曼珠沙華(Mañjusaka): Manjusaka – red spider lily (Lycoris radiata)
Girl Doesn’t Die in Fairytale Town: Chapter 21 – Manjusaka
Whether it was Hua Qiling’s “real town,” the one-armed man’s “spiritual domain,” or Luo Yan’s “scribbled vision,” they were essentially the same.
They all referred to this strange town, existing in an unknown time and place, filled with falsehood and absurdity, yet undeniably real.
In this town, all the residents lived peaceful and happy lives.
Even outsiders would quickly integrate into the town, becoming part of it, adding to this endless, beautiful dream.
This also meant that once someone arrived here, they entered a Devil’s Apostle’s spiritual domain, becoming a pawn to be manipulated at will.
This was the worst-case scenario…
The one-armed man’s heart sank. He knew that he had encountered such a terrible situation entirely because of “Hua Qiling.”
From the beginning, the one-armed man had recognized Hua Qiling, lying in Luo Yan’s arms, as the Director of the Disaster Response Department in Yan City. He knew she was reasonably strong, with the potential to advance to the “Peril” level or even higher.
He hadn’t paid much attention to her before because Hua Qiling had almost completely fallen into the spiritual domain, her physical form in the real world reduced to a faint shadow.
Because of this, the one-armed man had deemed Hua Qiling harmless, and due to time constraints, he had ignored her.
But now, his repeated carelessness and underestimation had led to this situation.
“I wasn’t cautious enough, but there’s still a chance to salvage this.”
The one-armed man quickly composed himself and looked at Luo Yan again, a sharp glint in his eyes.
“As long as I kill her, destroy the personal consciousness that this spiritual domain relies on, I can break free!”
This time, the one-armed man wouldn’t hold back, because he no longer needed to control Luo Yan to navigate the spiritual domain.
Rescuing Ling Qi required him to ensure his own safety first.
Instantly, an invisible mental storm erupted around the one-armed man, sweeping towards Luo Yan in the blink of an eye.
The intense mental fluctuations even distorted the surrounding environment. The “Peril” level mental power faintly tore at the town, revealing glimpses of the decaying real world.
Even though the spiritual domain suppressed his abilities, the sheer difference in their mental power levels was enough to deal with the injured Hua Qiling and the defenseless Luo Yan.
An invisible gale howled past Luo Yan’s ears. She looked up and saw the blurry one-armed man slowly close his eyes, avoiding her gaze.
At the same time, the clear fragments around her rapidly multiplied, revealing glimpses of decaying and fragmented scenes. The sky, like a torn sun, revealed a heavy, gloomy color.
“What… what is all this…?”
Although Luo Yan couldn’t see anything clearly, she felt the approaching danger. The life-threatening crisis made her hair stand on end, and a feeling called “fear” surfaced in her heart.
This was the first time Luo Yan had felt this strange emotion, making her blood rush, yet leaving her feeling cold.
The dark figures and little Tini had vanished at some point. Only Luo Yan and Hua Qiling faced this crisis.
Just then, Hua Qiling grasped Luo Yan’s hand.
She didn’t say anything, nor did she have time to. She simply used all her strength, her emerald eyes igniting once more.
But this time, the emerald flames also appeared in Luo Yan’s eyes.
—”Eagle Eye” sharing.
Within the range covered by “Eagle Eye,” Luo Yan finally saw everything, including the source of the danger: a concentrated mass of powerful mental energy.
“So… that’s how it is…”
Luo Yan whispered, her eyes slightly widened.
She instinctively reached for Hua Qiling’s sniper rifle. Hua Qiling didn’t stop her, allowing Luo Yan to take the superweapon crafted by the Anomaly Management Bureau’s Equipment Department.
From the moment the one-armed man launched his attack to Luo Yan raising the sniper rifle and aiming at the incoming mental energy, less than a second had passed.
But the situation changed drastically.
“…”
She pulled the trigger.
The cone-shaped crystal loaded in the sniper rifle instantly turned into gray smoke and dissipated.
At the same time, Luo Yan felt a momentary trance, as if a part of her soul had been drawn out.
Vaguely, she seemed to see a throne abruptly appear amidst the boundless darkness, surrounded by countless chains.
“This is…”
Luo Yan felt a desire to approach the throne, but in the next moment, she snapped back to her senses, as if it had all been an illusion.
At the same time, a dark flower bud appeared at the muzzle of the sniper rifle.
The dark flower slowly drifted out, accurately colliding with the powerful mental energy.
“…”
The dark flower bloomed silently, its breathtaking beauty on full display, yet filling every witness with a profound sense of sorrow.
“Higanbana blooms, Higanbana falls.”
After the fleeting beauty, it withered just as silently.
Dark petals scattered and drifted down from the sky, leaving withered trees and barren ground in their wake.
“This is… ‘Manjusaka’?” The one-armed man’s heart turned cold. He stared at Luo Yan. “Could you be… the Devil’s Apostle who created this spiritual domain?”
No, that was impossible.
Devil’s Apostles had vanished a long time ago.
The Dawn organization knew this better than the Free Federation. They even knew the reason for the Devil’s Apostles’ disappearance and what would happen when they reappeared.
It wasn’t time for the Devil’s Apostles to return yet, and Luo Yan was weak. At least in terms of spiritual power, she didn’t possess the ability to construct a complete spiritual domain.
But what about this forbidden technique called “Manjusaka”?
So far, only Devil’s Apostles could use this power, capable of instantly draining all life force, including spiritual power.
Even among all forbidden techniques, it was considered extremely dangerous.
The one-armed man looked at Luo Yan with a mixture of shock and uncertainty, his clenched fist loosening slightly.
Although Hua Qiling didn’t recognize “Manjusaka,” she was surprised by the remarkable result of Luo Yan wielding the sniper rifle.
This sniper rifle, called “Severed String,” possessed the ability to utilize “Philosopher’s Stones.”
Philosopher’s Stones were high-density energy crystals refined from ore in the New Era.
Under normal circumstances, Philosopher’s Stones didn’t possess any special power on their own. Their primary function was to amplify the user’s abilities, and the structure of “Severed String” could further amplify this effect.
But now…
Hua Qiling could feel a deathly aura permeating the surroundings, an unsettling pulse that disturbed the living.
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