Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

The muddy land instantly got frozen in place as the realm of ice and frost floor increased her mastery over her element. Helping her nullify the effects of Tauba's earth magic and getting out of his trap.

A sword made out of pure black ice came into her hands, as Nevermore came into effect.

And finally her eyes turned colder still as the reign of killers blinded her judgment, and removed every other distracting thought except killing Tauba. It was a skill that only focused on completing her goal, no matter the price she had to pay for it.

It was a skill she had taken from a God in return for a favor, something which she had yet to pay back.

…

If Rio had to name a few reasons about the change in personality of Katherine, from the novel's innocent girl to the current cold one, this skill that made her emotionless would also be placed at the top along with Noah's murder by his hands.

When her cute little brother Noah was murdered, it left an indelible mark on her mind.

Her heart filled with guilt over why she always treated him bad and bullied him, or why she blamed him for killing their mother when he was just a baby being born, - true, they were all things done by a naive child who understood the world no better, but eventually somehow these were the things that led to his death too.

Her brother should've been safe at home that day, but he didn't, as she was there at that time. He was so scared of her that he sneaked out alone, roaming in the market, and that's how he got killed.

Had she been a better sister, had she loved or cared for him like Amelia does for Rio or basically any other sibling does, maybe, just maybe, Noah would still be alive now.

The guilt was killing her and it only increased even more when she visited the church of goddess Cassandra.

[Your brother died because of you. And his killer will one day come for your whole family, your whole world. Mortals will die and Gods would perish under his wrath.

Their falling blood will turn the oceans red, that'll cover the whole land. Their screams so loud, it'll shake the very foundation of this planet.]

[When only pain, agony, darkness and blood is what remains in this world, remember, you are the reason for everything. Your ignorance started it all.]

This was what the Seer Goddess Cassandra, who supposedly wanted to choose her brother as an avatar, prophecised to her. And when she asked about the killer, the only response she ever got was just one word — [Devil.]

When the guilt, responsibility  and the heartbreak was too much to handle for her childself, she made a deal with someone for this skill.

Heartless reign of killers - a skill which only existed so she could turn her heart to cold ice, and kill the Devil.

..

"You're wasting your time, little girl," Tauba said while raising his leg and stomping hard, the force causing a deep quake beneath his feet, as the ice cracked and steam rose from the molten land. His magic not only turning land into liquid, but changing that liquid into burning lava. "You think ice can stop the heat of a thousand suns?"

Katherine narrowed her eyes, her mind was calm as a killer, but the pulse quickened in her veins, realizing the seriousness of this battle. "As they say about flames, the brighter it burns, the sooner it dies."

Tauba growled in irritation as the floor of frost crackled and spread beneath him, slowing his movements. With a grunt, he bent down and punched hard, sending a shockwave of heat that shattered the ice in an explosion of steam.

Katherine rushed forward, her movements as steady and swift as a floating snowflake in the wind. She slashed her sword, releasing a wave of frost that cut through the steamy air , but before it could land on the monster king, he just raised his hand as a heavy mace made carved out of wood from the scared tree appeared in his hands, blocking the attack.

Tauba charged instantly, his mace swinging with deadly force, forcing Katherine to leap backward, her boots skidding against the frozen ground she'd created. A drop of sweat trickling down her forehead, as smell of burnt hair wafted in the air.

She parried another strike, her blade catching against his mace with a deafening clang. Sparks flew as frost met his molten mace. The force of the blow sent her staggering back, her arm vibrating with the impact. Before she could fully recover, Tauba was on her again, his fist swinging at her like a hammer.

She ducked low, sliding across the frozen ground on one knee and slashing at his legs, hoping to cut his balance.

Her sword connected, slicing through the leather of his boots and drawing a hiss of steam as black frost bit into his flesh. Tauba howled in rage, but instead of retreating, he stomped down with full force, the ground beneath Katherine liquefying instantly.

With a gasp, she felt her footing give way as the frozen land became molten. She pushed off, leaping to the nearest patch of solid earth just as the firey lava surged upward in a geyser where she had been standing moments before.

"You'll drown in the pits of fire, ice witch." Tauba bellowed, slamming his mace into the ground. As sharp spears of magma shot towards her, only to be blocked by the wall of ice.

While the wall of frost held back his attacks, Katherine jumped over it, using gravity to increase the force of her next attack. Tauba, blinded by the rising steam, swung his mace wildly. But Katherine ducked sideways using ice crystals as standing platform before slicing down.

The blade met flesh, and this time, the ice magic embedded within the strike froze his side, turning part of his flesh into brittle, frost-bitten skin.

Roaring in pain, Tauba swung backhanded, his mace grazing her shoulder, sending her flying across the field. She hit the wall of ice hard, the breath knocked from her lungs as she rolled through before stopping.

"You think you've won, you'll die just like everyone else. Like the girl who uses scrolls and books, or the white haired boy who uses shadows and darkness." Tauba roared in anger as he stabbed the mace into his stomach, stopping all the spreading frost and healing his injuries instantly. "Your puny attacks are no match for the mercy of godmother."

For the first time since their battle started, Katherine's eyes showed a rare trace of emotion, a slight hesitation, a chance which the tribal chief didn't miss.

"So you know him?" Tauba said and smiled as he kept attacking her using his feets and fists, "Do you wanna know how he died, what his last words were as we thrusted a sword right through his heart. Or maybe, I'll catch you and let you watch as we sacrifice his corpse as godmother's fertilizer."

Katherine didn't say a word, her brain already numbed from her skill, but a surging anger could be seen in her eyes, as the air around them seemed to have become much colder.

The pits of lava that had been shooting spears at her, or acting as traps every time she jumped or moved, started freezing midair. The fire inside them, dying to her magic.

"You're dead." She said coldly, swinging her sword in mad slashes causing the fights happening around them to be interrupted.

The students all who were forced into dire straits facing the endless hordes of monsters, halted their actions and looked at her with surprise as the whole arena started to freeze down.

The place seemed to turned into a castle of ice, like she had opened her domain and only the element of ice could reign supreme in it.

Crows and creatures flying in the air froze and started falling down like hailstones. Firsjen coughed a little blood as backlash but all that came out of his mouth was frosty wind.

"Amitabha, looks like she has lost herself."

"She's crazy strong, but why do I feel like she's gone into mana frenzy."

"She's buying us time, let's just leave this godforsaken city."

"Are you insane, Firsjen?"

"Fuck off wolfie, no one asked for your opinion."

"I just heard Tauba say they killed someone who match the description of Amaya and Rio. Is this true?"

"Humph, so that guy is really dead."

"This idiot's probably lying to get to her head, I know Rio's strength, he's much tougher than this guy, and besides we've been here since day one, and we saw no signs of anyone else."

"Rubina's right, if Rio was here, and they really fought, we would've sensed their battle."

"Who cares, let's just kill as many monsters as we can till they're frozen, we don't know how long this state of Katherine can last." Lucille said. Her heart little at peace over Rio's death since it meant her secret was safe once more.

"This bastard, he ran away."

"..."

The students all gathered together and talked, while Firsjen the noble vamp just used this chance to slip through this city. He didn't feel any guilt over leaving his classmates behind as none of them meant anything to him. He hated the wolf and the hybrid, he hated the stinky emo nerd, the bald monk, and the tricky illusion guy, and mostly he hated the girls who were close with that Blake bastard.

"It's best if she falls and that Tauba guy kills all of them too." Firsjen said standing over the city walls, while wiping the blood off his lips as he stared in the arena's direction.

'How dare that bitch kill his crows, she deserves it.' He thought and left the city in a bloody mist.

. ..

Back in the arena, the rest of the students were fighting against the monsters who were nerfed by the frozen ground and lost most of their agility.

Rubina and Alaric tried to help Katherine fight against Tauba but they couldn't even get close. They couldn't even see what was happening at the center of arena, as the whole area was surrounded by frost and steamy fog.

A sizzling sound as frost and fire fought for dominance and loud crashing sound every few seconds were all they could hear outside, telling them, that the fight was still ongoing.

…

Katherine stood up from the ground with her sword's support. Her peerless beauty, perfect skin and the crystal clear ice, all marred with red blood, courtesy of the various injuries she suffered.

Yet her face showed no sign of hesitation or will of backing down, her eyes still firm in belief that wanted Tauba's death. Be it for Rio's revenge or her own skill's effect.

With a flick of her wrist, shards of ice erupted from the ground, sharp and jagged, shooting toward Tauba like bloody arrows. He smashed through them with his hands, molten wooden chips dripping from his skin as it sizzled against the frost. But for every shard he broke, two more took its place, her magic growing stronger the more relentless she became.

As the barrage of ice continued, Katherine charged once more, her body moving in sync with the storm she had summoned.

Tauba swung his fists forward, hoping to crush her skull in one hit, but this time she was faster, she ducked under his strike, spinning low, and brought her sword up in a sharp, deadly arc.

Her blade pierced his chest, frost spreading from the wound as his flowing blood started freezing in his veins.

Tauba howled in pain, as he dropped to one knee and gripped his heart. "You… can't kill me." he growled in anger, struggling to stand up as his body started freezing from the inside out.

Katherine stood over him in silence, her chest heaving up and down as the exertion of battle caught up to her. With her goal now completed, the killer's reign skill ended, and her emotions came back to her mind.

Yet she showed no change of expression, she just stared at the struggling villain and with a final burst of her magic, the ice sculpture broke in pieces. Shattering the mighty king into shards of ice scattered to her steps.

"He's alive, you idiot." She said, staring in the direction of the floating sacred tree, before darkness covered her vision and she fell unconscious. Not aware of the frenzy of notifications from the gods, swarming her system.

[Goddess Mara celebrates your victory. Your strength and determination soothes her heart.]

[God of killers ??? smiles as he sees the effect of his skill. He's counting the days when you'll be ready to return his favor.]

[Goddess Mara frowns in displeasure causing a star to freeze and die.]

[Indra nods his head in satisfaction and smiles mysteriously.]

[Apollo pays attention in your direction.]

[Nyx and Kali stares at you, wondering your place in the battle of avatars.]

[Den of devils notes down your name as a potential threat, or a potential recruit.]

[Goddess Cassandra looks at your heart's resolve and sighs in regret over the fate that awaits you. "May God give you strength to handle the pain that's about to come."]