I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

'Capture the Heads of the Great Families?'

The thought alone sent a shiver down her spine.

'Surely, they must be joking.'

"Oh, yes," Jester said with a vibrant smile. "I said it in passing, but you paid attention to my words."

Cressida hummed in pleasure.

"How can I not? When our goals align so well, it is hard not to."

Jester chuckled lightly in response while Sophie shrank inwards.

'They're serious.'

"Yes, but… capturing them is as difficult as it gets."

Jester said with a sigh as a frown formed on his face.

"Lesser as they may be, they are still the Heads. They're powerful… strong… and diverse in skills."

Cressida nodded with rapt attention.

"Indeed. I can't imagine things going wrong while Kira Merlin, or the Dragon King, Chun Kang Lin are present."

"Oh, please. Kira is one difficulty, but Chun is a different kind."

Cressida's brows furrowed, and so did Sophie who had paid attention unintentionally.

As she was brought here by her mother's command, she could only interpret this meeting as the cause.

And thus, this discussion indirectly applied to her as well.

Whether she contributes or not.

"What do you mean?" Cressida asked.

"The Murim has been in closing for a while now. Did you not know?"

Their eyes sparked to life at his statement, bafflement taking place in their expression.

The Murim had always been a part of the world exempt from the rest.

Worse than the Western Sea or the Eastern Forest, the entryway to the Murim had been quite complicated and was practically impossible without the aid of a Ki user.

"Haven't they always been in closing?" She asked.

"Oh no… not like this, Cressida," Jester replied with a smirk.

"Of course, this is private information, but as partners… I am willing to divulge a bit."

Cressida practically leaned on her seat.

"Please do."

The eagerness in her eyes became evident and Jester pleasured himself in that curiosity.

With a smile, he turned to Sophie, and the young lilac-haired flinched on eye contact.

But her curiosity was just as palpable.

His smirk lingered.

"I'm sure you're aware of the result of the last tournament of the Great Families.

The surprising ending between Jang Kang Lin, the second son and Raffaelo Jun."

The two ladies present nodded their heads slowly.

Absorbing every information that was pooled out from their visitor.

"Well, it so turns out… that last move… Absolue Zero had caused more damage than they thought."

He explained, but their expressions only grew farther from understanding and he saw through that.

But that was the path he had taken, because his last sentence would explain it in full.

"His meridians are still frozen from the ice."

Their reactions, from the sudden flaring of their eyes to the parting of their lips.

He watched it all and smirked as the realisation came to them.

In that moment, silence overtook the room as their thoughts ran through.

And with it… came more questions.

"So the reason Jang Kang Lin had not attended the Academy during this period?"

Sophie began.

"It was because… he was incapable of it."

Jester nodded once in affirmation, and Cressida gasped lightly.

"Aren't meridians the path this… Ki take? How did that boy who was not much of a Master freeze such pathways?"

Jester laughed out loud.

"It was a testament to the boys' trait abilities.

Freezing meridians means he can freeze mana pathways, and even Aura veins."

Cressida frowned deeply.

"Did he know that?"

"Who? Raffaelo? No, I doubt any of them did.

The world would be in shock if words of a boy who freezes energy pathways existed… ice like that runs deeper than bones."

Cressida gasped once more.

"How frightening. That boy… that Child..."

"Would have been much more than a hindrance… he would have been a block."

Jester continued her statement.

"A block to a flowing stream that works."

Sophie, who had been silent all this time stood in a daze.

Her eyes stared blankly into the air, and her thoughts drifted in loops.

'Even in death… his name still haunts us.'

Within her, she could feel a drift.

A tug of emotions that began to siphon into a pipe that would be closed shut.

'His presence… had impacted my decisions in the Academy… but now that he's gone.'

At that moment, she pulled herself back to the present and snapped her senses to life.

Turning to her mother, she began to catch the full picture of their plans.

"With the son's condition, Chun became docile. He seemed preoccupied with finding a solution rather than tugging for power with the others."

Cressida nodded in agreement.

"He had always argued with one person during the meeting, and that person is gone as well.

Michaelo Jun and Raffaelo Jun… both menaces during their time."

"How about the others?"

Sophie interjected, and the two adults turned their attention to her.

She had made up her mind now… that confusion, the drive that had somehow pushed her to the light was gone.

Now, she could frolic in her true path.

The path that had always called for her. Yearned for her abilities… and she obliged.

"Chun may be out of focus, but the others are and despite their standing within the rankings… they are no easy foe either."

Jester's lips stretched into a wide grin.

"Yes, Lady Sophie you're right to question that… but with our plan, they wouldn't be much of a problem."

Sophie instinctively arched her brow.

"What plan?"

She had heard her Mother mention it but assumed they would only discuss it now.

"To fool Kira, then we must need a distraction… a series of distractions atop each other."

"A distraction?" Sophie repeated, when a memory came to mind. "The Trial?"

Jester's smile widened once more and Cressida nodded with pride.

"As expected of my daughter." She said with a smile.

"The trial is a good distraction. A way for the King to satisfy the masses who nearly lost their children or lost them to the Academy's demise."

Sophie nodded in understanding.

"Everyone would attend."

Jester's fingers tapped on the table with a rhythm as he nodded.

"Exactly."

His gaze sparked to life.

"With Rhabanz Dreau and Kira Merlin's history as Magic partners since the Academy days, this will take most of her attention."

"It would." Sophie muttered, 'But it's not enough… even if she is distracted, which is most unlikely… the others wouldn't.'

The Great Families are twelve… twelve heads.

Patriarchs and Matriarchs alike.

"Hah Hah Hah…" Jester's voice cut through her thoughts as she glanced up to find him shaking his index finger in the air.

"I can see what you're thinking, Lady Sophia, but you need to see the bigger picture to work with us well."

She tilted her head slightly.

"The trial isn't the distraction? Are you planning something within it?"

Jester smirked. "Exactly… a distraction within the distraction. One that would be too difficult to ignore."

"But that's where we're at a bind," Cressida interjected with a sigh. "I find it difficult to think a Devil of his standing would agree to such a thing."

Sophie froze.

'Devil? What Devil? I didn't hear anything about a devil.'

"Oh, please. Mammon isn't someone to say no to a delightful experience."

Cressida frowned. "Here you go again, addressing your Contractor by his name."

Jester laughed out loud.

"Oh, dear Cressida, if only you knew the bond between us."

The man gasped exaggeratedly as he placed his arms on his chest.

He held it firmly while his cheeks blossomed.

"Only I know of the bond we share."

His voice grew silky smooth. Too smooth.

And Cressida laughed lightly at it.

Sophie, on the other hand, was still finding her way from 'Devil of his standing.'

She glanced at her mother.

"Mother?"

Cressida turned to her with an amused smile, lingering from watching Jester's exaggerated movements or love gestures as he called.

"Oh, are you confused?" She asked and Sophie nodded in reply.

"Well, our friend here is a Demonic Contractor… and his contract is with a Devil… a high-class one too."

Her eyes narrowed to slits as she replied.

Jester though, slammed his arms on the table suddenly and grinned from ear to ear.

"He's more than just a high-class one, Cressida! He's a Monarch! A Monarch."

Sophie gulped.

"Yes, Yes, the 7th tier Monarch Devil, the Mad King, Mammon."

Sophie's gaze flicked open in shock as she glanced between the two figures.

'Oh, you are fucking kidding me!'

The Monarch Devils weren't just any kind… they were all Knights of the Devil King, who was the only living Primordial-tiered Devil.

The Knights of the Devil King were seven in number, and they were the most twisted, strongest and diabolical creatures to ever exist.

Inferior, only to the Devil King.

"His abilities would be dwarfed due to the plain boundaries, but my contractor has agreed to help us in our plans."

Jester said with a smug as his gaze landed on Sophie.

The young girl nodded quietly.

"I see." She managed to say before a sigh escaped her lips.

'This is more than revenge now… this is far from our ethics.'

The Arcanus had always been involved with the occult.

But the occult was different from that of the Devil despite its similarities.

It was why they possessed artefacts that affected Demonic Humans and why the Undead could be summoned in their name.

While it was similar to demonic in the surface, its essence stood out differently.

'But that essence will be wasted if used like this.'

"Well, if you're confident, then we should go ahead."

Cressida began and her voice quickly brought Sophie back to the present.

"The day of the Trial is in three days. I shall get my artefacts ready in preparation for what is to come… so I suggest you do the same."

Jester smirked.

"I will be amongst the congregation of Nobles who will arrive that day… and the host which would serve for his arrival would be Rhabanz."

Cressida nodded.

"Like you said, he may appear whole on the day, but he would be more than weakened, within.

He shall serve as a good host for the limited time being and the Heads of the Household will be too busy with that to figure out what hit them."

Jester nodded in satisfaction.

Then with a sigh, he stood to his feet.

"I guess we are done with the discussion, then."

Cressida stood as well. "Yes, I will put things in order on my end."

Jester walked towards the door while Cressida clapped once.

The door immediately swung open, but beyond it was a swirling darkness.

The man glanced at her with intrigue.

"Cressida, you must tell me the secrets behind the Floating Doors one of these days."

Cressida giggled. "With time, my friend."

Jester nodded and walked through.

"Till the Trial."

And the door hummed shut leaving the Arcanus together in the silent study.

Sophie lingered with her thoughts.

As if digesting all that was discussed in that moment.

It had been new information. Foreign even, and highly unexpected, but it was a fate she had welcomed.

With nothing left at the sides, only forward lay bare.

She glanced at her mother with a blank expression.

"Well, I will begin my training at the Northern High Hills."

And her mother held her gaze. Her smile never wavered.

Without waiting for a reply, she headed towards the door when–

"What do you take of him, Jester?"

She froze.

Her gaze narrowed and she turned around to face her mother.

"What do you mean?"

Her mum's smile lingered. "What do you think of Jester?"

Sophie tilted her head slightly.

Shrugged, then replied.

"I don't think anything. I do not know him, and quite frankly, I don't get why you trust him."

Cressida's smile widened, and her eyes sparkled with brilliance.

Then like cold venom, her words dropped out of her lips.

"Trust? Who would be stupid enough to trust a Demonic Human?"