bookbashuk Chapter 252 The Shadow Woman Appears!!
Chapter 252 The Shadow Woman Appears!!
Chapter 252 The Shadow Woman Appears!!! (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)
The shadows have gradually infiltrated the real world, spreading rapidly in corners, crevices, and through the hazy veil.
In the night sky, a sparrow was flying rapidly through the thick darkness, its wings flapping rapidly, each movement filled with tension and panic.
The wind howled in her ears, like the whisper of death.
Her tiny eyes were filled with terror, and her pupils darted around as she quickly surveyed her surroundings.
In the darkness, her intuition told her that danger was lurking nearby; it was a deep-seated fear, as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart.
The little sparrow flapped its wings frantically, unaware of what was happening or what was going on in the world.
Her long life as a wild animal has made her unable to get used to having intelligence. For the past few years, she has been living a life of eating and resting, repeating the same routine, and has never experienced the thoughts and emotions of intelligent beings.
And today, at this very moment, after receiving the inheritance from nature, she learned of her mission for the first time.
However, along with the appearance of magic, a sense of unease and crisis also arose in her heart.
The little sparrow flew faster and faster, sometimes soaring higher and sometimes skimming low, trying to shake off the ever-present threat behind it.
Tang Zijun suddenly raised her head, her brows furrowing slightly.
Behind him, Chang Lei noticed this and quickly and carefully stored the three figurines into his magic space before hurrying over. "What did you sense?" Chang Lei asked. "Could something have happened to Tangcao?"
"Hmm..." Tang Zijun turned her gaze away from the puddles at her feet and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's resolved."
Chang Lei frowned slightly. "Judging from your relieved look, Tang Cao must have run into some trouble, right?"
"An officer who escaped from the breach was seriously injured. He seems to be one of Sir Skull's former subordinates. But thanks to him, Tangcao was promoted to orange rank."
"Promoted...so quickly?" Chang Lei was somewhat surprised.
Although he had never fought against magical girls before, he had been researching magical girls ever since he became the deputy director of the Magical Supervision Bureau.
According to the bureau's data, it generally takes about a month for a Magical Girl Novice to advance to Red Rank, while it takes about half a year to advance from Red Rank to Orange Rank, and it takes even longer to advance from Orange Rank.
Although he already knew that Tang Cao had great talent, Chang Lei still found it hard to believe that she had advanced to the orange level in less than two months.
However, when Chang Lei thought about the fact that Tang Cao was Tang Zijun's sister, he suddenly felt that this was not such an unacceptable thing.
"Congratulations! Although it was a seriously injured executive, Tangcao was able to kill him, which puts her far ahead of other magical girls..."
As he spoke, Chang Lei looked Tang Zijun up and down again.
"But isn't this a good thing? You look terrible."
Tang Zijun turned slightly, a hint of gloom in her eyes. "There was more than one cadre there. After Tang Cao took down that guy, a breach opened up right in front of my sister."
"What?!" Chang Lei froze.
Tang Zijun shook her head slightly and continued, "Snow City has never seen a breach of this magnitude before. I suspect that Sir Skull's territory has already been occupied by another high-ranking officer."
"Can you confirm the other party's identity?" Chang Lei asked, frowning. "No way, the gap is too unstable. When the other party reached out their hand, the surrounding space was already on the verge of collapse, and I only glanced at it before the gap completely collapsed..."
Tang Zijun snorted coldly.
"He's lucky, otherwise I would have dragged him out no matter what. But I've memorized his scent, so I'll be able to detect him or anyone around him if they ever dare to enter reality."
"Well, then that counts as some gain..." Chang Lei's lips twitched.
Why did you have to provoke Tang Zijun of all people?
That's good. Your scent has been recorded, which means you've been honored to be added to the wolf riders' list.
In the past, anyone on the Wolf Riders' list wouldn't even be able to enter the real world; they would be intercepted and killed in the Reverse World.
But now, he's qualified to be remembered by Tang Zijun; it's hard to say whether this guy is lucky or unlucky.
Just as Chang Lei was about to say something, he suddenly sensed something and raised his hand to place his fingers on his temple.
Seeing this, Tang Zijun turned around.
After a short while, Chang Lei slowly raised his head. "Xiao Ma sent word that the scattered flower fairies sensed an extreme level of shadow power, a power that neither the Shadow Clan nor ordinary shadow tribes could possess."
In order to maintain constant communication with the Bureau of Demonic Supervision, and given his position as the head of the Northeast Division, Chang Lei deliberately left a "magical clone" next to Ma Shiman before the operation.
This clone has little combat power and cannot last for long, but it can ensure the continuity of memory information.
Tang Zijun narrowed her eyes slightly. "The ultimate power of shadow... Shadow Maiden?"
"It should be." Chang Lei nodded solemnly. "The magical girls around here won't be able to break free from the battle anytime soon, and headquarters has arranged for nearby agents to rush over there as quickly as possible."
"Shadow Woman is not someone an ordinary person can handle. Sending agents there would be suicide, wouldn't it?" Tang Zijun frowned.
After a pause, Chang Lei continued, "No attack orders have been issued; it's probably just reconnaissance and situation assessment. After all, that city isn't a battlefield. Also..."
Chang Lei raised his head and said in a deep voice.
"That guy surnamed Qiu has already gone there."
In the darkness, a shadowy figure followed closely behind the sparrow.
The shadowy figure, like a ghost, appeared and disappeared in the night. It was incredibly fast and moved strangely, each time it vanished and reappeared, it could quickly close the distance between itself and the little sparrow.
The shadow's body seemed to be formed from pure darkness; it had no fixed shape, nor did it resemble mist, giving it an indescribable and eerie quality.
She didn't know how long she had been flying when the little sparrow's strength began to wane. She tried her best to shake off the shadow behind her, but it seemed to be stuck to her, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape.
The little sparrow's wings slowly became heavy, and its speed began to slow down.
Even so, she still had no intention of stopping.
She knew very well that if she stopped, it would mean death.
The shadow on the ground seemed to sense that the sparrow's stamina was almost at its limit, so it suddenly increased its speed. A series of shadowy flying knives slashed through the sky and stabbed straight towards the little sparrow.
Feeling the whooshing sound beneath it, the little sparrow was terrified and desperately tried to dodge, its body tracing arcs in the air.
After dodging more than ten flying knives, the little sparrow suddenly felt a pain in its wing.
"Oh!"
A cry of pain rang out, followed by several feathers fluttering up. The little sparrow flapped its wings with all its might, but its tiny body still spun and fell to the ground.
As the ground drew ever closer, the little sparrow closed its eyes in terror.
A dull thud.
The expected scenario of being smashed into a pulp did not occur; the little sparrow only felt itself landing in a soft ball.
She opened her eyes in confusion, only to find a dark face looking at her with great interest.
"Aaaaaah!!"
Upon seeing that terrifying and eerie face, the little sparrow let out a scream and struggled to escape.
But the dark figure simply clenched its fist and firmly controlled the sparrow.
"...Little thing, you really have a kind heart. You haven't even found your partner yet, but you keep running out of the city. What's wrong?"
Are you preparing to die?
"You...you...you're not a heretic...what exactly are you...?"
Despite the excruciating pain coursing through its body, the little sparrow managed to squeeze out a few words.
"Didn't they receive any information about someone like me in their inherited memories? Ha, that's normal, after all..."
The dark figure tilted its head and chuckled in a captivating tone.
"...I'm the 'newcomer'"
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"I don't know what you're going to do... but your goal is magical girls, right..." The little sparrow glared at the dark figure before her. "Go ahead and kill me... there will just be new spirit beasts to replace me!"
"Kill you?"
The black image must have heard something funny.
How could I be so heartless as to hurt you?
She gently reached out and stroked the little sparrow's head, speaking softly.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you. After I peel your shadow away, I'll let your shadow find a girl worthy of the Rainbow Crystal Flower..."
"you!!"
Upon hearing this, the little sparrow immediately felt a chill envelop its entire body.
At that moment, she finally understood the other party's purpose.
It turns out that the other party was after the Rainbow Crystal Flower from the very beginning!
"That thing is inside your body, right?"
The woman in the shadows gently stroked the little sparrow's head with her fingers.
"Come on, show it to me."
"You're dreaming!"
"Don't make things too difficult for me, my little cutie..."
The woman in the shadows grinned an eerie smile.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, she looked up sharply, and her vision was suddenly enveloped by a beam of light.
Click!
A dazzling bolt of lightning ripped through the dark night sky and crashed down!
The lightning struck without warning, like a sharp sword, instantly landing on the shadowy woman.
A deafening roar followed, and everything around trembled as the lightning struck.
The lightning struck the shadow woman with perfect accuracy, instantly engulfing her with devastating power.
The woman in the shadows let out a piercing scream, a sound so sharp and shrill it seemed to pierce the very soul.
With immense force, her body was blasted away by the lightning, like a bullet, and crashed heavily into a high wall not far away.
The wall collapsed with a roar upon impact, sending debris flying everywhere. A burnt smell filled the air. The woman in the shadows was half-buried in the rubble, twitching slightly.
After the lightning, the night sky returned to silence.
As the light faded, a purple-haired woman in a black suit appeared, and the little sparrow trembled in her hand.
"It's all over now."
Looking at the little sparrow with an injured wing in his hand, Qiu Yun spoke softly in a gentle tone.
Upon hearing this, the little sparrow trembled, but then she felt the vast, ocean-like magic power, a power of the same origin as hers, the natural power of a magical girl!
"You...you are..."
Qiu Yun tilted her head slightly and smiled. "Did I scare you? But don't be afraid, you're safe now."
Not far away, the sound of small pebbles rolling down could be heard.
Then, a soft murmur came.
"Lightning element... what a terrifying power..."
The woman in the shadows struggled to stand, but her body had been severely injured, and every movement was accompanied by excruciating pain.
Even half of its body turned into a liquid.
Upon hearing the sound, Qiu Yun slowly turned around, her expression as cold as ice.
"If I weren't curious about your identity, you would have been dead from that attack."
"yes.."
The wolf-fox emerged from the ruins.
"Such destructive power, yet it managed to protect that little bird while attacking me..."
The woman in the shadows grinned.
"Qiu Yun, you've improved."
Before he finished speaking, Qiu Yun's expression suddenly changed.
His eyes flickered slightly, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind in that instant, but Qiu Yun quickly calmed down and stared coldly at the shadowy woman opposite him.
"Who are you?"
The woman in the shadows endured the pain and slowly stood up.
"...Okay, you stepped on my shadow..."
She stared at the purple-haired woman not far away, whose body swayed and looked as if she might collapse again at any moment, but the smile on her face remained unchanged.
"But don't you think this question is a bit silly, or do you think I'd answer it as foolishly as those heretics and demons..."
Qiu Yun took a small step forward.
click!
The instant her toes touched the ground, a bolt of lightning roared out from the ground and struck the bricks beside the woman in the shadows.
The terrifying force tore through the rocks in the blink of an eye, and as the rocks crumbled, the shadowy woman's body trembled and she collapsed to the ground once more.
"I'll ask you one last time, who are you?"
The woman in the shadows slowly raised her head, her dark eyes fixed on Qiu Yun, filled with anger and hatred.
However, she suppressed these emotions in an instant, and then the woman in the shadows curled her lips into a smile again.
"What can you do if I don't tell you? Kill me?"
The smile slowly faded, and the woman in the shadows turned her head to face the light.
"I'm right here, get started."
Your plan has failed.
Qiu Yun said calmly.
"We know your goal is the newborn magical girl."
"Those heretics and your Shadow Clan will soon be driven out. We have been watching your every move since the Shadow Clan took action."
"Just like you said, I stepped on your shadow."
"So it's okay if you don't say anything. I've just met some new friends who are very good at getting you, a degenerate, to talk."
"Ah, I know, Flower Fairy, right?"
The woman in the shadows let out a soft chuckle.
"The appearance of those adorable little winged creatures did surprise me, but how could you so simply assume my goal is merely 'newborn magical girls'?"
"Since you've stepped on my shadow."
After a pause, the alluring voice of the woman in the shadows came through.
"Why don't you take a guess..."
"Where is my original body?"