A new witch has appeared!

Lord Kui is currently conversing with an esteemed guest and cannot be disturbed for the moment.

Ahem~~~ Then I’ll come back later.

Ahem! Wait!

Luo You trotted out. The security miss, uneasy, followed to check.

Instinct told her this seemingly ditzy little sister was someone to watch closely.

She fled, she pursued—she couldn’t fly away with wings.

The chase led to a bathroom stall.

The security miss slammed the door open. “You wa—huh!?”

By the time she reacted, a small hand pressed her forehead. Her whole body froze. Looking down, she had unknowingly stepped into a domain of golden divine soil.

Brainwashing hypnosis!

Luo You exhaled. Her palm glowed green and began the hypnosis:

“You are now my flesh toile—no, wait. You are my s*ave. Obey my every command…”

Barely twenty words in, the security miss’s eyes glazed over. Luo You had full control.

Non-magical girl targets could only resist this much against brainwashing hypnosis.

“Easy peasy~” Luo You clapped, then began questioning.

I ask, you answer. What’s your position in the Otherworlders Organization?

“A Tier-1 combatant in the special unit under Lord Kui.”

“Have you undergone dimensional beast fusion experiments?

Well, obviously not from the looks of it.

Luo You switched questions: “Kui then? Has he?”

“I’m very sorry. I don’t understand what you mean.”

The miss answered woodenly.

“Seems you don’t know much. Go back then. Act normal and cooperate with me.”

“Yes.”

The security miss retraced her steps. Luo You pondered briefly, then used Wondrous Manifestation.

The golden fruit melted in her mouth into a throat-scorching spice. She forced it down. A trace of evil corruption stained her aura.

She had no intention of killing Kui as “Herrera.”

Acting as Herrera was too conspicuous. The more appearances, the more traces. If those magical girl harpies caught a lead and kept digging, they might actually trace her true identity.

So from now on… a new witch would be born into the world!

Her setting: a fangirl influenced by Herrera’s style, also calling herself a “witch.” Slightly weaker than Herrera but still above most. Uninterested in magical girls. Hates evil and the rich. Enemy of the collective, friend of the common folk. The Ashen Witch!

In under a minute, Luo You fleshed out this new witch’s complete profile.

Now, I am the Ashen Witch, Ariel!

Luo You donned another mask style—actually layering one over Herrera’s original.

Safety first. Ordinary masks lacked perception obstruction.

She used magic to turn her hair gray.

Finally, added height inserts to appear taller.

“Invisibility magic.”

Luo You vanished from sight.

She planned to use Chiha’s abilities henceforth, but not openly with magic or mana attacks. Instead…

The Far Sea Giant Spirit’s origin substance.

Once, Chiha was contaminated by the Giant Spirit’s blood. Using inherent magic, she forcibly adapted and assimilated the origin substance to survive. But this fused massive amounts of it into her body, tainting everything that entered—drugs, mana, etc.

Normally, origin substance—usable only by Plunder-Light class—couldn’t be wielded by human Luo You.

But she discovered, astonishingly, that Divinity Particles could control and isolate it for use!

She had stumbled upon this last time in the Sea of Realms against Wangchuan. Perfect timing now.

“The Ashen Witch’s” fame would ring out today!

Thanks to invisibility, she swaggered back into the venue.

The earlier security miss still stood guard at the door. Brainwashing effects lasted over two hours—she was a usable pawn for now.

Luo You observed the crowd. The elites clustered more or less around a closed door.

[That’s probably where Kui is…]

She crept to the door and activated Crimson Authority. Hearing amplified several times over.

“Congratulations. The Ziegel Consortium gains another grandmaster asset.”

“Where, where. In Dragon Nation terms, compared to Lord Kui, it’s the sorcerer’s apprentice meeting the master. Only with Lord Kui’s care did I reach this.”

“Congratulations on ascending to grandmaster. If Lord Kui doesn’t mind, I have an unmarried daughter. If Your Excellency Aaron has no betrothal…”

“No problem. One purpose of my Dragon Nation visit is precisely this.”

“Hahaha, perfect. After the reception, I’ll introduce you two.”

Kui laughed heartily.

Grandmasters were rare worldwide. This man was Aaron Perseus, heir to the Ziegel Consortium—a behemoth of capital.

Winning him over would bolster Kui immensely against Otherworlders HQ.

If not for the Zero Squad and Lady Aula’s R&D team being decent, Kui would poach Aaron outright. But the Zero Squad was a Dragon Nation special unit. Aaron joining benefited Kui too—he couldn’t dig openly.

In the main branch, Kui even dreamed of going independent.

But Kui knew Aaron allied for his position in the organization. The true aim…

“Ahem!”

Aaron straightened, ready for business.

“Lord Kui, per our intel, your side has a special secret method to grant humans dimensional beast powers?”

As expected.

Kui’s grin vanished. The scar slashing his face seemed to snarl. Muscles in his four arms bulged explosively.

“Nonsense. Such technology violates ethics. We’d never conduct threatening experiments. Mind your words.”

“We come in good faith.” Aaron interjected.

He drew a voucher from his breast pocket. His glasses flashed unseen white light.

“The location on this paper holds crystalline materials from ten ghost-level dimensional beasts. Our meeting gift. Take the voucher there to claim.”

Kui’s expression shifted. The scar seemed to smile. He took the voucher.

Aaron added: “If needed, even king-level we can…”

Aaron’s meaning was clear.

Kui didn’t commit yet. He summoned a trusted aide to verify the location. Upon confirmation, his eyes gleamed.

“Your Excellency Aaron, in local slang—you’re the tech-savvy type I admire most.”

Kui’s laugh was hideous. “Will you regret this decision later?”

He raised his glass.

Aaron, highly satisfied, clinked and drained it.

Great grandmaster? True, above 99% of the world.

But before true transcendence—just an ant.

Anyone ambitious craved greater power, refusing to stay trampled.

Humanity’s peak fighters could barely match first- or second-rate magical girls. Shameful to admit.

If a way existed to gain magical girl power, Herrera’s abilities—they’d pay any price.

[The family preserves a mid-dragon-level dimensional beast corpse. Once experiments mature, I can try—seize the world’s apex power in one leap!]

Aaron envisioned the glorious future, smile widening.

Dragon-level dimensional beasts were global apex. Might even clash with the legendary Aurora Witch Herrera.

“Your Excellency Aaron, one more thing. I hear a grandmaster of yours was slain by Herrera at your headquarters. True?”

Aaron’s face stiffened, speechless.

The family’s shame.

A grandmaster, killed outright at home base.

Herrera had just debuted then. That feat skyrocketed her fame.

Kui patted his shoulder: “No mockery intended. Just laying cards on the table. Herrera’s long gone from our organization.”

“???” Aaron blinked. Kui dropping such a bombshell?

Rumors swirled about Herrera defecting, but no confirmation. Now Kui hammered it home!

“Why?” Aaron asked in a hushed voice, mind racing to an ultimate possibility.

Before coming to Dragon Nation, via family connections, he knew Kui might have “the Box” clues. Mentioning Herrera now—could it be…

“Herrera defected, but we must recover her Divinity Particles.” Kui’s face darkened with killing intent.

“No one in the world can do that, surely?”

“There is! The Sea of Realms! That vast unknown must hold beings to rival or defeat her!”

“You mean the Rage-Devouring Giant Spirit?”

“Yes. It’s intelligent, negotiable. Pull it in—this becomes possible!”

“I’m not optimistic.” Aaron said frankly.

Kui laughed coarsely. “If I say it, I’m ninety percent sure. But execution needs your help.”

Aaron frowned.

If Kui truly recruited the Rage-Devouring Giant Spirit, it would lay the foundation.

“Fine. I agree.”

“Wonderful. Not just Divinity Particles—Herrera’s body is key to our research. We both profit.”

“Pleasant cooperation.” Aaron’s tone held hesitation but agreed.

None could resist Divinity Particles’ allure. With a better option, who’d touch unstable dimensional beast power?

“Pleasant cooperation.” Kui raised his glass again.

“Pleasant cooperation.”

“Pleasant cooperashiyo—nyaa!”

???

Both great grandmasters reacted lightning-fast, springing into combat stance.

Boom!

Luo You kicked with her little foot. The entire door crashed down. She emerged from invisibility.

“You plan evil deeds against the Aurora Witch? How despicable. Let me, the Ashen Witch, stop you!”