Fear struck into everyone, seeing the pale men standing in front of them

Their skin white and parts of their bodies were covered in ice.

'What are those things?' Veronica asked and Eto focused on them.

'They look like men but something is different about them.'

The white men were growling and slowly started to make their way to Eto and the others as soon as they reached the top floor.

The top floor was the same as downstairs only the ceiling was lower.

The tiles on the floor were also covered with ice and the walls and support beam around were covered with big chunks of ice.

'Dammit. That monster,' Professor Hawk said and he looked at the men with an angry face.

'Those are the castle guards. That bastard turned them into his puppets.'

Eto got down to his knees, ready to jump ahead.

'I know what will fix this,' he said and his arm started to glow.

He was ready to make the jump until the professor stopped him.

'Wait Eto. Watch out,' he said and Eto lost his balance, surprised by the professor's words. He stayed up by leaning on his arm against the ice floor.

'They are the castle guards. We can't hurt them. They are being used!'

Eto's face looked angry as he looked at the guards. How was he supposed to fight them without hurting them?

The soldiers came in close, walking like mindless beings and the light on Eto's arm faded.

'Try to make your way to the throne room in the back,' the professor said. He turned to Veronica while switching a forearm.

'Use fire to repel them but don't hit them,' he said and he leaped forward.

Veronica was stunned by the fact that she actually had to fight her way in. She knew what she signed up for back in the town but at the moment it felt like she wanted to turn and run. Ofcourse she wouldn't do it.

She saw both Eto and the professor move forward over the smooth ice floor.

Eto jumped to the soldiers together with the professor and tried to jump in between the soldiers, dodging their attacks. The pale men all moved slowly and tried to grab them with their long white arms covered in ice.

Veronica realized she had to go, otherwise she would be left behind.

She grabbed her baton and flicked the switch the professor showed her.

The baton stretched and became longer while Veronica looked at how to turn it into a flamethrower.

She turned the handle in the middle like she remembered how the professor showed her during their trip to the castle and when she heard a click, she knew she had the right one.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

She pointed the baton in front of her and started to run towards the group of soldiers.

There was no escaping it. They were covering the place and when they got closer, Veronica understood why.

Behind them was a huge door which had to be the throne room like the professor mentioned. Ased must be using the guards to protect himself.

These thoughts and the thoughts about the town made Veronica hate the person even more.

When the soldiers came to close, she pressed the button and a flame came out of the tip of her baton. She noticed that they reacted to it, screaming a louder tone when the fire got too close. Their screams echoed through the hall as everyone dodged and ran through the guards.

She used the fire to repel the men and with caution, she made her way.

Veronica followed the path that Eto and professor Hawk walked and the further they got, the more soldiers seemed to appear.

Even though Eto awakened them by shouting, he had a feeling they had to pass them even when they wanted to reach the other side.

Eto jumped through the crowd, dodging the attacks and sometimes pushing the guards gently, making them tip over. The professor saw how he handled it and when they got close he quickly said ‘thanks,’.

One guard crawled to the professor, dodging the fire and ignoring his instincts. The professor knew he had to attack the guard to avoid getting hurt.

The arm of the guard launched at him and with the hot loop of his arm, he pushed the arm away, making the guard open for an attack. Instead of attacking him, he pushed him with his other hand, making sure the guard fell on his back as he slipped on the ice before the professor moved ahead.

'How are you holding up?' the professor asked Veronica. He looked back but was surprised with how she handled the situation.

She used the flamethrower to keep most guards away and when it was needed, she dodged the attack as flexible as she could. It gave the professor a smile, knowing he didn't need to worry about her.

'I'm done with this,' Eto said and he stopped in the middle of the crowd of guards who had become larger and larger.

Eto once again got down to his knees only this time, something different happened.

Underneath his pants, a bright light on his legs started to glow. It got the attention of the professor as he watched what Eto would do.

The guards came closer to Eto but before they reached him, he made a jump. And his jump was big.

He leaped from the ground with his power coming from his legs and he jumped over all the guards to the big door in the back.

When he landed, almost slipping, he knocked down a few remaining guards, making sure he only pushed them and not hurted them.

He pushed the big door which also was covered in ice but he didn't seem to notice it. Just like before, he used his power to hit the door, letting the light from his legs disappear and reappear in his arm.

This time, the door opened a lot easier. The ice wasn’t as thick and he hesitated for a moment if the door was really sealed off.

When the door opened, both the professor and Veronica were on their way and Eto made sure that the group of soldiers didn't get into the throne room.

The horde of guards all walked towards him, seeing as he had opened the door they had to protect. Their attention to Veronica and the professor even disappeared and they used this opportunity to reach Eto.

When everybody finally arrived and passed the door, Eto used his powers again to close the huge doors. Veronica and the professor repelled the incoming guards with their fire until Eto managed to close the door.

The only sound they heard was the growling behind the door and the sound of scratching.

When they stood next to each other and it was sure that the guards couldn't open the door, they all let out a big sigh.

'Well, that was close,' the professor said and he patted Eto on his back.

Veronica breathed loudly for air as she turned the baton back to his normal size.

'I am not trained for this,' she said, accepting that it was more than she thought it would be. It made Eto smile

'You managed,' he said while looking at her.

They all took a moment to breathe and started to realize they had to check in which room they entered. Before they even had the chance to look, a deep voice called to them from behind.

'So, you finally arrived,' said the voice behind them.