In the snowy landscape, hidden deep within are stubborn withered reeds and winding frozen river channels.

A boy with a sunny smile stands on the other side of the river, rolling the snowball in his hands.

Meanwhile, I continue to shout and yell at him, as if I'm happy about something or angry about something - either way, for some reason, I can no longer feel what expression I'm wearing on my face.

Somehow, after he doesn't respond for a while, a strong sense of frustration wells up within me. I bend down, pick up a large pile of snow from the ground, and compress it into a snowball in my hand.

【Hand?】Unexpectedly, the hand I reach out doesn't resemble my own at all, but rather something like an octopus or a limb of some kind of arthropod; and I'm not surprised at all.

"Turing, you really like having snowball fights. You've been talking to me about it since the afternoon at Lake Anhun," the boy on the other side smiles, preempting me and assuming a throwing position.

Watching the snowball trace a beautiful parabola in the boy's hand, the aroma of mugwort irresistibly drills into my nostrils, stirring up long and old memories.

"Run quickly," the boy says, but his voice is drowned out by the rushing sound of liquid - his head flies high in the air, blood replacing where his throat used to be; the snowball, due to a momentary loss of momentum, doesn't reach the other side and shatters alone on the frozen river.

"Merka?" The close-up when the head flew allowed me to finally see the boy's face. The bloodline during his flight made the whole scene absurd and ridiculous.

A monstrous and sinister creature appeared behind the headless body of Merka. It was huge, hunched, faceless, with many hands and feet, sharp limbs and a smooth body. It was all red and blazing with flames.

A burning elephant? Fractured mangrove? There are no words in my impression that can describe this anomaly.

【If you don't run away, you may witness even more terrifying scenes.】But strangely, in the face of such a scene, I didn't immediately react.

What rushed into my brain first wasn't fear, but a bottomless sadness.

Even though the crimson giant troll is approaching me.

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"Young master, another nightmare?" Although it was terrifying and horrifying, the previous nightmare seemed to gradually dissipate in Turing's mind like clouds passing through the sky.

Turing woke up in his luxurious and soft bed in his room, and sitting beside him was a concerned Theresa.

"Perhaps," Turing said.

Turing numbly sat up, sitting on the bed and allowing Theresa, who was sitting at the bedside, to wipe away his cold sweat for him.

"Oh, what happened to you?" Theresa said.

Only then did Turing notice his appearance and lifted his sleeve to wipe his face - two streams of clear tears had already fallen onto the blanket.

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At the same time, late at night, 11 o'clock, Westminster Cathedral.

Diana knelt lonely on the floor in front of the flaming statue, hands clasped together, eyes tightly closed, eyelids trembling slightly.

Clear moonlight filtered through the gothic stained glass from the other side. The red, blue, and yellow instantly turned into clear, cold, and lonely colors. The moonlight shone on Diana's face, as if it was soaked in water; it made her unwilling to open her eyes or speak.

Pitiful, truly pitiful. But so what? Turing won't be defeated by pity.

Should I just give up this opportunity? Focus on learning etiquette, pursue art, and prepare for the next competition in advance.

But regardless of whether Mother would agree with me using a whole city as an excuse first, isn't there anything Turing is not good at?

Can I really win against Turing in the next competition just by preparing more now?

If I give up this opportunity now, will I find excuses to let go of the next one?

Diana opened her eyes.

Should I just run away from here? I can go... I can...Where can I go?

Speaking of which, I don't have anything of my own... status, money, and magic are all inherited from my mother.

Then...

Diana's eyelids drooped down again.

Should I just die here?

Terror descended like an apocalypse, and the statue seemed to come alive, reflecting the moonlight shining through the window. In Diana's eyes, it changed from white to red, from red to black.

The terrifying madness seemed to climb onto Diana's head, and Diana almost reached out to grab her own neck.

Heavy gasps echoed in the lonely church.

"Even though early spring has already warmed up, the long nights are colder than rain and snow." A warm voice sounded in Diana's ear, scaring her as if the statue was speaking.

"Bishop Maria! Why... why are you still in the church so late..." Diana seemed to be stumbling over her words.

"Enough, child, come over here." Maria opened her robe with one hand. Her height of over 1.8 meters made one want to rush into her embrace.

"Bishop Maria... sob... I... I'm going to fight that monster tomorrow..." Diana completely disregarded etiquette, rushed to Maria's front, hugged Maria, and burst into tears, even coughing a bit from crying too hard.

"It's okay, it's okay," Maria, like comforting every penitent, gently stroked the back of Diana's head, "God will surely bless the hardworking child..." However, when her hand moved from the back of her head to her back, Maria stopped.

There were scars there that were as dense as tree rings, and marks as deep as river curves.

This was Galleher's doing.

"Ah..." Maria sighed lightly and then changed her tone, "But there are indeed things in this world that even God cannot take care of, and they are indeed matters that are very difficult to deal with."

"Such as being the eldest daughter of the Galleher family, or being the child of Turing who is destined for Oedipus."

"Or the story of my hands and feet, or the destined battle between you and Turing. These are all things that are very difficult to deal with."

Diana wiped away her tears and said, "Bishop's hands and feet...what happened?"

Maria smiled faintly and said, "I'll tell you if you win."

Diana frowned, seemingly no longer sad. She asked Maria in return, "What should I do to win..."

"Well, Bishop. I mean, are there any props in this world that can enhance magic power?" Diana said.

Maria's head tilted slightly, allowing the moonlight to shine on her, and her long hair made it hard to read her expression.

"There are indeed such props, but I have never seen them before," Maria said.

"Ah... even if you haven't seen them, can you assert that?" Diana grabbed Maria's robe with both hands and asked in confusion.

"Yes, I can assert that."

"But I don't have the ability, nor should I help you get such things." After Maria finished speaking, Diana lowered her head again in frustration.

"But I have a temporary method to enhance your strength."

Upon hearing this, Diana raised her small head again, her eyes blinked and she said, "Then, doesn't that count as cheating?"

Maria laughed and said, "This little trick is nothing to that person."

"Do you know the principle of the Heart of the Forge; it treats one's own body as a forge all year round, constantly burning with refined flames to create a compressed clay armor inside the body, right?"

"The more refined the magic power, the harder and more complete the armor will be when summoned. It enhances physical abilities and can resist various magical attacks."

"This is the only magic state that the public knows. But there is actually a more powerful magic state."

"After using this magic, the caster will temporarily lose their casting ability but gain unparalleled physical prowess."

"But the real focus is not here. It's on the first magic the caster uses after the end of this magic state, which will be subject to a terrible reinforcement.""Just like a long-dormant volcano erupting," Diana said.

"Exactly, this spell is just like the Heart of the Furnace, creating a volcano within oneself and using it when needed," Maria replied.

"And it's called..."

"Volcano Mode."

"Now I pass the volcano I crafted onto you, it should last until tomorrow without dissipating."

"Even if it's incompatible with your magic, it should still have some effect, right?"

In the dark night, Maria's crimson fingertips touched Diana's chest.

"What about your volcano, Bishop...?" Diana furrowed her brow, her face filled with concern.

"Such things are inconsequential, they can always be cast anew."

"It's just a matter of finding a way," Maria said, her voice full of depth.