I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

A fiery glow in shades of red illuminated the skies as the wind howled ferociously against the walls of the Arena.

The Audience were kept safe from the force with the aide of the dome and the 12 great families and the imperial family had their own way of protecting themselves from the might.

A pale expression exuded from most of the Family Matriarchs while some looked ahead in bewilderment.

"It seems the families have grown" Michaelo muttered under his breath while a dome of Aura protected them from the blast.

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"...it's expected. Each generation raises one or two geniuses". Raph replied. Their gazes fixed on Darell.

"hm…..you have a point". The blue haired man retorted as he sighed, folding his hands. "what more do the families have to show now".

The Ranking Battles was a farce that the matriarchs of each family had played over the years.

They were aware of how unnecessary it was to rank the great families. Each had their strengths and each had their weaknesses. They ought to use their strength together while covering up their weaknesses but with time that concept changed.

Instead of covering up their weaknesses, they began to exploit it and instead of banding their strength together, they began to battle each other to find the mightiest.

It was out of that misguided feeling that the Rankings Battle was created to find a safer and more acceptable way of testing their strengths against each other with the hidden motive of checking each other in place as well as unraveling their secret techniques.

Every great family had one after all.

The sky had mostly lost its crimson shade by now and the ferocious cry of the wind had grown stale.

Darell floated in the air. A golden aura was emitting from his body as he stared down on the Arena.

It was difficult not to mistake this particular Elf for not being Royalty. Everything he had done so far exuded grace and might with a hint of cunning.

The wind had finally died down and the destruction that resulted was finally laid bare for the eyes of the people to see.

The Arena seemed to have been toppled over twice. The solid smooth floor had turned into hills of debris and rocks with craters filled with water at random spots of the once pristine floor. It had undergone major renovation, that was for sure.

"...." Darell looked around the Arena silently until his gaze fixed on a blob of water that seemed to be stuck on the wall of the Arena. He raised a brow when the water suddenly burst open revealing Mariam.

She panted heavily as her form dissolved into specks of light and Her body slid down from the body shaped crater in the wall to the ground with a light thump.

Darell slowly floated towards her and landed on a boulder next to her.

"You seem…fine.." Darell said with a hint of confusion in his voice.

Hearing his voice, Mariam looked up and stared at him, a blank expression on her face and her eyes glowing an aqua blue. She scoffed. "You win".

Her voice sounded listless and frail but yet brimming with power.

Darell stared at her for a moment. His thoughts conflicted. 'How did she…' He thought to himself when they felt a presence in front of them. Michaelo appeared announcing the results of the Battle filling the Stand of the Arena with unsatisfied cries.

"He cheated !"

"The warrior princess didn't lose !"

"The results are not acceptable !"

Their cries, though insignificant, filled the Arena with dissatisfaction.

"...How peculiar". Michaelo said with his gaze on the crowd.

"It seems like the People have their own winner, Miss. Mariam" he said with a chuckle, turning towards them. "you may have lost the battle but won something else".

Mariam stared at him with an intrusive expression while Darell slowly walked away from them.

It didn't seem like they were going to pay any attention to the crowd. Some mages had appeared by now, going about fixing the Arena while two more quickly rushed towards her.

One helped her up, covering her body with a cloth while the other slowly checked her for any signs of physical abrasion.

She seemed lost in her thoughts as they led her away from Arena when something perked up her ears.

"Mermaid Warrior !"

A young girl cried out from the crowd filling the Stands with tension. Their attention quickly shifted from the young girl back to Mariam and they chanted together.

"MERMAID WARRIOR !"

Their cries filled the Arena with euphoric tension.

The Matriarchs remained fixed on their positions, no apparent expression written on their faces.

"Power that draws the people together ?" The King muttered with an intense gaze fixed on Mariam. "Were the mermaids hiding this level of prowess all this time ?".

His brows furrowed deeply while his son stared with a blank expression on his face.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

A bright smile appeared on Mariam's face as she waved at the people while she was led away.

Darell on the other hand didn't seem bothered about their chants. He simply ignored them, walking towards his Family's Podium with a distant expression. He may have learnt one or two from this battle and it was expected.

Paulson Aquarius had a contented smile as he watched his granddaughter being led away from the stage. Though secrets had been exposed today, it was well worth it. There's not a single Great family who is capable of hiding their family techniques and it was bound to be exposed anyways.

What made him excited though was the reverence the people seemed to be giving his granddaughter.

"Her charm is more than capable of captivating even the people" He muttered with an excited tone.

"Pff. Humans no nothing".

He quickly turned towards his grandson with a rather strong expression. His right brow raised slightly while his contented expression was downcasted by a rather devious one.

The young boy shivered on his seat.

"....Hah…Hah…what I meant was…I'm going to get pointers from my sister".

He quickly took off leaving the man alone to his thoughts.

He sighed.

"Children right ?". The familiar tone of Kira Merlin perked his ears up as he slowly turned towards her.

Their podium faced directly opposite each other and her gaze seemed fixated on him.

"...." He stared at her for a short while then a smile formed on his face "indeed". He chuckled.

"Oh please. don't try to give this wretch face, Paulson". Another familiar voice perked up his ears and he simply turned to his left. Next to him, The Lucia household's podium stood tall.

"What did you say bitch ?!" Kira cried out from her position as she glared at the golden haired beauty.

"Did I stutter ?" Mirabel chuckled with a raised tone in her voice as she glanced at Paulson. "don't mind her. Your daughter did beautifully…though now"

She slowly turned towards the rest of the households. "Now she has to face off against some really hefty gentlemen".

Kira coughed out loud.

".. and lady" Mirabel said with a chuckle as she glanced at the young mage. Ciara Merlin.

Paulson watched them carefully when he felt something grab him deeply. He sighed.

His grand daughter had achieved alot yes but he couldn't deny the presence the rest of the household had when it came to the battlefield.

Just one of those participants had sent his two opponents into intensive care.

He seemed lost in thoughts when a knight slowly walked up behind him and whispered something in his ears.

He flinched but then relaxed back to his former posture and turned around.

He wasn't the only one that seemed to have gotten a message either.

The rest of the Patriarchs seemed eager to leave their spot right after a knight came over to their podium.

The last battle of the day finally came to its conclusion with a decisive winner and an indecisive winner. The crowd of people had begun to descend from the stands with merry and sober hearts.

Some had even begun to leave the premises of the Stadium to prepare for another long day.

While others decided to take a look at the Arena as they were being reshaped by the Mages.

In all, the atmosphere remained peaceful and the crimson red that shone on the clouds had disappeared leaving a luminous white hovering over the dark skies.

The moon had risen up in all its splendor.

Raphaelo Jun remained fixed on his position with Gilda standing next to him.

Most of the podiums were empty by now but he seemed hesitant to leave the premises.

"Young master ?" Gilda muttered with a raised tone noticing his somber expression.

"....Doesn't it seem…..peaceful ?" He said with a wistful tone.

Gilda stared at him for a short while. Her face devoid of any expression if it were to give off one.

"....yes. Yes it does".

Raph raised his gaze towards the moon as a chuckle exuded from his lips. "I wonder where my mum is…".