The Ice Lord's Fury
The Ice Lord was fighting the Covenant Beast. The monster suddenly stopped moving and began to manifest its ice power. "I feel something terrible is coming if it starts using that," he thought. In a flash, he sensed someone approaching from behind, so he turned, parrying the attack of the newcomer, and was shocked to see a warrior made of ice. He was even more surprised when the area filled up with more ice warriors.
The Ice Lord then used his own power to create ice copies of himself, and the attack began. All the copies started attacking the monster, but the Ice Lord's power was not comparable to a monster nourished by the blood of the First Lord and the First Demon. His army of copies was smaller than that of the Covenant Beast. Attacks were exchanged between the warriors.
The monster's warriors charged the Ice Lord. He parried the first, kicked the second with his foot, and cut down the third. An attack came from behind, blocked by one of his copies. The attacks kept coming. "This is bad. My power won't last long, but I must endure. If I don't endure, and suddenly, he finds spears assaulting him. The illusory ice power of the spears passed through the Ice Lord's body as if it were dust, and he was unharmed.
The Ice Lord felt his power diminishing bit by bit. His anger surged because, instead of protecting the monster, both sides were attacking him and leaving the Demons alone. He yelled, "O Covenant Beast, you attack me and leave the Demons to breach the borders you were sworn to protect? Answer me! Is this the justice that the First Lord and the Demon Lord charged you with protecting? Answer me!" The beast stopped its magic, and so did the Ice Lord. Then, in a sudden moment, the beast grabbed the Ice Lord, and the arm stretched until it reached an area above which stood a shack. He saw a sight that would remain in his mind forever. "What is this? No, this can't be... Impossible... Rose!" Waves of anger swept over the Ice Lord. Making matters worse was the sound of Rose uttering her last words. The Ice Lord's power erupted incredibly, even freezing and shattering the monster's tentacle that was holding him. "Is this your justice then, ha?! How can this be called justice? Answer me! Those above are indeed all safe, but the one who deserved to live has died. And in this state! A nine-year-old girl meets such a fate! Is this justice?" At this moment, the Ice Lord changed completely. But to understand what happened, we need to go back a little to know what happened to Rose.
At the Villages
All the tribes were eliminating the Demons one after the other. The Demons were terrified and trying to survive, but they were being destroyed. However, at a certain moment, the energy stopped, and people regained their normal strength. The Demons realized this when one tried to cut a demon, but his power was insufficient. The Demon smiled, "So your power has vanished. Let me show you how you can be finished." The Demon clenched his fist and struck the human's abdomen, then detonated him until nothing was left but dust.
Suddenly, the tables turned, and power returned to the Demons. With Volak, three Demons remained, and he was struggling against them. At Earth's side, there was one Demon, while Harold had four, and Julian had two. Now, let's return to Rose, who was absorbing the energy stones. Suddenly, all the energy stones were depleted. "No, impossible! Are they finished? How?" The Spirit answered, "That's normal. The stones were enough for a year and could not withstand more than half an hour." "I have to find another energy source." Rose tried to move her body, but how could a body whose bones were shattered, scars and cracks appeared all over, and organs were semi-destroyed? "Please don't move! You are between life and death." "I don't care! I have to help the villages." She tried to get up but to no avail. She tried to clench her fist to strike, but couldn't. She began to scream, "Move! Come on! Please! Please!" The Spirit tried to calm her, "Calm down, maybe the Demons have been defeated." "No, they haven't been defeated! Most of them have been eliminated, but they haven't been defeated! Do you know how many children, elders, and women are in danger now? Do you know the danger we face? I have to do something!" "Why are you trying, despite everything that's happened to you?" Rose answered, "Because this is my duty as a healer, my duty as the Chief's daughter, my duty as a member of the Ice Squad!"
"I see. So, this is your reason." The Spirit then drew its sword. "Perhaps I cannot help you heal, as I have no power—I was born without energy. I apologize for that, but I will help you achieve this. Your name is Rose, right? The Shadow Swordsmen Clan will remember this name." Rose was surprised. "Did you say the Shadow Clan? The forgotten village that ruled the world?" "It is an honor for us that you speak the name of our clan. Listen, let me handle this matter. I will absorb and direct the energy, and you fight death! You are between life and death. Listen, heal everyone..." "I can't do that. I will only grant them the energy." "Then transfer that energy to me! What are you saying? You won't be able to withstand it." "I want everyone to be well, and your choice will mean that those who are critically wounded will not be healed. So, if you want to fulfill my request, please transfer it to me however you wish. Rose... senshi (warrior/hero)."
The Spirit held the sword and inhaled. Suddenly, energy began to gather, but in massive quantities, from everywhere. Rose touched the Spirit and began to absorb that power and transfer it to the villages again. But there was one effect: that energy did not negatively affect Rose; instead, it seemed less painful. The power shot out to the villages, and in a second, everyone who was injured or dead returned to their original state without a scratch, and their power increased manifold. Volak, when he felt the power, thought, "You made me worry about you, Rose. I don't know your condition now, but I will finish this quickly." And the power began to shift in favor of the humans. All the Demons were annihilated, and the whole village rejoiced.
The Shack and the Ice Lord's Vow
But in the shack, after she felt everything was over, she let go of the Spirit because her hands couldn't move, and her whole body was shattered. There was nothing but difficult, labored breathing. The Spirit looked at her. "It's all over. Everyone is safe now. I must carry you to a place where people can find and treat you." The girl tried to speak and, with difficulty, uttered broken words, "Leave me." The Spirit stopped. "Why? You must heal your body. There must be..." The girl stopped him. "Please." The Spirit clenched its fist. "If it's going to be like this..." The girl interrupted him and shook her head, saying, "It's fine. I thank you." The Spirit was astonished. "Why?" "Because you made everyone safe." "You say safe? Look at your state! You are the one who suffered." Rose felt weakness every second and every moment, but she smiled. "Is this how the first healer felt too?" Rose lost her balance and fell to the ground. She cried out in pain, her voice broken, "Am I really going to die? I don't want to. I am still young. I still have dreams of officially joining the Ice Squad, of being with you, comrades, with my father and brother, with the village. I don't want to die. It's... It's monstrous." Suddenly, she found ice forming a hand, grabbing her and holding her hand. "Ice Lord, is that you? Have I become a hero now or what?" The ice then formed a cloak of ice and the badge—the badge of the Ice Squad Leader. At that moment, Rose's tears stopped, and she calmed down. But she remembered that those who die place their power in the pendant. So, she grabbed the pendant. "Ice Lord, I will put my last power into this pendant, so please fulfill my wish—that you be its owner, so that I may be by your side as a hero."
Back with the Ice Lord, he screamed, "Is this balance in your opinion?! How can this achieve balance, tell me?!" In his rage, thousands of ice soldiers formed and attacked the Covenant Beast. The Covenant Beast also formed its soldiers, and the battle began. But amidst all this chaos, the Ice Lord launched himself towards the Ice Beast and formed a giant spear with three prongs, plunging it into one of the monster's tentacles. He did the same to the remaining seven, then used his sword to cut the monster into tiny pieces. However, the monster returned again and resumed the attack. But the Ice Lord used his power and froze the entire place. "Indeed, I can't destroy you, but I can seal you." The Ice Lord used his power to create a seal. It was not easy; he used his full power and sealed the monster.
The heroes returned to the village, followed by the rest of the tribes. When they arrived, they searched for Rose to thank her for healing all the villages, but they did not find her. They searched until they entered the shack and found a body covered in snow. When they tried to remove the snow, the Ice Lord stopped them. "What do you mean, stop? Don't remove the ice. Do you mean... It's Rose?" Amidst everyone's shock at the horror of the news, Volak immediately tried to remove the snow, but the Ice Lord stopped him. "Volak, as the leader, I order you not to uncover the snow, or I will consider you a traitor!" "What do you mean, a traitor? That girl is my sister! Don't you know that? I just want to see her, please, Ice Lord." "I'm sorry, Volak, but for your sister's sake, please don't do it." Sadness prevailed in all the villages. Rose was buried in the same place. Even the entire Shadow Swordsmen Clan attended the burial from afar.