Chapter 43: You Are Weak

Under Ling Ling’s storm-like onslaught, Nox’s breathing was completely thrown off.

Every joint he used to exert force had been precisely stabbed by that slender sword.

Although the wounds were not deep, this had indeed weakened his mobility.

This was the most terrifying opponent he had ever encountered since becoming a mercenary.

Her ghost-like attacks left him utterly unable to fight back.

“It’s time to end this.”

Ling Ling’s voice came from all directions.

She moved quickly between the iron racks, her black-red performance costume dragging afterimages in the dim light, like a dancing butterfly.

Nox gritted his teeth and poured all his remaining Supernatural Ability into the tachi.

The blade glowed white, and he roared as he swung his final strike.

“Go to hell!”

This was his strongest slash.

The Vacuum Blade was no longer fan-shaped but spread forward in a net, determined to cut through everything in its path.

Nox’s net of slashes swept in like the scythe of death.

Dozens of Vacuum Blades interwove into an impenetrable giant net, slicing everything in its path into pieces.

Even steel bars were cut cleanly like mirrors.

The entire warehouse groaned under the strain of this power, the overhead lamps shaking violently, the lights flickering wildly.

This was the all-out final blow of an A-rank Supernatural Ability user.

Ling Ling’s pupils contracted.

In her perception, those Vacuum Blades, which were originally too fast for the naked eye to catch, suddenly became clear.

The trajectory of each Vacuum Blade unfolded in her mind like a slow-motion picture.

This was the change brought by the “Divine Relic.”

Ever since she put that pitch-black ring on her ring finger, her senses had been subtly enhanced.

Not only had her sight and hearing improved, but her battle intuition had also been greatly strengthened.

Now, when she focused during combat, she could almost completely predict the opponent’s movements.

It was as if the “Divine Relic” was continuously filtering, analyzing, and feeding back battlefield information to her, allowing her to make the best judgment in an instant.

She sidestepped, and the first slash grazed the tip of her nose.

She bent down, and the second swept over her head, cutting off a few flying golden strands of hair.

She spun, and the third and fourth crossed past her waist and shoulder.

She weaved through the dense net of slashes like a graceful dance, her body twisting and leaping with incredible flexibility, the black-red performance costume fluttering among the blade lights.

If it were before, she might have dodged most attacks but would always be grazed by one or two residual waves.

But now—her body found every gap faster than her consciousness, weaving splendidly between each slash.

Nox’s eyes widened, the black-red figure descending from above reflected in his pupils.

He didn’t even have time to turn around, only feeling a chill at the back of his neck.

Behind him, the tip of the Sword Cane was already pressed against the skin of his nape.

“—Is this your final act?”

“You are so weak.”

Then the tip thrust sharply into his neck.

The last words Nox heard before dying were “You are so weak.”

He was still unwilling, but by then he had completely lost consciousness, and the tachi in his hand clattered to the ground.

He fell forward onto the floor, never to get up again.

Ling Ling stood still, slowly sheathing her sword.

The scabbard closed with a crisp metallic hum, echoing in the silent warehouse like a rest note at the end of a play.

She looked down at the fallen Nox.

Although she usually adhered to a no-kill policy, if the opponent was truly a threat to the important people around her, she would not hesitate to strike.

She would never be soft-hearted either.

She then looked at the miscellaneous thugs lying scattered on the ground, then took two sticky notes from her pocket.

One was stuck on the already dead Nox’s forehead, reading: “Nice swordsmanship, suggest learning how to trim your nails.”

The other was stuck on the warehouse door, reading: “Stupidity tax, assessment complete.”

She stepped back two paces, tilted her head, and admired her work.

The handwriting on the sticky notes was neat and elegant, the wording sarcastic, very much in line with the persona of “Moriarty.”

“Mm, perfect.”

Ling Ling nodded with satisfaction, returned the Sword Cane to her waist, and patted the nonexistent dust off her gloves.

She looked at the goods in the warehouse again, then snapped her fingers.

Flames ignited on the boxes.

This was the flame of the ability “Scorch.”

Even if the boxes containing the enhancers were metal, they would be burned to nothing by Scorch’s properties.

Soon, whether boxes or potions, they had completely vanished from this world.

***

After destroying the potions, she did not let the flames spread but extinguished them.

She needed to leave a “crime” scene to intimidate and warn her opponents.

After dealing with everything, just as she turned to walk toward the warehouse entrance, Hua Jianxi was leaning against the doorframe.

Then she saw a pink-haired girl standing at the entrance, sucking on a lollipop.

Hua Jianxi leaned against the doorframe, a slightly smug smile on her face, clapping her hands at a very leisurely pace.

Clap, clap, clap.

“Brilliant!” she said to Ling Ling in a tone as if she had just watched an entire opera.

“Especially that final sword-sheathing move, and that line ‘Is this your final act?’—Ling, which chuunibyou quote book did you copy that from?”

Ling Ling stared at her expressionlessly.

But the tips of her ears were already turning red.

“…When did you get here?”

“Probably around the time the opponent was about to unleash that net slash.”

Hua Jianxi pulled the lollipop out of her mouth, held it between her index and middle fingers, and waved it.

“I wanted to make an entrance earlier, but since you were having so much fun fighting, I couldn’t bear to interrupt your fun.”

“…So you’ve been watching the show the whole time.”

“Mhmm.”

Hua Jianxi didn’t deny it at all; instead, she nodded with complete confidence.

“And I even recorded a video. I can watch it again and again when I get back. I already thought of a title—’Shocking! The blonde beauty of the Seventh District is actually this kind of person behind the scenes!’ How many views do you think it’ll get?”

Ling Ling took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

‘Calm down, can’t punch her here. Although this guy is the disgrace of the Knights of the Round Table, she is at least an S-class. And she has the video—wait, video?’

“Delete it.”

“No.”

Hua Jianxi smiled brightly.

“Then what do you plan to do with my video?”

Hua Jianxi said matter-of-factly, “Keep it as a family heirloom, of course.”

“If Ling becomes famous later, I’ll sell this video. Should make a nice profit.”

Ling Ling was seriously considering the feasibility of killing her to silence her.

But just as her fingers touched the hilt of the Sword Cane, Hua Jianxi suddenly dropped her smile.

Her expression switched from “playful mode” to “serious mode.”

She put the lollipop back in her mouth, stuffed her hands into the skirt pockets of her sailor uniform, and leaned against the doorframe in a very leisurely manner.

“Actually, I didn’t just come along to watch the fun today. I wanted to tell you something.”