— Karin’s POV —

  The battlefield stretched endlessly before me—a vast green field under a storm-darkened sky. The gentle breeze rolling across the grass felt almost peaceful, a stark contrast to the battle that was about to unfold.

  Across from me, three masked enemies stood, their presence a stain upon the serenity of the land.

  Weapons then materialized before them.

  Hate, his red hair wild like flames, unsheathed a double-edged sword from his waist. The blade was already burning, crackling with hungry fire. His angry-face mask only emphasized his volatile personality.

  Dread clutched his staff with a green hue, harboring a translucent orb at its zenith. A gust of wind kicked up around him, forming faint, translucent layers of protective magic. His fearful demeanor was at odds with his role—an unwavering shield for his allies.

  And then there was Tears. Brandishing an aqua-colored staff with a similar orb, she stood there, tilting her head playfully, her twin aqua pigtails bouncing as she swayed. Her sad-face mask didn’t match the excitement lacing her voice.

  Three against one. They outnumbered me, but I was far from outmatched.

  “Let’s start right away!” Tears chimed, her voice almost melodic.

  From the east and west, faint echoes of other battles reached my ears—Greg and the others had engaged the clowns, while the adventurers fought against the orcs. But I couldn’t afford to be distracted.

  This battle was mine alone.

  I allowed myself a small smile. “Impatient, aren’t you?”

  As I spoke, my body became enveloped in a shimmering light-blue aura. The temperature around me dropped. Ice crackled underfoot as frost spread outward, devouring the warmth of the field.

  *Whiirr!*

  Dread orchestrated a surge of verdant mana, enveloping their group and doubling their powers, including his own. While their powers remained below mine—having each surpassed 50,000—the disparity wasn't insurmountable.

  Numerically, I found myself at a disadvantage.

  Yet, his support was not over.

  He wove transparent barriers around each of his allies. And they layered their aura atop the barriers, presenting a formidable defensive front.

  This is quite troublesome.

  A swordsman, a support mage, and an offensive mage.

  A well-balanced team.

  But that won’t change the outcome.

  From my magic bag, I materialized my staff, Winterdream Scepter, and let my magic hum to life. The cold air wrapped around me, the temperature plummeting in response to my presence.

  Hate cracked his neck. “I’ll melt that smug face off.”

  His aura flared, and with a roar, he launched himself at me.

  Hate moved fast—much faster than an ordinary human. The moment his foot touched the ground, fire exploded beneath him, sending him rocketing forward in an instant.

  He was already in front of me.

  I barely had time to step back before his flaming sword came down like a guillotine. I flicked my staff up.

  "Frost Wall!"

  A thick sheet of ice erupted between us.

  *BOOM!*

  Hate’s strike shattered through the first layer, sending jagged shards flying, but the second and third layers absorbed most of the impact. The force still sent me skidding backward, my boots scraping against the ice-covered grass.

  His strength was impressive. That wasn’t a casual strike—he had gone for the kill.

  I exhaled, my breath misting in the frigid air.

  Fine. Let’s end this quickly.

  I lifted my staff and chanted, my mana coalescing.

  "Rainstorm."

  Azure mana, aglow at the staff's zenith, surged upward, summoning white clouds that coalesced around its pinnacle.

  *Rumblee!*

  Thunder rumbled. The skies darkened, and in mere moments, the skies wept.

  *Pshhhh!*

  Rain poured down, soaking the battlefield. But this was no ordinary rain. It carried my magic. Each droplet held the essence of winter, freezing upon contact with the ground. The field was no longer grass and soil—it was ice.

  Hate snarled as the cold bit at his exposed skin. His flames flickered, struggling against the sudden shift in environment.

  Dread, who had been lingering behind, lifted his staff. “Wind Barrier!”

  A pulse of green mana surrounded them, deflecting the worst of the freezing rain.

  I clicked my tongue. <“Tch. That support is going to be a problem.”>

  Hate was undeterred. With an angry growl, he kicked off the ground again, charging straight through the storm.

  His sword flared even brighter, cutting through the rain like a meteor.

  I was ready.

  "Blizzard."

  The rain transformed instantly. What had been harmless droplets became thousands of tiny ice needles, pelting everything in their path. At the same time, crystalline layers swiftly formed around me each time the ice rain touched my skin, manifesting transparent ice barriers as a protective shield.

  *Crack!* *Crack!*

  Dread’s wind barriers cracked.

  “Ugh... Go end her quickly…! I fear I might not be able to hold this.”

  “Wow, big sis unleashed her trump card straight away! But—” Tears commented excitedly. “The rain is the best environment to cry, you know? Tears of The Sky!”

  A surge of blue mana casted toward the skies by Tears’ outstretched hands.

  But nothing happened.

  Before I could analyze in detail, Hate swung his sword at me again and I leaped backward.

  Hate flinched as ice shards cut across his arms, but he was too stubborn to stop.

  “Haha! As expected of the Winter Queen! Even Dread’s barriers couldn’t last long!”

  He swung again, aiming to cleave me in two.

  Ignoring his words, I stepped to the side.

  Snow White Steps.

  A technique that let me glide across the battlefield, leaving behind only a whisper of frost.

  *Swoosh!* *Swoosh!*

  “Haha! What’s wrong, beauty!? Is dodging your specialty?”

  I ignored his provocation and maintained my focus.

  I’m aware of my own weakness. Regardless of the fortitude of my ice barriers, they remained but ice, susceptible to the searing touch of his fire aura. These twenty barriers could be destroyed in an instant by his sword.

  So I could only dodge.

  His sword slammed into empty space. I appeared behind him, my staff glowing.

  Ice Spear.

  A dozen sharp lances of ice formed in the air and shot toward him.

  Hate barely had time to twist, bringing his sword up.

  *CRACK!* *Thud!*

  Two spears shattered against his flaming weapon. A third buried itself in his shoulder.

  “Tch—!” He staggered, but before I could follow up—

  “Ack!”

  Pain.

  A sharp, piercing agony bloomed inside my chest.

  I gasped, my knees nearly buckling.

  <”What—?”>

  Tears giggled. “Oh, big sis felt it already? That was fast!”

  I looked down. There was no wound. No impact. No magic that I had seen.

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  And yet, the pain was real.

  Seizing the opportunity, Hate intensified his assault. No—his power had increased again!

  “What’s wrong, Queen? Your movements have slowed! Haha!”

  *CRACK!*

  I kept dodging, but my movement became slower.

  Hate shattered my barriers one by one, replaced in rapid succession by the ice rain.

  But, the pain intensified despite the absence of apparent injuries.

  *CRACK!* *CRACK!*

  Hate’s onslaught escalated, his swiftness surpassing prior encounters.

  The barriers shattered faster than renewed.

  If this continues, I might lose—!

  Why!? Where!?

  There were no visible wounds on my body, yet the pain only grew more intense.

  As I desperately searched for the cause of my pain, tears slipped down my cheeks, as if I were crying from the fear of losing this battle.

  Wait—

  There was no wound, no physical injuries, but I'm crying.

  That means—

  My eyes widened upon the realization.

  I lost control of my rain!

  I immediately raised my staff and chanted,

  "Absolute Zero."

  A surge of mana erupted from me, freezing the very air itself. The rain halted mid-fall, turning into suspended crystal droplets.

  The droplets, still mid-air, froze instantly, suspended in time like a thousand glittering diamonds.

  The rain stopped.

  Then—

  The pain abated gradually, and Hate’s onslaught reverted to its previous pace.

  It worked!

  I seized the moment, retaliating with forty few dozens of ice bullets.

  *CRACK!*

  *Thud!* *Thud!*

  Hate was caught off guard by the sudden retaliation and attempted to parry, but most of the bullets penetrated his barriers and pierced his body.

  “Tsk.” Realizing that he can’t continue his attack, he leaped backward to Tears and Dread.

  Then—

  *PSHHHHHHH!*

  The frozen droplets crashed down in unison, blanketing the battlefield in thick frost. The entire field became a frozen wasteland.

  I glared at Tears. “You…” My voice was ice. “You cursed the rain.”

  Tears clapped her hands. “Wow! You’re so smart, big sis!”

  She twirled her staff, her playful voice continuing.

  “The rain is the perfect place to cry, don’t you think? And the longer you stay in it, the deeper you feel it.”

  “Heh. What a depressed girl you are.” I spat.

  “Uwah... I may cry for real if you insulted me like that, you know?” Tears whimsically rubbed her eyes, as though mimicking the act of wiping away tears.

  My pain earlier was from her.

  A mental attack.

  It wasn’t hurting my body.

  It was targeting my mind, dragging me down into despair.

  She manipulated my rainfall.

  A mental assault lay ensconced within the rainfall, causing emotional anguish to assail foes.

  This unseen torment amplified with each droplet, concurrently bolstering allies beneath its aqueous embrace.

  “A mental attack where your enemies could feel intense pain inside themselves the more rain hit them. It seems the rain also boosts your allies.”

  I guessed her magic.

  “Wow! Amazing, big sis! That’s right! The invisible pain that couldn’t be seen by others emerged the moment we bathed in the rain. The longer we stayed in the rain, the louder our cry, and the more hurt we felt in our heart.”

  With a dramatic gesture, Tears placed a hand over her chest, feigning deep sorrow.

  She spread her arms wide, continuing her explanation.

  “But! Other people who don’t understand our pain may find the rain enjoyable. They are happy bathing in the rain. They are laughing as if they mocked our sadness.”

  That was why Hate’s power surged.

  I met her gaze, my voice cold. “That trick won’t work twice.”

  Hate's growl reverberated through the field as he gripped the icy spear embedded in his shoulder. He wrenched it free, blood steaming as it met the freezing air. His sword blazed brighter, melting the frost that coated his body.

  "Tch... That hurt." His voice was laced with venom. "Guess I’ll just have to burn you until you feel the same pain."

  He slammed his sword into the ground.

  "Infernal Surge!"

  The earth beneath me cracked. A fiery explosion erupted in a spiraling wave, consuming everything in its path. The ice that coated the battlefield evaporated instantly.

  Too fast.

  I had no time to dodge.

  I lifted my staff and slammed it into the ground.

  "Frost Nova!"

  A pulse of ice magic radiated from my position, countering the flames with a powerful cold shockwave.

  *BOOM!*

  The moment fire met ice, the entire field hissed with steam, cloaking us in a thick, blinding mist.

  A trick like this wouldn’t stall Hate for long.

  Through the dense fog, I sensed movement—Dread was chanting.

  I didn't wait to hear what.

  With a flick of my wrist, I whispered, "Ice Spear."

  From the mist, six jagged spears of ice shot toward his position.

  *CRACK!*

  The unmistakable sound of ice shattering. Dread had managed to reinforce his wind barriers just in time.

  "Sh-She’s too fast!" Dread stammered.

  I heard a laugh from Tears. "Aw, don't be scared, Dread! Let’s make this more fun~"

  Suddenly, I felt the air around me shift.

  <“What—?”>

  Before I could react, the ground beneath me turned into a swirling vortex of water.

  "Drowning Embrace."

  My feet sank as if the land had turned to liquid, dragging me downward. It wasn’t normal water—it was enchanted, draining my stamina, making my body sluggish.

  Tears giggled from somewhere in the mist. "Oops~ Looks like you’re stuck, big sis!"

  I grit my teeth.

  She had converted the melted ice and steam into an active battlefield trap.

  Without delay—

  "Typhoon Cannon!"

  A forceful blast of wind slammed into me.

  Dread had been preparing this attack the entire time.

  The raw concussive force launched me off the ground and into the air.

  <“Damn it—!”>

  I twisted midair, trying to regain control, but Hate was already waiting.

  Through the mist, his silhouette appeared, sword raised above me.

  "Fire Execution!"

  A flaming crescent twice his size surged toward me.

  I had no footing. No ground. No way to evade—

  Except one.

  I shifted my grip on my staff and pointed it downward.

  "Ice Wall."

  A pillar of ice erupted beneath me, pushing me higher into the air—above Hate’s flaming arc.

  The crescent-shaped slash roared past beneath me, its heat blistering my skin even from a distance.

  But I wasn’t done yet.

  The moment I reached the peak of my ascent, I focused my mana, condensing it in my staff.

  “Arctic Howl.”

  A pulse of sheer, bitter cold exploded outward from my position.

  The mist froze instantly.

  The battlefield that had been filled with steam and humidity was suddenly encased in white frost, rendering the air crisp and sharp.

  Tears gasped. "Huh?! W-Wait—!"

  She tried to move, but her legs were already encased in ice.

  *CRACK!*

  Dread’s wind barriers cracked, unable to keep up with the sudden drop in temperature.

  Hate gritted his teeth, forcing his fire to surge around him. "Damn it—!"

  I landed gracefully upon a newly formed ice platform.

  "You wanted to burn me?" I whispered. "Then melt through this first."

  I swung my staff forward—

  "Permafrost Spires."

  The ground ruptured as colossal jagged ice spikes shot upward, aiming for all three enemies.

  Hate, still mobile, rolled aside just in time. He slammed his sword into the nearest spike, melting it instantly and sending shards flying everywhere.

  Dread, panicking, reinforced his barriers. The wind held, but barely. He staggered backward, his breathing erratic.

  But Tears—

  She was still partially frozen.

  *CRACK!*

  Tears’ barriers shattered from the impact.

  Snow White Steps.

  I closed the distance between us in an instant, dashing across the ice. My staff was aimed directly at her chest.

  "This is the end."

  Ice Spear.

  Tears looked up at me—

  "Aww, big sis~ I might cry if I lose, you know?"

  Suddenly, the ice encasing her shattered into water, swirling violently around her.

  "Riptide Reflection."

  The water twisted, forming a mirror in front of me.

  For a second, I saw my own reflection—but then my attack was thrown right back at me.

  The air between us detonated as the force of my own ice magic slammed into me.

  I hit the ground, rolling across the frost-covered battlefield.

  Tears sighed dramatically. "So scary~ You almost had me, big sis."

  I pushed myself to my feet, exhaling frost. “You’re more troublesome than I expected.”

  She twirled her staff. "I get that a lot~"

  Hate and Dread regrouped beside her. Though all three were battered, they were still standing.

  I narrowed my eyes.

  This fight wasn’t over.

  I tightened my grip on my staff and took a deep breath.

  I lifted my staff, and in unison—

  Tears did the same.

  *RUMBLEE!*

  The puddles near Tears quivered and the ice beneath me shattered, as if an unseen force stirred beneath the surface.

  Channeling our mana, Tears augmented the water's volume and I increased the broken ice size.

  In tandem, our voices resonated in chant,

  "Hydro Pump!"

  "Icicle Burst!"

  A torrent of water and ice surged forth.

  The moment our magics collided—

  *WHAAAMM!*

  A shockwave erupted, sending us all skidding backward. The impact sent ice and water spraying into the sky.

  The sheer pressure of the impact sent ripples through the air, distorting the light, twisting reality itself for a fleeting moment.

  The impact sent water droplets and ice shards soaring high. For a breathless second, they hung there—suspended between gravity and magic, twinkling like shattered fragments of a dream.

  Then, as if the heavens themselves exhaled, the frost and mist settled, cascading gently across the battlefield.

  And amidst the drifting veil of cold and warmth, the light of the sun pierced through the storm-laden clouds.

  The moisture in the air caught the light, bending it, twisting it—

  Hues of a myriad colors painted the air.

  Then—

  A rainbow was born.

  A perfect arc, painted across the sky in vivid hues of red, orange, gold, and blue.

  It stood there, defiant against the ruin of battle. A fleeting moment of peace in the heart of chaos.

  Tears let out a soft, breathless laugh. “Ahh… how pretty.”

  For a moment, no one moved. No one spoke.

  The colors shimmered above us, as if whispering to those who had once stood beneath the rain—

  To those who had cried unseen tears in the cold, believing they were alone.

  To those who had lost their way in the storm, struggling to find warmth again.

  The rainbow called to them, a gentle reminder—

  That after the darkest rain, even sorrow could give birth to beauty.

  I gazed up at it, my breath steady despite the battle still lingering in the air.

  The fight wasn’t over.

  But for now—beneath this painted sky—

  We all stood still.