Chapter 40: Turning Point

Chapter 40: Turning Point 

Icelyn stood still, her grip tightening around the sword as light blue energy coiled around her like a living storm. The air crackled with an unnatural chill, and for a moment, everything felt silent—too silent.
Then, in the blink of an eye, she let it all go.
A shockwave blasted out from her, an invisible force carrying an intense, biting cold. The instant it passed, everything froze.
The ground beneath them, once broken and charred from battle, crystallized in an instant, layers of ice crawling outward like veins. The air itself turned white with frost, and the teacher—mid-step—found his footing disrupted as ice locked around his feet.
He barely had time to react before he realized—this wasn't just the ground. The very space around them had been swallowed by ice. The ruins, the broken weapons scattered across the battlefield, even the dust in the air—everything had been captured in frozen stillness, as if time itself had been sealed away.
For the first time, the teacher's smirk faded. His breath came out in a cold mist as he forced himself to move.
Icelyn slowly lifted her gaze, eyes glowing like shards of ice. "Round two," she said, her voice as cold as the world around them.
A pulse of blue light erupted from Icelyn, sending a freezing shockwave outward. The ground beneath her crystallized into a frozen wasteland in an instant. The very air shimmered with cold, and every breath became visible mist.
The teacher took a cautious step back, gripping his weapon. "What is this power…?"
Icelyn's gaze was unreadable, her light-blue aura swirling around her like a living storm. 
"Let's end this."
And then she moved.
Her blade sliced through the air, faster than before. The teacher barely reacted, parrying at the last possible moment. Even as he blocked, the impact sent cracks through the earth beneath him.
But Icelyn didn't stop.
She twisted her wrist, seamlessly shifting into another attack—an upward diagonal slash. The teacher dodged, vanishing in a blur of speed, but the sheer force of the swing sent shards of ice exploding outward.
"Too slow."
Icelyn pivoted, already predicting where he'd reappear. She thrust her palm forward—
"Glacier Veil!"
A massive ice wall erupted behind her, right as the teacher blinked into existence. His eyes widened as he was forced to stop mid-attack, barely avoiding slamming into the frozen barrier.
Icelyn didn't let him breathe.
She was already there.
She struck again—this time, a rapid flurry of attacks. One, two, three, four—each swing faster than the last, each one leaving trails of frost in their wake.
The teacher dodged. Barely.
"You're fast," he admitted, skidding backward. "But speed isn't everything!"
He shot forward, the ground cracking beneath him as he moved. His sword came down with devastating force—
Icelyn lifted a single hand.
Clang!
The sheer power behind the blow sent shockwaves through the frozen battlefield. But Icelyn stood firm, one hand blocking his sword with the flat of her blade.
The teacher gritted his teeth. "Impossible—"
Icelyn's fingers twitched.
And in an instant—the teacher's sword froze solid.
His eyes widened as he felt the cold creeping up the hilt, numbing his fingers. He tried to pull away, but Icelyn twisted her wrist, shattering his blade into frozen fragments.
The teacher barely had time to react before Icelyn grabbed his arm and—
Boom!
She slammed him into the ground. Ice spread outward from the impact, encasing the cracked earth in an expanding sheet of frost.
But he wasn't done yet.
The teacher's body blurred, vanishing from the ice crater. Before Icelyn could turn, he was already at her side—his fist lashing out.
This time, she let it hit.
A shockwave rang out as his punch connected with her side. Ice cracked beneath her feet, but she didn't move.
She didn't even flinch.
The teacher's smirk faltered. "What…?"
Icelyn exhaled, freezing the very air around them.
Then, she grabbed his wrist.
His expression twisted into shock as his entire arm turned to ice. The frost spread rapidly, climbing his shoulder, reaching toward his chest.
The teacher panicked. He tore himself free, shattering the frozen limb before it could consume him. He jumped back, gripping his severed arm—before something shifted in his eyes.
His breathing slowed. His stance changed.
Icelyn narrowed her gaze.
Then, the teacher chuckled. A deep, eerie laugh.
"So… you really are something else," he muttered.
The air grew heavy.
A dark energy pulsed from him, distorting the air around his body. His wounds vanished. His severed arm regrew in an instant.
Icelyn felt it.
The shift.
He was no longer just fast—he was something else.
And then—
He vanished.
Icelyn barely had time to react before—
Boom!
A fist slammed into her stomach. She was sent flying—smashing through her own ice walls, skidding across the frozen battlefield.
But she flipped mid-air, landing gracefully. Without a scratch.
The teacher clicked his tongue. "Tch. Annoying."
Icelyn dusted off her sleeve. "That all?"
He growled. Then, without another word—he attacked again.
This time, it was a true battle.
Icelyn parried each strike, ice forming beneath her feet with every movement. The teacher blurred in and out of sight, attacking from all angles, but Icelyn's reflexes were inhuman. She blocked, dodged, countered—always one step ahead.
Their movements became faster, their clashes sharper. Ice spikes erupted, only to be shattered by raw force. Shockwaves ripped through the battlefield.
Then—
Icelyn exhaled.
And everything froze.
The battlefield itself became a frozen abyss.
The teacher staggered. His movements slowed. His speed—his greatest weapon—was gone.
Icelyn slowly walked toward him, her sword gleaming with ethereal frost.
"It's time to end this..." Icelyn whispered.
The teacher's breath hitched. Something was wrong.
He moved to flee—but his feet wouldn't budge. A cold, creeping numbness wrapped around his legs. He looked down. Ice. It spread like a living thing, devouring the ground, stretching outward in an unforgiving, glacial tide.
His heart pounded. He was trapped.
Icelyn raised her sword, her expression unreadable. With a single motion, she pointed it at him.
The cold surged.
Frost crawled up his body, crystalizing, sealing him in. He gasped, but the sound never left his throat—his breath, his very life, was being stolen away.
The ice twisted, coiling, shaping itself into something—a flower.
Icelyn turned away, slowly stepping lightly across the frozen battlefield, her voice calm, cold, and almost distant.
"DeathBlossom."
The frozen petals began to crack. Then—
The flower bloomed.
A wave of frost rippled outward, the temperature plummeting, to absolute zero.
And with it, the teacher was no more... And the battle, had ended.