“Ms. Black Rose is truly amazing—not only did she rescue me from the clutches of The Association, but she also helped me track down the escaped prey…”
“It seems you quite enjoy this hunting game, but you don’t seem to have realized who the real prey is.”
Ye Xinglan took a deep breath, a fierce, nameless fury burning in her heart.
The Butcher’s earlier boastful recount of his deeds was utterly outrageous, so much so that even she, regarded by the world as an evil Witch, could no longer stand it.
The Butcher deliberately rubbed the two bone-picking knives in his hands together, producing a grating, teeth-aching sound.
He completely ignored the seemingly delicate and weak-looking Ye Xinglan; her words only made him laugh heartily.
“Buyer Lady,” the Butcher sneered, “You sure do love to bluff. Good, keep it up. The calmer you stay now, the more I look forward to your tears and pleas for mercy in a moment…”
Suddenly, the Butcher shivered. A killing intent, almost solidified into something tangible, chilled the air in the alley.
Only then did the Butcher notice the patch of black mud that had appeared at Ye Xinglan’s feet without him realizing when.
“So the Buyer Lady really is a Monster after all. Who would’ve thought that D-Rank Magical Girl would be dating a Monster!”
The Butcher didn’t notice that his words had just hit Ye Xinglan’s biggest nerve.
His face still wore a confident smile.
So what if Ye Xinglan was a Monster? She looked so soft and tender, hardly like a Monster skilled in combat.
“…Good. I originally wanted to make your death a bit more painful, but now I’m starting to look forward to your reaction.”
“It’s death, it’s crimson, it’s the Blood Moon hanging high in the sky.”
“Mourn — eternal night has descended, and no one can be freed.”
The black mud climbed up Ye Xinglan’s body.
The confident smile on the Butcher’s face suddenly froze, and his once relentless approach faltered.
He wasn’t a Monster active during the Great Chaos era, but this transformation chant was as famous as the Eternal Star; how could he not know it?
“You, you’re the Blo—”
The transformation finished.
The Butcher, who had been sneering moments ago, now wore a face of sheer terror.
Watching Ye Xinglan, who had turned the tables and was advancing step by step, his mind could only think of one thing—run!
Impossible! How could he be so unlucky?
That frail-looking girl was actually the Blood Moon Witch!
If he had known Ye Xinglan was the Blood Moon Witch, no matter how brave he was, he wouldn’t dare provoke her!
At this moment, they were inside the magical barrier set by Ms. Black Rose.
This barrier overlapped the real world, inaccessible to ordinary people except them.
The Butcher had the ability to freely enter and exit the barrier.
The Butcher knew the Blood Moon Witch also needed to hide her identity.
She wouldn’t act in public, so all he had to do was escape outside the alley.
There were surely pedestrians on Commercial Street; if he could just reach that place…
Ye Xinglan coldly watched the Butcher flee the barrier in panic, but she only sneered and had no intention of pursuing him.
The streetlights on Southern Avenue had just turned on, casting a warm orange glow outside the alley.
The Butcher, just as he was beginning to relax, suddenly tripped and fell hard to the ground.
“No—”
A slimy tentacle wrapped around the Butcher’s ankle, dragging him back into the depths of the alley with terrifying force.
The dead-end alley the Butcher had chased Ye Xinglan into was simply too deep.
With the roles of hunter and prey reversed, the Butcher had no chance to escape this slaughterhouse.
Thick fingers were only a breath away from the warm streetlamp.
The Butcher could even see pedestrians on the street.
Yet Ye Xinglan’s tentacles completely ignored the constraints of the magical barrier and forcibly dragged the Butcher back inside.
“If you’re this weak, don’t bother making a magical barrier. What a waste of effort.”
A bottomless swamp-like patch of black mud appeared deep in the alley.
One tentacle after another bound the Butcher’s body, dragging his bulky frame deeper and deeper into the black mud.
The moment his skin touched the mud, the Butcher screamed like a slaughtered pig, the skin sizzling as it corroded.
“I was wrong! My lady… Blood Moon Witch, I didn’t know it was you! Please, have mercy just this once!”
“I’ll lead you! Your girlfriend…”
“Shh, you’re not worthy of mentioning Xiaoxi,” Ye Xinglan’s eyes turned scarlet.
“I remember you said you killed four girls like this, right?”
“I originally wanted to make your death a bit more painful, but now I’m starting to look forward to your reaction.”
Ye Xinglan could have easily killed the Butcher outright and dragged his corpse into the black mud to destroy all traces.
But now she had changed her mind.
Evil people deserve to be dealt with by evils.
She didn’t mind playing the villain for once.
The pain and fear from being gradually dissolved and corroded made the Butcher babble incoherently.
He only kept begging for mercy, unable to hear Ye Xinglan’s questions.
“Tch, noisy.”
A thick tentacle completely blocked the Butcher’s mouth.
He could only make pained whimpering sounds as his body sank deeper into the black mud until he was fully dissolved, not a single bone fragment remaining.
In his last moments, the terrifying figure of the Blood Moon Witch was deeply imprinted on the Butcher’s mind.
This psychopathic Monster felt what true despair and fear meant for the first time in his life.
Last time, Ye Xinglan had considered draining the Butcher’s magic.
But this time, she completely gave up on that thought.
Though this B-Rank Monster had a decent reserve of magic, this scum disgusted her too much.
After finishing the job, Ye Xinglan nodded in satisfaction.
She casually threw out a scythe and neatly severed all the tentacles that had bound the Butcher, tossing them into the black mud.
Those tentacles were part of Ye Xinglan’s body.
Though she wasn’t fastidious, the Butcher truly disgusted her.
She felt no remorse cutting off her own tentacles.
The transformation ended, the black mud disappeared, and no trace was left behind.
The entire process had taken no more than five minutes.
Ye Xinglan nodded approvingly and stepped out of the alley.
The Butcher’s accomplice would better pray they hadn’t hurt Xiaoxi.
Otherwise… Ye Xinglan guaranteed that person would die even worse than the Butcher.
But before she could leave, two figures suddenly flew towards Ye Xinglan from a short distance away.
Judging by their attire, they seemed to be two Magical Girls.
Ye Xinglan’s heart lifted—looks like she wouldn’t have to expose her identity to save someone after all.
“Miss, may I ask…”
“You two are Magical Girls, right? Please, save my girlfriend! She was taken by a Monster. I… I tried to find help, but there’s not a single person on the street!”
Ye Xinglan’s tearful expression was completely different from the terrifying image of the Blood Moon Witch moments ago.
The two Magical Girls exchanged a glance.
They had accidentally flown into the magical barrier during their patrol and thought to investigate.
Before flying far, they encountered Ye Xinglan.
“Miss, don’t worry. We heard noise here and came this way. Is there anyone else here?”
Ye Xinglan shook her head like a rattle: “No, I didn’t see a single person along the way. The sounds you heard were probably me shouting for help.”
Seeing Ye Xinglan’s fragile appearance, the two Magical Girls’ doubts were mostly dispelled.
Since saving someone was urgent, they didn’t hesitate and headed with Ye Xinglan towards the direction Xiaoxi and An Wanwan had left.
Ye Xinglan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Indeed, torturing the Butcher was risky.
If she had been slower, she might have been caught red-handed by these two Magical Girls.
The two Magical Girls had no idea that the tearful girl before them had just killed a notorious B-Rank Monster.
At this moment, Xiaoxi had just started to confront An Wanwan.
Neither would have expected that Ye Xinglan had just eliminated another B-Rank Monster and brought reinforcements.
“By my calculations, your girlfriend should already be in the hands of my accomplices.
I suggest you not act rashly…”
Before An Wanwan finished speaking, the two Magical Girls flew over with Ye Xinglan.
“It’s here! That’s my girlfriend!”
An Wanwan blinked: “???”
Wait, her threat wasn’t finished, so why had the hostage come running over herself?
Where was the Butcher? Was he useless, unable to handle a little girl?!
“Xinglan! I’m so glad you’re safe! That guy lied to me, saying your accomplices were captured…”
Xiaoxi breathed heavily in relief.
No matter what, seeing Ye Xinglan safe and sound was enough.
“Accomplices? What accomplices?” Ye Xinglan blinked innocently.
“As soon as I sensed something wrong, I immediately found these two Magical Girls for help. I didn’t see any accomplices.”
At her words, An Wanwan’s gaze landed on the two Magical Girls standing protectively before Ye Xinglan.
Since Ye Xinglan hadn’t met the Butcher, those two must have dealt with him!
An Wanwan suddenly felt immense pressure.
Before the operation, Ms. Black Rose had introduced the Butcher to her.
She knew this accomplice was not only a pervert but also very powerful.
Yet the Butcher didn’t even get to see Ye Xinglan before being taken out by these two Magical Girls.
That proved their exceptional strength.
Facing them, she was definitely no match.
Not to mention with Xiaoxi added in, that made three opponents.
She definitely couldn’t win.
So An Wanwan decisively hissed: “Don’t come any closer. I have a hostage!”
Xiaoxi froze for a moment and pointed to herself.
Me? A hostage?
You didn’t even catch me.
We’re several meters apart.
You can’t just say I’m a hostage because I’m weak.
“I’m a cautious person,” An Wanwan smiled faintly.
“We in this line of work are all like that—
Don’t come any closer.
This D-Rank Magical Girl is already poisoned.
If you don’t want her to die, stay away!”
An Wanwan snapped her fingers.
Xiaoxi suddenly felt dizzy and unsteady.
There was definitely something erupting inside her body.
Poisoned?
But she hadn’t even fought An Wanwan, not even touched her!
Where could the poison have come from?
Wait…
Xiaoxi recalled when An Wanwan stumbled out of the alley earlier, right in front of her.
Xiaoxi had helped her up without a second thought…
The poison must have been administered then!
And she hadn’t noticed a thing!
“Well, for a Monster like me, poisoning is a specialty~”
An Wanwan laughed, a thin tail flicking out from beneath her short skirt.
The tip of the tail was a tiny heart.
She stuck out her tongue, pink, long, and flexible.
Though An Wanwan’s appearance and style were pure and cute, her entire aura suddenly turned seductive.
Xiaoxi understood immediately.
An Wanwan was clearly a succubus Monster!
She could feel the toxin coursing through her body.
Her whole body felt feverish and restless.
Her vision blurred, symptoms of imminent fainting appearing.
Xiaoxi wasn’t panicked but was momentarily at a loss.
With her power, she could suppress this magical poison by sheer force of her own magic.
But a D-Rank Magical Girl obviously couldn’t do that.
If only Ye Xinglan was here.
She could easily lie that An Wanwan was incompetent and failed to succeed.
That would fool Ye Xinglan, who wasn’t knowledgeable about these matters.
But the other two would definitely see through it!
“Don’t act rashly.
The poison I gave is deadly.
If you rescue her now, there’s still time.
But if you chase me, I’ll detonate all the poison in her body.
Then… heehee.”
With a bang, two smoke bombs exploded beneath An Wanwan’s feet.
Xiaoxi suddenly felt her presence vanish.
It seemed the succubus had planned her escape route from the start.
Fine.
If she’s poisoned, then so be it.
To avoid revealing her strength, Xiaoxi no longer fought the poison but let her consciousness slowly slip away.
After all, this level of magical poison was basically ineffective against her.
The carrier of magical poison was still magic.
Any attack tied to magic was honestly difficult to break through her defenses.
Even if left untreated, she could endure it until it wore off.
Moreover, with two Magical Girls here, Xiaoxi was certain that when she woke, she’d be lying on the ceiling of The Association’s medical department, with Miss L by her side who would have already handled the threat.
She felt very at ease fainting.
She just didn’t know what kind of poison An Wanwan had used.
Why did her heart race so fast and why did her body feel hotter and hotter?
As the smoke cleared, An Wanwan was gone.
Her words had scared the two Magical Girls present, who immediately stepped forward to check Xiaoxi’s condition.
“Don’t worry, I’m a Magical Girl with the 【Coordination】 attribute.
I can easily suppress the spread of the poison.”
One of the Magical Girls placed her magic wand on Xiaoxi’s chest and slowly closed her eyes.