“Mm, vines? Is that the dark-haired woman’s supernatural power? I thought her ability was more geared toward mental control.”
Zhao Meier looked at the vines coiled around her feet and recalled Hua Yiya, who was with Maka. Realizing this was her doing, she couldn’t help but think to herself.
“Hurry up and get away from there—these vines won’t hold for long!”
Knowing full well that the vines she’d just planted wouldn’t last, Hua Yiya wore a strained expression as she shouted at Maka, telling him to get away from Zhao Meier immediately.
Hearing this, Maka saw Hua Yiya’s vines being yanked and pulled by Zhao Meier, about to snap at any moment. Without a second thought, he quickly distanced himself from her, while also tossing a few paper airplanes her way.
Watching Maka flee right before her eyes, still finding the time to leave her a few paper airplanes, Zhao Meier immediately stopped struggling against the vines. Instead, she kicked up small pebbles from the ground and detonated each of those explosive paper airplanes one by one.
“Now’s our chance while no one else is blocking us—let’s get out of here!”
Maka, who knew very well that his own strength couldn’t really harm Zhao Meier, had no intention of sticking around for a fight to the death. Shrouded by the smoke and dust of the explosions, he turned and said this to Hua Yiya.
Hearing his words, Hua Yiya nodded without hesitation. Together, they skirted around Zhao Meier and made a run for the outside of the encirclement.
But before they could even take a few steps, Zhao Meier’s voice cut through the explosive smoke.
“With such petty tricks, you think you can just slip away right under my nose? You clearly don’t take me seriously.”
Thanks to her innate monstrous strength as a Little Succubus Queen, Zhao Meier broke free of the vines. After speaking, she burst out of the smoke, raised her spear, and charged at Maka once more.
Seeing this, Maka shot Hua Yiya a meaningful look, then rolled out of the way of Zhao Meier’s attack.
Hua Yiya caught his glance and remembered the signal he’d given her earlier. Realizing he wanted her to buy him some time, she immediately stopped in her tracks and spun around.
“Take this!”
Shouting loudly at Zhao Meier, Hua Yiya pulled a big handful of plant seeds from her clothing and hurled them straight at her.
Seeing all those unfamiliar seeds flying toward her, Zhao Meier didn’t think they could actually hurt her—but just in case, she decided not to take any risks and dodged out of their range.
As the seeds hit the ground, they began sprouting at an astonishing speed. In no time at all, a thick tangle of writhing, menacing vines had grown across the floor. If Zhao Meier weren’t absolutely certain she wasn’t dreaming, she’d have sworn this was all just a fantasy.
“Supernatural powers really are amazing—they can make plants grow this fast. What a shame they can’t be put to use for production.”
She sighed inwardly at the wonder of it all, lamenting that such power couldn’t serve humanity’s productive needs. Then, she quickly reeled her wandering thoughts back in and refocused on her mission.
Gripping her spear, Zhao Meier circled around the now-mass of ferocious vines and charged at Maka from the other side.
“Dammit, why does this little succubus have it out for me?”
Maka was busy preparing an escape spell to get himself and Hua Yiya out of there. Seeing Zhao Meier completely ignore Hua Yiya and barrel straight toward him, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath, genuinely baffled as to why she was so fixated on him.
Witnessing Zhao Meier’s move, Hua Yiya knew it was her job to draw the woman’s attention and stall for as much time as possible. She wasn’t about to just stand by and watch—she quickly manipulated the vines to attack Zhao Meier.
Seeing the assault coming from her flank, Zhao Meier let out a cold snort. Swinging her spear with ease, she sliced through the mass of vines under Hua Yiya’s control, neutralizing the threat. But doing so did cost her a little time in going after Maka.
Seeing Zhao Meier successfully held up by Hua Yiya, Maka—who was still preparing their escape—gave her a quick thumbs-up to show his appreciation.
But knowing this wasn’t the time for praise, he kept using his power to hurry up and get everything ready.
“Alright, all set now.”
Finally finishing his escape preparations just before Zhao Meier could completely clear away Hua Yiya’s vines, Maka felt a surge of excitement inside. Without wasting a moment, he raised his hand and sent a wave of paper airplanes flying toward Zhao Meier.
Zhao Meier, who had just finished clearing Hua Yiya’s vines and was about to attack Maka like before, stopped in her tracks when she saw the paper planes. Just as she’d done earlier, she used the tip of her spear to flick up pebbles from the ground and shot them all down.
“Perfect—now’s our chance.”
Watching Zhao Meier swallowed once again by the smoke and dust of the explosions, Maka hurried over to Hua Yiya.
“Scatter!”
Swinging her spear, Zhao Meier blew away the smoke around her. Seeing Maka and Hua Yiya fleeing into the distance, she lifted her weapon and gave chase.
“Is that little succubus gone yet?”
Hidden behind the vines and wrapped together with Hua Yiya in a special paper he’d crafted, Maka asked her uncertainly.
“She’s gone.”
Using the vines still under her control outside, Hua Yiya confirmed that Zhao Meier had chased after their paper decoys and was now far away. She quickly replied to Maka.
Hearing that Zhao Meier had gone after the two paper doppelgangers he’d created, Maka realized his risky gambit had actually worked, and he breathed a sigh of relief. But knowing they couldn’t let their guard down just yet, he hurriedly said to Hua Yiya,
“Good. As long as the supernatural mark I placed on those paper decoys still holds, we need to move—now.”
“Wait, you two—where do you think you’re going?”
“Huh? It’s you!”
Looking at the little fox Hu Yao’er standing before him—dressed in a pale red modified Hanfu with a big gourd slung across her back—Maka immediately recognized her, and a note of surprise slipped out of his mouth.
