Su Li knelt half down on the ground, the Scythe planted beside her. A cold chill continuously seeped from within her body, spreading out over the ground in vast patches of frost.
“Ah!”
The Scythe slashed through the enemy lunging at her.
Once again, she had killed a mimic-type disaster hound.
How many monsters had she slain so far? Even she wasn’t sure.
These monsters weren’t individually powerful. They were all composed purely of Mimetic Disaster energy, with ever-shifting forms that morphed into the species most suited to launching attacks.
Their offensive power wasn’t top-tier, but their numbers seemed endless, steadily wearing down Su Li’s strength.
Most deadly of all, they were completely unaffected by physical laws. They could emerge from any place where a shadow fell, launching attacks that were impossible to guard against.
They were like a squad of kamikaze soldiers, utterly disregarding their own lives, charging solely to leave scars on Su Li.
Su Li had no choice but to maintain a large-scale domain at all times to slow their speed, wielding her Scythe tirelessly to clear the enemies approaching her.
This consumed an enormous amount of her magical power.
***
Meanwhile, the real enemies were watching this “performance” from high above.
At the very top of the Ferris wheel, Si An stood elegantly, eyes closed, gently swaying her body. The bow in her hand pulled a melody from the violin—a song Su Li had never heard before.
This music wasn’t meant to be pleasant to the ear but was a buff that strengthened all of Rose’s ordinary disasters, making them stronger and harder to kill.
At the same time, it interfered with Su Li’s magic, forcing her to spend more mental and magical energy every time she cast ice spells.
Rose stood atop the cabin, her black coat fluttering in the night breeze, expressionless as she asked Si An.
Despite fighting Su Li, she hadn’t struck herself, only occasionally lifting a finger to lightly command some disasters to launch surprise attacks.
With her movement, the mimic disasters immediately changed their attack patterns.
She was like a calm chess player, precisely controlling every piece on the board, constantly testing Su Li’s limits and searching for cracks in her defense.
In the past, she would have felt proud of being able to control things to this extent.
But now, whenever she needed to manipulate disasters, she thought of Qing.
That disaster with its own consciousness.
And then she grew to despise the ordinary disasters fighting for her alongside Su Li.
Because they were too ordinary.
Thinking this, Rose glanced at Si An, who was still playing the violin.
“Hey, aren’t you able to control others’ minds?” Rose asked. “Why don’t you just control Su Li directly and make her commit suicide?”
“How crude.” Si An’s eyes didn’t open, still lost in her music. “I can easily control the minds of ordinary people, but I can’t do that to Magical Girls. The best I can do is cause illusions for those with weaker defenses… But with Su Li, I can’t make her fall for it. Buffing your pets is already doing a lot—don’t ask for too much.”
“Besides, I’m also controlling that pink little sister.”
“Tch.” Rose turned her head away, clearly thinking Si An could do more.
***
“Clang!”
Su Li’s Scythe cleaved apart a disaster hound lunging right in front of her. Spinning around, a ring of frost bloomed, freezing and shattering seven or eight small summoned creatures nearby.
But immediately, more disasters poured out from the vast shadows beneath the Ferris wheel’s steel supports.
Her breath grew rapid. Though the wound on her left shoulder was frozen, her large, sweeping movements kept tearing it open, and blood steadily seeped out, staining her pristine white battle uniform dark.
The dull ache in her abdomen hadn’t lessened. Si An’s violin seemed to pour into her ears like a maddening enchantment, making her brain feel as if it hadn’t slept for days, slowing her reflexes.
“What’s wrong, Captain Su Li?” Si An’s voice mixed with the strings. “Getting tired already? Our dance has only just begun.”
Rose’s gaze remained icy as she raised her hand again.
This time, all the disaster summons simultaneously retreated, then suddenly merged into a gigantic sphere floating midair.
The massive orb contracted, countless disasters wailing inside it, giving off a suffocating, oppressive aura.
Su Li’s pupils shrank. She immediately held her Scythe horizontally in front of her, pouring all her magical power into preparing to face this earth-shattering strike.
However, the orb did not fall. Instead, it suddenly burst, transforming into countless tiny needles as fine as cow hairs, raining down and covering every corner of Su Li’s area!
The range was huge—there was nowhere to hide!
This was pure energy exhaustion warfare, forcing her to maintain full, all-around defense without any blind spots!
Su Li gritted her teeth and slammed her Scythe heavily on the ground!
giant ice lotus flower suddenly bloomed around her, its layered petals locking her tightly in the center.
“Ding ding ding ding ding—!!!”
A sound like a heavy rain striking banana leaves rang out. Countless shadowy needles slammed into the ice petals, shattering into black mist. The ice petals visibly thinned and cracked.
Si An’s violin music grew more urgent and high-pitched, as if wildly accompanying this symphony of destruction.
Rose coldly watched the struggling ice lotus endure the black needle rain below, as if observing a play with a foregone conclusion.
Su Li knew their goal was to slowly exhaust her to death, and she seemed to be falling step by step into their rhythm.
She had to break their rhythm—she couldn’t keep wasting strength battling summons!
She had to cut the grass to the roots and attack Rose directly!
But both Rose and Si An were high above; she couldn’t directly attack their true bodies…
Is there any way to get onto the Ferris wheel?
Where was the key to breaking this stalemate?
***
Lin Wan tightly shielded the trembling Xiao Ya behind her.
Chen Lianxue…
She didn’t know if she should call the person in front of her by that name.
Perhaps they shouldn’t be called human at all.
***
Faced with the countless “Chen Lianxue” clones emerging from the haunted house, Lin Wan felt her scalp go numb.
They moved in unison, eyes vacant. Bomb collars on their necks flickered red at the same frequency, like a countdown to death.
They were like pure copy-paste replicas.
“Don’t—don’t come closer!” Lin Wan panicked for a moment, controlling the last two Flying Swords she could barely maintain. The long swords floated beside her, but she didn’t dare point the blades at any of the “Chen Lianxue” clones.
She didn’t know where so many Chen Lianxues had come from, but she feared the real Lian Xue was hidden among them. She didn’t want to risk killing her by opening fire.
The clones, however, had no scruples. They kept closing in, stretching out pale hands as if to grab Lin Wan and Xiao Ya.
“Sister… I’m scared…” Xiao Ya hid behind Lin Wan, clutching her clothes tightly, her cries full of fear.
“Don’t be afraid. Stay behind me and don’t come out!” Lin Wan comforted her while struggling to retreat, trying to keep distance from the clones. But their numbers were too many, slowly forming a semi-circle around her.
Damn it.
Suddenly, one clone lunged at Xiao Ya! Lin Wan’s heart raced. Instinctively, she commanded a Flying Sword to block.
“Clang!”
The Flying Sword grazed the clone’s arm. Lin Wan had only meant to push her back, but due to her exhaustion in strength and magic, her control faltered. The blade actually cut the clone’s skin.
A tiny wound appeared, but instead of blood, black liquid oozed out.
“What…?” Lin Wan sensed something was wrong.
Before she could think further, the bomb collar on the wounded “Chen Lianxue” began flashing red rapidly!
Lin Wan instantly reacted.
This was bad!
“Boom!!!”
A fierce explosion erupted!
The clone was immediately swallowed by a blaze of scorching flames and shockwaves.
The blast’s aftermath sent several nearby clones flying and violently knocked Lin Wan and Xiao Ya to the ground.
“Cough, cough!”
The blast wind left Lin Wan dizzy and ears ringing. She struggled to stand, immediately shielding the terrified Xiao Ya again, staring fearfully toward the explosion’s center.
It exploded…?