The silver-haired woman flicked her katana, and the ice wall shattered instantly. She then looked at Ur with a playful expression.
"Are you trying to stop my family reunion? What a 'bad woman' you are."
"What family reunion? You don't consider him family at all."
Ur looked heartbrokenly at the wound on Tike's arm... it seemed to have healed completely. After a brief hesitation, she glared at the silver-haired woman with a fierce gaze.
At first, she might have hesitated, but now, how could she possibly hand the child over to this crazy woman!
"So what?" The silver-haired woman admitted indifferently. "Knowing he's alive is a joyous event for Mother. But I indeed have no feelings for him. After all, if not for Mother's mission, I wouldn't have even known of his existence."
"..." Ur clenched her fists tightly, her voice soft but resolute. "If she thinks he's so important, why didn't she come herself?"
"Mother is busy with very important matters. I don't need to explain so much to you all."
"If I knew the whereabouts of my child who had been missing for years, no matter what was happening, I would definitely come myself!"
As she said this, Ur subconsciously looked at her own daughter—Ultear.
Tike also looked at Ultear, who was carefully wiping the blood from his hand. Then, he turned his gaze to Ur and asked softly, "Do you guys not want me to go?"
Ultear shook her head decisively, her eyes filled with reluctance.
"Enough nonsense." The silver-haired woman raised her katana again, the fighting spirit reigniting in her eyes. "Let's fight. Only the winner has the right to choose!"
"Big Sister," Tike suddenly called out softly.
"?"
Ultear thought he was calling her, but then realized Tike wasn't looking at her, but staring at the silver-haired woman. Her heart trembled slightly—ah, she is Tike's big sister.
The silver-haired woman realized this too, but she didn't understand why Tike was calling her at a time like this.
"You should go," Tike continued.
"What... did you say?"
"Go back by yourself. I'm staying here," Tike stated his wish simply and directly.
The silver-haired woman looked as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. A sneer curled her lips, and her expression turned extremely cold.
"Don't be presumptuous, little brother. You think you have the right to refuse? Your only choices are to come over obediently, or watch from there as I kill every single human around you, and then take you away!"
"..."
Tike didn't respond. Instead, he looked at her with an almost merciless gaze.
Sure enough, she wasn't easy to talk to.
But he still wanted to stay, to stay by Ur and the others' side.
For that reason—
(This strange big sister is really in the way.)
Just as Tike's thought flashed by, Lyon and Gray, unable to hold back any longer, launched their attacks first.
"Ice-Make: Sword!"
"Ice-Make: Lance!"
A crystalline ice blade condensed in the air, and an ice-blue lance shot out, wrapped in biting cold, straight toward the silver-haired woman.
The silver-haired woman didn't even bother swinging her sword. with just a wave of her hand, the ice blade and lance shattered completely, turning into specks of cold light drifting in the air.
"Ice-Make: White Rose Garden!"
Ur and her daughter Ultear chanted in unison immediately after, and Tike didn't hesitate to pour his magic power into it as well.
As the magic power of the three intertwined and merged invisibly, countless white roses made of ice grew rapidly from the frozen ground. They were as magnificent as a blooming garden, yet contained lethal intent, spiraling toward the silver-haired woman in a fierce attack.
"That's more like it!"
Feeling the threat of this power, the silver-haired woman revealed a fanatic smile again.
"Netherworld Style: Naraka!"
The katana in her hand erupted with heart-palpitating black magic power. A fierce slash swept through like a storm, causing even the space itself to ripple under the force.
In an instant, the frozen buildings collapsed under the terrifying slash, turning into a mess of ruins.
Ur was hit directly by a ferocious slash. A terrifying wound split open on her left shoulder, blood gushing out. Yet, she clenched her teeth, using her battered body to shield the children, struggling to maintain the last protective barrier.
Although Ultear, Gray, and Lyon weren't hit directly, they were knocked unconscious by the shockwaves of that chaotic magic power. Only Tike barely managed to maintain consciousness.
The silver-haired woman elegantly shook the frost off her blade, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly into an almost cruel smile of satisfaction.
"Humans, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. But now, it is time to put an end to everything."
Before her voice had even faded, she thrust her sword forward, prepared to deliver the final blow to Ur.
In that critical split second, Tike suddenly rushed forward. The katana, thrusting at extreme speed, pierced directly through his chest. The sound of the blade tearing through flesh was jarringly loud in the silent street.
"Tike...?"
"You...? Why?"
Under the silver-haired woman's stunned gaze, blood bloomed like a red lotus, instantly staining Tike's chest red. She could no longer hear his breathing; only a deathly silence remained in the air.
(I messed up. Did he really die just like that?)
The silver-haired woman hadn't expected Tike to do such a thing, nor had she expected him to be killed so easily. Disbelieving the fragility of his body, she even forgot to withdraw the blood-stained katana.
Ur stared blankly at the lifeless form of the child she was supposed to protect. Then, with a choked sob, she accused the murderer before her in grief and indignation.
"What have you done!"
"I..."
The silver-haired woman was about to say something when she suddenly noticed the crimson blood on Tike's body turning into an ominous, pitch-black liquid.
The liquid moved like a grotesque snake, winding its way eerily up the katana, about to coil around her arm.
The silver-haired woman's eyes sharpened. She decisively abandoned the sword and retreated, looking down at her right hand.
Her entire arm now looked like withered bone, the skin taking on an ominous dark black hue.
The katana impaled in Tike's body rapidly decayed under the erosion of the black water, turning into dust in an instant and scattering into the cold night air.
"Star-Shatterer"—this peerless weapon forged from the hardest scales of the Adamantine Dragon, known for its defense, had once split mountains and severed seas without a scratch. Yet now, it was annihilated so easily.
And from the wound on his chest, that strange black liquid continued to gush out.
Even more eerily, the silver-haired woman still couldn't detect any signs of life from him—no breathing, no heartbeat.
Despite this, she smirked slightly.
"Not just living creatures, but you can even take away the 'life' of weapons. You are indeed special; no wonder Mother has such high hopes for you."
Without sparing a moment of regret for the loss of Star-Shatterer, the silver-haired woman waved her intact left hand lightly. She traced a silver-blue trail of light in the air, and another pitch-black long sword materialized.
Tike's lifeless eyes slowly turned toward her. His once sky-blue pupils were now dull as stagnant water. His pale lips parted slightly, and he slowly spat out a single word.
"In the way..."