The Banshee's Magic Circle

Nikita's quill moved rapidly across the spellbook in her hands, lines of rules and formulas flowing smoothly onto the blank pages.

She merely glanced with disinterest at the commotion erupting in the dining hall. For her, nothing was more important than the spell she was preparing.

Of course, if these youngsters became too restless, she wouldn't mind having a snack.

"We haven't lost hope," Xiao Xiao spoke again, his tone having calmed down. "The fact that she didn't tear us apart immediately means we aren't her primary target—that's good news. Compared to attacking, we freshmen have more protective talismans—that's also good news."

"Combining these two pieces of good news, in my opinion, obeying this lady's decision will guarantee our safety better than a brutal struggle."

In the dining hall, the freshmen murmured in low agreement.

"Be careful!" the red-faced boy didn't retort but loudly warned.

"A very wise judgment," Nikita appeared abruptly beside Zheng Qing, clapping softly behind Xiao Xiao.

The Bologna-bound spellbook flipped, floating beside her, and strands of blood-red light spilled from its pages, gurgling like a waterfall onto the ground, forming a blood-red hexagram.

Zheng Qing was so startled he almost passed out.

He hadn't seen how the banshee had appeared beside him at all.

The spellbook suddenly appeared before him, almost touching his nose. Zheng Qing could even clearly see the arcane formulas on the pages, like tadpole script, gurgling out those blood-red light strands.

He stumbled, putting distance between himself and the banshee.

Behind the sofa, Xiao Xiao turned around forcefully, his expression unchanged.

However, Zheng Qing noticed that his large black-rimmed glasses were slightly askew.

Shi Yuan, the young monk, forcefully pushed Li Meng's head behind the sofa, but he didn't notice Poseidon's little head squeezing out from under his arm.

The banshee smiled at Xiao Xiao:

"Well then, Mr. Wise, please go to the food counter and get some olive oil for your sister. As for the others."

She looked up at the red-faced boy not far away, the scarlet in her eyes intensifying.

As if in an instant, the entire dining hall fell into a heavy swamp, everyone's movements appearing slow and clear in Zheng Qing's pupils.

Xiao Xiao was already stepping towards the food counter, one foot raised, not yet landed.

Behind the sofa, Poseidon poked out a head, opening its small mouth to reveal tiny sharp teeth. Zheng Qing saw the fluffy fine fur on the little creature slowly standing on end.

Not far away, a few girls looked terrified, their mouths slightly open, arms raised as if to block something. However, time seemed to have frozen around them; their raised arms couldn't even cover their frightened faces.

Only the red-faced boy further away was still struggling to raise his fist.

He was the only living being still moving within Zheng Qing's field of vision.

"Ahhh..." Continuous sharp screams from girls came from behind him, shattering this frozen space-time.

It was the owner of that cobra; that was Zheng Qing's last thought before he lost consciousness. A familiar yet strange, intense pain surged fiercely into his head. He screamed, clutching his head, and fell to the ground, convulsing.

Brilliant golden light erupted around Xiao Xiao. With a roar like a dragon's hiss and a tortoise's cry, crackling explosions sounded incessantly. The talismans of the other freshmen were also activated at that moment, colorful shields flashing, adding many light and shadow effects to the entire dining hall.

Nikita snorted lightly, the scarlet in her eyes receding slightly.

"You can't even handle a little bit of pressure," she said, mockingly looking at the red-faced boy kneeling on one leg in the distance, gasping for breath. He looked stubbornly at the banshee.

Xiao Xiao quietly put away the black leather notebook in his arms, walked around the overturned sofa, and headed straight for the food counter.

Zheng Qing clutched his head, still lying on the ground, convulsing.

Li Meng, held behind the sofa by the young monk, was stomping her feet anxiously. The young monk, however, unhurriedly lifted his robe and tucked the peeking little fox back behind the sofa.

"Don't get agitated, everyone. Just stay put and try to add a few layers of protective spells to yourselves," Xiao Xiao instructed loudly, his back to everyone.

"Sister only wants clean olive oil!" Nikita put away the spellbook after completing the formation, picked up her quill again, and looked at the short boy walking towards the food counter, warning, "If the oil isn't clean, I'll use the blood of you little darlings instead."

The atmosphere in the dining hall became even more oppressive, with only the whimpering cries of some girls and the thudding sound of Zheng Qing hitting his head on the floor remaining.

"Crack!" A bolt of lightning flashed past not far from the plane. Outside the window, rumbling thunder approached from afar, shaking the heavens.

The blood-red hexagram on the dining hall floor flickered intermittently amidst the interference of the thunder.

The banshee frowned and looked up at the coiled, motionless cobra not far away.

"Get over here!" she snapped at the cobra.

The cobra, which had been curled up playing dead, immediately opened its eyes and rolled desperately to her feet.

"Do you have snake stones yet?" the banshee asked, lifting its tail and squeezing its belly.

The cobra fearfully raised its head, shaking its head like a rattle, its bright red tongue flicking around like a rubber band.

"Close your mouth! Swallow your tongue!" the banshee scolded with disgust. "Don't move your head!"

The cobra pitifully retracted its tongue, closed its mouth tightly, and tilted its head, not daring to move.

Nikita took out a small silver knife and made two light cuts on the cheek pouches on either side of the snake's head. A transparent, viscous liquid slowly flowed from the two thin wounds, dripping into the blood-red formation on the floor.

The banshee frowned, feeling that the venom was flowing too slowly.

Before she could raise her hand, the cobra puffed out its cheeks, held its breath, and quickly sprayed the venom from its cheek pouches.

The injection of venom stabilized the flickering, wavering formation.

At the same time, Xiao Xiao walked to the formation holding a bowl of olive oil. He directly took out a thick brush, dipped it in the oil, and smeared it along the hexagram formation on the floor.

The oil-coated magic circle concealed the bloody aura, making it appear more polished and natural.

"As expected of Mr. Mingzhi." Nikita smiled as she watched Xiao Xiao finish drawing the magic circle, then waved her hand, allowing him to rejoin the new students.

"You get lost too!" Seeing the cobra trembling at her feet, the Banshee kicked it away, laughing as she cursed, "My formations never require sacrifices from you crawling things."

After rolling into the small garden in the center of the restaurant, the snake ball immediately dispersed into a single snake, which then slithered behind the rockery.

"Sly crawler." The Banshee pouted and looked up at the trembling new students not far away.

After being exposed, running away was the only option.

But this option required the captain's understanding.

Therefore, she had to bring back a gift of sufficient weight.

Nikita's gaze fell upon Zheng Qing, who was clutching his head and twitching.