Bang!
The slap aimed at Linglan was blocked by a hand wearing a semi-transparent purple glove.
After resolving the attack for her junior, Xia Mo fixed her gaze on Ming Die and said word by word:
“She’s my junior. If you want to hurt her, you’ll have to get past me first!”
“Then I’ll take you down first, and then teach this arrogant little girl a proper lesson.”
Fighting a magical girl who was still injured and clearly weaker than herself—Luo Shuangyue didn’t think for a second that she would lose.
She had once defeated Xia Mo even when she was at full strength—now that Xia Mo was only half-recovered, wouldn’t defeating her be effortless?
With that belief, she punched toward Xia Mo’s arm, intending to knock her out as quickly as possible.
But compared to a few days ago, her strikes were noticeably lighter, and she showed more restraint in where she hit.
Even holding back like this, Luo Shuangyue was still able to suppress Xia Mo in combat.
Though she wasn’t using full strength, Xia Mo couldn’t either.
As for the fact that Xia Mo now had help…
Honestly, Luo Shuangyue didn’t even regard Linglan as a real opponent.
A low-level “Newbud”-rank magical girl?
Even Jiuye could easily capture someone like her.
“Weak, powerless attacks. Obvious and predictable moves. With performance like that, you’d better just go home and be a good little girl!”
Twisting to dodge a magic missile from Xia Mo, Luo Shuangyue suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Xia Mo’s arm, and executed a classic over-the-shoulder throw, flinging her away.
Right after the throw, while Xia Mo was still off-balance in mid-air, Luo Shuangyue summoned five magical missiles to give her a brutal lesson.
Whoosh!
A white beam of light struck Luo Shuangyue in the back, causing her to stumble.
“Don’t act like I’m not here!”
Wielding a magic staff taller than herself, the white-clad magical girl charged at Luo Shuangyue with fearless intensity.
Beams of pure white magic bombarded Luo Shuangyue, forcing her to retreat step by step.
Had Linglan actually managed to suppress Ming Die?
Xia Mo, who had just regained her balance, frowned deeply—she didn’t believe Ming Die could be defeated so easily.
“Linglan! Be careful!”
“Too late!”
Luo Shuangyue, who had just appeared to be overwhelmed, suddenly bared her fangs.
The ethereal butterfly wings on her back fluttered lightly, propelling her above Linglan in an instant.
Gripping the scythe she had been reluctant to use against Xia Mo, Luo Shuangyue’s eyes flashed with murderous intent as she slashed down hard at Linglan.
“Go die!”
Clang!
A barrier formed from pure white petals blocked the deadly blade.
Luo Shuangyue’s eyes widened in shock—a mere Newbud-level magical girl had managed to block her furious strike?
How was that possible?
“Ming Die! This is my resolve—to protect my seniors, to protect everyone!”
Holding her staff high above her head, Linglan shouted loudly at Ming Die.
“Didn’t you say our beliefs were laughable? Well now, it’s that ‘laughable’ belief that stopped your attack!”
“Noisy brat. You only blocked one hit—don’t get cocky!”
Luo Shuangyue growled.
Rage surged in her heart like wildfire, clouding her reason.
Her scythe slashed at the white flower shield like a violent storm.
Each strike made the shield tremble violently, each blow seeming as though it would tear it apart.
But by the time Luo Shuangyue finally shattered the shield, she had already wasted enough time to change the outcome of the battle.
“Sorry, this time, we’ve won.”
Though her shield had shattered and her face was pale, Linglan still wore a radiant smile.
She spread her arms wide, like a white flower petal drifting gracefully from a branch as she descended toward the ground.
She had fallen.
Disappointment!
At this moment, Luo Shuangyue no longer had the strength to continue chasing her down.
“Linglan, I felt your conviction! Let’s show them the true power of magical girls—together!”
A dazzling light burst forth from Xia Mo’s body.
Her magic wand, brimming with magical energy, pointed directly at Luo Shuangyue.
This time, she had the initiative.
This attack—this opportunity—was the result of everything Linglan had sacrificed for her.
She could not let Linglan down. She could not let her adorable junior’s efforts be in vain.
“Witness the light of our conviction!”
A thick purple beam shot toward Luo Shuangyue.
Just before it struck her, a pair of massive phantom butterfly wings appeared and blocked it.
Raising her arms in front of her, Luo Shuangyue gritted her teeth and endured the blast unleashed by Xia Mo.
The power within this beam of light far exceeded her expectations.
Caught off guard, even with the strength equivalent to an Initial Bloom-level magical girl, she could hardly withstand it.
After all, magical girls were utterly subjective beings—their power couldn’t be quantified.
That a Fresh Bud-level Linglan could fend off an enraged Dark Butterfly and buy enough time for Rosemary to launch her attack, or that a Budding-level Rosemary could unleash a blast powerful enough to threaten the Dark Butterfly—these were not unbelievable feats.
The purple light pierced the sky, slamming the gray Death Butterfly down to the ground.
With solid ground beneath her feet, Luo Shuangyue found it a little easier to resist the blast.
She raised her head, her blood-red eyes glaring at the purple magical girl, and said coldly:
“Your magic won’t last much longer, will it?”
Xia Mo didn’t respond.
She simply pushed her output even further.
Dark Butterfly was right—she was indeed close to burning out.
If this final burst of magic wasn’t enough to defeat the Dark Butterfly, she would still fail to protect the people she wanted to protect.
Flashes of memories raced through her mind—her two adorable juniors, the siblings from next door, her classmates…
Image after image passed by, until finally, a white figure appeared in her heart.
That day—when she rescued a girl driven to the brink by magical beasts from the ruins—that day when she became the one that broken, despairing girl could rely on.
A magical girl… I want to be a magical girl like Senior Baiye, someone who protects everyone!
I cannot fall here—I must tell Senior Baiye myself:
The child you saved didn’t let you down!
You can be proud that you saved me!
“Dark Butterfly! I will never give up on the path of the magical girl! If you want to stop me—then come!”
“I’ll show you my resolve! Let the resolve you deem laughable and weak be the very thing that defeats you!”
Xia Mo shouted with all her might.
The purple light around her deepened in an instant.
A new, powerful force slowly surged from within her.
“What?!”
Luo Shuangyue’s expression twisted in disbelief as cracks began to appear on her butterfly-winged shield.
A breakthrough in battle?!
“You’re cheating…”
The torrent of purple magic shattered the shield and engulfed Luo Shuangyue, who wore an expression that screamed:
This is so unfair!