In Tokyo, building the Holy Light Girls team

The information about the "earthquake" in Natsuki's area initially attracted attention, but ultimately only Natsuki's unfortunate family was affected. Furthermore, in a country already prone to earthquakes, the information gradually faded from public attention as time went on.

Of course, Xia Mu didn't care too much about what was happening outside. At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, the cross necklace on his chest emitting a faint holy light, controlling a butterfly clip in front of him. After the light flickered between light and darkness, the light covering the butterfly clip dissipated, and it returned to its previous state.

"Phew, it's finally fixed!"

Xia Mu habitually wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the butterfly clip in front of him, and felt that the repair work over the past few days had finally paid off.

In addition, after his deliberate and focused training during this period, the Holy Light power that he had previously exhausted has been fully restored. If he were to face the [Grim Reaper] again, he could defeat him directly even without Sayuri's intervention!

"Is this... Shirashima-kun's [Sacred Relic]?"

Beside him, Mai, dressed in simple pajamas, craned her neck curiously, gazing at the butterfly clip floating in Xia Mu's palm, her eyes filled with curiosity.

To add to that, because of the renovations to Natsuki's house, he had nowhere to go for the time being. Mai somehow found out about this and invited Natsuki to stay at her house.

Despite his reservations, Xia Mu couldn't resist Mai's insistence under the other party's "enthusiastic invitation," which led to the scene before him.

When Mai possessed him, that glimpse of pink skin was revealed before Xia Mu's eyes, along with the abyss within, which was also completely exposed as a breathtaking sight.

……

Chapter 112 Mai's Changes

"It's so beautiful!"

Mai examined the butterfly clip floating in Natsuki's palm, her eyes reflecting the faint light emitted by the [Sacred Artifact].

Whether it was Xia Mu's imagination or not, he glimpsed a cross-shaped holy mark flashing in Mai's eyes. When he focused his attention again, the holy mark had disappeared, which was really strange!

"Did I see wrong?"

Xia Mu muttered to himself, thinking it was just a hallucination caused by the excessive energy he had expended during this period.

After all, he had already tested Mai's resonance with the Holy Light at the beginning, so how could she have the characteristic reaction of the Holy Light?

Shaking his head to clear his mind of unnecessary thoughts, he still smiled when he saw Mai observing the butterfly clip like a little girl.

“When it was first ‘born,’ it was not much different from the one I gave you before. But for Shiro and the others, the longer they held them, the more they would give each other power, eventually forming a unique ‘sacred artifact’ for each host!”

As he spoke, he showed a hint of helplessness: "Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to spend so much effort to restore it to its original state."

This pattern was discovered by Natsuki through long-term observation of the changes in the [Sacred Artifacts] on Shiroshima, Sayuri, and Rika.

So far, only the three of them have exhibited this characteristic in their [Sacred Artifacts]. As for Mai and Mizuno's [Sacred Artifacts], they do not yet possess this ability. This is perhaps the reason why Sayuri and the other two are special.

After Natsuki finished speaking, Mai also showed an envious expression, but it didn't last long. Thinking that Shiroshima and the others might have experienced a very dangerous battle without her knowledge, including the man in front of her who was in the same situation, she felt a mix of emotions.

"Xia Mu, if I could possess such power, perhaps I could help you too?"

She finally couldn't hold back and spoke her mind. Hearing this, Xia Mu turned around and gently tapped her forehead, then said in a serious tone:

"I won't allow you to think like that. With great power comes great responsibility. Leave all these dangerous things to me. As long as Mai can live a happy and safe life, that's the most important thing in my life!"

As he spoke, the cross necklace on his chest glowed faintly again. Mai felt a warm feeling flowing through her heart and immediately buried her head in Xia Mu's shoulder. A tender atmosphere spread at that moment.

"Xia Mu, being with you is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to Mai in her life."

"Yes, me too."

For the two of them, it seemed that they had already tacitly accepted their relationship. Xia Mu even felt that if the Illuminati had not appeared, he might have already married Mai and lived a shameless life.

After all, from the perspective of a normal man, Xia Mu simply couldn't resist such gentleness, especially since each touch was like a kitten, stirring his heart and making his feelings for that person grow stronger!

However, the two were not intimate for long when Mai suddenly raised her head with a puzzled expression: "Speaking of which, Natsuki, I think I heard you say that Shirashima-kun is cursed or possessed by something like a ghost, right?"

Xia Mu nodded.

If possible, he even wanted to use the power of holy light to completely remove this ghost from White Island's body!

However, he still has too little information. So rashly separating the ghost from the other party might threaten Shiroshima's life. After all, the ghost's previous owner, Shiroshima's mother, was very likely to have died for this reason. So he would not use this method rashly.

However, as time went on, the power of this demon also began to backfire on Shiroshima. Even if she didn't use it often, it would still affect the girl's lifespan to some extent. Moreover, when facing a powerful enemy, Shiroshima might use this power again under extreme conditions, and the danger that would come then would not be underestimated!

Thus, Xia Mu found himself in a dilemma; at least until now, he had not been able to find a way to deal with the ghost on Shiroshima.

Back to the present, Natsuki was also a little puzzled as to why Mai would suddenly bring this up, so he replied, "That's right, what's wrong?"

Mai then continued, "In that case, is it possible to preserve the power of the demon in some way, without harming Shirashima-kun, or perhaps..."

Before she could finish speaking, a glint of light suddenly flashed in Xia Mu's eyes!

Right, it seems I've been thinking wrong all along. Since we can't solve this problem, why not just take it over and use it for our own purposes? Wouldn't that be another way to solve it?

Before, he might not have been so confident, but after the Sayuri incident, he was much more familiar with the power composition within the [Sacred Artifact]. Furthermore, the soul crystals he had absorbed during this time contained considerable amounts of Illuminati members' abilities to control demons, so perhaps it really was possible…

Thinking of this, Xia Mu no longer hesitated. He placed the butterfly clip in his palm again, closed his eyes, and recalled the relevant information in his mind. The cross necklace on his chest floated up again, and solemn and sacred words slowly came out of Xia Mu's mouth: "Holy Light Forging!"

hum-

Seeing that Xia Mu had entered a strange state again, Mai was a little stunned. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that Xia Mu's cheeks had become flushed, even spreading to her ears, her breathing had become rapid, her chest was rising and falling, and her eyes were sparkling, as if she was looking forward to something "thrilling" happening with Xia Mu.

However, before she could put it into action, Xia Mu threw herself into it again. Mai could only pout and cross her arms, completely ignoring the fact that a certain part of her body was being squeezed and deformed.

"Hmph, what an unromantic man!"

It seems that Mai had complained more than once, but the resentment in her heart quickly disappeared the next second when she looked at the man's face, leaving only a touch of tenderness that slowly flowed from her eyes.

If she could, she would even wish time could stand still at this moment. Thinking of this, Mai's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

At the same time, a cross appeared in the man's eyes, echoing the cross necklace on Xia Mu's chest, and her whole body radiated a faint golden light.

However, judging from Mai's expression, she seemed unaware of this matter, and Natsuki, who was already immersed in the [Holy Light Forging] process, was even less aware of it...

Chapter 113 Summer Battle?

"Phew... It's finally done!"

Xia Mu raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and a ball of light formed by golden light was floating in his palm.

Inside the sphere of light, faint blue butterflies flitted about, occasionally emitting a bell-like sound, creating a strange and beautiful atmosphere.

This is a [Sacred Artifact] he forged by pouring ninety percent of his holy light into it and using the ability of [Holy Light Forging]. Because of its special connection with Shiroshima's soul power, it can even unleash power surpassing that of the [Sacred Artifact] he modified for Sayuri before!

"Is it finally finished?"

Mai also came over and touched the ball of light with her finger. She found that it seemed to have a will. After being touched, it shrank slightly into the air and then hid behind Xia Mu, peeking out and "looking" at her.

"Ah, what an adorable little thing!"

Her eyes turned completely into the shape of hearts, and she subconsciously reached out to catch the ball of light, but it nimbly dodged her every time.

In the end, the ball of light shrank and disappeared into the cross necklace on Xia Mu's chest, but the feeling of being "watched" still lingered in Mai's heart.

"Damn it, what's wrong with it? Why can't it just let me touch it quietly?"

Mai couldn't help but complain, while Xia Mu chuckled and explained, "After being modified, it has now developed intelligence similar to that of an animal, and even I can't catch it."

"Isn't she—that smart?"

Mai covered her lips, leaned closer to look at the cross necklace on Natsuki's chest, and felt that her world seemed to have become quite strange again.

I never expected that something that was originally inanimate would actually "come alive" right before my eyes!

"Xia Mu, how did you do that?"

"I can't quite explain the underlying principles, but what's certain is that its transformation might be related to its original owner."

Seeing the man shrug in resignation, Mai had no choice but to give up. However, her desire for the [Sacred Relic] was subtly growing stronger.

On the other hand, even if Natsuki knew Mai's thoughts, he could only feel helpless. Of course, if he continued to uncover the secrets of the cross necklace, it might be possible for Mai to awaken a similar ability.

"but--"

As Xia Mu spoke, his expression turned serious: "It's not fully activated yet. To reveal its full potential, it must go through the hands of its original owner..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xia Mu suddenly frowned and subconsciously looked out the window. This sudden action made Mai ask in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"This feeling..."

A serious look flashed in Xia Mu's eyes. As if he had thought of something, he immediately stood up and walked towards the door. Before leaving, he reminded Mai, "Mai, if you hear or see anything later, don't leave here. Just wait for me to come back!"

"Wait, Natsuki—"

Click!

Mai's hand was halfway raised when Natsuki had already left. She could only look worriedly out the window, muttering, "I hope nothing bad has happened..."

At the same time.

Somewhere in Tokyo, a thick black fog appeared in the sky without anyone noticing, obscuring the bright moonlight and even making it seem as if the moonlight was being swallowed up.

Beneath the black mist, a figure slowly walked along the road. The figure, dressed in a black robe, exuded an air of mystery. Especially when passing streetlights and houses, the lights would suddenly go out, leaving only the lingering black mist that gradually swallowed up the area.

Suddenly, the figure stopped, gazing in a certain direction, and let out a meaningful, cackling laugh: "Found...you..."

Whoosh!

As soon as the figure finished speaking, a black storm arose, and from the black mist behind him, groups of humanoid black shadows suddenly emerged, their eyes glowing red. The sudden burst of killing intent seemed to freeze even the air!

shhhhh--

The shadowy figures moved swiftly towards a certain direction, stretching along the street. Several kilometers away, in a house, the lights flickered on and off. Mikiko couldn't help but wonder, "What's going on? Are the lights broken?"

Besides, for some unknown reason, even though it was summer, Mikiko felt a strange chill suddenly rise from the bottom of her heart. Looking at her rather thin clothes, she didn't think much of it and assumed it was normal, so she simply turned off the living room lights and walked towards her room.

Halfway there, she heard a young girl chattering beside her, and she couldn't help but chuckle softly: "Sure enough, it's good to be young..."

The camera pans across the room, revealing three girls in pajamas, their fair legs swinging playfully on the bed.

"This outfit is so pretty, and the color is perfect for taking beautiful photos at the beach!"

Sayuri pointed at a model in a hot swimsuit in a magazine, her expression full of longing.

Beside her, Shiroshima and Rika looked at the model's figure, then at the parts that were inadvertently exposed, and exchanged glances. They seemed to see what each other was thinking. It seemed that among the three of them, only Sayuri could pull off such an outfit.

"Besides, the thought of Natsuki-sensei's eyes being fixed on me makes Sayuri uneasy. I've made up my mind!"

Sayuri suddenly stood up, the instantaneous movement causing a slight throbbing in a certain area. With her hands on her hips, she spoke loudly amidst the two men's questioning gazes:

"Let's go to the beach this weekend, and bring Teacher Xia Mu along. It'll be just the four of us. I'll name it 'Holy Light Girls Squad Summer Cool-Down Operation'!"

"what?"

Ignoring the two girls' questions, Sayuri continued: