The silence of the forest was gone. In its place was the roar of a thousand voices.
"We made it!" Princess Krill cheered, leaning dangerously far out of the carriage window.
Lether Town did not sleep. Even from the city gates, the air smelled of roasted meat, horse manure, and exotic spices. The buildings were squeezed together like teeth, with colorful flags hanging from every rooftop.
Tora sat inside the carriage, his arms crossed. He wasn't looking at the flags. He was rubbing his chin, lost in thought. That man in the forest... he stopped a Giant Bear with one hand. Who is he?
"Driver, stop here!" Krill shouted.
Before Tora could blink, the Princess had already jumped out of the moving cart.
"Princess! Wait!" Tora yelled, panic snapping him back to reality.
She was already gone. Krill dashed into the crowd, her eyes sparkling. To her, this wasn't a dirty city; it was a treasure chest. She grabbed a red fruit from a stall. She touched a silk scarf. She poked a sleeping dog.
"Safe place. Now," Tora barked at the driver, then leaped out to chase her.
He found her three streets away, holding a bag of strange candy. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a narrow, shadowed alleyway .
"Princess, are you crazy?" Tora hissed, checking the entrance of the alley to make sure no one was watching. "You cannot run around like a child! We are undercover. If the wrong people find out who you are, we are dead."
Krill pouted, looking at her shoes. "I understand, Tora. I just... I've never seen a city before."
"I know," Tora sighed, his voice softening. "But please. Stay close. Now, I need to find the Potion Master. Can you behave?"
"Yes! I promise!" she said with a smile that Tora knew was 100% fake.
Tora shook his head. "Fine. Stay close."
They merged back into the crowd. But keeping Krill in line was like trying to hold water in your hands. While Tora scanned for the shop sign, Krill drifted away again. She was looking at a display of glass daggers when she turned and slammed right into a tall man in a dark cloak.
Thud.
"Oh! I am so sorry!" Krill gasped, bowing quickly.
The man didn't move. He looked down at her. His eyes were cold, like a snake looking at a mouse. He didn't say a word. He just smiled—a thin, creepy smile—and walked away into the crowd.
Krill shivered. That was weird.
"Princess!" Tora appeared behind her, looking at the armful of junk she was holding. "What is all this? A wooden duck? A bag of rocks? You are wasting the budget!"
"But it's shiny!"
"Come on. I found the shop."
They entered the Potion Shop. It was dimly lit and smelled of sulfur and mint. The walls were lined with thousands of colorful bottles.
"Wow..." Krill reached out to touch a glowing purple bottle.
"Don't touch that!" the old Shopkeeper snapped, slapping her hand away with a ruler. "That is Acid of the Wyvern. One drop and your pretty fingers will melt off."
Krill yanked her hand back, terrified.
"We need healing potions," Tora said, stepping forward. "Top quality."
"Wait here," the old man grunted, shuffling into the back room.
Krill wandered to the window, looking out at the street. Suddenly, her eyes went wide. Through the gap in the crowd, she saw a ragged figure.
The man from the forest! The one who fight the bear!
"It's him!" she whispered. Without thinking, she ran out the door.
"Princess!" Tora cursed and drew his sword, sprinting after her.
Krill reached the middle of the street. "Hey! Wait!"
A hand grabbed her shoulder. But it wasn't the bear-man. It was the man in the dark cloak she had bumped into earlier.
"Got you," the man whispered.
"Let her go!" Tora roared.
He lunged, his sword swinging for the man's head. The stranger didn't panic. He drew a jagged white blade and blocked.
CLANG!
The impact created a shockwave that blew the dust off the street. People screamed and ran. Tora didn't stop. He unleashed a flurry of strikes—slash, stab, parry, kick—moving so fast that normal civilians could only see sparks flying in the air.
Both fighters leaped back, sliding across the cobblestones.
"Enough with the toys," the cloaked man said, dusting off his shoulder. "I am Yura. And I am taking the girl."
Tora laughed, but he was sweating. "You? Taking her? Nice joke. Try to touch her and you lose a hand."
"You are underestimating me, kid," Yura smirked. "Let me show you the difference between us."
He raised his left hand. The leather glove burned away, revealing a glowing blue symbol branded into his palm. It pulsed with power.
"Do you see this?" Yura asked. "This is a Tier 2 Mark. I am not on your level."
He slammed his hand onto the ground. "Rise."
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Moisture was ripped from the earth. Six massive swords made of solid ice erupted from the ground, floating in the air around Yura.
"Go."
Yura flicked his finger. The six ice swords launched at Tora like missiles.
Tora gritted his teeth. Too fast! He deflected the first one—SMASH—shattering it into snow. He dodged the second. But these weren't normal ice; they were as hard as steel. Every time he blocked, his arms went numb.
"Ha! Is that all?" Yura laughed. "Then let's try this."
He pointed at Krill. The remaining flying swords turned and shot toward the Princess.
"NO!" Tora screamed.
He used his Super Speed, vanishing and reappearing in front of Krill. He slashed wildly, shattering three of the swords. But he missed one.
Thwack.
An ice blade buried itself in Tora's left shoulder.
"Gah!" Tora fell to one knee, dropping his sword. Blood dripped onto the street.
"Giving up already?" Yura taunted, walking closer. "I thought you were a Royal Guard."
Tora's eyes flashed. "I'm not done!"
Ignoring the pain, Tora vanished. He appeared directly above Yura, delivering a gravity-powered kick aimed right at the villain's skull.
CRASH!
Yura's head exploded.
But there was no blood. Yura's body shattered into a thousand pieces of ice.
A decoy? Tora landed, confused. Where is he?
"Over here," a voice echoed.
"And here."
"And here too."
Tora spun around. From the shards of ice on the ground, Yura began to rise. One Yura. Two Yuras. Five. Ten.
Suddenly, fifteen Yuras stood in a circle around Tora, all laughing with the same voice.
"Which one is real, little guard?"
Tora roared and attacked, slashing through the clones. He smashed one, but it just reformed. He smashed another, and it laughed at him. He was fighting a blizzard.
"Time to end this," the Yuras said in unison.
The clones threw a handful of glittering white dust into the air. Snow Powder.
Tora tried to run, but the powder touched his leg. Instantly, the flesh turned to solid ice. The frost spread rapidly—up his knees, his waist, his chest.
"I... can't... move..." Tora chattered, his teeth clicking together.
He was frozen in place, a living statue. Only his eyes could move.
Yura—the real one—stepped forward, the clones fading away. He patted Tora's frozen cheek.
"I won't kill you yet," Yura whispered, his breath visible in the cold air. "I want you to watch. I want you to see exactly how helpless you are as I take her."
Yura turned his back on the frozen guard and walked toward the terrifyingly silent Princess Krill.
[END OF CHAPTER 2]
Next Time:
The Royal Guard has fallen. The ice is closing in. Just when Princess Krill accepts her fate, a shadow steps out from the crowd. He doesn't carry a steel sword, and he doesn't use magic. He uses something far more dangerous.
Ice meets Blood in a clash that will shake the city!
Next Chapter: The Blood Swordsman