The crimson witch groaned, already regretting not setting up a barrier to keep nosy intruders out. “I don’t recall inviting you, Vio,” she muttered, crossing her arms.

  Vio’s smile widened, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she twirled a strand of her deep purple hair around her finger. “Oh, you wound me. Do I need an invitation to check up on my dear sister?” She pced a delicate hand on her cheek, feigning innoce. “Besides, I couldn’t resist. When I heard that you, of all people, were voluntarily leaving the fort of your spell-lined walls, I simply had to see it with my own eyes.”

  From her spot on the grass, the white-haired catgirl stirred, crag open one zy eye to take in the se. “Oh great, another witch,” she mumbled, rolling onto her side. “Is sarcasm a family trait, or is it just you two?”

  Vio let out a soft chuckle. “And who is this adorable little kitten? A familiar? A stray?” Her gaze flickered with i as she studied the lounging catgirl.

  The crimson witch sighed. “Unfortunately, she’s her. Just an unwanted nuisance.”

  “Rude,” the catgirl muttered, flig her tail.

  Vio smirked. “I see. Well, this is turning out to be quite the iing little gathering.” She csped her hands together, her expression shifting to something far more curious. “Now then, tell me, dear sister. What exactly are you doing all the way out here?”

  The crimson witch’s gaze remained wary as she crossed her arms. “That’s my line. How did you find this shrine?” She narrowed her eyes. “It was hidden wheered it by act.”

  Vio gave a knowing hum, tapping a gloved finger against her cheek. “Act, you say? How iing.” She gnced around, her expression unreadable as she took in the shrine’s worn pilrs, the lingering traces of a magi the air, and the faint, flickering glow of the corruption interface still h nearby. “I must say, you’ve always had a peculiar talent for stumbling upon the most… fasating pces.”

  She took aep forward, pg a delicate hand against one of the shrine’s aged wooden beams. A faint ripple of energy pulsed outward from her touch, and for a brief moment, something like reition flickered across her face. “A hidden shrine, nearly swallowed by corruptioill ging to existence. Very iing indeed.”

  The crimson witch ched her jaw. She hated it when Vio did this. Spoke in riddles, as if she always knew more tha on. “You didn’t answer my question,” she said ftly.

  Vio let out a soft, amused sigh, as if indulging a stubborn child. “Oh, dear sister, did you really think I wouldn’t notice when a disturbance of this magnitude occurred?” She turned, folding her hands ly in front of her.

  The crimson witch’s grip oaff tightened, her fingers digging into the smooth wood as she took a step forward. “Liar,” she said coldly. “How did you know it was corrupted in the first pce?” Her crimson eyes burned with suspi, the flickering light of the shrine casting sharp shadows across her face.

  Vio merely raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into an amused smile. “Oh dear, acg me so quickly? How unlike you, sister.”

  The crimson witch’s stance remained firm, her knuckles white against her staff. “Unless, of course, you’re the one who caused it.”

  At this, Vio let out a soft, melodic chuckle, tilting her head slightly. “Now that is an iing accusation,” she mused, her golden eyes glinting like polished amber. “Or perhaps it’s simply been too long since you st stepped out of your little hideaway. Maybe, just maybe,” she took a graceful step forward, l her voito something almost teasing, “You’re just surprised by my growth.”

  The crimson witch’s jaw ched. Vio had always been like this, always ag as if she was oep ahead, as if nothing could rattle her. But that smug, infuriating fidenly made the crimson witch more certain. Vio knew something. Whether she was directly responsible or not, she wasn’t just here by ce.

  The air between them crackled with tension, the unspoken challenge hanging heavy. The crimson witch could feel it, the way magic thrummed faintly in the air around Vio, coiling like a hidden serpent, waiting.

  “You’re defleg,” the crimson witch said sharply. “Typical.”

  Vio pced a hand over her chest in mock offense. “Defleg? My, my, how harsh. I came all this way to visit my dear sister, and this is the wele I receive?” She let out an exaggerated sigh befiving the crimson witch a sidelong gnce, her smile never faltering. “But if you really believe I had a hand in this, then by all means. Why not prove it?”

  She spread her arms as if inviting an attack. “Go on, dear sister. Show me how much you really think I’m capable of.”

  “Fihe crimson witch lifted her staff and poi directly at Vio, her crimson eyes gleaming with unwaveriermination. “It’s not like I spent three hundred years just zing around, you know.” Her voice carried a firm edge, the weight of turies behind her words.

  Vio’s smirk never wavered. If anything, her amusement only deepened as she tilted her head slightly, watg her sister’s stah a glimmer of anticipation. “Oh? Then by all means, dear sister, show me what those years have amouo.”

  Before Catherine could respond, a panicked voiterrupted them.

  “Wait, Catherine! Are you really going to fight?!” The white-haired catgirl, who had been lounging zily mere moments ago, was now on high alert. Her snow-white eyes flickered with something beyond mere . Troubled, uain, as if she khat this wasn’t just a simple sibling spat. “How else do I sleep in peace if you start throwing magic around?!” She shot Catherine a desperate look, her fluffy ears twitg in distress.

  Catherine barely spared her panion a gnce. With a dismissive wave, she brushed aside the catgirl’s words, fog entirely on the intation f on her lips. The moment her spell took shape, the air shifted, the temperature plummeting as the world around them grew unnaturally still. A sudden whoosh filled the air, and in an instant, thousands of razor-sharp ice shards, eao bigger than a pen, materialized above them in a deadly array, their tips glinting ominously in the fading light.

  Without hesitation, Catherine unleashed her attack. The shards shot forward, streaking through the air like a relentless wiorm, eae honed with precision, all aimed straight at Vio. Yet, as the icy barrage closed in, Catherine’s voice cut through the magi air, sharp and demanding.

  “Tell me, Vio,” she called, her voice carrying a raw iy. “Why are you so obsessed with the fox-kin?”

  Vio didn’t move. She didn’t flinch, didn’t raise a hand in defense. Instead, she watched the ining storm of ice shards with an almost detached curiosity, as if they were nothing more than a passing snowfall. Then, with a single flick of her wrist, the air around her ed. A pulse of violet energy rippled outward, dist the space itself. In the instant, the thousands of ice shards that had been hurtling toward her simply vanished.

  Catherine’s eyes widened, her grip oaff tightening. “Spatial dispt,” she muttered under her breath. “Tch.”

  Vio let out a soft, almost pitying ugh. “Oh, Catherine,” she sighed, shaking her head. “Three hundred years, and this is what you throw at me? I expected a little more bite.”

  From the sidelihe white-haired catgirl had fttened her ears against her head, clearly regretting all of her life choices that led her to this moment. “Okay, okay, I’m all for some dramatic sibling rivalry, but does this really have to happen right now? I haven’t even had my afternoon nap yet!”

  Catherine ignored her, pointiaff directly at Vio once more. “Tell me, Vio. Why are you so obsessed with fox-kin?” Her voice was sharper now, filled with restrained fury. “What are you pnning?”

  Vio’s eyes gleamed. She tilted her head slightly, a pyful smirk grag her lips. “Now, now, sister. Obsessed is such a strong word.” She lifted a single firag zy patterns in the air as violet light followed her movements. “I simply find them… fasating.”

  Catherine narrowed her eyes. “That’s not an answer.”

  Vio chuckled. “A, it’s all yetting.”

  The space around them tehe very air growing heavier. Magic coiled like a tightening he atmosphere teetering on the edge of something dangerous.

  Catherine exhaled slowly, brag herself. “So be it.”

  Catherine barely had time to raise her staff before the wind attack crashed toward her like a razed gale. She twisted her body, summoning a barrier of ice just in time to deflect the brunt of the force. Even so, the sheer pressure sent her skidding back several steps.

  “Tch…” Catherine clicked her tongue in irritation. Vio was strohan before, far stronger.

  Vio hovered in the air, her violet robes billowing from the force of her own magic. “You were always so indifferent to everything, Catherine. So why now? Why bhting for some fox-kin? What makes this any different?”

  Catherine gritted her teeth, the grip oaff tightening. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

  Vio arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Enlighten me.”

  Catheriook a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Her crimson hair swayed as the magic around her surged, flickeriween id fire. She g the white-haired catgirl, who was crouched behind a rock, pretending to be asleep but clearly listening ily.

  “…I didn’t care before,” Catherine admitted. “Because I had nothing worth g about.” She lifted her gaze, her crimson eyes burning with quiet determination. “But things ge.”

  Vio blinked, momentarily caught off guard. Then, slowly, a knowing smirk curled at her lips.

  “My, my,” she mused, resting a hand on her . “So that’s how it is. The great Crimson Witch has finally growimental.”

  Catherine didn’t deny it. Instead, she steadied her stand raised her staff once more, her magic fring brighter than before.

  “Enough talk,” she said. “If you want to keep threatening the fox-kin, you’ll have to gh me.”

  Vio’s smirk widened. “Oh, dear sister…” The air around her crackled with energy as her magic fred to match Catherine’s. “I was hoping you’d say that.”