Night Frost’s flames evaporated the seawater clinging to the vines first. Only afterward did they begin drying out the water-swollen vines themselves.

For a short while, Night Frost couldn’t burn through them. Helplessly, she was dragged little by little into the icy seawater by more and more vines drilling up from below.

Ordinary slashes only left tiny cuts across the vines. The sap secreted from inside those plants instantly sealed the wounds.

It seemed that unless she dealt with the thing itself, only a killing blow could give her any chance of escape.

“Prismatic Cutter!”

Countless prisms floated behind Night Frost. In an instant, the Mana condensed into beams of light sliced apart the vines binding her.

Night Frost took the chance to shoot into the air. The CrimsonGoldFlame beneath her feet carried her toward the heavens, higher and higher, until the vines could no longer reach her curled-up body.

Night Frost removed the vine wrapped around her ankle. Yet the thing still seemed alive. Little by little, it crawled toward the glider wings woven from Mana behind her, trying to destroy them.

But Night Frost wouldn’t give it the chance.

Flames erupted across her entire body as she tried to finish off the barely living vine. Then, from the bottomless seawater below, a water cannon suddenly burst through the surface and slammed toward her.

As if it had received some kind of summons, the half-dead vine abandoned its attack on Night Frost’s wings. Instead, it wrapped itself desperately around her wrists and ankles.

Night Frost tore the vine apart with all her strength. But the water cannon was already right in front of her.

Filled with Mana and Abyssal Aura, it crashed over Night Frost’s entire body.

The moment the liquid touched the Mana-made wings behind her, it began corroding and dissolving them. The flames beneath her feet went out at the same instant, and her whole body dropped straight down.

Below, the vines raged and surged upward, forcing their way out of the water. They welcomed the beautiful food falling from the sky.

Each vine split open down the middle, forming a gigantic mouth.

Night Frost had no idea whether they could actually eat her like this. She didn’t want to think about it, either.

What she needed to consider was how she could survive these plants.

Release the seal?

That probably wouldn’t work.

Ever since last time, releasing the seal might as well have meant letting these creatures eat her. It was practically a guaranteed death sentence.

Her flames couldn’t do much damage to these plants. Besides, there seemed to be something else lurking within the seawater.

She thought through the Magic Spells she knew: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Cutting, and half of Flight…

Perhaps none of them could help her now.

“I think I’ve got it!”

Night Frost seized the flash of inspiration that crossed her mind.

She extended her hand. A silver cube hovered above her palm.

This thing seemed capable of pulling her upward. As long as she attached a Cantata Three Magic Stone to its surface, the silver cube could come alive.

That Magic Stone had come from the body of the Cantata Three Monster killed by the giant python.

Just like the python’s tail, the edible parts had been turned into dried meat, while the hide and fur had been stored in her spatial storage. The Magic Stone had remained in Night Frost’s hands.

It was the first Cantata Three Magic Stone Night Frost had ever seen. It was as large as her palm.

She pressed it against the silver cube’s surface.

This time, the Magic Stone finally didn’t shatter first.

The silver cube unleashed its full power. It swallowed the heavens as a massive force of suction dragged Night Frost into the sky.

After escaping the reach of the vegetation, Night Frost used a Mana claw to retrieve the palm-sized Magic Stone.

The suction stopped at once.

Night Frost immediately dodged another water cannon from the sea. Then she turned toward the stretch of ocean where the plants were gathered.

She placed her palm against her heart.

The Calamity Dragon had already been driven out by Night Frost. Now, she was the master of this heart.

She ought to possess this power, the power to burn all things…

The Dragon Heart throbbed.

Crimson blood flowed through it, transforming into Black Flame.

CrimsonGoldFlame rose from Night Frost’s left hand. Black Flame surged from her right.

The left half of her eyes shone with CrimsonGold light. The other half dimmed, dark gold spreading across the layer of Crimson.

“Now, this power… will serve me!”

She raised her arm.

Black Flame poured down like rain, while the CrimsonGoldFlame condensed into a hard Spear. Night Frost gripped it in her palm, using it to intercept the Magic Cannons that occasionally shot out of the sea.

The Abyssal Aura and Mana here were both denser and purer than usual. Everything in this place contained astonishing quantities of both.

Night Frost’s Black Flame could easily ignite the creatures here…

Even this vast **sea.

Black Flame touched the surface of the water. The flames burned across it, spreading rapidly outward.

A water cannon tore through the Black Flame. Yet it was enveloped by the fire all the same, and before long, it was burned away completely, as if it had never appeared.

The vines danced within the Black Flame.

No matter how they splashed seawater over it, the Black Flame never went out. It continued clinging to them and burning quietly.

“As expected of… the Calamity Dragon.”

Night Frost couldn’t help sighing.

This Black Flame had once been her ultimate means of survival. Even now, it still was…

No wonder no one dared provoke the Calamity Dragon, allowing it to grow safely.

In this Myth Abyss, there was almost nothing capable of extinguishing these flames.

The fire might not be enough to burn a Calamity Dragon to death. But without using special means, everything in this space would eventually be reduced to ashes.

As far as Night Frost could imagine, there were only two ways to suppress the flames.

One was to possess overwhelming power and force them out.

The other was to create a vacuum and stop the fire from burning.

But creatures on the same level as the Calamity Dragon would probably find either method extremely difficult.

All the plants withdrew into the sea.

In their minds, this seemed to be the only way to barely suppress the Black Flame. But the flames never went out. Instead, they ignited the nearby surface of the ocean as well.

Night Frost gasped for breath and forced her heartbeat to calm.

She gently stepped onto the surface of the sea, Black Flame wrapping around her entire body.

Once she had settled down, Night Frost silently watched the water gradually grow still.

They were safe for the moment…

Probably.

Flames continued burning across the ocean. Night Frost didn’t dare disperse them.

If those plants refused to accept defeat, she’d have to waste time and effort dealing with them again.

The dark-gold film over her eyes returned to normal.

Night Frost carried the Eye Orb and quickly retreated. No shadows lingered beneath the water this time.

She traveled for a long while, until the sun sank and the moon rose.

The seawater rapidly receded, and the continent surfaced once more.

Night Frost and the others landed in the muddy ground at the center of the forest.

A number of unpleasant odors drifted through the surrounding area. In some places, black, rotting matter covered the ground.

The patches of land that could still be reached by sunlight were fine. But other sections had been submerged in seawater for too long, causing some of the plants to rot.

The decaying matter had piled up together, showing signs of becoming a swamp.

There was nowhere nearby suitable for spending the night. They couldn’t even set up camp.

Still, compared to the coast, this place was much better. The wind was cold, but it wasn’t nearly as strong.

Night Frost moved through the air, constantly using Mana to create footholds. She expanded outward from the center, searching for somewhere to rest.

Her Mana wasn’t infinite.

After the combined consumption of day and night, her Magic Armor would probably be forcibly dismissed soon because of insufficient Mana.

Night Frost still had one Cantata Three Magic Stone in her hands. But she had already used one-third of it to escape.

Naturally, she couldn’t bear to use the rest now.

“We’ve been here before.”

The Eye Orb looked toward a pebble on the ground.

It was the mark it had left behind.

When nothing went wrong, something usually did go wrong…

Night Frost seemed to be lost.

“Who can blame me? Everything here looks exactly the same. It’s hard enough just walking around.”

The trees were densely packed, making it difficult for Night Frost to distinguish east from west, or north from south.

Getting lost was perfectly normal.

So Night Frost deliberately jumped as high as she could. She spotted the beach in the distance and made a rough comparison with the surrounding landmarks.

Only then did she barely determine where she was.

However, from the air, Night Frost had also spotted a promising place.

There was a clearing in the middle of the forest. An old, dilapidated house stood within it.

The building had been soaked for a very long time. Moss covered its walls.

Night Frost stepped slowly across the slippery ground. First, she swept the area with her mental power. Then she tossed a flame inside, testing for any living creatures.

When no movement came from within, Night Frost cautiously approached the door.

The door had become like the driftwood beneath her feet after being soaked in water. A little force was enough to snap it apart.

Once she opened it, the rotten stench filling the wooden house fully escaped.

It was nauseating.

Night Frost covered her nose and mouth.

Firelight swayed inside the house. It showed some tendency to explode, but Night Frost kept it firmly under control.

This nearly sealed-off house contained some swamp gas. Night Frost understood why.

By the light of the flames, she looked around.

There was a broken table inside. Tiles and soaked wood scraps littered the floor. A bookshelf stood to one side, holding sheets of paper that had been drenched through.

Beside the bookshelf was something resembling a bed, assembled from hard wood.

On the bed, Night Frost found a pitch-black bone.

She had no idea what kind of bone it was.

“There’s writing on the table, though it’s hard to make out.”

After flipping through the books on the shelf, the Eye Orb turned its attention to the tabletop.

A book lay there, soaked nearly to pulp. Its pages had fused with the table.

There seemed to be plenty of writing on it, but the sea and the passage of time had scoured most of it away.

“Looks like we won’t learn anything useful. But we can tell that human-like creatures once lived here. After the continent sank, though, those humanoids disappeared without a trace…”

The Eye Orb looked at the book, then at the pitch-black bone resembling a thigh bone.

That was the best proof.

A flame gently swept across everything inside the wooden house, carrying out a simple sterilization.

Night Frost felt a little apologetic, but they would have to stay here for the night.

She burned the leg bone to ash and found a box for it, giving it a decent resting place.

But the ground was muddy. If she buried the box, Night Frost felt it might be impossible to find tomorrow.

So she could only place it in the corner of the bookshelf.

She apologized to the owner of the house.

They truly needed a place to stay for the night. If their presence caused any disturbance, she hoped they would be forgiven.

Night Frost used fire to dry one section of the floor.

After laying down an Array Pattern, she sat cross-legged and began recovering her Mana.

In the corner of the Array Pattern, the box containing the leg bone trembled slightly.

The wind brushed across the faces of Night Frost and the others.