I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

The shockwave of the explosion ran through the Staff Building in a second, and in the next, silence resumed. Like nothing ever happened.

The Lecturers present were all lined in front of the door, their gears locked and ready.

HeadMaster Dreau and the others walked over to them with hurried steps, and the Lecturers turned their attention to the approaching figures.

One familiar figure stood in front of the others, serving as the Leader.

"Professor Rona Wittkins, I see you're organizing the others?"

Kazim said on getting there, Rona turned around on hearing his voice.

She nodded curtly, her gaze shifting towards the Head Master.

"What are your instructions. We're prepared to go over to the Hostels right away to protect the safety of the students."

HeadMaster Dreau nodded as he skimmed through the Lecturers gathered.

"I see that."

He replied, his tone detached.

Rona raised a brow in confusion, perturbed by his reaction.

'Is he not interested in saving the students? When his daughter is one of them?'

She wondered, but it seemed like her questions were about to be answered.

"Go ahead and do as you've planned but before that."

He turned towards Raph.

"Is he here?"

His question caused a stir within the Lecturers gathered, Rona especially.

She and Kazim were the two Professors left in charge of the others, and they had made it a habit of checking the Staff to ensure they had no connection to Katherin or the others.

Cadwin had been unconscious since the explosion while James Crockwell had been out of the Academy since a while ago.

The other Professor, Roland Sunrise, had been nowhere to be seen since the explosion and presumed to be part of the Cult.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, but this is not a time to grow discord in the group. What exactly are you searching for?"

Behind Rona were prominent Lecturers in their field, one especially standing out. Konstantin Zi. He had been silent the whole time, but his judgemental gaze had been fixed on Raph the whole time.

'What bullshit is the Headmaster pulling now? Could he not even rely on himself that he had to ask for the help of students.'

His brows furrowed.

'The Juns especially. What a nasty bunch.'

He clicked his tongue in annoyance when their eyes met.

They locked on one another, a subtle discomfort growing within Konstantin.

'Wha–What's this fellow trying to pull?'

Just then, he looked away, his gaze meeting the Principal's next and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

His subtle yelp as he took a step back, hitting his workmates, sent the group into a short dismantlement.

The man standing directly behind him held him just in time, his caring gaze locked on Konstantin.

"You good, man?" He asked.

Konstantin nodded and stood back up straight, baffled by his reaction.

"That one."

Raph's voice caught the Lecturers gathered by surprise as they turned towards him.

His right hand was pointed at Konstantin or appeared to be.

"What do you mean?" Rona asked, her tone lingering with hesitation and confusion.

"What is going on, Headmaster?"

Headmaster Dreau's gaze turned cold.

He walked up to the Lecturers, startling them until reaching his target, Konstantin shivering under the intensity of his prestige.

The Lecturers, despite their standings in the Academy, respected the Headmaster by a lot.

He was someone who had instilled most of the rules and regulations of the Academy. Building it into the Academy, it is today.

He gave them offers of well-paid jobs, offering them the opportunity to nurture great minds.

They had grown to respect him, and in the process, without realizing it, they had begun to fear him.

His uncanny presence and his habit of lecturing "stubborn" Lecturers into submission were well-known.

As he was doing right now.

He held an iron grip over the Academy and those within it. Students and Staff.

Though, what one feels towards him grew to depend entirely on them.

That's why Konstantin, despite his dislike for the Headmaster, trembled before his presence.

His gaze was locked on the ground, a cold shiver running down his spine while his hair stood on end.

He was half expectant, awaiting a fate he had submitted himself to.

But, surprising to him and startling the other Lecturers, the headmaster's hand had not stretched out for him.

No, it reached deeper and longer and grabbed the collar of the man known as Filly Donal.

"Head–Headmaster?!"

The man protested as he was pulled out from the others, his hands stretched apart in protest.

"Come with me, Lecturer Filly Donal. You have been suspected of having a hand in our situation.

This matter will be judged by me and punished by the gods."

He pulled him back, walking away from the group gathered with precise movement and speed.

"Take care of the rest for me, Juns.

I have urgent things to deal with so I expect the matter outside to be done by the time I am done with him."

His voice receded with his footsteps. Determined footsteps reaching for the door at the end of the building.

"I hope you have a god, Filly. Because only they will save you from me tonight."

Filly's protest ended with the shutting of the door, his complaints against the inhumane treatment ignored by all.

The other Lecturers watched the scene unfold in silence, their thoughts reeling in.

Kazim sighed and turned around.

"Shall we?" He asked, startling Rona who had still been watching.

"Hm? Uh, right." She replied, turning around and heading towards the door. But not without getting a glimpse of the Juns.

Her thoughts reeled in and her focus drew to the task at hand.

'The Headmaster would not have done that without a reason.

I only hope the others will trust his judgement when this is all done."

The others seemed to have followed after, though, sluggishly.

They still had the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the students. Or, at least, any responsible Lecturer did.

The Juns lingered behind, their attention fixed on the door as Rona opened it with unexpected force.

The scene before them was a ridiculous darkness swept by strong currents of the wind and powerful breeze.

They shifted backwards, startled by the intensity.

"It's a lot worse than expected."

"Yes, but it isn't difficult to navigate.

Follow my lead while we head for the Hostels."

Rona walked out first, then Kazim and the Lecturers at a time.

They headed towards the direction of the Hostels, the wind startling their movements and actions.

Nevertheless, they walked through.

The often explosions of sound and light drew their attention.

Rebecca smirked at the sight while Raph and Thalia were left in bewilderment.

"What class is he, sister?"

Raph asked.

They had followed the group of Lecturers, walking behind them in silence until now.

Most of the Lecturers had often given them side glances, but the situation didn't make enough time for them to satisfy their personal curiosities.

"A Divine summoner."

Rebecca replied, her tone a hushed whisper, memories of the past running through her head.

The hidden dungeon that had opened up during one of her class events, locking Phestus and her in a cave crawling with demons and Devils.

The hellish fight to survive and escape and Phestus resolve to protect her while fending off the demons.

A small smile formed on her lips.

"It was during a gate incident. He got it after we cleared it."

"Gate incident?" Thalia repeated, surprise etched in her voice.

Raph couldn't deny he wasn't surprised, though for a different reason.

'Since a while ago….no, even from the beginning of the festivals. Time is slowly drifting from the past I once knew it as.'

How much change had he impacted? How much of a difference did he make for the series of events in his past to slowly mould into a new one?

'Is time so Volatile that a small change makes a large difference?'

He could count out the changes that occurred, one by one, and little by little.

Gates weren't supposed to have existed by now, at least not yet.

Gates were portals, linking the underworld to the mortal realm.

Demons and Devils lurked within, making it their abode and System users ventured into it to clear it.

When they do, they obtain vast and immeasurable gifts in return.

'It's one of the reasons why we have special classes, ones unique to others.'

They occur randomly, without a hint of a warning, usually from the carcass of a fallen devil.

It didn't matter how long it had died, but its presence would spark a gate, sealing those within from the outside until clearance was made possible.

Raph sighed as his gaze shifted away from the sight above.

The harmonious explosions and sparks of energy were a foretelling sign of the battle that commenced.

A powerful feat that even Raph would need to think twice before intruding.

It didn't matter, though; their goal wasn't the fight above but the fight below.

They needed to secure the students and ensure their safety, and that was what they set out to do.

"I presume that Katherin would have come back with the so-called executive?"

Thalia's voice broke through his thoughts.

He glanced at her, giving a curt nod in reply.

"Then, if this one is trying to achieve their goal of getting the bodies….the other one must be going to where the System Uprisers are headed."

Thalia's words sank, but it was expected.

Rebecca had deciphered the same, and they were sure the Headmaster and Kazim had done the same.

"I wonder…will we be able to go after them?"

Raph mused, his gaze staring into the dark clouds, his thoughts reeling in.

"Well, we'll find out."

Rebecca interjected, silence descending between them as they continued on their way forward.

Time would tell now, who would emerge victorious in the end.