Chapter 38: The Price of Desperation

But at this moment, Hua Mu’ai had no time to be angry with Xia Xingyan.

“Get out of the way!” She slammed her foot on the accelerator, intending to swerve around.

“You’re going to your death,” Xia Xingyan blocked her path again. “In your current state, you can’t even protect yourself.”

“My teammates are fighting for their lives against a Level Five Witch!” Hua Mu’ai roared. “I would never abandon them!”

Normally, she would have certainly made this poker-faced woman pay.

However, the anxiety over her daughter’s safety now consumed Hua Mu’ai entirely.

Xia Xingyan gazed into those beautiful purple eyes, seeing the unease spreading within them.

A sharp pang, without reason, pierced her heart.

Hua Mu’ai sharply turned the steering wheel, bypassing the girl who stood in the middle of the road.

This time, Xia Xingyan did not stop her, merely watching in silence as the personal vehicle sped away.

Was she just now…

‘Jealous?’

****

Beneath the Star Wish Ferris Wheel, a living hell had unfolded.

Screams, cries, and alarms mingled together as tourists scattered in all directions, fleeing in desperation.

At the epicenter of this chaos, beneath the colossal Ferris wheel, a lone figure stood motionless.

The girl was clad in black demonic attire, her feet bare.

Within her hollow pupils, two clusters of eerie blue flames burned.

Innumerable black vines erupted from beneath her feet, coiling like live serpents to strangle passersby.

Hua Mu’ai abandoned her vehicle by the roadside and plunged into the tumultuous crowd.

The moment she clearly saw that figure, she felt as if struck by lightning, freezing in place.

“Xiangyanghua…”

Hua Mu’ai’s lips trembled uncontrollably, and a name, similarly sealed away for seventeen years, was forced from her parched throat.

‘How could this be?’

‘She was clearly killed by the S-rank Abyssal Beast “Skyfire” seventeen years ago! I saw it with my own eyes!’

‘Why is she appearing here as a Witch?!’

‘Could it be that she never died?’

‘No, that’s not right!’

‘The sickeningly dense Abyssal energy emanating from her, along with that hollow, lifeless aura…’

‘Is this thing before me truly still a Witch?’

[Combat instinct activated.]

[Target: Witch Xiangyanghua (Unknown Variant).]

[Threat level assessment in progress… Assessment complete: Level Five.]

[Overall judgment: Target is extremely dangerous! Its presence will cause devastating destruction to the area! Current individual power is insufficient to contend; immediate withdrawal is advised, awaiting GSA main force support!]

The cold notification tone dragged Hua Mu’ai back to reality from her shock.

‘It’s too late!’

‘By the time those GSA people arrive, only ruins will remain here.’

‘Everyone who didn’t manage to evacuate, including Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu, will die!’

‘What should I do? In my current form, charging in would be suicide!’

‘Power, she needed power!’

‘That’s right, Yuena!’

Hua Mu’ai seized upon this last straw of hope, suddenly remembering the fairy princess slumbering within her Heart Stone.

Yuena had said that in an emergency, she could be awakened early.

Hua Mu’ai immediately summoned the Heart Stone, clutching it tightly in her palm, and frantically called out in her mind.

“Yuena, wake up quickly! Something big has happened!”

The dice warmed slightly, and a lazy thought drifted into her mind.

[Ugh… So noisy… Didn’t we agree on fifteen days?]

“Don’t sleep! There’s a Level Five Witch outside; if we don’t stop her, we’ll all be doomed! Quickly, help me restore my power and transform back into Tian Lanxing!”

[Level Five Witch?… No, I can’t… My body is still in a forced hibernation period, waking up immediately would cause a backlash… I need time to recover… Please wait a moment…]

Yuena’s voice grew fainter, finally fading into silence.

“Hello? Hello! Yuena, don’t fall asleep!”

Hua Mu’ai was frantic, almost losing her mind, but no matter how she called, the dice in her hand remained completely unresponsive.

Her only hope had been extinguished.

Just then, her peripheral vision caught sight of two familiar figures.

It was Flame Rose and Morning Dew!

The two were at the edge of the plaza, simultaneously using their Star Power to fend off the errant vines and guide the panicked tourists.

‘Good… these two girls weren’t foolish enough to charge in directly.’

Hua Mu’ai had just let out a sigh of relief when her heart leaped into her throat.

For Xiangyanghua, who stood in the center of the plaza, slowly turned her hollow eyes, burning with eerie blue flames, towards the direction of Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu.

She seemed to have detected those two incongruous bursts of Star Power.

The next second, dozens of thick black vines burst from the ground, whistling as they fiercely lashed out at the two girls!

“Watch out!”

Gu Qianqian reacted with incredible speed, pushing Lin Xiaolu aside, and instantly hurled her Blazing Sun Rose, aiming it at the incoming vines.

“Boom!”

Flames clashed with vines, erupting in a tremendous roar.

Yet, the scorched vines recovered as good as new within a few breaths, their assault growing even more ferocious.

“Qianqian!”

Lin Xiaolu hurriedly spread a green healing aura, enveloping Gu Qianqian, while simultaneously releasing several bands of Star Power, attempting to restrain the vines’ movements.

But her power was utterly insignificant before the opponent; the moment the bands touched the vines, they were instantly snapped.

“Insignificant trash.”

A contemptuous voice drifted from nearby.

Hua Mu’ai looked up to see a man in a black robe standing there, looking down on everything from above.

‘Why would there be an Inheritor of Dawn cadre here?!’

“Xiangyanghua, don’t waste time with them,” the man commanded coldly. “Finish this quickly and capture them alive.”

Upon receiving the order, the Abyssal energy around Xiangyanghua surged dramatically!

More vines burrowed out of the ground, savagely grabbing at Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu!

The two had no time to dodge, were instantly entangled by the vines, then violently slammed to the ground, immediately canceling their transformations.

“Pfft!”

Gu Qianqian spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling as though all her bones were about to shatter.

“Cough, cough… Qianqian, are you alright?” Lin Xiaolu was also in excruciating pain, struggling to get up, but she had no strength left.

The black-robed cadre leaped down from the air, slowly walking towards the two girls.

“I never thought that the two newly emerging Magical Girls of Linhai City would actually come to Golden Island for a vacation. What a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”

He squatted down, pinching Gu Qianqian’s chin, forcing her to look up.

Suddenly, as if something occurred to him, his expression subtly changed.

“Wait… Since you two are here, does that mean your captain, Tian Lanxing, is also on this island?”

Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu’s hearts simultaneously tightened.

They bit their lips fiercely, remaining silent.

Both knew better than anyone that their senior could not switch forms right now; if these people found her, the consequences would be unimaginable!

“Not speaking?”

The black-robed cadre sneered, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

“It seems I’ll have to give you a taste of what’s to come if you won’t cooperate.”

He roughly grabbed Gu Qianqian’s hair, lifting her entire body.

“I’ll ask one last time: Where exactly is Tian Lanxing?!”