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[Anime] Ch 261: The Concept of Ice
🕑 Added 2025-05-23 16:39:14 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Inside the Devil Piece's starry domain…
Cyrora stood frozen, wide-eyed and slack-jawed as she stared at the joyful form of the Azure Ice Princess drifting freely through the stars. Her expression was beyond words.
That was her Azure Ice Princess.
And now—it had betrayed her?
Cyrora couldn't believe what she was seeing.
What the hell was going on?
Deep down, she had a sinking feeling—something had definitely changed in the outside world. Otherwise… why would the Azure Ice Princess be acting like this?
Lynn's face flashed through her mind again, and she ground her teeth in frustration.
No doubt about it—it had to be him!
Cyrora clenched her jaw, her fingers turning white from the pressure.
Damn it!!
What the hell was she supposed to do now?!
The strange emotion that had flickered in her heart when she first saw the Azure Ice Princess—hope, maybe?—was instantly shattered under the creature's indifferent gaze.
...
Elsewhere in the same space…
Actually, the Azure Ice Princess hadn't forgotten her former master. But that bond with Cyrora? Long gone. Completely severed. She had a new master now.
Lynn.
That was the name of the one she now served.
Not only did he have a lifespan far greater than anything she'd known, but the quality and sheer quantity of his magic power completely dwarfed anything she'd ever encountered.
And more than that, he had brought her to this breathtaking place.
The Azure Ice Princess fixed her gaze on the Pisces constellation, her eyes full of awe and curiosity.
Somehow, she knew—deep in her core—that this place could elevate her very existence.
So as far as she was concerned… Cyrora, now reduced to a pathetic shell of her former self, wasn't worth her attention anymore.
The Azure Ice Princess focused entirely on unraveling the mysteries of Pisces.
Just then, Lynn materialized in the Devil Space.
"Master!"
The moment he appeared, Stella and the others lit up with joy and rushed over to greet him.
Lynn smiled and patted each of their heads affectionately before turning his attention to the changing constellations.
He quickly spotted the Azure Ice Princess drifting among the nebulae.
A small grin tugged at his lips.
He hadn't just recruited a new familia member—he'd also picked up a powerful beast companion.
And there were still eleven more like her waiting to be claimed.
The possibilities thrilled him.
Meanwhile, the Azure Ice Princess twitched her nose as if sensing Lynn's presence. Her massive body stilled in the air, and her gaze dropped.
There he was.
Her eyes gleamed with delight. Letting out a soft hum, she dove straight toward him.
As she approached, Lynn raised an eyebrow.
Was it just him, or… had she gotten bigger?
He thought back to when he'd first encountered her in the underground tomb and compared that memory to the form now before him.
Yep—definitely bigger.
And not just that. There were other subtle changes, too.
But the most striking was what lay beyond her, hidden within the constellation of Pisces.
A star system shrouded in icy torrents.
[Concept Acquired: Ice]
Ice?
Just as he suspected, something had shifted.
It was like when he gained the concept of "Gravity" from the Cancer constellation.
Still, something puzzled him.
He already had other familia members with ice-related abilities. So why hadn't they triggered the Ice concept within the Devil Space?
Lynn stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Maybe it had something to do with strength?
To test the theory, he summoned Kaguya and Yukina's pieces and examined their blessing info.
And right there, the level caught his eye.
Ah. That explained it.
So it was a power issue after all.
Suddenly, a chill swept across the space, coating everything around Lynn in layers of frost.
In the next moment, the Azure Ice Princess loomed large in his vision.
"La~ La~ La~"
A musical chirp echoed in his ears as the Azure Ice Princess began to shrink in size, circling around him playfully.
Lynn lifted his hand.
The Azure Ice Princess swam over, nuzzling her head into his palm with closed eyes, clearly enjoying the contact.
---
From a distance…
Cyrora watched in stunned silence, her hand clutching her chest as though to stop her heart from breaking.
The Azure Ice Princess was acting that affectionate with him?
And right in front of her, its former master?!
It hurt.
God, it hurt so much.
She couldn't breathe.
"D-Damn it…" she choked, eyes wide with disbelief and fury.
Why had things turned out this way?
Cyrora stared daggers at Lynn, who was gently stroking the Azure Ice Princess like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Lynn must've sensed her burning gaze. He turned his head, calm eyes locking onto hers.
Cyrora's heart skipped a beat. She instantly looked away and shrank back.
Lynn raised an eyebrow, amused. He turned to Stella and the others.
"Looks like you've trained her well."
He remembered how defiant Cyrora had been at first, acting like she ruled the world—even when he had her fate in the palm of his hand. She had even tried to get Avrora to summon the Azure Ice Princess to freeze him.
And now?
The once arrogant Cyrora looked like a frightened little quail. Lynn couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
Cyrora: "…"
Trained, huh?
No—it was just she'd finally realized the truth.
She snuck glances at the seemingly harmless little girls around her.
But they weren't girls.
They were monsters. Abyssal beasts wearing the skin of children.
Sure, they looked like familiars or summoned beasts—but the sheer power they held was way beyond the norm.
Even in her prime, Cyrora's strongest familiars couldn't compare to these lolis.
That's why, when the Azure Ice Princess appeared here, she hadn't even considered using it to fight them. All she wanted was to escape this damned place.
Too bad…
Cyrora slumped her head, but her emotions were still a whirlwind inside.
She'd known from the start that this place was connected to Lynn. But when she saw him walk in, and heard the girls call him "Master" with such joy, her whole world shook.
These petite girls, small in form but carrying earth-shattering power—they were Lynn's familiars?!
Gulp.
She swallowed hard. Her throat was dry.
Only now did Cyrora truly grasp the extent of Lynn's terrifying power.
And realized how laughable her earlier assumptions had been.
Someone with a life force that vast… how could she have ever thought he was just some ordinary guy?
Had she been asleep so long her brain had melted?
What was she thinking, acting like she had any leverage?
Cyrora was furious with herself, mentally berating her past decisions over and over.
Honestly… she couldn't even relate to her former self anymore.
— — —
Back in the Devil Space, Lynn spent a while playing with the Azure Ice Princess, watching the stars shift above him.
Then, satisfied, he withdrew from the space.
When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the smooth curve of Avrora's back.
She was still lost in thought.
Lynn pulled up her blessing information, duplicated it, and held it out in front of her.
"Take a look."
.
.
.
