BOOM!
As Ur's voice faded, a magic circle appeared before her hands. It was translucent, icy blue, and intricately carved with snowflakes—a true work of art.
In an instant, a torrent of freezing air blasted from the circle, turning the hundreds of bandits into shivering statues, too terrified to take another step.
"No!"
"This is bad!"
The biting wind cooled their brains, which had been overheated by greed, snapping them back to reality.
"Did we actually try to challenge the Ur? Are we insane?!"
The bandits stood frozen in place, staring blankly. Now that they had calmed down, they realized just how stupid they had been. despair washed over their faces.
"...Ice-Make: Rose Garden!"
Ur didn't give them a chance to regret their choices or beg for mercy. With a confident smile, she unleashed her magic.
In the blink of an eye, beautiful ice roses bloomed across the town's streets, spreading for hundreds of meters until the entire road was covered in a garden of frost.
"So beautiful..."
The bandits, who had just been ready to attack Ur, now looked on with enchanted expressions. Before they knew it, they were encased in ice, turned into lifelike sculptures.
"Useless!"
"A bunch of useless trash!"
"Over a hundred of you, and you can't handle one little girl?!"
Barclay, the bandit leader, cursed furiously when he saw that all his men—and even his massive six-meter-tall beast mount—had been frozen by Ur. He decided to cut his losses and run.
Live to fight another day!
As long as he, Barclay, survived, he could always find more minions and another mount.
"Going somewhere?"
But before Barclay could make his escape, Ur appeared behind him like a ghost, her voice cold and questioning.
"Ur, you can't kill me!"
"Look at the mountain behind your house!"
"I've gathered members from several Dark Guilds—over a thousand wizards in total—waiting there for my signal."
"If anything happens to me, they'll storm the town!"
Barclay was panic-stricken, his lips turning purple from the cold, but he still tried to threaten her.
"What did you say?!"
Ur's face went pale. That mountain was where her home was. Ide and Susan were still back there!
"I'll tell you the truth—I'm not just a bandit! I'm a key leader in the Kingdom's Resistance Army."
"Ur, you have such immense power. Why waste it protecting a tiny village? Join me! Let's overthrow this corrupt kingdom together!"
"With your strength added to ours, I'm guaranteed to become the new King."
"And when that happens, I'll share my power with you. You can be my Queen..."
Barclay didn't even get to finish the word "Queen" before a fist the size of a sandbag expanded rapidly in his vision.
BANG!
Before he could react, Ur punched him so hard he went flying.
"Gah! That hurts!"
Barclay traced a graceful arc through the sky before crashing into the freezing snow. Clutching his nose, which was spraying blood that froze instantly, he yelled, "I take it back, Ur! No man will ever love a violent woman like you!"
But before Barclay could continue his tirade, he saw the townspeople surrounding him, armed with pitchforks and shovels.
"W-what are you doing?!"
Cold sweat broke out on Barclay's forehead as he stammered nervously.
"What do you think we're doing?"
The mayor cracked his neck, the pop-pop sounds echoing crisply. He looked spry for his age.
"Can we settle this peacefully?"
Barclay swallowed hard, looking at the "menacing" villagers.
"You must be joking."
The mayor sneered. With a single glance from him, the able-bodied men of the village raised their farm tools and began to beat Barclay senseless.
"Argh!"
Seconds later, a pitiful scream tore through the sky.
---
"Susan!"
"Ide!!"
"Please be okay!"
Meanwhile, having learned about the Dark Guild members on the mountain behind her house, Ur was sprinting back home. Her usually composed, cool face showed rare signs of vulnerability and worry.
At the same time, she wondered if she even had the strength to defeat an army of a thousand wizards.
"Hm?"
But when Ur arrived at the mountain, she was greeted by a sight that left her dumbfounded.
The thousand-strong rebel army Barclay had bragged about was scattered across the ground, unconscious and bleeding from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.
And standing amidst this "sea of bodies" was Ide, who was supposed to be resting in bed. He held his blade in hand, gently wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Haha, looks like I'm really out of shape. Even my Conqueror's Haki has gotten weaker."
BOOM!
Just as Ide finished speaking, a massive snow-capped mountain about five kilometers away collapsed into rubble.
"Was I... tricked?"
Ur stood there in shock for a moment. Then, her beautiful face cycled through a complex range of emotions: worry, shock, and finally, anger.
"Yo!"
"Ur, you're back?"
Ide noticed her arrival. He turned and smiled, waving a greeting.
"Ide, explain yourself!"
Before he could say another word, Ur stomped over to him. She stood on her tiptoes, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him down to face her.
"Talk! You went to all that trouble to pretend to be a victim just to get close to me. What is your goal here?!"
"..."
For a moment, Ide and Ur just stood there in the snow, staring into each other's eyes, both trying to figure out what to say next.
"Ooh~"
Susan opened the door to Ur's cottage and stepped out. Seeing the slightly intimate-looking scene, she smirked. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Cough."
Startled by Susan, Ide and Ur realized how close they were standing. They quickly turned away from each other, coughing awkwardly to clear the air.
"Since you saved Susan, I'll overlook the fact that you lied to me before," Ur said after a moment's hesitation, breaking the silence.
"I didn't lie to you."
"I really do want to learn magic from you," Ide explained hurriedly.
"Reason!!"
Ur turned back to him, her eyes narrowing in scrutiny.
"Do I need a reason to learn magic?"
Ide frowned, looking genuinely confused. "If you really need one... it's because I honestly don't know any magic."
"Huh?"
This time, it was Ur's turn to be stunned.