The ring floated into the Sorceress's hand, and only then did the blonde Witch behind Shade belatedly realize that she and Shade had never exchanged any gifts, let alone rings.
Thinking of this, she recalled the Moonlight Ring that occasionally appeared on the finger of the Witch who had been shrunk by a "curse," and Blaney unexpectedly began to feel uneasy.
Shade was not yet aware of Blaney's new thoughts. He merely watched as the black-haired Sorceress accepted the Metamorphosis Ring, then controlled her projected body and sank straight into the hot spring.
Though she did not fully understand the effects of this hot spring, the Sorceress who used Moon Power easily understood what kind of strength it possessed—the pure moonlight would not reject them.
After she completely submerged, the surface of the hot spring, already gleaming with silver light, began to radiate an even more intense Silver Moonlight. Quite inappropriately, Shade wondered how long the spring water's self-purification function would take to work. Had the water polluted by him and Blaney already been cleansed away? And if there were still traces left—
"No, no, this is war! This is wartime! This is the final battle of time! We lost the first round and are preparing for the decisive battle of the second!"
He warned himself not to let his thoughts wander. Just then, with a splash, a pale arm wearing the Metamorphosis Ring emerged from the water. It was obviously a woman's arm, and the already exceptionally alluring skin really was emitting a faint silver glow.
For some reason, Shade thought again of Desire's arm, though that Mermaid should not have appeared here. With distracting thoughts filling his mind, he subconsciously reached out and grasped the hand emerging from the water. Then, with a gentle tug through the damp