(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

Immediately, we were shrouded in a dark dome of Shadow energy - Ling Xin's domain. However, I had already seen this spell before. Immediately, I cast my own counterattack before she could take advantage of this situation.

*Forbidden Magic - Zero.*

I slammed my palm on the ground as I released the spell, causing a shockwave of energy to erupt 360 degrees all around me. The Shadow energy was cleansed completely, not a single speck of it remaining.

"The more you use that spell, the more I get interested…" Ling Xin murmured as the girls launched a volley of attacks towards her.

"Level Two Ice Magic - Subzero Hail!" Feng Mian chanted.

Various skewers of ice formed above Ling Xin, but she vanished and reappeared elsewhere before it could hit her.

"Hmph… far too slow. Legendary Shadow Magic - Umbral Sphere."

A massive, deadly ball of concentrated Shadow energy shot out of her palm, but this was exactly what I had wanted.

"Everyone, behind me!" I yelled to the girls, who immediately complied. "Mei Gui, together!"

"Yes, Master!"

She came up beside me and we extended our palms together.

*Come, Chaos!*

The slow-traveling orb of destruction became even slower as it entered our range of absorption. Mei Gui and I gritted our teeth as we attempted to suck it in with both of our powers combined.

"C'mon…" I muttered in impatience.

The sphere got closer and closer, until at last, right before it was about to hit us, the orb froze and began to distort. Then, the concentrated Shadow energy split, flowing into Mei Gui's and my body.

Everyone on scene's eyes widened, having not expected this. Hell, we didn't even expect to be able to do it ourselves. Really, it was just a spur-of-the-moment gamble.

"This… I feel empowered, somehow…" I murmured.

"Yes… I do as well, Master," Mei Gui agreed, clenching her fists.

"How interesting," Ling Xin murmured, narrowing her eyes. "That ability of yours… is it another artifact?"

"Heh. Why would we tell you?" Xiang Peng taunted, but naturally, the Shadow Empress was far too experienced to fall for such provocations.

"My, my… so immature, despite being the same age as me," Ling Xin sighed in response to Xiang Peng's words. "Well, no matter… I'll find out the truth about your abilities eventually."

Saying this, she opened up a space portal and prepared to step through, but then, suddenly, the portal closed before she could go in. Her eyes widened and she turned to look at us.

"Who… Space Magic as well, huh? Quite advanced, too… not bad, not bad."

We obviously weren't just going to let this opportunity go to waste, so while she was still speaking, we already began chanting our spells. The one who had closed the portal was undoubtedly Amane, as she was the only one proficient in Space Magic here. However, there was no time for compliments or encouragement right now.

The girls each launched their own attack in Ling Xin's general direction at the exact same time, making it virtually impossible for her to physically dodge all these attacks. She would have to rely on magic to do so.

But, of course, she didn't have to dodge at all.

She calmly chanted the following words.

"Legendary Void Magic - Endless Void."

A massive purple, black-hole like circle appeared in front of her. It was huge, and all of the attacks we sent were absorbed towards it.

"W-What?!" the girls cried out in surprise.

After sucking in all of our spells, the circle closed on its own, revealing a smug Ling Xin behind.

"Ara, you think you're the only one with attack-nullifying abilities?" she giggled. "I may not know what artifact you're using, but I have certain… alternatives of my own."

The girls once again tried launching spells at her, from multiple angles this time. We spread out across the arena, surrounding Ling Xin. However, even this was not enough. If it was like this, she could dodge our attacks one by one, even if we fired them all at once - all she had to do was fall back to the ground, since if we shot our attacks at that elevation then there was a risk of hitting each other.

As for Ling Xin, she seemed to be simply playing with us, making no move to attack. She calmly avoided every attack we threw at her, giggling as if amused in the process.

After about ten whole minutes of doing this, the girls were exhausted. Thanks to the spell we absorbed earlier, Mei Gui and I were still far from empty, but the others weren't looking so good. They were all panting in exhaustion as they tried to recover.

Ling Xin also realized this, and she suddenly flew high up into the air in the middle of us all.

"Now then… it's time to end this little game, don't you think?"

"You've… just been waiting for us to tire ourselves out…?" Feng Mian murmured, as if disgusted with her tactics.

"Of course. Isn't this a lot more fun? Beating an opponent without having to make any move yourself. Though… of course the two remaining enemies are the most troublesome ones. Isn't that right, Xuan Kai-kun?"

She shifted her gaze towards me and we looked into each other's eyes.

I slowly raised my arm, as she prepared her own spell. This, would be the final showdown.

"… Level Three Light Magic - Holy Ray."

"Mythic Shadow Magic - Eye of Another World."

My ray of light shot out of my palm, and her spell, the same one she had used on Mei Gui earlier, tore open space to reveal an ominous black eye… not. No… nothing had appeared, despite her clearly casting the spell.

I opened my mouth slightly in shock. Even Ling Xin herself seemed to be surprised for a brief moment, but that expression quickly changed to one of relief and… satisfaction?

My ray of light struck her directly in the body - she made no move to dodge. All of this happened in a fraction of a second - without my instacasting abilities, there was no way she could avoid the literal beam of light I unleashed.

"Ling Xin!"

Subconsciously, I called out her name for some reason, and rushed over, catching her falling body in my arms.

The lips of her corner were bleeding, her mask half-broken, revealing the divine beauty underneath.

"Hah… I… ran out of mana… haha…" she laughed softly. "I… I knew I shouldn't have… chosen a Mythic… spell… my bad habit… of showing off…"

I turned to Qing Yue. "Qing Yue! Save her."

"E-Eh? A-Alright!" she replied, still stunned at what had just happened.

Quickly rushing over, she placed her hands on Ling Xin's stomach, where I had hit her just now.

"It's no use… besides… why are you trying to save me anyway?"

I gritted my teeth. "Because… you're a useful tool to me. And I can't use you if you're dead. Nothing more."

"B-Big Brother Xuan Kai! It's not… it's not working! Her body… it seems to have been affected by your Cha- I mean, your… artifact!"

*My Chaos power… it affected her…? In that case…*

"Teach Mei Gui the healing spell, quick!"

"H-Huh? Ah, okay!" Qing Yue exclaimed, then turned to Mei Gui. "Okay, so… the spell name is…"

…

"Got it," Mei Gui said briskly after she finished hearing Qing Yue's instructions. She walked over to where I knelt, holding Ling Xin's barely-alive body in my arms.

"Master… are you certain you wish to save her?"

I nodded. "She's an invaluable asset. I'm not letting go of this opportunity so easily."

"… I see."

With that simple and stoic reply, Mei Gui knelt down beside me and placed her hands over Ling Xin's wound, just like Qing Yue had done moments earlier.

Without chanting, she began applying the healing spell. A light green aura emitted from her hands, paired with some traces of black and red energy.

"Ngh… ah…" Ling Xin moaned as she got healed, her hands grabbing mine and clutching them firmly to endure the pain.

Moments later, the healing was complete. Ling Xin was unconscious, but according to Qing Yue, her condition was now stable. She would wake up soon.

I sighed in relief and set her down on the snow.

"I don't understand, Xuan Kai, why save her? She would've killed us, no?" Feng Mian asked in confusion.

"… Like I said, she's an invaluable asset. Think about it. Isn't having a Holy Emperor owe you a favor good? Not to mention she's on the Council of Arcanity as well. This is like getting a favor directly from the IMF," I explained.

The girls nodded in understanding after hearing this, and we all decided to rest a bit to recover our energy and mana.

*Not to mention… I don't think Ling Xin had been planning on killing us at all.*

[Master.]

Suddenly, I received a telepathic message from Mei Gui.

[What is it?]

[I have placed a… Soul Shackle on her.]

[A Soul Shackle…? Wait, that Forbidden Magic spell you taught me a while ago?]

[Yes. However, the method I taught Master back then was only to use it offensively, against a Battle Soul. It can, in fact, be used like this as well, tying the soul of a person to your own.]

[So… how does that work, exactly?]

[I tied her life together with my own, essentially. If I die, she will die too - no exceptions, as this is Forbidden Magic I used, the highest tier of magic there is.]

[Mei Gui…]

[This is the most effective way to control her, Master.]

[Yeah, but… chaining your own life to hers is kind of risky.]

[Worry not, Master. I can break the shackle from my end, but she cannot.]

[In that case, I'm relieved.]

[What does Master wish to do with her?]

I sank into thought for a brief moment, then smirked.

[Use her as a spy… from within the IMF.]