Intervention

The instant her lips closed, the whole world sank into sticky, squirming darkness thick with suffocation. Only the Fierce Beast's dull internal writhing, its scorching breath, and the increasingly pungent stench enveloped her.

And all of it happened in the blink of an eye.

The giant beast's fangs pressed against his spine.

Each tooth was three inches long. If they all pierced his body, they would leave him riddled with holes.

Even a Magical Girl would not have long to live after suffering such injuries, right?

Magical Girls were not immortals. They could die too.

Those teeth were not cold, but coated in a sticky liquid with an intense burning sensation. Merely touching his spine, without even breaking his skin, made his thin dress burn with searing pain.

It was only his first time being a Magical Girl. How could he have had so much experience? Holding the two patients beneath him, he closed his eyes.

Once the beast's mouth closed, he and the two patients would be completely impaled by its teeth, wouldn't they?

There was not much he could do. It was not that he had been frightened into helplessness, but the clearer his mind was, the more he understood just how powerless he was.

He was not some battle-hardened super warrior who always knew what to do.

The only thing he could still do now was pray for the people outside.

Senior...

Why hadn't Senior acted yet?

Could Senior not do it?

Or...

Did Senior want to watch me get hurt? Watch me...

Die?

The instant that thought arose—

"Bang!!!"

A dull yet incredibly piercing blast erupted behind and to his side! Accompanied by the bizarre sound of the Fierce Beast's muscles tearing and its shrill howl of agony, a beam of light as thick as a bowl, mixed with chunks of blood and flesh, suddenly pierced the darkness!

"Awoo—!!!!"

The intense pain made the Fierce Beast instinctively open its huge mouth. Light poured in, the foul wind reversed, and Huali, along with the two patients, was violently "spat" out by a powerful force!

Having escaped death, Huali hurriedly rolled across the ground, then looked at Fu You in surprise and slight resentment. "Why now..."

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that Fu You did not seem to have moved at all. He was in exactly the same posture as before.

Moreover, Fu You was standing in a different direction from where that glowing hole had appeared.

He turned to look the other way.

A golden-haired girl floated in midair, holding an exquisitely crafted long-barreled flintlock rifle that looked like a work of art. Wisps of white smoke drifted from its muzzle as it pointed straight at the Fierce Beast struggling in pain.

"Are you all right?" The golden-haired girl's voice was clear and resonant. Her figure was somewhat more mature than that of an ordinary girl, and simply looking at her made one feel safe.

Huali quickly shook his head.

"Next time, think about your own safety before saving someone," the golden-haired girl said again.

Almost at the same time, a girl in a short emerald-green skirt appeared beside the golden-haired girl, a longbow in hand.

"Leave the Fierce Beast to us!" the girl in green said with a gentle smile. As she spoke, she drew an arrow with a head as large as a bowl and steadily nocked it to her bowstring. "Just focus on healing!"

The Fierce Beast roared in pain and fury. Its six arms no longer grabbed, but suddenly extended and twisted, becoming six grotesque flesh-colored whips that screeched through the air as they stabbed fiercely at the two girls from different angles.

The girl in green narrowed her eyes. Nocking, drawing, releasing—her movements were so fast they nearly left afterimages.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Six arrows flew in rapid succession, almost simultaneously! The naked eye could not even see when she drew each arrow. It was as though, the instant one arrow left the string, the next had already appeared from thin air upon it. Six streaks of green light struck the tips of the six "arms" with absolute precision, detonating with dull blasts that forcefully halted their advance and blew apart flesh and blood.

Huali came back to her senses and hurriedly checked the two injured people beside her. Both had wounds caused by the barbs inside the Fierce Beast's mouth or its crushing pressure. Blood flowed without stopping, but fortunately, the wounds were not too deep. She took a deep breath, and pink healing light once again shone from her palms, gently covering their wounds. The bleeding visibly slowed and clotted.

As long as the bleeding could be stopped, their lives would be safe for the time being.

In the brief lull, she could not help looking at Fu You again.

Fu You still stood off to the side, merely watching them fight without any intention of intervening. Standing there, he looked like an NPC.

"Senior... why?" he murmured.

Two especially heavy gunshots rang out again. Two larger bursts of blood exploded almost simultaneously from the Fierce Beast's enormous, hole-riddled head. It let out a mournful cry, its massive body swayed twice, then crashed to the ground. Slime and blood flowed chaotically across the floor.

The golden-haired girl and the girl in green landed lightly beside Huali.

The girl in green quickly circled Huali once, her pretty smile blooming. "You weren't hurt, were you? Did we make it in time?"

That smile was incredibly infectious. Warmth rose in Huali's heart, and he nodded vigorously. "Mm! Thank you!"

But the golden-haired girl's gaze passed over Huali and shot straight at Fu You in the distance, her golden eyes frosted with coldness.

She strode toward Fu You, her boots striking the ground with crisp clicks, until she stopped before him. Without any warning, she raised her flintlock rifle and pressed its cold metal barrel directly against Fu You's fair cheek.

Fu You stood there without dodging, moving, or saying a word.

The barrel of the flintlock pressed against Fu You's cheek, stretching it out by a centimeter or two.

"So this is how you 'train' newcomers?" The golden-haired girl's voice carried undisguised anger. "Did you want to watch him die?"

"Didn't she survive?" Fu You raised his index finger and nudged her muzzle slightly aside.

But the golden-haired girl pressed the barrel even deeper into Fu You's face.

"That was because I arrived."

"Yes, you arrived. So she won't die," Fu You said.

Whether in voice, height, or age, Fu You seemed more like a child in front of the golden-haired girl.

Although Fu You remained unyielding and his expression did not change much, the slight upward tilt of his head and his overly elastic cheeks made him seem like a child who had done something bad before the golden-haired girl.

"...You scum! You could have acted long ago, couldn't you?!"

"There was no need."

"No need? I don't think there's any need for you to keep living either."

"Then why don't you pull the trigger?"

"You think I don't dare?"

"You don't."

Their eyes met. Fu You suddenly smiled, and a black ripple abruptly burst from his body. That single wave of force blasted the flintlock rifle from the golden-haired girl's hand, sending it flying onto the ground nearby.

Fu You turned around, jumped onto the parallel bars beside him, and sat down.

"Huang Xing, it's still too early for you to lecture me."