In Tokyo, building the Holy Light Girls team

"Tsk tsk tsk, you wouldn't notice from a distance, but this human female's body is actually quite nice!"

One of the taller figures seemed to only then notice Mai's figure. His fiery gaze swept across her robes as if passing right through them, landing on her snow-white skin, causing her to feel waves of humiliation.

"I suddenly had a great idea, [Mo], hand over control of your Shadow Fiend to me later. I'm curious how many Shadow Fiends' 'attacks' this guy can withstand. Hehehehe..."

The figure called "Ink" glanced at him but said nothing. It then turned its gaze back to Mai, its blood-red eyes revealing a hint of curiosity—a genuine curiosity about how many of the Shadow Demon's "invasions" Mai's body could withstand…

[Ink], codenamed L in the Illuminati, and titled [Link], has the ability to summon shadow demons and create weapons based on shadows. The weapons wielded by those shadow demons were made by [Ink]. When combined with shadow weapons, they can unleash power approaching that of dangerous species. In addition, with such a terrifying number of them, [Ink]'s strength ranks among the top even within the Illuminati!

In fact, if it weren't for the final plan, it's not impossible that [Mo] would take on an advanced challenge in the near future, and even achieve a higher ranking...

As for the being beside Him, He is ranked even higher, codenamed H, and titled Husk, which means "Empty Shell." His ability is to extract energy from living beings for his own use. The more energy he absorbs, the more terrifying the "Empty Shell" becomes. In a sense, He is even the most likely being below the top of the pyramid to approach the level of a forbidden species!

The sheer pressure emanating from these two members posed a powerful threat to Mai. If it weren't for the image of a certain man constantly flashing through her mind, providing her with support, she would probably have already collapsed under this terrifying mental pressure!

"Xiamu..."

Mai murmured to herself, feeling the pressure that kept coming her way. Suddenly, her mood calmed down, and even her violently heaving chest gradually calmed down after a few breaths.

"Oh? Have you already given up hope?"

Noticing the change in Mai's state, [Empty Shell] clicked his tongue in amazement again, but then continued, "Never mind, as a special human, your existence itself has meaning. If we can get our hands on you, perhaps we can figure out the source of that strange ability?"

In the words of "Empty Shell," it seems that Mai has already been treated as an object, and the gaze directed at her has become fiery again.

"No need for further words, Shadow Fiend, seize that human woman!"

[Mo] waved his hand directly, and under His command, many Shadow Demons raised their weapons together. The pressure released suddenly almost turned the air into the color of blood!

……

Chapter 289 The Messenger of Justice

"...That's strange. Even the [Empty Shell] has made a move, so why hasn't it done anything yet..."

Standing on the shoulders of the giant figure, [The Tomb] frowned. As the being codenamed G and possessing the title of Grave, he was naturally the most prestigious among the group.

However, from the moment we left until now, neither [Ink] nor [Empty Shell] has reappeared, and the aura of that human woman has not completely dissipated.

Seemingly remembering something, [The Tomb]'s expression became even more serious: "If I remember correctly, [Empty Shell] has always had a habit of toying with its 'prey,' really—even at this crucial moment, it still hasn't changed this bad habit?!"

In fact, apart from the five of them, all members of the Illuminati were mobilized for this "final plan." Even a being capable of commanding forbidden demons went to Chiba Prefecture to kill the most uncertain target. As the few closest to the pyramid, they took on the important mission of protection.

As for Mai, to them, she was just a small insect that happened to wander into this area, so naturally they wouldn't pay much attention to her.

Therefore, [The Tomb] could only shake its head and let the two "play their games" as they pleased. After all, besides itself, there were also [Curse] and [Mud Swamp] members guarding this place. The three of them complemented each other's abilities and were more than enough to deal with whatever happened!

Leaving aside the lurking "Morph," the "Curse" alone, codenamed J and given the title Jinx, is to some extent a power-wielder capable of controlling misfortune. Its bizarre abilities can even threaten forbidden species. However, due to its personality, it has never undertaken an advancement challenge. But "The Tomb," which is well aware of its abilities, probably cannot guarantee victory even if it were to fight it!

When He looked up at the void above once more, through the thick black mist, His gaze seemed to be fixed on something, and the two members beside Him also had a kind of fanaticism flash across their faces!

"Ok?"

Suddenly, [The Tomb] let out a soft exclamation. Under its perception, it seemed to have sensed something moving at a fast speed, quietly approaching them. The astonishing speed was such that it was already extremely close when it sensed it!

Enemy attack?

[The Tomb] The moment this thought popped into my mind, a point of light suddenly appeared in the void before me. The point of light grew larger and larger, and in just one or two breaths, it suddenly came close!

Damn it, its target is—

[The Tomb]'s breathing suddenly became rapid. He raised his arm, and the next moment a huge tombstone rose from the ground, blocking the path of the light. But it seemed to have no effect. In just a moment, the light passed directly through the tombstone and then passed right through the head of [Curse] next to it!

Swah——

"!!!"

The tomb's eyes widened, and a second later it gasped in shock: "[Curse] You?!?"

In the center of the [Curse]'s head, between its eyebrows, a terrifying hole appeared eerily. Through this hole, one could even see some kind of black substance flowing inside. However, as the life force of the creature dissipated, the speed at which the black substance flowed gradually decreased.

[Evil Curse] also widened its eyes, staring intently at the direction of the light, as if trying to see through something. Its mouth opened and closed, emitting a buzzing sound, but only a few words of unwillingness could be vaguely heard: "I actually... lost...?"

Rumble!

The enormous [Curse] fell straight backward. The dissipation of its life force caused its divine and demonic fusion state to dissipate immediately, ultimately transforming into a soul crystal that fell into the eyes of [The Tomb] and the shadowy [Swamp]!

"Who is it?!"

[The Tomb] roared, its unparalleled aura reverberating through the void. Its astonishing power seemed to even make the black mist wary, causing it to retreat into the distance.

After all, He was responsible for protecting, yet He could only watch helplessly as the equally powerful [Curse] was killed in such a frustrating way, without even being able to unleash its power. How could He not be angry?

As soon as the words were spoken, another point of light flew from the spot where the tombstone had been pierced. The point of light was extremely fast, even faster than the one that had killed the [Curse], but the [Tomb] was already prepared. It pressed its palm into the void again, and a huge monster quickly emerged from the tombstone. Its body was made of black stone, like a gargoyle from some stories. As it appeared, it went straight to meet the point of light.

boom!

The attack, which even the Curse could not withstand, was too much for this gargoyle, which was a summoned creature. It was wiped out by the light in an instant. The Tomb finally saw the true nature of the light, which was an arrow more than a meter long!

Ice crystals shimmered on the arrow, freezing the gargoyle's life the instant it touched it. The next moment, some kind of power surged and spread across the gargoyle, shattering it completely!

The Tomb also recalled that, it seemed that at the moment the arrow struck the Curse, its body did indeed freeze for a brief instant. Because the time was too short, it did not pay much attention at the time. Only now did it clearly realize that the culprit that had extinguished the Curse's life force was probably this mysterious ice crystal power!

Seemingly sensing something, it suddenly looked up, its gaze abruptly falling on a figure atop the tombstone. The armor, shimmering with an eerie light, combined with the fair skin amidst the black mist, exuded a unique beauty. What was most undeniable was the girl's sharp gaze, as if etched into the depths of its soul, causing the [Tomb] to freeze in place for a moment!

"Couldn't kill him? What a tenacious fellow. But speaking of which, you seem to be a bit stronger than the ones we've encountered before. I suppose if we can defeat you, we can stop this disaster, right?"

A girl's clear, cool voice came from ahead. A gentle breeze blew, and her hair fluttered in the air. Her exquisite face was like a beautiful painting.

"You are……"

[The tomb] revealed a solemn expression, and a hint of surprise flashed in its eyes as it recalled some information it had seen before.

The girl simply smiled upon hearing this, conjuring a holy light arrow in her hand as she softly said, "I... am just like Sayuri, a protector of the world, a so-called messenger of justice!"

……

Chapter 290: A Helping Hand!

"A messenger of justice?"

[The Tomb] was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting the other party to utter such a somewhat chuunibyou-esque phrase. The next second, it suddenly realized what was happening, and its expression turned terrifying.

"【Ink】 and 【Empty Shell】, could it be that you two also..."

The girl chuckled softly, "Who knows?"

She nocked the arrow, her upturned lips gradually curving downwards. Then, her gaze swept over the hellish scene around her, and an increasingly terrifying expression appeared on her face.

"Anyway... you're about to... go to real hell... so what does it matter?"

call out--

At the same time, on a distant street, Mai stared in astonishment at the shadow demons that had been cut in half at the waist, along with their weapons, which were also split in two. They struggled and roared on the ground, as if they were making some kind of painful howl, but they could only watch helplessly as their bodies gradually dissipated and eventually turned into a lump of black liquid!

Mai still remembers that she had tried different killing moves against these Shadow Demons before, but no matter how she attacked, they could always recover in the next second, as if they were never going to die, which caused her a lot of trouble!

However, in just a moment, these shadow demons died one after another. The one who caused all this was a girl with black and white hair, armor that emitted a cold light, and a proud and upright figure!

"You are... Shirashima-kun?!"

Even though the other party was showing an expression she had never seen before, and that powerful aura was completely different from his usual appearance, Mai still recognized him quickly. The next second, a look of joy flashed in her eyes!

"Ms. Mai, thank you for persevering for so long. Now, we'll leave the rest to Shiroshima!"

Shiroshima turned his head and whispered to Mai, then looked at the two figures in front of him. As he walked towards them, he slowly said, "Are you ready to accept my judgment?"

"Shiroshima-kun, you must be careful—"

Before Mai could finish speaking, a playful voice suddenly rang out from behind: "Finally made it, thank goodness..."

She turned around and saw a little girl, about eleven or twelve years old, standing with her hands on her hips and an excited expression on her face.

The girl's upper body was covered in a blue and white striped short-sleeved shirt that radiated the same holy light as herself. Her two fair thighs looked like jade under the holy light, and her hair was tied with an accessory that also exuded the holy light.

That playful and adorable feeling instantly overwhelmed her. The moment Mai saw her, she quickly realized that this was also a girl who, like herself, had been given the power of holy light by Natsuki!

"Oh right, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Nanako from Hokkaido, a distant cousin of Sayuri-neechan, and like Sayuri-neechan, a champion of justice dedicated to saving the world!"

Nanako clenched her fist, her gaze towards [Ink] and [Empty Shell] filled with eager anticipation, but the next second she pouted:

"However, Nanako is still very weak right now. Those two guys look pretty strong, so let's leave them to Shirashima-neechan. Once Nanako becomes as strong as Sayuri-neechan, she'll definitely be able to help Shirashima-neechan and everyone else, absolutely!"

Seemingly remembering something, Nanako stepped aside, and Mai saw Mikiko, who had left earlier, being supported by a beautiful young woman, smiling at her: "We meet again, Mai-sensei. Seeing that you are safe and sound, Mikiko is relieved!"

"Mrs. Mikiko, you..."

Mai was stunned again. She never expected that Mikiko, who had left not long ago, would reappear in this way, and even bring powerful helpers. This was simply unbelievable!

In fact, even now, Mikiko still feels a bit scared—

Not long ago, after leaving Mai, she followed the safety line path she sensed and left, but she did not notice that a ghost that could conceal its aura was hiding in mid-air and attacked her from above when she was not paying attention!

Fortunately, Shiroshima arrived just then with Nanako and her mother, Kato Yuri. Even though the demon had reached level 3, it was still an easy target for Shiroshima to kill. With a flash of light, the demon was mercilessly killed by the girl!

When Mikiko came to her senses, she instantly realized that she had been rescued by Shirashima and the others. While she was overjoyed, she did not forget to mention Mai's existence. As one of the earliest people to follow Natsuki, Shirashima naturally knew how important Mai was in Natsuki's heart. She had even seen Mai nestled in Natsuki's arms several times at school.

In addition, during the Shibuya incident earlier, if it weren't for Mai's presence, they probably wouldn't have been able to defeat that terrifying forbidden demon. So without any hesitation, she brought them here, which led to the current scene!

"Mrs. Mikiko, you actually did this for me..."

Mai was somewhat moved. She had thought that she might not survive today, and the thought of never seeing that man again made her feel even more desperate.

Unexpectedly, the Mikiko she risked her life to save brought back someone she never expected. She was deeply moved and even regretted that she had previously guessed that the other person might have some kind of ambiguous relationship with Natsuki. Now it seems that she was indeed overthinking it!

"Ms. Mai saved me before, and Shiroshima and Nanako happened to be passing by. I was just doing what I could! Besides—"

Mikiko looked at Shiroshima's retreating figure, a hint of worry appearing in her eyes: "Right now, the most important thing should be..."

Even though she had already witnessed Shirashima easily slay the demon, Mikiko still couldn't help but worry. Kato Yuri, standing beside her, said softly, "It's okay, Mikiko. Let's leave it to Shirashima. They might really be able to save the world now!"

In the end, Kato Yuri smiled at Mai, and Mai realized that the other woman was also a beauty no less stunning than Mikiko. At least in terms of figure, she was already beyond the average person. Her gentle and soft-spoken expression left Mai stunned.

"No...that's right!"

Mai responded, and together with the others, they looked ahead at the figure heading towards the enemy. In their originally dim eyes, a glimmer of hope rose again!

……

Chapter 291 [Empty Shell]

pat!