Chapter 113: Major Event One: Battle of the Dragon Ninja (Eight)
"Although it seems you're already crippled, you are still an A-class ninja, after all, so let me give you a little respect,"
the strange thing said mockingly, slowly pulling out its right hand that had been hidden behind its back, revealing a bone knife that was chillingly white and about six feet long.
"That knife... where did you get that knife?"
Wang Minghai stared at the bone knife in the strange thing's hand, suddenly froze for a moment, and then roared his question.
"Oh, you mean this knife?" the strange thing arched its nonexistent brow and said slowly, "I took it from your younger apprentice brother after I had slaughtered him. To be honest, the quality is so-so, but it might be good for slaying dragons."
"You killed Haroldon?"
Wang Minghai questioned, word by word, his lips twitching slightly.
"Correct, and now it's your turn,"
the strange thing said, as its right hand wrapped in electromagnetic pulse gloves suddenly lifted, presenting a mid-century pirate's musket. Pulling the trigger, flames burst forth.
Bang!
Despite his serious injuries, Wang Minghai's responses and speed were still mind-bogglingly fast. He bent over and sidestepped the strange thing, while at the same time pulling out a set of brass knuckles from his suit pocket, fitting them onto his left hand.
"Still trying to struggle, I see. You look like you're on your last breath,"
the strange thing taunted, noting how the right side of Wang Minghai's body was virtually useless under the strike of Magic Girl Ash's magical light beam.
If it had been a superhuman below the A-class, such an injury would have practically spelled death sentence — it had to be said, the vitality of an A-class superhuman was formidable, still clinging to life despite such grievous wounds.
After putting on the metal knuckles, Wang Minghai charged forward with a roar, his eyes bloodshot.
"I watched that kid grow up...you actually killed him, you actually killed him!"
"And I too watched that kid grow up, although... the 'kid' I refer to might not be the same one you're talking about."
The strange thing curled its lips, pointing the musket at him and pulling the trigger once again.
Bang!
The barrel spat flames, splashing ferociously towards Wang Minghai.
Dodging by diving forward, Wang Minghai avoided the gunpowder scorching past his ear, but one of his ears was blasted open.
At that moment, however, the strange thing shot spider silk towards his chest.
Wang Minghai frowned and punched the oncoming silk, but his force was cushioned by the stickiness of the web.
Right then, the strange thing unleashed the second function of the electromagnetic pulse gloves, filling the metal fingertips with electromagnetic energy.
"Zzzzzz—" it mimicked the sound playfully.
As soon as the words were out, intense electromagnetism traveled through the tough silk to Wang Minghai, causing his body to convulse and his face to contort.
In the past, such an amount of electricity would have been inconsequential to him. But after his deadly battle with Magic Girl Ash, his stamina and immunity were nearly depleted, leaving him defenseless.
"Only a fool would engage an A-class in close combat, even a crippled A-class... Hmm, this knife is just a ruse, don't even think about me getting close to you."
The strange thing said as it lowered its right hand, shooting spider silk in rapid succession at Wang Minghai, who was in a state of paralysis, sticking to his left and right legs.
Then, it reached out with the electromagnetic pulse gloves towards the front, palm facing Wang Minghai. The next moment, an electromagnetic pulse burst forth from the palm's patterns, hitting Wang Minghai squarely in the chest.
The light in Wang Minghai's remaining eye gradually faded as his head drooped.
Still, the strange thing didn't relax its guard and approached him rashly. It threw the bone knife into the air and then shot a web, sticking to the knife's handle.
It then lifted its right hand, pulling on the silk, swirling the knife once in midair before releasing the silk, sending the bone knife, which now carried a powerful kinetic energy, straight into Wang Minghai's body.
The bone knife flew and pierced through Wang Minghai's head with a "thwack", causing him to fall backward onto the ground. After a long while, he lay completely motionless.
Blood spurted continuously from the opening in his head.
It was only after a short while that it stopped, like a dried-up little fountain.
The strange thing lifted its hollow eyes, continuing to press down with its right hand, sticking webs onto Wang Minghai's body with "puff, puff" sounds.
Continue your journey at empire
It didn't give him any chance of feigning death, aiming for a perfect coup de grâce.
[Congratulations, you have successfully killed an A-class superhuman. Milestone achievement has been updated, please claim your reward promptly.]
With the system notification popping up, the strange thing finally placed its hands on its waist and took a deep breath of relief.
It shrugged and said, "That's what you get for laying hands on my dear Miss Ash, you blind fool..."
As it spoke, the strange thing turned around, only to see that Magical Girl Xiaohongmao, in conjunction with Magical Girl Ash, had already dealt with the group of Ninjas.
There wasn't much to say about the battle process. The ten Ninjas were already injured, and with Xiaohongmao binding their hands and feet with snowflakes, they had no choice but to surrender. They were mercilessly sent off by Magical Girl Ash, one bullet per person.
Magical Girl Xiaohongmao supported Ash and took out an E-rank item, the "Rebirth Medical Bottle," from her bag and handed it to her, saying that it was a Healing Liquid left by her grandmother, which would take effect immediately upon drinking.
The strange thing covered its face, unable to hold back a snicker.
"Your grandmother came along too, did she? Was she eaten by a big bad wolf, and then a Hunter uncle with a shotgun saved you?" it mocked.
"Shut up,"
Magical Girl Xiaohongmao said expressionlessly.
Ash looked at the bottle Xiaohongmao handed over, hesitated for a while, wanted to refuse, but ultimately accepted the medical bottle—after all, without Xiaohongmao, she would have met her end right then and there. How could Xiaohongmao mean her harm?
Holding the medical bottle in her hand, she then remembered that she hadn't used the magic mirror to change her appearance, but since Xiaohongmao and the strange thing already knew her identity, it didn't matter anymore...
She brought the medical bottle to her lips and drained the liquid inside. It tasted quite good, like orange juice, and it also moistened her dry throat.
Soon, Magical Girl Ash was surprised to find that her injuries had massively healed.
"What exactly is this?"
She looked down, gently furrowing her brow, suspiciously sizing up the Rebirth Medical Bottle like a grade schooler.
"My grandmother was also a Magic Girl," Xiaohongmao said softly. "This is a magic medical bottle she left to me before she passed away; she said it could be used if I got hurt. It's just that I can't see her anymore... I'm an orphan; my parents abandoned me, my grandmother has also died."
Saying this, she stealthily placed the empty Rebirth Medical Bottle back into her bag while Ash wasn't looking.
"You're an orphan?" Ash was startled.
"Yeah, earlier when I lied to you about being in the same school, I actually can't afford to go to school," Xiaohongmao said.
"How come..."
Ash hung her head in thought for a while, and after a long moment, lifted her eyes to look at her seriously, saying.
"You must come to the Alliance, do you understand? My master, no, Teacher Xizi Yue, has been thinking about you, saying that since the last time, you never showed up to submit an application to join, as if you evaporated from the face of the earth."
"I just didn't want to drag you all down."
Xiaohongmao said softly, head lowered.
"Didn't you just save me?" Ash turned to look at her, extending a finger to gently tap her pale forehead, "Don't think too much, we are all waiting for you."
Seeing Xiaohongmao remain silent, Ash let out a light sigh and got up from the ground.
She brushed the dust off her skirt, stowed away the tachi at the bottom of Cinderella, and then turned her head to the strange thing, asking coldly, "Why are you here?"
"I've said before, I know everything," the strange thing replied with a smirk, "More importantly... shouldn't you thank me first for saving you?"
"And her, why is she here?"
"I brought her over. When I said you were in danger, she didn't think twice and transformed right away to help you."
"...Thank you."
After a moment of silence, Ash lowered her head and said to Xiaohongmao, who sat on the ground.
"You're welcome," Xiaohongmao said.
"I don't understand, why do you only say thank you to her, what about my share?"
The strange thing tilted its head, asking inconfused.
"What exactly happened outside?" Magical Girl Ash asked.
"Instead of that... aren't you worried about your family? They are still upstairs,"
the strange thing said, raising a finger to point at the rooftop.
At those words, Ash frowned, and a ripple of magic power surged from the tip of Cinderella's umbrella, carrying her upward, surpassing the layers of elevators to reach the fifth floor of Wanxiang City.
"A decisive young lady... Well, with the situation outside likely wrapping up, let's go take a look,"
the strange thing muttered, watching Magical Girl Ash leave, and began to put away the series of equipment back into its bag.
Then, with hands on hips, it stepped onto the powered-down elevator to descend to the first floor, towards the war-torn Luo Dehua Commercial Street.