The Way to Unlock It Is a Little Off... (Bonus Chapter)

You're cheating!!!

Or... did she hear what we just said!?

The mysterious Demons's mask concealed a deep shock.

But seeing the angry look in Chen Xiaoxia's eyes as she stared at them, the mysterious Demons knew that Chen Xiaoxia didn't know the truth; she had simply woken up from a dream.

Since that's the case... then there's no need to hesitate, let's just start the second phase of the performance.

"Tsk, she woke up even faster than Magical Girls in her Shining Form... What a nuisance."

The mysterious Demons instantly got into character, muttering something with obvious annoyance before engaging Chen Xiaoxia in battle.

The world in dreams is an illusion.

As soon as Chen Xiaoxia entered the dream and realized that she had activated her Shining Form, she immediately determined that this was a fake dream.

The reason is quite simple.

She had imagined what it would be like to activate her Shining Form, but it would definitely not be like this, so ordinary and uneventful, as if she had simply activated her Shining Form without any ripples.

The Xiao Bai that that despicable Xiaobai would bow his head and admit defeat to her is absolutely impossible!

Chen Xiaoxia in the Sky Screen was deceived because she didn't know she would activate her Shining Form, nor did she know what she would become in the future.

Fearing abandonment by her companions, she naturally becomes captivated by everything in her dreams and sinks into them.

But the real Chen Xiaoxia is different!

She knew she would awaken her Shining Form, knew she would continue to fight alongside Xiao Qiu, and knew she would become stronger and stronger in the future!

This self-confidence gave Chen Xiaoxia the courage to shatter everything.

It's better to give up on false dreams. In reality, Chen Xiaoxia should focus more on reality and care more about the people around her.

She hadn't forgotten that Xiao Qiu and the others were still in danger, so how could she be in the mood to play house with the illusory beings in her dreams?

Therefore, what took several hours in the dream was only a few minutes in reality before Chen Xiaoxia immediately woke up, shattered the dream, and faced the enemy she needed to deal with.

But...

Her clarity of mind wasn't entirely useless, but it wasn't very helpful either.

The gap in strength cannot be bridged by a single, temporary burst of power. Even after waking up from the dream and failing to activate her Shining Form, she was no match for the mysterious Demons.

So, naturally, she was sent flying by a single punch from the mysterious Demons.

There were no fancy moves, just a simple punch that landed on her, and then... Chen Xiaoxia was sent flying again, incapacitated.

"Wouldn't it be better to just enjoy the dream? Why do you have to wake up? You haven't even activated your Shining Form yet, and you still dare to dream of defeating us? What wishful thinking!"

A new companion appeared beside the mysterious Demons: a Demons resembling green vines, holding the unconscious Xiao Bai, and speaking arrogantly to Chen Xiaoxia.

Looking at the Xiao Bai in the arms of the Vine Demon, Chen Xiaoxia felt no relief at the loss of her 'nemesis'; instead, she felt only anger and sorrow.

But as the mysterious Demons said...

Without activating her Shining Form, she can't do anything.

Even powerful Xiao Qiu like Xiao Bai and Shining Form Aki have fallen to this state; what can an ordinary Magical Girls like her do?

"Come on, Chen Xiaoxia." The mysterious Demons stood in front of Chen Xiaoxia again, black magic particles condensing into a slender short sword, aimed straight at Chen Xiaoxia's brow.

"Whether you perish here or sink into the dream world, the choice is yours."

The mysterious Demons said coldly.

Chapter 128 started a little strangely... (Bonus Chapter)

"You beat my comrades up like this... and now you want me to surrender!?"

Hearing the mysterious Demons's words, Chen Xiaoxia was unusually angry. She raised her head and roared at the mysterious Demons:

"Wishful thinking!! Today... either you kill me, or--"

Chen Xiaoxia gripped the greatsword once more, and with a sudden swing, she attacked the mysterious Demons again.

"--I'll beat you to death!!!"

Chen Xiaoxia, who is always fearless in battle, still displayed the same courage and bravery as usual, showing no fear of powerful enemies.

Unfortunately, bravery alone is not enough.

She hasn't reached the limit of activating her Shining Form yet.

"Commendable courage," the mysterious Demons murmured, slightly shifting her body to the side, dodging the greatsword and sending it crashing into the ground.

"!"

"But unfortunately, with only reckless courage, you can't accomplish anything."

The mysterious Demons, turning his body to the side, lashed out with his right hand like a whip, striking Chen Xiaoxia's chest and abdomen with swift and fierce force!

Bang!!

This blow was so powerful that it almost shattered Chen Xiaoxia's armor on her chest and abdomen!

In excruciating pain, Chen Xiaoxia bent over, but before she could bend over completely, she received a solid punch to the cheek from the mysterious Demons!

Her body spun and flew out, landing beside 'Xiao Qiu' not far away.

Struggling to her feet, Chen Xiaoxia turned to look at Xiao Qiu, who was still unconscious, gritted her teeth, and gripped her Magical Armament tightly once more.

Protecting Xiao Qiu is something she has always been doing.

Although Xiao Qiu activated her Shining Form, putting her far ahead of Chen Xiaoxia, Chen Xiaoxia in reality still did not give up this 'responsibility'.

That's right, she was protecting Xiao Qiu, her 'little sister,' from beginning to end.

It was true then, it is true now, and it will be true in the future!

Therefore, at this moment, Chen Xiaoxia will absolutely not back down, much less admit defeat!

Even if it costs her own life, she will stay here to protect Xiao Qiu!

"It doesn't hurt at all!! Again!!!!"

Chen Xiaoxia charged at the mysterious Demons again, and with the surge of magic power, Chen Xiaoxia strength seemed to have increased once more.

But that's still not enough.

With this level of skill, they are simply no match for the mysterious Demons!

"I've already said it, reckless courage rarely leads to success!"

The mysterious Demons didn't move an inch; he simply stood there, casually raising and swinging his hand.

Chen Xiaoxia was sent flying like a sandbag, then transformed into a blue stream of light and returned.

This process repeats itself again and again.

Clearly, Chen Xiaoxia is stronger and more confident than she was on the Sky Screen, and is certain that she can activate her Shining Form.

But at this moment, she showed no sign of activating her Shining Form.

I have a feeling that something went wrong somewhere, or that something is different from what's shown on the Sky Screen.

The mysterious Demons, Xiao Bai, had a deep frown beneath her mask; she didn't know where things had gone wrong.

Seeing that Chen Xiaoxia's injuries were increasing, Xiao Bai, feeling somewhat sorry for her, sighed and decided to give up.

Continuing like this will only make Chen Xiaoxia's injuries worse. Since the other party is currently unable to activate the Shining Form, let's put the plan on hold for now and reconsider.

If this continues, the so-called training will just become Chen Xiaoxia getting beaten up unilaterally, which is completely meaningless.

However, just as Xiao Bai was about to give up, he suddenly saw Chen Xiaoxia's expression change, and she looked sharply at Xiao Qiu who had fallen to the ground.

There, the Pink Slime that was originally standing next to Xiao Bai was now poking Xiao Qiu's cheek with its sticky pink soft glue.

It was this scene that made Chen Xiaoxia's pupils shrink slightly. She abandoned her attempt to continue fighting the mysterious Demons and instead raised her sword to slash at the Pink Slime.

"Damn Demons! Get your filthy hands off Xiao Qiu!!!"

"Ooh-ee!"

The Pink Slime was startled by Chen Xiaoxia and instinctively hugged the motionless 'Xiao Qiu' on the ground before turning and running away.

It wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't run away; seeing this, Chen Xiaoxia became even more furious and started chasing the Pink Slime in circles within the barrier.

"Don't run!! Put Xiao Qiu down right now!! You damned Demons!!!"

Pink and blue lights chased each other within the barrier.

The mysterious Demons and the Vine Demon beside him looked at the farce unfolding before them, neither of them moving, and finally they both sighed.

Mysterious Demons:

"... It seems that won't work. Something might have gone wrong this time, Xiaoxia probably won't be able to activate her Shining Form at this time."

"Could it be because he's too confident?"

"I don't know, but if it's just overconfidence... then one day, even without this method, Xiaoxia should be able to activate her Shining Form on her own, right?"

"I hope so..."

The Vine Demon nodded in agreement.

However, before the Vine Demon Xiao Chun could finish speaking, Chen Xiaoxia in the distance unleashed a roar that nearly shattered the barrier:

"... I already said! Put my friend... down!!!"

Boom!!!

Chen Xiaoxia, who had previously been beaten up by Xiao Bai but failed to activate her Shining Form, suddenly activated Shining Form for some unknown reason at this moment.

Blue magic surged into the sky, just as it appeared in the Sky Screen, and Chen Xiaoxia's body was covered by brand-new armor.

Chen Xiaoxia, in her Shining Form, appeared before everyone in a way that no one had expected.

Xiao Bai:"?"

Xiao Chun: "?"

Almost simultaneously, question marks appeared on their faces, their eyes widening behind their masks.

It's not that Chen Xiaoxia her Shining Form is bad, but the way she did it... is still a bit outrageous.

However, now is not the time to discuss whether it's outrageous or not.

The most urgent task now is to stop Xiaoxia, because Chen Xiaoxia, who has activated her Shining Form and achieved a leap in combat power, is currently suppressing Yu Muqiu, who has not yet activated his Shining Form.

The pink rubber used to disguise themselves as Demons was smashed to pieces by Chen Xiaoxia!

Facing his friend, Yu Muqiu certainly wouldn't retaliate.

Moreover, since Chen Xiaoxia became so angry because of her, Xiao Qiu was even less likely to retaliate.

To be honest, Xiao Qiu and Xiao Chun were initially just Demons only knew how to observe. They would never have been violent towards Chen Xiaoxia.

The real 'villain' is Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai took the initiative to force Chen Xiaoxia to do the work.

After all, only Xiao Bai would be ruthless when hitting someone, and he didn't care whether confessing everything to Chen Xiaoxia damage their relationship.

Because their relationship wasn't very good to begin with.

So now--

"Damn Demons!!!" Taking advantage of an opening, Chen Xiaoxia grabbed Yu Muqiu, who was trying to escape. Her face contorted with rage, like a furious Vajra, Chen Xiaoxia glared at Yu Muqiu with eyes blazing with fire.

"Give me back my... friend!!!"

"Xiaoxia, calm down! Calm down! It's me, Xiao Qiu!!"

The Pink Slime could no longer keep up the act. She hastily peeled off all the pink, magically formed gel from her face, revealing her true form.

Upon seeing Xiao Qiu's face, Chen Xiaoxia froze, but in the next instant, Chen Xiaoxia became angry again.

"That despicable Demons! How dare he deceive me by impersonating my friend!!"

"!?" Yu Muqiu was startled. Seeing that Chen Xiaoxia really didn't recognize him, he quickly explained:

"It really is me! Those are Xiao Bai and Xiao Chun over there! Xiaoxia, wake up!"

"I don't believe it! My friends would never do something so deceiving! You are all Demons in disguise! Die!!!"

As Chen Xiaoxia spoke, she swung her greatsword down at Yu Muqiu with her right hand.