Extra Demon: Sacred Academy of Light

Among the snow, a deer seemed to be sleeping. It moved slightly and raised its head. Its light blue eyes sparkled as if they held gemstones within. Gracefully, it stood up and shook itself, and above its head, enormous white antlers grew outward like a masterpiece of natural art.

The deer exhaled softly and slowly began to approach Professor Emilia.

The young deer's eyes glowed with intelligence. It came closer and sniffed at Emilia. After a few moments, she noticed the strange sight of an animal smiling.

"Hohoho, I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly," a youthful male voice echoed from the deer, laughing in the strangest way I've ever heard. The deer nodded and turned its gaze to a spot behind us. Its eyes gleamed. "Good, good! You've slain plenty! That's perfect — your work is well done, Emilia. Leaving them like that was a great idea; now there won't be any trouble feeding another group of savages."

The deer smiled again, an odd sight to behold.

"Sir, thank you for your words, but we are in a bit of a hurry," Emilia said, her voice cold as always, yet polite.

"You're colder than my wife!" the deer said, shaking its head but smiling once more. "Well... but you'll have to stay here for a day. You know... rules I have to follow." The deer moved one of its legs, and the ground began to tremble. Behind it, a castle emerged, growing rapidly until, after a few seconds, a 30-meter-tall ice castle stood tall. "Don't worry about the cold or food — my wife will take care of everything."

Emilia let out a sigh and turned to face the students.

"This is His Eminence Aurelen, progenitor of the world's deer," the professor introduced the white deer without delay. "Guardian of the Snowy Forest."

"Oh, come on! I don't like those kinds of titles. They're so dull, not my style. I prefer you just call me Aurelen," the deer said, raising one of its legs as if waving in greeting.

Emilia fell silent and sighed again. "You heard him," she said coolly. "We'll be spending the night here. Everyone can rest."

"Why can't we keep moving?" Evelyn frowned, clearly annoyed.

"Oh! Good question, little red-haired one!" the deer suddenly appeared beside Evelyn, his eyes glowing. "Let me explain, young lady: the passage you must cross to reach the Autumn Forest is an incredible place!" The progenitor deer turned his head and gazed ahead. "It's filled with pure ice mana — a lot, way too much, even for me and your professor it isn't easy to handle. If pure mana in its strongest form touches your skin, you'll be frozen for all eternity. There are many sculptures inside that passage, even humans who ignored my warning. Of course, they could do as they pleased, but you can't. You're guests of the Queen, so it's my job to look after you — you know, part of the job!"

"Then how will we get through? Is there another way?" Daniela's eyes sparkled as she crouched down in front of the white deer, staring at him intently.

"Hohoho, you're quite the lovely young lady! But let me explain: at night, that place is far too dangerous because of the mana gusts coming from deep within the earth. But during the day, the gusts subside, and the path becomes much easier to cross," the deer explained with a smile. "So you'll have to spend the night in the castle I built for you. Don't worry about the food — my wife is already handling it." The deer nodded and returned to stand before the professor. "I hope your stay will be a pleasant one!"

******

"I can't wait to see what kind of food we'll get," Evelyn licked her lips as she lay on an ice couch, lost in thought.

"This place is warm even though it's entirely made of ice... even with a fire inside, it doesn't melt at all. Incredible!" Daniela was touching everything around her. "Even when you touch it, you can't feel the cold on your hands. These pieces of furniture are so soft! How did he do it?"

Arthur had to agree. Even the bed was extremely soft, and the entire place felt cozy and welcoming.

"What perfect control over ice," Olivia added, her blue eyes wide as she marveled at everything.

"Amazing," Adrián said, also examining everything carefully.

"What are you all doing here!?" Leslie frowned, pointing a finger at Olivia, Beatrice, Adrien, and Elias. She was clearly upset. This room was supposed to be for her and Arthur. Daniela and Evelyn were an exception she could tolerate, but them? Leslie's eyes gleamed dangerously.

"Don't be like that, Leslie. See all those beds?" Beatrice teased with a playful smile, pointing at the eight ice beds scattered around the room. "It's impossible for there to be eight beds just for the two of you..." She fell silent and glanced at Daniela and Evelyn. "It's very possible you'll have to share a bed," she thought to herself, her cheeks turning a little pink.

"It's clear the room was designed for eight students..." Arthur muttered to himself, smiling as he gently stroked Leslie's hair. "It's alright."

Leslie hesitated for a moment, then pouted and nodded, still annoyed.

There wasn't much to be done. That's how the progenitor deer had arranged things, and complaining about it would be rude. Besides, according to Professor Emilia, the beds had been set out so each student could have one, and fortunately, this room had exactly eight. The good thing was that, after so many days, they'd finally sleep in a proper bed — even if it was made of ice — which was still better than the ground, especially with food included. It was better than nothing.

"I hope the food isn't just herbs," Evelyn muttered, still daydreaming about the upcoming meal.

"Speaking of food," Beatrice frowned. "Don't you think... he was quite small, you know..."

"True, but it could also mean he has perfect control over his body," Adrián replied seriously.

They had been comparing the size difference between the two serpents and the white deer — the contrast was quite striking.

"I don't think it's polite to dwell on that," Daniela said, pursing her lips.

"You're right. My bad," Beatrice quickly apologized.

"Time to eat, students," the professor's cold voice echoed through the room.

"Food!" Evelyn's dull eyes lit up, and a red streak shot out of the room, leaving waves of heat behind.

"Alright, here we go," Arthur thought to himself.