Instead of Running Away, You're Walking Toward Me?

"That damn butterfly woman, that fall nearly killed me..."

Phrolova complained, struggling to get up, only to meet Jinhsi's eyes.

The room fell silent at once!

Jinhsi blinked, making sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Fractsidus, Phrolova!"

"How dare you attack this place directly! Sanhua, attack!"

A vast flood of white light surged around Jinhsi, filling the entire room.

The Sentinel's second resonator was no joke!

Although Xi Xi was only sixteen this year, there were very few people in the entire world who could match her.

"Wait, I'm already preparing to leave the Fractsidus!" Phrolova hurriedly explained.

"Cut the crap. Once you're Fractsidus, you're Fractsidus for life. Take this, Great Crimson Lotus Blossom!"

Sanhua showed no mercy. The frequencies around her stirred, and the temperature plunged to an extreme cold in an instant!

"Boom!!"

A gigantic ice lotus bloomed, blasting Phrolova away! Her back slammed into the wall, leaving a spiderweb of cracks as her body sank into the masonry.

"You two, do you really think I'm that easy to bully?!"

As a third-class Reiatsu powerhouse, Phrolova had a temper too, and she prepared to strike back!

"Hecate!"

She waved the baton in her hand, and a Calamity Class Tacet Discord appeared behind her! Its enormous spectral form filled half the room, letting out a chilling screech. The shockwave from the Tacet Discord sent tables and chairs flying, and the windowpanes shattered with a crash.

But just then, Jinhsi moved!

"Jué, Time Stop!"

An invisible ripple spread out, freezing everything around them in place.

The Tacet Discord froze, the air froze, and Phrolova's body froze. Even Sanhua's flowing hair hung motionless in midair.

One second passed...

Two seconds passed... three seconds passed...

Jinhsi walked through the air until she stood before Phrolova.

Fractsidus, your days of doing as you please are over!

"When winter ends, spring is born; baneful forces dissolve into nothing!"

Suddenly, the spectral form of a divine dragon appeared behind her and unleashed a blast of dragon breath, striking Phrolova head-on!

"Five seconds have passed. Time begins to flow!"

"Agh!!"

Phrolova cried out as she was slammed heavily into the ground, which shook beneath her and was left with a deep crater.

Rubble flew and dust filled the air. The entire office looked as though a typhoon had torn through it.

"If you're hungry, go eat!"

Xi Xi landed gracefully like an immortal descended from the heavens, with an air of effortless composure.

In terms of her own strength alone, she had one foot in the second class, giving her the advantage.

She raised her chin and looked down coldly at Phrolova in the crater. She really did have some of a magistrate's bearing.

"Little brat, don't push your luck!"

Phrolova stood up again. She hadn't been seriously injured and instead walked forward.

"Hmph, even though you know how powerful I am, you're not running away, but walking toward me instead?"

"If I don't get close, how am I supposed to beat you flat?!"

"Is that so? Then come a little closer!"

"Take this!!"

The two attacked at the same time, without any frills!

A short while later, in Jinzhou's prison...

"Behave yourself and stay put!"

The iron bars shut, and Phrolova sat down on the chair of regret, her face blank.

Her whole body ached, her clothes were torn in several places, and bits of broken brick clung to her hair.

"That was way too much!"

Even she couldn't help but be a little impressed. Time Stop really was a bit of a cheat.

"Wait, can you put me in another cell? It smells in here..." she asked the jailer.

"Sorry, this place is specifically for holding Fractsidus members. What a coincidence: one just ran off, and now another has moved in. You two handed the place over without missing a beat!"

"Pah! Don't put me in the same league as that guy!"

"Cut the crap and get on that sewing machine. The magistrate's formal outfits haven't finished mass production yet!"

Phrolova gritted her teeth, her clenched fists creaking.

The Book of the End flickered in her palm. If she used its power to change the past, she could easily escape.

But every use of that opportunity was extremely precious, and she could never waste it so easily.

It was the trust Rover had placed in her, and the starting point of her atonement. Using it to break out of prison would be an outrageous waste.

"Come out. Stop secretly watching from the side."

"Your senses are quite sharp..."

Sanhua emerged from the shadows alongside Jinhsi, and they stood beside the cell.

Jinhsi had changed into clean clothes and held a cup of tea. She looked as though she had just finished the official business at hand and stopped by to take a look.

"Speak. Tell us exactly why you came here, without leaving out a single word."

"You might not believe me, but I came to atone. In short, we're friends now..."

Phrolova made her tone as friendly as she could. She wasn't usually good at communicating with others, and she stumbled over the words, her expression somewhat stiff.

"Is that the character you're playing today? How interesting." Jinhsi couldn't help laughing.

"I'm telling the truth. I didn't have a choice before, but now I want to be a good person!"

She seized the chance to explain the whole story, telling them everything in detail, from Rover killing her to Triss being rescued, and finally Shorekeeper throwing her here.

When she finished, she showed them the Book of the End in her hand.

"It has Rover's aura, and it's very gentle. It can indeed serve as proof."

Jinhsi's gaze cleared, and much of her hostility faded.

"How is he now?"

"He's in Lament Valley, preparing to attack a Fractsidus stronghold."

At those words, Jinhsi's eyes flashed, and she immediately clenched her hand.

"Sanhua, I'm going to support him. While I'm gone, you'll handle all affairs in my place!"

"Wait, Magistrate, shouldn't we think this through carefully?"

Sanhua hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to stop her. It was a major strategic mistake for Jinzhou's magistrate to leave her post rashly, especially when the Fractsidus's whereabouts remained unclear and no one knew the exact situation in Lament Valley.

"There's no time. This concerns the Sentinel Imperator. We have to do our part, no matter what."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jinhsi took a step and vanished from the dungeon.

She left decisively, without the slightest hesitation, just as she had when she took over as magistrate at thirteen, bearing Jinzhou's entire fate on her slender shoulders.

"Alas, she's still young. With the magistrate away from her post, I hope nothing unexpected happens."

Sanhua sighed, her brow full of weariness.

Now the Lament was everywhere, and humanity had far too few top-tier combatants. Whatever they did, they were stretched thin.

And sure enough, something unexpected was about to happen!

Just then, a report suddenly arrived from the Midnight Rangers. A soldier stumbled into the dungeon, his face deathly pale and his voice trembling.

"Bad news! The Faceless Inferno Lord is showing signs of awakening!"

In an instant, Sanhua felt her hands and feet turn ice-cold.