When Tallev dragged Ga to school, he did not bring her into the classroom. Instead, a sudden idea struck him, and he “temporarily stored” her inside the school’s large animal cage.

  Ga crouched helplessly inside, thinking that sharing space with peacocks and swans might be tolerable—

  until she noticed, curled up in the corner, a massive brown bear asleep.

  Her body went rigid.

  She could only pray that the bear would not wake up.

  After finishing his duties at the camp, Centurion Andrew followed his usual routine and went to inspect the orphan settlement.

  Without meaning to, his thoughts drifted to Ga.

  But after searching for quite some time, he could not find her anywhere. A chill crept into his chest.

  Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the direction of the school.

  Andrew rushed toward it—only to find a large crowd of Viking students clapping and shouting around the animal cage. From within came the shrill screams of a child and the low, furious growls of a brown bear.

  A sense of dread flooded him.

  Forcing his way through the crowd, Andrew looked inside.

  Ga was being chased around the cage by the bear, feathers flying everywhere as peacocks and swans shrieked in panic.

  “What in the world are you doing?! Let her out—now!” Andrew roared in Viking tongue.

  No one listened.

  Andrew charged to the cage door himself, trying to force it open—only to find it sealed with a stone lock carved with runes.

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  Without hesitation, he drew his sword and struck.

  The blade dented.

  The stone lock did not move.

  “Who knows how to open this?!” Andrew demanded, scanning the students.

  They all pretended not to know—yet their eyes gleamed with excitement. No one wanted this spectacle to end.

  Tallev, gripping the iron bars with a flushed, exhilarated face, turned to shout at Andrew.

  “Centurion, just wait a little longer! If Ga-Ga can hold out until the bear gets tired, I’ll win a chicken leg today! Lofr’s bear is lazy and stupid—we’ve got this!”

  “Dream on!” Lofr snapped back immediately.

  “My bear won’t lose to your weak little white rabbit—just like you!”

  “Calling me weak? Take this!” Tallev flew into a rage and punched Lofr in the face.

  Lofr fell, then sprang back up and struck back.

  Fists and feet collided.

  The crowd exploded.

  More students jumped into the brawl, and the scene devolved into chaos—like a miniature battlefield. A passing jarl responsible for teaching glanced over, saw nothing unusual, and walked away.

  Andrew clutched his head in frustration.

  “These damn brats—Roman arena crowds were cuter than you!”

  The moment the words left his mouth, a bear’s paw—like a massive shield smeared with blood and dirt—slammed into Ga’s exhausted body.

  She was sent flying.

  Her body crashed into the iron bars of the cage, the metal frame shrieking with a harsh, vibrating clang.

  Her vision spun.

  A roaring filled her ears.

  In her haze, the Viking students outside the cage seemed to morph into twisted demon faces—arms flailing like little devils demanding blood.

  The brown bear stood in the shadows, bloated and towering like a demon king, its heavy breathing echoing as it waited for her final collapse.

  Ga could no longer lift her arms.

  Her consciousness felt as though it were being dragged into the deep sea.

  The next moment, she fell to the ground, motionless—

  as if her soul had been torn away.

  The uproar stopped instantly.

  Silence fell.

  “Oh no! Ga-Ga! Get up! Get up!” Tallev screamed, clutching the cage door.

  Ga did not respond.

  The bear lowered its head, sniffed her, nudged her lightly with a paw—and when she did not move, it retreated back to the corner and lay down.

  Tallev collapsed to the ground, his face drained of color.

  “Lofr…” he whispered.

  “Did your bear… kill the Ga-Ga I was raising?”

  Lofr stood frozen, then muttered,

  “Uh… your little white rabbit… was brave. He’ll probably… make it to Valhalla… right?”

  Hovering between life and death, Ga seemed to see fragments of her past flash before her eyes.

  One memory, in particular, pulled her fully back—

  and she fell once more into remembrance.