The sense of inhumanity was overwhelming; this was completely different from those elf-like spirits who so closely resembled humans.
This girl was utterly and thoroughly non-human.
Luo Xiangyue’s scrutiny made the Dragon Girl visibly uncomfortable.
She glanced up at Luo Shuangyue, snorting with undisguised irritation through her nose.
That low growl, much like her earlier speech, sounded far closer to a beast’s roar than any human voice.
Yet unlike ordinary beasts, this girl still showed a glimmer of intelligence.
At the very least, seeing that Luo Xiangyue and Xia Mo hadn’t shown any hostility and were simply squatting nearby watching her, she didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking.
Luo Shuangyue watched as the Dragon Girl squatted on the ground, digging here and there, finally unearthing some soil tinged with Black Soil.
She carefully packed this earth into a cloth bag she carried, then stood up and shot a guarded glare at the two of them. “Heh, jirigulu?”
Again, it was a language neither of them could understand.
Luo Shuangyue pointed to her own ear, then shrugged, displaying an unmistakable mixture of confusion and helplessness.
She had no idea whether the other party could understand her, but since the Dragon Girl had a human face, maybe facial expressions would get the point across?
The Dragon Girl blinked, seeming to realize that these two oddballs before her couldn’t understand a word she was saying.
So she crouched down and began communicating in the most primitive way.
First, she pointed to herself, then scratched out a few scribbled symbols on the ground.
Was that her name?
“Huh? These look like Magic Script!” Xia Mo smacked her palm, finally recalling where she’d seen these characters before.
These kinds of symbols appeared in the Magic Circles used by Magical Girls.
But Magical Girls only knew what effect these symbols had in Magic Circles; their communicative meaning was a mystery.
Speaking of magic… “What a pity I still can’t transform. Otherwise, I’d be able to talk to this kid.”
Soul Butterflies were innately capable of communicating with any intelligent being—no need for words, just direct, soul-to-soul understanding.
Even with a language barrier, they could make their intent perfectly clear.
But Xia Mo’s transformation was still on cooldown.
So, for now, she had to squat beside the Dragon Girl and communicate by drawing in the dirt, just like her.
With a few somewhat abstract sketches and a flurry of wild gesturing, Xia Mo finally managed to convey her thoughts.
The Dragon Girl’s eyes lit up with comprehension.
She clenched her right fist and thumped it twice against her chest, signaling that she understood what Xia Mo wanted to say.
After this exchange—where neither side was really sure if they’d understood each other—the Dragon Girl stood, gesturing for them to follow in a certain direction.
She was indeed leading them forward, pausing every couple of steps to check if the two were keeping up.
After walking for a little while, the girl pointed at Luo Shuangyue and rattled off a few sentences in words Luo Xiangyue couldn’t comprehend, but from the expression, Luo Xiangyue guessed she was complaining.
She probably thought Luo Shuangyue was walking far too slowly.
Just as Luo Shuangyue was about to apologize, the Dragon Girl suddenly darted over, snatching Luo Shuangyue from Xia Mo’s side and hoisting her onto her shoulder like a bandit.
“Eh?” Xia Mo froze in surprise.
The Dragon Girl ignored Xia Mo’s shock, sprinting off with Luo Shuangyue slung over her shoulder.
“Put her down!” Xia Mo wailed in despair, as though a bandit had run off with her beloved wife.
As it turned out, as long as no one was slowing down the group, it wasn’t so hard for the three of them to find the exit to this space.
After a period of chasing and being chased across the wasteland, Xia Mo—so exhausted she could only use magic to dull her fatigue—stared at the brilliant white Magic Circle ahead.
Despite the exhaustion and desire to collapse, curiosity forced its way into her gaze.
This pure white Magic Circle looked as if it had appeared out of thin air, wholly out of place in the wasteland’s grim atmosphere.
The Dragon Girl set the ashen-faced Luo Shuangyue down on the ground and pointed at the white Magic Circle, rattling off something in her own language.
They couldn’t understand her words, but Xia Mo guessed she was explaining how to use the Magic Circle.
And now that she thought about it, this Magic Circle looked very similar to the one that had brought them here in the first place.
After speaking, the Dragon Girl jumped right into the Magic Circle, beckoning to the other two.
Waving someone over meant the same thing in both worlds.
“Should we go in and take a look?” Xia Mo helped the sore and unsteady Luo Xiangyue up, asking softly.
She wasn’t sure where the Magic Circle would send them, but it likely wouldn’t return them to their original world.
After all, there were no creatures like the Dragon Girl in the human world.
Judging by the Dragon Girl’s ease and familiarity, this Magic Circle must lead to her world.
“It’s got to be better than staying here. That girl has a good heart—just look at her temperament, even doing this kind of work. I bet her world isn’t so bad,” Luo Shuangyue said, clutching her aching belly and analyzing calmly.
She didn’t know what this place meant to the Dragon Girl, but judging by the environment, it certainly wasn’t a spot normal people would visit.
The Dragon Girl’s job was likely something like a Scavenger or Adventurer, and people who spend their lives at the edge of civilization are often the most twisted and dark-hearted.
Yet the Dragon Girl seemed fundamentally decent.
She was even willing to help two strangers who couldn’t speak her language and had just met her in this strange place.
Luo Xiangyue always felt her luck wasn’t great—surely she hadn’t just hit the jackpot by pure chance?
She’d rather believe this Magic Circle led to a world full of good-hearted people like the Dragon Girl—a whole world of kind souls.
So, why not go and see for themselves? Surely it beat running around the wasteland like headless flies.
“Let’s go.”
“Alright, I’ll follow your lead.”
Hand in hand, the two stepped into the Magic Circle.
And then, the three of them stared blankly at one another.
The Magic Circle didn’t budge.
The Dragon Girl tilted her head, then her eyes lit up with sudden realization.
She moved to Luo Shuangyue’s side, grabbed her right hand, and drew her claw sharply across the palm.
Both glove and skin split open, revealing pitch-black flesh beneath.
The Dragon Girl shook the hand a couple of times, then tilted her head again, apparently puzzled that she wasn’t seeing what she expected.
“Maybe she wants my blood?” Luo Shuangyue thought for two seconds, then arrived at the most probable conclusion.
The girl certainly wasn’t trying to kill her; otherwise, she’d have gone for the throat. Slashing the palm was probably meant to draw blood.
But Luo Shuangyue no longer had blood. The Dragon Girl, realizing this, looked thoroughly baffled.
“Xia Mo, looks like I’ll have to trouble you this time.”
Since Luo Shuangyue’s hand couldn’t bleed, it would have to be Xia Mo acting as the Blood Ritual provider.
When Xia Mo extended her hand toward the Dragon Girl, the latter blinked in surprise, taking a few seconds to realize what Xia Mo was trying to say.
This kid really didn’t seem too bright…
Perhaps it was favoritism, but the Dragon Girl had slashed Luo Shuangyue with all her might; with Xia Mo, her touch was gentle, as if afraid of hurting her too much.
A light scratch, and a fine line of crimson welled up in Xia Mo’s palm.
The girl then took Xia Mo’s hand and led her to the center of the Magic Circle, letting the blood drip, one drop at a time, onto its center.
As the blood fell, the previously dim Magic Circle began to glow with Cleansing Light.
Soon, a faint shade of purple shimmered within the white, making the pattern even more beautiful.
The Dragon Girl stared at the Magic Circle, frowning at the unexpected color. She scratched the horn atop her forehead in confusion.
Clearly, she was wondering why this Magic Circle was different from the ones she’d used before.
She thought and thought, but couldn’t find a reason.
Used to setting aside anything she couldn’t figure out, she quickly gave up on pondering and resumed her usual silly composure.
Once the Magic Circle activated, Xia Mo quickly rejoined Luo Shuangyue. The Magic Circle gave her a strangely familiar feeling.
As repeated waves of vertigo struck, Xia Mo instinctively hugged Luo Shuangyue tightly, fearing that the Magic Circle might send them to separate places, leaving them worlds apart.
The Dragon Girl, on the other hand, had no such worries.
She stood there tall and proud, every bit the seasoned portal traveler.
About ten seconds later, a brilliant white light flashed, and the three inside the Magic Circle vanished. The Circle on the ground shattered into fragments.
A while later, a beam of white light descended from the sky, erasing the remnants of the old Magic Circle and leaving a brand-new one, identical to the one Luo Shuangyue had just seen.
Deep within the Grey Wasteland—a Forbidden Domain where no living being could set foot, a place even the bravest Adventurers dared not enter.
Near the wasteland’s edge, a Black Monster was a rare sight, but here, one could encounter them every few steps.
Yet in this grey-black land of utter despair, a streak of Cleansing Light shone like a nail driven into the earth.
No Black Monster dared approach this White Death; any that tried would be purified by her Cleansing Light, vanishing into a wisp of smoke.
She sat quietly, sword in arms, like a sculpture in this Despair Sea, guarding the Black Rift behind her.
At some moment, her tightly shut eyes opened a sliver.
Gold as radiant as the sun shot from those eyes, sending the surrounding Black Monsters into a frenzy of wailing and retreat.
Realizing how much her action had disturbed the area, the girl quickly shut her eyes again, a delighted smile spreading across her face.
Her cherry-colored lips curved up as she cradled her sword, as though holding her own child.
A clear, bell-like voice rang out across the empty wasteland, setting the Black Monsters astir with unease. “Heh—children, you’ve all grown up~”
“Instead of coming to me first, you’ve gone there, have you?”
“My, my. Let her meet you first, then. I’m sure our child will give you a great big surprise.”
The Nightmare Creatures continued to fidget restlessly, their noise gradually drowning out the girl’s gentle humming, making her brow crease ever so slightly.
Had these things grown a bit too lively lately?
And wasn’t their number increasing far too quickly?
“It seems like only yesterday since the last cleanup, and they’re piling up again already?” Gripping the hilt of her White Sword, the girl slowly rose to her feet.
“Do you want to go to another world? I can send you there, you know.”
Her eyes remained closed, but the Black Monsters sensed disaster looming and began retreating frantically, desperate to escape her.
“Now you run? Too late~”
Her white figure spun gracefully, like a dancer.
The surging tide of darkness was as if someone had pressed pause on it; in an instant, patches of white bloomed amidst the black, spreading and growing.
In mere moments, the black cloud of monsters had vanished from the world.
The girl sat down again, cradling her sword, resuming her vigil over the Black Rift behind her, just as always.
A long time passed before a gentle sigh echoed across the dead wasteland.
“Our time… is running out.”
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