Chapter 201 – We’re Toast!

“We’re toast!”

Lu Yi pulled her head back inside the car. “Lin Xi and Thor are toast!”

The battle in the sky was easy enough to read. In the end, Lin Xi still could not withstand the combined assault of three Magical Girls.

After the others had jumped off Thor’s back, they had commandeered a car and torn through the streets at full speed.

Without Zheng Mo, the Street-Racing Queen, behind the wheel-and Qin Ling continuously crippling the traffic lights to sow chaos-the Countermeasures Bureau would probably have caught them already.

Shi Yu and Lu Yi kept their eyes on the battle. The fierce clash was seconds away from reaching its conclusion.

“We can’t let them throw Lin Xi into the Undersea Prison!” Lu Yi said frantically. “I’ll send all ten thousand of my UFO Bombs to attack the Countermeasures Bureau and draw them away!”

Those ten thousand UFO Bombs were the Bomb Maniac’s entire stockpile. For Lin Xi, she was prepared to empty her arsenal.

Shi Yu had a plan of her own: kidnap the children of the Countermeasures Bureau’s senior leadership.

“Carpet bombing? Kidnapping children?” Zheng Mo, who was still relatively calm, reminded them, “We’re not actual terrorists.”

“If Lin Xi gets caught, right and wrong won’t matter quite so much anymore,” Shi Yu said.

Lu Yi agreed.

“Forget rescuing anyone for a moment,” Qin Ling cut in. Through the traffic cameras under her control, she could see superpower users from the Countermeasures Bureau closing in. “Whether we can get away ourselves is still an open question.”

The same thought occurred to everyone at once.

At this rate, their whole group was about to check into the Undersea Prison together.

“Contact Sister Lin. Activate the emergency plan,” Zheng Mo said evenly.

…

“Is this ever going to stop?”

The shriek of the disaster alarm had ruined Yang Tongtong’s appetite for the delicious steak in front of her.

She was having lunch with Sis at an upscale restaurant.

“What is the Countermeasures Bureau even doing? How have they still not taken care of this?” Yang Tongtong rose from her seat.

Yang Shanshan seemed entirely unaffected by the alarm. “Tongtong?”

“Please wait here, Sis. I’ll go wipe out the monster interrupting our lunch-and the useless Countermeasures Bureau people along with it.”

Yang Shanshan shook her head slightly and told her sister not to cause trouble.

“But it’s my birthday,” Yang Tongtong said plaintively. “Can you really stand by and watch those monsters and useless fools outside ruin it?”

Yang Shanshan gave the matter serious thought.

She really ought to do something for her little sister.

It was her birthday, after all.

“Tongtong, let’s go together.” Yang Shanshan stood.

Yang Tongtong lit up. “You won’t need to lift a finger, Sis. Just watch how quickly I deal with those useless fools.”

She wanted her sister to see that age was not the only thing she had gained. She had grown much stronger as well.

The moment they stepped outside the restaurant, however, both sisters froze.

The person on the Giant Dragon’s back might have been wearing a black hood, but they recognized her at a glance.

It was Lin Xi.

Were three Magical Girls about to kill Lin Xi and the dragon she had raised?

At least, that was certainly what it looked like.

“Sis-“

Yang Tongtong turned her head, only to find that Yang Shanshan had already vanished.

She stamped her foot in irritation. “Seriously! The moment something happens to Lin Xi, Sis completely loses her head!”

“Is Lin Xi more important than her own little sister?!”

“Still…”

Her irritation abruptly became delight.

“I finally get to see Sis as the Queen of Lust again!”

“Yes!”

…

Lin Xi knelt on one knee atop Thor’s broad back. Her wet hair clung to both sides of her pale face.

She was about to raise her hands and surrender.

Once she did, they would inevitably demand that she remove her hood.

“Finally finished struggling?” Xia Xun hovered a short distance away, her Crystal Ice Wings beating softly. Triumph gleamed in her beautiful eyes. “Take off your hood. Show us that you’re serious about surrendering!”

Lin Xi said nothing.

Take off the hood and surrender…

Thor let out an angry whine.

She clearly could not accept the thought of her Master giving up.

“Master, I know you haven’t used your full power.”

“Why not unleash it and kill them?!”

Thor wanted to fight to the death. Lin Xi wanted to surrender.

The moment Thor tried to move, countless translucent chains tightened around her massive green body. White frost coated every one of her scales.

More dangerous still was the electromagnetic halo encircling her neck. Each time she struggled, it contracted and bit deeper into her flesh.

“Spatial Restraint: Ninefold Shackles!”

Su Tang held her hands together. Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead, but she continued pouring everything she had into the costly spatial spell. Countless geometric fragments formed an intricate three-dimensional prison around Lin Xi and Thor, trapping them at its center.

Misaka Shirai stood at the highest point, a rotating electromagnetic sphere suspended between her hands.

“Electromagnetic Prison: Final Restraint.” Her voice was frighteningly calm. “Any flame you produce will be neutralized inside. You have nowhere left to go.”

Lin Xi bit her lower lip and looked around.

Every direction had been sealed. The overlapping effects of the three spells had even suppressed the mental link between her and Thor.

Lin Xi’s battered figure was reflected in the Giant Dragon’s amber eyes. There was pain in them, but also profound self-reproach.

“I dragged you into this,” Lin Xi said, gently stroking an icy scale with her left hand. “We’ll go to the Undersea Prison together. In there, it’ll be my turn to take care of you.”

Thor gave a low croon and tried to send warmth back through their bond, but her frozen Mana Circuit could no longer generate enough heat.

Lin Xi would rather be imprisoned than fight at full power and kill the Magical Girls. Thor did not understand that choice, but she would protect Lin Xi forever-whether they were free or behind bars.

Xia Xun descended slowly to the edge of the spatial prison. Ice crystals spread beneath her feet, forming a platform.

“We only want to take you alive. Why haven’t you done what I told you?” She tried to keep the words from sounding too much like a victor’s proclamation. “If you cooperate, this hotheaded dragon won’t be harmed.”

Lin Xi nodded silently. After soothing Thor, she placed one hand on her hood.

Xia Xun, Su Tang, and Misaka Shirai watched in silence as the Super-Grade Disaster slowly pulled it upward, revealing her chin, then her mouth.

They were finally about to see her true face.

Then, without warning, a cloyingly sweet fragrance spread through the air, rich enough to make them dizzy. It was as if the essence of every flower blooming in a midsummer garden had been concentrated into a single perfume.

Pinkish-purple petals drifted in from nowhere. At first there were only a scattered few, but in the blink of an eye, they became an all-consuming storm.

“What is this?” Su Tang scanned their surroundings warily. Her instincts as a Magical Girl told her at once that something was wrong. These petals were not physical objects, but manifestations of highly condensed mana.

Misaka Shirai’s electromagnetic senses sounded the first warning.

“A powerful mana source is approaching!” she shouted. “Be on guard!”

Too late.

A rift opened at the heart of the petal storm, and a graceful figure stepped through.

She wore an ornate purple-black gown. Its hem writhed like a living thing, embroidered with ever-shifting totems of desire.

Her long, dark-purple hair moved without wind, every strand seeming to possess a life of its own. Most captivating of all were her eyes: the left was a seductive pinkish purple, while the right was a cold, dark gold.

“My, my. Three against one, and you even used sealing magic?” Her voice was honey wrapped around poison, sweet and dangerous. “Since when did Magical Girls care so little about fighting fair?”

Lin Xi forced her head up. Her pupils contracted.

Wait. Who was this?

Of course Lin Xi did not recognize Yang Shanshan in this form. Her appearance, voice, personality, and aura were all completely different.

The moment Yang Shanshan looked at Lin Xi, a storm called love erupted in her mind.

Love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love × 2^n.

(Don’t mistake that for padding. In her Queen of Lust form, Yang Shanshan’s love for Lin Xi also grew at an exponentially explosive rate. She was doing everything she could to keep her desire under control.)

Yang Shanshan gave a soft laugh.

The sound made the heart of every person present begin to race for no apparent reason.