Chapter 5

  Ice Attack

  A loud explosion thundered from the rear carriage.

  Dan, Nora, and even Freya—who had been curled up in her sleep—jolted awake, instantly alert.

  At that moment, one of Nora’s guards burst through the door.

  “Your Highness! We’re under attack!”

  “!”

  The attack had started just three minutes earlier. While the black steam train let out a hiss of vapor, a group of mysterious figures stood in wait—dressed head-to-toe in thick, snow-white winter gear, camouflaged against the icy landscape.

  They watched the train approach. Two of the three peered through scopes, examining the engine’s markings, then nodded.

  “Confirmed. It’s right on time. He was telling the truth—this is the First Princess’s train.”

  “Then let’s begin.”

  The largest of the three gave the order to the others—one man and one woman. They returned with a cache of explosives and scattered them along the rails, turning the train into a future deathtrap.

  The woman placed her hand over the bombs and cast a spell. A gray circle of magic formed around them. Then they waited.

  BOOMMMM!!!

  The blast erupted violently as the train passed, destroying a midsection carriage and severing the train into two. Thick black smoke poured into the air.

  “Clear as day… that’s the princess’s train, no doubt. The blast didn’t hit the front like we wanted—must’ve been some kind of defensive magic delaying the detonation. A normal train would’ve been obliterated.”

  All three smiled a disturbing, almost inhuman grin as they watched the front cars continue forward at a reduced speed.

  Then, using some unknown force, they leapt twenty meters into the air, landing on the roof of a carriage. Each of them drew a weapon.

  They might’ve looked like ordinary raiders, but the energy radiating off them said otherwise.

  A piece of shattered glass on the ground reflected nothing—no shadow, no trace—of any of the three.

  “We’re under attack!”

  And yet, the train still moved.

  The Snowhaven guards on board sprang into action.

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  Nora looked out the window and saw the detached, burning rear cars falling behind. She narrowed her eyes and sighed, speaking with the calm of someone far too familiar with danger.

  “They’re at it again.”

  There was no panic, no alarm—nothing one might expect from a girl her age. Instead, her reaction to an assassination attempt was so composed, Dan found himself wondering what kind of life she must have lived to be this calm.

  “Looks like another attempt on my life, Mr. Fury.”

  “Yeah, I figured.”

  Dan tossed off his blanket and moved to check outside as well.

  His soldier’s instinct told him to act. But as Dan Byrne—not Fury—he had no choice but to remain in the cabin and let the guards handle it.

  “We’re still moving. Slower, yes, but not a sitting target. Our car is protected with magical wards.”

  “I disagree, kid.”

  Zeedee pressed her ear against the wall, while a single squid-like tendril extended from her lower back, slithering up to the ceiling for better sound detection.

  “There are three strangers standing right above us.”

  “!”

  Before she finished speaking, a scream rang out.

  A Snowhaven soldier’s body fell from the roof—his lower half severed—splattering blood across the window and white snow in front of them.

  “Is this… standard assassination protocol?”

  “Slightly above average, Mr. Fury.”

  “Still gonna leave it to the guards? What do humans usually do?”

  “What do Diabo do?”

  “If I’m not too busy, I handle it myself.”

  “Then let’s go with the Diabo method, Mr. Fury.”

  “…Kid, your guts are the real deal.”

  Splatter!

  The three attackers had already taken down over ten guards. Blood stained their faces as they advanced without concern for the train’s motion. Their goal: the foremost carriage, where Princess Nora was seated.

  But the approach wasn’t easy. More guards climbed up to intercept, casting a barrage of magical glyphs to slow their progress.

  “They’re swarming like ants. Clear them.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The female subordinate nodded and stood firm to face the guards. Then she opened her mouth—and a black mist poured from within her.

  The advancing soldiers hesitated, confused—until the shadowy vapor reached them.

  It morphed into sharp spikes that pierced straight through their armor.

  “Aaaghhh—!”

  Their agonized screams became her music. Meanwhile, the towering leader and the other subordinate reached the second car.

  Suddenly—

  (ice magic sound effect)

  As they drew closer, their feet began to freeze. The large man looked down, alarmed—his comrade too. No matter how they yanked or twisted, the ice held firm.

  “Oh? The princess is joining the fight.”

  CRACK!

  He twisted with full force, shattering the ice—but not before it had stabbed into his soles and frozen the blood inside his boots.

  He began casting a healing spell—but just as he raised his hand—

  CRUNCH!

  The steel underfoot, now frozen, had lost its usual durability. Ice had made it brittle—and that brittle steel shattered upward.

  A girl’s hand punched through the ceiling, grabbing the male subordinate’s leg and yanking him downward.

  “!!”

  Princess Nora Ophilis stood fully engaged in combat. Her glowing blue eyes radiated power. Dark ice magic turned the entire train biome into a field of frost.

  The man below was stunned by the ambush. And the leader wasn’t safe either—as Dan Byrne slammed him in the face with a conjured explosive.

  “Tch… Why’s this bomb so weak? Pissing me off…”

  Then he realized—the supposedly sealed royal cabin’s window had been opened.

  And before he knew it, Dan Byrne was right there on the roof with him.

  So… the princess wasn’t alone after all.

  Down below—

  The male subordinate had been dragged through the steel into the sub-floor. Jagged shards tore at his body, opening deep wounds.

  But he had no time to rest. An ice axe slammed toward him—but he barely dodged in time.

  He sprang up, clashing head-on with Nora. Spells flew back and forth, but this wasn’t her first assassination attempt.

  Before long, his body was launched through the carriage wall, destroying the door. Heavy footsteps approached—Nora’s—followed by rising spikes of ice that shadowed her every step.

  And she lunged again.