The Jiuyin Sea faced an unprecedented weather shift, with heavy snow suddenly blanketing the land, as if a rift had torn open the heavens.
Snow sealed the sky, plunging Jiuyin Sea into silence, halting traffic, and confining residents indoors, while the cold current drifted to neighboring cities.
Locals who had lived there for years had never seen such extreme weather, so they grumbled, donned extra warm clothing, and huddled in their cozy homes.
In such weather, only a lunatic would be out wandering!
Am I acting like a lunatic?
Ellera shivered with cold, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, draped in a white cloak, before a sudden jolt made her shake off the snow like a cat.
She let out a string of complaints in a grumbling tone.
“Damn it, how do the locals stay warm? I’m wearing four or five layers, and it’s still not enough! This witch, who’s conquered countless magical girls, is about to lose her precious fingers to frostbite!”
Enough! Transform!
Rustle…
A pair of delicate feet, clad in gray-and-white footed stockings, stepped lightly into the snow, sinking to the ankles.
Her long skirt trailed the ground, yet despite the biting wind, she felt little chill.
“No shoes this time, huh? But it’s better than last time—at least I’ve got stockings.”
Ellera extended a finger, tugging at the edge of her right stocking, pulling it taut before letting it snap back against her thigh, a wave of warmth flowing through her body.
This outfit might look revealing, but its warmth was surprisingly effective.
A jogger passing by the park caught sight of her attire and muttered under his breath, “This girl’s too much! No matter how much she loves fashion, wearing a backless dress in this freezing weather? Those asymmetrical footed stockings are damn sexy, though—gonna dream about them tonight!”
Ellera glanced at her right hand, adorned with orange, green, and red star rings.
Still no blue… Oh well, it’ll do for now.
Every so often, her transformed state would manifest three “lucky colors,” boosting the effectiveness of her abilities by about 50% while significantly reducing mana consumption.
Conversely, using a “non-lucky color” ability yielded only standard results and drained her heavily.
Feiyu had once mentioned that when Ellera fought two Ten Seats simultaneously, her luck was poor—her three lucky colors were all support-oriented, making the battle tougher than it should’ve been.
Had even one of her combat colors—blue, orange, or pink—been a lucky color, she would’ve dominated effortlessly.
If white had appeared, she could’ve overwhelmed one Ten Seat with ease while still handling the other, turning the fight into a dazzling display.
Today’s lucky colors were orange, green, and red: orange was combat-viable, crimson greatly enhanced her fighting ability despite being auxiliary, but new green… it wasn’t even useful for support.
“Brainwashing hypnosis as an ability? Why the hell did I awaken something like this?”
Ellera couldn’t help but scoff at this power, viewing the “mind-control” skill as utterly useless.
With her raw strength, she could overpower magical girls without needing hypnosis.
Of course, the ability wasn’t entirely worthless—it was great for interrogation or adding spice to intimate moments—but its major flaw was that it required the target to be completely defenseless, offering no combat utility.
Plus, it wasn’t permanent; the effects wore off over time.
Of all her lucky colors, this was the one Ellera dreaded most.
As for the pattern behind lucky color appearances, despite extensive study, Ellera found no rhyme or reason—they seemed entirely random.
To uncover the secrets of the divine particle, I’ll need to dig deeper into its research. Maybe I should infiltrate the Altered Ones Organization again and “borrow” their classified data.
Or venture into the Boundary Sea. That’s where I found the divine particle—it must hold its deepest secrets.
Half an hour later—
“All this talk about supernatural phenomena… where are they?”
Online rumors claimed the Canglan Ruins were tainted by the Boundary Sea’s strange essence, brimming with inexplicable supernatural events, yet Ellera hadn’t encountered anything eerie.
Just then, in the ruins ahead, a blogger doing an outdoor livestream stood under a shed filled with bicycles, surrounded by a crew handling lighting and props, all circling a girl in an orange sweater as they filmed and moved deeper into the ruins.
“It’s freezing out here in this snow—so cold! Your Little Orange is about to turn into an ice cube!”
“Ah… if not for the matches my livestream fans are sending, Little Orange might’ve frozen to death already… Please, keep those little red hearts coming!”
A streamer?
A streamer with her own crew must be pretty famous, right? Ellera thought, but she had no recollection of this “Little Orange.”
She didn’t dwell on it and approached the team.
“Hi, mind if I ask a few questions? Oh, and please keep the camera off me.”
Ellera deftly avoided the camera’s lens and said, “I’m from out of town, here to explore the Canglan Ruins for its supernatural phenomena, but I’m not familiar with the area. Do you…”
“Oh! Looking for spooky spots, huh?” Little Orange cut in eagerly.
“Yeah.”
“You’re asking the right person.”
Little Orange puffed out her chest confidently. “Got a map of the Canglan Ruins? You can find one online. See, that building over there’s said to have a female ghost. And here, two bloggers supposedly vanished, still missing. But my top pick is that lake over there… You should check it out yourself.”
“Whoa.”
Ellera checked the directions on her phone’s map, glancing toward a derelict bridge in the distance. According to the map, crossing it would lead to her destination.
“Thanks…?”
The rest of her words caught in her throat.
Where the livestream team had stood moments ago, there was nothing but a barren shed with a few broken bicycles, not even footprints in the snow.
The air grew deathly still, save for the howling wind and snow, swallowing all traces of what had just occurred.
…So, have I been cursed by the ruins’ spirits too?
Ellera’s eyes gleamed with contemplation.
On second thought… that group was pretty suspicious.
Even Ellera knew her outfit screamed “lunatic” in this blizzard, yet the team hadn’t reacted to her attire at all. How did I not notice that sooner?
Crimson Authority, piercing illusions.
Under the bluish light that dispelled falsehoods, the scene remained unchanged, confirming that what she saw now was reality.
She pointed me to those locations. Looks like I need to check them out.
Ellera crossed the abandoned bridge. On the other side lay a frozen waterfront ruin, its surface encased in ice several meters thick from the extreme cold.
At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but a sweep of her bluish light marked it as an “illusion.”
She stepped into the ruins, staring at a battered wooden door beneath the ice, locking eyes with it for a long moment.
“Stop hiding. Come out.”
…
“Impressive, Third Relic holder… I thought I’d concealed myself well.”
“Aw, how sweet, calling me impressive. But flattery won’t save your life.”
“…”
Beneath the ice, the sealed ancient door opened silently, as if it didn’t belong to this world, revealing its true form.
A gaunt, fur-covered snowman.
“You led me here, didn’t you?” Ellera asked.
“I did no such thing.”
“What’s your connection to the Light-Eater dimensional beast from years ago?”
The snowman broke through the ice, standing only a head taller than Ellera, its aura surprisingly weak.
On the contrary, it seemed frail.
“Light-Eater… just a defective product on the path of evolution.”
Ellera’s eyes widened slightly. It calls a Light-Eater a defective product?
That was a monster that took tens of thousands of soldiers, elite forces from the Magical Alliance and Altered Ones Organization, and a Zeroth-Tier Magic from the Alliance to barely seal in the Boundary Sea.
“You’d better prove you’re not bluffing. And you just called me ‘Third Relic holder.’ What do you know?”
Ellera’s gaze turned icy. Three Realms, Ten Directions Pure Land unfurled from her feet, imprisoning the snowman’s form.
The wind whipped her long hair, now flowing blood-red, like unfurled wings of blood, wild and oppressive!
The snowman’s knees buckled under immense pressure, its already frail body hunching further, no longer taller than Ellera.
Her bluish light, piercing illusions, shone upon it, stripping away its fur at an alarming rate to reveal its true appearance.
“…A furry?” Ellera muttered, dispersing Three Realms, Ten Directions Pure Land.
The revealed snowman was shorter than her, barely reaching her waist, with human-like limbs but distinctly non-human “fingers.” Its snow-white fur was soft and fine, like an animal transformed, with round, clear eyes and folded ears.
By appearance alone, it was tailored to human tastes, perfect as a pet.
“There shouldn’t be anything like you on Earth.” Ellera’s vigilance didn’t waver. “What the hell are you?”
Freed from the suppression, the snowman relaxed, raising its hands in a standard surrender gesture and saying in a childlike voice, “Great Third Relic holder, I mean no offense.”
“Cut the flattery and answer my questions!”
“…In a sense, I am what you call a Light-Eater dimensional beast.”
“Is that a yes or a no? Be clear!”
“Why are you yelling so loud!”
Ellera raised an eyebrow. Does it think it’s cute or something?
Eat my brainwashing hypnosis!