Chương 94: The Shattered Mirror

The intense pain and the overwhelming weakness from the depletion of her magic overwhelmed Xingshuang's consciousness like a tidal wave. She fell heavily onto the cold cement floor, a metallic taste rising in her throat.

The "Tear of the Star" gem on her chest, which once shone with a soft iridescence, was now dim, with a fine crack spreading across its surface, like a glaring flaw on a pure crystal.

Jingjue slowly emerged from the shadows, looking down at Xingshuang, who was almost unable to move. His pure white smiling mask looked even more eerie in the moonlight.

When the gaze fell upon the dim Star Tear on Xingshuang's chest and the cracks on it, an uncontrollable, morbid burst of laughter erupted from behind the mask, echoing sharply and piercingly in the empty factory.

"Hahahaha! See that? Magical girl! That's the source of your power—'Tear of a Star'!" Mirror Lord's laughter was filled with smugness and cruelty.

"What a beautiful crack, isn't it?"

He took a few steps forward, his tone playful like a cat toying with a mouse: "Your act of overdrawing your magic power just now, while barely managing to block my attack, also damaged your source of power."

"If you continue to recklessly overdraw your magic power like this, you will first temporarily lose your ability to transform, and eventually—heh, you will completely turn into a broken star that can no longer shine."

"In your current state, you can no longer contend with me." Jingjue spread his hands, as if announcing Xingshuang's ultimate fate.

Xing Shuang coughed a few times with difficulty. She raised her head, and although her deep purple eyes were slightly dim due to weakness, they still burned with an indomitable flame.

"Is that so?" Her voice was hoarse, yet still calm.

"That incredibly realistic mirror image you created was completely shattered by my full-force attack. So—you really didn't suffer any loss at all?"

As she spoke, Starfrost was desperately mobilizing the remaining magic power within her body, trying to repair the cracks on the Star Tear and recover as much strength as possible.

She knew she must not let the other side see that she was secretly gathering strength, and she had to be constantly vigilant against the next attack from any direction.

Unexpectedly, Jingjue readily admitted, "Oh dear, you noticed? That level of mirror imagery did indeed consume a lot of my 'virtual source,' and I won't be able to create another one in the short term."

"But even just creating some weak, vulnerable mirror images to harass you would be enough to deal with you now that your magic is depleted and your 'Tear of the Star' is damaged, wouldn't it?"

Xing Shuang frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing through her mind. Why would the enemy so easily expose his condition and limitations? This didn't match the cunning and caution he had previously displayed.

Seemingly sensing Xing Shuang's confusion, Jing Jue spoke up, "Don't you find it strange that I'm telling you all this?"

Xing Shuang did not deny it, but simply nodded slightly, her gaze still fixed on the other person.

"Hehe, that's because—" Mirror Lord let out a low laugh, like a lover's whisper, "I've changed my mind, beautiful magical girl."

He leaned forward, his smiling mask appearing even more distorted in the shadows: "Killing you directly seems like a waste."

"Your defiant gaze just now, that attitude of resisting even in dire straits, was just... so beautiful."

"So, I've made up my mind." His voice suddenly became fanatical and obsessive.

"I'm going to make you sign a soul contract with me, become my pet, stay by my side forever, and shine for me forever."

"That way I can still achieve my goal, and you can continue to 'exist' in another way. Isn't that a great suggestion?"

Xingshuang's face instantly turned to extreme disgust, and her deep purple eyes were instantly filled with icy anger and undisguised hatred.

"You—" Her voice trembled slightly with extreme anger, "you're truly more wicked and disgusting than I imagined!"

"Hahahaha! Is that so? I'm glad you think that way about me!" Mirror Lord burst into another fit of maniacal laughter, as if Starfrost's disgust was the highest praise to him.

He tilted his head slightly, gazing at Xing Shuang with the same admiration one would give a work of art, his tone carrying a morbid fascination.

"Angry expressions are charming too, magical girl. However, anger alone isn't enough; you must learn to accept things."

"Accepting you as my most precious possession is the place you truly belong."

Despite the excruciating pain in her back and the nausea churning within her, Xing Shuang coldly stared at him: "Stop dreaming, monster. Someone like you deserves to rot in the darkness."

"Monster? That's a fitting name." Mirror Lord didn't seem angry at all. Instead, he stroked the smiling mask on his face with great interest.

"Then, let me, this 'monster,' properly discipline this disobedient 'pet.'"

"Don't worry, there's plenty of time. I'll be very patient and crush your pathetic will little by little."

"Before that, you should worry about yourself first." Xing Shuang's voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Who said—"

"Am I destined to lose?"

"Is that so? Then let me see what kind of struggle a wounded lamb can put up." Mirror Lord's tone was full of disdain and mockery, completely disregarding Starfrost's resistance.

Before he finished speaking, his figure suddenly vanished from the spot.

The battle situation instantly turned against them. Xing Shuang could clearly feel that her use of magic had become extremely sluggish. Every time she condensed a magic barrier or released a magic beam, it was several times more difficult than before. It was as if every cell in her body was resisting the flow of magic.

This is undoubtedly a direct consequence of the damage to "Tears of the Star".

Even though the mirror image summoned by Mirror Lady at this moment is far weaker and slower than the realistic mirror image she shattered before, its strength and speed are still far inferior.

However, these weakened mirror images, with their sheer number and elusive nature, still proved difficult for her to handle.

She could only desperately dodge and parry amidst the onslaught of mirror images, her pink combat suit constantly accumulating new tears and scorch marks.

Even in such a perilous situation, Xing Shuang maintained a remarkably calm mind, fighting valiantly as she...

They were also desperately observing and thinking, trying to find the pattern behind the sudden appearance of those mirror images in Mirror Lord's mirror.

Each flash of the mirror image, each angle of attack, each disappearance trajectory—these seemingly chaotic pieces of information were gradually stripped away, analyzed, and reorganized under her highly focused mind.

Suddenly, her pupils contracted slightly, and a bold idea flashed through her mind like lightning!

"Could it be—" She noticed that the locations where those reflections appeared were always near some relatively smooth, reflective surfaces, such as scattered metal fragments, glass remnants from factory walls, or even a small puddle of water!

That's it! Mirror! Mirror!

This discovery made Starfrost's heart skip a beat. If her guess was correct, then Mirror Lord's creation and transmission of mirror images would likely require the use of these reflective "mirrors" as a medium.

In the blink of an eye, an adventurous plan quickly took shape in her mind.

Xing Shuang suddenly turned around and rushed towards a relatively open area inside the factory, which happened to have a large area of intact glass windows behind it.

She deliberately exposed her back to the area that could clearly reflect light, while gathering the little magic power in her body to create a seemingly solid magic barrier in front of her.

In Jingjue's view, this move was undoubtedly extremely foolish.

Although the location was open and seemed advantageous for her to dodge, the huge glass behind her provided a perfect "springboard" for his reflection.

Moreover, the magical barrier she has created in her current weakened state is probably not even able to withstand an attack from her weakest mirror image.

"What a foolish prey." Mirror Lord, hidden in the shadows, let out a disdainful sneer.

Without hesitation, he swapped positions with the distant reflection, silently appearing in the reflection of the huge glass window.

The next moment, Jingjue's figure pounced out like a demon from a mirror, his lightning whip whistling as it lashed out at Xingshuang's unsuspecting back!

However, just as his attack was about to succeed, a cold, confident smile appeared on Xing Shuang's lips.

"Whoosh!!!!"

Countless star-like threads, already quietly woven and shimmering with pink-gold light, shot out from all directions in an instant, precisely wrapping around the Mirror Lord's true form, which had just emerged from the mirror.

"This—this is impossible!" Jingjue let out a scream of utter astonishment. He could clearly feel that those seemingly delicate threads contained a terrifying force that he could not break free from, binding him firmly to the spot.

"Your technique of manipulating threads—it clearly needs a fulcrum!" he roared incredulously, trying to break free from the shackles of the threads, but the Star Strings tightened even more.

Xing Shuang slowly turned around, a cold smile on her face. There was no joy of victory in that smile, only a calm that felt like the dust had settled.

"That's right," so I created a fulcrum—for you and for myself.

Unseen by Jingjue, the star-like strings that bind him are connected at the other end to fragments of space suspended in mid-air.

Those fragments were the mysterious and unique spell she and the Star String had constructed together. They not only possessed incredible defensive power, but could also serve as floating fulcrums for the Star String.

Xingshuang slowly raised her hand and clenched it into a fist. The star-like strings that bound Jingjue instantly tightened and began to show their terrifying cutting ability.

Jingjue could clearly feel the threads digging deep into his body, causing unbearable pain.

Although he could temporarily counteract the cutting of those threads with his own ethereal energy, he could clearly feel that they were still tightening and cutting his body, and the shadow of death instantly enveloped him.

"You—you're doing this—aren't you afraid of completely losing your ability to transform?!" He sensed Starfrost's determination and her determination to destroy herself at all costs, and finally shouted in a panic.

Xing Shuang looked at his terrified expression and gave him a smile that was both weary and incredibly handsome.

"I'm sorry, but once I make a promise, I don't like to break it."

She remembered Liuli's trusting and expectant eyes, Yinxue's complete dependence on her when she cried in her arms, and their hopes for "Senior Xingshuang".

She had promised them she would always be there.

She promised them that she would never let that happen again.

She, Xing Shuang, will never break her promise!

"So—" Xing Shuang's eyes became unusually firm, and she slowly clenched her right hand, as if she wanted to concentrate all her strength into it.

"For the sake of the promises I must keep, and the people I must protect—please, disappear completely from here!"

The moment she finished speaking, she increased her output, channeling her surging magic into the "Star Strings" at the cost of once again overdrawing her own magic power.

"Inconsistent!!!!"

Amidst Jingjue's desperate roar, countless star-like strings shimmering with pinkish-gold light tightened instantly, like the sharpest blades!

Pfft!

With a chilling cutting sound, the body of the Void Realm Apostle Jingjue, along with the eerie smiling mask on his face, was completely cut into countless tiny fragments, which then turned into specks of ethereal light and dissipated into the cold night wind.

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