Chapter 43
“‘He couldn’t have just forgotten in the heat of the moment that using magic would get him locked on by the Heaven’s Judgment System, right? In any case, dying to the weapon he invented… it’s his just deserts, in the end.’ Lian Qi said.”
“‘You said it yourself, who knows how many magicians fell prey to the Heaven’s Judgment System tonight. So, for Einstein to die by his own weapon… it’s pretty ironic to us.‘”
Lian Qi seemed to see through my thoughts. She patted my back to comfort me, accidentally brushing my underwear strap and sending a jolt through my whole body!
“‘Don’t worry. The Heaven’s Judgment System was just for deterrence, not to wipe out all magicians. I don’t think the magicians in the city are in life-threatening danger. As for why Einstein was pierced through the chest? Maybe he was too close, so the power was greater?‘”
“‘Ah… hearing you say that, I feel relieved.’ I gave a weak laugh. Thinking back on my and Lian Qi’s situation, I felt a lingering fear.”
“‘Still… I’m sorry I wasn’t much help to you.’ Lian Qi’s demeanor changed in an instant. She scratched her cheek with a finger, not daring to look me straight in the eye.”
“‘It’s fine. It’s because you couldn’t use magic. Otherwise, you definitely could have supported me.‘”
“‘You don’t… think I’m too weak, do you?‘”
“‘Not at all. In fact, I’m relying on you to make the Heaven’s Judgment System stop.‘”
“‘Then let’s do it now!’ She immediately turned around. Was she deliberately hiding her expression from me? What’s with the tsundere act?”
We returned to the base of the magic tower.
History is astonishingly repetitive. Her hand rested on the magic matrix, she didn’t forget to glance at me, and I gave her an OK sign with the hammer.
This time, no one jumped out to interfere. I put the hammer behind my back, humming a tune, relaxing… Not even one second—Lian Qi had just used magic, and a beam shot down!
Th-th-this—is a bit sudden, isn’t it?
Guess I really can’t get too carried away. I grabbed the hammer and blocked. The beam’s impact knocked me back several steps.
“‘Are you okay?’ Lian Qi looked at me, worried.”
Probably even she didn’t expect the Heaven’s Judgment System to lock onto her so quickly!
“‘I’m fine—just focus on destroying the magic matrix—EHHHHHH???‘”
I was shocked because another beam was shooting over.
I held the hammer up to block. DONG! My hands throbbed with pain from the vibration!
Immediately after—
The Heaven’s Judgment System remained locked on Lian Qi, the magic crystal prism firing beams at us frantically!
ZAP—! ZAP—! ZAP—! ZAP—! ZAP—! ZAP—! ZAP—!
Are you, are you kidding me?
Does this firing frequency have a personal grudge against me?
I held the hammer with both hands, blocking desperately. I felt like my arms weren’t mine anymore—one beam after another, the intense light flashed so bright I couldn’t open my eyes.
I don’t know how many hits I endured before the Heaven’s Judgment System stopped attacking. In the end, it only stopped because Lian Qi interrupted her magic.
“‘What’s wrong with this thing?‘”
I panted heavily. I really thought I was going to die.
“‘Maybe it knows no one else dares to use magic because they’ll be attacked, so it’s locking onto just me?‘”
“‘What… what do we do? Want to try again? I think I can hold on.‘”
“‘Hold on my foot! Are you a masochist?1 I don’t want to use you as a human shield,’ Lian Qi said angrily.”
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past, and a familiar voice came with it.
“‘Lian Qi is right. Little sister, don’t be reckless. Eh…‘”
I turned around, overjoyed. That jet-black hair, that pointed wizard hat, that starry-sky robe, that beautiful figure—“Wow! Sister Aijieliya!”
Huh—?
I suddenly realized something and was instantly plunged into an awkward situation. At first glance, it sounded like Sister was agreeing with Lian Qi that I was a masochist…
How could Sister possibly know what I’m like in private? Besides, I’d never admit that I am one! I’m clearly different from Qifeng, okay?
“‘Sorry, I’m late,’ Sister said. ‘Where is Einstein?‘”
“‘Lying over there,’ Lian Qi said, pointing.”
I subconsciously hid the hammer behind my back.
Even though I wasn’t the one who did it, I did go through a nasty fight with him.
Sister looked over, her expression very complicated.
I gave her the short version of the Heaven’s Judgment System’s story.
“‘To die in the end by the weapon one invented. Such a result truly is ironic,’ Sister said.”
“‘Sister, how is the situation in the royal capital?’ I asked.”
“‘A lot of magicians were injured. But the vast majority are not in life-threatening danger.‘”
“‘Is that so.’ I patted my flat chest, finally sighing in relief.”
“‘Well then, next, Lian Qi!‘”
“‘Ah? Present.’ Lian Qi froze for a second, as if she’d been called on by Sister Aijieliya in class.”
“‘Destroying the Heaven’s Judgment System’s magic matrix is up to you. As for the decoy—’”
“‘I’ll do it.‘”
I looked at Sister in surprise. “‘What? That’s too dangerous—’”
“‘Don’t be silly, little sister. With me here, how could I possibly let you risk your life?‘”
Sister adjusted the brim of her wizard hat with one hand, revealing a confidence that showed she had this in the bag.
“‘You two, step back a bit.‘”
Lian Qi and I took a few steps back.
“‘A little further back.’”
”!?”
Although I didn’t quite understand, we did as she said.
Why does it look like she’s about to unleash an ultimate move and is afraid of hitting us?
Immediately after, Sister, as if deliberately trying to attract the Heaven’s Judgment System’s attention, brazenly erupted with astonishing magic power right under its nose!
Because almost no one else was using magic anymore, the Heaven’s Judgment System detected Sister in an instant, locked onto her—and fired a beam!
Sister vanished like a gust of wind without a trace. In a flash, she teleported a meter away. The beam struck where she had just been standing, blasting the floor to smithereens!
The next second, the Heaven’s Judgment System locked onto her again, and just like it had a grudge against me, it ‘whoosh, whoosh, whoosh’ed, firing beams at her continuously!
We could only see Sister’s afterimages appearing and disappearing, showing up in different locations. All the beam attacks missed. Lian Qi and I were dumbfounded.
“‘You can do that?’ Lian Qi said, astonished.”
“‘What are you standing there for? Go destroy the magic matrix,’ Sister said, while teleporting to dodge the beams.”
Lian Qi nodded and rushed toward the magic tower.
I looked back at Sister, feeling from the bottom of my heart how reliable she was~ Then I followed after Lian Qi, hammer in hand.
Even though Sister was drawing the Heaven’s Judgment System’s attention now, Lian Qi still had to use magic in a moment. Just in case, I would stay by her side and protect her until the system stopped running—
Footnotes
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抖M (dǒu M): “Shaking M,” internet slang for an extreme Masochist. ↩