Infinite Skill Devourer
Chapter 67: Member Number Three IV: The Fall Of A King

Chapter 67: Member Number Three IV: The Fall Of A King

The guards charged forward, their weapons gleamed under the light from the chandelier.

They were fast and attacked with experience from years of endless training and practice.

But to Ryuen, they were slow. Predictable. Weak.

He moved like a shadow, weaving between them effortlessly, like it was nothing.

A sword came for his throat—he ducked.

A spear jabbed at his ribs—he sidestepped.

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned his dagger and attacked back.

He sliced through flesh, muscle, and armor as if they were paper.

A guard then decided to swing a massive axe, aiming to cut Ryuen in two.

Their main aim was to kill him or hurt him enough to pull him to his feet.

But Ryuen caught the motion out of the corner of his eye.

Before the metal could touch him, he exhaled softly, and the room turned cold.

The air itself cracked, like a frozen forest, due to the sudden ice that spread around them, turning the throne room frigid.

The guards hesitated.

Their breath turned to mist. Their armor stiffened as frost laced the metal.

One soldier, foolish and desperate, charged at Ryuen with his sword raised high above his head.

Ryuen simply raised a hand.

A pulse of icy energy rippled outward, freezing the man mid-step.

His body locked in place, his expression twisted in determination—and maybe fear.

Then, with a single tap from Ryuen’s finger, the frozen soldier shattered into blocks of ice.

Or, in this case, frozen meat that would be nearly impossible to thaw.

The throne room suddenly fell silent.

The remaining guards turned pale, their eyes darting toward their king, seeking orders—seeking hope.

But there was none. King Arel said nothing, a silent reminder of what Ryuen would do to them if they dared to stop him.

One by one, frost overtook them.

Their movements slowed, their limbs stiffened, and then—

CRACK!

They all froze completely, each one trapped in a prison of ice, frozen to death.

Or near death, for those who had barely managed to cling to life.

Ryuen walked among them, his boots clicking against the cold stone.

He pressed a hand against a guard’s chest.

With the lightest push, the man crumbled into shards.

Another flick of his wrist—another guard broke apart like fragile glass.

The last soldier standing let out a choked whimper, his body trembling. "P-please..."

Ryuen tilted his head. "Please?"

The man fell to his knees, his sword slipping from his grasp. "Mercy..."

Ryuen smirked. "Oh, now you beg?" He knelt slightly, their gazes meeting.

"Where was this mercy when you attacked? Where was this mercy when you didn’t warn me about what they would do to me?"

The soldier’s lips parted. He wanted to give an excuse, to beg more—because Ryuen was right.

Every single person in the palace knew about the plan to kill Ryuen.

Except his students.

Before the man could speak, the ice swallowed him whole.

Ryuen stood, wiped the frost from his sleeve, and then kicked the frozen corpse.

It shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments, scattering across the floor.

Compared to Erina, Yuta, and Kenta, it was nothing more than a normal sight.

Well, yes—Yuta’s father dealt with politics. He was used to things like this.

Kenta, on the other hand, had watched more horror movies than he took his studies seriously.

The throne room was silent once more.

Ryuen turned his attention back to Arel, wiping his blade clean on a fallen soldier’s cloak.

"Now, where were we?"

The throne room, once grand and filled with the hum of power, was now a graveyard of ice.

Now, one person was left—King Arel.

He did not move from his throne, not even change position.

He watched Ryuen with something between amusement and mild irritation.

"Impressive," Arel said, resting his chin on his hand. "You’ve certainly grown."

Ryuen smirked. "And you’ve stayed the same."

Arel chuckled, unbothered. "If I recall correctly, you once feared me."

Ryuen took a step forward, holding his blade tightly by his side.

"No, I was simply worried and scared for the sake of my students."

The temperature in the room increased, exactly the same way Yuki would have done.

The chandeliers cracked due to the frost, and the golden tapestries and curtains curled in on themselves with low cracks.

It was like a blizzard had passed through—the true power of Yuki Onna—and Ryuen was glad.

Arel exhaled slowly.

"So," the king said as he tapped his fingers against the armrest, "will you end this here?"

Ryuen tilted his head. "Do you want me to?"

Arel smirked. "You’ve already taken everything, haven’t you? My kingdom, my guards, my family..."

He sighed, as if the weight of it all had finally settled on him. "Go ahead, then. Finish it."

Ryuen narrowed his eyes. He raised his sword—

Then paused.

He lowered it.

"No."

Arel blinked. "No?"

Ryuen’s smirk returned. "Death is too easy."

Arel returned the smirk with a sly, devious smile.

"I want you to watch," Ryuen said softly.

"I want you to see everything you’ve built crumble. I want you to feel the weight of your failure. And when your kingdom no longer remembers your name, when your people spit at the thought of you—"

He chuckled softly. "—then I’ll kill you."

The king did not flinch. He merely leaned back against his throne, watching Ryuen with blank eyes.

And a glint of amusement.

"The fact you managed to survive after all the planning," Arel began, a bitter, angry smile on his lips.

"You’ve always been very annoying since you arrived, but I decided to watch, and now you’ve actually proved that your kind are just pests."

"However, as fate would have it, with your stupid survival skills and strong-willed heart, you came back. And this time, I bet you’re stronger."

"Since you managed to wipe out my kids," Arel chuckled, "I’m actually surprised you left the less outstanding one."

"I expected you to leave Aika—she’s a good kid. But, well... you decided to take her."

Erina frowned deeply, completely shocked by what her own father was saying.

But she didn’t care. She knew she wasn’t as good as the others, but she did her best.

Ryuen could only feel sorry for the queen who had settled with a beast like the king.

"You could have lived a quiet life," Arel continued. "Why return for vengeance?"

Ryuen chuckled. "Because people like you exist."