain for the plan to be completed, and I will enjoy the bloody show. Andrei... what is inside you is what I desperately want. So, until I obtain it and make it possess you completely... I will wait patiently."