“Roar!!!”
Seeing that the attack finally worked, the Savage Beastman pounded its chest and let out a series of powerful roars toward the sky.
Strangely, after taking a heavy blow, the Beastman didn’t press the advantage but instead lightly jumped twice in place.
Watching the monster’s odd movements, Blazing Flame suddenly thought of a fighting game character whose ultimate skill required two light taps to activate.
“Blazing Flame, dodge quickly!”
Pandora sensed something was wrong and quickly warned Blazing Flame.
At that moment, on the Beastman’s third jump, it suddenly launched itself into the air like a standing long jump, leaping straight toward Blazing Flame.
If the Beastman stomped on her, there was no doubt Blazing Flame would be killed on the spot.
“Damn it! Who does it think it’s looking down on with this attack!”
Blazing Flame cursed silently, immediately moving backward.
As she picked up her weapon, she dodged out of the Beastman’s stomping range.
When the Savage Beastman landed heavily from the sky, smashing the abandoned old building and concrete ground into rubble, stirring up countless stones and dust, a white gleam appeared again in front of Blazing Flame.
“Hiss…”
The Giant Snake attacked once more at a ghostly speed, trying to take advantage of Blazing Flame’s injury to kill her outright.
“Tch!”
Faced with a speed far greater than her own, Blazing Flame resorted to her usual tactic: she aimed at the Giant Snake’s wide-open mouth and swung her Greatsword upward.
“Hiss!”
But the Giant Snake seemed to have learned from its previous failure.
At the moment Blazing Flame swung her sword, the Giant Snake suddenly snapped its jaws shut and turned its body to ram her head-on.
It abandoned the idea of killing her outright, instead choosing an attack aimed at aggravating Blazing Flame’s wounds.
With this lightning-fast, uninterrupted assault, Blazing Flame barely had time to react.
She could only barely adjust the Greatsword’s angle to block part of the impact before being slammed away again.
“Cough, cough…”
Thrown to the ground, Blazing Flame rolled twice, then quickly got up and steadied herself.
She coughed a few times, her eyes fixed warily on the Giant Snake in the distance, ready for another sudden attack.
“Hiss…”
The Giant Snake, still some distance away, flicked its tongue and hissed twice lowly at Blazing Flame.
Instead of expanding its advantage, it turned back toward the Savage Beastman.
The cautiousness was almost despair-inducing.
“Blazing Flame, you’re hurt again!” Pandora shook herself lightly, looking unharmed, “Are you okay? Should we just retreat? Let the other Magic Girls of A City handle this.”
“I’m fine, nothing major.” Blazing Flame wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, “Are the other Magic Girls coming? How far are they?”
“Hm, I sense two Magic Girls heading our way. They’ll arrive in about five minutes. We just need to buy them some time…”
Pandora’s words suddenly cut off.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Blazing Flame asked, noticing Pandora suddenly freeze.
“…At the position where those two are advancing, there’s an abnormal Magic Power Source.” Pandora nodded slightly, “The abnormal Magic Power Source’s aura is very similar to that of the Giant Snake just now. It should be the same kind of Shadow Beast.”
“Another new Monster has appeared, huh.” Blazing Flame exhaled and looked at the Savage Beastman stirring restlessly near the Old Town, “Do you think the other two Magic Girls can handle that Giant Snake?”
“Uh, judging from the Magic Power traces I sensed when I last met you, they should be able to take down that troublesome Giant Snake.” Pandora said, “But…”
“But?”
“But they’ll need at least half an hour to finish off that annoying Shadow Beast. Given your current condition, we probably won’t last until their help arrives.”
Pandora hesitated before confessing her concern to Blazing Flame.
“Boom!”
At that moment, the Savage Beastman not far off started running again, with a white transparent afterimage flashing along its neck.
Blazing Flame said nothing and casually glanced at the wristband on her left hand.
Seventeen percent.
Power severely low.
Forget killing the Giant Snake behind that Monster, with this amount of power, she couldn’t even handle the Savage Beastman.
“Blazing Flame, maybe we should run?” Pandora looked at the Monster getting closer, urging Blazing Flame, “It seems like we can’t beat them. Let’s just run.”
“Run?” Blazing Flame turned to look at the Broadcast Tower behind her that had only just started working, frowning, “Now?”
“Yes. Isn’t there an old saying? ‘As long as the green hills remain, there will be firewood to burn.’ We can make a strategic retreat now, recover from our injuries, and then deal with these two Monsters later.” Pandora kept persuading.
“What about the people in Old Town? You want me to just watch them be abandoned?”
“You mean those humans? But you’re badly injured, and your Magic Power is almost gone. You don’t have the strength or obligation to face enemies you can’t possibly defeat. We should be rational and fall back, Blazing Flame.”
Pandora was at a loss for words, surprised by Blazing Flame’s stubbornness in wanting to hold the line against these two Monsters here.
They could have easily retreated and waited for the other Magic Girls to help.
Why insist on defending this place at all costs?
Just for those unfamiliar humans?
“Power…” Blazing Flame suddenly thought of something and chuckled softly, “I have it.”
“What?” Pandora was stunned.
“You said it, didn’t you? That if I’m willing to pay the price, I can gain power directly.” Blazing Flame recalled Pandora’s words, “Come on, give me the power, Pandora. I’m willing to pay the price.”
“You’re crazy, Blazing Flame!” Pandora exclaimed in horror, “That power comes at a cost! Something bad will happen!”
“We’ll worry about that later!” Blazing Flame shouted fiercely, “The Monsters are endangering lives right now. I can’t just stand by and watch!”
“You… you’re such a fool, Blazing Flame!” Pandora cursed, “Just for these humans you might never even meet, you’re willing to go that far?”
“Can’t be helped. I’m a Magic Girl now,” Blazing Flame laughed loudly, “As a Magic Girl, how can I run away just because I can’t beat a Monster?”
“What? That’s the kind of stupid thought only fools have! Ah… Damn it! I’m done! Do whatever you want! Here!”
Though Pandora was scolding Blazing Flame, she still generated a white Magic Card and handed it over.
“A card?”
Blazing Flame took the card, puzzled.
“Yes. Place the card on your Greatsword, and you’ll gain new power.” Pandora explained.
“That simple?”
Blazing Flame smiled, readying herself by holding the Greatsword in her left hand and the card in her right.
Pandora snorted coldly before explaining.
“Simple? When you gain this power, you will inevitably pay a price. This is no joke, Blazing Flame.”
“Even I don’t know what price you’ll pay until I see it with my own eyes.”
“Let me remind you once more—there’s still time to regret this now. You don’t have to go this far for those unrelated humans. You’ve already done enough, Blazing Flame.”
Pandora’s meaning was clear: she didn’t want Blazing Flame to be battered for others. She wanted her to think rationally and prioritize her own well-being.
But looking at the Savage Beastman moving toward Old Town, Blazing Flame had no hesitation in her heart.
“It’s fine.” Blazing Flame said, “If it’s to eliminate the Monsters, I’m willing to pay the price.”
Now it’s fix, nice