In Casinum, the capital of Agrium:

  Vod was walking down a hallway along with most of his group, going towards a room he had not seen before.

  Adrad led the way, and opened the door when they arrived. He held it open, and Radoran, then Cyne, then Vod entered, and Adrad stepped in himself before closing the door.

  Inside was the woman who had so handily defeated Radoran leaning against the wall, Vod's captain, Ilyana.

  "Hello." Said the captain. "I hope you are all prepared for the mission."

  "You were never truly introduced." Adrad said. "Vod, this is Ilyana, most terrifying captain alive. And Ilyana, this is Vod, our newest problem."

  Ilyana looked closely at Vod. "And what kind of problem are you?"

  "Hopefully the kind that'll be a problem only for our enemies." He replied.

  "That never happens with this squad." Ilyana said. She turned to Adrad. "So, you fought him already?"

  "Of course I fought him. What do you take me for? I'm no slacker."

  "So? How did he do?"

  "He did good. Better than Radoran did when he first joined."

  "Hey! I was a good fighter even then!" Radoran objected.

  "Yeah, but this guy's probably on the level you were back then too." Adrad said.

  Ilyana spoke. "So, new guy. What exactly do your abilities consist of?"

  "I don't just freeze things. I can manipulate temperature freely. Freezing things is just easier and faster." He said, then stopped, realizing something.

  "So you sound like a temperature Thaumaturgist." She noticed Vod's revelation. "What is it?"

  "I don't know why I remember that." Vod said.

  "What do you mean?" Radoran asked.

  "I lost my memory." Vod said. "The only things I remember are my name, my abilities, and everything that happened since I woke up in that arena."

  "That's... strange." The captain mused.

  "It's a good thing you didn't die, then!" Cyne said. "That'd be a waste of a strong fighter, not even considering the fact that you're technically innocent!"

  Radoran laughed. "Ah, Cyne, tactless as ever."

  "What?" She asked, confused. "I said that I was happy he didn't die!"

  Radoran simply smiled, and behind Vod, the door opened.

  Noram stepped through, followed by a short, slight girl with dark hair. Noram stepped forward, up to Vod. "Hey, Vod. You're the only one who hasn't met Seriel yet." He turned. "Vod, this is Seriel, and Seriel, this is Vod."

  The girl looked up, then nodded, before retreating behind Noram again.

  "That means that everyone is here." The captain said. "Radoran. If you win, don't let it inflate your ego more than it already is."

  "Hey, that was uncalled for!" Radoran said defensively.

  "Knowing you, that warning was necessary." Adrad said, smiling.

  Radoran looked betrayed, beset on all sides, and Cyne patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. We still like you even if you are an egoist."

  "I'm not- You know what? Never mind." He said, sighing.

  Vod smiled, and the captain cleared her throat.

  "We have a deadline to get to work. I should go over the mission now." She said. "I assume you all know that this mission is important?"

  "Yes, sir." Noram said. "We heard from Adrad."

  "Good. Here's the details and our goal. A collection of forces from Lerne are gathering in a town near their border with Osmia, our ally. They want to test the limits. As of now, our country is unprepared for an actual war. We must halt the advance here and now with a powerful demonstration."

  She crossed her arms. "Hence the Emperor's involvement. He's capable of making such an example clear. However, he would prefer to keep civilian casualties to a minimum if possible, and he knows that, were he to attack on his own, the soldiers would force the inhabitants to stay in the town and await their deaths in hopes of deterring the Emperor. He has greater conviction than that, and would not hesitate to act if he thought it was necessary, but he still finds deaths such as those distasteful."

  She narrowed her eyes. "And that is the problem we are to solve. We must occupy the soldiers of the town long enough for the civilians to escape. And we must do this before the Emperor arrives. He could easily destroy the soldiers himself, but he is so important to our cause that any moment spent anywhere is time wasted and lives lost. Therefore, we were chosen. We are perhaps the fastest squad to act, as well as one of the strongest. I or Adrad can intervene with nearly any problem. As well, this helps concerning two individuals. This acts as a test for Vod, and also serves to acclimatize Seriel to more stressful situations." She stood up, off of the wall. "Does anyone have any questions?"

  No one spoke, so she turned to Noram. "Ready to send us there?"

  "Yes, sir." He said, then raised his hands. A strange tear, made of black with blue colouring appeared between his hands, and widened, before he stepped backwards, and it moved downwards, growing large enough for any of the squad to step within.

  All of the squad besides Noram, Ilyana, and Vod stepped through, and as Vod was about to follow, Ilyana pulled him aside momentarily. "Seriel will likely be watching you fight. Do not, and I repeat, do not, allow anyone to attack her."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "Why not?" Vod asked. "Is she not strong enough to defend herself?"

  "Because, besides Adrad and I, we are not strong enough to defend ourselves from her."

  She stepped through the portal, and Vod considered, then followed.

  He stepped out onto a cliffside overlooking a town, with the rest of the squad already waiting besides Noram.

  Noram stepped through the portal as well, and it dispelled behind him.

  "All right, let's go. New guy, you go in front. I want to see how strong you are."

  Vod stepped forward after a moment of hesitation, and began running towards the town, the rest of the squad following shortly behind.

  As they ran, the townspeople noticed them, and began panicking, knowing their fate if they stayed, and began moving to escape the town.

  A group of elected townspeople, armed, approached from a side road, and Vod jumped forward to deal with them. He hit them carefully, controlling his strength to stun and hurt them, but ensuring that he would not actually wound them.

  They were left gasping or holding themselves in pain, but undamaged as the squad rushed by.

  The squad arrived at the center of the town, waiting for a response, and did not have to wait long. Four soldiers, dressed in more elaborate uniforms than most, apprached.

  "Finally. New guy, Noram, Cyne, and Radoran. Go ahead. Adrad and I will watch for any others approaching, or any crisis. You should be able to handle this." Ilyana said, before she and Adrad jumped upward onto the roofs of buildings to watch.

  "Allow me to fight the one in front." The lead soldier said.

  Vod fell into a fighting stance, and the soldiers each faced off against a member of the problem squad.

  Noram summoned the tear again, which held itself in front of Noram. Another tear opened up to a side street, and Noram jumped through the first one and exited there, drawing a soldier away.

  Radoran dashed forward, and began attacking one of the soldiers rapidly, his hands glowing slightly gold.

  Cyne stood in place until a sudden eruption happened underneath her feet, propelling her forward to attack another soldier.

  Vod waited for the last soldier, the leader, to attack, as Seriel watched from a distance.

  The man held his hand out, and a cloud of steam formed above it. The soldier jumped forward, cloud condensing into a small ball above his hand, twisting.

  Vod ducked the man's strike, a jet of pressured steam cutting above his head. Vod punched upwards at the man, but the man dodged backwards, drawing a knife from his belt and throwing it, with a jet of steam accelerating its movement.

  Vod focused his ability on the weapon, cooling its edge rapidly until it was coated in a layer of ice.

  The dagger bounced off of Vod's chest, ice dulling the fatal edge.

  The enemy dashed forwards again. "Thanks for the info. I know you can freeze stuff now."

  Vod stayed silent, instead jumping forward and blocking the next strike he was attacked with.

  The man fired another blast of steam down at Vod, and he barely managed to dodge it, but the man still kicked him sideways.

  Vod recovered, but noticed the man holding his other leg outstretched, as if having just kicked something else forward.

  Suddenly a sharp pain hit his back, and he felt with his hand, noting the dagger embedded in his body.

  Damn. He hit the dagger with the steam to melt the ice, then kicked it behind me and shot it through the air with a blast of air while I was distracted. This could be bad. I have to end this quickly.

  He dashed forward, slowed and in pain.

  The soldier smiled, and waited for Vod's attack. Vod threw a punch, and the man sidestepped it easily.

  The man looked down in surprise as his foot landed on a patch of frost, sticking to the ground. He violently lifted his foot, tearing the ice apart, and Vod's fist collided with his chest.

  He was tossed backwards, but slammed into a wall of ice, made only a moment before.

  Vod's first again crashed into the soldier's ribs, and then a fist struck his stomach, then upwards into his chin. Vod punched again and again, keeping his opponent off balance, hitting more than ten blows before the wall shattered, and the soldier lurched backward.

  He wiped the blood from his face, and sneered at Vod despite his split lip. Dashing forward, he punched at Vod's side. Vod dodged, not fully escaping the attack, but only receiving a glancing blow, and kicked, leaning to give it greater power.

  As the man again stumbled backwards, a sharp pain hit Vod from the stab wound, and he shook himself again. He ran at the soldier, exchanging blows with the man culminating in a grapple.

  "You... bastard! That hurt!" Said the soldier.

  "This will hurt more!" Vod said, then drew his head back and slammed his forehead into the man's already damaged nose, breaking it.

  The soldier let go in pain, holding his nose, jumping backwards.

  A feeling of instinctual dread overtook Vod, the belief of impending danger holding his entire body rigid.

  The soldier felt it too, forgetting his pain in his fear. "No! I won't die like this! I have to win against you somehow!" He turned, looking around him, then noticed something, smiling.

  "Fine, then! I saw how you were aiming to protect her earlier. I'll just kill her instead of you!" He said, jumping to attack Seriel.

  No! In my hurry to win I left her unguarded!

  Vod dashed to attack, but the enemy's attack crashed into Seriel's face and... stopped as if hitting a mountain.

  Suddenly a flow of black began to spread from where Seriel had been hit, and the enemy jumped backwards in fear.

  Seriel titled her head as the tide, a black colour that somehow seemed less like black and more like an absence, completely covered her body. The only places that weren't a dark void were two glowing white spaces where her eyes had been.

  "Oh, hell." Adrad said. "Ilyana! We have a problem!"

  The captain turned from her watch, then swore as well when she saw. "Everyone! Get out of there, now!"

  Vod stumbled back as Seriel turned her gaze to the soldier who had attacked her.

  A wave of black, moving up from the ground near her feet, washed towards the soldier and enveloped him instantly, then retreated, leaving no trace of the soldier.

  Seriel turned her gaze on Vod, and he ran, hoping to escape, but his back suddenly flared up in pain and he fell.

  He turned himself over and watched helplessly as the tide drew close to consume him, as well.

  Ilyana was jumping forward, too late to save him, and the other members of the squad watched in horror, powerless.

  Suddenly the tide scattered forcefully, an impact from above saving Vod's life.

  He looked upwards, and was greeted by the sight of a man in a maroon cloak high in the sky.

  The man fell downwards, and landed lightly on the ground.

  Seriel jumped forward at a blinding speed to attack him, he watched her unflinching. Without lifting a hand, he violently threw her back, and she collided with a building. She stood, angrily, but then the void faded, and she fell unconscious, unharmed, but spent.

  The man turned his gaze upon Vod. Vod saw an ornate golden clasp, holding the cloak together, and the man spoke.

  "Go. Your work is done."

  Vod scrambled to his feet, and Adrad called out. "Time to go!" He shouted, and the squad, having each won their fights, began to run from the center of the town.

  Radoran moved to help Vod run despite his injuries, and Noram carried Seriel as the squad sprinted out of the town. Behind them, the strange man sat calmly.

  The group left the town, and continued forward, Ilyana leading them up to the cliffside again.

  They stepped back again onto the cliffside, looking down at the town.

  A deep rumble began to sound, before it cut off sharply with a sharp boom shaking even so far away as the cliff, and the town disintegrated.

  Nothing was left but dust of what was once wood and stone, and in the center of the ruin stood the man in the cloak.

  He rose upward slowly, hovering in the air, before another boom sounded and he hurtled away.

  Seriel began to stir, and Noram made sure to reassure her as she woke.

  "What... what was that?" Vod asked, disconcerted.

  "That was the example we mentioned earlier." Adrad said. "And that man, that terrifying man, was The Emperor Himself."

  Vod stood there, dumfounded, watching the utter devastation a single man had caused in a moment.

  Seriel approached, well again, and spoke. "I hear that I attacked you?" She said. "I'm sorry." She quickly retreated to the edge of the group again, and Vod stood, bemused.

  "Anyway!" Adrad said. "I think this calls for a celebration for a mission well done."

  "Leave me out of it. I'm in no mood for another one of your parties." Ilyana said.

  Noram raised his hands again, forming the portal. Everyone began to step through, as Vod stood, taken aback by the rapid changes of events until he was the last one besides Noram who hadn't stepped through the portal.

  "Are you coming?" Noram asked.

  Vod blinked, then turned, stepping forward into the portal.