East location of the Dark Castle dungeon. Yumeha walked through the area hunting for an enemy to fight. Her determination to show her power after two years was immense.
'My master will be proud when I defeat my opponent.'
Clenching her fist, she continued walking through a prison filled with iron bars fallen on the floor or almost torn off, barely hanging on the walls. Apparently, they had all been sent to different places where opponents of the same level were waiting.
'At least that's what the sign said before I entered here.'
Maybe there were similar signs for where the others had gone. If they stopped, they would know the same rule as she did. Enrico himself already knew, so honestly he didn't need to read any signs, since everything in this dungeon he had already seen in the original story.
'Even so, if we want to leave before facing an enemy, it seems we can go help the others.'
She had been walking through that prison for a few minutes and nothing had appeared. Looking at a barred window, she saw golden clouds forming in the sky.
"What is that?"
"My lord is different from us. He can choose whom he fights and when he can leave."
Hearing a female voice, Yumeha turned her face to the left, seeing a green-skinned Nartheis with black hair. Her appearance resembled a black tree in a feminine shape — very strange, especially with the black apples hanging from her hair.
"And who would you be?"
"Flora, the castle gardener and prison guard. A pleasure."
Name: Flora, Nartheis Rank Ranvil Level Two
Magic: Dark forest and water
Unique Skill: Nature's Prison — with this skill it's possible to mold the terrain around as the user wishes; for every second this unique skill is used, 2 mana points are lost.
The Nartheis made a mocking bow, as if she were teasing her. To be honest, Yumeha immediately understood from her arrogant expression that her opponent wasn't taking her seriously.
"You know, I already realized we won't get along… until you die at the end of the fight."
"What?"
Narrowing her eyes, the Nartheis seemed quite irritated by Yumeha's statement. Well, she was only returning the expression with words.
"So shall we start right away? I need to tell my master how I defeated you."
"What an irritating opponent."
Green veins appeared on Flora's face — her irritation was palpable, which made Yumeha scoff, already knowing this would be her reaction.
'So easy to provoke.'
With a sudden step forward, when Flora touched the ground, the entire area transformed into a forest prison, trees sprouting inside the cells. Inside those trees were skulls of humans or creatures of other races — a pastime Flora used to relieve her boredom.
"When I'm done with you, your head will be in my collection."
"Your collection? That's weird. Could you stay away from me?"
Yumeha jumped back as if stepping away from something disgusting. Her eyes couldn't be seen, but it was obvious she had a disgusted expression. Pulling her staff from her back, Yumeha activated its ability to try to end this quickly.
"I don't like this kind of collection, so I'll end your life soon."
"That's why you humans never understand— just like my lord said, this is beautiful, and he loves this part of me."
"Then he's disgusting too."
"How dare you?"
Flora's expression turned furious. She had never stood before someone so disrespectful, and worse, this girl didn't even seem like the type who constantly mocked others — which made it even more humiliating.
"And if it were someone you—?"
"My master is right about everything, so if he liked this, I would too."
"…You're crazier than I am."
Receiving Flora's judgmental glare, Yumeha averted her eyes and whistled as if looking away. Not wanting to argue anymore, she swung her staff toward Flora and leaped.
"Kagebarai Mate."
"What the hell—"
Sensing a strange energy coming from the staff, Flora dodged to the side, sweat running down her face. That staff was certainly powerful — extremely powerful, at least for someone of Yumeha's level. With no expression at seeing Flora dodge, Yumeha descended and struck the shadow of Flora's arm, causing a huge crater in the ground that even made the Nartheis lose balance.
"It really is a powerful attack, but— AAAAHHHH!"
Flora's arm exploded in purple blood. Desperate, she grabbed her arm, seeing a hole exactly where Yumeha had hit her shadow.
"That leaves me unsatisfied. I was aiming for your head, but you dodged in time, so I had to pierce your arm."
"What kind of weapon is this?!"
Yumeha looked at the weapon with a small smile. It was legendary rank, with two abilities — the second would only unlock when she reached the tenth circle. Her father, who had barely paid attention to her before, had given it to her… all thanks to her master.
[Kagebarai Ability One: Absorb the enemy's shadow when touched. The shadow is destroyed, causing damage to the enemy's body in the exact location where the shadow is struck. If a vital-point shadow is hit and the opponent is of the same level or lower, instant death occurs regardless of race.]
"I gained so much because he chose me."
"Now I understand your arrogance, but you're not the only one with something strong. Look at my Flowers of Death."
Black flowers rose from the ground, filling the air with pollen. The entire zone was poisoned, and it didn't matter if Yumeha breathed or not — this poison would enter through her skin and kill her in five minutes since they were of the same level. Yumeha summoned a few Nartheis behind her, preparing to kill her opponent quickly now that she had a time limit.
"Then it seems I need to kill you before the effect takes hold."
"If you think it'll be easy, you're very mistaken, you idiot."
Raising her arms, the trees inside the cells began moving outward. Black eyes appeared within them as they surrounded Yumeha, and to make things worse, it seemed those skulls were not just decorations.
"I will finish you."
With a demonic smile, Flora watched as each tree was covered by a different magic. This was because the skulls were being used to transfer the original users' magic into the trees. While Flora smiled, Yumeha let out a small laugh that made Flora stop.
"You know, I really do anything for my master. I even tried my best to learn my summons' magic in a specific way, but I couldn't…"
Yumeha raised her head with confidence. She hadn't been able to do what she wanted — at least not until her master reached the sixth circle.
"I really will do anything for him, so…"
One of Yumeha's summons approached in complete silence, as if gliding over a frozen lake. A cold mist surrounded its form as it released magic, raising both hands and gently placing them on Yumeha's shoulders.
"Yuki-Onna… Merge."
The mist surrounding the Yuki-Onna spread, enveloping Yumeha from head to toe. Threads of bluish energy snaked over her body like ice cracks swiftly forming across a frozen lake.