Chapter 3

  Little Wing

  The prince’s face was being eaten away by black ice—the name Snowhaven natives used for ice colder than -50°C.

  “AAARGHHHHH!!!”

  Dan screamed, the sound trembling through the forest. He made a mental note: since taking on a human body, he had never been burned by ice like this.

  A split second later, before he could even react, Zeedee saw a sphere of ice crash to the ground. Upon impact, the surrounding ten meters of forest instantly transformed into a realm of frost.

  Lush green trees froze over into pale blue-white crystal. Every blade of grass turned into a frozen hellscape, spiked with jagged ice. It was as though the biome had changed in a blink.

  Zeedee was completely frozen in her human form. Trapped in a perfect stasis, her eyes glazed white. The clear blue ice encased her completely. There was no getting her out…

  She didn’t even have time to react.

  “ZEEDEE!!!”

  This… was the power of the Ophilis royal bloodline.

  Frost poured from Nora’s fingertips in a massive surge. Suddenly, a massive hammer of ice formed in her hands—and with it, she slammed Dan across the clearing, sending him crashing into the wall of his cabin. The impact was so strong it ripped the wood apart.

  The black ice shattered in shards, but Dan’s face was now half purple and black—purple from burst blood vessels, black from necrotic skin frozen to death.

  Nora advanced slowly in a wide circle, her massive hammer at the ready.

  Dan convulsed, gasping for air, his nostrils and throat clogged with ice. He coughed violently, knees buckling.

  Then, without warning, he thrust his hand toward Nora and—

  Fwoosh!

  A basic fire spell blasted out in retaliation. But the princess dodged with ease, then leapt forward to swing her hammer at full force.

  THOOM!!

  The frozen ground shattered beneath the blow, but Dan had leapt high into the air.

  Their eyes locked—one in midair, one grounded.

  Dan descended, kicking Nora hard in the chest and knocking her back. Her hammer flew from her hands—but she didn’t care. She let it go, turned toward Dan, clapped her hands together, and unleashed a blinding white light.

  Dozens of razor-sharp crystal shards launched toward him mercilessly.

  Thwack!

  “!!!”

  They pierced him squarely. And before he could recover, Nora was already upon him, fists clad in frozen gauntlets. She gripped him with both hands, flash-froze his body, and hurled him into the "Happy Home" cabin. The ice shattered. Dan’s body bounced off the ruins.

  The wall collapsed. Everything—destroyed.

  This wasn’t an eighteen-year-old girl anymore!!!

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  “Your Highness!! P-please, listen to me—!”

  But Nora didn’t listen. And honestly, who would? After hearing everything she had, she no longer saw Dan as a fellow student. She saw him as an accomplice to the demon—Freya.

  One thing must be understood about Nora: she wasn’t someone who hurt others without reason.

  But if you had stumbled upon a monstrous creature devouring a deer torn in half with guts spilling out... then fainted, only to awaken and hear a familiar voice chatting intimately with the beast?

  What else would you think?

  From her perspective, it was no different than walking into a bandit’s lair.

  She stepped through the wreckage, grabbed Dan by the hair, and yanked him up.

  “You and that demon are going to the knights.”

  Black ice spread rapidly over Dan’s body. He panted, clawing desperately at her grip—but the more he struggled, the more it felt like his fingers would tear off from the unimaginably brutal cold.

  “AAAGHH!!”

  Dan screamed. In that moment, his magic responded—he cast Wind Blade, aiming it at Nora. She pulled back to evade—and that gave Dan just enough time to launch a basic explosion spell at her face.

  BOOM!

  Dan flew clear of her.

  He scrambled toward the frozen Zeedee.

  “ZEEDEE!! ZEEDEE!!!”

  He hammered at the ice—small cracks began forming with every hit.

  But he had no time.

  Nora charged from behind, wielding twin axes made of ice. She aimed to neutralize him completely.

  Dan spun around, bracing for combat—but instantly knew.

  She was faster now. Smoother. Stronger.

  An enhancement spell? No.

  She had simply ascended her ice magic to the next tier.

  Cryomancer blood boiled within her. Her eyes turned crystalline blue. Before he could react, ice erupted from below and froze Dan in place.

  I can’t! I can’t fight her like this! This human body—this isn’t enough! She’s on another level!

  He ripped his feet free from the black ice, tearing them bloody. He collapsed forward but twisted away just in time to avoid a spike of ice meant to skewer his skull.

  Above him—an axe came crashing down.

  BOOMMM!!

  Smoke and frost billowed.

  Dan lay face-down, thick red blood gushing from his back. The ice axe was still buried in him.

  He was utterly defeated. Completely overpowered.

  Nora stood tall, black dress fluttering in the frigid breeze. The axe snapped in her hand—she discarded it, and summoned a jagged ice spear midair, grabbing it without pause.

  There was no sign she would listen to reason.

  “Your… Highness… If… you don’t stop… you’ll regret it…”

  She raised the spear beside her.

  And aimed it at Zeedee’s frozen form.

  “DON’T—!”

  No matter how loudly he shouted, Dan’s voice passed through her like wind...

  Nora channeled all her power into her right arm—and then—

  The ice spear launched like a bullet, straight at Zeedee, meant to destroy both her and the crystal imprisoning her.

  But—

  Snap. Snap.

  The sound of two fingers snapping echoed in the air.

  In that instant…

  Every hair on Nora’s body stood on end. A tidal wave of pressure burst forth.

  Her eyes went wide. It was the same feeling as before...

  A power so massive…

  It was like standing before a dam breaking loose, the flood barreling straight toward her.

  She could feel it—red and black lightning.

  And it was right in front of her.

  Her ice spear never reached Zeedee’s crystal.

  It was obliterated—by a demon, three meters tall, now standing before her.

  Her eyes widened, mouth falling open in instinctive shock. She had read about him. Seen illustrations. Heard whispers in the royal palace. The Ravens had spoken of him.

  The Demon Prince Fury of Diabo.

  The last being who should ever set foot on human land.

  Crack. Crack.

  Fury’s right hand crushed the ice spear into powder.

  The demon’s voice rumbled with rage, red eyes blazing as he stared at the princess.

  “!”

  He slammed his fist into the frozen crystal.

  The black ice Nora had conjured shattered—right before her eyes.

  Zeedee spilled out, collapsing to the ground, coughing and choking violently.

  The battle had turned.

  Dan had realized during the fight: in his human form, he couldn’t defeat Nora.

  But now…

  Nora was face-to-face with a global threat. Frozen in place. Barely able to breathe.

  And her instincts screamed—there was no way she could beat Fury alone.

  Where once her instincts told her to fight—now they begged her to run for her life.

  Her legs gave out. She stumbled back and dropped to the ground. Both hands planted in the frozen grass, she looked up at the three-meter figure approaching her.

  She could feel the difference in power scale deep in her bones.

  Zeedee rolled free of the crystal, battered from the freeze—just a stun spell, probably.

  “Princess Nora,” Fury spoke.

  And with just that voice—

  Nora Ophilis no longer saw Dan.

  It was like he was someone else entirely. Another persona.

  There was no way… no way she could stand against this version of him.

  “I told you you’d regret this.”