I regressed and became the Sword Ice King
Chapter 432: 432- Festival 163- The Sun Comet 12

Chapter 432: Chapter 432- Festival 163- The Sun Comet 12

It was a quiet trek.

A silence that hung low, and stayed long. Occasionally pierced by the sound of a creaking, bent pipe or a footstep, a tad too heavy.

It stretched long, and understandably so.

After all, they didn’t need to speak out loud. Their heads did it for them.

They spoke out loud in their minds. A scuffle of orderly questions and insinuations playing a game of cards as it sank them into the pool of thoughts.

It varied, of course.

From escape plans to future plans to undeniably, pain-filled plans.

They wallowed in that subconscious and let their legs lead the way.

Ciara walked in front this time.

Leading the two males who strolled behind her.

They let her lead. After all, only she knew the current locations of the unconscious students.

‘–Hah….the sacrifices.’

The realisation hit like a lightning bolt.

A slight tremor that rushed through his body from the failure which presented itself.

‘It’s a complete failure…’

He didn’t need to be convinced at this point.

Ciara’s mentioning of the arrival of Kira Merlin was enough of a finality to picture a world that lacks his presence…caused by an inevitable death.

The thought alone sent a ripple of tension that coursed through his body.

Enough to give him strength…but not enough to resist the bands that locked his will.

‘I must not cross paths with that woman.’

He just couldn’t.

She was a force to be reckoned with. A storm that spelt destruction.

A one-man army.

The Witch of the West was considered predictable. Someone who followed the code of the Merlin household and did what she judged fit.

But that predictability made her all the more dangerous.

It was because of this that he knew that crossing paths with her was death itself.

She wouldn’t speak.

Won’t consider. Won’t negotiate.

She won’t even consider his words as those of a human.

The Witch of the West would simply kill him.

And he needed to avoid death at all costs.

‘It’s a complete mess.’ Nicho concluded with a brief, short sigh.

‘Not only did the collection of the sacrifices fail, but now, I may die in the process.’

His gaze grew stern as he contemplated.

But then…it eased– suddenly.

A calm took over him as a bit of humanity took over him.

‘Perhaps it’s best I die…’

The words rang in his head. Deep. Contemplative.

A startling reminder of his predicament.

As an Executive of the Red Peacemakers, he was accustomed to many things.

Leading. Merrying. Killing.

They were forces of the Crimson Lord sent forth to fuel his desires. To spread his uncanny words of deceit.

And quicken the awakening of the Devil Lord.

His expression hardened, once more.

‘Some of us didn’t choose to become who we are…’ The words lingered. ‘…but we never spoke out. We never fought back. We simply accepted…and that too, is a crime worthy of death.’

It was ironic.

A chuckle escaped his lips.

A startling, amused one that caught the others off guard.

They turned towards him in unison, only to witness him doing nothing.

He simply bent his head low and continued walking.

But his head was doing anything but that.

It was working. Siphoning his way through years of experience.

How do you avoid death at the hands of one of the Powerhouses of the Kingdom of Lumbrica?

You run.

How do you run– escape the hands of two adamant descendants of two prominent Great Families?

Well…we’re about to find out.

‘The others would laugh at my situation.’

Nicho thought as he closed his eyes.

He peered into himself.

Deepened his consciousness into a submersive state. As if willingly giving in to a deep chasm.

Only, this wasn’t endless. It had an end.

And he searched for it.

Within his body. Within his bones. Within his soul.

And there…he found it.

His empty core.

The once mana–enriched source that filled him with vitality.

An insurmountable bountiful energy that lifted him from the state of a mundane human, weak, and took him, high and above– A Great Master. A level 100.

The sensation, the difference. It lingered, it struck. Like day and night.

Impossible to miss.

A stark contrast to what he once was.

He hated it.

But didn’t dwell on it.

Because within this empty orb. The bare core where energy should have been, something lingered. Flickered.

Crimson. Black.

An iridescent of scarlet and darkness, dancing below.

‘Here you are…’ He thought in amusement.

Then, his eyes opened once more.

Snapping him from what he saw. What he let grow.

What he prepared for a quick getaway.

His lips curled into a tight smile.

Escape no longer seemed impossible.

But inevitable.

***

Another few seconds had passed and the trio found their way in a new compartment.

Different from the others.

Further within the chain of Pipelines.

They had made it to the destination, or at least they guessed they did.

The two males still remained clueless.

Only ever walked where they were led.

Like sheep to a shepherd.

But now, they had begun to see signs of battle.

Dead bodies. Blood. Amputated limbs.

They weren’t visible, but they were there.

At corners, one wouldn’t bother to look. Spots that seemed too difficult to reach.

One just had to look twice and it became clear to them.

Louis whistled with delight on nearing a dead body when they turned into a large opening.

He stared at it for a moment. Bent downwards and placed his hand on the masked figure.

His fingers traced its mask badges until it got to a hole.

Foreign. Unnatural. Human–made.

A bullet hole.

He stuck his finger into it, then wiggled it a bit as a grin grew across his face.

A devilishly attractive one that made his eyes shimmer with as much effortlessness.

Then he turned to Nicho who stopped as well, while Ciara observed from her spot farther ahead.

His grin widened.

“Isn’t this one yours?”

Nicho watched in silence.

Not an ounce of change in his expression. A mask of indifference was taking root on his face.

But Louis wasn’t fooled. He observed. He saw.

The subtle clenching of his jaw. The flash of darkness within his eyes.

He was mad. Angered…but, in control.

‘That’s nice…’ Louis thought when Ciara broke the tension hanging loosely in the air.

“Enough, you two. We’re here.”

Glancing together, with Louis suddenly shooting back up, they saw them.

Unconscious bodies lay against the concentric wall of the Pipelines.

One. Four. Six. They numbered.

All under the spell cast by the Executive himself, Nicho Mayuri.

The man smirked.

His former anger completely simmered into nothing but ash as he took slow, deliberate steps forward.

“And so we arrive.”

Ciara whipped her gaze as he strolled past her to the lined unconscious bodies.

“Enough theatrics. Heal them, or you get it right from my mother.”

She paused, and so did Nicho who turned towards that.

They glanced at each other.

She smirked.

“Or would you like that?”

The sarcasm, as always, was far too evident to walk by.

But for some reason, this time, there seemed to be a genuineness to her claim.

Like she would actually give him up to her mother if he had so much as resisted.

‘This girl…’ He thought to himself with a sigh as he turned around. ‘She’s more dangerous than Raffaelo Jun.’

“Why the rush? Your mother is here. You can take as much time as you need.” He stated calmly.

Ciara sighed and folded her hands. Louis joining in, his gaze landed squarely on Mariam Aquarius.

Her unconscious figure lay bare for him.

Pristine. White. Clean.

A figurine he adorned. Cared for. Would die for. Would KILL for.

He clenched his fist.

‘Just wait, Mariam. It’ll all be over soon.’

“You talk like you don’t know the predicament of a space plunged under the Mana reflux.”

Ciara’s voice cut through the air.

A startling suddenness on Nicho’s part, but downright confusion on Louis’ part.

‘The predicament?’ He wondered. ‘What’s she talking about now?’

Ciara Merlin was always a wonder to him.

And she proved so by acting the way she did.

“Don’t tell me…” Nicho’s words lingered in the air as he glanced at her slightly.

Face forward, but his eyes weren’t.

“Yes,” Ciara interjected. “The Academy is crumbling. It will disappear soon.”

A pained shock followed. A startlement that led to silence and more questions.

Louis gave her a gaze. An arched brow.

Unamused.

“What?” He asked. “Did I hear you right?”

Ciara glanced at him, returning the same gesture.

“You must not have. If not, you wouldn’t ask such a silly question.”

She turned back to Nicho.

“My mother must have planned a quick evacuation. Right now…”

She lingered for a moment, her head tilting to the wall.

Staring squarely at it, but not focusing on it.

“…students are being led away from the Academy. This place…will be deserted soon.”

Nicho lingered for a second.

His hands were frozen in place as he contemplated her words.

‘…not good…’

An evacuation? Already?

Morning hadn’t arrived yet.

This wasn’t in the bulletin in the plans.

‘Then again…neither was Mila’s death.’

He sighed inwardly.

Recalibrating his choice when a mind–clenching pain assaulted his brain.

He yelped. Jumping to his feet as his legs and arms locked.

Then his body stiffened to a degree.

As if he had been frozen shut, but he knew what occurred wasn’t physical.

Something was biting him. Piercing him.

Stabbing the very nerves within his body with something foreign. Hot. Poisonous.

It burned. It flared. It hurt!!

‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’

The words resounded again and again as he instinctively banged his left arm against the wall.

A subtle pang of pain, but relatively no damage or placation done to ease the pain.

He ground his teeth. And snapped at Ciara.

“stop this!”

His voice broke in a scream before he registered the words in a sentence.

The pain exploded.

He shrieked and collapsed on his knees.

Gritting bitterly under the feet of Ciara Merlin who watched from above.

“Stop resisting.” Her words came out plain. Simple.

An instruction.

“…and get back to work. There is no time to waste, so you’d better begin…if not…”

She let the air settle with the end of the statement.

Just as the pain began to seep out from Nicho’s body.

The man shivered, then sighed.

Panting heavily as his gaze locked onto Ciara’s.

A stare that registered every word he didn’t speak.

I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS.

Ciara read this. And ignored it.

Instead, she waited.

Not for him to act on instructions, but for him to resist.

It was better that way. A lot more fun.

He should resist.

But sadly, or thankfully…whatever you may think.

Nicho picked himself up and began immediately.