Although Xingyue and Manjusaka were openly clashing, their fight still showed a tacit understanding—not involving any innocent bystanders, taking place high in the sky.
From below, it looked like immortals were dueling in the heavens, grand beams of light stirring the clouds, an inexplicable pressure bearing down from above.
“Is this really a magical girl? Not some other species?”
“What did those trashy media outlets film before? I’ve never seen a magical girl with such overwhelming power!”
“Hey, Li, Xie! What’s happening up there? A solar flare? Some cosmic event?”
A considerable number of the civilians below were ‘run-ren’, who had emigrated from a certain Asian country, speaking a reasonably fluent but slightly rusty Mandarin mixed with the local dialects, making the whole scene look even more chaotic.
Everyone was talking about what was happening in the sky, all remarking how this was completely different from the magical girls they usually saw.
Listening to their discussions, Folded-Wing Butterfly and Jin Wang couldn’t help but force a bitter smile.
No wonder these people were so shocked.
The true combat power of magical girls was terrifying, and people had always feared the unfamiliar and uncontrollable.
To get people to trust magical girls, it was necessary for them to believe that this group was under the government’s control.
So, the Magic Alliance and various governments had always maintained a tacit agreement in the past, never portraying magical girls as so powerful in the media, only within limits the public could accept.
A frontline magical girl could level an entire building with a single spell; as for the Ten Seats-level magical girls, going all out could change the very geography of a region.
This would only cause panic among certain groups and offer no benefit.
“How are we supposed to do wartime information work after this?”
Jin Wang frowned with concern.
The display from Xingyue and Manjusaka far surpassed the rest of the Ten Seats, undoing over a decade of the Magic Alliance’s information management efforts.
It was like they’d always claimed magical girls were only as powerful as tanks or armored vehicles in the army—and now, tanks had just turned into intergalactic battleships!
There’s no way to explain this away.
Not even the best media spin could help.
Folded-Wing Butterfly, after observing some of the ‘special personnel’ mixed in the crowd, suddenly understood something.
Good grief, was this really infighting, or just showing off their muscles to certain national powers?
As the saying goes, laymen watch the fun, but to the insiders, the duel between those two was truly heart-stopping.
Forget the people on site; research institutions in every country—especially the fusion warrior agencies—after learning of the event, mobilized every available resource and even dispatched agents to gather intel, launching a comprehensive analysis of Xingyue and Manjusaka.
In such turbulent times, everyone wanted to know the strength of these two powerhouses of the Magic Alliance, just to feel a little more secure.
“It’s enough to make you forget how to breathe.”
Folded-Wing Butterfly, at some point, had stopped calming the crowd. She stared blankly at the sky, her expression cold as frost.
The magical energy above was too abundant—utterly terrifying.
All the spells she knew, even ones she’d only heard of and never seen, were being used up there.
Though the three of them shared the ‘Ten Seats’ title, the depth of Xingyue and Manjusaka’s power truly sanctified the top two positions.
Even after Xingyue and Manjusaka retired, their successors from further down the ranking would hesitate to step up without utmost confidence.
And just as Xingyue and Manjusaka started clashing—
***
“Wow~ They’re really fighting!”
Luo You had just arrived at the scene, but instead of breaking up the fight, she crouched in a corner, secretly observing.
Depending on the situation, she might intervene in one of three forms.
She could show up as Jinlin, or as the Gray Witch.
But most likely, she would appear as Herrera.
Yet, all of Luo You’s plans were thrown into chaos by a call from Zhizhi.
“Hello?”
“Youyou, where did you go? Did you go to watch the commotion?”
“What commotion? I don’t know what you’re talking about, nya.”
“Stop pretending! The Locator on your transformation device is showing your position on my Terminal!”
Crap!
Luo You, in panic, threw her triangular shield on the ground.
She’d only ever heard of magical girls having Locators on themselves, not on the transformation devices!
“You’re actually spying on me?”
“Nonsense, every magical girl’s transformation device has had a Locator in recent years. What if you lose it? As Zhizhi-sama’s subordinate, you really ought to know these basics—I’m very disappointed!”
“Urusai!”
Luo You, embarrassed and angry, snapped—how despicable!
The Holy Priest big sister she was about to get was just gone like that!
“Well, since you’re already there, Youyou, just play it by ear. Try breaking up the fight if you can, or just watch the show if that’s all you can do.”
Zhizhi’s tone suddenly turned mysterious—
“Hehe, just like you said before, they’re finally showing off their real power to the world. You really do see things clearly!”
“So?”
“So, if you do end up seeing that hidden layer at the very end, you can just pretend you were never there~”
Luo You hung up the phone.
…She calmed down.
“Phew—there should still be an entry point if I think carefully.”
She’d long said, those collaborating with the Realm Sea forces, to break the order and divide the world, would have to overcome the towering wall that was Xingyue—to eliminate Xingyue.
Anyone daring to move against Xingyue had certainly prepared some means, or they wouldn’t dare act. But since they didn’t know Xingyue’s trump cards, they’d have to consider carefully before making a move.
“If anyone acts, it’ll most likely be after this, or maybe right now….”
Luo You gently shifted her gaze, part of her hair turning red.
Deep Crimson Authority.
Her senses sharpened, collecting an overwhelming amount of information and intel from the surroundings with almost supercomputer-like efficiency, searching for anything amiss.
“There are quite a few agents, a few suspicious spots, but nothing too suspicious… Are they outside my line of sight?”
Luo You was just watching from the shadows—perhaps even hoping.
“Let me see what kind of methods could actually work against Xingyue…”
If something could affect Xingyue, perhaps it would work on her too.
It would be good preparation, just in case.
But unfortunately, as expected, no third party appeared to interfere.
Only when the commotion in the sky finally subsided, and Folded-Wing Butterfly and Jin Wang vanished, did the people below realize that this spectacular and world-shaking confrontation was over.
“.Wait, they’re still there.”
Luo You narrowed her eyes.
There wasn’t even a wisp of cloud left in the sky—only with a high-powered telescope could you see Xingyue and Manjusaka seeming to reach some kind of understanding as they spoke with each other.
“So that’s it?!”
Luo You frowned.
This wasn’t what she’d expected.
The ordinary citizens, too, were disappointed that the excitement was over and started clamoring for them to fight again.
Tch! Just a bunch of noisy rabble who only know how to watch!
Luo You glared at the crowd fiercely.
If anyone really tried to harm Xingyue, they’d be the first to die.
“shut out!”
Suddenly, Luo You seemed to hear something.
A terrifying presence emanated faintly, making everyone around her fall silent with fear.
She listened carefully.
“..Yes, there is a sound…What is that?”
After listening for over ten seconds, she finally understood.
“It’s the sound of the tide….”
At the same time—
Up in the sky.
“You two should leave quickly.”
Xingyue said to Folded-Wing Butterfly and Jin Wang.
“If you don’t, it’ll be too late.”