NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13 - Azure
Chapter 13: Azure
The blue glove defended against the monster’s wings, but evidently, her strength was significantly inferior. The razor-like feathers left red marks on her shoulders.
“Tsk!”
Azure winced in pain.
(Though Bao Xiang is really annoying, I can’t just let her die!)
Azure exerted all her strength, attempting to push back the monster’s wings—
“Ha—!”
However, being ranked beyond 100, she was ultimately no match for the grown Seven-Winged monster. The massive wings remained unmoved. The Seven-Winged monster raised another wing, then gently swung it from the side—
Slap!
Azure was sent flying, tumbling on the ground, and then falling into a pile of debris.
The Seven-Winged monster’s eyes emitted a strange light, floating towards Azure at a leisurely pace.
Pitter-patter…
Azure finally crawled out of the rubble.
“Cough, cough—!”
But those strange eyes had already locked onto her.
(I can’t win… I, ranked 165, can’t possibly defeat this monster!)
(As expected… without Cherry, I can’t achieve anything on my own…)
(I shouldn’t have come. I came, only to meet my death…)
…
Various negative emotions corroded Azure’s mind like poison.
She felt that everything in life had lost meaning, even her own life had no value, and even the instinct to survive was about to be abandoned by herself.
In the moment of Azure’s hesitation, the Seven-Winged monster had floated in front of her. Its huge pupils almost touched Azure’s cheek.
The blade-like wings were raised high—
Azure just watched the attack come down with wide-open eyes…
Bang!
A yellow musical note light wave hit the eyelids of the Seven-Winged monster.
The light wave in the eyeballs was instantly interrupted, and Azure suddenly snapped out of her daze.
She rolled clumsily out of the attack range of the Seven-Winged monster.
“Don’t daydream in the middle of a fight!”
Bao Xiang’s teasing voice echoed in Azure’s ears. Bao Xiang’s pale-yellow figure stood in front of Azure. She had already unplugged the headphones from her earlobes.
“Are you kidding me? You’ve been lying there for so long. Haven’t you woken up yet? I was just pretending to be weak, understand?!”
Azure, covered in dirt, struggled to get up from the ground.
Now, Azure’s right arm had already lost sensation, and Bao Xiang was not in a good condition either. Bleeding heavily, her lips had turned pale.
At this moment, the Seven-Winged monster finally pulled its wings out of the cement. Its strange eyes turned towards the two again.
(Oh no!)
The speed of body movement could never be as fast as the speed of eye movement. Azure and Bao Xiang were locked onto by the Seven-Winged monster before they could dodge!
The strange giant eyes emitted another peculiar light wave—
(No, I’ve already tried… I can’t win. It’s better to escape with Azure!)
(It’s too strong. I can’t win on my own. Escape, then go find Cherry and ask for help…)
(No… I can’t escape. We absolutely can’t escape. I have to stay behind… let Azure go first.)
(Can Cherry and the others win…? Am I just causing trouble for Cherry? I… I can’t do this.)
…
All kinds of mixed thoughts flooded their minds, and the two fell into the darkness of their own hearts.
Facing the immobile pair, the Seven-Winged monster suddenly accelerated towards them!
This time—it intended to finish them off in one go!
(We’re done for…)
With their bodies frozen, Azure and Bao Xiang had completely despaired, watching the Seven-Winged monster charge towards them.
At the critical moment—
Ding-ling-ling-ling…
The crisp sound of chain collisions echoed in their ears.
The Seven-Winged monster rushing towards them suddenly stopped in place— as if bound by invisible chains.
(This is…!)
Azure recognized this kind of attack.
“Roarrrgh!”
As the Seven-Winged monster struggled continuously, the originally invisible and intangible chains slowly emerged. Countless purple chain links entangled the monster’s entire eye, and then… the other end of the chain converged into the purple fingerless gloves.
“Snow Qing…!”
Azure looked at the magical girl who suddenly appeared behind the monster with surprise in her eyes.
“Roarrrgh!”
The painful Seven-Winged monster kept struggling, but it couldn’t break free from the chain’s restraint.
Snow Qing remained silent, tightening her weapon without saying a word. That was her usual style.
Purple flames ignited on the purple chain, and the bizarre flame burned the monster’s eyes.
“Roarrrgh!”
The agonized Seven-Winged monster continued to struggle, but it could never break free from the chains.
The purple fire was the flame that burned the soul. As long as it was a creature with a soul, it couldn’t extinguish it. It would continuously burn the soul as nutrients and then transfer it to its owner along the chain. It was a flame filled with evil nature.
The helpless Seven-Winged monster exerted all its strength to turn towards Snow Qing—
Then, it directed its eerie gaze towards her.
“Watch out for its eyes!”
Azure
shouted nervously.
The bizarre light wave appeared again.
However—
Ding-ling-ling-ling…
What they gained was only the chains tightening once again!
Snow Qing’s icy expression remained unchanged, and the monster’s attacks had no effect on her whatsoever.
The purple chains left deep scars on the monster, and purple-blue blood streaks permeated its entire eyeball.
“How is this possible…”
On the side, Bao Xiang was also shocked by the scene before her.
Having personally experienced the strange gaze, she couldn’t fathom how someone could be completely unaffected by it.
But in any case, what was certain now was—
The Seven-Winged monster was com·plete·ly· no· match for Snow Qing.
And just when the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, the Seven-Winged monster suddenly redirected its gaze towards them—
The strange light waves enveloped them once again.
(I can never escape the company’s control. After this plan fails, the company will surely settle scores with me…!)
(How do Cherry and the others see me…? Have they already considered me a burden, started getting tired of me?)
(I will definitely be blacklisted by the company… Am I going back to those dark days?)
(Cherry and the others made new friends after high school. They must have started forgetting about me… Will they find partners more suitable than Azure in the future?)
(This time, will Azure still come to save me? No, she won’t… After all, she doesn’t value me at all… And I treated her like that before… She must hate me even more…)
(Cherry… No… Cherry… Don’t leave me…)
…
Various negative emotions emanated from the two and transformed into black magic absorbed by the Seven-Winged monster!
—This ability was very similar to Snow Qing’s.
The damage caused by Snow Qing to the Seven-Winged monster quickly healed, and it even became more powerful!
“Roarrrgh!”
Ding-ling-ling-ling!
The purple chains vibrated with the stimulated magic, and some links showed signs of cracking.
“Tsk.”
Snow Qing couldn’t help but click her tongue.
If it were a one-on-one situation, she would easily handle the Seven-Winged monster. But now, she was essentially facing three—a monster and its two humanoid power banks.
In fact, it wasn’t impossible to fight, but currently, she was in a mimetic state. If she exceeded the limit of the power she used, the disguise of “Magical Girl Snow Qing” would shatter—something Snow Qing didn’t want to see.
With a frown, Snow Qing looked at Azure and Bao Xiang—
“Hey! You two! Quickly regain your composure! Don’t let the monster control you again!”
However, Snow Qing’s words clearly didn’t reach the two. They were still immersed in their pessimistic fantasies about the future, their eyes devoid of the expected brightness.
“Troublesome.”
So Snow Qing threw another chain towards each of them, the links hanging on their legs.
“Don’t think about those negative futures! These are all implanted by the monster! Your future should be created by yourselves! If you immerse yourself in those pessimistic thoughts, a despairing future will be brought about by yourselves!”
This time, Snow Qing’s voice finally transmitted through the chains to their souls. With the accompanying mental strength, it crushed the Seven-Winged monster’s magic!
( ! )
The two, freed from the brainwashed gaze of the Seven-Winged monster, finally snapped out of it. Their eyes regained their brightness!
In contrast, at this moment, purple cracks appeared on Snow Qing’s body—this was a sign of the mimetic state collapsing.
“Quick! Attack its eyeballs!”
Snow Qing’s voice rang directly in the real world.
Azure came to her senses, saw the monster entwined with chains, and Snow Qing, who was already crumbling. She immediately raised her only remaining fist—
“Ha—!!!”
A fierce left hook struck down towards the Seven-Winged monster’s eyeball!
Thunk.
The monster’s nictitating membrane easily blocked this full-force blow.
The recoil on Azure’s fist made it numb. Despair and helplessness surged through her once again.
But—
“Don’t give up!”
Bao Xiang spoke the words she had wanted to say all along.
There was no accompaniment on the battlefield, no audience. No matter how she sang, Bao Xiang could never fulfill her idol dream. But at this moment, Piao Xiang discovered what her singing truly wanted to convey—
‘Overcoming any adversity,
When all the fragments begin to shine,
The curtain of a new world rises.
…’
The familiar song echoed in the deserted ruins, just like the day Azure gained strength.
‘Love and bonds’
—This was a proposition that Azure still couldn’t truly understand.
But—
Power once again surged within Azure!
This feeling—
It was just like when she fought alongside Cherry and the others!
Azure looked at Bao Xiang, and Bao Xiang’s eyes said to her—
‘Don’t just stand there.’
Yes, what am I standing here for?
Azure turned back to the terrifying monster—those gigantic pupils reflecting in her clear eyes. But this time, she wouldn’t waver.
The final fist was raised once again.
In Snow Qing’s encouragement—
“Go! Azure—!!!”
In Bao Xiang’s inspiration—
‘That is the miracle of this story.’
Azure’s clear fist pierced the gigantic eyeball.
The broken chains.
The echoing song.
The dragging arm.
The bizarre pupils finally lost all their luster.
The enormous vacant eyes dissipated slowly under Azure’s sky.
…
…
In the distance, a drone was capturing everything here.