The Ice Lord found himself standing before the tent once more, the familiar surroundings chilling him with a sense of déjà vu. He scanned the perimeter, his eyes searching for Andre, but the woods offered only silence. His calls vanished into the thick mist.
Lao emerged from the tent, his face etched with confusion. "My Lord? You have returned? Where is Ein? And where is Andre?"
"A cursed gate intercepted us on our way to the Fire Clan," the Ice Lord replied, his voice as cold as a winter gale. "It dragged me back here. As for Andre, his fate remains a mystery, but I shall retrace my steps until I find the thread of his disappearance."
"Then I shall remain," Lao vowed, "to guard Am-Ein until she awakens."
The Ice Lord set out again, but within moments, the horizon shifted, and he was standing—yet again—in front of the tent. He narrowed his eyes. It was a spatial trap, a loop designed to drain the power of the Covenant Beast. Refusing to be prey, he let out a sharp, piercing whistle. From the heavens, the eagle Sora descended. The Ice Lord mounted the Great Bird and soared above the canopy.
Suddenly, a rift tore open in the heart of the forest. A jagged hook lunged from the void, piercing Sora's breast and dragging the creature down. A dark smirk played on the Ice Lord's lips.
"Phantoms of the Mist," he whispered.
The eagle vanished into shards of light—it was a mere illusion. The Ice Lord lunged forward, seizing the very chains that sought to ensnare him. With a violent tug, he dragged his assailant from the shadows: a hideous Demon. Before the Lord's blade could claim the creature's head, a second portal snapped open. A hook tore through the Ice Lord's flesh, dragging him back as the Demon vanished into the rift.
Grimacing, the Ice Lord pressed his palm to the wound, sealing the torn skin with a thin layer of crystalline ice. "Tell me, Demon," he projected his voice into the void, "who do you serve? Which clan has bought your soul?"
The Demon's cackling laughter echoed from nowhere. "I serve no mortal dogs! I take my orders from a True Shadow. If you wish to know his name, you must first catch me alive!"
Bilateral gates erupted around the Ice Lord, raining down a storm of hooks and lethally sharp blades. Operating at a mere 20% of his power, the Ice Lord stripped off his heavy coat, wrapping it around his arm as a makeshift buckler. He parried the hooks with his steel, the thick hide of his cloak absorbing the brunt of the daggers.
"Entertaining!" the Demon jeered. "You survived the first wave, but you've walked into a greater snare."
Portals boxed the Ice Lord in—above, below, left, and right. The Demon stepped into the physical realm, mere inches away. "One step between us, Lord of Ice. Why not try to take my head?"
The Ice Lord lunged, but the Demon dissolved into the rift. The Lord's sword struck a hidden barrier within the gate, leaving him exposed. A spear lunged from the void, piercing the flesh beneath his right collarbone. The Demon's hand emerged, slowly—sadistically—withdrawing the spear as the Ice Lord gritted his teeth in agony.
"Is this the strength of the Royal Knights?" the Demon mocked, his ego swelling. "How pathetic the humans have become. If I slay the greatest of the knights today, my rank shall soar. Now, die and find your peace!"
A barrage of weapons erupted from every gate. The Ice Lord parried what he could, but his body was soon mapped with grievous wounds. He gasped for air as the Demon struggled to contain his triumphant laughter.
From the shadows, Volac watched, a sinister smile on his face—but not for the Demon. "You dare defy my orders, you fool?" Volac hissed to himself. "I told you to delay him, not to kill him. You shall pay for this; your screams will soon be the music of this forest."
The Ice Lord stood dripping blood, seemingly defeated. The Demon, blinded by arrogance, stepped fully into the light. "What is your final wish, human?"
"For you... to stop talking," the Ice Lord rasped.
Enraged, the Demon launched a hook at the Lord's head.
"Ice Wall!"
A slab of frozen earth rose instantly, trapping the hook in its core. The Demon panicked, diving for his portal, but frozen shadows lunged from the frost, seizing his weapons. To his horror, the Ice Lord stepped out from inside the portal, standing directly behind him.
"How?!" the Demon shrieked. "You are wounded! You were dying!"
"You thought you were fighting the real me?" The Ice Lord's voice was a chilling whisper. "You were fighting my Shadow Clone. My true self has already recovered his strength."
The Demon tried to command his gates, but they were unresponsive, held captive by the shadows. "My weapons... my portals... useless? Impossible! To be defeated by a human?!"
The Shadow Clone gripped the Demon's throat. "You aren't fighting just any human. You are fighting the strongest." With two brutal strikes, the Clone shattered the Demon's teeth and plunged him into unconsciousness.
When the Demon finally awoke, he was bound in his own chains and hooks. The real Ice Lord stood over him. "Awake at last."
"Release me, you arrogant whelp!" the Demon spat.
"I care little for your words," the Ice Lord replied. "Open a gate to the Fire Clan. Now."
"Go to hell!" the Demon snarled.
The Ice Lord gestured, and a cube of ice encased the creature. "You enjoyed trapping me. Now, see how it feels." Glacial spikes erupted, skewering the Demon's legs. The forest rang with his agonized wails. "Will you comply, or shall I find new ways to entertain myself?"
The Demon nodded frantically. He opened a gate beneath his own feet, falling through with a final, desperate laugh. "Curse you! We shall meet again!"
But a voice rose from the pit below: "I told you, you are my prisoner." The Demon looked down to find another Shadow Clone waiting in the rift.
"I placed my clones in all your portals," the Ice Lord remarked dryly. "They are all connected, aren't they?"
Realizing there was no escape, the Demon finally opened the true path. Just as the Ice Lord prepared to enter, the eagle Sora returned, carrying Julian. The knight landed, ignoring the whimpering Demon, and handed the Lord a sealed scroll.
The Ice Lord read the message and sighed heavily. "Julian, go to the Water Clan immediately. Defend them with everything you have until I arrive. There is one final matter I must settle here first."