I regressed and became the Sword Ice King - Chapter 488

Chapter 488: Chapter 488- Disorder

The Household Heads of the Great Families had always been a cornerstone since their founding.

Centuries after centuries of Leaders, acting as pillars for the true Rulers of the Kingdom as fasted with.

Their purpose had been made known through their actions and the instructions of the goddess, Mayura.

Protect the Kingdom– its crown and wipe away the demons that sully the Mortal Realm and threaten the life of the Kingdom.

Predictable, yet understandable.

And to achieve this, they required their numbers. Twelve Households. Twelve Leaders. Twelve Powerful Individuals to bring balance to the world Scourge by the darkness.

Each was accounted for, and for many generations, twelve had always been the right balance… until now.

Cressida Arcanus existed, and with her was a long line of hatred that had bred into vengeance.

A vengeance that would cause destruction to the pillars that had held the Western Kingdom for many years.

It was an unprecedented occurrence as Households aligned, and a few never stood alone.

Of course, the Jun had been an exception to this rule.

And so were a few others who were known to stand alone.

But amongst those who couldn’t…

The Lesser Fraction of the Great Households.

‘An imbalance.’

The thoughts danced around the brain of the dark-haired Matriarch of the Vinci Household.

Lady Rosá Vinci.

At the moment, she stood together with Manon, the King, an unconscious Kira and Isaac Techna.

All important figures of the Households, and the Heads of the family… but while they were similar in name to the rest, they differed greatly in one important thing. Power.

Rosá’s dull, grey eyes lingered around those who had been tasked with clearing the Dome.

The Family Heads were busy fighting and killing the Demons that had made their way through their haven.

Luckily, the numbers were easy to control, and they made quick work of it.

‘If not, we’ll be worse than a burnt pie; we’ll be the whole charcoaled oven.’

Her head shifted to the side where Isaac Techna stood with her.

“Isaac, dear, what do you see?”

Isaac flinched at her voice.

Snapping his head towards her with a bewildered gaze.

“…Lady Rosá, did you just speak?”

The middle-aged Matriarch frowned slightly.

Her black-glossed lips curled downwards while her eyes, lined with black mascara, rolled in amusement.

“Hah, I apologise, I had just…” Isaac shook his head and stretched his arm forward.

“I didn’t realise that we would ever hear you speak again.”

The Matriarch of the Vinci Household, and the world-renowned Artiste, Rosá Vinci was an inspiration to most.

Painters, Musicians, Engineers, Crafters… and even Blacksmiths.

Her works spoke to the mind… unravelling the thoughts and pulling the magic of imagination from within.

It was a talent equal to the generations of the young who were special even amongst their Family, but unlike the others, the Vinci had their own method of growing brilliance.

The Artist Mute. A tradition carried out by any member of the Vinci Household to ascertain a form of eureka of the mind.

An epiphany of innovation that furthers the understanding of their abilities and talent as Artists.

To achieve this, time was necessary and the longer spent meant the deeper the basin of ingenuity ready to be tapped by the Artistes.

Of course, the level of understanding differed during one’s rumination, but it usually led to the same ending.

This was a tradition well known to a few, and every member of the Great Households.

But it was never a topic to be talked about as it breached rules that tied the secret traditions.

Rosá slapped his arm away with an exasperated sigh.

“My Rite of silence has come to an abrupt end, and that is thanks to this ridiculous predicament we now face ourselves in.”

Isaac sighed.

“I apologise for the discourtesy.”

He bowed his head slightly before glancing up at the sky.

A serious expression was taking root on his face.

“But as you can see…”

The young Lord of the Techna Household didn’t need to complete his statement for the Greatest Artist to realise what he meant.

She had seen the whole thing after all… and tried to escape from it.

‘How unfortunate.’

She thought to herself as she shook her head.

“Never mind that, boy. I asked a question. Do you see it?”

Isaac frowned.

“What do you mean, Lady Rosá”

His dark blue eyes shimmered with curiosity as he stared her over.

“What I see is our impending doom if Lord Manon isn’t able to hold the fort.”

The old Priest chuckled in amusement as he slowly turned to them.

Pulling his attention with him.

The King who stood behind watched in silence while Kira Merlin occupied the ground in a sleepless rest.

“Do not fret, Lady Rosá. I may be old, but the powerful of the gods, isn’t.

The goddess Athena, will protect her with her undying love and protection.

I shall not fail you.”

Rosá stared at the man for what felt like a long time with a blank expression.

Her gaze shifted slightly to the man– King Tyson Marcello who stood behind them and back at Isaac.

Her lips depressed further as she released a sigh.

“There is no point in withholding what I believe since it is clear as day… and inevitable.”

She folded her arms as the men around her leaned in to her words.

“Hostility brews amongst us.”

Her statement was followed by a series of expressions. Changes that had become prevalent even without looking at them.

The King grinned, Manon remained stoic and Isaac’s eyes bulged open– nearing closer and closer to popping out of his sockets.

“Wha– What?”

He turned to the front where the others had gathered to defeat the last Demon, a RazorBack.

Unlike before, it had taken them a relatively shorter time to bring it down with their numbers.

Their expressions while doing so were… a mask to say the least.

But Isaac could feel the tension in the air.

One he had not seen until his eyes were open.

“You must be joking.” He stated, half surprised, and half amused.

“Think about it.” Rosá glanced at the woman who floated above their heads.

“That woman had clearly planned for the demise of all the Households.”

She began.

“Locking us in a dimension while Kira was unconscious… albeit, that was even in their plan.

But even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t change anything.”

Isaac gripped his fist. Hard.

“It’s impossible for all of us to escape from here.”

He sighed.

“That… I had expected from what is around us.”

As if joining in on their conversation, the sounds of the Demons– the screeches and empty hollows. Screams and roars, had begun to permeate through the Dome.

And the Arch Bishop? Father Manon had groaned and reeled his arms down from the position he had taken while maintaining the Dome.

It had grown weaker.

“Hiding had never been the plan,” Rosá said with a hiss.

“Making time for Kira’s awakening was.”

With the Witch of the West, it was difficult to imagine anyone better at finding a way out of a realm that wasn’t theirs.

“And with or without Kira, one or two of us will die. After all, before this horde of monstrosities, we are all equal.”

Death was upon each and every one of them.

“Why let just anyone die…”

Isaac closed his eyes slowly as his chest tightened.

“It’s okay, Lady Rosá. I understand where you’re getting at.”

The King behind sneered from ear to ear, shaking from within as his thoughts churned at him.

‘A fire brewing from within? Hah, yes… destroy yourselves… Oh, Great Households.’

Manon kept silent.

Leaving his thoughts and words to himself.

For the others, they observed it as his decision to exempt himself from the affairs of conflict to come.

Because from what they saw… and what they felt… it was inevitable.

At that moment, the last cry of the Demon within their domain ended with the guttural chokehold of blood that spilt the scorched earth.

And soon, the Family Heads began to gather once more.

The people gathered had their heads high, and their thoughts even higher.

They were beings of unfathomable power to the common people, but amongst themselves… they were colleagues.

Behind the group who were chosen for the clean-up was Gloria Jun.

Her great sword hung in the air, while she gripped the hilt.

Black ichor dripped from the tip of the blade as they neared the others.

Her thoughts were a mess that had begun to grow unruly straws.

‘What now?’

‘How do we escape?’

‘What path can we take?’

Of course, the road was obvious.

A sacrifice was to be made, and escape was adamant.

Even this powerful group of individuals know when they were bested.

And a thousand Grand Demons? Hah, no one here was dumb enough to think twelve of them could achieve such a glory.

And if they did, they would call it dumb luck.

‘Cressida Arcanus…’

She had paved a way so that even if she doesn’t manage to kill all of them… at least three or more will be gone.

And if they escaped without those Family Heads…

The implications…

The result…

Years of restraint that had somehow reigned within the Great Households.

‘… it would be gone.’

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as they finally gathered together.

Gazes danced on one another while the tension spiked to an all-time high.

It was undeniable at this point, and Gloria easily reached her conclusion as the others did.

‘We may have to fight one another.’

And so the tension grew, unrestrained and unavoidable.

In that moment, the air grew stale, and as if sensing the conflict, the eyes of the Witch of the West snapped open.