Yes, I did all of this!

—The sword energy sliced ​​through the walls and corridors, cutting straight into the depths of the museum. Only at the deepest point did the sword energy transform into a sharp blade of light and erupt.

The scattered blade light cleaved the surrounding walls into countless thumb-sized pieces, allowing everyone to clearly see the scene deep within.

...In the research institute deep within the museum, the outline of a human figure emerged, its body covered with the slash marks left by Cang Yi, but which quickly healed.

Only at this moment did the strange creature's aura begin to spread. It slowly turned its head, revealing its withered and twisted face.

It was thin and wiry, with a long, thin body and a tentacle attached to its neck. These familiar features surprised them.

"Isn't that the hanged man from the sea monster story?"

Xi Ri frowned, flames erupted from behind him, and he blasted them towards the hanged ghost.

Faced with Xi Ri's reckless behavior, Cang Yi did not stop him, but followed him.

"Be careful, it carries other scents."

In the blink of an eye, Cangyi's voice transformed into radio waves and directly entered Xi Ri's mind, faster than normal communication, allowing Xi Ri to understand the situation in an instant.

"Received!" Xi Ri shouted, and the moment she spoke, her fist slammed into the hanged ghost.

The explosive punch erupted inside the hanged ghost, causing its body to visibly tremble and develop numerous cracks.

The deadly golden flames erupted, cracking the ceiling of the research institute. Sunlight streamed in, and in the chaotic space, the hanged ghost's body was clearly visible covered in abnormal bluish-green scales.

Moreover, traces of shrinkage and breakage were also found on its tentacles.

The strange marks all over his body gave him an odd feeling, as if this hanged ghost had been corrupted by an unknown force and turned into this appearance.

"call--"

Despite the heavy blow to his body, the hanged man remained completely unaffected, grabbing Xi Ri's arm and letting out a low growl.

Despite being grabbed by the arm, Xi Ri showed no panic. She grabbed the hanged ghost's arm in return, pushed off hard, and pulled it into the air.

The other magical girls followed suit. It wasn't very convenient on the ground; they could only unleash their skills freely in the air.

High in the sky, the strange hanged ghost was the target of everyone's fire. Although its posture looked disheveled, it was enough to attract everyone's attention.

... Meanwhile, inside the original museum, a dark figure quietly emerged. Duanmu Mo, in the form of a strange man, stepped out of the shadows, his gaze sweeping over the battle in the sky.

On the surface, it looked like a one-sided crushing defeat; the hanged ghost had almost no ability to fight back.

Withdrawing his gaze, Duanmu Mo looked around at the ruins and searched through them.

In the remaining ruins, many shriveled human skins can be seen.

These are not cultural relics. Judging from their clothing, they are innocent victims of modern-day unrest.

"...Was it drained dry?"

He searched for a while longer but found no trace of the Key to the Underworld. Instead, he found something else—a torn-open leather pouch.

Judging from the marks on the skin, something broke out of the body directly.

And the appearance of that body... just so happens to be that of the director of that private hospital from a few days ago.

"If nothing unexpected happens, then something unexpected has happened."

He looked up at the hanged ghost in the sky.

Although Duanmu Mo said he would help, the actual work was still done by them.

So, in order to obtain the Key to the Underworld, this dean somehow got here. Whether he sneaked in or used connections doesn't matter; he got here through ordinary means.

But just as he was about to take the Key to the Underworld, the power within corrupted him, and he lost control, turning into this state.

The Key to the Underworld has a close relationship with that sea monster, so it's normal for a little accident to happen.

Now that we're looking at the present, since the Key to the Underworld isn't here, there's only one answer.

The hanged ghost in the sky trembled, and cracks continued to spread across its body as it was attacked by them.

"This strange person is very odd." Huang Yi frowned, and everyone else also sensed this abnormality, so their movements were not as intense as before.

"It's probably set up in two stages or something." Wind Chime waved her hand, and ten floating blades slashed at the hanged ghost.

Only the evening's offensive remained fierce. Since she had awakened the Golden Flame, her stamina was practically limitless, so it didn't matter how much she squandered it.

"Break!"

The sun shone a punch, which landed inside the monster's body. The explosive energy exploded within its body, and the hanged ghost, whose body was covered in cracks, finally couldn't hold on any longer and its body burst apart.

A violent shockwave spread out, and the punch that Xi Ri unleashed even affected the ground. The room where Duanmu Mo was located felt as if a chaotic hurricane was howling, and the walls around him, which were already corroded by energy, collapsed all at once.

In the ruins, only Duanmu Mo remained standing there.

Even high in the sky, his solitary figure was noticed by the magical girls. Yuhi lowered his head and gazed at Neville standing on the ground.

"Neville... you dog, die!"

Without even thinking about how he got there, Yuhi's expression immediately darkened. With a flap of her wings, she charged towards him on the ground with the force of the explosion.

boom!

The loud noise spread, dust flew everywhere, and on the ground, Xi Ri remained in a punching stance, looking seriously ahead.

"Neville Driver!"

As the deep sound rang out, the dust settled, revealing that Xi Ri's fist had been blocked by Neville's hand, and at the same time, he was covered in armor, the hem of his trench coat swaying in the wind.

The two remained in that position. Duanmu Mo turned his head to look around and said regretfully, "What a pity. How could you have ruined such a nice museum like this?"

Staring at Neville, Yuhi could only reply with one sentence: "Explode!"

Duanmu Mo was blasted away, but was actually swallowed by the black vortex and disappeared before their eyes.

Don't look at me!

The voice came from the other side, and everyone turned around sharply to see Duanmu Mo emerge from the vortex in the air, standing high in the sky, pointing at the shattered hanging ghost:

"I'm just a random intruder; the enemy you're fighting is still in the transition phase."

As soon as he finished speaking, the shattered corpses changed. They quickly coalesced, their scales became denser, and their once empty eyeballs now had two vertical pupils.

The reborn monster opened its mouth, sharp teeth protruding from it, and its body released a sulfurous, corrosive gas.

The fierce aura spread, causing the magical girls' expressions to turn serious.

"Enough with the nonsense!"

The setting sun charged again, but before it could attack Neville, it was stopped by Cangyi raising his hand:

"—Xi Ri, you take care of it, I'll deal with Neville."

“But…” Xi Ri stopped what she was doing, looking at Cang Yi with a questioning gaze.

"With you here, they can deal with the corrosive aura more easily. Huangyi, give me another 10% of your power."

"Alright... Yuuni-senpai, believe in the power of Azure Wing."

Huangyi raised his hand and placed it on Cangyi's shoulder, injecting one-tenth of his power into Cangyi's body.

"...Alright, then it's up to you." Seeing that Huangyi had said so, Xi Ri had no choice but to suppress her killing intent towards Neville and turn to look at the reborn monster.

Chapter 414: Acting

"Your body isn't complete yet, is it?"

Duanmu Mo reached out and summoned the Black Corrosion Greatsword, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and looked at Cangyi, asking a question.

“That’s enough.” Cangyi looked at Huangyi, nodded to her, and then floated in front of Duanmu Mo.

The next moment, Cangyi's body gradually became transparent, and the red light in Duanmu Mo's eyes also lit up. He raised his hand and swung his greatsword in the air to the side, but it blocked Cangyi's attack.

"So fast."

Just as Duanmu Mo was about to praise him, he suddenly felt a powerful force erupt from Cangyi's ordinary katana, sending him flying.

His body flew backwards following the force, and Duanmu Mo even had the energy to communicate with her: "Is this also an application of magnetic fields?"

Cangyi's body disappeared again, and the next moment he appeared behind Duanmu Mo, slashing him once more and sending him flying into the sky.

As his body rose to the clouds, he felt a tingling, suction-like sensation. Turning his head, he saw that his limbs were somehow wrapped in arcs of electricity, forming lightning chains that connected to the Azure Wing.

With a downward yank from Cangyi's arm, Duanmu Mo's body plummeted, crashing into a high-rise building in the city center. A deafening roar echoed as his falling body crushed the entire building, causing it to collapse instantly.

"Ugh... cough cough cough, are you still a magical girl? How come you've caused more destruction than me?"

Duanmu Mo lay among the ruins, coughed a few times, and then said helplessly.

"I am not a magical girl, I am just Azure Wing, nothing more."

Cangyi descended from the sky, lightning gathering beneath his feet to form steps. His cold gaze shot out from behind his mask, fixed on Duanmu Mo below.

"There's no other way, I'll just have to be a little more serious."

Leaning on his greatsword, Duanmu Mo leaped up and slashed at Cangyi with his black etched greatsword.

She raised her katana to defend herself, but the immense force still sent her flying into the sky.

Using the black vortex as a springboard, Duanmu Mo stepped into the air and followed up again, attacking Cangyi.

The two figures clashed high in the sky. For every hundred sword strikes Duanmu Mo made, Cangyi would unleash a thousand. The fierce aura exploded in the sky as the two continued to fight until the air became thin.

Beep beep beep...

Inside Duanmu Mo's helmet, a series of warning red lights appeared on the display screen.

Unable to predict Cangyi's movements, her figure flickered like a ghost, sometimes even exceeding the armor's recording capabilities, let alone whether it could be predicted.

"That's really ruthless..."

Duanmu Mo swung his sword, but Cangyi dodged it and retaliated by slashing dozens of times at Duanmu Mo's breastplate.

Since the start of the battle, Duanmu Mo's breastplate has been slashed tens of thousands of times, and every single slash has precisely struck the same spot. To achieve such precision in such a fierce battle, Cangyi's skill has reached an extraordinary level.

It's not hard to guess what she's trying to do by specifically targeting the chest, but the problem is that even if you defend yourself, you can't stop her attack, and that's the most terrifying thing.

With a slash, Cangyi followed up with a kick, striking Duanmu Mo in the chin and sending him flying once again.

This attack blasted him out of the atmosphere and into space.

"Oh no..."

Before Duanmu Mo could finish speaking, Cangyi appeared in the air above, gripping the katana with both hands and thrusting it fiercely towards Duanmu Mo's chest.

Pfft!