The Ruins of Canglan

“Come to think of it, your aunt really doesn’t seem to like me.”

Luo You grumbled with thinly veiled dissatisfaction.

“Earlier too, she didn’t give me a straight answer to anything I asked. Is that how you treat the one who raised your niece?”

“Uh…” Luo Zining averted her eyes, clearly guilty.

Just seeing that look made Luo You’s teeth ache.

She didn’t even have to ask—this little brat had definitely said bad things about her in front of that aunt. And probably more than once.

But the worst part?

Luo You couldn’t even get mad at her.

Because… she really hadn’t done much to fulfill her responsibilities as a parent.

So now what?

In public, as Herrera, she was already being resented by Feiyu. And in private, she’d somehow ended up being added to Jiyue’s revenge list?

“Well, perfect timing then.”

Luo You’s ten fingers danced through the water with a supple, fluid grace, her eyes glinting with a strange and dangerous hunger.

If she’d already overheard Jiyue’s grandiose revenge plot, then as a top-tier predator, there was no way she’d just sit back and do nothing.

[A bunch of defeated walking meat sleeves thinking they can get bold just by gathering together? And they dare plot against the one who used to command them?]

If they really had the guts to come at her, Luo You wouldn’t mind hosting a multi-participant silver party to remind these magical grudge-hags of their proper place.

Ten participants sounded just about right.

Any more and even she might not be able to handle it.

But Jiyue… Jiyue was out of the question.

No matter how tempting she was, Luo You couldn’t touch her again.

They had a family connection now, however flimsy it may be.

That line, at least, she wanted to avoid casually crossing.

…Though technically she had already crossed it ten years ago.

But she didn’t know Jiyue’s identity back then, so it didn’t count!

Elsewhere, Jiyue had finished discussing everything she came for.

“I came to say all that,” she said. “Next, I’ll talk to Zining for a bit. You should take a few days and rest.”

“Mhm.”

Jiyue turned back toward them. “Zining, want to go see your sister?”

“Yes! I do, I do!”

“I’ll pass,” Luo You declined.

Since Jiyue clearly didn’t like her, there was no point in forcing pleasantries.

“Uhh, Yuyu… maybe you should go?” Zining glanced nervously between them, unsure what to do.

Unexpectedly, Jiyue took the initiative.

“Why not come over to my place for a bit? I’m quite curious about you.”

“No need, really. I have things to do.”

She tried to sound firm and assertive, but what came out was painfully weak and awkward.

She couldn’t help it!

Now that she knew Jiyue had once been a magical girl she’d personally broken, she just couldn’t keep a normal face around her!

[No, this is bad…] Luo You covered her eyes.

Every time she looked at Jiyue’s face, she was reminded of that exquisite, distorted ahegao from the past.

Every time she heard her voice, she could almost hear those seductive, breathless moans in her ears again.

And Jiyue’s usual cold and aloof demeanor?

All it did was bring back the image of her doing finger-guns and calling her “Master! Master!” in a completely different tone.

This painfully guilty performance made Jiyue suspicious.

“Why won’t you look me in the eye?”

“Because… you’re too beautiful.”

“…”

That blunt reply caught even Jiyue off guard.

Most people would’ve dropped it there, but Jiyue wasn’t most people.

As a magical girl, her instincts were razor-sharp—and those instincts told her: something was off with Luo You.

“Ahem, I’ll be heading out now.”

Feeling like she might self-destruct if she stayed any longer, Luo You quickly wrapped herself in a towel and hurried toward the changing rooms.

“Wait!”

Snap!

Just as she turned, her right hand was caught by Jiyue.

Luo You turned back, ready to say something—only to find Jiyue frozen in place.

…?

Jiyue stared dazedly at the small hand in her grasp.

Just from that light grip, she could feel the suppressed suppleness beneath the fingers—flexible and dangerously agile.

She couldn’t put it into words, but a flicker of recognition brushed past her consciousness—like a memory just out of reach.

Gone before she could grasp it.

Luo You calmly withdrew her hand, slightly guarded.

“Something else?”

“…No. Nothing.”

“Then go chat with Zining. I’ll be back later.”

Luo You jogged into the changing room.

Jiyue remained standing there, silently pondering the sensation still lingering in her palm.

After changing back into her regular clothes, Luo You exited the hot springs resort.

She really couldn’t stay any longer.

If she kept staring at Jiyue’s face, she might lose control and end up hunting another magical girl just to take the edge off.

And if she pulled another all-nighter outside, Zining would definitely give her an earful.

“Someone was watching us in the hot spring earlier…”

While soaking, she’d activated her Crimson Authority to heighten her senses—and noticed some very unsavory gazes in the crowd.

Specifically, targeted at Zhou Xi.

That kind of look?

She knew it too well.

It was the gaze of a predator.

The kind that only bad guys possessed.

And who would dare target a magical girl like that?

Answer: the Yiren Organization.

[They’re probably not here for me—but for Zhou Xi.]

Luo You had already deduced their intent while in the water.

It was obvious.

She’d reappeared recently under the name Herrera.

The Yiren Organization would of course respond.

But without access to Herrera’s intelligence, their next best option would be to investigate the magical girls who had interacted with her.

And Zhou Xi… had enjoyed a rather delightful encounter with Herrera not long ago.

“With Jiyue around, things should be fine. I heard she’s a Ten-Seat candidate.”

The Yiren Organization’s success rate against magical girls was generally high—but only when facing average magical girls.

When it came to the top echelon, like the Ten Seats or their equivalents, things changed drastically.

While most magical girls were shackled by their ideals and often crushed by reality, those at the top had begun to turn those ideals into power.

When facing that kind of magical girl?

The Yiren Organization had almost no victories to speak of.

Their dirty tricks only went so far.

“I’ll go check out that place with the Light-Reaver-class Dimensional Beast.”

Luo You hopped on the newly opened metro line.

The most famous attraction of Jiuyun Sea City was the battlefield where humans had once fought a Light-Reaver-class Dimensional Beast:

The Canglan Ruins.

Canglan Ruins was made up of 49% urban rubble and 51% overgrown forest.

It looked like something from the dawn of the world—untamed and ancient.

Above it hovered a rotating vortex of cloud, coiled like a giant serpent.

From its jaws spewed violet lightning, casting a dreadful gaze upon the world below.

It was hard to believe that this quiet, majestic ruin had once seen the deaths of over a hundred thousand human soldiers.

That it had claimed four of the Ten Seats of the Magical Alliance.

That even the Yiren Organization had suffered catastrophic losses here.

A supposed sanctuary of life—turned cycle of death and annihilation.

“This place is ancient…”

Luo You peered through the entrance gate toward the interior.

Only a few years had passed.

The local government had even renovated the area somewhat.

And yet it still looked like a relic abandoned for centuries—mysterious, solemn, and awe-inspiring.

Rumor had it, the blood spilled by that Light-Reaver-class Dimensional Beast contained substances from the Sea of Realms.

Because of that, the ruins were still plagued by unexplainable supernatural phenomena.

It had become a hotspot for paranormal bloggers and ghost-chasers.

“Hope I run into something weird today.”

She’d never seen a Light-Reaver-class Dimensional Beast.

She hadn’t even encountered a Dragon-class.

The strongest she’d fought was that humanoid King-class monster.

If possible… she really wanted to test her limits.

“Didn’t I already swear not to use this power again?” she muttered, clenching her fist.

But maybe…

The moment she found out her daughter was a magical girl, she knew deep down that the peaceful life she wanted was no longer possible.

She needed that power now—if only to protect herself.

Because the greatest danger in the world’s future wasn’t the Magical Alliance.

Nor the Yiren Organization.

It was the Dimensional Beasts from the Sea of Realms.

…Maybe not just Dimensional Beasts.

“If I could see a Light-Reaver-class one with my own eyes… that’d be amazing.”

The old man at the ticket booth heard her and rolled his eyes hard.

Easy to say when you’re not the one getting flattened!

Do you know how many people die every time one of those shows up?!

Luo You held out her phone, scanning the code.

“One ticket, please.”

“500.”

…Damn.

If she were still a man, she’d be cursing under her breath right now.

But as a woman, she had to maintain her image.

So she only cursed inwardly.

With a sigh, she stuffed the ticket into her pocket and entered the ruins through one of the less-traveled paths.

Just as the entrance gate took a corner off her ticket…

Buzz—

High above Canglan Ruins, the swirling cloud vortex stilled for a split second.

After years of slumber, the ruins stirred.

A deep, low hum echoed through the air.

Within ten minutes, the Jiuyun Sea Meteorological Bureau issued a series of escalating blizzard warnings—yellow, then red.

Back at the ticket booth, the old man looked up at the sky, then at his phone’s group chat.

“Weird… where the hell did this blizzard come from?”

Inside the ruins, a safety broadcast crackled to life:

[Dear visitors, the weather bureau has just issued a red blizzard warning. Temperatures will drop rapidly to -29°C. For your safety, Canglan Ruins will now be closed. We apologize for the inconvenience. Visitors, please proceed to the designated evacuation areas—]

Luo You, who had only just entered, stared blankly at the announcement.

She’d just spent five hundred yuan on this ticket.

And it was over in ten minutes?!

“Think you can scam five hundred out of me in ten minutes? Think again.”

Ignoring the closure notice, she headed deeper into the ruins.

Her red eyes gleamed faintly.

In the thickening snow, she looked like a deadly specter cloaked in murder.

She would see for herself—

What secrets lay hidden in this battlefield where humanity once clashed with a Light-Reaver-class Dimensional Beast!

Meanwhile, 100 kilometers south of Jiuyun Sea, at Gate 27 of the Sea of Realms border—

“Stop! Which division are you—wait! That thing’s from inside the Sea of Realms!”

“All units—combat mode, now!”

“Outsider! Identify yourself!”

The creature emerging from the Sea of Realms gave no reply.

It didn’t even glance at them.

It just kept walking forward.

The commander didn’t hesitate.

Artillery fire rained down like a storm.

RRRAAAAAAAHHH—!!

A thunderous roar split the skies.

Smoke swallowed the area whole.

Silence followed.

Then—

A message made its way to the highest levels of every major organization:

The Sea of Realms Gate… has been breached.