The girl lying behind Shade could not only see Shade, but also see that the ice sculpture beneath the moonlight was in exactly the same state as when the battle had just begun. She knew how strange this thing was. Although Shade had just saved her, that did not mean he could deal with the ice sculpture.
"Careful, it—"
"I know. It's a Heartless Demon Person."
Shade, maintaining the state of "First Fire Embers," frowned as he named the thing, his expression exceedingly grave.
"I really didn't expect that after so many years had passed since the Academy fell into ruin, I would encounter something like you again."
The ice-sculpted humanoid seemed incapable of speaking, but Shade, who had encountered Heartless Demon People in Ashes River Valley alongside the werewolf girl, the Green Dragon Maid, and Iluna, knew exactly what it was.
Heartless Demon People were created when Ancient Evil Beings known as Heartless Worms possessed living individuals. These bizarre worms could turn their hosts into pseudo-elemental states, while any injury or death suffered by the host had no effect whatsoever on the worm's main body. Back at Strange Tree Academy, this evil thing had frozen the Academy's waters and an entire tower beneath them. In the end, it had been forced to retreat only after the Green Dragon and Moonlight Dragon breathed together, with Iluna threatening it from the side.
When Shade had been adventuring in Vesta Woodland, he had guessed that he would encounter a Heartless Demon Person there one day. He had even suspected that this was the evil thing corresponding to "Water" among Earth, Wind, Water, Fire.
But after the story of Ashes River Valley ended, it had never appeared again. Instead, Shade encountered it at the foot of the Snow Mountain.
However, precisely because Shade