"That looked scary, but it's really not such a big deal."
Watching the demon's palm explode into powder, Dark Magician Girl proudly puffed out her chest and flashed a peace sign at the trembling little girl in her arms.
"Don't be scared, little one. Big sis will take care of this monster—"
Before she could soothe the child, a pitch-black shadow fell. Sky Drum's remains regrouped its massive palm and swatted down.
BOOM!
A huge explosion rang out. Dark Magician Girl plummeted like a cannonball into the dense forest outside the ruins, kicking up dust.
"Dark Magician Girl!"
Mirajane, still evacuating the crowd, screamed and anxiously ran toward her through the dust and gravel.
"I'm fine, Mira-nee! Compared to that Fire Lizard, this level of attack is no threat."
A pink barrier condensed from magical power pushed through the smoke. Dark Magician Girl stood in a crater full of cracks, her golden hair dancing in the wind.
The surrounding trees, plants, and even the surface had been completely destroyed by the huge impact—but she and the little girl in her arms were unharmed.
"Mira-nee! I'll hold off this Ugly Big Guy! You all get out of this dangerous place!"
Dark Magician Girl handed the little girl to Mirajane, her gaze gradually became solemn.
From that brief exchange, she could clearly feel the terrifying magical power lurking within that thing.
Definitely not an opponent she could easily defeat—at least not without her master by her side!
——With his powerful magical power, Chase could let card monsters freely act in this world.
But like Celestial Spirits, without a continuous supply of magical power, once their existing energy ran out, card monsters would be forcibly dragged back into the deck.
Dark Magician Girl knew this well. She wanted to delay Sky Drum's remains as much as possible, buying Mira-nee and the island tourists enough time to evacuate!
"Be very careful." Mirajane confessed seriously.
She wasn't the type to hesitate in a crisis. She scooped up the little girl and ran toward the beach where the magical vessels were docked.
This was the greatest help she, without combat ability, could give Dark Magician Girl!
"Destroying this nice island is bad enough, but ruining my precious time with Mira-nee..."
Dark Magician Girl withdrew her gaze from Mirajane's retreating figure, gripped her magic wand, and glared angrily at Sky Drum's remains. "Big guy, prepare to face the judgment of this Magical Genius Girl!"
SWOOSH!
Updrafts lift her delicate magical robe. Dark Magician Girl's legs slightly bent as she transformed into a pink blur, shooting into the sky.
She was incredibly fast, continuously circling the huge remains of the Sky Drum.
Each time she passed, she fired a magical wave that exploded against its surface!
Though Sky Drum's remains, powered by numerous sacrificial mages, could regenerate any damaged area, its massive clumsy body was helpless against Dark Magician Girl's high mobility.
Several attempts to grab her failed.
Inside the remains, Marshall's body had completely merged with the stone heart altar, only his hideous face exposed.
Watching his advance forcefully halted, his eyes bloodshot, he ground his teeth in fury.
Before absorbing sacrifices to give Sky Drum its true body, this body couldn't use magic—only possessed basic movement ability.
In fact, it was merely a phantom constructed from magical power—naturally not destructible by external attacks.
In Marshall's plan, he would slaughter and sacrifice all the tourists on the island, quickly fulfilling the three conditions for Sky Drum's is coming.
Then he'd kill Chase or whatever Magic Council mages showed up, supplementing the remaining magical power to achieve the perfect state—godhood manifest!
And now, some damn female mage had completely disrupted his layout.
If those sacrifices escaped, with only Sky Drum's remains, he'd eventually be completely erased by the arriving Magic Council!
Fortunately.
He'd anticipated this contingency and prepared a contingency...
With that thought, Marshall's twisted, bloodshot pupils flickered with a fierce light. He slowly glanced at the black-robed cultist around him.
The believers, completely unaware of the impending danger, were cheering fanatically, eagerly anticipating the Eighteen Demon Gods' arrival, sweeping away the Light guilds and Magic Council, and ascending to glory.
Soon, they would all become believers of the "god"!
"Lord Marshall! What's the situation outside? You must have harvested a lot of sacrifices by now... right...?"
Unable to contain his excitement, a believer rushed over to ask about Marshall's progress.
Then he met the viciousness deep in Marshall's eyes.
The next second—BOOM.
That believer exploded on the spot, along with his foolish dreams, dissolving into a blood mist that merged with the stone heart altar.
This sudden turn of events stunned the other believers, their minds going blank.
"No! No!"
"Lord Marshall! You can't do this! Please!"
By the time they reacted, their bodies had already rapidly swollen, exploding one after another into blood mist.
"Rest easy, guys. Offering your lives for the god's coming is a great honor."
Marshall's emotionless voice echoed through the now-silent chamber.
Outside.
The huge monster suddenly roared at the sky, erupting an unimaginably terrifying magical storm.
After blasting back Dark Magician Girl, who'd bee
n attempting to attack, the rock layers covering its body began to fall off, revealing layers of biological bone and muscle beneath.
Like a beetle molting, a layer of dark skin gradually formed.
Hair rapidly grew atop its head. Then came crimson eyeballs, a snorting nose, a mouth full of jagged fangs...
All these changes happened almost instantly. When the piercing roar finally ceased—
Standing before Dark Magician Girl was a humanoid giant draped in tattered ancient battle armor, radiating an aura of sheer oppression!
"So that's your real form?"
Dark Magician Girl tightened her grip on her magic wand and murmured, "Eighteen Demon Gods? You're even uglier than that Fire Lizard!"
"Iragudo... Ne... Vir..."
In response, obscure ancient incantations sounded.
Marshall (Sky Drum) merely slightly raised a finger. The bursting space vortex shattered the magical barrier Dark Magician Girl had raised into fragments.
Amid the flying barrier debris, Dark Magician Girl and her staff were blasted away together, crashing into a distant hill and triggering a huge explosion.
The entire hill was instantly leveled!
Marshall didn't pursue. His giant eyeballs slightly rotated, his gaze piercing through the distance to precisely land on Mirajane, directing tourists onto ships at the coast.
"Unexpected..."
"That white-haired woman's body harbors such astonishing magical power..."
"Heh. How fortunate. This saves me the trouble of waiting for Chase to deliver himself..."
With the demon's physical form, Marshall's perception became extremely keen. He immediately noticed Mirajane, shining like a beacon.
Eager to reach the perfect state, he instantly reached out with his huge palm from afar.
SWOOSH!
A dark green Chaos swirls shot forth, twisting the space along its path, rapidly speeding toward Mirajane.
Mirajane seemed to sense something. She abruptly turned—just as the vortex of chaos reached her, filling her entire field of vision!
In that critical moment, a pink figure galloped from afar.
Dark Magician Girl, magic wand in hand, positioned herself in front, liberating all her magical power to prop open a light barrier, withstanding the chaos vortex's assault.
Their collision erupted with horrific shockwaves that overturned the beach on both sides, violently shaking the docked magical vessels.
Everyone onboard had already wet themselves, paralyzed on the deck trembling.
Mirajane's face was pale, her body slightly trembling. Blood seeped from her clenched fists at her sides.
Not because she was scared of the demon god's magic, but...
Before her, under the chaos beam's bombardment, Dark Magician Girl's magical robe was gradually breaking, her entire body slowly becoming transparent!
Though she knew Chase's card monsters didn't truly die, this scene still stirred memories lurking deep in Mirajane's heart.
The "nightmare" she dared not face, refused to accept!
"Mira-nee, don't worry."
Sensing Mirajane's fear, Dark Magician Girl glanced hard back against the gale, a reassuring sweet smile on her lips. "I can clearly sense that Mas—"
CRACK!
The magical barrier was completely shattered, cutting off her unfinished words.
The ensuing shockwave sent both Dark Magician Girl and Mirajane flying, hurled high into the air.
Then came the despair-inducing rapid descent!
The howling gale roared in their ears. The intense feeling of weightlessness turned the world upside down.
Facing certain death, Mirajane gently closed her eyes.
Her relaxed beautiful face showed not a trace of fear.
She too sensed it—the warm presence rapidly approaching from the distant horizon.
Absolutely unmistakable, this feeling of immense peace of mind...
It was him!
On the magical vessel, the Weekly Sorcerer editor, who'd been waiting for the despair thud that never came, took courage, tremblingly opened his tightly shut eyes.
The first thing to enter his vision was a dark blue cloak slowly billowing in the gale.
A tall figure, left arm holding Dark Magician Girl, right arm embracing Miss Mirajane, stood on the devastated beach!
"That's... Mr. Chase?"
The editor heaved a huge sigh of relief and cheered loudly, "Cool~!"
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!