'Am I... still alive?'
Su Zimai muttered silently in her heart, slowly opening her eyes from the darkness.
She belatedly raised her head, staring at the Queen Golem bound by the restraining bands. The cold blade was re inches away; the dagger had been on the verge of piercing her skull.
Su Zimai froze, suddenly realizing that the floor beneath her was damp. A wet patch had ford under her.
A mont later, she blankly lifted her head again. Through her tear-blurred vision, a dark silhouette appeared. The figure held a novel in his hands, looking completely at ease.
"...Bro, brother?"
Staring at that shadow wrapped in restraining bands, she subconsciously murmured those words for so inexplicable reason.
Amidst the dead silence, everyone in the auction house turned their eyes to the pitch-black figure hanging upside down from the ceiling. Even while situated in the center of the battlefield, where he could be caught in the crossfire at any mont, he continued reading his book without a trace of panic.
"That's..." Lan Duo Duo was stunned.
"Black Cocoon," Oda Takikage narrowed his eyes, slowly pronouncing the uninvited guest's moniker.
"He saved Xiaomai?" Lin Zhengquan raised his thick, short eyebrows and muttered.
'He said "collaborator"? Could it be... he is the boss's collaborator?' Xu Sanyan thought.
Xia Pingzhou expressionlessly lifted his eyes, silently gazing at Black Cocoon's face.
At that mont, Black Cocoon closed his copy of "My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute."
Then, he forcefully yanked the restraining bands binding the Queen Golem's arms, distributing his weight to land weightlessly upon its shoulders.
While extending a restraining band toward the crystal chandelier on the ceiling, he reached out a hand toward Su Zimai.
"Let's go, Miss Su Zimai," Black Cocoon shrugged, speaking with a casual tone. "I have an appointnt with soone. If you die, he might take his anger out on ."
Su Zimai paused slightly, her dazed mind finally registering that this person wasn't her brother. It was the big fluttering moth!
Snapping back to reality, she used all her strength to reach up with a trembling hand, braving the Queen Golem's icy glare to grasp Black Cocoon's palm, which was swathed in restraining bands.
"That's more like it. I thought you'd rather die than take my hand,"
Black Cocoon teased, firmly gripping Su Zimai's right hand. By this ti, his restraining bands had already coiled tightly around the dod crystal chandelier.
He pulled Su Zimai into his arms, grasped the restraining band, and pushed off the Queen Golem's shoulder, leaping high into the air.
Oda Takikage tilted his head back, quietly watching the scene unfold.
"We can't let them escape. The brigade leader is very interested in Black Cocoon. This is the perfect chance to bring him to the leader."
With those words, Oda Takikage's figure abruptly vanished into the shadow beneath his feet.
He instantly teleported to the shadow cast by the crystal chandelier onto the ceiling, erging from the darkness.
Raising the katana in his hand, he executed a sweeping horizontal slash aid right at the back of Black Cocoon's head!
As if predicting Oda Takikage's move, before the ninja could strike, Black Cocoon, perched on the crystal chandelier, spoke in an eerie tone:
"Ninjas really are insidious creatures... Shouldn't you Japanese have a little Bushido spirit? Fight fair and square, and if you can't win, just commit seppuku?"
Imdiately following that, the very instant Oda Takikage's katana was about to touch the back of Black Cocoon's head, his figure vanished into thin air!
[Discharging the supernatural ability stored in the restraining bands—transporting oneself and one touched target to an unknown location fifty ters away from the original spot (Ability Source: Esper "Ryukawa Yamato")]
This was the supernatural ability of the yakuza driver Black Cocoon had attacked in the Maybach. He had casually stolen the man's power at the ti, not expecting it to co in handy so soon.
"He disappeared?"
Oda Takikage was montarily stunned as his katana sliced through empty air, his montum sending him tumbling down from the ceiling.
"Black Cocoon took Xiaomai away?"
Xu Sanyan frowned and then scanned the surroundings.
He and Lin Zhengquan were already struggling just to fight Lan Duo Duo. Seeing another brigade mber appear in the auction house, and with no sign of their own boss returning from the movie screen, he knew further entanglent was pointless.
In fact... it was highly likely that he and Lin Zhengquan would both die here.
Making a prompt decision, Xu Sanyan raised his Umbrella, releasing a dense cloud of smoke from its tip. The white mist instantly enveloped his and Lin Zhengquan's figures before rapidly spreading toward the entrance of the auction house.
Within the mist, Xu Sanyan signaled Lin Zhengquan with his eyes. "Let's go."
Although Lin Zhengquan was unwilling to retreat, he gritted his teeth and chose to evacuate the auction house alongside Xu Sanyan.
Oda Takikage, Xia Pingzhou, and Lan Duo Duo stood motionless just outside the mist.
They all knew the enemy's Celestial Drive could manipulate the fog. Rushing blindly into it would be dangerous, so they waited quietly for the haze to dissipate.
A short while later, once the thick fog within the auction house cleared, Xu Sanyan and Lin Zhengquan were nowhere to be seen.
"They ran away?"
Lan Duo Duo grumbled, resting her elbow on Xia Pingzhou's shoulder as she glanced at the Mountain Yeti kneeling on the floor. "Those two were really capable, though. To think they managed to beat my snowman into such a state."
"Should we chase them?"
Xia Pingzhou turned his head to ask Oda Takikage, the Queen Golem slowly walking back to his side.
"There's no need," Oda Takikage replied expressionlessly. "Our mission is already complete. Next, we head back to the Mirror World auction house and see if the brigade leader has finished off the enemies..."
As he spoke, he suddenly realized sothing was amiss. Looking around, he asked, "Where are the Young Lady and the Blood Progenitor?"
"They..." Xia Pingzhou fell silent for a mont. "They're still in the movie world."
anwhile, inside the movie world.
The long, black-and-white street was completely devastated, practically reduced to ruins. The originally exquisite Gothic architecture had been damaged beyond recognition. Hundreds of steepled houses had collapsed to the ground, reduced to broken walls and debris.
In this silent film world, only the final bell tower still stood intact at the center of the long street.
"I really wonder what's going on outside..."
Ke Qirui stood at the top of the bell tower, murmuring absentmindedly.
The massive body of the Train Demon was divided by countless movie screens, scattered haphazardly above her head.
At that instant, the Blood Progenitor surged from behind cover at the corner of the long street, hurling a sanguine long spear at Ke Qirui.
The Train Demon roared, throwing its massive fra forward. A fragnted section of its carriage swept out like a dragon's tail, only to be impaled by the blood-red spear.
However, a movie screen flashed from behind, bringing forth another carriage section that blocked the spear's path, forcefully stopping the blood weapon's montum.
Ayase Origami extended her right arm from behind her cover. Thousands upon thousands of paper butterflies ford a white rainstorm, surging uncontrollably upward into the sky like a reverse waterfall.
The Train Demon's body was too cumberso to block all the butterflies. Thus, Ke Qirui lowered her pipe and took a step back, sinking into the movie screen and disappearing from the top of the bell tower.
The paper butterflies shattered the windows of the bell tower. Amidst the deafening chi of the bell, the final intact building collapsed.
The next mont, a movie screen materialized by Ayase Origami's side, and the head of the Train Demon roared as it charged out from within.
A beam of headlights, bright as daylight, illuminated the side of Ayase Origami's face.
Shooting a sidelong glance, she imdiately stomped her feet against the ground, launching herself ten ters forward.
Imdiately after, the massive train rumbled past her from behind, crashing through one ruin after another. The entire world trembled violently with a deafening rumble. "I say... this is going to be endless, and you'll be the one to lose," the Blood Progenitor declared. "This train is a hundred ters long, and we've already destroyed thirty ters of its body. Give us a little more ti, and we'll demolish the whole thing."
She paused, raising her crimson eyes to look at Ke Qirui, who had just appeared at the street corner. "The most critical issue is... although your Train Demon is very strong, it's far too slow. It holds no advantage against ability users like us. Even if you use the movie screens to coordinate sudden strikes with the train, we can react imdiately. That effectively ans you have no viable ans of attack."
Ke Qirui slipped her pipe back into her trench coat pocket and stated indifferently, "You're right. My Train Demon is more suited for siege warfare, not this kind of small-scale, precision combat. Going up against you two does put
at a disadvantage."
"Right?" The Blood Progenitor blinked. "It seems you have so self-awareness. I don't want to waste any more ti with you either. How about we et each other halfway?"
Ayase Origami ordered her paper butterflies to devour the last building on the long street, then turned around, fixing her hollow, icy gaze on Ke Qirui.
"No... I never planned on defeating you from the start. My goal was simply to stall you."
As soon as she finished speaking, a sudden 'Ding' chid from Ke Qirui's trench coat pocket.
She raised her eyebrows, took out her mobile phone, and glanced at the incoming ssage.
[Black Cocoon: Miss Ke, I have already rescued your dear sister, "Ko Zinan". The other two mbers of the Ghost Train Gang have also evacuated the auction house ahead of ti.]
[Black Cocoon: I suggest you figure out how to leave the auction house on your own... Make sure you don't die there, or I'll be very troubled.]
"Did it fail? I thought they'd at least take down one brigade mber."
Under the black moon, Ke Qirui let out a soft sigh. She had originally thought that with Xia Pingzhou, Xu Sanyan, and Lin Zhengquan joining forces, killing Lan Duo Duo during this window of opportunity would be no problem. However, the situation seed to have exceeded her expectations.
She lifted her eyes from her phone screen and slowly looked toward the Blood Progenitor and Ayase Origami.
"Then... we part ways here."
Dropping those words, Ke Qirui's figure vanished into the movie screen behind her.
"Bye-bye," the Blood Progenitor flashed a grin at her.
Ayase Origami, however, remained completely still in her spot, her kimono sleeves fluttering in the wind.
The two watched as Ke Qirui disappeared from the spot. Imdiately after, the movie world they were in rapidly began to collapse.
By the ti they regained their bearings, the two had already returned to the real-world auction house. The entire world was restored to its vibrant, multicolored hues. The warm white light of the crystal chandelier poured down, washing over the figures of the Blood Progenitor and Ayase Origami like a tide.
On the auction stage, Lan Duo Duo and Xia Pingzhou turned their heads simultaneously.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's the situation now?" Lan Duo Duo asked blankly, staring at the duo who had suddenly materialized.
"Nothing much, that train woman got away," the Blood Progenitor said nonchalantly. "What about you guys?"
Xia Pingzhou replied deadpan, "They got away. I could have killed one of them, but that Black Cocoon charged out and rescued her."
The Blood Progenitor shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We've killed all the bodyguards anyway."
Ayase Origami lifted her eyes, staring unblinkingly at Xia Pingzhou. She quietly observed him for a mont to confirm he wasn't injured before slowly retracting her gaze.
Right at that mont, they jerked their heads toward the wooden door at the end of the auction stage.
They heard a sky-shaking dragon roar. This terrifying coercion pierced through the wooden door connecting to the Mirror World, echoing all the way into the real-world auction house.
The four of them were taken aback.
Ayase Origami and Xia Pingzhou remained silent, exchanging a glance.
"A dragon?" The Blood Progenitor raised her delicate eyebrows.
"Holy crap, what is that noise?" Lan Duo Duo muttered. "Wait, it can't be..."
Lan Duo Duo was the only Anecdote Envoy here who understood the situation. Staring at the world behind the door, she voiced a na with an expression caught between terror and suspicion:
"The Red Dragon... Welsh?"
anwhile, in the fourth-floor corridor of the Amamiya Building.
Black Cocoon wrapped his arms protectively around Su Zimai's head and smashed through the building's glass curtain wall. Amidst the crashing sounds, they plumted toward the city along with a shower of shattered glass.
Amidst the rumbling thunder, a true rainstorm battered their faces, carrying damp air so cold it struck fear into the heart. The neon lights of Tokyo flickered in and out through the veil of rain.
During their high-speed freefall, Su Zimai gazed out at the entire city. For so reason, even though they were falling through midair and could very well splat onto the ground and turn into a puddle of at paste, she didn't feel panicked at all. In fact... she felt sowhat at ease.
After a mont's hesitation, Su Zimai buried her face into this guy's chest.
Shortly after, Black Cocoon launched a restraining band to snag a billboard on the Amamiya Building, halting their downward montum. He then swung across the urban expanse of Tokyo with Su Zimai, dropping into a deserted street. Using his restraining bands, he latched onto a roof eaves and hung upside down beneath it.
Turning his head to look, a chain bookstore ca into view. The doors were shut tight, and the interior was pitch black; it seed they were closed for the day.
So, Black Cocoon picked the lock using his restraining bands and pushed the door open.
He swung into the bookstore, hanging upside down from the ceiling. Using the restraining bands, he gently lowered the exhausted Su Zimai, letting her lean against the counter to rest.
"Oh... why do I sll sothing weird?" Black Cocoon suddenly remarked, sniffing the air.
"Shut up! This... this is a side effect of my Celestial Drive!" Su Zimai froze for a second before her face flushed crimson, quickly raising her hands to cover her damp suit pants.
"Okay, okay, a side effect."
Black Cocoon turned his head away dismissively. "Miss Su Zimai, you should be safe here. I've sent the location of this bookstore to your leader; she'll be here to pick you up soon."
He paused before adding in a ghostly tone, "Also, I recomnd you all get as far away from the auction house as possible. Right now, there's a group of true monsters duking it out on the roof, and it's nothing like your little skirmishes."
Having said that, Black Cocoon turned to look outside the bookstore. Rain lashed heavily against the street, and howling winds blew into the store, sweeping up movie posters from the shelves.
After a mont of silence, Su Zimai suddenly lifted her head, looking at Black Cocoon's face, which was rely inches away. She asked softly:
"Who... exactly are you?"
"Black Cocoon."
"I'm asking... are you my brother?" Su Zimai pondered for a mont before asking again.
"Isn't your brother Blue Arc?"
"Still trying to trick ! The leader and I already figured out that my brother isn't Blue Arc. To think we were actually fooled by you, you big fluttering moth... how stupid of us..."
Su Zimai hugged her knees, lowering her eyes to stare at the floor as she muttered indignantly.
"Uh... does it matter who I am?"
Hanging upside down from the ceiling, Black Cocoon spoke without even lifting his head, still flipping through "My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute."
Su Zimai stayed silent for a while before saying softly, "I suppose you're right... Whoever you are, and whether or not you're my brother, I want to thank you."
"You're welco. Now, I need to go check on my collaborator by the na of 'Blue Arc'... I sure hope he doesn't die in the auction house, otherwise it would be such a pity."
With that said, Black Cocoon's figure abruptly vanished from beneath the bookstore's ceiling.
Monts later, the bookstore's wooden door suddenly shut tight. The wind and rain could no longer breach the interior, and a sudden tranquility descended upon the room.
Before leaving, Black Cocoon had apparently used the remote to turn on the bookstore's air conditioning, setting it to heat.
Amidst the low hum of the air conditioner, the bookstore gradually ward up, while the torrential rain continued to pour outside the window.
Su Zimai peered at the city veiled in rain. Resting her chin on her bent knees, she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
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