The Frozen City

We were supposed to find Amaru. Instead, we found a destroyed village. The houses were broken, the streets were covered in debris, and there wasn't a single live person around.

“He was here,” Takai said while looking at the destruction.

I kicked a small rock on the ground.

“And he left before we arrived.”

We searched the entire village, but there was nothing. Not even a clue about where he went. After a while, we had no choice but to leave.

Our group was much bigger than usual. Helia was with us, as well as Brita and her people from the north. Tangaroa had brought some of his sailors (that looked a lot like pirates), and Acauã and his panther was traveling with us too.

Everyone had been excited when we left Reinaria. Sharing tales of their past and boasting about their achievements. But the return to the capital was in silence.

“This suck,” I said.

Takai looked at me.

“Agnes.”

“What? It does!”

“We don't know if the mission was a failure yet.”

“We didn't find Amaru.”

“That doesn't mean we learned nothing.”

I crossed my arms.

“We learned that he destroys villages and runs away before we get there.”

Takai didn't answer and that probably meant he agreed.

Helia was walking a little behind us, without participating much on the conversation.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“I'm just thinking.”

“About?”

“The surgery this doctor did before was on the Altar of The Poet. It seemed important that the place was chosen. So do you think he can do it anywhere?”

“Well, the king sent other heroes to keep a look on the Altar, and one of them has a signature to send messages across the continent, so probably there is still fine,” Takai continued.

The road back to Reinaria felt much longer than when we had left. Even Tangaroa's sailors were unusually quiet. Brita and her people were talking among themselves, but nobody seemed happy about returning without accomplishing anything.

“There it is!” Brita exclaimed in front of the line.

Everyone looked ahead and the capital was finally visible. We were finally home, but soon I noticed something was wrong.

“...What?”

Takai stopped beside me.

“What is it?”

I pointed toward the city it was entirely covered in ice. Every building, every street, every tower, everything was frozen.

“What happened to Reinaria...?”

Takai immediately put his hand on his sword.

I realized something. We thought we failed to find Amaru, but that was his plan all along. He attacked when we were gone and we fell right into it.

We didn't have time to wonder what had happened to the city as the ground in front of us started cracking.

“Get ready!” Takai shouted.

Humanoid figures made entirely of ice climbed out of the streets, dozens of them.

“Golems?” Helia asked.

“They're coming for us!” I shouted and charged forward.

Lightning covered my arms as I punched the first one, easily breaking it.

“Not very strong!”

More of them appeared. Before I could act, Brita stepped in front of us.

“Let me handle this.”

She raised her sword and shield.

The ice around her body suddenly became even colder and she charged. Her sword cut through the first golem, then the second, then the third. She looked unstoppable.

Every time one of the ice creatures tried to block her, her blade broke through it.

“That's the true power of the Ice Stanza!” Brita shouted.

She smashed her shield against the ground.

A wave of ice spikes spread through the street, piercing several golems. During the chaos, Tangaroa laughed.

“Now that's more like it!”

He grabbed his two enormous blue-glass axes and water started surrounding his body. It moved like a small sea around him, forming waves that followed every movement he made.

He swung both axes at the same time, the water around him crashed forward with them, destroying several golems in one attack.

“Come on!”

Acauã didn't say anything, he was way humbler and quieter than the two other foreigners.

His panthers ran beside him, and his body began to change. Claws grew from his hands and feet, while plates of armor covered his body like the scales of a giant pangolin.

One of the golems attacked him, but it was easily blocked by his transformation. Then his panthers jumped on it shredding to pieces.

I could barely keep up with everything happening around me. Takai was cutting through the golems with his cyan flames. Helia summoned her creatures to attack from different directions and I kept punching.

With the help of the legendary warrior this was so easy that it even worried me a little bit.

I was more like they were trying to delay us. In the same wavelength as I, Acauã suddenly stopped.

“Wait.”

He looked at one of the broken golems.

“What?”

He crouched beside it.

“Something was sent.”

“What do you mean?” Takai asked.

Acauã touched the remains of the ice.

“These creatures were connected to whoever summoned them.” He looked toward the frozen capital. “And they just sent a signal. A message.”

“A message of what?” I asked.

“Probably that we have arrived.”

The next second it was like seeing several explosions in the middles of the town. With seven different colors of destruction, we saw as all seven Elemental Demons we had defeated before roaring in the capital.

With their gigantic bodies and elemental effects, they were destroying everything around it.

“Rita...” Helia said and everyone knew what she was thinking.

Brita tightened her grip on her sword.

“We don't have time to think about it.”

Tangaroa raised his axes.

“Then let's go!”

They ran ahead.

“Wait!” Takai shouted.

But Brita and Tangaroa were already charging into the city.

“These brutes… we need a plan…”

“First, we must save the lives of the citizens. You have delt with these monsters before, right? Do you think you can stop them again?” Acauã asked.

“We had more people back then. Nina, Markus, Ember…” Helia was worried and I understand, after all she was seeing the Green Demon again.

“We are also stronger! My Lightning Strike, Takai’s cyan flames and you passed on the Oasis Trial. We can do it.”

“And I will find the source of or enemies. Once I have this information I will send to you all.”

We agreed and went different ways, each one in the direction of a specific Elemental Demon.

I ran toward the Yellow Demon. Last time, I struggled to absorb its electricity. This time, it was different. The moment its lightning reached me, I could feel it entering my body.

I carried it through my body, dispersing in the ground. More and more electricity flowed through me, but instead of hurting, it made me stronger.

“So that’s it!”

I punched the Yellow Demon with everything I had. The lightning around my fist exploded against its body.

As I moved through the city, I saw Brita fighting the Red Demon. She was moving through the streets with her sword and shield, blocking its flames and attacking whenever she found an opening.

Further ahead, Tangaroa was fighting the Orange Demon. His two enormous blue-glass axes crashed against their armor while the water around his body moved like a giant sea creature.

They were doing fine, so I kept running.

Takai was fighting the Cyan Demon. And just like before, his Hybrid Stanza was the perfect counter to it. He moved through the battlefield with his sword, cutting through the Cyan Demon's attacks before striking its body.

Helia was fighting the Green Demon. She was focusing on her creatures. One of them grew more than the others and kept growing until its body was the same size as the Elemental Demon.

It slammed into the Green Demon and pushed it through several frozen buildings.

We three reunited again, but this time the Blue Demon appeared and violent current with them. Takai jumped back while Helia's giant creature blocked the attack.

I was about to run toward them when a familiar voice stopped me.

“Wait!”

Rita appeared between the Demon and us. Threads of water came from her hands and surrounded the Blue Demon.

“Please... calm down.”

The Demon struggled. Rita's threads became tighter, but she wasn't hurting it. She was connecting with it. Then the Blue Demon stopped attacking and looked at us like a confused puppy.

The girls were breathing heavily.

“Everyone! It was terrible! I saw it all…”

Before she could tell us, a bird flew over her and made a sound. What we heard was the voice of Acauã, while he was fighting the Purple Demon.

“The Ice Stanza user, the surgeon, he is in front of the palace. He is the conductor of all this chaos.”

My hands became covered in electricity again. Now we knew where our enemy was, and we wouldn’t make him wait.