I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

Elemental Beasts were rare, but they existed.

This was easy information to find in the public, but someone like Meadow, who had been indoors hosting tea parties and attending galas, would be oblivious to facts like this.

Nonetheless, the manner of defeating them was the same.

Meadow, though startled at the sudden addition to her unfortunate circumstance, had reached this conclusion after observing for what felt like little to five seconds.

Time was no longer available, as the Beast, which was fairly escapable a while ago, had become an impossible wall to scale through.

Quite frankly, from the depths of her heart, a single conclusion dropped like a nuclear bomb in her skull.

'I'm going to die today.'

The air warped as a surge of lightning streaked through it.

A beastial cry broke through the heavens and the tall trees burnt to a crisp under the electrifying wake of the rushing Bear.

It slammed straight into the spot Meadow had occupied a moment before.

Easily breaking through the branch and the tree, a melancholic croak sound followed.

The Tree bent to the ground, snapping off its trunk in unequal halves.

Meadow had landed on the forest floor when the tree crashed against another with a loud, thunderous hum.

Concentric circles of wind broke out from the impact and sent wave after wave of danger signs to the Young princess.

She abided by them and dashed forward.

'Running won't help! It won't help at all!'

And unfortunately, she was right.

The Beast's snarl echoed into her ear.

Too close for comfort, and her wand shifted to the side in haste.

Air was manipulated to the tip as she prepared to launch herself to the sides, but just as the wind was about to blast off.

The Beast appeared behind her.

Its teeth glinted as its jaws snapped open, powerful limbs crashing toward her like falling blades.

Time seemed to slow as Meadow struggled, desperately to dodge the assault.

Her gaze darted behind her where the silhouette of the Gigantic creature hovered over her like the Grim Reaper.

And panic ran through her body with a rush of adrenaline.

"9th-tier Spell!"

She sucked in air as she felt her body drain rapidly from the pull of mana that trailed to the tip of her wand.

The Beast's mouth was closing in, and she could already smell the horrid stench of its breath as it encircled her.

Her body surged with energy, every muscle straining to respond to the oncoming threat.

The wind responded to her call as it rushed around her, compressing against itself in a spiral flow of air and energy.

"Spiral Wind of Destruction!"

The world resumed in motion as the surge of wind spiralled into large curves of tornadoes that blasted against the Beast with a surge of power.

The sound of the torrent of air erupted into the forest, spreading far across the Tall Trees, Streams and Skies.

It brought with it an unsettling feeling that diffused through the Forest.

Meadow sighed heavily as she tripped on her feet and fell. Immediately turning towards the Beast while swinging both her arms with desperate force.

The spirals of wind coiled tightly and lunged at the Beast, according to her decree.

Each swing sent a blast, forcing the Diamond Bear back with bone-jarring impact.

The creature snarled and glared at its prey as it struggled to force through the wind with an adamant purpose.

But Meadow wasn't having it.

"No!" She screamed as she waved her hand through the air.

The spiral of wind rushed like a giant serpent and struck it with a bolt-like force.

It cracked through the gemstone-like exoskeleton and skidded it across the floor.

But it remained purposeful.

Struggling against the wind as it charged forward.

Meadow's panic screamed.

"NO! GET BACK!"

She swung both arms in unison, ignoring the inconsiderate drain of mana from the constant use of a Spell, twice her Circle.

But rationality was lost from her, and instincts spurred to the surface.

She was oblivious to its drain.

The wind tore through the atmosphere, swift and decisive, before hitting the Beast with a thunderous force.

Each strike projects a sound akin to lightning striking through the earth.

The barrage was relentless and left no space, but like all spells, it needed mana to function, which was escaping her grasp quickly.

"Ah! AHH!"

She released a scream with each blast, persisting for what felt like hours.

But her brain knew better.

It hadn't even been up to five minutes!

The Beast cried out once again as its form crashed into a tree.

The ground shook, and the tree quivered as it began to fall from the brute force of the collision.

With a croaked scream, the Giant Tree collided against the floor. Raising dust, green particles and remnants of energy into the air.

In all this, Meadow continued still.

Her gaze was sharp and focused as she attempted to grasp at any flicker of hope in her situation.

But… finally, the wind stopped.

She waved her arm once more, but the spiral of wind failed to obey her command.

Her brows furrowed in confusion as she waved the other, but the same occurred.

With a bitter smile, she glanced at her arms.

"Wh– Why aren't they walking?"

Then she felt it… in her chest. Her mana heart.

Her eyes flared open in shock.

A painful realisation was settling in her head.

'I… I ran out of mana?'

At that moment, as if smelling its prey's demise, the Tree that crashed beside her thundered, and a fog of green splashed into the air.

From within, a scream of raw fury echoed as glowing eyes fixed on the Princess.

Meadow's heart skipped a beat.

"No!" She rose to her feet when the air crackled.

The familiar sound of something sharp reached her ear and sent a shiver down her spine. And the smell of burnt wood– not from flames, but from lightning, suffused in the air.

Evading felt impossible; any move away could be fatal.

Biting down on her lower lip, she turned her body to the direction of the Beast and glared at its glowing crimson eyes.

Time seemed to come to a standstill for the two as the Beast's diamond stone blasted an array of lightning.

Its brilliant lilac bolts shone brightly against her eyes. Causing her to close them instinctively.

The lightning rays consumed the space in front of her and reached her position in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, Meadow couldn't foster a thought as the bizarre nature of the situation had shut her closed.

She unintentionally prepared for what should come next– the Abyss.

But true to the way of princesses, their knights remained resolute, a shield against all threats.

In a flash of white light, a figure blasted through the foliage of trees.

A beam of white followed in its wake as it rushed towards the endangered princess at a ridiculous speed that matched the Lightning bolts.

In a swift turn of events, He grabbed onto her and surged forward, colliding against a nearby tree while the lightning streamed forward– hungry and unsatisfied.

The Diamond Bear turned its head in their direction.

Growling softly as the remnants of its attack scorched the green grass and trees that were unfortunate to stand in its way.

Its body tensed, and it walked forward.

Ahead of it, a tree caved in as a figure– a boy sat unceremoniously on the ground with a pained groan escaping his lips.

Held tightly in his grasp was the petite girl he had been forced to leave behind.

Alive and well.

She looked up at him with widened eyes.

Surprise and relief etched within them.

Her lips quivered as tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

"You–you moron! Where have you been?!"

She yelled out in outrage as Ban stared back with a wry expression.

"Hah, Princess, I–"

He ended his statement with a simple look upwards.

"Hold on, Princess."

Ban muttered as he slowly released his grip on her while he stood to his feet.

A few feet away was the Beast that had cornered them multiple times during their trip.

And one that would continue to do so if it wasn't stopped… right there and now.

This was the thought that ran through the boy's head, and it was obvious that Meadow had realised that.

A tug on his arm sent the message to him.

Of which, he responded with a gentle smile.

Ban released his arm from her grip and emerged forward with caution.

'That was embarrassing.'

He recalled the moment of their first encounter.

Undecisive of what to do, he had urged Princess Meadow to run while he passively struggled against it.

'I had expected it to kick up a fuss since we ventured too close to its domain, but my poor thinking and slow judgment caused this.'

With a sigh, he took a peek behind him where the Princess watched him with keen intent.

Her expression was unreadable, but he could tell she was cautious.

And perhaps a bit curious.

'I'll have to thoroughly apologise to the Princess.'

He concluded before turning back to the Beast.

Ban Xen observed the Beast for a second, and in the next, he made his move.

A thin line of white took to the skies with a blast of mana that spread in concentric waves.

The Greater creature turned its head up with a sharp growl as its forehead began to charge with a steady flow of current.

But the young man remained unfazed.

With his arm stretched into the air, a spark of white erupted in his palm and a spear wove to reality.

An elegant weapon of silver with a blunt shape like a half-moon and a curved blade sticking from its head.

He grabbed it with a firm grasp and spun it with relative ease.

Then like a bolt of lightning, he descended with a calm battle cry.