Chương 245: A Completely Different Star String

"Who are you?"

Despite her near-fainting weakness, Xingxian stared blankly at the mysterious magical girl who had suddenly appeared before her, her voice filled with confusion.

She was certain she had never seen such a flawlessly beautiful yet somewhat youthful face before, so— The figure was different, the appearance was different, and even the voice was completely different from the incredibly important figure in my memory.

But why does she feel so familiar to me?

Could it be simply because of those deep purple eyes that were exactly like those of their predecessor, and that gorgeous combat suit that was also predominantly pink and white?

Upon hearing this, Xing Shuang paused for a moment, then a somewhat complicated expression appeared on her face.

She knew, of course, what the other person was wondering about, and she also knew that her current "shrunken" appearance was vastly different from the legendary Xing Shuang who had once shone like the sun.

She organized her thoughts for a moment, then said softly, "I don't know if Yinxue and Liuli have mentioned me to you—anyway, just call me Xingshuang."

"Star Frost"' This code name made Xingxian's heart tremble slightly. She immediately understood that the magical girl in front of her was the "Senior Xingshuang" that Liuli and Yinxue had mentioned, and also Xiaoying's partner in this city.

So that's how it is...

An indescribable sense of loss welled up in her heart, dimming the flame of hope that had just ignited in her eyes.

Xingxian nodded somewhat dejectedly, her voice becoming much lower: "—I see, I understand, they—did mention some things about you to me before."

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to put aside her chaotic personal emotions and refocus her attention on the imminent crisis, continuing, "And last night and the night before, I also had an in-depth conversation with your partner, Silent Shadow—has your 'Tears of the Stars' fully recovered?"

"Well, thankfully we made it in time, and nothing irreversible happened."

Xing Shuang smiled and nodded, then cast her gentle gaze upon Yin Xue, who was still unconscious in her arms, and said softly, "Could you please take care of her for the time being?"

Upon hearing this request, Xingxian paused for a moment, then shook her head with a wry smile: "I'm sorry, my magic power is completely exhausted. I won't be able to protect myself for a while."

"Although I'm very unwilling, just now—I was already in a state of waiting to die." Her voice was filled with regret for her own powerlessness.

"If you hadn't come to help in time, Yin Xue and I would probably already be—"

"Ah, that was my oversight, I'm sorry." Xing Shuang gave a slightly apologetic smile.

She lightly touched the iridescent gem on her chest with her fingertip, and a pure stream of light separated from the "Tear of the Star" and, guided by her, slowly poured into the now dim gem on Xingxian's chest.

"This is----!"

A strange yet warm magical power surged into her body, and Xingxian immediately felt herself enveloped in a gentle warmth. Her previously depleted magical power quickly became abundant again.

That deep-seated weakness vanished completely, and even the Star Tear on his chest, which had been dulled by the depletion of magic, regained its luster.

Xingxian instinctively tightened her grip on her wand, feeling the power surging within her again. A slightly relieved expression appeared on her face as she sincerely said, "—Thank you. Now, at least I'm able to fly with Yinxue."

She hesitated slightly, glanced at Jingjue who was watching them warily not far away, and then at the dark blue figure in the distance who was still struggling to deal with the monsters. She then said, "Xing—Xingshuang, could you please hold Jingjue back for a moment? Just for a moment, please prioritize protecting yourself."

""

"I'll use this time to help Xiaoli escape from those monsters, and then—we'll retreat immediately!"

She practically gritted her teeth as she uttered the word "retreat," her tone filled with barely concealed resentment.

In her view, this is the only and most correct choice under the current circumstances.

"Why do we have to do this?" Xing Shuang tilted her head, somewhat puzzled.

"If we just stay here for a little while, the battle—will be over soon, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xingxian frowned deeply and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, although I don't know where your confidence comes from, I don't think you, as a Crescent Moon level, are a match for Mirror Lord, even if—that was just a weakened clone."

"Gaining Xiaoying's trust means you definitely possess some ability that will make her look at you differently, but that ability—" It is not equivalent to strength.

"Don't forget, last time you were just fighting a mirror image with its own consciousness, and you paid the price of a broken Star Tear..."

The painful price of being unable to fight for a period of time, and the mirror image in front of us is personally controlled by Mirror Lord himself, whose strength is only greater than that independent mirror image.

"Not to mention," her tone became increasingly urgent, "you just repaired the damage to Star Tear and just shared a considerable portion of your precious magic with me. Someone like you—you absolutely cannot defeat Mirror Lord!"

"It's okay."

However, faced with Xingxian's rational analysis filled with worry, Xingshuang simply revealed a bright and confident smile, "If you ask why, the me now is completely different from the me back then."

Meeting Xingxian's incredulous gaze, she spoke slowly and deliberately, her voice soft yet carrying an undeniable power: "He—is no match for me."

"This kind of reason won't convince me!" Xingxian stared intently at Xingshuang, her tone becoming slightly stern with urgency.

"My assessment of the situation is based on the current state of affairs and all the intelligence I have gathered. Furthermore, I have never heard of any magical girl whose Star Tears were damaged experiencing such a significant leap in strength immediately after regaining her transformation ability!"

"As the kingdom's inspector, I have the right to demand that all magical girls below the Rainbow Light level obey my commands when fighting together. Starfrost, please don't force me to exercise this right!"

She paused, seemingly realizing her tone had been too harsh, and softened it slightly as she added, "Liuli and Yinxue—they'd be sad to see you acting like this."

Xingshuang looked at Xingxian quietly, at her silver-gray eyes filled with anxiety and worry, but the smile on her face did not change at all.

Suddenly, she reached out and did something that Xingxian hadn't expected—she gently touched the other's head with her small hand, which was wearing a pearl-white glove.

Then, she continued in that incredibly gentle tone, "I know that you think this is the best choice, and I know that you are taking responsibility for your companion's life."

"You—you really are a good child."

"You—!" Xingxian was momentarily stunned by this sudden, even somewhat "rude," intimate gesture, but quickly recovered.

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she pulled her hand away from Xing Shuang's, then looked up at her, saying somewhat angrily, "Since you know this, why did you still—" The words Xingxian hadn't had a chance to say caught in her throat, because she saw that the petite magical girl in front of her was staring at her with an incredibly serious look.

"And what about me?" Xing Shuang's smile faded, and she continued seriously, "In your eyes, I, who am trusted and worshipped by Liu Li and Yin Xue, and trusted by Ji Ying—"

"Would he be the kind of person who overestimates his abilities to face a powerful enemy and gambles with the lives of his comrades?"

"I—" Xingxian didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Yes, whether it's Liuli, Yinxue, or Xiaoying, they all have a considerable degree of trust in Xingshuang before them. Could it be that— Was I wrong?

Just as she fell silent, Xing Shuang's expression suddenly became lively again. She revealed a slightly sly smile and then said, "Don't worry, of course I have absolute confidence in my own strength, which is why I dare to do this."

"And it's been so long since I've been able to transform, I want to—make a big scene after all this time!"

"So—" Her voice softened further, and she playfully blinked her deep purple eyes, "just consider it—satisfying my little whim, okay?"

"————Okay." Xingxian nodded as if possessed.

She didn't know whether she was convinced by the other party's statement that "she wouldn't joke about her companion's life," or simply because it was a request from "Starfrost" that she couldn't refuse.

But she quickly realized what was happening and shook her head vigorously again, her face still showing undisguised worry: "No, it still won't work! Xiao Li's situation is also urgent. Even if—even if you really can defeat Jing Jue, I can't help her while protecting Yin Xue!"

Even Xingxian herself didn't realize that her reason for opposing had quietly changed from "distrusting Xingshuang's strength" to "her own inadequacy in protecting two companions at the same time."

This magical girl, who shared the same codename as her predecessor, possessed an innate composure and confidence, along with deep, dark purple eyes that gazed at her gently, as if from the night sky. This made it impossible for her to question the other's abilities, and she preferred to deny her own.

"I'm keeping a close eye on the situation over there," Xing Shuang said, her smile growing even more confident.

"Don't worry, the analysis is complete."

"Before dealing with that annoying masked man, I'll take care of those annoying 'little bugs' first."

"Wait a minute!" Upon hearing that Xing Shuang seemed to be planning to use some kind of large-scale destructive attack, Xing Xuan's expression changed again, and he immediately spoke up to stop her.

"Those monsters aren't entirely Void Beasts; a significant portion of them are humans who have transformed into Void Beasts! If you just kill them all—" Upon hearing this, Xing Shuang smiled and shook her head, a hint of approval in her eyes: "Don't worry, I never said that 'solving it' is equivalent to 'killing them all.'"

"Many of them were once human—can't you tell just by looking at them?"

"Just—a glance?" Hoshino asked instinctively, "How did you manage that?"

Starfrost didn't immediately address the question. Instead, she struck a pose with her wand held horizontally in front of her chest and her other hand raised high. Then, with a matter-of-fact tone, she chuckled and replied, "Liuli has always been a kind and good girl. It's amazing how she could just keep dodging and restraining those seemingly weak monsters, not even daring to launch a proper attack—"

"Perhaps the only explanation is that they were once human?"

At the same time, her raised hand suddenly opened, palm facing up.

A dazzling pink-gold light shot straight into the sky from her palm. After reaching a certain height, it seemed to crash into some invisible barrier and burst apart, turning into hundreds of nearly transparent, yet shimmering pink-gold threads.

Like a sudden, dazzling meteor shower, the threads streaked across the sky and fell precisely towards the battlefield where Liuli was in the distance.

When Starfrost first successfully constructed this spell called "Star String," it could only enable it to perform the most basic abilities such as binding, restraining, and cutting.

Now, in her hands, this unique spell that once belonged to a legendary magical girl has shown a completely different side.

Under Xingshuang's control, each thread precisely pierced the non-vital parts of all the roaring and attacking monsters, then took deep root in the earth.

The next moment, under the almost stunned gaze of Liuli, who was still fleeing in a disheveled state, all the monsters pierced by the threads, whether they were real phantom beasts or humans transformed into phantom beasts, froze in place at the same time.

It wasn't that the stiffness was caused by pain, but rather that the very concept of "action" itself was stripped away.

Their eyes still held the madness of the previous second, but their bodies had become completely motionless specimens, unable to make any movements or let out a roar. Even their violent and chaotic consciousness was completely frozen by the "Star String" containing the power of law!

After doing all this, Starfrost turned around slowly with a confident and calm smile, pointing the wand in her hand, which was shimmering with dazzling pink and gold light, at Mirror Lord, who had been silent since the beginning.

With her back to the two girls, she naturally didn't notice that Xingxian, after witnessing that astonishing scene, no longer showed any worry on her face.

Those silver-gray eyes revealed an uncontrollable excitement and—fervor.

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