"Damn it..." Seeing her expression, Chu Lian's heart sank. She knew the woman was truly enraged now—so enraged that she would rather kill them all, even if it meant failing her mission, just to avenge her fallen companion.
However, Chu Lian dared not make any rash moves. Though one of the enemies had been killed, the two remaining were even more cautious and terrifying.
One wrong step could result in far more danger than when all three had been alive.
"I really don't understand how these Otherside powerhouses—completely ignorant of modern technology—managed to appear right beside me. I originally thought there would be only one, with the other two showing up at different times and locations." Chu Lian's face was cold, but her mind was filled with questions.
"Why are they acting together, and why do they seem so... close? They shouldn't belong to the same faction. Their respective sides have deep-rooted rivalries and grudges."
Her eyes darted slightly as she observed the man and woman before her. "But the way they're fighting—they're moving as one, reacting to each other's rhythm perfectly. And that woman's anger over her companion's death... That's not just camaraderie. It's something deeper."
Their strange behavior occupied Chu Lian's thoughts. Yet, the battle's rapid pace and limited information left her with no way to draw conclusions. She could only set those doubts aside until the immediate threat was dealt with.
"I should be thankful for whoever diverted that dragon. If not for him, we would've been surrounded on two fronts by now. Forget thirty seconds—ten seconds might've been enough to wipe us out."
"No, to be more accurate, everyone except me would've been dead. It's obvious—both the dragon and these people are after me. The Otherside's interest makes sense, given my status as the Daughter of Fate. But what about that dragon? Why does it keep chasing me? What do I have that it wants so badly?"
In just a few seconds—while the ominous aura around the woman spread, freezing everyone else in fear—Chu Lian's mind raced, analyzing the battlefield.
"Why does a simple school trip have to turn into all this chaos? Forget it. I'll think later—right now, I need to figure out how to deal with the enemy in front of me." Chu Lian frowned slightly, but her senses were already sharpened to their limit.
"You hurt Cai Ya. I'll never forgive you for that..." Her gaze locked onto the woman before her, determination flashing in her eyes.
"Heh... Hehehe..." As the murky aura condensed around her, forming a set of ornate armor-like energy, the woman finally spoke, her laugh low and eerie.
"Why didn't you attack while you had the chance? You do realize it's much harder to win once I'm prepared, don't you? Or... are you afraid?" The final word came not from in front of Chu Lian—but from behind her.
The woman thrust both palms forward, sending a wave of sinister, deathly energy toward Chu Lian's back.
Her movements were unpredictable, but Chu Lian's reactions were sharp. Instantly, she used Teleport, dodging the incoming strike.
"I'll make you lose everyone you care about..." The woman's tone was chillingly calm. Without even glancing at where Chu Lian reappeared, her words fell—and in that instant, Chu Chu and Li Xiu'er, who had been protected behind Chu Lian, each took a palm strike to the back.
The two girls barely had time to register what was happening before the attacks hit. They didn't even have a chance to resist.
Li Xiu'er's physical endurance was no more than that of an ordinary human girl, while Chu Chu had already broken past mortal limits into the cultivator realm.
But the woman hadn't aimed to kill them immediately. Her strikes carried just enough force to heavily injure—to leave them helpless, on the verge of death, but still alive.
As expected, Chu Chu and Li Xiu'er's bodies couldn't withstand the blows. Pain flashed across their faces as darkness filled their vision. Their legs gave way, and they collapsed toward the ground.
"Damn it..." In the next instant, Chu Lian's figure appeared before them, catching both girls in her arms as she leapt back, retreating at high speed.
The man, who had remained motionless since his companion's death, finally moved. His legs sliced through the air, forming sharp gusts of wind as he kicked repeatedly at Chu Lian's frail back. Each strike drove the air from her lungs, forcing several mouthfuls of blood from her lips as her body was sent hurtling forward.
Caught off guard, Chu Lian's hands weakened, and Chu Chu and Li Xiu'er were thrown outward from her grasp.
As the two girls drifted farther away, sorrow and fury welled up within Chu Lian, threatening to consume her completely.
Within the domain, Hare's Throne's Left Side could only shield one dying person at a time. There was no remaining energy to protect anyone else.
Though Throne's Left Side was rapidly healing their injuries, too little time had passed—and worse, the woman's attacks carried a suppressive energy that counteracted Hare Menjou's healing power. For Chu Chu and Li Xiu'er, that recovery speed was as useless as a drop of water in a desert.
With wounds as severe as theirs, being thrown at that velocity meant one thing—death was inevitable once they hit the ground.
Just then, a white figure flashed across the battlefield like lightning, catching Chu Chu against their back. At the same moment, a pink silhouette appeared behind Li Xiu'er, cradling her as they absorbed the momentum and carried her safely away from the battle.
Thud! Chu Lian's own body slammed heavily into the ground. But she paid no attention to the pain, only wiping the blood from her lips as a faint, relieved smile appeared.
As long as they were safe, that was enough.
"Too bad... one of them still has to die..." The woman's clear voice slithered into Chu Lian's ears like a demon's whisper. Chu Lian's head snapped up in shock—just in time to see that, with Inori having left her position, the barrier before Liu Yanran had vanished. The defenseless girl was now dangling in the air, the woman's hand clenched tightly around her throat.
"Yanran!" Chu Lian didn't hesitate for a second. Teleport activated, and she appeared right in front of Liu Yanran, reaching out to pull her free.
Liu Yanran's face was twisted in pain as she struggled to breathe. But when she saw Chu Lian, she smiled faintly—as if reassured that she was saved.
Then, in the next heartbeat, the woman's other hand pierced straight through her chest. Fingers wrapped around the still-beating heart—and crushed it.
"Chu... Lian..." Liu Yanran's outstretched hand fell weakly, her lips still forming Chu Lian's name as life faded from her eyes. Chu Lian stood frozen, her gaze hollow, staring blankly at the sight before her.
At that very moment, Hare Menjou's ability ended. The backlash of Throne's Left Side took effect, forcing her into slumber.
"Yanran... Yanran... Yanran... is dead..." Chu Lian whispered. Though their interactions had been few, Liu Yanran had left a deep impression on her.
She was always so gentle, so refined—every gesture elegant and serene, like a noble lady from an old family. Her smile was warm and tender, always making those around her feel at peace.
And now, this girl... because of her... had her heart crushed before her very eyes. Even in her final moments, those hopeful eyes were still filled with Chu Lian's image. She... she had believed Chu Lian would save her.
"Haha! Do you feel it now?" The woman laughed madly. "Originally, I planned to hunt them down one by one—kill them all before coming for you. But it seems you saw through that plan and gathered them together under your protection."
With a flick of her wrist, she hurled Liu Yanran's lifeless body away. Chu Lian appeared behind her instantly, spreading her arms to gently catch the girl. Her empty eyes stared at Yanran's pale face in silence.
"Though you've made it harder for us to kill them, I've realized something far better... Watching them die before your eyes—it's far more satisfying. The key to the gate between the Otherside and the mortal world isn't light... but endless darkness. So, fall... fall into despair..." The woman's voice dripped with dark allure, but to the current Chu Lian, it meant nothing at all.
"I'll make every last one of you die..." The icy killing intent erupted like a storm, spreading a suffocating pressure across the battlefield. Holding Liu Yanran's lifeless body in her arms, Chu Lian raised her head to look at the woman, a cruel smile curving at the corner of her lips. "You actually lent me your soul's power... repairing all the damage I'd taken—and even granting me more strength. A body that no longer resists me, spiritual power surging like the ocean... I've never felt anything like this before."
Lifting her gaze toward the maddened woman, Chu Lian's eyes had turned a deep violet. Within them swirled a violent bloodlust stronger than ever before—even the dragon's overwhelming aura paled in comparison to hers now.
"What...?" The woman's manic laughter halted the instant Dark Chu Lian appeared again. Shock and disbelief filled her face.
That same girl, who moments ago had only been at the Intermediate Spirit Level, was now standing at the peak of the Spirit Level—with an aura that faintly hinted at stepping into the Earth Level.
"Death... slaughter... I want more..." She drew a ribbon from her spatial inventory, binding Liu Yanran's body to her own. Then, with a light tap of her foot, she launched forward at a speed faster than bullets.
"Locked... I can't move!" The woman tried to retreat, but a terrifying power restrained her legs, freezing her in place. Even her arms refused to respond when she tried to raise them in defense.
"Li Ran! Help me!" she screamed, calling out to her companion. But that man, Li Ran, was already entangled in fierce combat with Tina, who had fully entered her battle form.
Without the distraction of other enemies, Tina, as the Underworld Watcher, pressed the advantage mercilessly. Even though Li Ran, a zombie of the Undead Clan, was stronger in his true form, she was slowly overpowering him.
After all, while Inori was protecting the remaining girls, her gunfire continued to rain down in long-range support.
"Does torture amuse you?" Dark Chu Lian leaned close to the woman's face, staring directly into her eyes. Her tone was calm—almost tender—as she spoke. Before the woman could even respond, Chu Lian grasped both her wrists and yanked violently.
"Ahhh!" The woman's scream pierced the air as her arms were torn from her body. Dark crimson blood sprayed across the ground, glinting with a grotesque beauty under the dawn sunlight.
"Do you know... what it feels like to be flayed alive? Allow me to show you..." Dark Chu Lian tossed the severed arms aside. She extended her hands toward a patch of grass, and Kurosaki Satsuki's twin katanas flew obediently into her grasp.
"Tsk tsk... My prisoner, eliminated so silently... If not for Hare's ability, I'd be dead now. But don't worry—I'll avenge them soon enough. Now then, with these blades... how many cuts should I take to skin you clean?"
Her voice was soft, almost playful, as her violet eyes gleamed with demonic delight. To her, the trembling, graceful woman before her was no longer human—only prey, the most exquisite offering to the darkness.