Anderia grabbed his weapon, but his grip was a little weak because of his wounds and exhaustion. Still, he steadied himself, took a power stone, and placed it into the weapon, then attacked. He threw the sickle tied with chains at the bear; it pierced its skin but the bear did not die. At that moment he set the bear on fire from within.
It was by the power of the fire stone. Then he charged at the others — he stabbed and then launched himself at the next one — but he was breathing with difficulty and the stone's power ran out quickly. "Damn — I don't want to use its power because it drains fast and it takes from my strength, which is already exhausted." He put in another stone and moved on.
He began to have difficulty because he felt some weakness, but despite that, he kept moving. He took blows and struck back and bled until the stones were gone and the chain broke. "So it broke. Thank you for holding out. Now shall I use the cursed sword?" He grabbed the sword, but when he faced the bear there was no power — he only wounded the bear.
The merchant and his daughter watched; the youth seemed not to hold out long. "We must try to take him from here and bandage his wounds." "Father, stop — let him die. Let him die with honor at least." "What are you saying, my daughter? Don't you know what that boy might be? He's a demon." "Father, what are you saying? I saw the demon mark on his neck — it wasn't just a mark but the Mark of the Demon Lords. Anderia is a demon. Impossible — all his actions were as if he were a human who saved us and was afraid for us." "My daughter, even if he is a demon and he saved our lives —"
"We must help him." "No — for that reason let him die peacefully. As for us, we will run away from here. Come on." "What are you saying, Father? Come with me or stay and do as you wish. If you help a demon I will no longer consider you my father but a traitor. Do you understand what I'm saying, daughter?" "I know you hate demons, but that boy is our mission — we must deliver him to the knights. We will deliver him — but as a corpse. Will he come or not, daughter?"
Anderia continued trying to fend off the bears, but he was exhausted and the sword nearly slipped from his hand. Then he saw one of the bears heading toward the forest; when he looked that way he found the merchant and his daughter sneaking away to escape — but the bear was heading straight for them. Anderia gripped the sword with everything he could and ran. While the merchant and his daughter tried to flee, the bear appeared and fear spread. As the bear lunged to attack them, he plunged his sword into the bear's head and killed it.
"Are you both all right?" "Yes, but your body — your wounds have deepened. In this state, you will die." "It's fine, I'm okay. Run — I will hold them off." "Yes, you will delay them but by making them eat your corpse." The girl drew a knife and stabbed Anderia. "You demon-eyed thing." Anderia used his sword as a crutch and grabbed the dagger and pulled it out, then looked at the girl. The girl was frightened but outwardly confident; she thought Anderia would stab her, but he gave her the dagger and said, "True, I have this mark like a demon, but I do not want to be a demon. Fate has ruled it so, so don't worry — just run."
When the girl heard these words she took the dagger and stabbed him again, saying, "If you die and are freed from this fate, you will be a hero." With the second stab Anderia fell. The world before him was foggy; he saw the father scolding his daughter and talking to her, and in Anderia's mouth were the words: "Run quickly."
But it was too late: the bears had surrounded them from every side and were ready to pounce. The merchant didn't know what to do. He grabbed Anderia's sword and tried to attack with it, but the sword displayed an aura of rage that made the merchant and the bears afraid. The merchant fainted, and the bears were terrified for a few seconds; when the sword calmed, they attacked again.
The girl was terrified, crying and screaming for her father, begging for help. She cried out — and when one of the bears tried to rip her apart, suddenly arrows of blood shot out and killed most of the bears. A voice came from above: "Don't worry, girl — he will not be taken again." The girl looked at who stood before her: a cloak over him, the insignia of the Ice Knights on his chest, snowy clothes, and an eagle emblem on his shoulder. "Are you Julian?" "Yes, I am the vice-captain of the Ice Knights. So relax."
"So you are the ones who caused all this. You should not be allowed to live any longer." Suddenly a pool of blood filled the place and began to pull the bears downward. The bears resisted but to no avail; after the bears were swallowed, skeletons came out. When Julian finished, he checked on the girl and the old man and said he was fine — but that boy was on the verge of death; if he wasn't saved he would die. The girl grabbed his hand and said, "Let him die — that was his wish. He suffered a lot." Julian looked at her and said, "Isn't he the one who saved your life? You do not carry the guilt of another's sin; don't continue lying." "Because he was the first liar — he is a demon, and you know the history of demons and their fate." "Yes, but he's now become one of the Ice Knights. The Ice Squad now contains its scum." "Emily, I know your past and what happened and I understand your hatred of them, but this is a human who didn't choose to become half-demon by his will. Don't you understand? So step back and let me treat him."
Emily stepped back and Julian treated Anderia. "He will wake up soon, but now we must hurry; I feel uneasy here." "Yes, come on." A giant eagle would carry them; Julian placed his finger in his hand and whistled. Sora came and took them; someone watched and applauded warmly, "Excellent, excellent — that was an entertaining show. I think I've become fond of Anderia too, haha. How did those bears cooperate with each other? How did you convince them to be here?"
"Easily — a high-level control ability over demons. How did you obtain it?" "Demons are the ones who can use it. I simply made a sacrifice for this power. Don't worry — get ready because I will watch Anderia and whoever is with him at the same time. So, dear Anderia, I hope you regain your health so we can start playing again."
Anderia lay on the bed for a week and spoke with the demon inside his sword. "Look at the hero — have you tasted heroism? Enough of that. Because of you all these things happened. You chose this power and this fate, you hero. I did not force you." "You chose it because I thought when I held the sword I would have mighty power to defeat anyone, but some of the bears injured me until I nearly died." "What makes you so sure you died? My intuition says you did — I stabbed you twice and you were bleeding. As you know, I'm sorry, but your ambition for death will not happen now. As long as I am alive and speak to you, that means you are alive." "What? Also, you haven't drawn out even a little of my power." "What? How do I do that? Tell me, please. Give me your power." "No — you must pledge loyalty to me, human, and let me lead the battlefield. That is all you must do. You expect me to do that? Impossible — your trick will not fool me. The decision is yours, and remember, without declaring your submission to me you will not gain power. Do you understand?"
Kaito woke up confused and began to look around, studying the place. "What is this hut?" Someone opened the door and Julian entered. "Who are you?" "I am Julian, vice-captain of the Ice Knights," he introduced. "Welcome to the Ice Region and also among the Ice Knights."