That whispered, smiling voice pierced her eardrum like an ice pick!
“Damn it!”
Poppy’s internal alarm exploded!
She didn’t even have time to turn completely, relying only on honed battle instincts to explosively unleash Magic Power from both hands behind her, trying to form a Magic Shield and pull herself away!
But it was too late.
Mu Ming’s figure seemed to separate from her own shadow, moving so fast it defied visual tracking.
The Black Sword wrapped in ominous dark light didn’t slash toward her throat as expected, but instead flicked upward at a slant, almost teasing.
“Hiss——!”
A cold arc precisely severed the hairband fixing Poppy’s left ponytail!
Fiery red hair cascaded down like a waterfall in an instant, a few strands sliced by the Sword’s edge floating down in the dim glow of Magic Power.
The cold blade even left a barely noticeable, icy line of blood on her smooth cheek.
Humiliation!
Naked humiliation!
This wasn’t a fight to the death—it was cat-and-mouse mockery!
“You!”
Poppy was both shocked and furious, her cheeks burning red with shame.
She forced down her panic, Twin Cannons roaring again as she unleashed a torrent of firepower at the nearly point-blank Mu Ming!
“Boom boom boom boom——!”
Scorching beams of Magic Power exploded through the narrow alley, blasting stone and filling the air with smoke and dust!
But Mu Ming’s figure danced through the gaps of the exploding light like a phantom.
She didn’t even take large steps, only shifting her head, twisting her waist, moving with the grace of a dance.
Each dodge brushed past the edge of annihilating energy, crimson hair whipped by the shockwave and glancing off her cold Sword.
Her lips held an amused smile, and her Red Eyes shone with a child’s delight at a new toy.
“Too slow~”
Mu Ming’s teasing, joyful voice rang clearly amid the explosions.
She even had the leisure to extend a slender finger and flick away a pebble flying toward her face.
“Shut up!”
Poppy’s fury surged, her attacks growing more savage!
She stopped holding back her Magic Power, Twin Cannons spinning like wind to weave a dense Death Firepower Net, trying to trap that ghostly figure completely!
Mu Ming’s smile deepened.
She seemed a little bored of this game of hide-and-seek.
At the very moment Poppy fired again with full force, the Twin Cannons blazing—
Thick, slippery Shadow Tentacles suddenly shot out from the shadows beneath Poppy’s feet, the walls behind her, even the eaves above!
Like chains of venomous serpents from the abyss, they wrapped instantly around her ankles, wrists, and waist!
The cold, slick touch clamped tight with overwhelming force!
“Urgh!”
Poppy groaned, her charged Cannon blast abruptly cut off!
She was lifted off the ground by the Tentacles, arms forcibly spread and restrained, the mouths of the Twin Cannons flickering uselessly with chaotic Magic Power.
She struggled desperately, but the Tentacles’ strength was beyond imagining, as unyielding as alloy chains, refusing to budge.
Mu Ming strolled unhurriedly over to stand before the suspended Poppy, who hung in the air like a butterfly trapped in a spider’s web.
She tilted her head, crimson eyes roaming with interest over the other’s flushed face and wild, fiery hair, both twisted with anger and humiliation.
“Now that’s better.”
Mu Ming’s voice dripped with syrupy sweetness, as if coaxing a misbehaving child.
She reached out her empty left hand—not to attack, but to trace, almost curiously, the faint blood mark she’d left on Poppy’s cheek with a cold fingertip.
The touch was featherlight, yet carried a chilling sense of possession.
“Let me go! Witch!”
Poppy spat through gritted teeth, rage blazing in her eyes.
Magic Power rampaged within her, trying to break free, but the darkness in the Tentacles dragged her down like a mire, crushing her strength.
“Witch?”
Mu Ming repeated the word, a flash of childlike confusion in her Red Eyes, quickly replaced by a wicked glint.
She twirled the Black Sword casually, the cold point hovering over Poppy’s wildly heaving chest, right above her heart.
It didn’t pierce—only transmitted a bone-chilling threat through her clothes.
“This word…”
Mu Ming leaned closer, so near Poppy could see her own reflection in those eyes. Her voice dropped, twisted with innocent malice.
“…Sounds kind of fun, doesn’t it?”
“Want to…”
The Sword tip pressed down ever so slightly, her tone a dangerous temptation.
“…play an even more interesting game with me?”
Poppy’s heart thundered beneath the icy blade, cold sweat soaking her back.
She could feel it with blinding clarity—the overwhelming strength of the “Witch” before her, fathomless and terrifying.
But what terrified her more was the pure, childlike curiosity and cruelty tangled in those eyes, like a child dissecting an insect.
This wasn’t combat. It was a one-sided, cruel amusement.
Tentacles writhed hungrily around Poppy’s body.