Chapter 356 : Ice Star – Polaris

~Irene's Flashback~

About two years ago, in the Academy dormitory.

Irene was in Rid's room, looking for books of his that she wanted to read. After picking out a book, she left the room and approached Rid, who was sitting in the dormitory's common area.

"Rid, do you have any books on ice magic? The books in your room are excellent—there are works on history, general knowledge, and various techniques and spells but I didn't see anything covering a specific element, like ice magic," Irene said.

"A book on ice magic? Hmm... I do have one, but I didn't keep it on the shelf in my room; I had it hidden away. Just a moment," Rid said.

~Note: When Rid appears in someone else's flashback, he is depicted in the third person rather than the first. Thus, his dialogue uses his name instead of 'I'.~

Rid then went into his room. A short while later, he emerged carrying a book, which he handed to Irene.

"Here you go, Irene," Rid said.

Irene hesitated to accept the book Rid was offering.

"Is this really okay, Rid? You mentioned that you had it hidden, that implies it's important enough to keep out of sight," Irene said.

"It is an important book, but you need it, don't you? That’s why I’m lending it to you. I don't just let anyone borrow my books, especially not one this significant. I’m willing to lend it because you are the one asking, Irene. Besides, you need this book to grow stronger with your ice magic, right? Your reason for wanting that strength doesn't harm anyone else, which is why I’m happy to lend it to you," Rid said.

Irene fell silent for a moment after hearing what Rid said. However, shortly after, she accepted the book Rid offered.

"Alright then, I'll accept the book you're lending me, Rid. Thank you; I'll take good care of it," Irene said.

"Yeah," Rid replied.

-

A few days later.

At the second-year students' training grounds, Irene was practicing the techniques and magic she had learned from the book Rid lent her. She was in the middle of tracing the shape of a star with her rapier when Rid suddenly approached her.

"You're practicing that spell, aren't you, Irene?" Rid asked.

Irene immediately stopped tracing the star with her rapier as Rid walked up and spoke to her.

"Yes, I'm practicing so I can use and master this magic. When I read about it, it seemed like a fascinating spell," Irene said.

"It really is an interesting spell. It's an area-of-effect spell that packs more power and impact than 'Full Frost'. But for all its strength, it does have a drawback," Rid said.

"It takes quite a long time to activate," Irene noted.

"Yes, that is its drawback. If you use that spell during combat, you have to wait quite a while, about ten minutes for it to activate and be ready to attack. During those ten minutes, you have to withstand any attacks coming your way. If you lose consciousness or, worse yet, die, the spell will vanish instantly. So, you must survive those ten minutes without passing out or dying so the spell can activate. If you manage to hold out, the spell will trigger and immediately defeat the opponents around you."

"If you're up against someone stronger than you and decide to use that magic, it could even defeat them while active. Of course, not everyone stronger than you can be beaten by it, but at the very least, it would prove quite useful in such a fight," said Rid.

"Hmm, I see. Just as I thought, this spell looks really interesting. I need to master it right away," Irene said.

"Good luck with your training, Irene. I'm going to go check on the others now. Sorry for interrupting your practice," Rid said.

"It's fine, Rid. No need to apologize," Irene said.

"Alright then, I'll be going. See you later, Irene," Rid said.

"Yeah, see you later," Irene said.

Rid immediately went to join Charles, Chloe, and the others who were also at the training grounds, while Irene appeared to be getting back to her training.

~Flashback Ends~

-

Back to the present, where Irene is located.

Irene is seen drawing a star in the air with her rapier.

~Ice Magic: Ice Star - Polaris~

Once Irene finishes drawing the star, the image hovers in mid-air. The star she drew is colorless and appears transparent; color exists only along the outlines forming the shape. These lines are white, resembling ice and snow. Although the star initially lacks color aside from its outlines, it gradually begins to take on color. A white hue—like ice and snow appears at the tips of the star's two lower points, slowly spreading upward bit by bit.

"It will take about ten more minutes for the entire star to be fully colored. I have to hold out for those ten minutes," Irene thinks, gazing at the star she created.

Just then, rose stems emerging from the ground beneath her lengthen and shoot toward the star image, piercing it instantly. Yet, the star remains unchanged, hovering in the air; in fact, the color within it continues to spread little by little.

Although the piercing rose stems have no effect on the star, they continue their attacj, attempting to shatter it. No matter how relentlessly they attack, the star persists, floating in the air. Irene simply stands still, watching the rose stems strike the star she created.

While Irene stands there, a long whip suddenly lashes out toward her. Sensing the danger, she deflects the whip with her rapier just as it is about to strike her. She then turns her gaze toward the direction from which the whip came. Princess Amelia, positioned below, unleashed a whip. Surrounding her were numerous writhing rose vines. These twisting vines shot rapidly toward Irene. Seeing this, Irene immediately dodged by creating ice footholds in mid-air, allowing her to remain airborne. She continued to evade the vines hurtling toward her, occasionally slashing through some with her rapier. She kept this up for several minutes.

Afterward, while still dodging the vines, Irene glanced at the star-shaped pattern she had drawn earlier; nearly half of it was already filled with color.

"Almost halfway there... that means about three or four minutes have passed. Just a little longer, I have to hold out," Irene thought.

She continued to dodge the incoming vines. Before long, however, she sensed them speeding up. Unable to evade them perfectly due to their increased velocity, she suffered scratches on various parts of her body.

"These vines are moving faster than before. This situation looks pretty dire for me," Irene thought.

Meanwhile, down below, Princess Amelia appeared to be chanting something under her breath.

~Rose Magic: Hell of Roses~

The roses, initially a standard red, suddenly shifted to a deep, blood-like crimson. Their stems, originally green, turned pitch black. Irene, busy dodging the stems lunging at her, looked startled as she witnessed this transformation.

"This magic... I never faced it when I fought Princess Amelia, but I saw her use it against Rid. From what I know, this spell is incredibly dangerous," Irene thought.

Meanwhile, Princess Amelia was seen muttering something again.

~Hell of Roses - Torment of Rose Stems~

Instantly, every rose stem in the area shot toward Irene. She tried to dodge them, occasionally slashing at the stems with her rapier. Yet, even when she managed to cut through the attacking stems, they would immediately regenerate and resume their attack.

"It’s endless. Still, I have to hold out. There are only a few minutes left," Irene thought.

Her body was already covered in scratches from the attacking stems. Furthermore, she bore burns from the earlier explosion caused by the roses. Despite this, she continued to dodge and slash at the incoming stems. Observing Irene’s evasive maneuvers, Princess Amelia attempted a new move. She swung her whip toward Irene, who was fully occupied with dodging the stems. Focused as she was, Irene failed to react to the swing in time; she only realized what was happening when the whip had already coiled around her right leg.

"I let my guard down," Irene thought as she saw her right leg being coiled by Princess Amelia's whip.

Princess Amelia then swung the whip upward, dragging Irene whose leg was still bound by it up into the air along with it. After the upward swing, she quickly whipped it back down, pulling Irene rapidly toward the ground. As Irene descended, the whip suddenly released its hold on her leg; she plummeted, slamming hard against the surface below.

*BOOM*

A cloud of dust and smoke billowed up the moment Irene struck the ground. Amidst the haze, she slowly began to pick herself up. She was surrounded by numerous rosebuds that had yet to bloom. Meanwhile, Princess Amelia standing some distance away began to chant something under her breath.

~Hell of Roses - Exploding Roses~

Moments later, the roses slowly began to bloom. As they opened, they emitted a brilliant light. Irene immediately scrambled to get away from them the instant she saw that glow; she knew exactly what was coming next. The glowing roses then detonated in a massive explosion.

"I knew they would explode after emitting that light. It’s a good thing I watched Rid’s match against Princess Amelia," Irene thought.

She continued to dodge and retreat from the glowing roses surrounding her. However, despite her efforts to evade them, the blasts were so powerful that she was caught in the periphery of the explosions several times. The resulting blasts only added to the burns accumulating on her body. Moments later, Irene having dodged the glowing roses emerged from the cloud of dust and smoke that had billowed up where she previously stood. Upon exiting, she found herself facing several roses that were emitting a luminous glow. Seeing this, she quickly stomped her right foot onto the ground.

~Ice Magic: Full Frost~

The ground beneath her instantly froze solid, encasing the surrounding roses in ice as well. She then leaped over the roses in her path to clear them, moving swiftly because she knew they would soon break free from the ice. Sure enough, just as Irene was airborne from a recent leap, the roses she had previously frozen broke free from the ice. They began to glow once more and instantly exploded. The blast was powerful enough to catch Irene in its radius, sending her flying until she slammed against the wall of the tree.

Despite the impact, Irene immediately picked herself up. A trickle of blood ran from her mouth, though not a significant amount. She wiped it away with her arm and looked ahead, where a multitude of rose petals were now swirling in the air.

"It seems the magic Princess Amelia is using has grown stronger and more dangerous than when she fought Rid. Perhaps this is the result of her transformation into a demon," Irene thought.

She glanced at the star-shaped design she had been drawing; nearly the entire figure was already filled with color, with only a small portion left to complete.

"Almost there, I have to hold out against this magic," Irene thought.

In the distance, Princess Amelia was seen muttering another incantation.

~Hell of Roses - Invasion of Rose Petals~

At her words, the swirling rose petals shot rapidly toward Irene. Seeing this, she immediately prepared to block and dodge the incoming barrage.

~San Lucia Art: Snow Blade Dance Technique~

Irene summoned six ice rapiers to surround her, helping to intercept and deflect the petals heading her way. She continued to fend off the petals using the rapier in her hand and the six floating around her, occasionally shifting her position to dodge those that slipped past her defenses. However, despite Irene's attempts to dodge and block the barrage, the sheer volume of petals meant she couldn't avoid them all; several managed to strike and wound her.

Moments later, while Irene was still fending off the petals, four rose stems suddenly shot rapidly toward her. She had no time to react; the stems pierced various parts of her body—her right and left shoulders, as well as her right and left thighs. The force of the impact slammed Irene against the wall behind her, causing her to immediately cough up blood from the violent collision.

Pinned against the wall by the four stems, Irene looked ahead and saw Princess Amelia slowly approaching, rapier in hand. Soon, Princess Amelia stood right before her. Seeing Princess Amelia standing there, Irene began to speak.

"This is the first time I've experienced your magic, Princess Amelia. It is truly formidable," Irene said.

Princess Amelia remained silent, offering no response to Irene's words.

"I still find it hard to believe that you’ve transformed into a demon. I’m certain that, deep down, this isn't what you wanted. Isn't that right, Princess Amelia? We may not be close, but I understand your character well enough. Rest assured, I will save you and set you free soon, Princess Amelia," Irene said.

Princess Amelia remained silent, still offering no reply. Moments later, she began to raise her right hand, which held her rapier. Seeing this movement, Irene spoke once more.

"It seems the time has come. In that case, farewell, Princess Amelia," said Irene.

Princess Amelia then swung her rapier toward Irene's neck. However, before the rapier could make contact, Irene was seen murmuring something.

~Explode and freeze this entire place, Polaris~

The star symbol Irene had drawn began to emit a blinding white light; the entire shape was now glowing white. Then, following that blinding radiance, the star symbol unleashed a massive white explosion.

-To be continued-