Magical Girl Grey Moon held Zhou Huanan in her grasp.
She confirmed he was a living, breathing person, perfectly fine, not some illusory figment of her imagination or a fleeting dream. Once she felt the warmth in his palm, she relaxed and released her grip.
All the while, Magical Girl Violet glared at Grey Moon with a murderous intensity, so fixated that she didn’t even notice the great demon standing nearby.
Zhou Huanan quickly vanished, cloaked by his invisibility. Grey Moon, accustomed to his disappearing acts, didn’t find it strange. Though a flicker of worry crossed her mind, her attention remained fixed on the newly arrived Violet.
“Where have you hidden him!?”
Violet, however, was different. Witnessing Zhou Huanan’s disappearance, her features contorted into a furious mask, transforming her into a raving madwoman who charged forward recklessly.
Against such a Violet, Grey Moon effortlessly repelled and injured her with her shield.
Yet, Violet disregarded the fresh wounds blossoming across her body. Even after being knocked back again, she continued her relentless charge toward Grey Moon.
Grey Moon raised an eyebrow. Despite the attack, she didn’t wield the axe in her right hand, her expression still etched with doubt.
Violet had previously demonstrated a teleportation-like ability, yet she hadn’t used it when closing in.
This was another reason.
It was why Magical Girl Grey Moon had held back her full power against her.
In the lush, verdant suburban plaza.
Grey Moon stood beneath Banjao’s colossal hologram, fending off Violet’s attacks. The Banjao icon itself was an abstract composition of black, modern lines.
Its overall design resembled a Tai Chi symbol, divided into two halves: the upper part symbolizing chaotic demonic claws, and the lower half representing orderly compassion.
Just as Violet launched her assault.
Concealed above the Banjao holographic projection, within its ‘evil’ section, the great demon, Sword King, also struck at Grey Moon.
Attacks from both sides converged simultaneously.
Grey Moon stood her ground, her indifferent expression unwavering as she faced the simultaneous assault from the corrupted Magical Girl and the great demon. The light in her eyes remained utterly unchanged.
First, she casually flung Violet away, ignoring the Magical Girl’s pained cries. Then, she raised her hand and lifted her small round shield.
She braced herself, taking Sword King’s vertically descending strike directly.
****
Zhou Huanan, who had fled at least five hundred meters away, had originally intended to keep running. However, Dr. Zhuge instructed him to turn back and record the scene with his camera.
Muttering a silent curse at Dr. Zhuge, he halted, pulled out his phone, and began live-streaming the event.
He perfectly captured the impact of the blow.
Initially, there was no sound.
No movement whatsoever.
Zhou Huanan frowned, watching the scene on his phone, where time seemed to have frozen. Yet, when he looked away from the screen, reality presented the exact same static image.
This phenomenon defied Zhou Huanan’s comprehension, eliciting a small gasp from him.
Grey Moon held her shield aloft, Sword King poised for his downward thrust. For approximately half a second, the two stood motionless in the air, like statues.
Then, half a second later, a violent white shockwave erupted, expanding outwards. It snapped massive trees surrounding the plaza, one after another, as the ground beneath Grey Moon began to collapse in sections. Countless smooth stone tiles from the plaza were flung skyward by the concussive force, only to be shredded into fragments and scattered far into the distance.
The earth lay exposed, raw soil laid bare. Violet, who had just managed to scramble to her feet, took a direct hit from the shockwave at close range. With a cry of distress, she was sent flying in Zhou Huanan’s direction.
Zhou Huanan, still looking down at his phone, had clearly captured the style of Violet’s underwear in the footage.
Only after the shockwave subsided could Zhou Huanan finally lift his head.
At that moment.
A terrifying sonic boom, delayed by half a beat, finally reverberated, permanently deafening anyone within a hundred meters.
Even Zhou Huanan, despite his relatively distant position and the protection of his captain-grade helmet, felt a profound discomfort.
What, then, had become of the two individuals at the epicenter of the explosion?
Beneath Grey Moon’s feet lay a shallow crater, three meters deep and twenty meters in diameter.
Sword King’s strike had left a single mark on Grey Moon’s small round shield.
Yet, astonishingly, both combatants appeared utterly unharmed!
Zhou Huanan swallowed hard. ‘This is the true battle of legendary powerhouses!’ he thought.
****
Sword King gazed at Magical Girl Grey Moon, a distinct pleasure evident in his demeanor.
Seeing that his strike had failed to even faze Grey Moon, his face, hidden behind the merciless Iron Maiden mask, stretched into a grin. He propelled himself through the air, leaping to a distant spot. His massive, jet-black greatsword plunged into the earth first, resembling a slender, ethereal tombstone from afar.
The greatsword’s wide tsuba was broad enough for the great demon Sword King to stand upon it entirely, yet it remained perfectly steady.
The suburban plaza.
At this moment, Grey Moon had vanished.
Grey Moon lowered her small shield.
Her eyelids drooped slightly, acknowledging the formidable strength of her opponent.
She observed the great demon Sword King, standing erect on his greatsword, arms crossed over his chest. Clad in full black plate armor and wearing a black Iron Maiden mask, the great demon Sword King cut an imposing figure.
He was truly a living embodiment of violent aesthetics.
He was undeniably powerful, leaving a deep impression on Grey Moon.
She even felt a strange urge, a fleeting desire to take his Iron Maiden mask home and hang it on her wall as a memento.
“Magical Girl Grey Moon, in our next exchange! Hahaha—”
The great demon in the Iron Maiden mask had initially thrown back his head and laughed twice, but his laughter abruptly ceased.
He composed himself, his cold Iron Maiden mask giving nothing away.
Had he continued his unrestrained laughter, Grey Moon wouldn’t have thought much of it.
However, his sudden composure, his forced calm, was unsettling.
Grey Moon realized then that this individual was a different caliber of opponent than the two great demons she had encountered before.
He was an extremely formidable foe.
‘But Zhou Huanan is definitely watching me from afar,’ she thought.
With that thought.
A barely perceptible smirk touched Grey Moon’s lips, bolstering her courage to face the powerful enemy. She yearned for his Iron Maiden mask, envisioning it displayed like a tiger skin rug beside a seasoned hunter’s fireplace, a trophy from a grand tale.
It would be a conversation piece for years to come.
“Hmph… My apologies.”
Seeing Grey Moon remain silent, Sword King broke the quiet himself.
“Perhaps unrestrained laughter is considered rude among humans, but please forgive me. It’s simply been far too long since I’ve faced a worthy opponent.”
“As you can see, I am a swordsman who delights in challenging powerful foes. I bear the unfortunate honor of being called Sword King.”
Magical Girl Grey Moon’s voice was cool and detached: “Magical Girl Grey Moon.”
“I know. Your reputation precedes you.”
The two powerhouses exchanged names, a formal greeting before their true battle could begin.
Yet, once the introductions were made, both fell silent, remaining rooted to their spots. Neither made the first move. Sword King observed Grey Moon, whose clothes were only slightly dirtied, and his vigilance intensified.
Grey Moon, too, searched for an opening, unwilling to make a rash move.
It was at this precise moment.
Violet finally flew back into the arena, intent on seeking revenge against Grey Moon.
However, she saw the two figures, their auras steadily escalating.
She paused, utterly bewildered.
It was as if she had stumbled into a scene she had no business being in.
‘Violet, did she truly misunderstand something?’
Incidentally, Violet found the other person confronting Grey Moon somewhat familiar. When she turned and saw Sword King, her entire body suddenly trembled.
Now, in Violet’s eyes, the world contained only Sword King.
Her pupils constricted to pinpricks, her teeth gritted, and her face was contorted with a mixture of hatred and terror.
“Sword King!!!”
The girl’s shriek shattered the tense standoff between the two combatants.
Grey Moon and Sword King both turned their heads to look.
In their view, dense magical energy accumulated around Violet. Blood-red tears streamed from her eyes, and she wept silently, too heartbroken to make a sound. Clutching her own face, she bent deeply at the waist, her feet turned inward, and looked up at Sword King with an immeasurable hatred.
“It was you…”
After a long pause, Violet stared at Sword King and spoke.
“Ten years ago, Sword King was the one who destroyed the Golden Age, severed Sister Orange Bellflower’s arm, defeated me, and captured my sister—”
She could never forget this person, not for her entire life!
Sword King uttered a puzzled “Hm?” and met Magical Girl Violet’s gaze. He felt the hatred in her eyes, and indeed, the Violet before him seemed somewhat familiar, yet he couldn’t recall her.
After all, over the decades, the Magical Girls he had killed and destroyed were as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sands on the earth.
He only remembered the truly powerful ones, such as the Magical Girls of the city ten years ago, Golden Tulip and Black Iris, both respectable adversaries.
“Magical Girl Violet?”
Sword King stroked his chin, attempting to recall, but ultimately shook his head.
No impression.
Sword King had no interest in the weak.
“It was you, it was you, it was you…”
Violet’s lips continuously repeated the accusation.
Behind Magical Girl Violet, purple magical energy solidified into tangible, violet blocks.
Even ordinary people without enhanced vision could perceive that she was losing control.
Were any ordinary, law-abiding citizens present, facing a rampaging, corrupted Magical Girl, they would likely be so terrified they’d faint on the spot, their souls ascending to meet the Buddha.
Yet, Magical Girl Grey Moon and Sword King both maintained an air of composure.
Wary of each other, neither made a hasty move.
They even had the leisure to observe, though their intentions differed.
Their actions, however, were identical.
Grey Moon believed Violet would attack Sword King, thus breaking the stalemate.
Sword King, on the other hand, surmised that Violet was likely a weak opponent he had once defeated, and was willing to grant a vengeful weakling a fair chance to strike him down.
Both: They were willing to let Magical Girl Violet unleash her full power.
On the surface, this manifested as a polite refusal to initiate an attack, allowing Violet to ‘cast her spell’ uninterrupted.
“Die!!”
As Violet roared, countless purple orbs of magical energy behind her exploded, unleashing their power. Magical Girl Grey Moon’s eyes widened. She hadn’t anticipated Violet unleashing such a massive, widespread destructive spell, especially one aimed at a great demon!
‘If she doesn’t focus her magic, she probably won’t even break a demon’s defense,’ Grey Moon thought.
What worried Grey Moon even more was this:
Grey Moon remembered that Zhou Huanan was likely hiding nearby, invisible and not having left. However, Violet’s magical energy had already spread for thousands of meters with the wind. Grey Moon cursed Violet under her breath and, with a furious throw, launched the blood-red axe in her hand.
It struck Violet directly in the chest, interrupting her.
Grey Moon prevented her from further dispersing magic that could easily be fatal to ordinary people.
A vibrant splash of blood bloomed on Violet’s chest. Her focus had been entirely on the great demon, and she hadn’t considered the possibility of Magical Girl Grey Moon actively attacking her.
Violet’s mind rebooted, briefly sputtering back to life. She saw Grey Moon glaring at her, biting her lip in fury—the first time Grey Moon had ever displayed such a significant change in expression in public.
‘What happened??’
‘What did Violet do now?’
She looked left and right, only to see Zhou Huanan hundreds of meters away, clutching his chest and collapsed on the ground.
“Eh?”
Violet had intended to fly over and save him, but Grey Moon overtook her, seizing the initiative. As Grey Moon passed, she even retrieved the axe embedded in Violet’s chest.
She shot Violet a harsh glare.
Violet wept from the pain, but the ache in her heart, a profound guilt, was far worse than any physical injury.
“Violet… didn’t mean to.”
But whatever she said now was useless.
Grey Moon would not allow Violet to approach Zhou Huanan again. She swiftly carried Zhou Huanan away from the scene.
Sword King had not originally intended to let Grey Moon leave.
However, seeing Zhou Huanan suddenly appear and collapse in the distance, he let out a frustrated cry of regret. He felt his mistake had caused casualties to an ally.
Mistakes, he knew, must be rectified.
Even if life was priceless, it couldn’t always be reclaimed.
Yet, Sword King still had a task to accomplish. He turned to Violet, his tone resentful.
“Since that’s the case, I shall kill you first to avenge my ally.”
Violet had wanted to pursue Grey Moon, but Sword King’s voice echoed behind her, sending a chill down her spine and forcing her to dodge.
The battle between others continued.
But Grey Moon’s battle—it had concluded.
She anxiously cradled the motionless Zhou Huanan in her arms, flying into the distance, consumed by self-reproach.