At this moment, even with her limited capacity for understanding, Lin Xiaolu guessed what Xia Liang wanted to do.
At the same time, Xia Liang moved the half-human-high mirror in front of her, like a magician, turned sideways to Lin Xiaolu, and gestured toward the spot where the mirror had been:
"You see, my guess was correct."
The direction she pointed to, on the previously seamless magical barrier, amidst the faint flow of magic power, a gap had appeared large enough for a person to pass through.
"There's not even a slight reaction from the barrier outside. It seems you've used some tricky little methods," said the man in the black robe. Upon having his imminent victory interrupted, he initially felt annoyed; however, he quickly adjusted his emotions while sizing up the newcomers: "However, light blue and purple, eh? And the last one hasn't arrived? So those mongrels are still somewhat useful."
Not being able to kill Molke and letting him escape amid the chaos certainly fueled his anger. But since that wasn't his main objective, he was not going to lose his composure over it.
"You know about us?" Lin Xiaolu asked cautiously, feeling somewhat uneasy due to the confident tone in the enemy's words.
"Know about you? Rather, why wouldn't I know about you?"
Having regained his composure, the man shook his head slightly and cracked a strange smile: "For instance, the strongest among you is that shortest blue brat, right? She's not with you now?"
"We have no reason to report our companions' whereabouts to the enemy."
Seeing Lin Xiaolu's expression becoming somewhat off, Xia Liang took over the conversation proactively: "Whether she comes or not, we will subdue you here. Terrorizing with magic power, the only thing waiting for you is arrest."
"Oh? Really? Are you unwilling to report, or unable to report?"
The man, however, was indifferent to her words and didn't concern himself with the besieging situation either, stretching out his hand as if tallying up goods, counting the people in front of him: "Three magical girls, one fairy, a pig... not worth counting, and finally, four sources of magic power? That'll do, it can at least make up for part of the loss of a sacrifice."
"What are you muttering about?"
Lin Xiaolu, interpreting something else in his words, asked seriously, realizing that Emerald Sparrow not answering the phone might not be simple: "What happened with Emerald Sparrow? Do you have other accomplices?"
"Emerald Sparrow? Is that the nickname of that blue brat?"
The man shrugged his shoulders: "Sorry, I really don't know what specifically will happen to her. After all, the request I made to that mongrel was just not to interfere with my plans."
"Mongrel?" The word the man kept muttering finally caught Lin Xiaolu's attention, "So you do have accomplices?"
"Curious? Want to ask more? But my mood for chatting has almost run out; it's time to get down to business."
Lifting his head, the man's expression remained unchanged, but his voice grew increasingly loud: "Knowing more is pointless because, after what comes next, you and she will share the same fate—death!"
With those words, a chilling magic power suddenly spread around him.
He produced a purple-black lump of flesh from nowhere, raising it in front of him. That lump of flesh emitted a strange glow, throbbing intermittently as if it possessed its own life.
Xia Liang, with a slightly stronger magical power perception, couldn't help covering her nose and mouth: "It feels disgusting."
"Disgusting? This is as ignorant as it is lamentable. This is a treasure of the same nature as your Heart's Gem."
Gazing at the lump of flesh in his hand, the man's smile took on a touch of devotion and gentleness: "Don't you think there's a sort of irresistible beauty to it? After all, if we were to use your naming conventions, it could be called the 'Remnant Beasts' Organ.'
'Remnant Beasts' Organ'..."
It wasn't until she saw his stance that Lin Xiaolu, who had been haunted by a strong sense of déjà vu, seemed to finally understand something, her expression turning somewhat dazed.
She finally understood why, ever since she had seen the magical barrier enclosing the orphanage, she had been feeling a persistent sense of irritation deep inside her heart.
Because months ago, when she had just become a magical girl for barely a week, she had encountered a similar situation in the suburban wetland park.
Trapped within the barrier in the wetland park and facing an Inchworm-stage Remnant Beast, if not for Emerald Sparrow's timely rescue, she would have probably died there.
And now, at this moment, she suddenly recalled the perilous night in the wetland park, remembering a doubt that had nearly been forgotten.
That was, when she was barely hanging on under the claws of the Inchworm-stage Remnant Beast; the expression she saw on the face of the Remnant Beast was almost human.
Could a Remnant Beast possibly have such a humanized expression?
Without a doubt, that was impossible.
After all, lower-evolved Remnant Beasts should have very limited intelligence.
Moreover, after that incident, Lin Xiaolu had hunted many Remnant Beasts with Emerald Sparrow and had never seen another with such a human-like individual. Most of them were large and deformed creatures, and even among the Inchworms, few had the bipedal form of that night.