Feifei Fox and White Kitty

"Stare..." The fox poked her head out from the tree.

After Sera met her gaze, Feiying raised both hands.

"First things first, I surrender. No hitting me, okay?"

"Huh?" Sera was puzzled.

"Why would I hit you?"

"Don't you know I'm the referee? That bastard Aha shoved me into the game. Aren't you worried I'll make biased calls in my own favor?"

"No." Sera shook his head.

"I'm not interested in the Phantasmoon Games. The only reason I entered at first was that my teacher recommended this place as a stage."

"At first?" Feiying tilted her head.

"Yeah. I've changed my mind now."

At first, Sera hadn't known these were the Phantasmoon Games Himeko had taken part in, and he hadn't been very interested in the trip. He couldn't be bothered to clean up Aha's mess.

But now that Sera knew, he had to do something. After all, Sera was the captain and one of the Express's Nameless.

Fighting for all the beauty in the world-wasn't that only natural?

"Oh." Feiying didn't ask what Sera had in mind.

"Then, Miss Referee, will you join me in cleaning up Aha's mess?"

"You know about that?" Feiying's eyes widened.

"Why do you think Finality is making such a fuss?"

Sera pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly.

"It's because of what my teacher said. I set off the explosives myself, so of course I have to deal with them."

"Stare..." Feiying puffed out her cheeks and stared at Sera.

"Oh, I was wondering why the Lord of the Otherworldly Demons suddenly started causing trouble. So it was you..."

Feiying folded her arms and turned her face away.

"That bomb in Dual-Phase Paradise was bound to go off sooner or later, okay? I'll do my best to deal with it before things get out of hand.

"So, are you in?"

"I'm in."

Feiying nodded.

"Good. That gives us three Emanators on our side."

Sera clapped his hands.

"There's another one?"

Feiying looked at Sera curiously.

"Yeah. Speaking of which..." Sera studied Feiying in puzzlement. "Haven't you sensed that there's someone else in Dual-Phase Paradise with a shadow of Voracity sealed inside them?"

"No..."

Feiying scratched her head awkwardly. When she noticed that Sera was looking at her a little as if she were an idiot, she offered a quiet, halfhearted protest.

"I'd only just woken up when I heard the Lord of the Otherworldly Demons was causing trouble, and then Aha shoved me into the game. I didn't have any time at all, okay..."

"Sigh, fine. You can be the warrior, then."

"Oh, oh!" Feiying pulled out her ruler blade.

"Like in the comics, right?"

Feiying cleared her throat.

"Ahem. I am but a warrior, unskilled with words."

"?" Sera looked at Feiying in confusion.

"Didn't you say you had no time? How did you read comics?"

"Uh... well..." Feiying turned her head away, looking a little awkward.

"I saw a comic shop on my way to get my ruler blade... I thought I might as well take a break, so I... read some... Ahaha."

"Sigh, forget it."

Sera waved a hand.

"No need to explain. Just think of yourself as one of those warriors in comics who attack wherever the protagonist tells them to."

"Hm?" Feiying's eyes lit up.

"Yay! It's Feifei Fox, unskilled with words, and White Kitty, whose cunning borders on the demonic."

"What the heck is White Kitty? It sounds silly. It's not like I'm Kiana."

Feiying pressed her hands together beside her face and gazed pleadingly at Sera.

"Baibai Cat, I've actually been a fan of yours ever since I first saw your livestream~"

"Stop, stop, stop." Sera sighed. "You're bringing back some bad memories... Forget it. Call me that if you want."

"Let me ask you something. Voracity hasn't shown any unusual activity, has it?" Sera looked somewhat serious. After all, Dr. Primitive had died far too easily. He had been a genius, at least, yet he had willingly waited quietly for death. It was far too abnormal.

Sera also remembered something crucial. Vonwacq, where Dr. Primitive had once conducted his atavism experiments, suppressed the remains of Voracity just as Dual-Phase Paradise did. The beast Dr. Primitive's clone had turned into also possessed the power of Voracity.

Sera's expression grew increasingly serious. How could a genius be killed by his own creation?

Polka Kakamond didn't have the perverse taste to turn Dr. Primitive into a monkey, either. She had always been straightforward.

So...

Sera looked at Feiying, whose expression had likewise turned grim.

"So... I guessed right?"

"Voracity's remains are becoming active. If this continues, Dual-Phase Paradise will be swallowed up when it awakens."

"Mm... don't worry too much." Having confirmed that Voracity was gradually becoming active, Sera instead calmed down. He had never been afraid of a battle he was prepared for.

He had been so serious just now only because he was worried that Dr. Primitive might spring an unpleasant surprise on him. Now that he had defused that bomb in advance, Sera wasn't so worried.

"If the situation really can't be resolved, I still have a backup plan."

Sera comforted Feiying.

"Compared to Voracity, which hasn't awakened yet, isn't it more important to deal with Finality and Shuhu, who might come back to life, first? Once we've dealt with them, we can end the Phantasmoon Games early and suppress Voracity without much trouble."

"Baibai Cat is right. Feifei Fox, you need to pull yourself together."

Feiying clenched her fists and gave herself a pep talk.

"Feiying."

"Hm? Wait, how do you know my name?"

Feiying was astonished.

"What's so strange about that? I already knew you were the referee, so how could I not know your name?"

"True."

"Do you know where the eighth mask is? Why hasn't its owner put it on yet?"

"Oh, right!" Feiying clapped her hands. "Why hasn't the eighth one been put on yet?"

"Can you find it?" Sera asked again.

"Ehehe~" This was a cute Feifei Fox, trying to use her cuteness to get away with it.

Unfortunately, her opponent was Baibai Cat, and Baibai Cat was immune to Feifei Fox's attempts to use her cuteness to get away with it.

"So you really are just a warrior?"

Sera took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

Feiying was just about to say something when she suddenly pulled Sera into the tree to hide.

Sera didn't question it. Instead, he joined Feiying in looking at the intruder in the distance.

"That's..." Sera looked at the white-haired Xianzhou woman, a little surprised.

"She actually came early?"

"Heh..." Yaoguang folded her arms, as if she were deliberately speaking for someone to hear.

"Just as I thought. There had to be an explanation for the 'ill-fated decree' I divined, so out of keeping with this world."

Yaoguang smiled and looked at the blank mask in her hand.

"Thanks to this mask, haven't I found the very root of the Phantasmoon Games?"

"Hey-anyone there? Someone come out."

"No one's here-" Feiying said in a pinched voice.

Sera covered his eyes, at a loss for words.

"She spotted you ages ago."

Sera reminded her in a low voice.

"Hmph, you are not welcome here-leave at once-leave at once-"

"Are you still going to keep up this supernatural act, little girl?"

Yaoguang raised an eyebrow.

"As I see it, the ancient tree rooted here should be that 'Ambrosial Arbor' of Abundance, shouldn't it?"

Yaoguang delivered the threat with a smile.