“Cough, cough… Damn it.”
Seeing the members of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau collapsed on the ground not far from her, Si Yexing cursed under her breath. She, too, had failed to get away from the pale yellow mist’s range in time, and without any adequate protection, her face was now flushed, her body burning hot, her limbs weak, and her head pounding. She coughed uncontrollably, as if she’d come down with a nasty case of the flu.
Old Lady Victor also saw the Bureau members lying on the ground, as well as Si Yexing, who was still standing thanks to her formidable strength. Having already made up her mind earlier, the old woman naturally wouldn’t show any mercy now. She immediately commanded the other spirits, unaffected by the Apothecary spirit’s power, to attack them.
Sensing the danger closing in fast and knowing she was in no condition to dodge, there was no look of nervousness on Si Yexing’s face. That was simply because the other versions of herself had already arrived.
Just as the warrior spirit rushed up to Si Yexing and was about to use the weapon in its hand to sever her head…
A flash of pink suddenly burst through the pale yellow mist from outside. Swinging the long spear in her hand, she directly blocked the warrior spirit’s attack aimed at Si Yexing.
“Whoa, this thing’s pretty strong. Still, compared to me now that I’m a little succubus queen, it’s way out of its league.”
Feeling the tremendous force transmitted from the warrior spirit through her spear, Zhao Mei’er didn’t feel much strain at all. She made a mental note of it and then used her own astonishing strength, effortlessly sending the warrior spirit flying with a single blow.
She didn’t bother to keep her eyes on the spirit she’d knocked away. Through Si Yexing’s field of vision, Zhao Mei’er noticed the other spirits trying to kill the unconscious Bureau members lying on the ground. She immediately dragged her spear and launched a fierce charge at them, beating back all those spirits in just a few swift moves.
“Who are you?”
Seeing this person suddenly appear to block the warrior spirit’s attack for Si Yexing, send it flying, and then even beat back the other spirits under her control, Old Lady Victor looked at the rather scantily clad figure with a demon’s tail and wings with some surprise, and asked.
“I’m Zhao Mei’er, Number Five of the Freedom Life Association.”
Gripping her long spear tightly, Zhao Mei’er—who could temporarily ignore the effects of the pale yellow mist thanks to the succubus’s powerful physique—kept a wary eye on the powerful spirits nearby while introducing herself to Old Lady Victor.
“Number Five of the Freedom Life Association? Don’t tell me all the people in your group are three-star peak-level Espers?”
Hearing Zhao Mei’er’s introduction and sensing the aura she gave off, Old Lady Victor realized she was also a three-star peak-level Esper, just like Si Yexing. She couldn’t help but ask, a little curious.
“No, the bar for joining our Freedom Life Association isn’t that high.”
Before Old Lady Victor could even get an answer from Zhao Mei’er, Hu Yao’er, who had rushed all the way here with An Xiaoyu from another encirclement direction and finally managed to land just outside the range of the pale yellow mist, beat her to it and answered her question.
Hearing Hu Yao’er’s voice, Old Lady Victor quickly shifted her attention to her. Once she saw that Hu Yao’er was merely a two-star peak-level Esper, she lost interest, withdrew her gaze, and continued looking at Zhao Mei’er as she asked,
“Is that little girl with the fox ears and tail also a member of your Freedom Life Association?”
“Yes, Mrs. Victor, that fox-eared girl is also a member of their organization.”
“Hmm? You recognize that fox-eared girl just now?”
Hearing Maka suddenly blurt out in surprise behind her, Mrs. Victor turned and looked at him to ask.
“I do. She’s the Esper who hurt me the day before yesterday. But…”
“But what?”
Not knowing what Maka was hesitating about, Old Lady Victor urged him on.
Hearing this, Maka honestly answered her, “But she should be dead by now. After all, I gave it everything I had with that paper bomb, and the explosive power wasn’t small at all. Plus, she was so close at the time. Even if she’s a two-star peak-level Esper, there’s no way she could have survived.”
Old Lady Victor froze for a second. After confirming that Hu Yao’er in the distance was indeed a living, breathing presence, she said to Maka, “From the looks of things, Maka, it seems you failed in that attempt.”
While Old Lady Victor and Maka were talking, Hu Yao’er knew perfectly well how dangerous that pale yellow mist was. She was fully aware that if she used her Esper powers here, she’d definitely draw an attack from Old Lady Victor. So, after landing, she hurriedly spoke to the people around her,
“Auntie Bai, Xiaoyu, and the other Bureau members, please cover me.”
“Don’t worry, Xiao Hu, I’ll protect you.”
“Me too. As long as I, An Xiaoyu, am still here, I absolutely won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“Huh? You are…?”
Hearing the beautiful mermaid with a rainbow-colored fish tail next to Hu Yao’er speak, Bai Yuling looked at her with some surprise and asked.
“Nice to meet you. I’m An Xiaoyu, Number Seven of the Freedom Life Association.”
Hearing Bai Yuling’s question and knowing she didn’t recognize her now that she’d transformed into a mermaid princess, An Xiaoyu took the initiative to introduce her made-up identity.
“You’re also a member of the Freedom Life Association? But why haven’t I ever seen you before?”
After hearing An Xiaoyu’s self-introduction, Bai Yuling was still a bit confused and asked.
To that, An Xiaoyu slapped her fish tail against the hard cement ground and said to Bai Yuling, a little helplessly, “Look at me. Do you think I could be on land all the time looking like this?”
Hearing this, Bai Yuling’s gaze was quickly drawn to An Xiaoyu’s fish tail, and a look of sudden understanding dawned on her face.
“Oh, I see. No wonder I’ve never seen you before.”
“Alright, stop talking now and just cover me.”
Knowing this wasn’t the time to introduce another version of herself to Bai Yuling, Hu Yao’er quickly said this to her, urging her to put her attention back on the situation at hand.
After speaking, Hu Yao’er hurriedly used her Esper powers and began making large amounts of a green medicinal liquid inside her treasured large gourd, a substance capable of counteracting all the negative effects of the pale yellow mist. She then controlled it, forming it into a cloud that drifted towards the area occupied by the poisonous mist.
Seeing this, Bai Yuling snapped back to attention and swiftly rallied the nearby Bureau members who could still fight. An Xiaoyu also took out her signature weapon, the Trident of the Sea God, and got ready for battle.
