“Who?!”

Ice slammed up their spines like a winter tide. More than a stealthy presence at their backs, the whole scene felt frozen mid-breath, a world caught in ice. The sisters knew at a glance this power dwarfed theirs.

They spun, panic fluttering like trapped sparrows. A lone girl stood there in an ice-blue, oiran-style kimono, a blossom of frost and silk. She was petite as a loli, yet her beauty was winter-clear and moon-bright, enough to make the sisters feel plain.

Worse, their sight hit mist. They couldn’t read her strength at all, as if a mountain peak hid behind storm cloud. With the Rule Book, even Overdeity Level titans couldn’t conceal themselves before them—yet this girl was fog beyond measure.

Not seeing through her was one thing; the true weight was the pressure she radiated. It pressed like deep-sea water on the chest, like a glacier sliding over stone. The sisters couldn’t summon even a thread of resistance.

No need to guess—this loli was FrostyLily Dream. She’d come like a curious snow-sprite chasing a glint, drawn by the Rule Book’s presence.

“Relax,” she said, lazy as drifting sleet. “This lady isn’t here to mess you up.”

Her gaze snagged on the Rule Book in their hands. A casual motion, like a breeze plucking a leaf, and it was already in her grasp. She flipped it open, eyes gleaming with a cold-cat interest.

The sisters couldn’t even lift a hand to stop her. They watched, helpless as koi sealed under glassy ice, cheeks flushing, eyes turning wet. Tears trembled on lashes like dew on bamboo.

“Why the long faces?” FrostyLily Dream clicked her tongue, a bit speechless. “This lady’s just borrowing your Rule Book for a look. And sure, it’s precious, but it’s nowhere near enough to move me. Here.”

She handed it back as lightly as tossing a pebble into snowmelt. She’d already skimmed it; a few rare spells caught her eye like bright fish, but the rest left her cold.

“Um, excuse me… senior, who are you?” Lingxiao’s shoulders eased as the Book of Day returned to her palms, warm as a brazier after storm. Curiosity flickered in her voice like a lantern in wind. Lingsaki’s eyes held the same glow.

“This lady’s name is FrostyLily Dream. You may address me as Lady FrostyLily Dream… no objections allowed! And drop those ‘forced smile’ faces!”

“Uh, alright. Lady FrostyLily Dream, I’m Yugami Rexiao.”

“I’m Yugami Rexi. Please forgive any offense we caused.”

“No problem, no problem.” FrostyLily Dream tilted her head, snowflake-curious. “Mizumi Clan again, huh. One of you showed up not long ago, and now two more wander off the Central Continent…”

The Mizumi Clan rarely left their heartland; three in one month felt like migrating cranes breaking habit. Perhaps trouble brewed at home? She shelved the thought like a note pressed between pages. She’d ask the sisters later.

Her power ran deep as a bottomless lake, yet the warmth she gave off wasn’t hostile. That sense of safety lit a small flame in Lingxiao’s chest. With someone this strong, could they find their dear big brother?

Lingxiao stepped forward, hope bright as a sunrise through frost. “Lady FrostyLily Dream, could you help us with something?”

“Help? Sure,” FrostyLily Dream said, a smile cutting like a pale crescent. “But you’ll answer me one question.”

“What question?” Lingsaki spoke this time, her voice steady as drawn bowstring. She wanted to ask the same thing—help them find Yumigawa Sumeragi.

“Why’d you leave the Central Continent,” FrostyLily Dream asked, cool as a mountain stream, “to run all the way to this Extreme Cold Hell?”

“Of course—to find our dear big brother!” they answered in perfect unison, like twin bells ringing on a winter night.

“Looking for your brother… your brother isn’t that brat Yumigawa Sumeragi, is he?” Her eyes narrowed like slits in ice, thinking it through. If they’d found their way here, it made sense.

“Yeah, yeah!!” The name cracked their restraint. Joy burst like firecrackers in snow; they’d asked the right person.

“That brat’s playing inside the Nine Cold Labyrinth this lady created,” she said, tone light as drifting snow. “He should be through the sixth layer by now.”

“Nine Cold Labyrinth? Where’s that?” Their world knowledge was a blank page here; the name meant nothing.

FrostyLily Dream sketched it for them in a few strokes, like ink on rice paper. She outlined the Labyrinth, and the whole thread of why Yumigawa Sumeragi was challenging it—a Dark Demon’s shadow, and the road he’d chosen through it.

“What? What is that Dark Demon thing? It dared lay a hand on our dear big brother?!” Fury leaped up in Lingxiao like a wildfire on dry grass.

“Lingxiao, we’re going to wipe that Dark Demon out!” Lingsaki’s words cracked like ice, their killing intent a blade drawn under moonlight.

As expected, both sisters erupted, wrath billowing like a winter squall. Their resolve rumbled—a vow not to rest till the Dark Demon lay in ash.

“Whether you crush the Dark Demon is none of this lady’s concern,” FrostyLily Dream said, amused as a cat batting yarn. “But do you want to see Yumigawa Sumeragi? You might even help that brat.”

An impish thought flickered—why not toss the sisters into the Nine Cold Labyrinth?

“Lingsaki,” Lingxiao said, cooling her breath like snow settling on pine, “the Dark Demon can wait. Finding our dear big brother comes first. We’ll stand at his side.”

“Mm. Let that Dark Demon breathe a few more days,” Lingsaki agreed, eyes steady as winter stars. “Right now, we find big brother.”

FrostyLily Dream found nothing odd in that. For centuries, any force that crossed the Mizumi Clan ended like torches in rain—snuffed without exception. It was only natural. Like an Emperor riding out and getting jeered by street punks—the ending wrote itself. To keep his majesty, the Emperor would have the punks executed, or else the crowd would think the throne was ripe for kicking.

“Decided? You’re going into the Nine Cold Labyrinth to find Yumigawa Sumeragi?”

“Yes, that’s right!!” they answered together, like twin arrows loosed at one target.

“Good. This lady will send you now.”

She flicked her hand, and space split like silk under a sharp knife. A spatial rift yawned open, its edges rimed in pale light. “This path leads to the eighth layer. Once you arrive, follow my words—find a spot and wait. That brat should reach the eighth layer soon.”

“Okay! Thank you for telling us about our dear big brother. Without you, we might not have found him at all!”

“We’re deeply grateful.”

They bowed like reeds in wind, then stepped into the rift without hesitation. Their figures vanished like snowflakes swallowed by fog. The seam in space sealed right after, smooth as ice over a lake.

“Huh? The brat’s already at the seventh layer,” FrostyLily Dream murmured, sensing his step like a footfall on fresh snow. “I should go give him some explanations and hints. And honestly, after all these years, he might be the first challenger to clear trials on looks alone.” She chuckled, a bell under frost. “Well, he is adorable enough to tilt hearts, even if he’s a boy… no—cuteness knows no gender. Mm.”

Her voice faded like falling snow, and with her disappearance, the scene thawed back to normal in a heartbeat.

Seeing the Mizumi sisters vanish to who-knew-where, the onlookers’ excitement ebbed like a receding tide. People drifted off—some headed home like smoke to chimneys, some formed teams like geese in a V, some delved deeper for materials like miners with lamps in a cave.