"Ugh!!!"

Her tightly shut eyes snapped open! The beautiful woman jolted upright in bed!

"That dream again..."

Trembling hands rose before her. On the back of her left hand, a black rose tattoo pulsed with an ominous dark glow.

"Ouyang Ge..."

Lost in the dream’s lingering images, Elvire Toynia sank into deep thought.

"Fifteen years already..."

Yes—fifteen years had passed since Elvire’s birth. Prodigy. Witch. Monster. These nicknames clung to her without exaggeration; she possessed the raw power to earn them all.

Yet she harbored a secret unknown even to her birth parents.

In that final battle, blood gushing from the gaping hole in Lia’s chest had splattered into the coat pocket—touching the [cargo] inside. And the result...

Rejected by the Reaper, she opened her eyes once more.

Reborn as an infant from a woman’s womb, she gained a second life: daughter of the Toynia clan head’s wife. From then on, she was no longer Lia, but Elvire Toynia.

The changes ran deeper. Her intellect and learning ability underwent a quantum leap. In the years that followed, she mastered any knowledge with a single glance. Her physical prowess dwarfed ordinary humans—true omnipotence.

At age ten came the mandatory magic aptitude test every modern citizen faced. Tragically, Elvire was deemed utterly devoid of magical ability. The result crushed her family. In this era, success demanded not knowledge, but Imagination Particles—the right to wield Magic.

*Perfect.*

That was Elvire’s thought after the test. No disappointment, only unnatural joy. For she already possessed magic—the world’s strongest magic. Her past ability to manipulate air currents had vanished with her rebirth. In its place came something far mightier. Something... [invincible].

For the next five years, she immersed herself in the clan’s scholarly pursuits. Beyond standard curricula, she mastered nearly every global language and reached pinnacle expertise in genetic engineering—earning the title "prodigy" in academic circles.

The Toynia clan dominated global logistics, controlling nearly half the world’s sea, land, and air transport. Power struggles within such a dynasty were inevitable. Yet Elvire, heir to the clan head, commanded respect despite her zero magic rating. Her intellect secured it. In five years, she expanded the clan’s market share from [nearly half] to [seventy percent]—through sheer acumen, no magic required. Envious rivals sent assassins. None returned.

***

Deep within an underground research facility of the International Economic Consortium...

Clad in her signature crimson gown, Elvire walked flanked by white-coated researchers.

"Young Mistress! Your proposal is revolutionary! If successful, this plan will erase attrition warfare from battlefields forever!" An elderly, silver-haired doctor declared fervently.

"Doctor, I merely sketched a blueprint. The real credit goes to you researchers. I owe you my gratitude."

"Nonsense! The artificial human project has baffled scholars for centuries! We could never solve the rapid aging from cloned genes—until your insight shattered that barrier! The first test subjects will soon be ready!"

"I’m glad to hear it."

Calmly soothing the trembling doctor, Elvire turned as another researcher interjected:

"Young Mistress, please rest. You’ve endured a long journey."

"Thank you, but I’m fine."

Her faint, bewitching smile sent the bespectacled researchers into dreamy stupors.

"Doctor."

"Yes?!"

At her summons, the old man snapped to attention.

"Show me your pride and joy."

"At once!"

He led her deeper into the facility.

***

Sub-Level 10.

The facility’s deepest, most heavily guarded floor. Its contents demanded absolute secrecy.

"After you..."

Clearing multiple security checkpoints, the doctor gestured toward the vault-like door.

Inside, researchers in biohazard suits hurried between quantum-grade computers, data pads flashing in their hands. But all eyes were drawn to the room’s center: two colossal cylindrical tanks filled with pale blue fluid. Their sheer presence dominated the space.

"So this is it..."

Elvire’s fingers brushed the tank’s icy glass.

"Yes. These two girls are the first successful prototypes. Final awakening procedures begin now. They’ll be conscious in two hours—then we run full diagnostics."

The doctor accepted a data pad from an assistant.

"No matter. I’ve waited ten years. Two more hours won’t break me."

Her fingertips traced the glass as a faint, feverish smile curled her lips.

"Proceed without me. Accelerate the process."

"Understood!"

Ignoring the doctor’s hasty departure, Elvire focused solely on the tanks—and the two girls suspended within.

***

Time slipped by. As Elvire sat on a provided sofa, swirling half a glass of red wine, the doctor returned.

"Young Mistress! The procedure is complete. Will you join us for the final activation? A celebration of our creation."

"Of course."

She set down her glass and followed him.

This project had begun at her age five. Funded by her stock market earnings and spearheaded by handpicked genetic engineering elites, it remained hidden even from her clan. Now—harvest time.

***

[Subject tanks repositioning horizontally!]

The upright tanks tilted sideways with a hydraulic hiss.

[Draining culture fluid!]

Pale blue liquid gushed out, revealing the girls’ forms.

[Test Subjects A-1 and A-2: Awakening sequence initiated. Artificial neural networks activating.]

Mechanical arms transferred the girls to adjacent beds. Researchers plunged needle-tipped cables into their limbs and spines.

[Artificial memory cores injecting personalities. Estimated time: fifteen minutes.]

"Young Mistress! Everything proceeds flawlessly! In fifteen minutes, you’ll witness miracles!"

The doctor trembled with excitement.

"I’m truly anticip—"

***

**WAIL! WAIL! WAIL!**

Intruder alarms shattered the air.

"What’s happening?! Why is the breach alert sounding?!" the doctor roared at his team.

"D-Doctor! Unknown forces breached Sub-Level 1! All defenses failed! At this rate, they’ll reach Level 10 in ten minutes!"

"Fools! Weren’t these defenses *your* genius designs?!"

"Doctor! They move like elite sorcerers! No firearm can stop them!"

"Tch!"

The doctor shot a desperate glance at the still-unconscious girls.

"Young Mistress, we must abort the awakening! We can’t let them be captured!"

"Patience, Doctor."

Elvire’s hand settled on his shoulder. Her smile remained serene, untouched by panic.

"Tell me—is there a single straight corridor leading here? No branches?"

Silence. Then one researcher raised a hand.

"If we disable all elevators... the only path from Level 9 to 10 is a straight hallway. No alternatives."

"Perfect. Cut power to every elevator. I’ll guard this floor."

"Young Mistress! They’re trained sorcerer-soldiers! You have no Magic—"

"Trust me."

She turned and strode away.

"DO IT!" the doctor barked. "Follow her orders!"

***

Alone in the dim corridor, Elvire pondered the traitor. Three suspects came to mind. But first—

***

**BOOM!**

An explosion ripped through the hallway. Blinding smoke and concussive force swallowed Elvire whole. Ten figures clad in black tactical gear charged from the haze, submachine guns leveled at her chest.

"I see. Magic-enhanced mercenaries. Standard issue."

Elvire observed their charge, voice ice-calm.

"But underestimating me... has consequences."

She peeled off her black lace gloves. Slowly raised her left hand—the black rose tattoo blazing with unholy light.

***

[PRIMARY TARGET IDENTIFIED: PRIORITY NO. 2. ELIMINATE NOW!]

The command crackled through their earpieces. Nine rifles opened fire without hesitation.

"Nightfall..."

A sinister smile spread across Elvire’s lips as the incantation left her tongue.

***

Darkness.

Pure, absolute blackness swallowed the ten soldiers’ vision. Unprepared, they froze mid-stride.

The team leader immediately called for his comrades, but horror struck—he couldn’t make a sound. No matter how hard he strained his throat…

*Damn it…*

The unknown change didn’t panic him. He simply raised his gun toward where he remembered Elvire stood and fired.

Yet his finger felt no trigger pull.

*What… what’s happening?*

Panic finally seized him. Sight gone. Sound gone. Touch gone. Even the sharp scent of antiseptic that had filled his nose vanished.

He bit his tongue hard. Nothing. No pain. No sensation at all.

—All five senses, severed…

“In the night, I am queen. Everything obeys me. Including… your lives!”

Elvire clenched her outstretched left hand, a vicious, cruel smile twisting her lips…

The ten men shrouded in [Darkness] were silently slaughtered without sensing a thing…

The darkness came swiftly—and lifted just as fast. In mere seconds, the long straight road brightened again. But ten corpses now littered the ground.

Every head was twisted backward, faces frozen in their final expression: pure terror.

—Their deaths were brutal…

Elvire lowered her hand and began to laugh.

“Heh heh heh… Hahahahahaha!”

The stifled chuckle erupted into mania…

*Wait for me, my love. I’m coming for you. Lia… no, Elvire will reach you soon. You’re mine. Only mine. This timeline’s Lia—I’ll kill her with my own hands.*

*Lia belongs to Ouyang Ge. She can only be mine…*

Demonic whispers churned deep within her heart…

She was Lia. She was Elvire. The woman who wielded this world’s most mysterious, ultimate Magic…

And a madwoman who’d shatter worlds for the one she loved…