Xu Wenxing hesitated as he looked at the suited man’s sincere expression.
He looked him up and down, silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.
“Have you thought it through?” the suited man asked with a smile.
“Of course. How could I not understand such a simple logic?” Xu Wenxing retorted.
“Good, as expected of the human I’ve had my eye on.” The suited man walked toward Xu Wenxing. “Welcome to our side.”
“You’re wrong. That should be my line.” Xu Wenxing shook his head. “Welcome to hell, Shadow Beast.”
“…You’re asking for death!”
The suited man’s eyes bulged with anger. In an instant, his suit tore apart, revealing his muscular upper body.
Twisted muscles and thick black veins coiled around his torso, converging into the shape of a lion.
Xu Wenxing smiled faintly, took a few steps back, and gave a slight bow toward the suited man.
Under such provocation, the suited man sprang forward like a spring, reaching Xu Wenxing in the blink of an eye.
He raised his thick, powerful arm high, forming his right hand into a blade, and chopped straight down.
In an instant, dust and smoke rose. The spot where Xu Wenxing stood shattered to pieces in a flash, with stones splattering outward.
“Foolish. As a weakling without power, you still refuse my goodwill.”
“Be more careful in your next life.”
The dust cleared. The suited man looked at the bloodstains on the ground, snorted coldly, and sneered at Xu Wenxing’s reckless actions.
And just as he was muttering to himself, venting his displeasure, a brilliant blue pillar of light suddenly appeared behind him and shot straight toward him.
Instinct made the suited man react quickly, dodging to the right.
But strangely, he found his body had become inexplicably sluggish, completely losing its previous agility.
‘I can’t dodge this!’
The suited man was shocked, forced to take the magic cannon that came from nowhere.
“Boom!” The dazzling magic cannon struck the suited man’s body, and a massive torrent of magic power completely engulfed him.
It seemed this strike had succeeded.
“…Not bad. To be able to hide your presence and even successfully ambush me.”
“Should I praise you, Magic Girl Sapphire?”
However, in the next second, the massive blue light cannon was forcibly crushed.
The suited man’s entire body was covered in black liquid, making him look completely unharmed, without even a scratch.
Even the full-powered strike that Sapphire had prepared with all her effort couldn’t harm him at all.
Seeing this, Sapphire raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke to Xu Wenxing beside her.
“You should leave first. I’ll handle this.”
“I understand.” Xu Wenxing nodded. “I can feel that his magic power is continuously generating, as if something is supplying him with magic. Please don’t fight him head-on.”
“You spotted the anomaly in such a short time? It seems recruiting you as a support staff was the right choice.” Sapphire looked at the suited man raising his arm in the distance. “Go!”
Xu Wenxing didn’t hesitate and immediately ran off. But the moment he fled, the suited man’s hand blade came down again.
The invisible blade howled as it traveled, catching up to the running Xu Wenxing in just a few breaths.
But just as it was about to touch Xu Wenxing’s body, the blade seemed to be restrained by something, inexplicably stopping.
Then, Xu Wenxing turned around, and the blade grazed past him, blasting distant rocks into pieces.
“I see. The ability you gained after your Emotion Outburst is Stagnation, huh.” The suited man immediately noticed the anomaly. “No wonder that human brat could dodge my attack earlier. So you were already there at that time.”
“Looks like I shouldn’t have let that old human go. I allowed a troublesome rabbit like you to sneak in and cause trouble for my hunt.”
“No, you’re wrong.” Sapphire suddenly spoke up. “I already noticed you the moment you appeared in the middle of the road.”
“Oh?”
“The abnormal magic power on you is too dense. Even my Magic Fairy sensed something was off.” Sapphire explained. “I’m really curious how many murders you’ve committed.”
“Who knows? Do you care how many bowls of rice you’ve eaten?” The suited man’s lips curled up. “Move aside. Don’t block my way, or I’ll crush you and your Magic Fairy together.”
“Sorry, that’s not possible.”
Sapphire stepped forward, blocking the suited man’s path, her magic staff sparkling.
The man snorted and mocked, “You think you’re worthy to be my opponent? Better send Blazing Flame.”
“Blazing Flame is on vacation right now. She doesn’t have time to fight a murderer like you.” Sapphire said casually. “Just die here peacefully.”
“The one who dies here is you!”
The suited man roared, charging at Sapphire at full speed.
Seeing the enemy finally attack, Sapphire, who had been waiting, immediately manipulated her magic power to fall on the predetermined spot, aiming to restrict this deadly charge.
With her brain calculating rapidly, the suited man’s movements noticeably slowed when he got just a few meters away from Sapphire.
Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief, raised her magic staff, and prepared to fire a magic cannon.
But after a few breaths, the suited man tore her ability apart with sheer power, forcing his way out!
“It’s useless!”
The suited man formed his right hand into a claw and grabbed forward in the air, his entire arm turning pitch black.
A gale howled toward Sapphire, as a massive clump of magic power condensed and flew fiercely at her.
Sapphire frowned deeply, not expecting that this Shadow Beast, while possessing such astonishing magic control, also had such incredible raw power.
‘What a complete monster.’
Despite feeling a bit tense, Sapphire had already planned a countermeasure: stall.
Since the opponent needed time to counter her ability, it proved she still had the capital to outlast him.
It was just a matter of who would run out of magic power first and who would show an opening in this battle.
“Is that so? Then try to overcome the obstacles I set.”
After deciding on her response, Sapphire activated her ability again, halting the five claw auras flying toward her midair.
Then, after sidestepping to dodge, she sent the five claw auras flying back, smashing the rocks behind her.
The suited man coldly stared at Sapphire not far away, then grabbed with his left hand. A silver-white revolver appeared in his hand out of thin air, shining with a beautiful luster.
“If your total magic power were greater than mine, I probably wouldn’t be your opponent, since your ability is quite troublesome to deal with.” The suited man laughed. “But unfortunately, you have less magic power than me. You’ve killed too few weaklings.”
“…So what?” Sapphire asked calmly.
“Heh. It means even if you go all out, you can’t stop me!”
With that, the suited man raised the revolver and aimed at Sapphire standing not far away. He gently pulled the trigger.
“Bang!”
A gunshot rang out.
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