Return from the Other Shore: Crisis

Dear [previous text]

Perhaps my dearest

For so many years, I have been watching you.

Perhaps it was because there was no other choice, or perhaps it was for some other reason.

There was a time when I also harbored unrealistic fantasies.

There was a time when I, too, was led astray by the flames of hatred.

And now, I'm rekindling those feelings from the distant past.

The power or opportunity to choose has been gone for a very long time.

I'm here, my dearest.

Your life

I will take it from you.

"Ugh... Ah..."

In shelters, beneath city walls, in buildings, in villages and fields—in every human settlement West Saint Continent —a faint, mosquito-like whimper occasionally rises, only to be swallowed by painful groans.

People, people, people—countless people lay together like dead fish, all with deathly pale skin and faces as white as paper. Some had their eyes closed, some had their eyes rolled back, some were foaming at the mouth, some were convulsing, and occasionally let out incoherent groans. The most severely affected were completely still and silent.

Every now and then, people—mainly the elderly and young children—would suddenly tremble violently, then collapse completely, their skin turning ashen and utterly lifeless. Death had begun, though not yet on a large scale, but those with weaker constitutions were not far from death. Nearly a thousand people died every second, and death was closing in on more. The limit—the truly large-scale death—was only three minutes away.

The two women, currently battling the monster, had long since forgotten about the two reckless men who held the key to saving the world.

"Liberation mantra: 'Light, gather in my hand'— the Myriad Wheel Heavenly Light World-Piercing Holy Spear!"

A beam of light compressed into a thin needle appeared in the monster's hand, distorting the surrounding space due to the overwhelming energy. The moment it was fired, the needle exploded into a giant Light Gun, shooting straight at the demon speeding across the ground!

"Although it's very strong, this kind of linear attack—what!?"

Just as Xiao Wu slid to the side and deviated from the Light Gun's path, the Light Gun suddenly exploded into tens of thousands of fine needles, raining down densely overhead, each one wrapped with holy light powerful enough to turn flesh into dust!

Xiao Wu was forced to slow down, narrowly dodging the first wave of needle rain—she wouldn't rashly try to withstand such an attack with her bare body! But the subsequent needle rain became even finer, with no place to stand between the gaps!

"Cut--"

Xiao Wu gritted her teeth, and the Demonic Power completely permeated every bone in her body, causing a series of chilling explosions to erupt from within her.

"Supple Body!"

Her upper body suddenly bent into an impossible arc, almost twisting a full circle, completely exceeding the limits of the human body, and the light needles that were bound to hit her chest and abdomen missed! There was another series of explosions, the sound of Xiao Wu's spine constantly shattering and regenerating. By using this violent method to soften her body to the limit, she dodged the attacks with various extremely contorted movements. Even when facing such a rain of light, she was able to move at high speed without losing speed!

"Change the attack strategy, release the 'Thorns, purify your soul' --"

"Make it behave, Qipao Woman!"

"No need for you to say it— Star Moon Torrent!!!"

The long-awaited moon descended from the sky, bringing with it a torrent of light—a fusion of starlight and moonlight! The surging energy pounded the atmosphere, and the monster's wings unfurled, all its eyes simultaneously firing rays to counter it! The violent impact unleashed a powerful shockwave, leveling even the ruins on the ground. The moon, also blown away, used a shield of light to protect its body and lock onto the monster—

"Moonlight Steps + Moon Mist Silver Veil - Illusionary Moon!"

Her body completely transformed into a hazy silver light and vanished, conjuring up beautiful phantoms. At the same time, countless veil-like light curtains enveloped the monster, and a series of illusions appeared between the light curtains: a dazzling starry sky, a silvery-white earth, and faintly, the scenery on the surface of the silver moon!

"Chirp chirp? Glug chirp chirp?"

The monster, which was frantically unleashing its power on Xiao Wu, suddenly stopped. It looked around in confusion at the suddenly surreal environment, its eyes on its face and wings darting about erratically, and the cold mechanical sounds were reduced to creaking noises.

Really!

Having completed their previous mission, Haoyue and Xiao Wu have identified the monster's weakness.

Although it possesses incredible physical strength, bug-like attack power, and lightning-fast speed, its weaknesses lie in its ability to perceive its surroundings and adapt flexibly. Before launching a large-scale attack, it seems to calculate everything, including its surroundings. If an unexpected situation arises that contradicts its expectations, or if it falls victim to a very powerful illusion, it will enter a brief state of stagnation to reprocess the unexpected information.

Although this pause was very brief, it was a tremendous opportunity for Haoyue and Xiao Wu!

The bright moon successfully disrupted it. Taking this opening as a starting point, we must relentlessly attack it until it dies! We cannot allow it any chance to breathe!

"Hidden Hundred Styles - Demon Feather Blazing Break!!!"

The powerful hands slammed into the monster's chest, and the compressed purple lightning, like folded crane wings, struck the monster's body, causing a series of violent explosions and leaving scorch marks on its chest—but that was all; it didn't cause any real damage! Xiao Wu gasped in shock; her completely demonized hands were actually broken by the recoil force. The monster's torso was far more resilient than she had imagined!

But we can't stop!

"Moon Fire Fall + Moonstorm + Moon Wheel Spear..."

With a sway of the cheongsam's hem, the bright moon emerged from the silver gauze curtain. The Gold Silver Orange runes were not simply combined together, but were simultaneously attached to the Snow Moon. The dazzling light enveloped the Snow Moon, transforming it into a huge halberd of light with three colors!

"You delinquent girl, make it face me!!"

"I know— the Thunderous Body!!!"

All the purple lightning surged into her body, activating every muscle, nerve, and cell in Xiao Wu's body. Ferocious purple lightning spread throughout her entire being! In this state, her speed and strength would experience an explosive boost! A flash of lightning, and an unstoppable punch exploded on the monster's chin—but even in this state, the blow only caused the monster to tilt its head back slightly! Xiao Wu gritted her teeth, enduring the excruciating pain of the almost uncontrollable power surging within her body. In a short instant, she unleashed no less than a hundred punches, finally delivering a final kick to the stiffened monster's cheek, forcing it to face the bright moon!

"Blazing Light Moon Halberd!!!"

With a low roar, Haoyue hurled the light halberd with all her might! At the same time, the runes that amplified her power—Golden Moon, the Moon Emperor— attached to her body burst forth with golden light, all of which flowed into the light halberd, transforming into a violent propulsive force that propelled it forward!

Boom!!!!!

Then—right in the chest!

"Gurgle--Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle!!!"

"Correction, Unexpected - Special Response -"

The monster's screams and mechanical sounds blended together, and the light halberd was thrust directly into the monster's chest, its tip clashing violently against the monster's incredibly tough skin! The golden moonlight behind the halberd propelled it forward, and a crackling noise echoed through the sky, but this was still not enough to break through its hardness!

A flash of lightning, and Xiao Wu, still in her Thunderous Body form, teleported to the monster's chest, her clenched right fist aimed at the back of the light halberd, and she gently closed her eyes—

"Soul Chisel!"

At that moment, all the purple lightning around Xiao Wu's body disappeared.

The single horn that symbolized his demonic transformation, located on his brow bone, was also retracted.

It's like being deactivated from combat.

Utter stillness.

What follows is inevitably extreme ferocity.

Soul Pendant - A prerequisite for the Extreme Night Style Technique.

Open your eyes! Strike with force! Throw a punch!

"Extreme Night Style Three Forms - Immovable!"

As its name suggests.

From a third-person perspective, Xiao Wu's taut right fist didn't move at all, and didn't even make a sound.

It can even create the illusion that Stop Time around the fist.

However, the clouds that were directly cut off in the sky and the boundary markers that were suddenly shattered on the ground indicate that this was not a static event, but rather an eruption that was too powerful and too rapid!

The light halberd, which had been blocked by the monster's skin, gained tremendous propulsion in an instant. The rear half of it shattered, and the tip finally broke through the skin's defenses and pierced into the interior! Having suffered such an injury for the first time, the monster reacted extremely violently. It roared and retreated, flailing its arms wildly, and turbid, luminous blue liquid spilled from the crack!

"Well done! Once we get past this first hurdle, the rest will be easy— Eclipse Devour!!!"

The black runes of Haoyue followed the light halberd directly into the monster's body, spreading like ink and beginning a frenzied erosion!

Efficient!

Although the monster has extremely strong defenses, its internal organs are quite vulnerable! This may be because it wasn't fully evolved when it first appeared!

"Again! Extreme Night Style, Part 1--"

"Goo-giggle-giggle-giggle-giggle-giggle-giggle-giggle-giggle!!!!!!"

Overjoyed, the two were about to give chase when the monster suddenly unleashed a blinding beam of light from its entire body. The surging energy blasted them both away! The monster, now directly in the center of the light, began to tremble violently, its limbs convulsing, the eyes on its wings opening and closing intermittently. Only the cold, electronic voice remained unchanged—

"Improvements, complete -- reaction speed and defense capabilities have been enhanced based on new data--"

The two of them didn't react for a moment.

Improvements complete?

Improved reaction speed and defense?

"The liberating words, 'Life, return to the body' -- the Netherworld Spider Silk!"

The light that had been emitted suddenly stopped, then receded and rushed back into the monster's body! The scene, reminiscent of water flowing into a drain, lasted for only a few seconds, and the monster was reborn!

Super Divine Spell No. 5: Netherworld Spider Silk.

The most powerful healing divine spell.

The halberd piercing his chest shattered, transforming back into a longsword and returning to Haoyue's hand. The wound healed, and the darkness that had been spreading and corroding within his body was completely eradicated. Even the parts of his body that hadn't fully evolved before had completed their evolution!

Xiao Wu and Kogetsu were dumbfounded.

"When will this guy ever stop?!"

"That's a foul... Ah!"

Xiao Wu suddenly paused, startled.

"Qipao Woman! If we're counting in ten minutes, how long until there are mass civilian deaths?"

"Uh, no more than two minutes... no, probably only about a minute and a half."

"Damn! This is really troublesome—hmm?"

"!?"

The conversation between the two came to an abrupt end.

The monster attacked.

It appeared between the two of them in less than a "moment".

On that lotus-shaped face, the large, crooked mouth, positioned in the center of countless eyes, seemed to be revealing a ferocious smile.

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Hmm... After thinking about it carefully, I'll stick to the third update tomorrow, since it's the first day of the Lunar New Year.