Even though half her body had already crossed the mirror surface, Shandie suddenly stopped.
It wasn’t voluntary—it was as if something had grabbed her tightly and held her in place.
Shandie also showed a stunned expression. She could clearly feel a powerful gravity in her chest, pulling her entire body toward… Xiaoxi?
Xiaoxi also sensed something was wrong.
She once again felt that inexplicable resonance from earlier when Jingtong swallowed the meteorite fragment, and this feeling seemed to be pointing directly at Shandie.
Xiaoxi immediately reacted. No matter what was happening, the current situation was definitely in their favor!
So she obediently let that resonance expand and flow through her entire body, while reaching one hand toward Shandie.
Even Xiaoxi herself didn’t notice that at this moment, the starlight in her eyes was even brighter, tinged with faint golden streaks.
“What’s going on?”
The Third Divine Envoy frowned, just in time to see the core that Shandie had already pocketed fly out like it was attracted by a magnet, landing steadily in Xiaoxi’s hand—so abruptly that Shandie didn’t even have time to react.
“Jing, go get it back.”
The Third Divine Envoy coldly ordered Jingtong, but this time, Jingtong, who always obeyed unconditionally, stood still without moving.
She suddenly bent over in pain, coughing violently as if severely ill.
Jingtong’s entire body trembled from it. A pool of blackened blood along with a small stone were coughed out, especially glaring in this pure white space. The meteorite fragment in the blood was trembling slightly, as if alive.
“Tch, reached the limit, huh? It was a desperate backup plan from the start…”
The Third Divine Envoy immediately understood that Jingtong’s body had reached its limit.
After all, the price of borrowing this power was not something ordinary people could bear.
If Jingtong weren’t a creation of the Divine Summon Order, she probably wouldn’t have lasted this long.
At that moment, the shouting of the Silverflame Dragon Princess came from the side.
The remaining people had also followed the spiral staircase to the core platform.
The Third Divine Envoy took one last look at the small box containing the core in Xiaoxi’s hand, a flash of reluctance in her eyes, but still gave the order to retreat.
After all, even counting the Black Rose who had almost been chopped into mincemeat earlier, her and Jingtong’s current state couldn’t handle so many S-class Magical Girls at once.
The Divine Summon Order had laid a trap in North Blossom City for so long, only to lose at the final doorstep.
The Third Divine Envoy gave Xiaoxi one last deep look, picked up the meteorite fragment on the ground, and disappeared into the mirror with her subordinates.
“Xiaoxi! Xinglan! Are you guys okay?!”
When Silver Bell rushed up, she just saw the mirror vanish. Ye Xinglan was panting heavily, a few of her tentacles broken, and [Eternal Star] was… wait, who?!
Xiaoxi was currently inspecting the core of the Tower of Commandments. She carefully opened the box to see a small stone lying quietly inside.
‘A meteorite fragment? The core of the Tower of Commandments is this thing? Didn’t the Apocalyptic Church say the magic amplification core covering all of North Blossom City was their own research technology?’
And for some reason, Xiaoxi felt a faint familiarity with this meteorite fragment.
She wondered if Lady Delta, who had been obsessed with the Church’s core technology, would be disappointed to learn this result.
“Ah… so that’s how it is.”
Wange Yue, who had approached, also saw the contents of the box. She was momentarily stunned, then seemed to understand something and gave a faint wry smile.
After confirming the item was fine, Xiaoxi completely relaxed. At least the Divine Summon Order hadn’t succeeded in their scheme, and thanks to Xinglan for stalling for so long… right, Xinglan!
“Are you okay, Xinglan? How do you feel?”
Xiaoxi quickly jogged over. When she saw the injuries on Ye Xinglan’s tentacles, a flicker of distress passed through her eyes. But as she instinctively reached out to check on her girlfriend’s wounds, Ye Xinglan sidestepped to avoid her.
“Don’t touch me!”
Ye Xinglan’s wary look made Xiaoxi’s heart clench. Her extended hand froze in midair.
Now that the Divine Summon Order matter was settled, Ye Xinglan finally had time to process this.
The person before her—her face, her sparkling outfit, and her magical aura—were all so long-lost familiar.
This was the real [Eternal Star], the mortal enemy she had been seeking for revenge for so long. Xiaoxi really was [Eternal Star].
She had been looking for something while riding a horse all this time, only to find that [Eternal Star] was the girlfriend she spent every day with!
At this moment, Ye Xinglan couldn’t even feel any particular emotion. Even the shock was numbing, as if overloaded.
The only thought spinning in her mind was ‘my little girlfriend is the Eternal Star.’
“Xinglan? Xinglan?”
Xiaoxi’s cautious calls received no response. Ye Xinglan stood motionless for a few seconds, then slowly turned red.
‘Wait, that means… ever since she started dating Xiaoxi, all the bad things she said about Eternal Star—including using an Eternal Star pillow for boxing practice and dragging Xiaoxi to Eternal Star fan meetings—had actually been witnessed by Xiaoxi… or by the real [Eternal Star]?’
“…”
Bang The sound of a blush, like precious rouge, spread across Ye Xinglan’s cheeks. A visible mushroom cloud exploded above her head.
‘Xiaoxi, you bastard… No, that’s too harsh. Xiaoxi, this strawberry cake bear cookie mango pudding!’
‘I treated Xiaoxi as the most important person, so I dared to act so recklessly in front of her. Not just my hatred for [Eternal Star]… everything else too! And now you tell me you’re actually [Eternal Star]? That would mean… that would mean…’
“AAAAAAARGH!”
Ye Xinglan covered her eyes, forcibly cutting off her train of thought. If she kept going, she might have jumped off this place. At the same time, amid her shyness, a dark, ink-like emotion began to rise in her heart.
Black mud started dripping uncontrollably around Ye Xinglan, forming a small black puddle centered on her.
Xiaoxi could feel her magical power fluctuations had become extremely unstable, but didn’t dare say anything more.
Shing The blade of the scythe, interwoven with black and scarlet, reflected a cold gleam.
When Ye Xinglan looked up again, her eyes were bloodshot, and she had retransformed into the Blood Moon Witch.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
“Eternal Star, I’ve finally found you… I said I would get my revenge on you, didn’t I?” Ye Xinglan pointed her scythe at Xiaoxi.
“It’s over, it’s over! This is a mess… Hey, Wange, why are you still holding me? If we don’t stop those two, it’ll be too late!”
Not understanding the situation, Silver Bell had been watching dumbfoundedly.
Now seeing Ye Xinglan transform, she suddenly realized—that was A Xing and the Blood Moon Witch!
Every time they met, they would start fighting without saying anything!
Just as Silver Bell hurried to intervene, she was stopped by Wange Yue, who also observed the two in the distance and gently shook her head.
“No need to go over there, Ling’er. This is their personal business, isn’t it?”
“B-but that’s A Xing and the Blood Moon Witch! Everyone knows they’re mortal enemies, Wange!”
“It’s fine. I can tell. The Blood Moon Witch doesn’t really want to do anything to her. Maybe she’s very angry, but there’s no killing intent in her eyes. Hmm… at most, it’s a lovers’ quarrel.”
The two were already fighting. Silver Bell was dumbfounded. She knew Wange Yue was good at reading people, but you call that no killing intent?
Ye Xinglan clearly looked like she wouldn’t stop until she minced the person in front of her!
And is this a lovers’ quarrel? Have you ever seen a couple quarrel like this?
Good thing the Labyrinth was spacious enough; otherwise, Silver Bell was well aware of how terrifying it would be if those two really went all out!
But wait… lovers… come to think of it, she really hadn’t noticed where A Xing had suddenly appeared from, and she seemed very familiar with Ye Xinglan… Huh? Huh?!
“W-we’re doomed, Wange…”
Silver Bell tearfully tugged at Wange Yue’s sleeve, even though it looked weird when she was in her [Silverflame Dragon Princess] form.
“Relax, Ling’er. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“N-no, that’s not the problem. It’s worse than that. The thing about me shipping my former teammates… it seems A Xing found out!”
Chuckle Qiuli, who was resting nearby, suddenly laughed.
“Hey, Chestnut! What are you laughing at? This is a serious matter, okay!”
By now, the two in the air were locked in a fierce fight. But “fierce” was generous—it was really just Ye Xinglan attacking while Xiaoxi passively defended, letting her vent.
It made sense. Ye Xinglan had been muttering every day that once she caught that bastard [Eternal Star], she would get her revenge.
Now that her dream came true, of course she was going all out.
Xiaoxi even felt a faint nostalgia. She hadn’t felt this way since retiring. Fighting Ye Xinglan at full power was so familiar.
She knew all her attacks, tactics, and patterns by heart. This feeling was something the fakes created by Jingtong could never replace.
The only difference was that back then, Ye Xinglan’s eyes were always so hollow and cold.
But now, Xinglan’s eyes were slightly red, crystal tears welling up in them.
The eyes that once held killing intent were now full of grievance and sorrow.
“Why! Why did you hide this from me for so long? You knew I was the Blood Moon Witch all along, so why…”
Xiaoxi opened her mouth, but immediately realized her girlfriend didn’t need an explanation right now—she needed to vent.
“I’m sorry, Xinglan.”
Xiaoxi lowered her eyelids slightly, blocking Ye Xinglan’s next attack. She didn’t give a long-winded explanation, just a sincere, short apology.
“Didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t hide anything from me anymore? Were the words you said in bed that night all lies?!”
Clang The fierce scythe and starlight long sword clashed heavily, sending sparks flying.
“Why are you so good to me! If you’re [Eternal Star], then why… why did you make me fall in love with you…”
Ye Xinglan’s voice was choked with tears. Her attacks were still fierce, but even Silver Bell could see now—though she was fighting hard, she deliberately avoided Xiaoxi’s vital points.
Silver Bell suddenly covered her eyes, causing Qiuli to tease her.
“Is it that bad, Ling’er? What’s there to be afraid of?”
“It’s not that. You know, Chestnut, I usually like reading tragic love stories, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I know it’s bad to say this, but just now, for a second, I thought this couple was really good to ship… Does anyone get it?”
“Second dimension is hopeless.”
Too bad the people around were Wange Yue and Qiuli.
If Daitan Xin had been standing next to Silver Bell, she would have given a thumbs-up and said something like “Yeah! Oh my brother, you’ve got taste!”
But still…
Silver Bell moved her fingers slightly apart, feeling a bit dazed. A Xing and the Blood Moon Witch…
When was the last time she saw them fight like this?
Ye Xinglan’s emotional fluctuations directly affected her state.
Wange Yue sensed that the Blood Moon Witch was on the verge of losing control, so she quietly used “Discipline” to suppress all magical power fluctuations in the area.
Ye Xinglan asked many questions intermittently. Although Xiaoxi didn’t explain anything, her earnest and gentle tone did calm her down a bit.
But Ye Xinglan’s attacks remained fierce, as if she really intended to kill her mortal enemy and complete her revenge.
In this situation, Xiaoxi, who only defended and never attacked, naturally couldn’t hold out for long.
Soon, her weapon was knocked away by Ye Xinglan, and the next moment, the sharp scythe was pressed against her neck.
“A Xing…”
Silver Bell couldn’t help but sweat. She knew Ye Xinglan wouldn’t actually hurt Xiaoxi, but the scene looked incredibly dangerous!
Of course, Ye Xinglan didn’t make any further moves. Her hand trembled, and the scythe resting on her little girlfriend’s neck silently dissolved.
Ye Xinglan stood in front of Xiaoxi, raised her hand, but after a few tense seconds, she slowly collapsed to the ground.
Her raised right hand tightly gripped Xiaoxi’s sleeve.
Xiaoxi crouched down too, saying nothing, just silently wiping the tears from the corners of Ye Xinglan’s eyes. This time, Ye Xinglan didn’t pull away.
“Why… Hey, Xiaoxi, why… do you love me?”