Chương 187: Xingxian's Choice

Xingxian slowly landed on the shattered, massive circular platform, trying to calm the surging magic power within her body caused by the desperate attack she had just unleashed.

His gaze passed through the dazzling light curtain composed of countless mirror fragments that was slowly falling. Although he was still slightly out of breath, Xingxian's lips curled into a smile full of satisfaction and pride.

She knew she had made the right bet.

This seemingly flawless alternate dimension was indeed created by Mirror Lord using a naturally generated void bubble as "material" and then deeply modifying it with his "Mirror Authority".

The powerful erosion-level void beast that he specially rescued was originally an important "anchor" that existed in the bubble, maintaining the existence of this void bubble, or rather, the "load-bearing wall" of the entire building.

Once this "anchor point" is completely removed, the modified alternate dimension will be like a house without load-bearing walls, turning into a dangerous building that could collapse at any moment.

As a result, the endless mirrors and reflections that Mirror Lord originally had in this space lost their foundation for existence. If he continued to play those tricks, it would be like continuing construction in a dilapidated building, which would only accelerate the process of this space's destruction.

"Now, your home-field advantage—no longer exists."

Xingxian slowly raised her head, coldly turning her gaze to the tall, slender figure that remained calmly suspended in mid-air in the distance.

Although she couldn't see the true expression behind that pure white smiling mask, she could clearly feel that the other person's usual composure and playfulness were now being replaced by a furious rage filled with real killing intent.

"As expected of the inspector of the magic kingdom."

Jingjue's voice was no longer as frivolous as before; every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying obvious anger.

"He actually managed to see through my intention in saving that virtual beast, and then—risked being attacked by my mirror images at the same time to kill it completely."

"Even as an enemy, I must sincerely praise it—it was absolutely brilliant."

Upon hearing this, Xingxian let out a cold laugh. She held her wand in her hand and pointed it at Jingjue in the distance, her tone full of mockery: "I would rather hear your curses and wails than the praise of my enemies, because that is the highest honor for me."

"Now that your prized Mirror Maze has largely collapsed, you no longer have the capacity to create the same number of mirrors and reflections as before, right?"

"So, you shadowy creature who only knows how to hide like a rat, are you ready to face my wrath?!"

The moment the words fell, Xingxian's figure transformed into a pale purple streak of light once more, launching a fierce attack towards Jingjue.

Just as she had predicted, the mirror maze became extremely unstable after losing its "anchor point." Most of the mirrors had disappeared, leaving only a few large fragments suspended in the air. Mirror Lord's elusive ability to jump between mirrors was greatly limited.

Although he can still use the remaining mirrors to make short jumps, his speed and agility are nowhere near what they used to be.

In an instant, the tide of battle turned completely.

Unsurprisingly, Jingjue found himself at a significant disadvantage.

Xingxian knew that her all-out attack had consumed a huge amount of magic power. To completely eliminate this cunning guy in front of her, she had to finish the battle quickly. Therefore, her offensive became increasingly fierce and ruthless.

She even used her extensive combat experience and accurate prediction of the enemy's psychology to anticipate which mirror Mirror Lord would use to escape next, and then launched an attack in advance.

"Now!"

"boom--!"

Just as Mirror Lord's figure emerged disheveled from a mirror on his left front, Star String's wand was already aimed at him, and an incredibly solid beam of magic shot out from it, slamming into him.

"What?!"

Before Jingjue could react, he was brutally struck in the chest by a pale purple beam of light filled with destructive energy.

A violent explosion suddenly rang out in mid-air, and Jingjue's figure flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto a huge mirror in the distance.

Although he hastily put up a defense, Jingjue still let out a muffled groan, and a clear crack appeared on the smiling mask on his face.

However, just as Xingxian was about to press her advantage and completely destroy this annoying mirror puppet, "Crack—!"

To the side of her attack path, a crisp shattering sound suddenly rang out, and a huge, pitch-black mirror that had been completely still shattered without warning.

Xingxian felt a chill and immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

A petite figure in a bright yellow combat suit fell out like a withered leaf, crashing heavily onto the huge, cracked, and already crumbling circular platform below.

She was a girl who looked to be about the same age as Xingxian. Her long, smooth, bright yellow hair was draped messily over her shoulders. Although her matching combat suit, decorated with gorgeous lace and bows, was somewhat damaged, its original exquisiteness was still evident.

Xingxian's pupils contracted sharply the moment he saw the girl's face clearly.

——Yue tide?!

Although she had never seen her in person before, the information she had gathered before setting off regarding the missing magical girl in Jiangchuan City allowed her to recognize her immediately—the Crescent Moon-level magical girl, Yuexi, who had disappeared half a month ago!

She—she's still alive?!

This sudden discovery shocked Xingxian instantly, and the fierce attack he was preparing to launch came to an abrupt halt at that moment.

Just as Xingxian was stunned by this unexpected turn of events, Jingjue, who had been knocked away by her, immediately took the opportunity to regain his footing and put dozens of meters away from her again.

He stared at Yuexi, who had fallen from the mirror, his voice so dark it was almost dripping with rage, filled with offended anger: "It seems my collection display case—is more fragile than I imagined."

"Since you've broken it, why don't you tell me how you're going to compensate me?"

Xingxian ignored Jingjue's malicious question, her mind completely drawn to something else—she noticed the key word in Jingjue's words—"collectible display case".

She abruptly turned to Jingjue, her voice icy as she retorted, "Where are the rest of your companions?! Were they imprisoned by you, just like Yuexi?!"

"Answer me honestly now!" She pointed her wand at Mirror Lord again, threateningly, "That way, when I finish you off, I can make your death even more swift!"

"snort----" Jingjue let out a disdainful snort. He rubbed his chest, which had just been hit by the magic beam, and his tone became more direct and aggressive, no longer trying to maintain an elegant tone as before.

"It's just that the desperate struggle on the face of this new moon named Yuexi when I caught her made me feel more delicious," so I just decided to collect her on a whim.

"7

"As for the remaining few—they were just too boring, so I killed them outright."

He raised his head, a mocking smile appearing beneath his cracked mask, and looked at Xingxian with eyes full of ridicule and provocation: "What? Want to avenge them? Want to end me?"

"Heh, even Starfrost couldn't do it. If you can, then give it a try!"

"Let's see if you'll be the first to defeat me, this perfect puppet mirror image, or if I'll turn you into a new collectible, displayed in a showcase alongside the new moon named Yuexi, for me to admire day and night."

Upon hearing this answer, Xingxian took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down from the anger that had risen because of her companion's misfortune.

She knew that a cunning fellow like Jingjue would never tell her the truth here: the other missing companions might still be alive, or they might have indeed been killed.

But no matter what, Yuexi is still alive, and that is an undeniable fact.

From the moment Xingxian saw Yuexi appear, his priorities subtly shifted—"Save Yuexi, and then—take her and escape from here alive!"

Defeating the "Mirror Lord" and destroying this disgusting mirror maze is certainly important, but compared to the lives of his companions, all of that seems less important.

Although he felt extremely unwilling to be able to completely eliminate this mirror puppet, which Mirror Lord called "the most perfect," he also knew that if he let him leave today, he might not have such a good opportunity again.

But no matter what, the life of your companion always comes first.

Xingxian made a decision in an instant, but didn't show it on his face. Instead, he sneered and turned his gaze away from Yuexi, who was unconscious on the edge of the platform, as if he didn't care about her life or death at all.

She pointed her wand at Mirror Lord in the distance again, her voice filled with disdain and mockery: "To display magical girls as your personal collections in so-called showcases—even among you Void Realm Apostles, this is probably the lowest and most disgusting behavior, isn't it?"

"However, this kind of thing is very much in line with your style as a pervert who hides in the gutter and only knows how to play tricks and schemes."

"As for Senior Xingshuang—" She slightly raised her chin, a proud smile appearing on her face, "the only reason she couldn't completely eliminate someone like you is because your abilities are far too suitable for 'escaping.'"

"While I don't yet have the ability to completely kill you, who's hiding in some unknown corner, at least—"

"It would be more than enough to completely destroy your proud mirror puppet and this lousy trap you've meticulously set up."

"Just you wait and see!"

Hearing Xingxian's words, which were full of contempt and mockery, Jingjue was not angry at all. Instead, he chuckled softly and said in a knowing tone, "Oh? This answer—is rather unexpected."

"I thought that a magical girl like you, who represents justice, would think of how to escape from here with that half-dead Crescent Moon after seeing her companion appear, and then settle the score with me later."

When Jingjue saw through her inner thoughts, Xingxian's heart skipped a beat, but her cold expression remained unchanged.

She met Jingjue's gaze with a cold smile, her voice still firm: "Of course I care about my companion's safety, but compared to that, the opportunity to completely eliminate this troublesome mirror image here is much harder to seize."

"If you escape this time and go into hiding again, you will only cause greater destruction to this city later, harming more of your comrades and innocent civilians."

"Therefore, I have made the most rational decision—to weaken your power at all costs. This is the most important thing right now!"

She paused, looked at Jingjue with a disdainful gaze, and continued, "Besides—do you really think I can't see through your little tricks?"

"I destroyed that so-called 'collectibles display case,' which led to Yuexi's unexpected appearance in front of me—in reality, you did it on purpose, didn't you?"

"What you're trying to do is launch a sneak attack from behind while I'm rescuing Yuexi, isn't that right?"

"Yuexi is completely defenseless right now. If I get seriously injured while saving her, it might actually help you achieve your disgusting and perverted goal of turning us both into collectibles, wouldn't it?"

"I won't let someone like you get what you want!"

"Oh dear? Did I see through you?"

Faced with Xingxian's incisive and sharp accusation, Jingjue showed no embarrassment at being exposed. Instead, he elegantly spread his hands and let out a pleasant chuckle.

"The Inspector truly lives up to his title; his speed in analyzing the current situation and making decisions is astonishing."

"However—he's just a little cold-blooded, actually abandoning his comrade's life."

Xingxian frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "You can judge me however you want. I just made the most rational choice at the moment."

"To rashly attempt to rescue Yuexi, thus placing myself in danger when I could have avoided it, would be the greatest irresponsibility towards my fellow companions, and even towards my title as the patrol officer."

"Tsk tsk tsk—" Jingjue stretched out an index finger and waved it lightly in front of him.

"But it doesn't matter if I'm seen through."

After all, using hostages as a threat is something that's out in the open, and it remains effective no matter how many times it's seen through—a "legitimate scheme."

As he spoke, he remained facing Xingxian, not looking at Yuexi, who was unconscious at the edge of the platform in the distance. Instead, he pointed his index finger, which had been waving slightly, at her from afar.

The next moment, a ball of pitch-black lightning began to condense at his fingertips and quickly compressed into a small black lightning ball that emitted a chilling energy fluctuation.

"Let me teach you something for free, my dear Miss Inspector." Jingjue's voice regained its elegant tone with the rhythm of a Buddhist stage play.

"Humans are very, very good at disguising themselves. What they think in their hearts and what they say are often completely different."

"Then————" The black lightning ball at Jingjue's fingertip had reached its limit, and the destructive aura it emitted caused the surrounding space to begin to distort slightly.

He gazed with interest at Hoshino's delicate face, which stiffened slightly at his words, and continued, "Inspector Hoshino, are you truly as you claim, willing to sacrifice the lives of your comrades and prioritize weakening my power for the sake of the so-called 'greater good' and 'reason'—"

"Or was that righteous declaration just now merely an attempt to lull me into a false sense of security, a ploy to find an opportunity to rescue that poor crescent moon?"

"Let me—enjoy your performance from now on."

Xingxian's gaze involuntarily fell upon Yuexi at the edge of the platform. For the first time, a clear wavering appeared in her usually calm, silver-gray eyes.

Her fists clenched unconsciously at her sides, and her body trembled slightly from the intense inner struggle.

Jingjue keenly noticed Xingxian's change, and a more cruel and gleeful smile curled at the corner of his mouth beneath the mask.

He added casually, his voice laced with undisguised malice: "Oh, and by the way, let me remind you again."

"If that crescent moon falls off the platform, it will directly touch the edge of this alternate dimension."

"Given her current comatose state, where she cannot actively use magic to protect herself, even if she is not killed directly by my attack, she will definitely be instantly cut into countless beautiful fragments by the sharp barrier at the edge of space after falling."

"In the end—she won't even be able to leave behind a complete body."

"This little toy in my hand will launch precisely when the countdown ends."

"So, are you ready?"

"Tick-tock, tick-tock—the game is about to begin!"

"-5!"'

Without the slightest hesitation.

It doesn't even require any thought.

The moment the countdown started, Xingxian's body transformed into a pale purple streak of light, rushing straight toward the companion waiting to be rescued at the edge of the platform.

To abandon one's companion's life?

Is it for the sake of the so-called "big picture" and "reason"?

What a joke!

How could a true magical girl possibly—watch her comrades die right before her eyes?

—4!

As Jingjue watched the purple streak of light rushing recklessly toward Yuexi, a cruel, gleeful smile finally appeared on his lips, hidden beneath his shattered mask.

The black lightning ball, brimming with terrifying energy, was immediately launched towards Yuexi's location under his control.

"6 1!'

"Time's up, 1"