Anna nodded and stretched the Blackfire into a thread, gently touching it to the crystal pillar.

The witches couldn't help but hold their breath, and they saw bursts of green smoke rising from the point where the two touched – not the color of the smoke itself, but the varying shades of color presented under the reflection of the green fire.

The Blackfire embedded itself in the crystal.

"How is it?" Tilly asked.

"It takes a little effort, but I can cut it," Anna replied.

Suddenly, the "ice coffin" changed. With a crisp cracking sound, several cracks spread from the point where the Blackfire was embedded, covering the entire pillar like a spider web in the blink of an eye. Almost simultaneously, Shavi erected a barrier, enveloping the witches within.

But the expected explosion didn't happen. The shattered crystal collapsed piece by piece like an avalanche, revealing a core radiating cold air – the transparent pillar was actually composed of two layers, with a real ice crystal inside. In an instant, everyone felt a biting chill, and the surrounding temperature dropped sharply.

Fortunately, Anna quickly maintained the falling temperature and brought it back to normal.

Under the roasting of the Blackfire, the ice crystal melted even faster, and its transparency dropped sharply. Its shape was no longer angular, shrinking and melting like ordinary ice. However, Tilly noticed that there were no large puddles of water on the ground, and the melted parts all turned into smoke and dissipated, as if the "ice coffin" had never existed.

When all the ice crystals had melted away, the woman sealed within was revealed.

She seemed to still be trapped in slumber, with no signs of dampness on her long hair or robes, everything was the same as when she was frozen. Losing the support of the pillar, her body fell limply backwards, and then was caught in Ashes' arms.

"Is she still alive?"

"It's very faint, but her heartbeat hasn't stopped," Ashes said, pressing her hand against the other woman's chest, "This... is simply unbelievable."

Indeed unbelievable, Tilly found that since arriving in Border Town, in less than a week, she had seen more incredible things than in the previous year. However, she was also slightly relieved. To be able to survive in extremely cold ice crystals, her identity was most likely confirmed – she was a witch.

This adventure was finally not in vain.

As for her name, her origins, and why she was trapped in the ruins, these questions could be asked slowly after returning.

*******************

Andrea was a little bored guarding the hollow, occasionally glancing at the bottom of the hole, hoping to see Tilly return as soon as possible.

No demons were seen around the ruins, and even the Evil Beasts were rarely seen. Occasionally, what poked their heads out of the forest were just common wolf species or wild boar species. Before she could even draw her bow, Nightingale had already nailed a bishou into their heads.

The passage of time seemed to slow down. Apart from her, all those remaining by the entrance of the cave were witches from the Mutual Aid Society. Even if she wanted to find someone to chat with to pass the time, she couldn't. Although the woman named Wendy looked very amiable, Andrea was always hesitant to take the initiative to talk.

As a noblewoman from the upper echelons of Dawn, elegance and restraint were essential qualities for an unmarried lady.

Forget it, she should talk to Nightingale. She heard that she had fought with Ashes, and they were evenly matched. Since she was inquiring about information on an old opponent, it didn't count as taking the initiative to talk.

Yes, this was just a necessary task.

She reached out and brushed the snow off the top of her head, looked up, but her heart suddenly skipped a beat – Nightingale was gone.

The woman with golden curly hair, who also looked as elegant as a noble, had been leaning against the hanging basket, but now she had disappeared. That's right, her ability seemed to be to hide her figure.

Thinking of this, Andrea calmed down and listened to the sounds around her. When vision couldn't be used, ears and nose were good helpers for capturing the opponent's whereabouts.

Then she heard a rustling sound.

Was it Nightingale?

No, Andrea felt her hair stand on end. These footsteps were obviously not made by one person – a group of people were approaching this way, in the forest ahead, only a hundred steps away from her! But when she looked out, all she could see was a calm scene, without even a single person in sight.

The footsteps were already close at hand. Damn it, the enemies were transparent!

Just as she was about to sound the alarm, a roar suddenly erupted in her ears.

A burst of fire flashed in mid-air, then the air shook for a moment, and a strangely shaped monster emerged – it had a long, narrow head, and sharp double scythes, looking like a mutated mantis. However, what was different from any insect was that it walked upright.

The arrow fired from the musket shattered its cheek, and black blood spurted from its skull, almost splashing on Andrea.

The monster crashed to the ground, and then she saw Nightingale's fluttering white cloak and hood.

Then came the second gunshot!

Damn it, she was careless! Andrea bit her lip. She had noticed all this earlier than her.

She summoned her magic longbow, but didn't know where to shoot, so she slowly retreated to the side of the hanging basket, standing with the other witches.

Four gunshots, four monsters fell, all killed with one shot.

When Nightingale reappeared next to a monster, Andrea put away her weapon and strode over.

"What is this?"

"It's either an Evil Beast or a demon," she crouched down and fiddled with the enemy's claws and hand scythes, "But judging from the color of the blood, it's more like an Evil Beast."

"When did you discover them?"

"From the moment they appeared," Nightingale smiled, "In the mist, the magic glow on them is as conspicuous as the stars in the night sky."

"Can Evil Beasts also have this ability?" Andrea frowned.

The other's smile faltered, "Uh... maybe the mixed breeds are more special."

At this time, the witches who had gone to the depths of the cave also returned to the ground. In addition to the original seven, Ashes had a blue-haired woman on her shoulder.

"Is she the seeker from the ruins?" Andrea greeted.

"That's right," Tilly nodded. "I'll explain the details on the Distant Star. The longer I stay in this forest, the more uneasy I feel. By the way, did you encounter any dangerous situations up there?"

"A few strange mixed-breed Evil Beasts came, but they're all dead," Nightingale shrugged.

The hot air balloon quickly inflated and rose, the hanging basket crossed the treetops, and began to move towards the town. Just then, Sylvie exclaimed, "Oh my God, what are those things below? Evil Beasts?"

"Evil Beasts?" Andrea leaned out to look towards the ruins, but saw nothing.

No, there was indeed something moving on the ground. Half of the monster corpses that had fallen to the ground had suddenly disappeared, and black bloodstains were trampled away; some bizarre distortions could be seen at the junction of soil and snow, as if observing things through a glass; if you didn't look carefully, it would be difficult to notice these changes.

"It's those strange mixed breeds again," Nightingale said casually. "There are probably a hundred or so of them, all scrambling to run into the cave... are they attracted by that big worm, wanting to have a feast?" She yawned, "But none of this has anything to do with us."