"Who are you?"
Shirley's cold gaze, as she activated her Battle Armor, was terrifying.
"You're that little vampire, right..."
The man didn't answer Shirley's question but continued speaking at his own pace.
"It's impressive that you managed to find this place, but... too bad you dared to interrupt my work..."
"Shirley..."
Karina's raspy voice sounded...
"Run..."
"Hmph... After I rescue you, I'll definitely run away..."
Shirley knew very well, just by instinct, that she could feel the power difference between her and her opponent.
How to put it...
The priority now would be to save her own life and rescue Karina...
"Battle Armor... Release!"
Now wasn't the time to hesitate, taking advantage of the fact that the opponent was still showing off, Shirley decided to release her Battle Armor.
The blood flowing from Shirley's body began to merge with her Battle Armor.
In an instant, an intense pressure filled the room.
An invisible wave surrounded Shirley's body, and a dark red explosive energy emitted a sharp sound, like thunder.
The elegant and dreamlike white dress began to visibly decompose.
The dried and yellowed strips of fabric gradually peeled away from the Battle Armor, as a decaying aura began to spread around...
And then...
The dark red energy abruptly contracted, flowing entirely into Shirley's Armor.
In an instant, a new Battle Armor covered Shirley.
The fierce armor, composed of different shades of red, perfectly covered Sheryl's entire body.
Even her eyes were protected by a layer of red film.
The tips of her fingers and toes formed sharp claws, and from her mouth, countless sharp teeth were exposed.
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On her back, the Rapier of the Starry Night seemed to merge with Shirley's body
The aura of blood, violence, and madness was so intense that Shirley's own body began to tremble.
"So, this is the special power system of this world?"
The man didn't try to stop her, or maybe it was already too late to do so.
Based on his quick analysis, the best time to interrupt would have been before the transformation, interrupting in the middle of the transformation...
He had a feeling that it could have irreversible consequences.
After all, what was here wasn't his original body, and his ability was somewhat limited...
"Die... Aaaahhhh—"
Shirley, enveloped in her Scarlet Armor, let out a wild scream, as if she had lost her sanity, and lunged at the mysterious man.
Suddenly, Shirley's red claws collided with the man's white claws, and the shockwave reduced everything around them, within a radius of dozens of meters, to dust.
Karina, however, was protected by a special layer, unaffected by the shockwave.
After the brief confrontation, Shirley's image disappeared for a moment, like an illusion dissolving before the man.
And then, she reappeared in front of Karina.
In an instant, a shadow-like frantic attack launched at the barrier holding Karina.
Intense sparks emerged upon impact.
"So fast..."
The man was surprised in his heart.
The speed Shirley unleashed in an instant prevented him from reacting.
However, he knew that such an attack would come at a high price, and after a brief period...
The man gestured, and countless white chains with sharp tips advanced towards Shirley.
But she kept attacking the barrier, with no intention of dodging.
At the last moment before the chains touched her body, Shirley stopped.
"Ah—!!!"
With her hands raised, Shirley screamed, and a destructive energy emanated from her body.
The chains were repelled before they even touched her.
Looking closer, changes could be seen in her Battle Armor.
A dense, heavy red light emerged from the joints of the armor, making it unstable.
Small black cracks began to form on the perfect armor.
— The Battle Armor was breaking apart!
Releasing the internal energy of the Armor for the second time caused the transformation to last even less.
But it also gave Shirley an even more terrifying strength.
She seemed to have completely left her human form, acting like a maddened beast, attacking with distorted and frenzied movements.
Seeing this, the man's gaze became more cautious.
If those attacks had been directed at him instead of Karina's prison, he would probably have had difficulty dealing with them.
But, since Shirley wasn't attacking him...
The man raised his hands, stepped back a little, and began concentrating energy in front of his chest.
The man's behavior seemed strange, but Shirley knew he was planning something.
Still, what else could she do? To rescue Karina, she could only rely on the power of the released Battle Armor while it lasted.
Finally, under Shirley's furious attacks, the barrier around Karina began to weaken until it broke.
"Die!"
The man's voice echoed coldly.
A white beam of light appeared between his hands, piercing through time and space with impossible speed, aiming at Shirley.
The sound of the explosion filled the sky, and the mountain disintegrated, as did the ground, which was deeply gouged by the energy.
Dust covered everything, blocking everyone's view.
However, with a gesture, the man dispersed the dust, revealing Shirley and Karina.
The blood...
Shirley's blood dripped and fell to the ground, echoing in the silence.
At the moment of the attack, if she wanted, Shirley could have avoided a vital area and let the light pierce a less important part of her body.
But the trajectory of the attack was so treacherous that if she didn't face it head-on...
The light beam would have pierced Karina's head without mercy.
So...
There was nothing left to consider or hesitate.
Shirley used her back to take the impact of the terrible energy, and as a result...
She now found herself in this situation.