I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

The moon's luminescence cast an ethereal glow upon the rusticated black basalt castle, perched atop a towering mountain.

Dark, foreboding clouds hung in the air, shrouding the Gothic Castle in a gloomy hue.

Ancient gargoyle statues stood sentinel on the turrets, while weathered, square bartizans anchored the corners of the Castle walls.

The Castle's timeless, rugged beauty spoke to its enduring strength, capable of withstanding the strongest thunderstorms and hurricanes, testament to its longevity.

An iron gate, static and overgrown with vines and moss barred the entrance of the Castle, frozen in place without serving its purpose for centuries. With the once majestic pathway, now overgrown with weeds that led up till the Castle door.

Time had forgotten this place, leaving behind a hauntingly beautiful relic, Its long-lived features and ancient characteristics stood testament to a bygone era, and its purpose long forgotten.

It was within that grand castle that Tacha walked out of her Master's Study, her gaze lingering on the wide windows, as dull light pierced through.

She adjusted her glasses and sighed deeply as she walked down the hallway.

An eerie silence enveloped her, yet she remained unperturbed by the familiar sensation of emptiness. It had been a long time since the Arcanus household had employed other maids.

She was, in fact, one of the last and youngest Maids that served the Twelfth family.

It was something she had great pride in as well, as the twelfth family were her everything, and she had sought to give back to them what they had given to her.

As she walked down the hallways, she looked around the tall marbled walls, recognizing each of the portraits that had been hung there since before she even knew about the Arcanus family.

Her glasses glistened with the luminescence of the sun, until she stopped at one particular portrait, her lips curling up into a smile.

On the wall hung a portrait of a girl, no more than five years old, seated on a cushioned chair, dressed in a purple Victorian gown, and black ribbons adorned on her bright violet hair.

The girl in the picture had eyes that glowed in a mystical lilac, with dark circles underneath her eyes.

Her small face scrunched into a cute pout, as she glared through the picture frame.

A shiver ran down Tacha's spine as she smiled.

"The young miss is the same as always". She said with a sigh, turning and walking away from the picture frame.

She turned left into another hallway, and knocked on a black maple door on her right after passing three other rooms.

Silence followed, with no response. She sighed yet again, opening the door slightly, causing a gust of strong wind to seep through the open door, blowing her backwards slightly.

She pushed through, opening, and closing the door, as she walked into a snowy mountain.

Strong winds buffeted her face, and she felt a natural shiver creep up her body due to the cold.

The moon radiated its brilliance upon the tall pine trees that surrounded her, as muffled screams of demons echoed in the air.

She picked up the sound, slightly warming up her body with her arms, then walking forwards, her legs stumping into the snowy field that reached her ankles.

"Lady Sophia!" She cried out, her voice reverberating with the strong winds and hollow sounds that echoed like a whistle due to the pressure.

Yet, no response.

'I am kind of getting sick of this mother–daughter duo though' She thought, amused by her predicament.

This wasn't the first or last time something like this had occurred. She had once stepped into an active volcano once, and even a rainforest another time.

The young miss was someone that enjoyed hunting demons and devils of the likes, and her quirky nature was a problem to both the maids and their Matriarch, but never once did she cause trouble for them.

If Tacha were to accidentally step into a territory of demons or fall into an active volcano, the young miss would not fail to rescue her.

Tacha continued walking through the snow, trying her best to ignore the increasing cold of the strong snowy wind.

'Their damned magic doors!'. She screamed in her head, yelling out the young miss's name once again, but still, nothing.

She sighed, ready to turn back, when she heard a loud snarl, and a low gurgle that came with it.

Her body froze in place, horror slowly etching on her face, as a dark hue shrouded her expression.

Heavy footsteps descended from a tall pine tree, crashing on the snow, and steadily approaching her as she took slower steps forward.

'Hah shit! Here we go again'. She thought, clicking her tongue in annoyance. She picked up the pace, stomping her foot through the snow, towards the door she had come through.

The snarls only increased, and the low gurgle transformed into an outraged roar, as its heavy footsteps quickened.

"La–Lady Sophia!" She cried out at the top of her lungs as she increased her pace, running through the snow, ignoring the biting cold that had begun to turn her knuckles white.

Her face was etched in horror but she had long resolved her feelings in knowing she would be saved eventually.

But no one actually enjoys being chased by demons, or in this case, a 7th tier Great Demon, Snow Demon Tiger. They were equivalent to masters and she was equivalent to a mere 6th circle.

How would she ever face such a beast?

'Should have become a BattleMaid like grandmother instructed, Damn it'. She thought when the demon, A Snow Demon Tiger leapt into the air in a swift motion and crashed into the snow, blocking Tacha from moving forwards.

She gulped, the snow clearing, and her heart racing wildly, her entire being stiffening as a pair of golden eyes, burning like embers, revealed a massive tiger's presence, the size of a double-decker bus, and its tail as long as its body.

It had two long ears that perched up like antennas and its body was riddled with crimson claw patterns and white fur.

It snarled at her, showcasing its white row of sharp canine teeth.

"Now would be a good time, My Lady" She cried out, taking a step back as the Demon leapt at her, a loud roar echoing as it widened its maw to reveal the oozy saliva and countless rows of its canine teeth.

Tacha collapsed, as the demon's shadow casted a malevolent hue on her body, frozen by time and situation until a heavy blow whizzed through the air and collided with the side of the demon's mouth, splitting its bones like biscuit and erupting its blood like a fountain.

A gory sound of flesh squelching echoed as blood splattered on Tacha's face while the beast dropped dead next to her.

She sighed. 'Here we go again'.

Using her arms to wipe off the blood on her face, she stood up straight, turning towards the incoming figure, who's gaze was focused on the demon next to her.

"How did I miss one of these". The girl muttered, approaching Tacha.

She had bright violet hair that was darkened at the moment, and charming lilac eyes that were currently painted red, causing a shimmering red-violet mix as black mana oozed out from both.

A ruffled, knee-length gown in black, adorned with silver chains on its hem, and a delicate net pantyhose hugged her slender figure.

A choker bearing a tiny cross adorned her fair neck, while high boots protected her feet.

Dried blood coated her from head to toe, a gruesome contrast to her elegant, gothic attire.

She walked by Tacha without acknowledgement, her attention solely on the demon.

"It came from the trees, young miss". Tacha replied, used to her behavior of ignoring her when she invaded her 'private' time.

"Oh, that would explain it. What a smart demon". The girl muttered, walking up to the dead demon, and pulling out a meter–long mace with 7– inches spikes out of the pool of flesh and blood.

"What do you want, Tacha? I'm busy". She asked, bringing out a dagger from the side of her full leg fishnet stockings.

She stabbed through the beast stomach, ignoring the outpouring blood and intestines, and dug her bloodied arm into the beast, in search of something.

"....Obviously…" Tacha muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes away from the sight.

"Did you say something, Tacha?" Sophia asked, disregarding her remark, while Tacha shook her head in response.

"Nothing at all, My lady. The Matriarch wishes to see you"

"Mother? For whatever purpose. I thought she was busy scheming again?" She asked, pulling in further, and causing more blood to gush out from the cut.

"She isn't scheming this time. I think she might admit you into the Academy". Tacha replied, her eyes darting nervously as her mind raced.

"Huh? With those weaklings? Why would she?" She muttered, asking questions that she would most likely be able to reply to, as she finally grasped what she had been searching for.

With a light thud, she pulled out her arm, forcing more blood to spurt out, blemishing her body more.

"Alright, let's get this over with. I need to have a word with Mother as well".

She inspected the large red orb with roughened edges on her hand. Its size, nearly twice her head.

She placed it in a pocket plain, turning to the demon and tapped it slightly.

"Get up and become my Soldier".

With a single word, a vast dark mana seeped out of her body like smoke and diffused into the demon's body, slowly creeping into it, filling it's missing parts with black energy and burning out the skin, flesh and bone, rebuilding it afterwards until it turned into black copy of its previous state.

Its crimson scars persisted and its dead body arose from the ground, a loud snarl exuding from its mouth, adorned with black sharp canine teeth.

Sophia petted the lowered head of the beast, a smile playing on her perfectly pink and soft lips. "There, there. Sorry about that. Now, get in".

She opened a larger pocket plain and the demon, now turned into a Dark Undead, walked into it, leaving a silhouette and pool of blood of unknown origins.

With a satisfied smile, she turned towards Tacha.

"Shall we?"