"Waaah!"
With a scream, a flaming figure spiraled through the air and slammed headfirst into a pile of trash by the roadside.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Jayce climbed out of the trash heap, a filthy garbage bag still perched on his head. But compared to that minor inconvenience, he was far more grateful for the choice he'd made earlier. When a furious giant wolf and someone else started brawling, he'd promptly activated his pride and joy, the Jetpack, and made a hasty exit. It had sputtered out after a few seconds, but all things considered, it had worked out pretty well.
"Senior Jayce! Come help!"
Orianna's anxious voice came from nearby. She and the Bertha Sisters were clearing away the collapsed shack to get Viktor out, but it was obvious they could only move the smaller debris. Jayce didn't hesitate. He strode over, electricity crackling around his gauntlet, and with a boom, smashed a huge section of wall out of the way.
"Hey! You still alive?"
"Thanks for asking."
Viktor's muffled voice came from beneath the helmet of his Power Armor.
"The Energy Array is offline. I'm in a several-ton iron coffin, and I can't move."
"Damn it, I told you that thing was still a long way from being practical. You just had to take it out and use it in a fight. And now look what happened."
Jayce grumbled as he climbed into the rubble and inspected the back of Viktor's armor. Then he said,
"That so-called Automation Program of yours doesn't seem to have crashed yet. I can see the Auxiliary Manipulator repairing the Energy Array."
"Ah, well, that's good news."
Viktor's spirits lifted a little.
"How are the girls, by the way? I need to go... Oh, damn, I feel like my bones are all broken."
"You'd better stay put."
Jayce teased him with a laugh.
"Even with the armor's shock absorbers, you couldn't take a fall like that. As for the danger..."
Jayce was about to say something when a Purple Figure shot overhead with a whoosh, smashing through several thin metal walls in a row.
"Hahahahaha! That was awesome!"
Laughing, Ling Ying stepped out of the rubble. She looked like a complete mess. Her tight-fitting clothes had been torn to shreds in the fierce battle, revealing streaks of bloody wounds beneath. Though they looked terrible, they were healing at a visible rate. Soon, they had faded to barely noticeable marks on her fair skin. By contrast, the terrifying Purple Rifts stood out more and more, nearly covering every patch of exposed skin. In that moment, the fond impression Jayce and the others had once had of Ling Ying vanished without a trace. In its place stood a frenzied, humanoid beast.
"Come on, then!"
Ling Ying roared. She crouched on the foundation of a derelict building and drove her legs hard against the ground. The inhuman force she unleashed sent her flying at such speed that only a blur remained where she'd been. Like a cannonball, she slammed into the silver-gray giant wolf and grappled with it once again. She seemed every bit its equal.
"Is this one of a girl's secrets, too?"
Jayce looked at Orianna in astonishment. As the two girls spent every day together, he figured Orianna must know something. But Orianna was just as surprised as Jayce, with concern mingled in her gaze. She had no idea why the usually thoughtful and gentle Ling Ying had turned into this.
Compared to them, Ling Ying had no time for such thoughts. With her bloodlust unleashed, she reveled in the sheer ecstasy of a battle filled with punches that landed flesh-to-flesh and blades that drew blood. She had even tossed aside her usual Doran's Blade, instead using every part of her body to attack and fight. Unlike her usual self, who was always careful with her Void Power for fear of its backlash, now she unleashed her strength without restraint. So even though her human body wasn't suited to such a primitive fighting style, she still managed to go toe-to-toe with Warwick.
"Ha! Idiot!"
Ling Ying scoffed and bent nimbly at the waist, twisting aside to dodge Warwick's bite. Taking advantage of his exposed lower body, she clenched her hands, now transformed into Scale Claws, and struck forward with all her strength. The seemingly soft punch held boundless force. With a loud bang, her blow to Warwick's side made his massive body curl up in midair. A mouthful of blood in several different colors sprayed from his jaws. It looked like the blow had caused internal injuries. But Ling Ying's attack didn't end there. She grabbed Warwick, who was much larger than her, as if he were a little chick. Then she thrust out her razor-sharp Scale Claws and clamped them around his jaw.
"Crack!"
A series of bone-chilling cracks rang out as Ling Ying tore off Warwick's entire lower jaw. His shrill howls sounded strange with his mouth hanging open. Ling Ying let the strangely colored blood stain her face and laughed maniacally, like a bloodthirsty fiend.
"...That's it?"
Ling Ying grabbed Warwick by the fur around his neck with one hand, then hurled him away like a discus. Badly wounded, Warwick was no longer the "lively" beast he'd been moments earlier. He landed in the trash heap like a starving, beaten dog. Ling Ying dusted off her hands and looked toward the stunned Orianna, Jayce, and the others. The ring of sharp teeth beside her slit pupils rotated, and the sight made them all shudder.
"Now it's time to clean up the other pile of trash."
Ling Ying walked toward them with a faint, mocking smile. Blood of different colors ran down her Scale Claws and dripped onto the ground, pooling in a small puddle.
"I can't believe it. I thought she'd be too busy dealing with me to even catch her breath. I never imagined she'd have time to play house with the likes of you. Honestly, I'm disappointed."
Ling Ying looked at Orianna, a strange curve suddenly lifting the corner of her mouth. Almost at the same moment, her figure flickered like a ghost and appeared right in front of Orianna. By the time Orianna came back to her senses, all she could see was a bloodstained Demon Claw.
"Watch out!!"
Jayce shouted from behind them, arcs of electricity leaping across his steel gauntlet. He wanted to help, but there was no way he could move as fast as Ling Ying. Just as her claws were about to slash across Orianna's snowy-white neck, Ling Ying suddenly spun around and snatched at the air. A slender Alloy Arrow Shaft was clamped tightly between her fingers. The next instant, there was a drip, and the Blunt Arrowhead burst apart. Dark Green Gas billowed from it, instantly filling the alley.
"Huh?"
Ling Ying dashed out of the alley. Her cold eyes turned toward a building looming at the far end of the street. A blurry figure flashed across the rooftop, moving so fast it looked like a hazy illusion. But Ling Ying wasn't so easily fooled. A Void Fireball the size of a washbasin gathered in her palm, then shot toward the figure with a roar. A moment later, the entire building at the end of the street had vanished in a violent explosion.
Ling Ying narrowed her eyes slightly. An ordinary person could never have escaped an explosion like that. But she clearly didn't think whoever had dared attack her was ordinary.
"Whoosh!"
With a barely audible whistle, a figure dressed in black leather like a dark vigilante swung out of the flames, one hand gripping a steel cable. His broad, single-shouldered cape billowed behind him. In his other hand, he carried a Mechanical Longbow nearly as tall as he was, an impressive sight.
"Think you can get away?"
Ling Ying sneered as another Void Fireball appeared in her palm. The archer had escaped the first attack, but she thought he was nothing more than a target while airborne, unable to fight back or dodge. But trouble always seemed to come in quick succession. Just as Ling Ying was about to release her fireball, four figures suddenly leaped high from the shadows between the buildings, hurtling toward her with blinding Cold Light.
"Pathetic."
Ling Ying gave a disdainful click of her tongue. She stood her ground without the slightest intention of dodging. As the four drew close, she suddenly spun and lashed out with a plain, powerful kick, sending three of them flying. The last one, she slipped slightly to the side to avoid, then plunged her Scale Claws into his heart.
"Splurch!"
Her claws sank cleanly into his chest. Yet Ling Ying sensed something was wrong. The man's body seemed far tougher than an ordinary human's. And though she'd clearly struck his heart, no blood spurted out. Instead, a strange pink liquid trickled over her claws. Just as Ling Ying realized what was happening, a pair of hands suddenly emerged from beneath the man's clothes and clamped around her wrist. No—those things could hardly be called hands anymore. His forearms were as thick as thighs, covered in raised, revolting flesh sacs and pustules. Through their thin skin, she could clearly see the pink liquid writhing inside.
"?"
"Boom!"
Before Ling Ying could react, a violent explosion engulfed her. Before its echo had even faded from the street, three figures burst through the smoke. Three more explosions followed. When the clouds of dust finally cleared, the four figures had vanished, along with every wall and piece of debris within a dozen meters. Ling Ying stood alone in a crater several meters wide, her clothes in tatters and her body looking thoroughly battered.
"Cowardly sewer rats."
Ling Ying gritted her teeth and looked toward where the archer had been. The spot was empty. He'd used that moment to disappear from her sight. Still, she could sense that his presence lingered somewhere in the street. He clearly hadn't gone far.
"You'll pay for this, you rat!"
"Before that, get the hell out of my body!"
"?"
Before you continue