Lucimia did have a way, a hidden blade under silk.

Storage Rings are tough as iron vaults to ordinary hands. But Lucimia wielded Devouring Authority—she could Devouring the ring itself, and everything inside would spill like a flipped chest.

The prickly man’s eyes widened, fixed on the black‑haired girl like a cornered wolf.

“You do?!” He wasn’t buying it. “Alright, talk. How are you gonna pull that off?!”

“I have a method to break a Storage Ring,” Lucimia said, cool as moonlight on water.

“You? Why should I let you smash my ring? What if I’m not the killer—then what?”

“I’ll compensate you with a new one.” Lucimia raised her hand. “I’ve got two. Worst case, I give you one, plus some gold.”

Her offer rang with honest weight, like coins hitting a dish. The onlookers perked up and shouted, “Sounds fair! Let her break it so we can all see!”

Panic flared in the prickly man’s chest; his breath hitched like a snared bird. “Damn it, why my ring? Half the ship’s got Storage Rings—why not break theirs?!”

“Because you’re the biggest suspect.” Rexi, who’d been watching the show, stepped in like a steady lamp in fog.

“Dammit…” The prickly man stared at Lucimia; inside, his thoughts tangled like thorns.

Can this girl really break a Storage Ring? Has anyone ever done that? Never heard of it.

Is she bluffing? Just posturing? But she looks sure—too sure. What do I do?

Sweat streamed down his temples, hot as rain. He hadn’t seen the turn coming; the girl under the accusations had picked the seam and slipped free, then turned the blade back on him.

She hadn’t done anything but stand there, glance at the old lady’s room, listen to a few voices—and somehow she’d pieced the picture together.

He swallowed hard; the taste was copper. He realized he’d lost. No more moves.

If Lucimia broke his ring and the weapon spilled out, they’d take him then and there. With iron‑clad proof, he might not even make it to the Lowegar Kingdom—an on‑the‑spot execution wasn’t off the table.

So what now? Run?

His fingers found the ring and rubbed it, slow as a prayer.

If the weapon surfaces, I die. If I bolt, I still might die—but there’s a chance. Better to run.

He clenched his jaw and yanked the Storage Ring off his finger.

The crowd thought he’d hand it to Lucimia—but he pinched it tight, not budging.

“Hey, hurry up. Don’t drag it,” the bearded man snapped, voice like a broom on stone.

The prickly man flicked his eyes at the bearded one, then at the exit corridor, scanning the jammed bodies for a gap.

He found a slit of space—and suddenly he barked:

“Stasis!!”

Humm—

A piercing hum rolled from every direction. The ring in his hand shattered on its own, scattering like starlight, then melting into the air.

Everyone around froze mid‑breath. It wasn’t just a simple bind. Even the ship’s sway went still; the river’s whitecaps stopped striking the hull.

Wind, breathing, heartbeats—the world held its breath under a glass bell. Silence draped everything like a shroud.

Two people were exceptions: the prickly man and Lucimia.

Lucimia had Devouring sustained—the Devouring Authority shielded her beyond Stasis’s reach.

The prickly man spun and bolted, slipping through the gap like a fish through reeds.

“Tsk.” Lucimia clicked her tongue, a shard of ice.

How does he have Stasis? Isn’t that the Storage Ring maker’s ability? The ring shattered when he triggered it—so he used the ring to cast it? His handler’s the ring’s maker?

The threads flew together in her mind like silk spun to a rope.

She wouldn’t let him escape. She wanted the truth nailed to the board.

She dashed for the exit. On the way, she slapped Rexi’s shoulder—Stasis slid off her like frost from warm glass.

“Whoa—Lucimia, did you see? He cast Stasis! And he ran!”

“I know. Follow me.”

The two girls sprinted out, feet pattering like rain.

In theory, Stasis even locks memory. Rexi couldn’t move, but thanks to her Memory Power, the memory stayed pinned like a pressed leaf.

—

He burst onto the deck; his heart hammered like a drum. If he didn’t get away, he might die.

One stride took him to the rail. He bent his knees to dive into the river—when a Wind Blade hissed from behind. He twisted on instinct; the lethal edge missed, but his cheek split open with a red smile.

He whipped around.

Lucimia took the steps two at a time. Halfway up, she caught Rexi’s arm; with a toe‑tap she triggered a Flight Spell and launched free, her magic flaring like wings.

“Tsk.” The prickly man didn’t hesitate; he dove into the river, a shadow slicing the surface.

“You won’t get away.”

Lucimia’s face darkened like storm‑cloud glass. She shot off the mast ship, chasing him over the river like a hawk.

“Uwu—Lucimia, wait, I’m scared of heights!” Rexi threw her arms around Lucimia from behind, clinging like ivy.

“No time. Just hold on.”

Lucimia “carried” Rexi on her back. From above, her Magic Eye locked on the swimmer in the river’s green throat. She formed an Ice Lance and hurled it toward the riverbed like a falling star.

He felt the stab of danger. He raised both hands and conjured a stone shield, hard as a cliff. The Ice Lance struck and shattered, bursting into shards and splinters that the current whisked away like glittering snow.

But Lucimia’s magic was never a single “move.” It was raw element under a steady hand.

Most of those floating shards turned as one and lunged again, streaking into his body like sleet.

The fine, razor‑edged chips cut through skin, vessels, and organs. When they sliced into his lungs, pain flared and breath faltered like a punctured bellows.

The larger fragments erupted inside him, breaking organs like pottery under a hammer.

“Puh—” He spat a mouthful of blood; his open lips gulped river water, flooding him cold.

He couldn’t breathe. Darkness clouded the edges. Dying? No—use it. Now.

He pushed a thought; mana surged. A white Magic Array lit up on his coat, blooming like frost.

A Teleportation Array—not Lucimia’s self‑made, fixed‑point, far‑range technique, but a local blink within an area, like Bevi’s Teleportation Array in Erwei City.

Lucimia’s Teleportation was her own craft. Other arrays were built on Instant Movement, so they could only hop within a circle centered on the Magic Array.

The sigils blazed brighter, about to wrap him like a cocoon—when Lucimia used the ice shards she’d left to cast a swap.

Position switch. Lucimia flickered and appeared right before his eyes.

She glanced at the array and caught, faintly, the outline of a sword in its weave. No time to parse it. She lunged; shadow poured from her hand, and the Fuzzy Orb yawned wide to swallow the man whole.

Boom— The array cracked and fell apart under Devouring’s bite.