I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The "Madam," holding a folding fan, emerged from the "fog of lies."

"...!!"

The moment she saw this 'figure', Zi Tong's eyes trembled slightly.

The hem of her clothes fluttered without wind, and then wisps of eerie blue flames ignited, summoning her Persona on its own.

The white-haired girl looked at the "person" who was walking gracefully with a folding fan in his hand, and her usually calm words contained an unusually complex tone.

"Beatelice...!!"

She practically gritted her teeth as she said the name.

Amamiya: ...

Did I not expect to encounter Beatrice so early?

It seems she's really gotten desperate...

Amamiya silently observed this special being who, through some unknown method, had temporarily brought its [consciousness] into the shadows of its own palace.

[Cognition of Existence: Lies, Ratatosk, Jealousy, Beatrice]

[Initial Level: 91]

Arcana: The Demon

[Prototype Introduction: Ratatosk, a legendary squirrel that lives on the World Tree.]

This squirrel has sharp teeth and claws and enjoys sowing discord. According to the World Tree Mythology, it repeatedly stirred up trouble between Nidhogg and Vidfulnir, ultimately causing them to become enemies.

Amamiya leaned closer to Azusa and gently placed her hand on the girl's shoulder to soothe her emotions.

Zi's ​​emotions are very "unstable".

Fear; resistance; hatred; impulse... The moment Amamiya saw the "Lady", he felt such complex emotions from this 'Ice Witch' who usually rarely showed any obvious emotions.

"You lot...you really have perseverance."

As she spoke, the lady unfolded her folding fan with a whoosh, covering the lower half of her face.

Then, the many eyes above her head moved simultaneously, staring intently at Amamiya and the girls behind him.

"But unfortunately... with your strength, how can you possibly contend against an 'invincible enemy'..."

She snapped the folding fan shut and tapped it in her palm.

The [Videfornil] that landed on the ground immediately stood obediently behind her.

"Heh... this power is still incomplete. But..."

"If it is merely to perish here, that will suffice."

After Beatrice finished speaking, she suddenly fell backward.

The eagle behind her naturally stretched out its head and caught Beatrice as she leaned back.

The next second, the eagle shrieked and soared into the sky.

"Let me show you... this 'special' power I have found..."

Amamiya and Sofia stood in front of the girls, looking up at Beatrice, who was riding an eagle and looking down at them.

“Be careful…she might be about to reveal some special ‘trump card’.”

After giving his instructions, Amamiya then looked at "Noren"... no, Saintia.

"Rest assured... your destiny is now in your own hands. Unleash your power—the miracles you create are within your grasp."

The blonde, fox-eared girl chuckled and pointed in a direction: "The battlefield... is right there."

Beatrice rode the eagle and flew far away.

Amamiya squinted to confirm the direction she had gone, then took out a sled that could carry many people.

"Psona—Fenrir!"

A giant wolf with gleaming silver fur and a robust physique appeared, howling as it went.

【Psona-Fenrir (Arcana: The Tower)】

[Introduction: A giant wolf in Norse mythology, the first child of Loki, the god of mischief, and the giantess Angleboda.]

Fenrir was inherently cruel, and the gods tried to bind him. However, they failed several times. Later, the gods created a chain called Gleipnir, sacrificing one of Tyr's hands, before they could finally bind Fenrir.

Fenrir had two more children. They were Hatti and Skoll. His children chased the sun and moon until twilight of the gods.

The girls had a vague sense of what Amamiya was about to do.

The moment the big wolf appeared, Hifumi looked up with great curiosity at the 'big dog' with its shiny silver fur, which looked both handsome and cute.

Perhaps it was because she thought it looked cute and fluffy, the girl exclaimed sincerely, "Wow... such a cute wolf!"

Hifumi's slightly unrealistic aesthetic sense surprised Hanako and Akira a little.

You call this cute...?

With that size and that fierce appearance, it would be truly deadly from an enemy's perspective.

"Everyone, get on the sleds...we're heading to the battlefield."

After loading the girls onto the 'large sled' one by one, the giant wolf Fenrir began to race across the icy plains.

The wind howled and grew increasingly fierce, but it soon gradually came to a stop.

After galloping across the icy plains for a while, the giant wolf stopped.

Because we have arrived at our destination.

Beneath the massive, decaying tree roots, a beautiful girl in a pristine white dress with long pink hair was bound by chains.

She was bound to a tree root, covered in wounds, and beneath her feet lay an endless, densely packed pile of snake carcasses—a sight so terrifying it could trigger trypophobia.

The girls who came down from the sleds ignored the disgusting scene and all turned their gazes to the pink-haired girl who was covered in wounds and bound by chains.

"That is……"

"Without a doubt, she symbolizes Nidhogg on the verge of death..."

Amamiya slowly withdrew her gaze, thinking to herself, "Just as I expected."

Mika's "power" is indeed stronger than Nagisa's, but her ability to withstand pressure is far inferior to Nagisa's... so she seems to be performing even worse than Nagisa.

Beatrice, riding in the [Videfornier], had been waiting on the tree roots for a long time.

When Amamiya and her group looked at her, she gave a mocking laugh and began her 'pre-battle declaration'.

"Heh heh...you all better watch closely..."

"Next... I will demonstrate the contract woven from 'lies'..."

As she spoke, she reached out and made a line across her chest.

With a hiss, she "bleeds".

However, this was not a self-harming act—before the blood even hit the ground, it condensed into thin red threads that extended down from Beatrice's five fingers and connected to Nidhogg's head and limbs respectively.

As Nidhogg lay dying, it suddenly raised its head, its eyes radiating a captivating red light.

"The real battle has only just begun..."

"Get ready, it's coming!"

[Blade Bounty] Notice!

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On a whim, why not try setting up a bounty?

As of now, this book has received a total of 203 blades (that's far too few!).

So... how about we offer a reward?

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[Reward Rules]: The daily update count is 4,000 words. For every additional 3000 words received, 1,000 words will be added as a bonus.

—My chapters average around 2,500 or 3,000 words each.

So you can also understand it as... an extra chapter for every six blades.

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Bounty deadline: The book's 'discount' ends.

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If I can't pay it back... um, cross-dressing... (?)

Haha, just kidding.

Do you all think I'm not good enough yet?

(I'm quite confident in the word count I can achieve in my updates.)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Three Times, Massive, Omnipotent Damage

Before Amamiya could finish speaking, Nidhogg, which was being controlled by Beatrice, had already begun to change.

The bright pink halo that swirled like a nebula above its head suddenly collapsed into the shape of a black hole, and black and red mud seeped out from the void, wrapping the dragon's body into a writhing giant cocoon.

'Roar--'

A roar that shattered the ice field emanated from within the cocoon.

Click!

Twisted bone wings tore through the cocoon, and the giant dragon, carrying a viscous substance like tar, crashed to the ground.

The dragon's eyes, burning like molten gold, flickered in the shadows. With each breath, black flames that corroded the earth were splashed down, and a stench of decay accompanied the pouring down of black and red mud.

"Devour everything..."

Beatrice touched an invisible thread with her fingertips, and the black dragon immediately spread its wings, which blotted out the sky.

She leaped lightly off Vidfulnil and sat on the gnarled tree roots, watching as if she were watching a play, her free hand even fanning herself with a folding fan.

Amamiya and his group stood still, enduring the dragon's might and the terrifying wind pressure.

Taking this opportunity, Hifumi checked the information about the [Third Eye].

[Cognition of Existence: Sacred Garden · Malicious Attacker · Dark Vanguard · Nidhogg · Unflowered]

[Initial Level: 95]

[Prototype Introduction - Nidhogg: ...]

(In Chapter 15 of the [Cosmos] volume)

"So strong..."

"The real targets are Vidfulnir and the manipulator." The message from Amamiya, relayed through the Ariadne Line, swept through everyone's consciousness. "Weaken Nidhogg, sever control... Let's begin."

[BGM: Rs In21 (`3) Wu Qi IX 彡 Er the Dest]

A giant dragon, carrying poisonous mist, swept across the icy plains, melting the rock layers in its path as if they were made of wax.

No further words are needed at this moment—the distortion of the real world caused the Land of Mist to reflect her [Nidhogg], turning it into a puppet in Beatrice's hand.

Xiaochun was the first to shatter the ice, her mask, like a pair of jet-black wings, breaking apart in the ghostly blue flames: "Psona—Rebecca! Dream of the Ghostly Butterfly!"

"'Rebecca': Creates a one-time shield for all allies. The shield can absorb one attack of any type and removes the user's own weakness."

Thousands of blue morpho butterflies intertwined to form a semi-transparent barrier, causing everyone's figures to ripple like water.