As we made our way into the heart of the mountain, Hiroshi and the others approached us. Hiroshi extended his hand towards me with a look of concern etched on his face. “Are you alright, Ryuu?” he asked.

I nodded, brushing off his concern with a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said. “But I must admit, it was a challenging climb.”

One of my companions turned to Mila, who had been leading our expedition. “Mila,” they said, their voice tinged with frustration. “Why didn’t you warn us about the monster before we started climbing this mountain?”

Mila’s expression was apologetic as she replied. “I didn’t know the creature was real,” she said. “I thought it was just a myth - a story used to keep people away from the water. At least that's what I thought.”

Lezlie, who had been surveying our surroundings, spoke up. “I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me,” she said, her voice filled with awe. “But this doesn’t look like the inside of a normal mountain.”

Mila turned to Lezlie and began to explain. “A long time ago, some of my people were assigned to protect this place,” she said. “They built a cellar here - a strong bunker to keep it safe. But the protection mission didn’t last long. It is said that one of them mixed the water with something other than tears and drank it. As a result, he lost his mind and attacked his friends. That’s why we don’t want to use the water - it’s incredibly dangerous.”

Hiroshi, who had been puffing on his cigar, looked up at the monster perched atop the mountain. “And what was this giant bird doing here?” he asked.

Mila shook her head. “No one knows for sure,” she said. “But the story I was told is that one day he appeared and started living on top of the mountain, protecting the water inside the mountain. That's all I know. According to some legends, the bird was actually a creature called by people who died here before they died."

Babu spoke up, his voice laced with confusion. “If there’s a cellar here, why did we have to climb all the way up?” he asked. “Didn’t it have an entrance?”

“Yes,” Mila replied. “It has an entrance down there. But for some unknown reason, it’s filled with poisonous gases. So we had to climb.”

“Is the water there?” Babu asked.

“No,” Mila said, shaking her head. “The water we’re looking for is just below where we are now. The toxic gases are even lower than the water, so we’re in a safe situation.”

Mila then took an unlit torch from the wall and approached Hiroshi. “Hey cowboy,” she said with a grin. “I need some light here.”

Hiroshi looked at her and pulled out his lighter to light the torch.

“Thank you!” Mila smiled.

Babu looked around at the dusty surroundings, his eyes wide with wonder. “It’s pretty dusty around here,” he said. “I think we’re the first ones to come here. Oh! And that means we can block the water and get out of here without fighting, right?”

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I nodded, considering his words. “Yeah, sure,” I said. “But we also have to figure out how to block the water.”

Mila’s eyes lit up with determination. “If we can find the end of the current,” he said confidently, “I can stop the flow of water with my own power.”

Hiroshi nodded in agreement. “For now, this plan makes sense,” he said. “Come on, let’s go.”

We began to make our way deeper into the mountain. The path was dark and dusty, and we walked slowly and cautiously. After half an hour of progress, a glowing entrance appeared up ahead. It shone like daylight, beckoning us forward. For a moment, we thought we were emerging from the mountain. But when we stepped through the entrance, we couldn’t believe our eyes.

All around us was a cavern covered in ice that shone like rubies. The ground beneath our feet was completely frozen, and the air was much colder here than in any other part of the mountain. The ice made everything transparent, and we could even see our own reflections on its surface.

Mila pointed ahead with excitement. “There it is,” she said. “The ‘Kairi’ water.”

“All right,” I said, ready to take action. “Let’s blo-”

Suddenly, from somewhere unseen, we heard the sound of loud applause and laughter. A mysterious voice spoke up, interrupting our plans. “Bravo!” it said with amusement. “You’ve done an excellent job. I’m really impressed that you were able to defeat that bird. Thanks to you, it was much easier for us to get here.”

Hiroshi pulled out his gun and I shouted in alarm, “Who’s talking? Show yourself!”

Two figures appeared before us as if by magic. One had four arms and a muscular body that rippled with strength, while the other looked young and lithe with sparks coming out of his feet. Babu pointed at the latter with recognition. “Hey, it’s him!” he exclaimed in surprise. “He was the elite soldier who was after us at the port!”

“Him?” I asked in confusion.

Mila nodded warily. “Yeah,” she said with caution in her voice. “And he’s pretty fast for a normal person, so be careful.”

The muscular man turned to his companion with amusement in his eyes. “These pitiful human beings know you well, don’t they?” he said.

The fast one shrugged nonchalantly and smirked. “What can I say?” he said with a hint of arrogance in his voice. “I’m quite popular.”

The enemy cleared his throat and continued his speech with a sly grin. “Forgive me, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce you to my friend. Everyone, meet Hurk. He’s the fourth elite soldier of the Second Kingdom. Don’t let his imposing appearance fool you; he’s actually quite amiable.”

Hurk glared at him with a scowl, clearly not amused.

“I’m just joking! I’m just joking!” he exclaimed, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Now, back to the matter at hand. We owe you our gratitude. Thanks to your efforts in keeping that pesky bird occupied, we were able to make our way out of the other side of the mountain with ease. However, I’m afraid we can’t allow you to take the water here.”

“Don’t be absurd! We have the advantage in numbers. It’s you who should retreat,” Babu retorted.

“Are you sure about that?” he replied with a smirk. “Perhaps you’d like to count again?”

With a sharp whistle, he signaled for reinforcements. Dozens of soldiers materialized from their hiding places, surrounding us on all sides.

“It's a shame to know that our fight will end so soon,” he said with a tinge of regret in his voice. “But all good things must come to an end.”

With a nod of his head, he commanded his troops to attack.

I shouted at my group, “Form a circle!”

We quickly arranged ourselves back-to-back in a defensive formation. Thanks to our quick thinking and teamwork, we were able to repel the initial wave of attackers with ease. Lezlie and Mila used their magic and water powers to deflect incoming arrows and bullets while Babu and I engaged in close combat with the enemy soldiers. Hiroshi provided support from afar, picking off enemies with deadly precision.

As we fought for our lives, the four-armed behemoth known as Hurk leaped into the air and began hurtling towards us.

Hiroshi shouted a warning, “Scatter!”

We quickly dispersed in different directions, narrowly avoiding Hurk’s crushing blow. However, our hasty retreat left us vulnerable and exposed.