—a while back—

—Lizzy's PoV—

Why?

Why am I so weak? Shouldn't I be one step ahead of everyone?

Rachel Azka... How did she win? I was trained by Master Ben in both magic and swordsmanship, so I should be one of the strongest freshmen in the academy. Yet, she easily toyed with me as if I were an ant.

It didn't make sense. If she were better than me academically, I could accept it. But for someone like me who has been training in swordsmanship since I was 4, how could I have lost? She beat my refined swordsmanship with nothing but her hands. Was it the gauntlets? No—I was simply weak. I didn't train hard enough. It's not enough...

I laid there on the hospital bed for quite a while. It was sometime around midnight when I heard something calling to me. There were no other patients in the room and the doctor had probably left.

I must have been hallucinating so I rested my eyes. I needed to calm down.

"Elizabeth."

I opened my eyes. What was this? I was no longer on the hospital bed, but on a throne of solid blue ice. Where was I?

This body didn't feel like it was mine. It was already fully developed into that of a mature woman. I was dressed in a blue dress with a crown of ice laying on my head.

I didn't feel the cold like I usually did when I practiced my Ice manifestation. I could tell that the average temperature in this throne room was at least below freezing.

I willed the body to move but suddenly, I realized I couldn't control it anymore.

A fairy-like creature shrouded in blue light came in through the open doors. Wasn't this an ice spirit? How could I see it? People could only see spirits if they had special constitutions or the spirits willingly showed themselves.

"My Queen, they have already taken down the core guards. You must escape!" A worried expression could be seen on this sprite.

"How can I abandon you all? If we are destined to be defeated, so be it. I will never crawl in fear of an enemy." My mouth opened on its own and spoke.

"My Queen..."

"Oren, even if our Kingdom of Ice perished today, as the Queen, it is my duty to see it to the end. You should escape with the others."

"But—" He was cut off

"No buts. Take this as my final official order as the Queen of the Ice spirits. Oren, you are one of the strongest Ice spirits of the Kingdom. I do not regret appointing you to the position of head commander. Leave at once!"

He was clearly hesitating. "My Queen, I am sorry..."

He took his leave and I could see tears coming from his eyes.

Shortly after, a purple man with a pair of horns came in. He was the textbook definition of the Devil, except he was purple instead of red.

"Have you been waiting nicely? My Queen? HAHAHAHA. Is this all the Kingdom of Ice spirits can do? I seriously overestimated you guys. What a waste of time." The purple man spoke.

He had an extremely large build, if you couldn't distinguish his facial features, he could even be mistaken for an ogre.

"Impudence!" The body I resided in shouted and stood up.

"I, the Ice Queen Elizabeth will put an end to you." Elizabeth? Wasn't that my name?

"Suit yourself Ice Queen. You will watch in despair as I destroy your kingdom single-handedly. The roots of your effort will be consumed by yours truly. And you won't be able to stop it. AHAHAH!" Laughed the intruder in response to the Queen.

The Queen manifested a couple hundred icicles in the air and took aim at the man.

"You think you can stop me? Me? The one and only Demon God?" With a simple wave of his hand, the icicles in the air had been shattered into pieces from the movement of the air caused by the wave.

The Demon God unsheathed his sword which unleashed a hellish killing intent. He slashed the sword down and shouted loudly, "First Sword!"

An abysmal trench had immediately been formed in front of where he had cut.

The Queen couldn't avoid it in time and had her left arm cut off. The Demon God followed up with a pierce. A type of wave came forth from his sword and pierced me—or rather the Queen. The energy wave was something I had never seen before. It was grayish in color yet also slightly transparent. The Queen had her heart pierced and she fell on her back, coughing up a truck full of blood.

"Doesn't it hurt? Knowing your life-long achievements will all go down the drain because you aren't strong enough to beat me?" Said the Demon God.

The Queen couldn't do anything but glare.

I could empathize with her. It was the same feeling of being unable to change anything since you weren't strong enough.

I was trapped in the Queen's body but I could only watch on as a spectator, unable to help in the slightest.

'If only I were stronger...'

I heard a voice in my head. It sounded like the Queen. Was it her thoughts?

'If I were stronger, I could have protected them all...' She continued rambling.

'I should have gotten stronger and prepared...'

'You, I know you are watching.'

Was she talking to me?

'You should be the next Ice Queen if I am correct. Don't repeat my mistakes.'

Next Ice Queen? Was she referring to me?

'I am currently only a fragmented will, so after a while, you will be released from this state when I dissipate. I shall give you my training insight so you don't repeat my mistakes.'

'Change can only be brought about with sufficient strength.'

'I wish you well, my reincarnation...'

A bunch of fragmented memories about techniques, skills, and spells flooded into my thoughts.

After a while, I woke up in the hospital bed and it was already the morning. Unlike before, I was no longer frustrated at myself. With a wealth of memories, I think I may just be able to best Rachel.