Praying for Wind

Xia Liang didn't know what effect the smoke the other party was using this time, and of course, she didn't want to find out by "experiencing it firsthand."

So she continued to activate her ability to Diversion, and the mirrors seemed to transform into exhaust fans, continuously absorbing the smoke created by the Butterfly Bush and then transmitting it to other places.

However, doing so will inevitably fail to address all aspects.

Not only because the smoke sent to the other party doesn't actually reduce its presence, but also because gaps still exist between the mirrors that Diversion, making it impossible to completely stop the smoke from spreading. To this end, Xia Liang even set up Magic Barrier behind the Magic Armament, a technique she had only recently become proficient in. However, even the Magic Barrier didn't seem to be able to completely stop the smoke from seeping in.

Should we use overwhelming magic and brute force, like we would with Calla Lily?

Such a thought arose in Xia Liang's mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

Putting aside the fact that this method consumes too much magic power and is not "worth it" at all, even if it could be broken once, as long as the magic power consumed by the opponent using this ability is lower than that of oneself, the same trick could be used again.

Rather than trying to break through head-on, it seems better to find a way to escape this place.

Just as Xia Liang was pondering this, another voice suddenly came from beside her ear.

"I'll help!"

It's Tiger Lily.

She and Mountain Lily had already returned to Xia Liang's side, and she had somehow taken out the folding fan that she always carried with her.

She wasn't the only one with this folding fan; Mountain Lily also had one. They had shown it to Xia Liang several times before, but because it looked quite plain, Xia Liang had always thought it was just a personal accessory.

But when the two sisters activated their magic together, and the folding fan was covered with a layer of crimson magical patterns that resembled blooming flower petals, she realized that this folding fan was actually their Magic Armament.

As twins, these two magical girls not only have identical Magic Armament in appearance, but even the magical energy fluctuations when they use their abilities are incredibly similar.

They looked at each other, nodded, took a step forward, and with a "snap," opened their folding fans in unison, waving their arms and swaying their bodies.

Whether it was the movement of waving fans or the rhythm of their bodies, everything seemed to contain some kind of wondrous pattern, possessing a mysterious beauty. They closed their eyes at the same time, circling around Xia Liang, dancing slowly as if performing some ancient ritual.

If we were to use a specific action as a comparison, then as recorded in the book, people in the Material Realm in ancient times would offer sacrifices to the supreme king, praying to heaven and earth in order to receive protection and blessings. And sometimes, these prayers and sacrifices would have a more specific purpose: such as wanting to change the celestial phenomena.

I pray for favorable weather, for clear skies, for Thunderclap to cease its fury, and for rainbows to bring good fortune...

At this moment, the dance of the Mountain Lily and the Tiger Lily is a "seeking of wind".

The magic swirled in the air along with the breeze from the fan, and this swirling magic expanded incredibly rapidly, instantly creating a turbulent current.

Realizing what the two were planning, Xia Liang chose to trust her teammates and, at the same moment, dispersed the surrounding mirrors and released the obstruction from Diversion.

Then, a strong wind suddenly arose.

The gust of wind nearly blew Xia Liang away, but fortunately she was prepared and managed to stabilize herself with magic. However, the smoke in the passageways no longer had that ability. The wind simply blew the previously pervasive smoke away to who-knows-where.

The Butterfly Bush looked surprised, unaware that it had already approached to within five steps of Xia Liang.

Behind her, her two teammates who hadn't spoken to her were lying on the ground, their eyes still open, but their bodies completely still. If the maze hadn't failed to teleport them out, Xia Liang would probably have thought they were dead.

But this was already frightening enough, meaning that Butterfly Bush was really going all out – by using this indiscriminate smoke, she naturally wanted to turn Xia Liang and the others into the same state as those two teammates.

"That's really surprising."

After a brief moment of surprise, Butterfly Bush smiled with excitement once more, "I didn't expect that just by randomly encountering a small team, all three members would possess such interesting abilities."

"To reiterate, we have neither the intention nor the reason to have a conflict with you."

Xia Liang looked at her seriously, but this time her tone no longer carried the feigned innocence she had shown before. "But if you really insist on fighting, then we will have no choice but to fight to the death."

"Isn't it fine?"

The Butterfly Bush spoke softly, "You have a wonderful scent on you. I don't know where it came from, but the fact that it's so strong means you're definitely connected to the source of that scent... It's really intriguing."

"Smell?"

The words the other person uttered made Xia Liang's eyes widen slightly, but before she could think about it further, she became alert again because of their actions. "They're going to attack again!"

"Yes, they're going to start again."

Butterfly Bush squinted, grinned, and raised her hand. "Since you can solve this with cigarettes, let's try a different method this time."

"Use methods other than smoke..." Having finally overcome the opponent's ability, Mountain Lily, who thought she could start her counterattack, couldn't help but clench her fan tightly.

As she finished speaking, a deep purple liquid began to flow from the Butterfly Bush in her hands.

The liquid overflowed from her hand and fell to the ground, spreading outwards from where the Butterfly Bush stood, like a tap turned on full blast.

"Heh heh heh, look at this poison, how are you going to deal with it?"

With her other hand, Butterfly Bush brushed aside her curly bangs, then looked at Xia Liang with interest through her smoky-eyed eyes. "Or perhaps, shouldn't you show a little of your real talent...?"

"That's true." Xia Liang's usual smile vanished, and she nodded abruptly.

"Hmm?" This brief reply made the Butterfly Bush pause for a moment.

She was just habitually talking to herself, so she was used to no one responding to her. But she didn't expect that someone would actually respond to her at a time like this.

Is she being playful? Or is it simply a gesture of goodwill?

She couldn't help but briefly consider the other party's possible intentions, but then she saw Xia Liang suddenly raise his hand, and a light purple magical light had appeared in his hand at some point.

This dazzling light is something no magical girl who has systematically studied Spell Formula could fail to recognize.

--Explosion.