Alone in a sea of sand, Yun Shi wasn’t a headless fly in a bottle. Her Goggles pulsed with a scout’s glow, map grids like faint constellations on green glass. She kept sweeping for her comrades’ signals.

“Nothing. Nothing here either...”

A tool with scan and probe was still no high-tech radar. Out here, where wind hissed like knives, finding a heartbeat felt like chasing mirages.

She’d dragged Kananin Rin west on her own stubborn will. Going back wouldn’t be a straight line drawn in dust anymore.

“Where are you...”

Fatigue pooled in her bones. She stopped and stared at the endless dunes, a barren ocean that echoed the hollowness in her chest.

The Underworld had been turbulent lately. Months ago, you might still find footsteps here. Now, with the ground rumbling under every rumor, no one roamed without cause. The Outer World knew nothing of the Underworld, but government fog still told them where winds went bad. The wise kept to shelter.

With a tight breath, Yun Shi kept walking, chasing the thread of her companions.

She wasn’t the only one. Her few allies were threading the same needle, searching for her through the grit.

Watching their forces pull back like a tide, Mizuki’s unease tightened. She didn’t know what had become of the Night Phantom.

“Night Phantom...”

If only she’d followed. Then that diversion wouldn’t have been hers alone, buying the others time to retreat.

If she were stronger—maybe...

“Mizuki, don’t drag the whole sky onto your shoulders. Remember, you’re one person.”

Her mentor’s voice cut through, cool as steel. She lifted her eyes to Andrea’s iceberg calm.

“I know you want to do something for her. Right now, you can’t. What you must do is lay your foundation.”

Andrea’s tone was winter, no warmth on the surface. But every word carried care under the frost. Mizuki knew that after so long together.

This isn’t your burden. You did nothing wrong. That was what Andrea meant.

“Forget that idiot. She went courting death herself. I’m not obliged to fetch her.”

Ringo’s tongue was a blade; kindness melted on the way out, turning to scorn.

“Enough, Ringo. I know it’s not smart to go out searching now. I’ll have Moa try later. The Night Phantom did help us once.”

Zhu Rong gave Ringo a step down and smoothed Sham and Mizuki’s frayed edges with a steady hand.

“That’s all we can do.”

With no better plan, Sham accepted the only plan within reach.

Zhu Rong nodded with a touch of gratitude and called the column forward. She had to get her sisters back into their own territory. If possible, out of Britain to safer shores.

The Church would not spare her or her troops. Run while their spears still rested—this was the best strategy under a bruised sky.

“Report!”

A messenger Witch sprinted to the rear, nerves ringing like wire. She addressed Zhu Rong, breath sharp as sand.

“What is it, Mysti?!”

Zhu Rong’s face tightened, picturing the worst—Church banners cresting the dunes.

“Boss, a unit’s advancing toward us, and they’ve spotted our march!”

“Who is it? Church?”

“No. The garb isn’t theirs.”

“Not them? Then who?”

Relief loosened Zhu Rong’s chest, but vigilance stayed like a hand on her sword.

“Let me see.”

Andrea didn’t ask permission. She stripped the binoculars from the messenger and sighted the far-off line.

The figures weren’t Church legions. They moved like men used to edges, not troublemakers. Yet every face carried a quiet, inexplicable confidence. Among them rode a youth on horseback, the horizon parting around him.

“I know them. Not enemies.”

Andrea lowered the lenses, voice cool and sure. A collective breath eased, then a larger question flared.

“Swordswoman, you know them—so they are...?”

“The True Palace Family’s unit. Allies of the Magic Institution. Fire God Zhu Rong, you know the name.”

“—!”

Zhu Rong jolted. Of course she knew the Magic Institution’s ally, the True Palace Family. She just hadn’t expected a Japanese clan to cross to Britain with so many.

Jukuma of the True Palace watched the Witch column halt. A smile creased his face. Even at a distance, he spotted Fire God Zhu Rong, the Swordswoman, and the one Asagi Renka had mentioned—Miyuki Kiseki. She was there.

“That Renka—she uses me well.”

Jukuma sighed, a humor-laced helplessness riding his breath.

“But she’s right. If the Church gets their way, we’ll have no place to stand.”

He muttered to himself a moment longer, then urged his horse on. Time to speak with Zhu Rong, a pillar of the Underworld, about striking the Church where it counted.

While banners stirred there, far off in another stretch of desert, Yun Shi—still tracing her path back—felt a surge of pressure roll over her like a heatwave.

She snapped to alert. Even with energy low, she braced to fight.

But it wasn’t an enemy. It was a small squad she’d never met.

“Forgot me already? I’ll get mad, you know~”

A girl stepped out with a smile like a silk veil and a body that could turn heads like wind turns dunes. For a beat, Yun Shi’s focus wavered.

“Asagi Renka. Why are you here?”

Cold steadied her. She challenged the sudden apparition with level eyes.

Renka chuckled, drifted close, and let her unfair curves steal Yun Shi’s attention for a heartbeat. She tilted Yun Shi’s chin, gaze playing like a flirt’s blade.

“Be serious. Or I’ll get mad.”

“Ah la, you really can’t take a joke~”

Yun Shi could only sigh at Renka’s games. She was starting to get used to this woman—heaven help her.

“You still haven’t told me why you came to Britain.”

“Isn’t it obvious? I told you I’d stand against the Church, so I came. If you don’t take the first swing, you don’t control the fight~”

“Then you should’ve told me earlier. I dragged myself all the way here and—”

She thought of battles stacked from landing to now, of power bled drop by drop, of the moments when life hung by a strand. Her heart kicked against the imbalance.

Still, finding someone she could trust was a balm laid over the bruises.

“Asagi Renka, I’m exhausted. Do you have a place to rest?”

Finding a known face meant finding a roof. Even a tent felt like a house when the wind kept its teeth outside.

Yun Shi was bone-tired. Since she’d arrived, fights had come in waves. Mind and body frayed like cloth.

“No problem. Come with me~”

Renka smiled and skipped explanations, leading her toward camp.

Neat squads lined the path, their composure pressing like weather. For a moment, Yun Shi saw the Quadra Eye Family’s main troop in their stance.

“You came prepared.”

“Of course. Without preparation, I wouldn’t dare needle the Church in Britain.”

Renka was sharp; she knew exactly what Yun Shi meant.

“I wondered why you were so dead-set on opposing the Church. You do have self-awareness. If you didn’t push back, they’d grow even bolder.”

“You’re right. The Church has watched from across the river, waiting for this day. If I don’t want our main house to fall to them, I have to fight.”

“You’re confident taking on the biggest force in the Underworld? Have you thought about the price of failure?”

“I have. But Yun, right now both the Magic Institution and our Clan Heads are waning. If no one stands up, it won’t do.”

Renka’s face shed its usual teasing for clear, sober resolve. It surprised Yun Shi, a new tint on an old flame.

“Thinking won’t change much.”

“True. For now, we think about where you sleep best.”

Renka nodded, agreement like a small fire in winter.

They let the topic drop. Words couldn’t move mountains on their own.

They reached a spread of tents—ten or so in orderly clusters. Patrols stitched the perimeter, discipline taut, eyes never drifting.

“You brought plenty. But if this turns into real war, it still won’t be enough.”

Yun Shi kept her mind cool. A quick count told her these numbers wouldn’t scratch the Church alone.

“I never said this is all I have. I left more in Japan; I’ll pull them over soon. And I’ve got the True Palace Family to back me.”

“The True Palace? You even roped in the Magic Institution’s ally...”

That surprised Yun Shi. The Asakura Family’s bargaining chips were known, their limits clear. What trick had Renka used?

“No need to act so shocked. Jukuma of the True Palace is my childhood playmate. Ask right, and things happen~”

Renka didn’t sound like she was lying, but no one convinces with one line, not even with a friend since nursery.

“Miss, welcome back.”

Far ahead, Shizuru Yuna stood waiting, bowing with crisp respect. When she lifted her head, her gaze slid to Yun Shi’s Goggles. For a blink, she puzzled over the masked girl, then memory clicked—she knew the Witch’s true face.

“We’ve only been apart four or five days, right?”

“Don’t use my name out here, Shizuru Yuna.”

Yun Shi warned her softly. Few in this camp knew her identity. She had no wish to announce the Witch Night Specter to the world.

Dragging a tired body, she craved a corner, and a bed to drop the weight onto.

“Renka, I’m hungry. Got food?”

A girl stepped out of a tent, familiar with Renka by her tone. She’d just come from the tent right in front of Yun Shi...

Yie Caiyin froze as she met the masked gaze—Goggles glinting like a cat’s eyes.

She hadn’t forgotten this Witch.

“N-Night Phantom...?”

“It’s you, Yie Caiyin.”

They locked into a wide-eyed standoff, though Caiyin couldn’t see Yun Shi’s eyes at all.

“I, um, I—I—”

Aya was very nervous, rattled at meeting someone she knew here, like a secret dragged into daylight.

“Renka, are you hiding a beauty in a gilded cage?”

Seeing Yie Caiyin's look, Yun Shi couldn't help suspecting the Single Leaf Clan and Asakura Family were only cordial on the surface.

That was between the family heads; beneath, the daughters felt like undercurrents tugging close.

Y-you—you—what nonsense are you spouting!!

Yie Caiyin flushed crimson at once, and her words tumbled like a spilled box of beads.

How to say it—her bond with Asagi Renka was hard to name; if forced, the two girls share a bed.

Maybe.

Lian Hua had been awkward, but seeing Yie Caiyin so panicked, she relaxed, savoring that flustered face like sweet tea.

So maybe Yie Caiyin does have a thing for her…

Young folks have it good. I'm this old and still can't find a partner.

With a sigh, Yun Shi slipped past Yie Caiyin and ducked into the tent behind her; empty, a quiet shell fit for sleep.

Why does that girl talk like she's some middle-aged uncle…

Lian Hua was left speechless, a blank page fluttering.

Still, Yun Shi's not wrong; by the calendar in her heart, she's already an uncle or an aunt.

Only at times like this does she feel the weight of her years like dust on a shelf.

Lian Hua, why'd you bring her back?

What, jealous?

Answer me. Don't twist my words.

Okay, okay, it's nothing big. I found a lost little lamb on the road and brought her home to raise.

Relax—once she's plump, I'll return her to her owner.

How twisted…

I'll take the compliment. Weren't you hungry? Come on, let's eat.

Thinking of eating with her favorite person, Lian Hua's heart leapt like a spring under her heels; she almost jumped for joy.

Yuna had been the third wheel from start to finish, watching her lady and her future lady-wife leave; a sigh curled out.

Maybe I should try a blind date too…

Couples paired off all around; she alone sat like a cold bench in winter, and the thought stung.

Inside the tent, Yun Shi was bone-tired; she lay down and slipped off her Goggles, breath falling like ash.

All around were Lian Hua's people; Asagi Renka knew what she needed and told them to keep clear of Yun Shi's tent.

She had nothing else to worry about.

I want a girlfriend too…

Lying there, Yun Shi could only think of Lian Hua and Yie Caiyin, those showy lovebirds; her heart tipped like unsteady scales.

So, girl, stop it with envy, jealousy, and hate…