My ex-girlfriend is a magical girl junior?

Chapter 106 New Schemes

Under Liuli's still-shaken gaze, the heavily armored knight, whose entire body was pitch black, crushed and absorbed the energy core of the erosion-level void beast in an unbelievable way, and then slowly turned his head, which was covered by a helmet.

Two points of dark red light, like embers of burning embers, pierced through the silent night and indifferently locked onto him.

A dull, unsettling metallic scraping sound came from the shoulders and wrists covered by thick armor. The black blades on the sides of the arm armor popped out, flashing with a cold, icy light.

Without any further expression, he approached Liuli step by step in an extremely slow yet heavy and oppressive manner.

The feeling wasn't like high-speed flight, but more like walking on air. Every step felt like it was treading on Liuli's heartstrings, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. "He—he's coming!" Liuli's vigilance rose to an unprecedented level.

This dark-skinned knight had just dealt with the powerful Corruption-level Void Beast, which she believed would have been severely injured in a single encounter, in a manner that was almost savage.

That pure, overwhelming power, that seemingly innate, precise control over the rhythm of battle, all made her feel a tremor from the depths of her soul.

This is—an absolutely invincible enemy! Such a being is far too powerful, far too inhuman!

However, as Ji Ying's ominous figure slowly approached, Liu Li forcibly suppressed the surging fear in her heart. She gripped the ice blade in her hand even tighter and assumed a standard fighting stance.

With my own strength, I have no chance against such an existence, not even to buy time, but—"

Lin Che's face, bruised and smiling, involuntarily appeared in her mind.

At least the knight dealt with the erosion-level void beast, the void realm infiltration has ended, and Lin Che can therefore leave this area.

As long as I can stay here and attract all his attention, he will most likely ignore an ordinary person who has run away. Even if it's just for this purpose, she will hold out a little longer.

Ji Ying suddenly accelerated when she was a dozen meters away from Liu Li. It was an explosive speed beyond imagination, as if the previous slowness was just to accumulate power.

His jet-black heavy armor left a blurry afterimage in the air as he instantly rushed in front of Liuli.

The jet-black blade that popped out from the side of the arm armor, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, slashed fiercely at Liuli, as if it wanted to cleave her in two.

"So fast!"

Liuli's pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum size. She didn't have time to condense any effective magic barrier and could only subconsciously swing the ice blade in her hand.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment; the expected cold touch of a sharp blade cutting through flesh, and the subsequent excruciating pain, did not come.

Liuli slowly opened her tightly closed eyes.

What came into view was that menacing and cold black helmet, and the dark red light shining through the gaps in the armor, almost within reach.

But her body was perfectly fine.

The ice blade she instinctively swung was now resting helplessly on the black breastplate. The icy blue blade was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and in the next moment it shattered completely with a "crack," reverting to the wand's original, simple form.

The black blade that should have been aimed at her neck had somehow been retracted into her arm armor.

What baffled her even more was that she was gently pulled into the arms of this terrifyingly dark-skinned knight in a manner that was neither gentle nor rough.

Shock, confusion, lingering fear, and a strange feeling arising from this unexpected action.

A torrent of complex emotions flooded her mind like a burst dam, leaving her momentarily at a loss for how to react.

Just as she froze, her thoughts in disarray, Ji Ying took the initiative to release his arm around her, stepping back a short distance to distance themselves from the overly intimate contact between them.

"I was just trying to test whether that guy with the smiling mask had really left."

Unlike the cold, hoarse voice he had used when negotiating with Jingjue, a slightly deep, yet exceptionally calm and gentle voice slowly emanated from beneath the heavy, black helmet.

"If my actions just now frightened you, I apologize." Ji Ying nodded slightly. "Also, just call me Ji Ying."

After breaking free from Ji Ying's embrace, Liu Li subconsciously took a few steps back, widening the distance between herself and the mysterious rider. She still watched him warily, her heart filled with lingering doubt and surprise.

"Who—who are you?" She tried to keep her voice calm, but a tremor still lingered at the end. "What is your purpose?"

Ji Ying's answer was concise and clear: "Just as I told that guy named Jing Jue before, I was passing by here and realized that the infiltration of the Void Realm did not happen naturally, so I came to take a look."

"As for my identity, you can think of me as someone similar to you magical girls."

"Humans like you, who are extremely compatible with magic, can gain the ability to transform and become magical girls by signing a contract with a spirit."

"Similarly, those humans who are extremely compatible with virtual energy can also become virtual apostles who walk in the shadows through a similar method."

"The masked man who just left was named Mirror Lord, and he is one of the Apostles of the Void Realm."

"Apostle of the Void Realm"

Liuli silently recited the unfamiliar word in her heart. She seemed to understand something, but she was still confused.

She raised her head, her icy blue eyes fixed on Ji Ying: "And you? Are you also—his kind?"

Ji Ying gently shook his head: "I am a being similar to him, but I can tell you clearly that he and I are fundamentally different."

Liuli frowned even more, and asked in a deep voice, "What is your basis? To me, you all exude the same powerful and unsettling ethereal energy reaction, and I can't sense any difference."

"I transformed into my current form through my own power, while Mirror Lord used a different method, though I'm not entirely sure what that method was,"

Liuli's eyes flickered slightly, but she remained wary: "So, you can't prove everything you've said, right?"

"That's right, at least not now." Ji Ying readily admitted this fact.

"But I'm going to tell you something. You can decide for yourself whether to believe it or not. After that, I'll leave here."

Liuli fell silent, staring at the mysterious and unpredictable black-clad knight before her, her mind racing.

The other party's explanation seemed to make some sense, but she couldn't tell if it was true or false.

The only thing she was certain of was that the being before her, who called himself "Silent Shadow," possessed terrifying strength far beyond her imagination, and seemed to have no direct malice towards her.

After a long silence, she slowly nodded: "Go on."

"When I negotiated with Mirror Lord before, he was wary of my strength and took the initiative to ask me to make an oath to the being I was 'loyal to'."

"He left after I swore I wouldn't lay a hand on his prey—that is, you."

"Judging from my probing just now, he has indeed left. It seems that such oaths do have a strong binding force on beings like them."

Recalling the initial swift movement of the silent shadow past her, and the breathtaking "attack" just now, Liuli suddenly realized: "So—that was your test?!"

Ji Ying nodded slightly: "That Void Apostle wearing a smiling mask showed you extraordinary attention when you were fighting those Void Beasts."

"If he had been hiding nearby, he should have been unable to resist showing himself to stop me after my probing attack, which was almost indistinguishable from a physical attack."

"Of course, that kind of oath has no binding force on me, which is why I say that he and I are fundamentally different."

Liuli immediately noticed the key point in Jiying's words, and a sense of confusion and wariness welled up in her heart. She immediately asked, "He's paying a lot of attention to me? What does that mean?"

"During our initial negotiations, he twice specifically emphasized that I should not make a move against you, as if he was afraid that I would do something to his important 'prey'."

"I'm also clueless about this. Do you have any ideas?"

"I—don't know." Liuli shook her head blankly, her face full of confusion. "This is the first time I've ever heard of the existence of 'Apostles of the Void Realm'—"

Seeing her blank expression, Ji Ying nodded thoughtfully: "Is that so—"

Then, as if casually changing the subject, he said, "It's about time, I should go."

Liuli stared directly at Jiying and said in a deep voice, "From what I can see so far, the information you just mentioned doesn't seem to have any obvious flaws."

"But I didn't hear your conversation with my own ears, and even if I did, I can't guarantee that you two weren't putting on an act for me."

"Therefore, I still do not, and absolutely will not, completely believe you just because of these words."

Upon hearing this, a very soft, approving chuckle seemed to come from beneath Ji Ying's helmet.

"That's right," he replied frankly. "Being vigilant against anything of unknown origin is always the best way to protect yourself."

"Furthermore, I won't stay in this city forever. Don't think you can rely on my strength when dealing with those troublesome enemies."

Ultimately, becoming strong yourself is the most important thing, isn't it?

Liuli was slightly taken aback. Why did this sentence and this tone feel so strangely familiar?

Just as she was lost in thought, trying to find the source of that familiar feeling from the depths of her memory, the pitch-black earth in front of her had already silently merged into the deep night behind her, leaving no trace. In the park, only Liuli remained, standing quietly under the cold moonlight.

She glanced down at the wand in her hand, which had returned to its original state, then looked up in the direction where the Shadowless One had disappeared, her heart filled with indescribable complex emotions.

Who exactly is that mysterious, dark-skinned rider, Silent Shadow? And why did he say those things to me?

But soon, she shook her head, clearing her mind of these chaotic thoughts, because she remembered something more important and something that worried her more—Lin Che! How is he?

Liuli immediately deactivated her transformation, then took out her phone from her pocket, found that familiar name, and dialed the number without hesitation.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a high-rise building on the other side of the city, Jingjue's figure quietly appeared.

He gazed in the direction of the park he had just left, the pure white smiling mask on his face appearing even colder in the moonlight.

Just as Jiying had predicted, he left the area infiltrated by the void after making the vow.

The act of swearing an oath to the being to whom one is loyal has an absolute binding force, and no Void Apostle can easily disobey it, including that guy named Silent Shadow.

He wasn't worried that the other party would harm his prey, nor was he worried that the other party would ruin his plans.

But after getting rid of that troublesome guy, Ji Ying, he belatedly realized that his connection to the stolen "Origin of the Void" had completely disappeared.

He immediately deduced that the mysterious crescent moon had likely already quietly arrived near the "stage" he had carefully constructed, and had also realized that it was a trap aimed at her.

In other words, if that damned Lonely Shadow hadn't appeared, she should have shown herself and willingly stepped into the trap to save her companions.

"It's all that bastard's fault! He suddenly jumped out and ruined my whole plan! Not only did he alert the new moon, but he also figured I was too busy to deal with her, allowing her to choose not to show herself!"

There are only two possibilities for not being able to sense the "virtual source" now: either the new moon has strengthened the sealing of the "virtual source"; or she has completely destroyed the "virtual source".

Regardless of the method, he is destined to no longer be able to use his perception of the "virtual source" to roughly pinpoint the other party's activity range.

Moreover, now that the other party is on guard, it will be much more difficult to lure her into a similar trap again than before.

Thinking of this, Jingjue unconsciously clenched his fists and cursed Jiying, who had appeared out of nowhere, in his heart once again.

But then he quickly calmed down and let out a soft chuckle: "But it's okay—"

"As long as that new moon remains active in this city, as long as she hasn't relinquished that ridiculous duty of being a magical girl..."

"Then I will definitely find another opportunity to make her unable to shine again."

He seemed to remember something again, and his eyes narrowed slightly beneath the mask.

"To be fair, this failed 'hunt' wasn't entirely without its rewards."

Recalling a fact he had discerned the moment he sensed the fluctuations of the virtual source, Jingjue let out a low chuckle with a hint of amusement.

"At that moment—I think I saw something very interesting—"