Mu Xi stared at the tide of Insect Monsters surging before her.
Their ferocious mandibles opened and closed, emitting a grating “kacha” sound that set her teeth on edge.
Cold, merciless gleams flickered in their Compound Eyes, layer upon layer blocking every path to the area where her Younger Sister was.
The air was thick with a heavy, bloody stench, mixed with the rustling of Chitinous Exoskeletons rubbing together, suffocating and oppressive.
“Sigh, don’t block my way.”
A soft sigh slipped from Mu Xi’s lips, carrying a trace of helplessness, but even more, the icy resolve of one forced into desperation.
Her slender right hand spread its five fingers, palm facing up.
In an instant, a dazzling point of Starlight flared, as if a miniature star had ignited in her palm.
The Starlight stretched, condensed, and took shape, accompanied by a low hum.
A one-handed sword, formed purely from Starlight energy, suddenly materialized!
Cool light flowed along the blade, lacking the heaviness of real metal, yet radiating an unparalleled sharpness.
Wherever the blade pointed, even the air seemed to twist.
The cold hilt fit snugly in her palm, bringing a long-missed yet strangely unfamiliar sensation.
Mu Xi took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the anxiety over her Younger Sister’s safety and sinking into the instincts of battle.
She bent her knees slightly, lowering her center of gravity, assuming the most basic combat stance—body angled, sword tip pointing diagonally forward, her gaze sharp as a hawk, locked onto the nearest Insect Monster, which was lunging at her, Scythe Claws raised.
“Hoo… It’s been a long time since I last fought.”
Her mutter was swept away by the bloody wind, and in the next second, she moved!
Her petite figure erupted with astonishing speed—not the radiant streaks of a Magic Girl Transformation, but pure physical power and exquisite footwork propelling her forward!
She shot along the ground like a streak of silver light, nimbly dodging the first powerful swing of the monster’s Scythe Claw.
That Scythe Claw struck the spot where she’d just stood, shattering stone and sending debris flying!
At the very instant the Scythe Claw missed, Mu Xi had already slipped to the monster’s flank—where its Chitin was thinner, right at the jointed seam.
Her wrist flicked, and the Starlight Sword traced a fluid, precise arc!
“Ding—!”
A crisp, grating clash rang out!
The blade struck precisely at the joint connecting the monster’s Scythe Claw to its body!
The hard Chitinous exterior collided fiercely with the Starlight energy, sparking a spray of blinding light!
The monster howled in pain, shrieking sharply as its other Scythe Claw swept in, aiming to cleave her in half.
Mu Xi’s eyes remained calm; her wealth of combat experience allowed her to predict the attack’s trajectory.
Her toes tapped the ground, and her body floated back half a step, as light as a willow leaf in the wind.
The deadly Scythe Claw slashed just inches before her chest, the gust it carried ruffling her silver hair.
At the same time, her sword-wielding wrist snapped, and with the momentum of her retreat, the Starlight Sword whipped upward in a swift counter-slash!
“Shla—!”
This time, it was no longer a direct block.
The blade slipped as easily as a hot knife through butter, slicing precisely into the jointed seam at the neck of a smaller Insect Monster lunging from the side!
There was no thunderous boom, only a scalp-numbing sound of tearing.
Green, viscous as oil and reeking of corrosive stench, the monster’s blood spurted from its severed neck like a high-pressure hose!
Mu Xi had anticipated this; the moment her blade struck, she spun like a gyroscope, narrowly dodging the foul green blood that would have drenched her.
The decapitated body convulsed violently, staggering forward a few more steps before crashing to the ground. Its six legs still twitched reflexively.
The green blood quickly soaked the filthy ground, spreading in a wide pool and emitting a faint sizzling as it corroded whatever it touched.
But the killing had not ceased.
The death of their companion only incited the swarm to greater ferocity!
Three Insect Monsters lunged at her from different angles!
One bared its massive jaws, snapping at her head from the front.
Another swept at her lower body from the left, while the third leaped high, trying to seal her escape above!
The bloody wind whipped against her face—the shadow of death enveloped her in an instant!
Mu Xi’s pupils contracted. In her non-Transformed state, her physical response and magical reserves were both sorely lacking.
Muscles long unaccustomed to combat ached and burned, her breathing grew ragged.
Yet her mind whirred like the finest-tuned machine.
The battle wisdom Crystal Orchid had honed countless times on the edge of life and death shone in this very moment!
Advance instead of retreat!
She suddenly lunged forward, her body gliding nearly flush with the ground, slipping dangerously beneath the snapping jaws of the frontmost monster!
The barbed mandibles snapped shut just above her head—empty.
At the same time, her Starlight Sword lashed out like a serpent’s tongue, driving forward with her momentum, stabbing viciously into the softer joint beneath the belly of the leaping monster above!
“Pshh!”
Most of the blade sank in!
The monster shrieked in agony, green blood gushing down the sword’s length.
Mu Xi showed no hesitation; her wrist twisted fiercely, shredding the creature’s innards.
At the same time, she wrenched the blade free and, using the recoil, spun sharply to her right!
“Clang!”
The Starlight Sword barely managed to block the Scythe Claw sweeping in from the left!
The immense force numbed her palm, sending pain shooting up her arm.
Even the sword of condensed Starlight trembled unsteadily, its light dimming for a moment.
She grunted, body stumbling sideways under the blow’s force.
Just as her balance faltered, the monster that had missed in front whirled around, its powerful hind legs kicking off the ground like an out-of-control war chariot.
With the screech of Chitin scraping, it lowered its head, driving its heavy horn straight at her!
The speed was terrifying—there was no way to dodge!
A sharp glint flashed in Mu Xi’s eyes!
At the last possible second, she didn’t try to block or dodge entirely, but instead poured all her remaining magic power madly into the Starlight Sword!
The sword flared blindingly!
Pivoting on her left foot, she twisted her body forcefully despite her stumble, driving the Starlight Sword upward from below, slanting it toward the monster’s vulnerable spot between its Compound Eye and mandibles beneath the horn!
It was an all-or-nothing attack!
“ROAR—!”
The monster’s roar and the muffled sound of the Starlight Sword piercing its Chitin sounded almost simultaneously!
“Pfft!”
The blade struck true!
But the monster’s terrifying momentum slammed solidly into Mu Xi’s right shoulder!
“Ugh—!”
Agonizing pain exploded through her; she felt as if a battering ram had hit her, sending her flying backward!
The Starlight Sword shattered with a “pa” as her grip faltered and her magic unraveled, scattering into countless points of light that faded into the air.
She crashed heavily onto a pile of rubble meters away.
Searing pain radiated from her right shoulder, as though the bone would crack.
A coppery taste welled up in her throat.
She struggled to lift her head, her vision blurring.
She saw the monster she’d stabbed now writhing in pain, green blood gushing from its fatal wound, no longer a threat for the moment.
But more monsters—driven even madder by the scent of blood—were now trampling over their fallen kin and the sticky green gore, shrieking as they surged toward her like a black tide.
Their cold Compound Eyes reflected her current wretchedness and utter isolation.
In the distance, faintly, her Younger Sister’s terrified cries seemed to echo…
Mu Xi coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining her lips red.
Propping herself up despite the pain, she staggered, trying to stand.
Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, a black figure squatted before Mu Xi.
With blood-red eyes fixed intently on the gravely injured Mu Xi, she looked as if she were observing a stranded fish.
She poked Mu Xi’s blood-smeared cheek.
“Transform. If you don’t, you’ll die, you know.”
Mu Xi looked up. It was a face identical to her own.
“You… Are you Dream Girl?”
A sudden realization flashed across Mu Xi’s mind.
“Ah, it’s you. The other… me, suppressed inside my body.”