Volume Three: Academy's Full-Scale Rampage - Monster Reappears

Centered on the fountain plaza, this area suffered a devastating blow. The surrounding buildings were all half-destroyed, the plaza was shattered, the once neat low-rise buildings were all reduced to ruins, and a large number of mangled corpses—innocent civilians, Enforcement Team, and members of the Black Crow who had not been able to escape—were scattered everywhere. In the very center of the plaza, at the heart of all the cracks, a huge black feather was stuck there.

The black feather was nearly ten meters tall, its surface covered with scorch marks caused by friction and burning during its entry into the atmosphere. It stood there silently, radiating a terrifying sense of oppression, like a tombstone.

Very few people were still standing.

The culprit— the Black Crystal— remains suspended in mid-air.

The Qipao Girl, Haoyue, sustained some injuries under the protection of the runes, but was otherwise unharmed.

Enforcement Team Wu Cangsheng's three invisible summoned creatures are all at low health.

At this moment, Wu Cangsheng was kneeling on the ground with a blank look in his eyes, staring into the distance.

There lay the corpse of Yekaterina, her head shattered by rubble and her body torn apart by the shockwave, surrounded by the remains of the Enforcement Team had been protecting her as she fled.

The mission failed.

But apart from Wu Cangsheng, it seems no one else is paying attention to the deaths of the General Council members.

Black Crystal and Bright Moon's gazes were completely drawn to "something" next to the giant black feather.

"Hiss--Hiss--Hiss--Hiss----"

The creature that was caught in the center of the impact, closest to the point of impact, and was still able to slowly stand up from the rubble, has transcended common sense.

"Hiss... Hiss... Hiss..."

More than half of her long pink hair had turned white, her beautiful starry eyes had turned into a cloudy, dark yellow, and a large amount of blood scabs covered half of her face. Heavy breathing came from her crooked, cracked mouth. Her originally fair skin was being eroded by scarlet runes, her hands had turned into sharp claws, and her height had increased to about two meters.

"Xiao Ye!"

Haoyue watched her lover transform into an alien form once more, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her skin, and trickles of blood flowed down her palms, but she didn't notice at all.

This is a reenactment of the battle between the Imperial Capital and I·B.

An ancient ferocious creature, the rampage of the Rakshasa True Word.

Granting rampagers unparalleled power at the cost of losing their rationality and human appearance, it's practically a monster-making machine.

But--

"There's still hope..."

Seeing her beloved in this state, Haoyue was anxious and grieving, but she did not lose her composure. She suppressed her unease and carefully observed Ye's current appearance.

Haoyue remembered that when Ye went berserk last time, she transformed into a monster over three meters tall, but now she was only about two meters tall; last time her skin turned completely dark red and was covered with vicious barbs, but now her skin was only covered with runes; her hair wasn't completely white, the scabs covering her face were thin, and her teeth weren't as sharp; most importantly— the Killing Intent emanating from her body was far less than when she went berserk last time, less than half of what it was last time.

Although it is a monster, about half of its face, body, hair, and other features still resemble a human.

The rampage wasn't as severe as last time.

So, there's still hope!

"This is the first time I've ever seen something like this..."

Black Crystal hovered in the air, flapping its wings, its eyes fixed on the monster below, its nerves taut.

This was completely unexpected. Being forced to use her ultimate move, "Fallen Feather," was already beyond her expectations, but now the pink-haired girl, whom she thought was doomed, had undergone such a strange change. Things had developed in a way that was completely beyond her expectations.

So she made a decision immediately.

"Let's retreat."

At the beginning, she launched a long-range sniping attack on Wu Cangsheng and Xiao Wu for several minutes, then carried out a carpet bombing of the entire square. Then, most of the Black Wings were crushed by the Qipao Woman in one move. She also fought a protracted battle with this troublesome pink-haired woman in the air. Finally, she spent a lot of willpower to mobilize the trump cards stored in the space orbit, even the Black Crystal.

The consumption was too great; even the Black Crystal was now at its limit. If that Qipao Woman were to launch that attack again, she would surely die.

Besides, although the process was far from satisfactory, the goal of assassinating Yekaterina had ultimately been achieved, and there was no need to waste any more time here. As for this monster? Let whoever wants to deal with it deal with it; it would be best if it could help me kill a few more members of the General Council.

Having made up her mind, Black Crystal flapped her wings and flew away.

"--Um!?"

A bone-chilling cold crept up her spine.

The feeling was like being surrounded by a swarm of sharks in the dark, Deep Sea.

The moment I thought I was being watched,

A gust of foul wind swept over her, and a terrifying Killing Intent enveloped her, making it impossible for her to look directly at it, impossible to resist, and leaving her no time to react.

A monster has appeared.

He was standing still on the ground less than a second ago.

"▇▇▇▇▇▇▇Kill▇▇▇▇!!!!!!"

Amidst the ambiguous screams, only the word "kill" stood out clearly.

"Whispering sound----!!"

Squeezing out its remaining power, the Black Wings grew several meters long, and black feathers rained down on the monster, striking its body covered in scarlet runes.

"▇▇▇▇▇Weak▇▇▇▇▇▇▇!!!!"

The sonic boom from a single roar sent all the feathers flying, and a demonic arm, several times larger than before, swung down with overwhelming force! Black Crystal reacted swiftly, immediately enveloping her entire body in Black Wings—

Boom!!!!

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

"Ugh... Ugh!!!"

For the first time, Black Crystal let out a painful scream.

That punch struck her lower body, tearing apart the strongest Black Wings barrier. It hit her long legs squarely, shattering them in the next instant. Her left leg was completely crushed from toe to thigh, and her right leg was reduced to a bloody mess below the knee!

What's puzzling is that while her right leg did indeed turn into minced meat, her left leg exploded not with blood or flesh, but with cold metal and a dense array of wires...

"Roar!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The monster didn't pause for a moment, unleashing another punch! Black Crystal, being the Leader of the Black Ravens, possessed extremely strong mental fortitude; even with her legs crippled, she immediately regained her composure. With a flap of her Black Wings, perhaps because she was lighter without legs, she successfully dodged the fatal punch by a hair's breadth, disengaging from the battle at top speed.

"Lord Black Crystal! Over here!"

A clear shout rang out, and a wisp of light blue mist condensed in the air, forming a girl with long, light blue hair. Without hesitation, Black Crystal flew towards the girl at top speed, with the monster following closely behind.

"Blue Gale!"

A large plume of pale blue mist struck the monster's beam, causing no damage but successfully blinding it. Taking advantage of this moment, the Black Crystal accelerated to its maximum speed and disappeared into the horizon, while the Gold Silver Grass also dissipated into mist.

The monster, having lost its target, roared in anger.

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Griffin flew over the buildings, Xiao Xingzhong grew extremely anxious, constantly urging his mount onward.

Why would Ye...?

When Ye and Xiao Wu out to buy things, Xiao, worried about them, summoned a small creature, like a bird, to follow them and patrol around their area. Just now, she saw many incredible things through the eyes of her summoned creature.

Encountering Black Raven Leader or something similar, engaging in a great battle, with the sky filled with black feathers, or orbital weapons.

Then there's what just happened --

"Ye... what exactly happened?!"

Her usual beauty and affability have vanished, and even her body has been completely mutated, transforming into that horrifying form... It's hard to believe, but it's the truth!

Panicked, she immediately told the children to stay in the club and not go anywhere, and then she left right away.

"Um, Mom..."

With a soft voice, Little Butterfly gently pulled Xiao back as she was about to leave.

"... What's wrong?"

Why did you suddenly go out?

"Ah... well, something urgent has come up..."

"Has something happened to Mother?"

"... No, actually she and Haoyue bought too much stuff, and I just went to help carry it."

"Liar."

A resolute gaze emanated from his deep blue eyes.

"..." "..."

"Um, Little Butterfly."

"... Um?"

"I really like your mother, you could say she's my favorite person, so believe me—"

Xiao bent down, gently pinched Little Butterfly's soft, bouncy cheeks, and kissed her smooth forehead.

"--We will definitely bring Ye back unharmed!"

Little Butterfly stared at her blankly for a long time before finally smiling again.

"Yes, it's a promise, Mom!"

And now--

"It's getting closer... Even if it's just for Little Butterfly's sake, I must make sure Ye is safe!"

Xiao also has the ability to "teleport between books," but the prerequisite is that both the beginning and the end books must be her own. Because of this limitation, she cannot directly reach places she has never been before unless someone takes her books there. This is why she usually uses the beasts in her books to travel.

Then, whether it was good fortune or misfortune...

"... Huh? What's that?"

A dark shadow and a wisp of light blue mist approached at an extremely fast speed, then landed on the ground not far from Li Xiao with a soft thud.

Xiao immediately ordered the Griffin to land on the roof and then return it to the book—Xiao didn't know why she did this, but she could sense that the black and blue combination was definitely not something to be provoked or ignored!

"Lord Black Crystal, your injuries..."

"Don't say anything, just help me stop the bleeding."

"OK!"

Xiao quietly hid behind the chimney and water tank, looking down.

A woman wearing a mask and with black wings lay half-reclined on the ground, her legs shattered, a truly horrifying sight. However, only one leg was covered in blood; the other leg revealed only cold metal fragments.

The other person was a girl with light blue hair, who was helping the masked woman stop the bleeding.

"Are there any spare left leg prostheses?"

"Not now... We must get back to headquarters as soon as possible."

"Just as I thought..."

Xiao covered her mouth, desperately trying not to scream.

It's Black Crystal!

As the Leader of the Black Crows, Black Crystal's peculiar appearance has reached the level of urban legend. Although few people have seen her in person, her image of wearing black clothes and a mask is already widely known.

Why is the Leader of the Black Crows here? And how did she get her injuries?

"... Um?"

Whoosh! Black Crystal suddenly looked in Xiao's direction. Startled, Xiao immediately shrank back, desperately holding her breath to avoid being discovered...

"What's wrong, Lord Black Crystal?"

"... nothing."

Having said that, the Black Crystal, whose bleeding had stopped, spread its wings and flew into the sky. The blue-haired girl immediately turned into mist and followed, the two of them disappearing into the distance one after the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This chapter may not be well proofread.