I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

Once again, above the clouds, an emerald blur pulsed with life and vigour.

With swift precision and control, it sliced through the air in an unrelenting run from a barrage of vermillion light.

Like a blade through silk, it phased through the very molecules of the air. Sending energy ruptures throughout its path while it ventured through the ocean of scarlet.

Then, in an outburst of air, it stopped, forging into the figure of the powerful, pristine Kira.

Though, a shadow of her former self.

Her once fair skin had been riddled with scars and dried blood.

Her hair was in a mess. A haze of its former lustrous form.

And her eyes. Her eyes were brimming with intent and fury.

Her expression twisted in concentrated rage.

Her lips twisted in a vivid scowl, and her calm had been stripped bare.

Still, the prestige that surrounded her continued to stand. An impenetrable fortress despite the ridiculous foe thrown at her.

At the moment, her gaze darted to the side with a sudden, fast motion.

Just in time to glimpse the edges of vermillion beams, five times larger than they once were, zig-zagging through the air at a ridiculous pace.

'For dawn's sake!'

Mana pooled from the insides, towards the surface of her body as her body ignited in the glory of a green shade.

"11th tier Spell!"

She cried out with intent as the world shuddered to her declaration.

A dome of dull lilac exuded from her form and blasted into the air.

Swallowing nearly half the clouds in her midst.

Immediately, the wine–red beams shot into the dome and a sudden weight overtook them.

"Gravitational Falls!"

The world hummed as a pressure pulled the beams down like a rag doll.

Pushing it into the surface of the earth with a terrible explosion of fire and might.

Her blood-red eyes blazed with a jade hue.

Mana poured out of her like an unrestrained faucet.

She looked up, straight into the sky.

And there she caught it.

Eyes, burning and devoid of warmth and emotion.

Cold and calculating as the rest of him.

The Crimson Lord stood on a dome of red liquid.

Traces of beams of red swirling around him like a demigod of blood.

"Praise yourself, Merlin..." He said with an icy tone. Cold enough to drop the temperature by a further degree.

He raised his hand in the air.

His will was pouring out of his body as the swirl of vermillion beams rushed towards his open palm. They concentrated. Grew. Spread. And increased in size.

Reaching a width large enough to blast off a grown man's head.

"...For you have resisted the Crimson Lord."

The shudder in his voice sent a quake through the air.

A silent decree of his might was written in blood.

While he spoke like he was the law itself, his thoughts swirled.

'She should be out of mana by now.'

He readied the attack when his gaze flickered for a moment.

Clear surprise etched as he watched with keen interest as Kira tapped her ring once more.

A veil appeared.

Synonymous with the one she pulled out before.

'I won't let her.'

Without further ado, the projectiles of scarlet surged to life as they swirled around like a drill.

Zooming towards her at impossible speed.

The beams shot through the barrier of gravitational force and reached towards her just as she brought the vial to her lips.

'She shouldn't have enough time to drink it.'

It was evident.

Though the vial would restore her mana to twice the original, she would require time to open the cap before drinking it whole.

But by then, his blood beams would have done the deed, but–

CRACK!

His gaze flickered once more.

Amusement flashed before his face before it returned to its stoic nature.

Kira had broken the cap of the vial with her teeth.

Her gaze locked straight on the Crimson Lord's as the liquid content poured into her mouth.

By then the blood beams had closed in, but they were too late.

BOOM!

Energy like never before assaulted her system as it surged out in waves.

Blasting the beams before it could land and suffusing her body in a warmth of protection.

The wounds healed.

The blood dried.

Her hair flowed with the same ethereal nature as it once did.

Kira Merlin was whole, once again.

"10th Tier High Spell."

The earth below them quaked.

A terrible strain projected into the Academy grounds as cracks of spider webs spread like cancer through the earth.

It reached the debris. The fallen statue. The destroyed buildings.

Everything cracked under the presence of her weight.

Then, one by one.

They lifted into the air.

Large chunks of rock and earth. Its size forms large shadows and leaves deep craters in the ground.

As it lifted, lava pooled from underneath, filling the craters in a sluggish motion.

Then, chunks of lava lifted into the air, warping and enclosing into bubbles of ambient, scorching liquid before lifting off towards the floating borders.

The Academy continued to shake.

Its foundations quickly ripped off from underneath its skin without an ounce of resistance.

As if it welcomed its newfound purpose.

The number of large boulders only increased.

And the lava spread around it. Combining with the earthy masses, and forming veins of red.

It stretched throughout the mass as the air was soon filled with numerous large boulders filled with lava.

The Crimson Lord observed.

His gaze darted about cautiously at the rising masses before it landed on Kira.

Her form was unstrained by the magnitude of her spell.

His expression turned serious.

"Truly." He muttered as he flicked his fingers, causing a sudden surge of blood to rush out of his fingertips.

They swirled around him in a circular flow.

Pulsing with the rhythmic beat of the heart as it was filled with the miasma all around.

"The Merlin household lives up to its name."

Kira ignored.

Focusing her attention on the damnation she was about to bring on the man before her.

"Rise of the Fall."

The world hummed to her voice.

A decree made known through her will.

The Earth hummed to life.

A vibrant force exuded from the multiple masses of the earth as they moved with a sudden speed.

With human eyes, one would question its motion.

Wallow in the sight of mountains moving at a speed unnaturally uncanny for their size.

Yet, right now. The Witch of the West made it happen.

The Crimson Lord glanced around as a shadow was cast over his head.

Swallowed by the molten rocks as bubbles of scorching flames erupted from its hardened surface like hives on fresh skin.

Then they closed in.

Slamming with a thundering force that sent a blast of hot air in concentric circles.

The world jolted from the force of the collision as increasing numbers of giant earthen lava smashed one after the other against itself.

Further sending wave after wave of catastrophe–level explosions. A continuous blow.

Kira watched in silence.

Her arms slowly descended from the air with her guard.

Her thoughts ran through in a spiral as she watched. Waiting, evidently for what was to come.

'This is merely a precaution. An attempt in trying to lock him in place…but soon, he would tear off from it.'

What she did next was imperative.

But like every other Mage, to do that…

'I need more time.'

To use that Spell…

'It won't even harm him.'

Her expression hardened.

'No, it won't even graze him if he's at the level I think he is…but…'

Distance.

'It should bring enough distance to separate us.'

That was what she needed. It was what she had fought for.

Distance. Time.

Enough so that she could escape.

She had already taken care of the students.

The last portal she held from dispersing proved so.

If any other living being existed in this doomed territory.

'They will die.'

But it was no longer her concern.

She had done her part, and that was what mattered.

Especially since she had confirmed her departure.

Ciara, her daughter, had gone through the Portal.

She was certain of it. After all, she could no longer feel her presence.

'So for now…let's watch…'

Just then, a wave of scarlet sliced through the rocks and the air warped fervently from a surge of power.

Her body stiffened.

'He's coming!'

Before the thought landed, space warped.

And her eyes bulged wide as her head snapped to the left.

'Shit.'

The word landed as her pupils met the incoming edge of a crimson blade starving for blood.

The man had appeared right above her. He's hand fluidly swirling in the air like a guillotine to get her head.

Her thoughts come to life. A rush of adrenaline surged within her.

And her body screamed to move.

But Kira Merlin…was locked.

She could not.

'Hah…I'm going to die…'

The thought landed, and the world sparked.

But her head…and face…remained whole.

She was saved– and as her breath hitched, her eyes dilated as she looked up at the blinding blade of gold and white.

At that moment, the brilliant sword had struck the crimson sword back.

It had parried it.

Its appearance spawned into the air at a ridiculous speed, with the appearance of the blue-haired woman protected by ethereal armour, who wielded it like her sceptre.

Kira's thoughts forged a word. One that was etched with hate from the pits of her gut.

'Jun.'