Extra Demon: Sacred Academy of Light

A desolate place — an endless frozen lake stretched as far as the eye could see. There was no snowstorm here, so the view was clear. In the distance, two deformed mountain ranges melted into each other, and beyond them, faintly, one could glimpse a beautiful orange sunset. After crossing those mountains, the forest awaited, and finally — after nearly twenty days — we would see the first warm-blooded animals.

I had no idea how many days we had spent wandering the snowy forest; after all, it was impossible to tell day from night. The sky was always painted in shades of gray. We had been walking for hours across the frozen ground. Nothing had shown itself so far, but all the students remained on high alert. This place was extremely dangerous.

"This part of the forest is the worst of the whole trip. Luckily, we're only a few days away from leaving it," Daniela said, rubbing her hands together as she sighed to herself.

"I hate this place. I can't eat properly, and I'm starving," Evelyn muttered under her breath. Her eyes were shadowed, and her expression was anything but good.

The only way to eat in this place was while walking — just small bites, usually dry fruit or other simple rations. But to Evelyn, those weren't real meals. She enjoyed savoring thick cuts of meat, sitting down and eating slowly, enjoying every bite. For days, she had been in a foul mood because she couldn't have that pleasure, even though her storage ring was full of food.

"Hey, don't you feel something strange?" Beatrice, who was part of our little group, pursed her lips and narrowed her green eyes, staring cautiously ahead. A strange deformity lay in front of us — a large hollow in the ice, glowing faintly.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what it is. It feels... odd," Adrián replied, adjusting his glasses as he stared at the massive icy pit.

The strange thing everyone noticed was the peculiar glow coming from the hollow. It was rare to see anything shining in this colorless, snow-filled world. But the most likely explanation was—

"Monsters," Leslie said, her gaze fixed on the blueish glow, which was now growing larger.

The hollow ice cracked open, and from it emerged hundreds of white wolves. Their eyes were a deep shade of blue, and along their fur, crystals glistened faintly. The moment they spotted us, they growled, like dogs ready to pounce at any second.

Before any of the students could react, sharp ice spikes burst from the frozen ground and impaled all the wolves in a matter of seconds. Every single one of them died before they even realized what was happening.

"Eh...?" All the students stood frozen in silence. Seeing hundreds of wolves skewered together, their blood dripping and freezing instantly, was a terrifying sight. Before anyone could utter a word—

"There's no need to waste time on things like this. Let's move on," said Professor Emilia as she walked past the impaled wolves, paying them little attention.

"Well, I prefer it this way. I just want to get out of this freezing place as soon as possible," Daniela said with a faint smile as she kept walking.

"I wonder what they taste like..." Evelyn mumbled, bouncing lightly on her feet as she quickly approached one of the skewered wolves. Her big eyes sparkled with curiosity as she licked her lips. She swiftly raised a finger, igniting it with flame to cut off a piece of meat.

"Don't do it." Olivia stepped up beside Evelyn and placed a hand on her shoulder."Those wolves are wild. Their meat is not only flavorless, but it's also incredibly tough. You get what I mean, right?" Olivia offered a small, apologetic smile as the gleam in Evelyn's eyes slowly faded. Evelyn shook her head.

"Remember what Professor Emilia said: the best animals are found deeper in the Beast Glades. Besides the abundance of game, there are also unique fruits. Just hold out a little longer."

"Weren't we supposed to avoid hunting intelligent creatures?" Elías asked.

"We can't, but don't forget — we're invited here, remember?" Olivia smiled dreamily."The Beast Glades and the Empire maintain a cooperative relationship. Take right now for example: Professor Emilia has been clearing the path by eliminating every wild animal we've encountered."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, confused. He hadn't seen the professor use her mana even once.

"It's thanks to my element. Ice is an advanced variation of water, but the two are similar enough. Because of that, I've been able to sense every time Professor Emilia uses her ice element to attack, even if only slightly," Olivia explained, pointing behind us."Didn't you feel something following us during the storm?"

Everyone nodded.

"Those were rats. A lot of them. They were waiting for the perfect moment to ambush us. You could say they were low-blood creatures, judging by the strategy they used to set up their attack. But they were all slaughtered by the professor's ice. We're lucky to have her with us. If those rats had attacked, things wouldn't have gone so well," Olivia said, forcing a tense smile."But enough about that! Let's focus on reaching the Autumn Forest!"

After a few more minutes of conversation, the small group resumed their journey without further issues.

Along the way, Professor Emilia handled everything. Tall crab-like creatures, enormous centipedes that tried to break the ice beneath our feet to drown us in the freezing water — she took care of them all. These centipedes had shells as clear as water, looking as if they were made of ice, and their insides were visible to the naked eye. They were truly fascinating creatures, though the downside was they always attacked in groups — sometimes as many as ten at once. The students felt safe with Professor Emilia, who killed them effortlessly, as if it were no trouble at all.

As the hours dragged on — hours that felt like days — the two deformed mountains grew larger and clearer on the horizon. The wild creature attacks had decreased significantly, and the vast icy plain had vanished. We had reached what looked like an open area, where small crystal-like trees grew all around, and blue crystals jutted out from the snow.

"Wait," came the calm voice of Professor Emilia, causing us all to stop and look toward the center of the small clearing.

Amidst the snow, there lay a deer that seemed to be asleep. It stirred slightly, raising its head. Its eyes were a light, crystalline blue, as though gemstones sparkled inside its pupils. Slowly, the deer stood up and shook itself off. Atop its head, great white antlers spread out beautifully to both sides.

The deer let out a soft cry and calmly approached Professor Emilia...