Ice blossomed from the ground like a field of flowers spontaneously bursting to life, covering the entirety of the room in a pure white spectacle that could otherwise never be seen in the summer.

Summer in the Ardene Kingdom didn’t have the sweltering heat that it did in the eastern part of the continent, but the ice was already starting to melt. Perhaps it was because it was borne through magic that shortened its lifespan in the gentle rays of the sun, but it was this transience that gave it the beauty it now possessed.

Smooth and perfectly formed, the disc-shaped formation of ice glistened in the sunlight, causing the rays that coursed through its slightly blue-tinged translucent surface to diffuse around it like a veritable halo.

But its purpose wasn’t merely to become a spectacle for the eyes.

Liandra rose from her kneeling position, her palm leaving the ground as she stood in the epicenter of the frozen disc. Liandra’s violet eyes focused on the group of soldiers standing in front of her. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“I’m not sure who sent you, but I hope they didn’t expect you to actually return with my head.”

The soldiers trembled in fear, their eyes growing wide as Liandra stepped toward them. A purple miasma lifted off her body in gentle waves, but their languid motion belied their deadly nature.

The ice beneath her feet grew brittle and cracked, shattering into tiny shards that glittered in the light like thousands of multicolored stars.

Liandra raised her hand toward the soldiers and willed the miasma forward. It shot toward the soldiers with alarming speed, a cloud of death that was the color of the night sky. Despite their attempts to break free from the frozen prison that trapped their legs, they would not live to see the sun set today.

Again, Liandra clicked her tongue in annoyance as the soldiers fell to the ground, frothing at the mouth. They were well and truly dead. She nodded once as if to confirm that fact to herself before turning around.

Thousands of upturned eyes were now locked on her small form from below. Currently, she stood upon a balcony which overlooked the main courtyard of Valgern Tower, the Ardene Kingdom’s primary institution for mages.

As for why thousands of people were currently staring at her, Radeca had broken through the Tower’s defenses within seconds and entered the main courtyard, one of the innermost areas of the Tower which was heavily guarded and protected not only by wards, but also constructs and mages of the highest caliber that the kingdom had to offer.

Just now, she had easily dispatched a group of knights who were teleported here directly from the capital. Although those knights had been hastily put together and dispatched, eliminating them with such ease was no small feat even for a skilled spellcaster.

All of these feats together told the mages of Valgern Tower that Liandra was someone who should be taken seriously, and with the utmost respect.

Liandra leaned on the balcony’s marble railing now as she looked down on the mages who returned her gaze. Some of them were no doubt brimming with indignation and fury whereas others looked upon her with curiosity, or more unusually, ambition.

Normally, she would be incredibly averse to attracting so much attention, especially the kind that could put her life in danger. However, if there was any nervousness in her body, she certainly wasn’t showing it.

“Mages of Valgern Tower,” Liandra began, her voice ringing through the air with the timbre of authority. “You must all be curious as to who I am, but that is not the question you should be asking. Who I am is not important. What is important is what I will do.”

Liandra paused before continuing. It was partially for dramatic effect, but it was primarily because stopping at such a vital point served to draw her listeners in even more. Already, there were a few mages who were eagerly anticipating her next words.

In any case, she was right. Who she was wasn’t important at all. To the mages gathered here, she might as well have been just another random child who was a magical prodigy. 

What was important was what she did, and the things that she accomplished in such a short span of time was no doubt worth their attention even if they had no idea who she was.

“Those who are more skilled in the arts of divination might already be aware of this, but the world is slowly coming to an end.” Murmurs began to spread through the crowd of mages, but Liandra continued. “Two weeks from now, a war will break out across the continent. Whether we survive or whether we are destroyed, all of it will hinge solely on this war.”

“So what do you want us to do!? Follow you into battle!?” One of the mages bravely shouted.

Liandra’s lips curled into a smile. “No. The capital will certainly come to conscript you into the army. It’s simple: refuse them and remain here behind your wards. If you do so, then this world shall surely be saved.”

Again, murmurs spread throughout the crowd like rippling waves through water.

“Why should we trust you!?” The same mage shouted at Liandra as others echoed his cries. “How do we know that you’re not just someone from an enemy country!?”

To this, Liandra truly had no response that could satisfy the masses. Instead, she simply smiled and flourished the long black cloak that she wore on her back.

“That’s the thing. You don’t. But what’s life without a little risk? Remember, mages of Valgern Tower. Whether or not the world collapses is in your hands.”

Without waiting for a response, Liandra allowed a pillar of black-purple miasma to erupt around her, forming a beam that reached up toward the heavens. When the miasma cleared, she was gone.

After the teleportation spell resolved, Liandra leaned against the rough trunk of a tree just next to her. She had only learned this spell recently along with a variety of elemental magic. Normally, it took someone years just to master a single element, but Liandra was a prodigy even amongst prodigies.

Although her poison miasma magic had always been the only thing she needed to rely on, her encounter with Ryuuko had told her that she needed to begin branching out in her studies. This desire was only magnified when Ryuuko had explained her insane plan.

Liandra let out a long sigh, relieved that she’d played her part in the plan and repaid her debt. Not only that, she was even given the chance to test her newfound strength against those who were considered the greatest mages within the Ardene Kingdom.

For that, Liandra was grateful for the opportunity to test her strength and grow it. But still...

“...Your demands are way too unreasonable, Ryuuko.”