Tentacles, scythe blades, sharp claws, and black mud that would corrode her on contact — facing this expressionless Blood Moon Witch, Xiaoxi was breaking into a cold sweat.
It was too familiar. This sensation was just too familiar. ‘What the hell? This isn’t a copy — this is the real deal!’
Sharp claws brushed past her body. It had been a long time since Xiaoxi had experienced a life-or-death struggle against the Blood Moon Witch.
However, ever since the battle began, Jingtong’s expression had been filled with agony.
Finally, she could no longer hold it back and coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.
The Blood Moon Witch’s body became noticeably faint in that same instant.
The Third Divine Envoy’s expression soured. Creating a manifestation of this caliber was still far too difficult for Jingtong.
It seemed there was still a long way to go before they could rely on her to fulfill the Divine Summon Order’s long-held wish.
The Third Divine Envoy hadn’t expected Xiaoxi to last this long.
She had initially assumed Xiaoxi was at best an A-rank Magical Girl.
She truly wanted to kill the Saintess’s little girlfriend right here.
Jingtong’s weakness did not escape Xiaoxi’s notice. Her heart leaped with joy — there was a chance! An opportunity had arrived!
Anyone could see that the Divine Summon Order’s newly created [Abyss Witch of Deceit] was a crucial part of their upcoming plans.
Xiaoxi had originally thought she would have to endure a one-versus-three fight, but now it seemed Jingtong wouldn’t be able to last much longer.
Since the Third Divine Envoy seemed desperate to kill her, Xiaoxi considered showing a fake opening to bait her.
If she then unleashed her full strength in an instant, she might be able to take out Jingtong!
Just as Xiaoxi prepared to drop her guard and bait them, a flexible tentacle suddenly struck from the darkness behind her, wrapping around the duplicate Blood Moon Witch and slamming it heavily into the ground!
Jingtong became instantly alert. A barrier of several mirrors manifested in front of her and the Third Divine Envoy.
A surprise attack was now impossible. Before Xiaoxi could even react, another tentacle wrapped around her and pulled her away from the battlefield.
“What’s with you? You spent all that time acting and trying to seduce me that night, but in the end, you’re still afraid of me, aren’t you? It’s a good thing I arrived in time, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to withstand that last hit, right?”
Xiaoxi stared blankly at the huffing Ye Xinglan. “Xinglan? Why… why are you here?”
For a moment, she even wondered if this was another duplicate summoned by Jingtong.
However, Ye Xinglan was already narrowing her eyes and glaring at the Third Divine Envoy.
The killing intent in those eyes was definitely genuine.
The fact that duplicates were constantly being summoned to beat up Xiaoxi made it look like Xinglan was committing domestic violence, which left her feeling quite displeased.
“The Saintess arrived quite promptly. What a pity…” The Third Divine Envoy sighed.
“But you shouldn’t dare to fight to your heart’s content right now, should you, Saintess? It would be bad if you accidentally lost control.”
“Jing, how much longer can you hold out?”
“Three minutes at most.”
“Go all out then. Hold on for five minutes. Use all the fear we’ve collected recently to kill that Magical Girl.”
The Third Divine Envoy didn’t seem ready to give up, wanting to make one last gamble.
It appeared Jingtong was merely a convenient tool in her eyes.
Upon receiving the command, the girl groaned as dense black energy surged forth, tendrils of it snaking into the duplicate’s body.
‘This is the fear they gathered from the Seeking Truth Society!’ Xiaoxi immediately realized how that fear was being utilized.
“What the… You’re making it look even scarier than me. Am I really that terrifying? I hate this — I’ll kill you!”
Xiaoxi: “?”
Was it her imagination? What was with Ye Xinglan’s faint landmine girl tone?
Regardless, the duplicate in front of them indeed looked even more horrifying. Ye Xinglan immediately shielded Xiaoxi behind her.
“Stay back, Xiaoxi. I’ll protect you!”
In the next instant, two identical Blood Moon Witches collided violently. Intense darkness and blood-red light danced together.
Surprisingly, the duplicate actually gained the upper hand.
Xiaoxi watched Ye Xinglan’s back without moving for a moment — not because she was hiding her strength to avoid helping, but because she was stunned.
Ye Xinglan… or rather, the silhouette of the Blood Moon Witch, actually looked somewhat unfamiliar to her.
But how was that possible? She had fought the Blood Moon Witch countless times and was long familiar with everything about her.
Where was this alien sense of unfamiliarity coming from?
‘Ah… I see. So that’s how it is…’
“What’s happening, Jing?”
The Third Divine Envoy frowned.
Only one or two minutes had passed, yet instead of suppressing Ye Xinglan and finding a way to assassinate Xiaoxi, the duplicate was slowly losing ground.
Had Jingtong reached her limit?
“No, Master. I can still hold on. It’s that Magical Girl. The fear in her heart is fading, so my creation is weakening as well.”
Just then, the Third Divine Envoy sensed something and pulled out a small mirror.
The surface of the mirror reflected a scene of soaring flames, and Black Rose’s voice drifted out from within.
“Divine Envoy, I can’t hold out on my end anymore! It’s too hard to stall a monster like this. You guys should retreat quickly too.”
Before the Third Divine Envoy could respond, a nearby mirror was suddenly shattered by silver flames.
The Silverflame Dragon Princess walked out, her arm around Little Red Riding Hood’s shoulder.
Her golden slit pupils locked onto the two members of the Divine Summon Order.
“Tch. It’s time to go, Jing.”
The Third Divine Envoy realized there was no longer an opportunity.
Before the Silverflame Dragon Princess’s heavy sword could crush her head, she chose to flee.
The duplicate Blood Moon Witch extended several tentacles in an attempt to block the Dragon Princess, who was charging forward like a runaway truck, but dragon flames incinerated the tentacles instantly.
“You deal with this fake. I’m going after them.”
The Silverflame Dragon Princess tossed out those words and gave chase.
Since she couldn’t tell who was who for the moment anyway, she decided to cut the Gordian knot.
Without Jingtong’s magic power to sustain it, the duplicate’s strength plummeted.
Ye Xinglan let out a giggling laugh while swinging her scythe.
“Die, die, die…”
Little Red Riding Hood couldn’t help but shudder.
She had heard rumors about the Blood Moon Witch being recruited by the Association after her time in Summersea City, but she hadn’t expected it to be true.
Moreover, the Blood Moon Witch seemed even more terrifying than the rumors suggested! She felt like a total yandere.
As its body was slashed in half by the scythe, the duplicate shattered into mirror fragments.
Ye Xinglan instinctively started to rush toward Xiaoxi, but she remembered something at the last moment and checked her impulse to hug her.
‘That’s right, Xiaoxi is still afraid of me, isn’t she? Hugging her like this would only scare her. Besides, Keke is here, so it’s not convenient to undo the transformation…’
“…Eh?”
Ye Xinglan froze for a moment when Xiaoxi suddenly hugged her tightly.
“You don’t have to force yourself. I really don’t mind.”
“Thank you, Xing… Blood Moon Witch. Thank you for coming to save me.”
Xiaoxi buried her head deep into the shoulder of the Blood Moon Witch — the person she had once feared most.
Her grip tightened, as if she were afraid the person in her arms might run away.