Swallowed Whole

The gigantic creature forced half of its body out through the rift, blocking the moonlight, its long shadow falling across Flona’s face.

At this, Flona was utterly shocked.

“Wow. It’s way bigger than the earth dragon I fought before.”

The worm-like monster stood there upright, its length seemingly taller than a building.

Its entire body was covered in dark-brown, slick skin, its surface filled with ring-shaped, coarse ridges.

Each ridge was packed with damp soil, and as it writhed, mud continuously dripped down, splattering the ground and leaving behind small, dark pits.

【My lady, should we go chase the Web Weaver first?

This bulky thing shouldn’t be able to keep up with us.】

The eyeball sincerely voiced its inner thoughts.

But it wasn’t really cowardly either—anyone would feel fear when faced with such a colossal creature.

Flona shook her head and refused.

“The Web Weaver has already transferred its consciousness into Xibai’s body.”

If she ignored the worm monster and went straight after the Web Weaver, the worm would enter the city.

Given its size, the destruction it could cause was unimaginable.

So Flona had no choice but to stay behind.

The Web Weaver had likely anticipated this, which was why it had set up the worm monster to block her.

Fortunately, this was the outskirts, with no one else nearby.

【Then what do we do?】

“We can only end this fight as quickly as possible.”

She hoped Natsume Oto could hold on and not let the Web Weaver run rampant using Xibai’s body.

The worm monster had no eyes, yet it could precisely locate Flona.

Its frontal mouthparts opened and closed, releasing a stench of rotting earth mixed with a foul, fishy odor straight toward her face.

“Immobilize.”

The immobilization divine art had barely taken effect before being broken free in less than a second, but it still bought Flona time to dodge.

【It didn’t work!】

“It’s too big.

The effect didn’t fully spread before it broke free.”

Flona flashed aside from the monster’s abyssal maw.

Clusters of holy flames shot out from her side and slammed directly into the worm monster.

The moment the holy flames struck, only a sharp sizzling sound rang out.

The mud coating the monster’s body wrapped around the flames like a living thing.

The holy flames struggled briefly within the mud before being completely extinguished, not leaving even a scorch mark behind.

The holy flames weren’t very effective either.

It really had come prepared.

Flona could tell that the mud clinging to the worm monster was infused with pure magic power, deliberately sealing away malice to deny the holy flames any fuel.

If fireballs wouldn’t work, then she’d increase the power.

Flona took a deep breath and gathered a golden pillar of fire, which struck the worm monster in an instant.

The magic within the mud was rapidly dissolved, causing it to dry and crack.

Sensing danger, the worm monster twisted its body left and right, trying to burrow into the newly split earth.

But under the overwhelming impact of the fire pillar, it was severed cleanly into two sections.

One section fell to the ground, its cross-section still burning with sparks, slowly being consumed.

The other section seemed to have buried itself underground.

“That should have killed it, right?”

As expected of a monster awakened through sacrifice—it had taken some effort.

Flona watched as the severed worm on the ground stopped moving and was about to check on Kirishima Xibai’s situation.

The eyeball suddenly extended its tentacles, frantically signaling Flona to look at it.

“What is it?” Flona asked doubtfully, seeing the eyeball actively display a line of text.

【My lady, worms have regenerative abilities!】

However, the warning came a moment too late.

The ground shook violently as the remaining half of the worm monster burst out from underground, its edges still carrying碎 rocks and tree roots.

As its massive body lunged upward, Flona was completely caught off guard and fell straight into its enormous mouth.

…

At the same time, things were no better on Natsume Oto’s side.

A punch wreathed in black flames was knocked aside by an ice-crystal spider leg.

Natsume Oto flipped several times before finally steadying herself.

The ice-crystal spider leg was covered in cracks.

In fact, with the force just now, if Natsume Oto hadn’t held back, she could have shattered it completely.

Seeing this, the Web-Weaving Witch teased her.

“Oh?

Why’d you hold back?

You were just a bit away from smashing this face in.”

Before her words had even faded, the Web-Weaving Witch patted her own cheek, wearing an infuriating expression, practically screaming “Come hit me” across her face.

Natsume Oto clenched her fists.

“Woof, damn it!”

This was Xibai’s body.

She simply didn’t dare to go all out.

“Web Weaver, if you’ve got guts, come fight me in your real body.

Hiding inside Xibai’s body—what kind of demon king is that?”

Before she could finish speaking, threads condensed from frost mist sliced through the air straight toward her.

She twisted her body in a hurry to dodge, but couldn’t avoid them completely.

A thread cut a shallow line across her leg, and bright red blood immediately seeped along the wound’s edge, spreading into a small stain on her clothes.

“Oh my, hearing you say that really scares me.”

At some point, countless such threads had filled the Web-Weaving Witch’s surroundings, glinting with dangerous cold light under the illumination.

She said disdainfully, “Don’t call me the Web Weaver anymore.

Call me the Web-Weaving Witch.

You’re only a half-witch, yet you dare be so arrogant.

By rights, you should be calling me ‘Witch Senior.’

Now, let this senior properly discipline you, you disobedient junior.”

The same ability, wielded in the hands of the Web-Weaving Witch, produced an entirely different effect than when used by Kirishima Xibai.

While Natsume Oto and the Web-Weaving Witch fought fiercely, the ice sculpture encasing Hoshino Sakuo and the doll suddenly began to tremble violently.

Cracks spread across the solid ice on its surface.

“Which bastard froze this?

The stuffing inside me is rock hard now.”

Unmelted ice beads clung to Sakuo’s hair.

The doll atop her head stiffly brushed the broken ice from its body, faint cold air lingering around them both.

“Whew.

I thought I was going to die.

Good thing Flona’s cross saved us.”

Still shaken, Sakuo took out the wooden cross hanging around her neck.

It was covered in cracks and was clearly no longer usable.

“Right.

How are Anna and the others?”

Natsume Oto and Xibai were already locked in combat, tension thick in the air, yet Sakuo didn’t panic.

Flona had already told her earlier that Natsume Oto’s true identity was the magical girl Yōbi.

Knowing the other’s strength, Sakuo naturally didn’t need to worry about Natsume Oto’s safety.

And as an ordinary person, she couldn’t possibly interfere in such a battle anyway.

She might as well check on the others first.

“So cold >_<!”

Even though it was still midsummer, Sakuo was only wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt.

She never imagined the Web-Weaving Witch could conjure such a bone-chilling environment out of thin air.

The cold drilled through her bare skin straight into her bones.

Unable to adapt all at once, she hugged her arms and steeled herself as she searched for Seriana and the others.

Seeing its subordinate in discomfort, the doll couldn’t bear it and suggested, “Want me to use a lie?”

Sakuo hurriedly shook her head.

“No.”

Compared to the cold, the price of suffering terrified her even more.

“That’s Meivi!”

Sakuo spotted Meivi’s ice sculpture, but Seriana, who should have been lying on the bed as well, was nowhere to be seen.

With the mindset of saving whoever she could, Sakuo didn’t hesitate.

She rushed over to the ice encasing Meivi, her eyes anxious as she searched for a way to free her.

Unexpectedly, the moment she lightly tapped the ice sculpture with her finger, it shattered into pieces.