Faced with the encroaching Hilichurl encirclement, Barbara remained calm.
Then, without warning—
A wave of terrifying frosty aura erupted from within her, overwhelming everything in its path.
In an instant—
everything around her was frozen solid!
From the flowers and grass to the trees and even the ground itself—
the once lush and vibrant Whispering Woods turned into a stark, pale-white landscape.
It looked like a miniature Dragonspine.
Under such intense cold, two of the Hilichurls hadn't even had time to react before being encased in thick ice.
Their bodies froze mid-motion, still posed in the act of winding up for a punch—
now reduced to lifeless ice sculptures, unable to move an inch.
"Barbara's incredible!!"
Paimon exclaimed, eyes sparkling with excitement.
Lumine also nodded in quiet approval.
That chilling frost… it was truly powerful.
And what surprised her more was—
The feeling it gave off was very similar to the elemental energy of her Wind Fruit.
"Thank goodness she's okay."
Jean finally let out a breath of relief.
But even as relief flooded her, a question took root in her heart.
As Barbara's older sister, Jean was intimately familiar with her situation.
She knew Barbara's Vision was Hydro.
Precisely because she lacked offensive strength, Jean had assigned her to the rear, handling healing and logistics—
all to keep her safe.
So why was she now using Cryo powers?
Could Kaeya be nearby?
Did he sense Barbara was in danger and lend his power?
Jean frowned slightly, pondering this sudden development.
——
"Phew…"
Seeing the two Hilichurls frozen solid, Barbara sighed in relief.
Though she had unintentionally activated this power once before at the manga shop,
this was the first time she'd consciously used it.
So far, the results seemed… excellent.
"This Ice Fruit ability is amazing!"
Barbara beamed.
But the crisis wasn't over yet.
Hilichurls might not be the brightest creatures around,
but they weren't complete fools either.
Seeing that close combat didn't work, they immediately changed tactics—
switching to ranged attacks.
They bent down, picked up stones from the ground, and started hurling them en masse!
This was one of their basic ranged skills.
But Barbara reacted quickly.
Her eyes flickered, and in the blink of an eye—
a layer of icy armor formed over her entire body, shimmering in a cold blue hue.
Clang!
Clink!
Thump!
The stones struck the armor and froze on contact, dropping harmlessly to the ground.
Ranged attack: ineffective!
"My turn to fight back!"
Excitement tinged Barbara's voice.
She'd always heard her sister and the others talk about battling Hilichurls.
Even Klee got to go out and blow them up.
And now, finally, it was her turn!
Barbara bent forward slightly, placing her palm gently against the ground—
aiming directly at the incoming Hilichurls.
The Ice Fruit's power surged.
From her hand, a blast of bitter cold erupted, spreading rapidly across the ground.
A jagged, frost-covered path formed instantly—
like a dragon of ice roaring through the earth.
Wherever it passed, frost exploded in its wake, leaving behind an elegant trail of frozen terrain.
BOOM!
CRACK!
THUMP!
One after another, the charging Hilichurls met the same fate as their comrades—
transformed into ice statues, frozen mid-action.
——
"...What the..."
At that moment, Jean and Diluc finally arrived.
What they saw…
Left them absolutely stunned.
The entire section of Whispering Woods before them had been transformed.
What was once a vibrant forest full of greenery was now covered in blinding white.
It wasn't white flowers.
It wasn't light reflecting off dew.
It was ice.
The plants, the trees, even the earth beneath their feet—
All of it had been frozen solid.
It was as if a piece of Dragonspine had been ripped from its mountain and planted here in the woods.
In the middle of the frosted clearing, there stood seven or eight distinct ice sculptures—
Hilichurls, frozen mid-motion.
Even though it was noon, the hottest time of day,
everyone present could still feel the bitter cold radiating from the area.
"Such terrifying Cryo energy… even Kaeya might not be capable of this."
Diluc was inwardly shaken.
From afar, it hadn't felt this intense.
But now that he was close, a wave of frost hit him head-on.
A regular person wouldn't last long in this environment.
Just like Jean earlier, he had assumed Kaeya had intervened from the shadows.
But now…
That assumption seemed more and more unlikely.
"Barbara actually has this kind of power?!"
Even Venti was shocked.
What the heck is going on lately?!
One by one, people's strength kept skyrocketing out of nowhere:
First the Traveler awakened powerful wind-based abilities,
then Acting Grand Master Jean displayed overwhelming mastery of Haki,
and now even gentle, unassuming Barbara had such incredible Cryo power?
"Lumine and Jean gained their abilities through reading manga… could Barbara be the same?"
Suddenly it all clicked for Venti, his eyes flashing with understanding.
He remembered Barbara had visited the manga shop yesterday—
and had received a Digimon pet.
She must've returned today and received a powerful new ability.
Because, after all, only that mysterious manga shop could make such miracles happen.
~~--------------------------------------
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