That day, we had to leave for an important mission. A full scale battle raged on on Freezy Star; demons, in great numbers, trying to take over our base of operation there. Nightmare wouldn't stop until this planet was his. Our soldiers there, as well as the natives, were calling for reinforcements, and Sir Arthur responded. We left barely an hour after we were told the news. Jecra seemed rather ecstatic. We were herded into a ship that would take us there and, as it followed the fleet, Jecra stood there, punching the air, saying:

"This is going to be pretty rough!"

"Then why are you so happy about it?" Sir Lance asked him, polishing his weapon.

Jecra turned to him, but before he could answer, a female of his species spoke up, as if in a mocking manner. This was Lady Garlude.

"He's all bouncy because he's still a little kid that thinks we're going out to play in the park."

Everyone looked at her, and as Jecra answered with the same mocking tone, I smirked. Lady Garlude was a very skilled warrior. From what I gathered, she had a child waiting for her at home. I believe it may explain why she took things more seriously. It was hard to be a mother far away and risk her life in every battle, in hopes of coming back to see her daughter every once in a while… I understood that and respected her because of it.

I looked down at the mask Sir Arthur gave to me ten years ago. Ten years… Things had changed a lot. My face reflected off the polished surface of the mask, and my red eyes stared back at me. Things were different. Soon enough, we were in orbit above Freezy Star. I strapped the mask on tightly and secured the belt around my waist as the ship descended through the atmosphere. Everything was trembling. The eyes of all the soldiers were staring right ahead at nothing, at the upcoming fight. Soon the trembling reduced, and they all stood up, facing the exit door. I did the same, my hand clenching my sword… Then, the ship had one last violent tremor, and the door slid open. Our sergeant moved his arm quickly, calling out:

"Alright guys, go, go, go!"

We were right in the middle of the battlefield. I could only run out with all the others into the freezing cold of this planet. We were lucky there wasn't any storm, but so were the demons. They were running everywhere, monsters slashing, roaring, leaping and biting. It wasn't long before I lost sight of the others from my team. The thrill of the fight… I knew the demon in me liked seeing the blood spill before my eyes, stain my hands and spoil the snow. But I wasn't like that anymore. I didn't like it. The sight of the blood on my hands only confirmed that these demons were brainless pawns.

As I was finishing off one nasty spiked monster, I heard something… familiar. A roar, very much like that of an angry banshee or lion, resounded as if from far away. I turned and saw it. A wildfire, spreading on the melting ice. I couldn't see behind it, but it was evident that a demon was responsible for this. Things were thrown from behind, like dried grass or igniters, and they only helped spreading the fire. Fireballs erupted out and exploded all around me, hiting one soldier after the other. I could only stand there and watch it come closer and closer. That roar… They sounded like words to me, but I didn't understand them. At least, not anymore. When the ice melted and the barren earth underneath was shown, the beast jumped through its own wall of fire and roared out its anger. It was an immensely large wolf, its fur as red as the flames pouring out of its mouth, with two rows of spikes going down its back. Its legs, short, each had long and sharp claws digging in the ground, and as it lifted its fiery gaze upon me, the beast stood up on its hind legs, long teeth showing and the gem on its forehead glowing in anticipation. A low growl escaped its throat…

I knew this wasn't the first time I met this demon-beast. But, there was no way for me to remember. Not now. The wolf growled some more, readied itself, then leaped, claws stretched out. I was ready for it: I held my sword in one hand and ran toward it, yelling out a battle cry. I held it in front of me at the last moment and blocked the claws from one paw, but the others continued and easily pierced my arm. The adrenaline coursing through me obliterated the pain, but it didn't stop the weight of the beast. I fell on my back, holding back the claws from reaching the slit of my mask. It drew its large head back, ears flattened, opened its jaws… I saw the fire swirling at the back of this gigantic maw… No. I wouldn't die burned to a crisp like this, right now.

In one sudden and swift movement, I forced my wings out from under me and they unfurled with all of their might. I used their claws to cling to the wolf, taking it by surprise so much it drew back, stopping mid-way in its attack. The claws of my wings still stuck in its flesh, it lifted me off the ground with it, and I took this very moment to hurl myself against its shoulder. I moved my sword upside down and it easily pierced the flesh. As blood spewed out, the demon-beast roared out like an angered cat and turned around on itself, biting the air as it tried to to catch me. I made the mistake of thinking that I was safe there. I made the mistake of underestimating that beast, just like that beast had underestimated me. It wasn't playing anymore.

As it kept turning around like a dog after its tail, the monster spewed out flames after flames, burning the ground all around us. My foot was caught in the fire at some point and the sudden pain made one of my wing tips loose its grip: the demon-beast didn't hesitate, and bit down on it. My wing was ripped apart… It was so sudden, I could only close my eyes and wait for it to end. My hands lost their grip on the beast's fur and my body was hurled all around, following the monster's head as it continued tearing away at my wing. I couldn't see anything that was happening. I struggled as wildly as I could, and in my moves, I slashed my blade all across the monster's face. In a roar, it let go of me, and the second my feet touched the ground, I leaped away from the fires engulfing us. I landed in the snow, and my burned foot stung painfully on the sudden change of temperatures. I turned around and saw the beast holding its face with its front paws; its tail was wagging furiously behind it and the flames seemed almost absorbed by its body. When it lifted its face, teeth showing, there remained a scratch along its face, but no more blood… It had healed!

I stood there in a fighting stance, ready to defend myself, and so did the demon-beast. However, I soon heard noises all around me: armor clicking, swords being drawn, orders being shouted. Upon looking, the first person I saw was Jecra, by my side.

"Let's get rid of this guy!" he told me. "You go back to the ship before you lose your wing!"

"No," I answered seriously. "I'm staying. I can still fight."

He looked back at me for a quick second, then looked back at the demon-beast, who was growling at all of us in anger and hatred.

"Alright, but stay beside me."

Everyone surrounded the beast, and even it looked like it knew it was way outnumbered. It looked back at me, licking the blood still present on its jaws, then turned around and left. Everyone ran after it to try and stop it for good, but I remained there. It was gone, but not forever. It will come back.

The battle had calmed. I was alone in this area. Alone with corpses, corpses from both sides. Our base was saved, and so were the natives, but to a great price. I turned around slowly to look all around carefully. Night was falling, as the white sky was darkening at a considerably fast pace. I sheathed my sword and started the trek back to the base, where we were told to go should the battle be won. When I started seeing other soldiers heading the same way, I began to feel more at ease, and the adrenaline all disappeared. The pain, however, soon came back to hunt me, and I then realized, with a quick look, how horrible my wounds were. My foot, burned, was growing blisters and pus, and my wing, well, it would be simple enough to say the membrane would take a while before growing back. My arm, where the claws of the beast had dug, was numb and hung down uselessly at my side, the blood dripping down my hand and soaking my glove. Feeling a little faint, I made my way to the hospital wing of the base, and of course, it was full. While I was being given a quick bandage, desinfectant and a few pain-killers, I saw it…

Sir Arthur was gravely injured during the battle. I saw him pass by in the corridor, lying on a stretcher, surrounded by many medics who shouted for people to get out of the way. I didn't know how to react at first. Sir Arthur, the greatest warrior in the Galaxy Soldier Army, defeated in battle? What monster did this to him? What could possibly be stronger than him? I could only sit there and wonder…

Time passed. All the injured were taken back to the HQ. I retrieved my room, and I was glad to, but somehow my thoughts kept coming back to Sir Arthur. I owed this man my life… So, despite the nurse's advice not to leave my bed because of my foot, I went to visit him in the hospital wing, quite a few times, even if just to see how he was doing. His body was broken, his skin burned, so he was barely recognizable in the first days under all of his bandages and covers. He was unconscious most of the time during my visits, but sometimes I caught him awake: extremely tired, but awake. When I asked him what had happened, he muttered these words:

"I don't know… It was hiding… I was caught… in a tornado… of swords and fire… I don't… understand… So tired…"

He started caughting, and the nurse told me to leave.

Whenever I slept, I had to do it on my belly because of my wing. Since I couldn't do any training or much things, I looked through my little library. Over the years, I collected many books from around the universe, and I grew to love reading. While looking around, I came upon the very first book I had read… The Chronicles of the Forgotten Warrior. Yes, I remembered that book… Written by Sir Dragato. I pulled the book out. Maybe I could read it again. Understand what I hadn't understood through my first read. That night, I walked out of my room, for it was getting hot in here, and silently made my way out to the main room of the HQ. The fountain, as beautiful and clean as the first time I saw it, was still there. Nostalgic, I went and sat down on the closest bench. I opened the book…

"Well, it's been a while, kid!"

I turned back. Coming out of the cafeteria, Sir Dragato was holding a steaming cup of coffee. Its harsh smell reached me and made my nose cringe a little. However, I smiled as well. Fate… Here you go again, old friend.

"So, what brings you here tonight?" he asked as he walked over to stand next to me. "Shouldn't you be in bed, healing those injuries of yours?"

I shrugged, watching him sit next to me, then answered:

"I don't feel like sleeping tonight. I came here to read. Those wounds will heal by themselves soon enough."

"I wouldn't say that," he said gravely. "I wasn't in that fight, but from what I've heard, you stood up to a Wolfwrath all on your own. Pretty impressive if you ask me."

"Wol… Wolf…wrath?"

That name… How… familiar…

"Yeah," he said, looking out to space. "They say Nightmare made it out of the fires of Hell itself…"

Hell, uh…? Well, it explained the flames and the banshee shrieks.

"You did good out there," he told me. "Not many are able to injure that thing."

"Do you know what attacked Sir Arthur?" I asked suddenly, feeling curious about this man's knowledge.

He didn't say anything for a moment, so I looked over to him. He was staring ahead, eyes narrowed, lips pursed as if thinking hard. Finally, he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I don't. I was told about what happened to him, but there are no demon-beasts that I know of that are able of both camouflage and devastating attacks like these. Maybe Nightmare is inovating… If it is so, it's not a good thing for us. Arthur's our best warrior. We're destined for decline if Nightmare's made demons stronger than him."

I could only agree with him, as I thought back to my fight with the Wolfwrath. If I could beat that thing, it would be proof that I was strong enough. Maybe it would be proof to everyone that the Galaxy Soldier Army was not destined to be destroyed. Nightmare would see.