"Qing Yue! Tend to the injured!

" I yelled, motioning for her to come over to Xiang Peng.

"Right!

" she was already on her way.

"I'll leave her to you,

" I said.

Qing Yue nodded firmly, and began casting Blessing Magic on Xiang Peng.

Then, suddenly I heard a groan of pain from behind me. I turned around, and widened my eyes as I saw the senior I had spoken with before lying on the ground, grasping his stomach in agony.

"Senior!

" I quickly rushed over to his side, and glared at the monster that had flung him away, causing this injury.

"Ngh...I'm fine, girl...

" he croaked with a forced smile, but then suddenly coughed out a pool of blood.

"Ugh...

"

"Senior...damn it, stay here, don't move,

" I instructed, then glanced at Qing Yue who was still in the middle of healing Xiang Peng.

"Qing Yue! Over here!

"

"E-Eh? Right!

" she quickly spun around and ran over. Crouching down, she immediately began her work.

Sorry, Qing Yue...this is tough work, but it can't be helped. If I could heal him, I would've done it myself, but...I have something more important to do right now.

I turned and looked at the monster who had been the senior's opponent moments ago.

Raising my hand, I began chanting.

"Level Two Fire Magic - Pyroflux.

"

A deadly disintegration beam of pure black fire shot out of my palm, hitting the creature squarely in the chest.

"Tch...I missed the heart by an inch,

" I muttered, and prepared to unleash another attack.

However, the monster was ready this time, having already been hit by magic once and suffered some pain from it. While my attack wasn't able to kill him, it did somehow damage its hide. I feel like...my magic has gotten even more powerful than normal? Is it because I'm driven by this killing intent I'm feeling right now? That old senior...we only met an hour ago, but he has been very kind to me. That's why...I feel this killing intent right now, after seeing him gravely injured by this abomination of a monster.

I made a mental note to ask Mei Gui about this later, but for now, I needed to focus on the task at hand.

"Level Two Fire Magic - Pyroflux.

"

Another death ray of blazing flames shot out of my hand, and this time, I made sure not to miss the heart. However, the creature, anticipating this attack, brought up its arms and blocked it, though not before growling in anger.

I lowered my hand.

"...How troublesome. So these things are capable of learning too...but that's the extent of your intelligence, I see.

"

I leapt up into the air and shot out another Pyroflux, aiming at the creature's head this time. But that wasn't my objective. My goal here was to make the monster use its arms as a shield once more...which it did. However, by doing so, it had also inadvertently blinded itself momentarily, giving me a chance to discretely unsheathe my sharp obsidian sword.

Since Pyroflux was a spell that could technically last infinitely long, but drained more mana the longer it lasted, I was able to continue firing, preventing the monster from moving its arms away. And because it was blinded, it didn't even realize I was getting closer to killing him by the second.

"Die.

"

As soon as I was within range, I drove the cold obsidian into the creature's heart. It pierced cleanly through, and after several seconds, the deed was done. I removed my sword, leapt off the monster's body using its chest as a foothold, and landed safely on the ground once more as the monster collapsed onto the floor.

"Wow, kid...

" the senior mused in awe.

"Never knew you were...this strong. But...heh. You aren't really a girl, are you?

"

I stiffened, and didn't turn around to look at him. Raising my voice into a high-pitched girly one, I spoke.

"W-Whatever could you mean, senior?

"

"Bah. Drop the act. I know a lie when I see one. Don't worry...I won't expose you, or ask why. Everyone has their own secrets.

"

I was surprised by his accommodating attitude, but eventually I just sighed in relief.

"Thank you.

"

Then, suddenly, I felt a pat on the shoulder. I immediately spun around to see Xiang Peng, now fully recovered.

"Uh...are you completely healed already?

"

She nodded.

"That girl...was Qing Yue her name? Yeah. She's very talented at Blessing Magic.

"

"I agree...and I'll just overlook the fact that you answered your own question.

"

"But still...you really are stronger than I expected. Be honest, who really are you? I've only seen you use one element, and yet you managed to defeat one of those monsters all by yourself.

"

I averted my gaze.

"I have no obligation to answer you.

"

Xiang Peng blinked.

"Well, that's true, I guess...I do owe you one, after all.

"

"Huh? Owe?

" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

She shrugged.

"Yeah. You really saved my ass back there.

"

I shook my head.

"I was just doing what I needed to, for my own safety. If I didn't take care of those monsters while they were immobilized, once they got back up, I would be in danger. There's nothing more to it. Besides, Qing Yue was the one who healed you, not me.

"

"That may be so, but you still - whether you did it intentionally or not - helped me out. I'm a pretty prideful girl, so I definitely won't forget my debts. If you ever need my help in the future, just say the word.

"

Saying this, she shoved a business card in my hand.

"H-Hey-

" I began, but she had already turned around and was heading to help our other teammates fend off the remaining monsters.

I looked down at the card in my hand, and furrowed my brows.

"What is this...? Xiang Peng, Shanghai Defense Corps Colonel?

"

Holy **...she's part of the Magic Capital's Defense Corps?! And a decent rank, at that! No wonder she's so strong...but why is she here in Shenzhen? Guess I'll have to ask her that question later.

Soon after, the battle was finished. Though most of us were injured, we suffered no casualties. All of the monsters had been exterminated, and Qing Yue was currently tending to the wounded one by one.

I walked over to her as she wiped some sweat off her brow.

"...Are you holding up fine? Take a break if you need to.

"

She glanced at me, then gave a decisive 'hmph'.

"I'm not tired! I'll show you I'm useful too!

"

I sighed.

"You're certainly useful - the support is the backbone of a team...but supports can't do their job if they're passed out. So instead of pushing yourself like you are now, it's better to just take a short break. You've already healed everyone who needed immediate treatment, right? Your mana should be running low. Take some time to recharge it.

"

"I told you...I'm fine!

" Qing Yue exclaimed, before rushing over to another injured mage.

I sighed, and walked over to Qing Yue. I was about to lift her up and force her to take a break, but then, suddenly-

"ROOAR!

" a large portion of what remained of the school building's walls was torn down as a deafening roar resounded across the dead of night.

I immediately spun around, and everyone else focused their gazes on the incoming abomination as well.

"W-What the hell is that...?

" a male who looked to be slightly older than me stuttered, pointing at the new creature that had emerged from the gaping hole in the wall.

It was a massive monster. One far larger than any of the other ones we had fought so far - which were already big enough. But no...this one was even larger, and undoubtedly, countless times stronger. It was a true abomination, with its six arms and single eye. At this point, it could barely be called 'humanoid' anymore. This was more like a spider, if anything.

Then, this 'spider'-like lifeform suddenly roared once again, and fired out a focused purple beam of light at me.

I immediately jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding it. However, the monster merely followed me with its laser, using it like a damned trace rifle. I cursed and this time slid underneath it, missing it by a slight margin once again. As the monster tried following me with its laser once more, someone else intercepted.

"Level One Sky Magic - Wind Wall - Tier III!

"

A screen of flowing wind appeared in front of me, cutting off the laser. Surprisingly, it was strong enough to defend against it, but I suppose part of that also came from the fact that the monster was still quite some distance away form us right now, so its power was significantly reduced.

The one who had cast this magic for me, of course, was Xiang Peng.

"Thanks,

" I muttered.

"No problem. That's my job as the leader here,

" she replied confidently.

"However...

"

She turned to face the spider-like creature, slowly lumbering in our direction.

"This is troublesome. I don't think we can defeat that monster...even with all of us together.

"