When the sound of magic power colliding exploded once again, Mimosa even felt the passing air lift her own hair. She instinctively turned her head, but saw nothing.
Although her senses told her that the noise had sounded as if right beside her ear, so real, when she actually used her eyes, she could see nothing, as if everything were just a figment of her imagination.
But she knew it couldn't possibly be an illusion.
Not long before, she had been with her companions, but they had become scattered during the enemy's attack on their nest. If there really were an illusion, that illusion would have to be that "teammates disappeared," not the sounds and airflows she sensed.
Nevertheless, even though she understood this, she still felt powerless about the situation.
She couldn't see her teammates or the enemies that had been close at hand in her field of vision; it was as if she had been thrown into a parallel world, with the scenery around her the same as when she had arrived, but everything else felt very wrong.
Stretching out her hand, she wrapped magic power around her palm and tentatively touched the trunk of a tree, the tactile sensation at her fingertips told her: this was indeed a real tree.
So, what exactly was her current situation? Had she been sent into a highly realistic alternate space? Been subjected to some form of deception? Or was it simply a cognitive disorder?
What intent could the other party have in doing this? Merely to buy time? Or to defeat them one by one? Maybe her teammates were getting knocked down by the enemy while she was leisurely exploring here?
She couldn't help but speculate on such possibilities.
And if her speculations were true, then the situation really would be quite bad—she knew very well the measure of her teammate, Mu Baihe; facing a Remnant Beast that was obviously above a chrysalis level, Mu Baihe would probably last less than two minutes.
As for the two Magical Girls from Fangting City... that Bai Mei who defeated Bai Ji should have decent strength, but what about the elementary schooler? Could that child hold on?
Thinking this, she immediately felt a much heavier burden on her shoulders, for the task of breaking the situation may very well fall to her.
She whispered the name of her Magic Armor and held the bell drum that appeared in her hands, then gently tapped it. The sound pattern, infused with magic power, instantly spread around her, scanning every inch of land near her like a radar.
She wanted to see if she could find any clues from the traces around her.
Lin Xiaolu clutched the wound on her abdomen, hiding behind a tree trunk, breathing as quietly as possible.
A pale blue magic power continuously seeped from her torn abdomen. She could feel a significant amount of her body's magic power flowing toward the wound, seemingly to mend it, but regrettably, she did not have that luxury at the moment.
For the breathing of the Remnant Beast was close by, and she needed to ensure she could mobilize enough magic power to respond to its attacks at any moment.
After a series of engagements, she had confirmed one thing—she was no match for her adversary in single combat.
This didn't surprise her, considering her opponent was a Remnant Beast that had taken control of their nest and, seemingly, of the rules. For her, at her level, to think of defeating it alone was ridiculously naive.
And it wasn't just about direct combat; even escape was difficult. The enemy had some kind of inexplicable perception ability; she could hardly escape its pursuit.
Had she not acted quickly in a moment of crisis, pretending to be willing to fight to the end and then hiding during the clash of magic power, she probably would be lying down now.
This bit of cunning had come at a price—she had used up half her magic power in that exchange, sustained severe injuries, and now she was about to be found again.
When that happened, she feared the enemy would simply crush her, leaving no chance for her to pull the same trick twice.
So, what could she do now?
She couldn't help asking herself this question.
If she couldn't win one-on-one, then the only chance of victory lay in team fighting. But Semi clearly wasn't stupid; it had used the rules to isolate all the Magical Girls present, plainly aiming to prevent them from ganging up on it.
In other words, the best way to defeat Semi was to break its rules.
"Breaking the rules," these four words sounded so easy, yet actually doing it was easier said than done. With her current knowledge, she didn't even know what the enemy had done, or what means it had used to make her companions disappear. How then could she possibly break the rules?
Thinking this, Lin Xiaolu felt somewhat dejected, and she closed her eyes once more. She felt frustrated for not being able to use Magic Armor—had her abilities not been so limited, perhaps she would have been able to gather some intelligence after her bout with the enemy.
If a battle were like two people playing cards, her Turbidity certainly enhanced the way she played her cards. But now, with no cards left to play, no amount of fancy technique could change anything.
With that thought, she shook her head slightly, then leaned on the tree trunk to stand up.
She had already heard it—the breathing of Semi stopped right behind her.
"Not hiding anymore?" Semi asked.
"I've been discovered, so what's the point in hiding."