Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

Before we knew it, the center of the ceremony had become the deer.

"——Brother?" The Ice Prison Dragon was very worried.

"Hmm, the followability of this core change isn't written into the ritual—ah, I see."

Yu Man was quite interested and immediately saw through the little secret.

"It's a bit dirty. It's an obscure and hidden ritual structure... Huh, the Great Demon? It's clearly an artificial soul and a sacrifice."

This so-called Great Demon is itself an artificial soul constructed through another ritual, designed to harvest emotions. These elements nest within each other, forming a defensive mechanism. When a sufficiently powerful enemy enters, they effectively become the ritual's target—very intuitive.

But before that, one will misjudge the purpose of the great demon and the ritual, and lose the most precious opportunity to escape from the ritual.

If I hadn't noticed it earlier, I would have been completely hooked by its hidden following nature, just like now.

Then, the ritual will change their bodies, take away their souls, and imprison them to become companions of these wandering souls.

but--

“Indigo Landscape.” Her soul, however, had a different answer.

The freedom of the traveler is something that these decadent things cannot pursue.

From the ring, the indigo that emanated from the depths of her soul dyed the area around her into a cloudless sky.

Instead, the ritual is colored, obscuring all its functions.

The colors, along with her sword, splashed outside the ceremony—

Then she arrived there.

This clingy ritual—didn't even react.

Suddenly—the clear sky she was in disappeared.

It wasn't that the skill time had expired, but as she wished, all of it was gathered and coated on the sword.

The bloodless sword that symbolized doom was simply wrapped in her indigo.

The freely changing blue flows on the sword edge.

"Hey, I've found a new use for it."

"uh-huh--"

Following her triumphant nasal sound, she leaped off the ground on tiptoe.

Then, the indigo color, symbolizing absolute freedom, cut through the body of the great demon without any hindrance.

It's like dipping a brush into paint and applying it to the painting.

The indigo that flowed from the sword remained on the severed part of the Great Demon.

Now, this color, which alone symbolizes freedom, denies the life of this artificial soul and cuts off all its functions.

"Brother, I don't understand." The Ice Prison Dragon sang a confused dragon song.

"That blue skill your sister Lu has is like cheating. She can do whatever she wants. When she uses it at home, it allows her to move at super high speed, ignoring everything. And just now... she discovered a new way to use it."

When gathered at the sword's edge, the indigo freedom will surpass everything and overshadow everything.

Therefore, from the root -

It will be a sharp sword that can cut through everything in its path.

but--

It was as if time had gone back, and all the indigo that had spread out returned to her ring: "Done." She looked at Yu Man, feeling proud.

Well, it’s time for my playmate sister to get back to work.

Yu Man immediately clapped his hands and shouted exaggeratedly, "As expected of the boss! Awesome! Amazing mechanics, top-notch awareness, ultimate mentality, and incredible understanding of the game—huh?"

She still has a thousand words to praise.

Before that—

Like before a summer storm, the air pressure and stifling heat cling to one's skin and breath.

Some kind of omen—knocked on their souls.

Yu Man stared at the horizon and felt it.

From somewhere far away, something like a natural disaster seemed to be coming.

"Eel! Didn't you say...the branch leader wouldn't be coming?!"

"Well... even a sage can make mistakes."

160 Valuing Life

At the same time, on the black market island not far away——

No one feels comfortable, they feel bored, depressed and uneasy.

The evil that stuck to the skin seemed to be squeezed down by the sky, like the prelude to a rainstorm on a summer night.

"Another bad weather?" a businessman muttered. "I don't want to stay on this island, but doesn't that mean I can't go out to sea?"

The dark clouds before were scary enough, but what was coming now was obviously even more terrifying.

"Not quite. It's not the weather—it's a natural disaster." A criminal leader, who was selling stolen goods to a businessman, took off his eye patch and turned his glass-glass eyes to the sky outside the window. "It's like... magic."

"Magic? Who can have such a level?"

"If you look through the history books, you should be able to find out—something like this also descended thirty-two years ago..."

"—You mean... the legend that cut through this island?"

Similar discussions raged in the streets and alleys, on every boat. At this moment, everyone put aside their business and calculations, simply savoring the raw emotions that surged from the depths of their hearts.

fear.

Something is coming.

……

Pirate Island.

On the boats at the dock, countless drunken pirates passed out from nightmares, each trying to escape like a sleepwalker. The urge to survive seemed to overpower their bodies, overriding both alcohol and any rational thought.

Simply because - a certain existence is brewing above their heads.

But any escape? It's too late.

Here it comes.

In the beginning – it was the clouds that made the difference.

They seemed to be controlled by a great force and brought here just to block out the brilliance of the stars and the moon.

Soon, people realized the true nature of that mighty force—the wind. Unprecedentedly evil winds converged on this sea, like driven spirits of the dead. They disrupted the currents and destroyed every seagull's wing. The ebb and flow of the tides, the water levels—everything was chaotic and turbid, and death began to happen en masse.

It is near—it is coming.

……

Yu Man, who was standing in the center of the island, was looking up at the sky.

"Eel... Eel—this doesn't feel right. What... is going on?"

"Why don't you call me uncle anymore?"

"Hey, holding a grudge?" Regardless, Yu Man's tone remained as light as ever, which reassured Xiao Lu. "So... what's going on now? It's like the whole world is being controlled."

Yu Man scoffed softly, "How can it be so exaggerated? It's just a cowardly ninth-level wind magician hiding in the sky and casting large-scale magic, hoping to make this sea area his home."

"Wind magician? That's quite rare."

It’s true that it’s rare, but Yu Man is quite familiar with it.

She released her hand from the little girl's shoulder, which meant she had freed the Ice Prison Dragon from its restraints. The enemy was quite powerful, highly skilled, and well-thought-out, so Yu Man decided to take the fight seriously.

Although Xiaolu wanted to show off her strength, after the skill of her soul weapon entered the cooldown period, she lost her biggest trump card and could not participate in this level of battle for the time being.

Yu Man, understanding this, said to her, "Clear the battlefield for me and let those NPCs hide. As for Ya Ge's daughter, let her go. Players can't die anyway."

"it is good……"

"Then wait until your skills improve and come help us."

"--good!"

As she left quickly, the only ones left at the half-destroyed ceremony site were Yu Man and the Ice Prison Dragon, which had returned to its original state.

And the visitors—dropped from the sky.

"The Price Maker" · Chief of the Southern Seas Branch · "Father of the Sky" · Froberg.

Just as Yu Man guessed - this is what came.

Rat Man...or rather, a big businessman.

Its appearance can be described as old, with faded hair, loose skin and muscles, and its entire body is hunched.

The expensive and luxurious suspenders and monocle highlight the businessman's undiminished competence.

But - it seemed to be a fusion of all the rats in the city's sewers, emitting an extremely strong evil.

In its view—

A girl in a white robe, holding a holy book in her hands, was standing here quietly.

With its jewel-blue eyes, it looked down upon everything, including itself.

The ice chips floating in the air and the Ice Prison Dragon glaring at it became her background.

This boundless world seemed to be her church.

She is her own god.

The rat man's instinct was screaming danger, but his reason was confused. He had already stepped half a foot into the pinnacle of magic, so why was he feeling afraid?

"May I ask your name?" the rat man said calmly. "As a stranger who tamed that ferocious dragon... and for whom I made a deal for ten thousand gold coins."

"Oh? You call our robbery a transaction." Yu Man didn't intend to say the name Eel.

"I can put a price on everything - in my opinion, that robbery was still a deal."

Nezumi removed his glasses, folded them carefully, and put them in his inside pocket.

"Let's be frank. We don't have to be hostile to each other. Through some intelligence, I know that it was you who incited those hundreds of thousands of foreigners to become hostile to us and robbed us... This was already bad enough, and now... you're even trying to ruin the ceremony we painstakingly prepared."

"What is this ceremony for?"

"How about we negotiate peace now? We'll forgive all the past. All you need to do is order those foreigners to stop, and we'll remain friends from now on."

"It seems that the strangers have really given you a hard time." Yu Man was very happy about this.

"Thanks to you, the branch hasn't been able to conduct any business since then. Countless foreigners are frantically searching for us. Even though the buildings and traders are hidden, the foreigners' attacks never stop! Honestly, the losses have become almost unacceptable."

"Why don't you just go back and fight hundreds of thousands of strangers alone?"

"...Just a reminder, you're all alone right now. I can still torture you to vent my anger."

The Ice Prison Dragon sensed the murderous intent and took a light step forward, examining the ratman with the physiognomy of a mythical beast at the pinnacle of ecology.

The rat man looked up at it and said, "I know very well that you are not the ferocious dragon of legend, but a young dragon... Maybe I can end winter early."

But the rat man did not take action, but used these as bargaining chips: "But peace is better, as long as you stop the strangers, everything will be-"

"Don't bother. I'll teach you how to put an end to the riots of the foreigners." Yu Man held up two fingers. "There are even two methods. I'll teach you both, free of charge."

"...Oh? I didn't expect you to be so generous and understanding. Then—"

"First, satisfy the Stranger's needs. That means all of you commit suicide, clutching all your possessions. The Stranger will then happily leave. Second, completely exterminate the Stranger... but unfortunately, you'll all end up back where you left off."

"...So there's nothing to discuss?"

"I've given you chances before." First the Necromancer, then the Werewolf... but each time they were too greedy.

"Alright—then show me what gives you the courage to believe you can defeat a true... great magician like me."