“This news—where on earth did it come from? Are those guys really having a mass hysteria?” Luo Shuangyue found the whole thing absurd.
Hei Ting shrugged. She was just the intelligence gatherer; whether the info was true or not was beyond her ability to judge.
All she could say was, judging by how serious those guys looked, it probably was something worth paying attention to.
“They’ve already sent a team out into the Wasteland. I got this info pretty late,” Hei Ting said.
By the time she caught wind of it, those people had already hopped into their SUVs and charged into the Wasteland. All Hei Ting knew was which direction they headed.
This matter… Luo Shuangyue scratched her head a couple of times and finally decided not to overthink it. She’d just pass the information straight to Monice.
A matter this serious was naturally for Monice—the boss—to decide!
As her humble second-in-command, it was better not to overstep.
She dumped all the information Hei Ting had gathered to Monice in one go and instantly felt a weight lifted off her shoulders.
Passing the buck onto the boss felt amazing.
From now on, if anything went wrong, it was Monice’s problem, not hers.
With that thought, Luo Shuangyue’s mood lifted, a smile creeping onto her lips.
But her happiness was short-lived when Monice’s reply dropped and wiped that smile away.
‘I’m busy. Handle it as you see fit.’
Great, the buck bounced right back.
Handle it as I see fit? At least give me a clear order—either tell me to keep a close eye on those guys or to just ignore it. What does “handle it as you see fit” even mean?
If I watch and fail to handle it, the blame falls right back on me.
Luo Shuangyue was in a pinch. It seemed she had only one choice.
If she wanted to avoid trouble, she had to keep a close watch on those guys—probably crazed from inhaling too much Demonic Energy—before they really stirred up a big incident.
“Damn it! The Magic Department bastards beat us to it!”
Members of the Evil Organization, cloaked in black capes, poured out one after another from their SUVs.
They stared at the massive pit before them—now completely empty—and disappointment was written all over their faces.
They’d expected to find something useful to take back, but judging by how clean it looked, someone had clearly gotten there first and taken everything from the pit.
“Hey! You said only you saw something fall from the sky, so how did the Magic Department get here before us?” a burly man dressed like a squad leader grabbed the collar of a skinny man beside him and demanded sharply.
This skinny man had been spreading rumors on the black market, claiming he knew a big secret.
Now it turned out the “big secret” wasn’t so secret or valuable after all.
The skinny man waved his hands in panic.
He swore he was the only one nearby when the meteor fell from the sky.
As for why the Magic Department beat them here? Who knows? The Magic Department doesn’t care about science—they deal in magic.
“Time! Yeah, we wasted too much time. I saw the meteor fall several days ago!” the man loudly defended.
“Their surveillance devices must’ve detected something off here, too.”
In short, he meant it wasn’t his fault; they were just too slow to react.
If only they’d acted faster, they wouldn’t have been beaten by the Magic Department.
“Look at this big pit! There’s no way it was made naturally. Something definitely fell from the sky!” Pointing at the pit nearby, he continued defending himself.
This pit was proof everything he said was true. As for why it was empty—was that his problem?
Blame the Magic Department for being too fast!
But obviously, these words didn’t convince the Evil Organization members.
They’d driven all this way, gathered so many people, and weren’t here just to look at an empty pit.
What a joke!
If this bastard didn’t cough up multiples of what they’d paid, they wouldn’t mind adding another nameless corpse to this Wasteland.
“I don’t care what you say. I just know this trip can’t be for nothing. If you don’t give us a satisfactory answer, don’t blame us for being ruthless!”
The squad leader tightened his grip on the skinny man’s throat and threatened coldly.
Before he finished, his subordinates suddenly shouted in alarm, “Something’s falling from the sky!”
What?
The squad leader immediately looked up, only to see a massive fireball blazing through the once-clear sky, hurtling toward the ground at breakneck speed.
Behind the fireball chased a gigantic black monster.
The monster sprayed several beams of pitch-black light at the fireball, quickly shattering it into a massive firework explosion.
A plane attacked by a Demon? The squad leader immediately understood.
Some reckless fools liked flying private planes recklessly. Those who met a Demon met this fate.
Without a Magical Girl escort, airborne vehicles had almost no defense against Demons.
“That’s it! That’s what I saw!” the skinny man shouted.
Then he took a heavy punch to the face.
“Idiot, it’s just a reckless ordinary plane. You call that priceless treasure?” The squad leader was furious. What use was a plane smashed by a Demon? He’d rushed here to collect the bodies of those fools?
“The Demon seems to be coming toward us!” The panicked shouts of the subordinates came again.
After destroying the unknown plane, the Demon’s speed didn’t slow—it charged straight at them.
Now the squad leader truly panicked.
His status in the organization was low, and his strength was only at a modified human level—not even able to beat a New Bud Level Magical Girl.
This Demon was obviously not someone to mess with. He figured it was best to run.
“Retreat! Retreat!” he shouted twice at the top of his lungs, tossing the skinny man to the ground and turning toward his SUV, eager to leave this mess behind.
But before he could reach the vehicle, a beam of black light descended from the sky and swept across, smashing his beloved car to pieces.
His subordinates had long since been scared senseless, scrambling into other cars and speeding away.
Only he was left to face the multi-story tall Demon descending from the sky.
This Demon was covered in metallic armor. Compared to a living creature, it looked more like a mechanical construct.
Then, the squad leader and the man he had thrown down were swallowed by the black light.
At the moment the Demon appeared, Luo Shuangyue was crouched at the outskirts of Xinghai City, waiting for someone.
She had originally planned to rush straight outside the city, but as she neared the boundary, the wristband on her arm began blaring an alarm.
A second later, Xia Mo’s call came through.
After Luo Shuangyue explained the whole situation, Xia Mo paused for two seconds before saying that Luo Shuangyue’s current identity was too sensitive to let her go alone.
But if she really had to go, Xia Mo would fly over right away to accompany her.
Xia Mo’s flight speed was fast; even from the opposite end of the city, she would only take a minute or two to reach Luo Shuangyue.
Within that minute or two, Luo Shuangyue received a second call from Xia Mo.
“There’s a King-class Magic Beast headed toward Xinghai City at high speed! It’ll reach you in about two minutes!”
A King-class Magic Beast? Heading straight for Xinghai City?
Despite hearing this, Luo Shuangyue didn’t panic or fear. As a top-ranking Initial Bloom-Class Magical Girl, she wasn’t scared of a King-class Magic Beast.
Demons below Emperor Rank always had the upper hand against Magical Girls of the same rank.
Even Emperor Rank Demons needed the home-field advantage, full preparation, and a series of conditions to challenge a Full Bloom-Class Magical Girl.
So, for Luo Shuangyue, a King-class Demon was just a tougher target.
She was actually looking forward to testing her strength now that she had Phantom Scythe.
“Should I go on the offensive, or wait for it to come?”
“Don’t let your guard down yet. I’ll arrive before it does. Its path is all Wasteland; nothing worth protecting.” Xia Mo’s meaning was clear—Luo Shuangyue should wait where she was and hold position until Xia Mo arrived.
After all, the Demon couldn’t damage anything important yet. Letting it get closer was no big deal.
“Lord Dark Moth will handle the fight alone; I’ll collect combat data,” then Luo Shuangyue heard Monice’s voice.
Huh? Boss, why are you in this call?
Also, my wristband only tracks location and basic vital signs, right? How do you plan to collect data?
The question was quickly answered—Monice appeared beside Luo Shuangyue half a minute later, even faster than Xia Mo.
Never doubt the speed of a Full Bloom-Class Magical Girl; they can appear anywhere in the city in under a minute.
“I was worried about how to collect actual combat data, but it seems a suitably powerful Demon just showed up to solve that problem.”
Internal battles between Magical Girls often distorted data since the gap between them and Demons was too wide. Many stats couldn’t be applied to Demons.
The most accurate data came from a real fight.
“Monice… senpai, Lord Dark Moth, what’s the situation?” Soon after, Xia Mo arrived, eyeing Monice who was already prepared with a notebook and drone. Xia Mo’s expression was complicated as she addressed Monice as senpai.
After all, Monice was a Full Bloom-Class Magical Girl with seniority; the title was appropriate.
Monice didn’t react to the title but looked toward the distance and said calmly:
“The enemy is here. Dark Moth, prepare for battle.”
A black cloud rushed quickly from afar. Seconds later, the Demon fully appeared before the three.
Monice’s brows furrowed slightly. This was the first time she’d seen a Demon of this form. But Demons had no fixed appearance—each was unique.
As long as it was King-class, the rest was a minor issue.
“Void Domain!”
Monice’s staff slammed down heavily, and the pitch-black space swallowed both the Demon and the three.
Fighting within this space allowed Monice to collect more detailed data.
As Monice activated Void Domain, Luo Shuangyue summoned Phantom Scythe. The two split up, charging toward the unfamiliar King-class Demon.
Clang!
Luo Shuangyue’s scythe struck heavily against the Demon’s back, slicing a small crack in its shell.
She was surprised by the result. Her attack power ranked top among Initial Bloom-Class Magical Girls, and a normal King-class Demon wouldn’t take just a small scratch.
It wasn’t rare to chop off a Demon’s limb in one hit, but this Demon easily blocked the strike?
“Its defense is very high…” Monice also noticed the Demon’s peculiarity. Luo Shuangyue’s hit dealt considerable damage, but the Demon relied on its exceptional physical defense to withstand it.
This was a pure clash of raw power, with no skill involved. The outcome was essentially even.
Failing that, Luo Shuangyue immediately pursued the Demon.
The Demon was no pushover.
Four large thrusters on its back suddenly blasted black flames, boosting its speed to a level Luo Shuangyue couldn’t even react to.
Boom!
The Demon’s front limbs crashed against Luo Shuangyue’s magic shield like a ship’s ram, shattering the temporary shield instantly.
Phantom Scythe tried to assist but was blown away by the fierce wind stirred up by the Demon. It took a lot of effort to regain balance.
Just as she steadied herself, a beam of black light shot from a hidden cannon on the Demon and hit Phantom Scythe.
The Demon thought such a small target could be dealt with by this energy cannon.
But it would soon learn that blasting Phantom Scythe with pure Demonic Energy was like handing snacks to her.
Everyone knew Phantom Scythe’s origin. As a trait of the Resentful Spirit Demon King, she naturally possessed super absorption of pure energy.
The black light fired at Phantom Scythe was easily absorbed and converted into her own power.
Raising her small scythe, Phantom Scythe let out a crisp “Ha!”
The pitch-black crescent blade she swung staggered the King-class Demon.
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