"So that's how it is. I understand now!"
The thought that had arisen when he gave light at the Eternal Night City café, the insight he had gained at the Moon Worship Ruins near Osenfott Manor, the Silver Moon's blessing, and the final spark of realization he had received upon seeing the gigantic halo—all of it made Shade understand exactly what kind of power he wished to obtain.
On the shore, the Blonde Witch faced the dark lake, the ground around her already dyed silver white. With her hands behind her back, she watched the "giants" battling one another. The blizzard swept her beautiful golden hair behind her; those long locks, excellent spellcasting materials and Ritual Items, faintly glowed. Her eyes, streaked with emerald and gold, truly shimmered in the wind. The resonance of Earth Power included her on the shore as well:
"O power of the earth, I had thought Eleventh Rank was my limit. But now, it seems..."
By then, Miss Lathers and the other two Nine-Ring Sorceresses had also arrived out of concern. The four listened to the increasingly violent roar of the tide and watched as an ocher shockwave first blasted the terrifying golem back through the blizzard. Then the stone giant raised its right hand, and a silver halo radiating flowing light appeared around its wrist, as though the halo of the Silver Moon itself had been plucked down.
"Is that Shade's Light of Imprisonment?"
Miss Lathers recognized the Thaumaturgy:
"How beautiful. Such dazzling moonlight, Vanessa. Is this the power the Guardians gave Shade, the power you mentioned?"
The witch silently watched the distance, just like most of those on the lakeshore. At that moment, even someone with night blindness could have seen that halo from the shore. No one doubted its power; the power