I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

A MOMENT AGO.

The aftermath of the confrontation between Mila Jack and Thalia Jun with the others was laid bare for the world to acknowledge.

The air sizzled with the cracking intensity of crimson that transfused through the air in a steaming hue.

The earth – what was left of it trembled with a plea. A decree from the suffering it went through by the pools of lava that caked across it.

Flowing like a slow stream, while cooling to a black tar over the corners.

The rain turned to steam in an instant. Forming a canopy of white around what was formerly the Garden Forest.

It hovered over the deserted land, unable to quench the thirst of the land by a long shot.

Instead, it formed muddy, misty white gas that suffused through the air. Spreading like cancer, yet unable to reach the land beneath it.

It simply poured over the edges, into the Academy's walkway.

It's Hostel buildings – those which stood eerily silent and the ones that had crumbled under the weight of that silence.

A fumbled reminder of the conflict that ensued within it.

The mist spread wide and continuously, taking away the clear vision of the atmosphere. Creeping with stretched-out tendrils to consume what gave way to it.

Thanks to this, it was easy to skip over the battle that commenced beneath the canopy of sizzling rain.

The one conflict which held more weight than many. Not because of the defenders but because of the attacker. One attacker. Mila Jack.

Her overwhelming presence consumed the space itself. A reflection of her vivid power revealed through brimstone and molten lava.

Splashes of flames from ambient, crimson pools of liquid dominated the presence of the once flourishing greenery of the landscape.

Her presence and revealed strength had caused all this in the spur of her battle.

A testimony to the brutality of the fate who fought against her.

Vibrant scales of onyx and crimson flicked with the movement of her wide-span wings. Dragon scales adorning its texture with a transparent white.

Her body was an immaculate chess piece. Fixed with the edgy carapace and thorny protrusions oozing with lava.

It trailed down to her massive, reptilian tail. An artistry of demonic origin. Exuding elegance as it whipped in a blur of ichor.

Trailing the heat that boiled from the pools of scorching ichor.

Her arms were folded, locked tightly in hardened plates of scales – stronger than any metal used to form armours.

It traced down to her body, completely surrounding her in its impenetrable fortress. Scales of great, shielding magnitude glisten with the ambient lights suffusing out of the lava pools.

And on her right arm, held tightly in her grasp was her Katana.

Its appearance transformed to match her new form. Crimson blade glowing with the same warm hue as the rest of her.

A fiery glow of her true nature.

The scales, unlike before, had reached her face.

Forming thin, dreaded masks that swallowed the only part of her that was left humane. Replacing it with something darker. Stronger. A thousand times more demonic.

The mask spread across her face, forming jagged teeth across her face and two pools of crimson that flared to life with her breathing.

On her head were two pairs of horns. A pair longer than the other forming a sort of crown. Exuding a malevolent regality to her new appearance.

This wasn't just a mere makeover from what she once was. No, it was far from that.

The pool of Miasma that leaked out of her body in large amounts, unable to be withheld by her newly constructed body, was more than enough reason to think so.

It represented something else. Dark and Suppressive, as well as the cause of the current predicament that Thalia Jun and the others.

While Mila hovered in the air in her majestic, devil appearance, Thalia knelt on a knee.

Fatigue revealed itself beautifully on her sweat–stricken face.

Next to her was Sophie. Standing on her two feet, yet breathing with the same fatigue as the former.

Her weapon. The sickle attached to the mace by a chain was held – desperately in her grasp.

Leaning on the dried molten lava, they stood. This was what was left of the land. Dark, crust formed from cooling the lava to a negative temperature. Causing it to cake and solidify into what it is now.

Her breath was heavy, just as it was for Thalia. Their eyes fixed on the floating figure that pulsed with energy.

They watched as miasma rushed out of her body in large amounts, and suppressed the atmosphere around her.

Mila Jack, who had seemed like a strong opponent– yet, defeatable, had transformed into something else. All in the blink of an eye.

Thalia could still make out vivid images of the flash of light that exuded from her body a second ago.

Driving their pre-planned attack that had nearly given them the victory.

That flash of light had been a bask of hope for her. One she forged for herself as she completely dissolved her entire being from its humanity.

In other words…

'She unlocked her third Demonic Gate.'

Thalia sighed in between her breaths as she turned to the side.

There, she observed Monica and Felicia's condition.

Both had been put out of commission as they lay unconscious in an embrace of the solidified, cold lava. A basalt of comfort.

Yet, they were far from it.

On closet observation, she could tell their states. Including their mana levels, which brought her to her line of thoughts.

'Even if they were awake. It would be impossible to land a single strike on her with their mana level.'

But then again, would she be able to do so even if they were at their full capacity?

After all. This was the 3rd Demonic Transformation.

It's the final form where Demonic humans have completely given themselves to their contract.

They say those with strong will pull out of it with their sanity, but those without either die trying or get out completely insane.

Those who come out unscathed are usually termed Demon Humans or Devil Humans.

They no longer stood on the boundary between Humanity and the Demonic but simply scaled through it whenever they wished to.

'It doesn't matter which this woman is, though.'

She cracked her neck for a moment as she slowly stood up. Placing her hand on Sophie's shoulder who snapped her attention to her.

"You still have some fight in you, right?" She asked.

Sophie's gaze narrowed for a second. Suspicion or curiosity, she wasn't sure which emotion to choose.

Instead, she nodded and let her thoughts reel in.

'I've been holding back because I can't relay too much of where I come from.' She turned away from Thalia towards Mila. Her expression grew stern.

'But I so want a demonic summon.'

The thought alone sent a spiral of pleasure through her system. A rush of adrenaline at the power she could grasp if she could oppress Mila into submission.

Her lips twitched slightly while a tint of saliva dripped down from its corner.

Thalia's brows twitched in curiosity as she tilted her head when Sophie sucked it back in with a snap of realization.

"What's the plan, Miss?" She asked.

Thalia remained muted for a moment before glancing back at Mila. Her head spiralled with thoughts, seeking leverage over their foe.

She had surpassed the limit of a human. Far stronger than any level 100, with a presence, strong enough to cause harm to reality itself.

The effects of her skills. Oh, Thalia could only imagine how terrible it would be if she inflicted such damage on the Academy.

'The Territorial Space might shut down completely if she gets serious.'

Though, Mila's transformation was enough to reveal how serious she had gotten.

Losing was never an option for her, and thus, what pushed her over the edge to unlock the third gate?

Thalia took a step forward, getting a subtle shift in Mila's movement as a result.

The change was a pygmy, nearly inconceivable, but the effect? Thalia felt it in her core.

As her eyes flared open in shock, danger pricking her skin like needles, she moved.

Her body moved in the blink of an eye, jumping to the side with enough distance to dodge a sudden blast of liquid flames.

–BOOM!

It surged into a gust of crimson before exploding in a surge of fiery passion that spread in concentric waves.

Burning and pushing everything that came in contact within the blink of an eye.

Fumes of red and yellow took to the over, hovering with the surge of the wind that spurred from the effects of Mila's wings.

Her body was motionless in place, other than her wings that flapped and steadied her figure in the air.

With the shift in the air, Mila turned her head to the far side where she found her two targets, whole and fine.

They were both holding onto Monica and Felicia's motionless bodies. Motionless not out of control, but out of surrender.

Thalia clicked her tongue in annoyance. Adjusting her glasses she dropped Monica to the basalt ground.

She looked up at Mila, her lips tugging a smirk as she said.

"Hah…you coward. Flourishing in the power that doesn't even belong to you."

As much as she would like to taunt the Demonic Flying Dragon Human for absolutely no real reason, she didn't. Mostly because she wanted to check for something within that flying Demonic Human. Something deeper and capable of changing the flow of the Battle.

Final Demonification not only affects the Human after the transformation but also during the transformation.

It was easy for humans to lose control of their contract tendencies. Revealing one of the seven great sins that anchored the existence of demons and devils alike.

So whatever devil Mila contracted had the tendency to switch places with Mila and completely take control over her body.

If that were the case, then it would be nearly impossible to defeat it. A devil was cunning and intelligent. More so than most humans and they prevailed on the battlefield in terms of strength.

Thalia and Sophie would be sitting ducks if that were the case, but if Mila, for some sort of miracle, was capable enough to go through it with her consciousness still in check. Then that would be a different ball game, and one of her plans would finally sell out.

With that in mind, she needed Mila to speak, because her silence only tilted to her being controlled.

She gripped her fingers tightly against her palm as the silence dragged on. Reaching a near climax.

But soon, better than later. Her head moved and so did her lips.

"Bullshit."