Kaos finally seized the opportunity and laughed a few times, feeling an instant lightness throughout his body.
At last, he was able to unleash his signature laugh!
He then lightly clapped his hands, and both he and the muscular figure beside him vanished from the spot.
Camellia squinted slightly, sensing that Kaos hadn’t used any direct spatial ability to leave the area, but rather a small trick of invisibility.
As a Legend, it was already difficult to detect such nuances.
Thinking this over was quite troublesome.
If Kaos didn’t prefer frontal combat and only used this ability for retreating, facing him as a Legend would have been even more challenging.
After a brief moment of thought, she gripped the umbrella handle and tapped the empty ground three times.
A crimson energy orb erupted from the umbrella’s tip but quickly dissipated into the air.
Magical girls could control their magic to avoid damaging their surroundings.
Although Camellia wasn’t very skilled at this kind of magic, she could still manage this easily.
However, she soon noticed that the place where the magic vanished showed no change.
As expected, those three attempts had missed.
Was her intuition still not accurate enough?
She decided to go back and study with Lin Zhifeng to see if there was room for improvement.
When the two police cars stopped in front of her, Camellia felt certain Kaos had completely left.
She looked at the sharply dressed men stepping out of the cars, followed by a tall woman in a police uniform.
She raised her hand professionally,
“Where do you want to start the statement?”
The tall woman, familiar with Camellia’s concise and efficient style, was used to it by now.
She smoothly pulled out a voice recorder.
“Good morning, Camellia. Are you the only one here today?”
As a friend of Lin Zhifeng, she also knew about Yun You and Camellia’s situation.
A faint teasing flickered in her eyes.
“Out on another field mission, huh? Is everything alright at school?”
“…Yes, it’s fine.”
Camellia sighed helplessly.
With all this commotion, the school probably wouldn’t be peaceful this morning anyway.
…By the way, does the magical girl circle have any acquaintances who aren’t friends with Lin Zhifeng?
Red Maple’s social skills are truly terrifying.
In contrast, the handsome man was dealing with magical girl-related matters for the first time, and he was stunned.
Do magical girls always cooperate so well during statements?
Why does the Kamen Rider always run so fast that he forces me to write so many fabricated investigation reports?
No wonder the colleagues say daughters are better—look how cooperative this young lady is!
Handling Kamen Rider cases all these years, he’d been driven mad by how uncooperative many juniors were, even losing more hair than back then.
Now he finally understood why his boss went bald within a year of becoming a Kamen Rider detective.
“By the way, there’s one more thing.”
Camellia suddenly recalled.
“You’ll probably have to go to Xiangyang Elementary School later. You’ll find Youlan, Legend, and Glory there.”
The female officer and the detective exchanged a glance.
There are more?
Wait, why are these three names mentioned together?
This sounds as fantastical as the ‘Camellia fighting Kaos’ incident reported today.
Also, how do you know that?
In a neglected corner, Kaos grimaced, clutching his wound.
Hiss… Camellia’s too accurate.
How did she know I was there?
Now I have to come up with a new way to hide the wounds on me.
But before that, he needed to call that bastard and give him a good scolding.
Lu Xun held his broad blade horizontally in front of him.
The wide blade clashed with the giant axe descending from above, sending sparks flying.
For a moment, he and the massive chimera were locked in a stalemate—but only he knew that the moment he raised his hand, the wounds on his body were pulled painfully, and this stalemate was only an illusion; he was near collapse!
The chimera, which appeared as pure destruction in the outside world, seemed to retain some sense of reason within its own space.
It keenly sensed something unnatural in Lu Xun’s movements.
A brutal glint flashed in its eyes, and a mountain-like pressure slammed down on Lu Xun.
He could almost hear his body creaking under the unbearable strain.
Damn it…
If I weren’t injured, I wouldn’t be in such a pitiful state!
The next instant, a silver light streaked by.
The chimera let out a pained roar as bloody liquid oozed from its slashed arm.
Lu Xun felt the oppressive force loosen.
He growled and decisively burst forth with power, swinging his blade to knock away the giant axe!
Staggering under the assault, the chimera faltered.
Youlan didn’t miss this opening; her pale blue ribbons immediately entangled the chimera!
After the burst of strength, Lu Xun swayed involuntarily, forcing his blade into the ground to support himself as he panted lightly.
Yun You, who had just swung a sword to help Lu Xun break free, noticed his exhaustion and quickly came to his side, steadying him.
“Glory, can you still hold on?”
Yun You didn’t waste words like
“Are you okay?”
Anyone with eyes could see Lu Xun was in bad shape—probably a lingering effect from their last battle.
Lu Xun was startled but quickly shook off Yun You’s supportive hand and straightened his back stubbornly.
“Of course I can! You didn’t fall, so how could I admit defeat!”
“Then do me a favor.”
Yun You turned his face to him.
He didn’t try to persuade Lu Xun to retreat because he knew Lu Xun wouldn’t listen.
It was better to find a way to end the battle quickly so Lu Xun could rest.
Having worked with Yun You many times, Lu Xun immediately understood what he meant.
Though unwilling, he knew this was the best plan.
“Tch… Fine.”
Above, Youlan’s extremely durable ribbons tightly bound the chimera’s body.
The magic-constructed ribbons were incredibly tough; a brute like the Minotaur had a hard time breaking free—supposedly.
But after howling and struggling in vain, the chimera suddenly threw its head back and locked onto Youlan holding the other end of the ribbons in midair.
With a swift grab, it yanked Youlan toward it!
Caught off guard, Youlan hurriedly dispelled the ribbons but was already pulled into the chimera’s attack range!
She instinctively closed her eyes and barely managed to conjure a barrier, silently screaming in her heart, I should’ve learned from Camellia how to strengthen myself with magic!
“Hey, big guy! Your opponent’s me!”
Lu Xun’s voice rang out behind the chimera, immediately followed by a blast of horn sounds and a roaring wind that echoed throughout the labyrinth!
This was a massive labyrinth sealing the Minotaur inside.
No one could escape, not even the labyrinth’s master—how could there be wind sounds?
The confused chimera twisted its huge body and turned around.
Its beast-like eyes reflected a gigantic wooden horse almost piercing the labyrinth’s ceiling, rushing toward it at an incredible speed, about to trample it flat!
Lu Xun’s left wrist twisted, and a palm-sized, creamy white Stone Tablet embossed with intricate patterns slid out from his bronze-colored belt buckle.
He inserted the rectangular tablet into the buckle.
The blue-green vine patterns writhed as if alive, and a low, solemn voice echoed from the belt—
“Yggdrasill (World Tree) unfold—descend now! Odysseus!”
Odysseus, the hero from Greek epics.
He famously proposed the Trojan Horse stratagem during the Trojan War, hiding soldiers inside the giant wooden horse, which the Trojans brought into their city, only to be ambushed and defeated by the concealed forces at night.
The Minotaur beast, focused only on the looming threat of being crushed into a meat patty by the giant wooden horse, roared furiously and swung its axe with overwhelming force.
Yet, the seemingly invincible wooden horse cracked and began breaking apart from the middle!
It froze for a moment, then howled furiously in humiliation,
“Despicable humans!”
“Sorry, Odysseus really is that kind of character. That’s why Lu Xun reluctantly uses this,”
Yun You murmured.
“But as long as it works.”
The chimera’s pupils narrowed into slits, fully absorbed by the Trojan Horse and failing to notice when the white figure had silently appeared right in front of it!
“Yggdrasill (World Tree) unfold—descend now!”
Yun You’s eyes were calm as he gripped his silver-white knight’s sword.
Dark crimson, blood-like light flickered at the blade’s tip, then radiated outward until it enveloped his entire body.
From the sword came the unwilling roar of a slain dragon, causing the blade itself to tremble under the immense power.
Yet, he paid no mind to the clamorous fluctuations.
His grip remained steady, and his eyes locked unwaveringly on the enemy ahead.
“Siegfried!”
A blazing red beam surged forth like dragonfire, engulfing the chimera completely in an instant.
The crimson light lit up the entire space, even Lu Xun and Youlan standing nearby felt the intense heat!
Even the Minotaur, struck at such close range, had only one possible outcome.
It let out a piercing, hateful roar within the flames.
When the light finally faded, only a battered giant axe fell heavily to the ground, causing the earth to tremble again.
With the domain’s enemy defeated, the labyrinth’s brick walls shattered like glass, revealing the reality beneath the domain’s veil.
Everything before them twisted and condensed into a palm-sized red Stone Tablet, gently falling into Yun You’s hand.
The tablet was etched with a unique image—a person bearing wings soaring through the sky.
Below, in cursive script, was a line of small characters.
“Icarus… Icarus?”
Yun You murmured softly.
After breaking through domains and taking cores several times before, a small Stone Tablet would always end up in their hands, seemingly corresponding to the legendary hero they had just overcome.
Upon realizing their enemies and abilities were likely tied to myth and legend, Yun You had flipped through many mythological books.
He was naturally familiar with the Minotaur’s story: it was ultimately defeated deep within the labyrinth by Theseus, who entered using the thread of Princess Ariadne.
That was why Yun You thought of using Youlan’s ribbons in place of the thread to delve into the labyrinth.
So it was natural for Yun You to expect to receive the card belonging to Theseus—but instead, it was Icarus?
Icarus was indeed connected to the Minotaur’s labyrinth.
He and his father were imprisoned there and escaped by flying with wings made of wax and feathers.
Yet, flying too close to the sun melted the wax connecting the feathers, and he fell into the sea, embraced by the sun.
It sounds ominous… but it will have to do.
Maybe it’ll unlock flying abilities.
Youlan opened her mouth to thank them for the rescue when a lively tune suddenly played.
Yun You’s sharp ears recognized it as the theme song of
“Magical Girl Red Maple.”
He glanced over to see Youlan awkwardly but politely holding a ringing phone.
“Um, I have some things to take care of. You guys talk.”
“Oh, by the way, that blue Kamen Rider—Glory, right?”
She winked at Lu Xun, her smile sincere.
“Thanks for what you did earlier, saving me. That evens the score, doesn’t it?”
Lu Xun froze, his face flushing red as he hurriedly denied,
“N-no, who saved you?! I just happened to want to hit it, nothing to do with you! And what do you mean ‘even the score’? Hey, don’t run—!”
But Youlan was deliberately teasing him.
Her lips curled into a sly smile, and without waiting for him to finish, she activated floating magic and swiftly disappeared from in front of Yun You and Lu Xun.
Lu Xun was left stomping angrily, cursing as he grabbed Yun You to prove himself,
“I really just wanted to hit the chimera! You get it, right? You get it?!”
Yun You, unbothered, replied calmly,
“Mm-hmm, I got it, I got it.”
At that moment, Youlan had landed behind the school’s back gate.
She looked around to confirm no one was nearby, and that cameras couldn’t catch her, then answered the phone.
“Hello?”
Her colleague’s anxious voice came through,
“Jiang Lan, you finally picked up! Do you know how worried I was? Your students are almost frantic too, hearing you were missing!”
There was no signal inside the domain; she had been trapped for at least half an hour, causing the temporary loss of contact.
No wonder everyone was so worried.
Jiang Lan could hear a kid shouting in the background,
“Teacher Jiang hasn’t been turned into a human meat patty, right?”
She smiled ruefully at the phone.
“I went back to grab their homework and lesson plans left in the office. Luckily, Youlan found me and brought me to a safe place. Thanks for worrying. Oh, and tell those little brats their homework and I are both fine, which means they still have to do today’s homework!”
Listening to the collective groans of the kids and her colleague’s admiration of her dedication, Youlan exhaled deeply.
Magical Girl Youlan, real name Jiang Lan, age 29, elementary school Chinese teacher.
Today, she’d brilliantly protected her secret identity once again—well done!
Time to reward herself with a pudding milk tea, 30% sugar, less ice!
Lu Xun was still stomping, but the complaint had changed.
“I just don’t want to use some Odysseus! It doesn’t suit me at all! Why didn’t I get a pure power-type ability?!”
He glared fiercely at Yun You.
“Siegfried is so cool! Why not me?”
No matter the epic, Odysseus’s reputation usually included cunning and intelligence—he was a brainy warrior, which didn’t quite fit Lu Xun.
This made Yun You suddenly wonder: could it be that because Lu Xun’s mind was simple, Odysseus came to give his tactics a boost?
If he said that out loud, he’d get strangled.
So he just tried to appease Lu Xun.
“But Odysseus also had courage and adventure. When passing through the deadly siren domain, he made his crew plug their ears with wax and tied himself to the mast just to listen to the fatally beautiful siren song. So don’t be biased against him.”
Lu Xun thought about this for a few seconds.
His heart stirred.
He rubbed his hands excitedly.
“Is the siren’s song really beautiful? I want to hear it too!”
“Of course you want to.”
Seeing his mood improve, Yun You thought it was time to talk business.
“Glory, we defeated the Minotaur together, so this Stone Tablet…”
On this matter, Lu Xun wasn’t so easily fooled.
He stepped back and snorted coldly, afraid Yun You would suddenly stick it on him.
“Move aside. Since it chose you, it’s yours. I don’t want it.”
Yun You and Lu Xun always respected the Stone Tablets’ choice.
He didn’t fuss over it and nodded.
“Alright, got it. One more thing, actually I…”
Urgency, just lots of urgency!
Lu Xun was hostile to Legend but unusually friendly to Yun You.
Yun You feared that if his identity were truly exposed, Lu Xun might be so embarrassed he’d drag him down with him!
But his repeated attempts to reveal himself had only made Lu Xun more wary.
Lu Xun turned without hesitation, even closing his eyes to avoid accidentally seeing Legend’s untransformed face.
“I’ve said it many times: who you are isn’t important to me! Just remember, the one who can become an Epic successor is me!”
Right now, Legend held three Stone Tablets, while Glory had only one.
Although Yun You didn’t understand why Legend was so eager to reveal himself, Lu Xun wasn’t about to let him have his way—at least, not until he had more tablets than Legend.
Otherwise, if Legend was someone he knew, he didn’t think he could face him normally or compete healthily.
That wouldn’t do!
Saying that, Lu Xun hopped on his motorcycle and sped away, never once glancing at Yun You, fearing one look might shatter his future mindset.
Left behind, the 19th failed showdown of the semester, Legend stood in place with Camellia and Yun You.
His three aliases all looked up at the sky simultaneously.
Life…
Yes, Magical Girl Camellia was naturally Yun You’s second alias.
Like Legend, his transformation didn’t happen on his own body but manifested as an extra controllable body.
Yun You’s true self was still in the upstairs classroom, juggling three roles at once.
The least attention was on his true self, his vacant gaze looking as if daydreaming.
Sigh…
Everyone else finds hiding their identity hard; why is revealing it so hard for me?
Oh well, another time.
For now, he’d ask the head of Xiangyang Elementary if there was any chance to retrieve the security footage—though the hope was slim.
Oh, right, he’d also have to meet Detective and the female officer once more as Legend to give another statement…
Hey, Lu Xun, you didn’t run that fast just to avoid the statement, did you?
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