In Tokyo, building the Holy Light Girls team

As a result, when the ritual was halfway through, the ghost suddenly emerged from the crowd, seized everyone's consciousness in an instant, and then grabbed them and lifted them into the air.

The green light flowing on the tentacles and the gradually drying skin on their faces symbolize that the ghosts are absorbing the life force of humans!

To save everyone, Rika activated the power of holy light without hesitation. Unexpectedly, the power of this demon was beyond her expectations. Compared to the demons that Sayuri and Shiroshima had just encountered, which were only at the level of Dangerous Species, the demon that Rika was now facing was truly at the level of Dangerous Species!

For Rika at present, her holy light state has not yet reached a new stage, and her strength is at most comparable to a level 3 demon.

Previously, the reason she was able to kill an Illuminati member upon her appearance was largely due to the bonus provided by Xia Mu's skills.

Therefore, when faced with a truly dangerous species, the girl did not gain the upper hand. Instead, her only weapon broke due to her action of blocking an attack, which led to the current situation.

With her weapons destroyed and the threat of the dangerous creature looming, the girl could only watch helplessly as her most respected mother had her life force gradually drained by the demon. Despite her desperate attempts to control herself, a sense of despair inevitably welled up inside her.

"no!"

The girl suddenly clenched her fist, and the moment she raised her eyes, the slowly trembling cross mark shone with an unprecedented brilliance!

Let's go back to yesterday.

"...So, it still doesn't work?"

On the rooftop, watching Rika's face flush red as she tightly gripped the whale clip, yet failed to activate any deeper power, Natsuki couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Just now, just like he had done to Sayuri and Shiroshima, he further enhanced Rika's sacred artifact. After consuming almost 90% of his holy light power, the girl still couldn't resonate with the power within the new [sacred artifact], which was truly an incomprehensible thing.

"...Ms. Natsuki, why is this happening?"

Rika opened her arms, the whale clips lying quietly in her hands. She felt so close, but for some reason, she felt her relationship with the [Sacred Relic] had become unfamiliar, as if she could never go back to the way things were before.

As for Rika, she has witnessed Sayuri and Shirashima display even greater power than before in their battles against formidable enemies.

Although the girl seemed unmoved on the surface, as a member of the Holy Light Squad, she was quite envious of them for having the strength to fight against even stronger enemies and the right to stand beside Natsuki and face them together!

So, when Xia Mu mentioned that he wanted to strengthen his [Sacred Artifact] again, the girl happily handed over the whale clip. Little did she expect that it would end up with such an unpredictable result!

"I am afraid……"

Natsuki recalled that the scenes where Sayuri and Shiroshima activated their new Holy Light forms were all due to certain external stimuli that allowed the two girls to open up the connection channel with the [New Holy Artifact], thereby unleashing power beyond the norm!

Therefore, it can be inferred that to activate the power of the [New Sacred Artifact], a huge emotional fluctuation or other external stimulus may be required to achieve a true leap in the level of life!

However, it seems that Rika is not yet ready to activate the [New Sacred Relic]...

"Emotional fluctuations... and external stimuli...?"

As Rika pondered these words, she realized that, just as Natsuki had said, she hadn't felt the same profound connection to the new sacred artifact as she had before.

She tried hard to recall things that could affect her mood, but she still couldn't cause any further changes to the [New Sacred Artifact]. Suddenly, she grabbed her hair in frustration, turning her originally smooth long hair into a messy bird's nest in a few quick grabs.

"Rika..."

Xia Mu smiled, stepped forward and grabbed Li Xiang's wrist. A sudden static electricity made the girl's heart beat faster for no reason. She subconsciously looked up and met a pair of gentle eyes.

"Don't be nervous... Take it slow... As long as we proceed step by step... I believe Rika can also turn on that switch... Because to me... Rika has always been the smartest..."

Rika couldn't quite hear what the man said next; she only felt as if her consciousness was being pulled into a space shimmering with stars by his eyes, where she drifted freely...

As her vision returned, Rika savored the lingering memories in her mind, including the man's last gentle words. The anxious expression on her face disappeared, and after letting out a soft breath, her eyes shone brightly once more!

“Natsuki-sensei is right… Only by proceeding step by step… can we gradually unlock the key to this power… and slowly feel our own hearts… For Rika right now… the most important thing is indeed…”

As the girl spoke, the whale clip on her head shone even brighter for a moment.

The tentacle that had come up behind Rika to launch a sneak attack was illuminated by the light, and white smoke instantly rose from its surface. It roared and retreated rapidly!

At this moment, the "balloon" ghosts shook violently, as if they had sensed some danger. They untied the humans bound by their tentacles, retracted their tentacles, and floated to higher levels, seemingly preparing to escape from this place!

"How could I... let you escape so easily?"

As Rika spoke softly, the holy light further enveloped her entire body, and an indescribable power began to emanate from her—

……

Chapter 154 Rika's Evolution

"This is……"

Not far away, a black-haired teacher, observing the changes in Rika, couldn't help but look puzzled: "Natsuki, what exactly is wrong with Rika...?"

The two happened to pass through this area not long ago. Since Rika had been busy with shrine matters recently, they decided to go around and check on the girl.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving here, they encountered something resembling a ghost, which instantly absorbed the life force of many humans and even drove Rika to the brink of despair!

For Xia Mu, this was naturally unacceptable. He immediately tore through the black mist and rushed in with Mai. Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived, a strange change suddenly occurred to Rika—

Hearing Mai's question, Xia Mu silently put the Holy Light power back into the necklace, and at the same time focused his gaze on the girl. As if recalling a scene, his eyes flickered and a smile appeared on his lips.

"It seems I won't have a chance to play now!"

……

hum!

A throbbing of holy light, like the sound of a heartbeat, suddenly emanated from the whale clip.

Invisible ripples, accompanied by tremors, triggered an invisible force that abruptly brought the "balloon" ghost, which had already flown dozens of meters into the air, to a stop!

Roar!

Beneath the "balloon" ghost, its octopus-like mouth let out a roar like a wild beast, as if it were trying its best to break free from this inexplicably "stopped" state.

In the end, it was all in vain.

Its tentacles thrashed about, stirring up the black mist and making the surrounding sky even more violent and shattered. Yet its body remained "still" in mid-air the whole time, which was truly bizarre!

Even as the "balloon" ghost was "stopped," the changes in Rika's body continued—

The next second after a series of heartbeat-like sounds emanated from the [New Sacred Artifact], a shadowy whale, at least ten times larger than before, slowly emerged from the sky above.

The whale lowered its gaze slightly, seemingly meeting the girl's eyes. When Rika nodded gently, an ancient whale cry emanated from its mouth, and then it pounced straight onto the girl!

boom!

In an instant, a huge wave spread out from the moment the two collided. The "balloon" ghost in mid-air swayed due to the disturbance of the wave, but it still could not leave the area within a few meters around it.

Looking at the center of the impact, Rika's hair fluttered, and the cross-shaped stigma in her eyes emitted an unprecedented light. The enormous whale also disintegrated, turning into torrents that surrounded the girl, like water sprites, making Rika appear even more divine at this moment.

Click, click!

The fragments coalesced and then automatically floated onto the girl's body. Armor pieces appeared on her wrists, chest, thighs, and feet, with blue crystalline light flowing across them, seemingly possessing a strange rhythm. When the last piece of armor landed on her forehead, an invisible wave suddenly spread out!

boom!

The powerful ripples, like a raging storm, caused everything around them to churn and roar the moment they appeared. Even the "balloon" ghost in mid-air broke free and flew even higher.

Roar! ! !

It seemed to sense that something terrifying was on the ground below, and if it didn't leave soon, it would face the threat of death!

Ghosts that have reached the dangerous level have acquired some intelligence and are no longer solely driven by rampant destruction and bloodlust. Their perception of danger is now much more acute, allowing them to sense this indescribable peril—

However, its desperate flight into the air had already caught the eye of a certain girl, who simply raised her head and said calmly, "Trying to escape? I've already eaten you!"

At this moment, the wind and waves blowing through her hair made her look much more mature, and the figure that was vaguely revealed exuded an indescribable charm!

Rika raised her arm, her soft fingertips lightly touching the air. In an instant, a stream of light quickly condensed at her fingertips, and in less than two breaths, it formed a crossbow that was completely different from the previous one!

Compared to the longbow before its evolution, this crossbow is noticeably smaller. It looks like some kind of ancient crossbow, but its surface has ripples flowing around it, as if it has a life of its own, and it emits a sound similar to the call of a whale.

hum-

Rika held the bow with one hand, raised the other arm and placed it behind the crossbow. With a gentle pull, an arrow slowly condensed from her fingertips.

Ripples also appeared on the surface of the arrow, and one could even vaguely see blue circles of light, like electric arcs, constantly pulsating on the surface, as if accumulating some kind of incredible power!

"Ragnarok!"

Rika opened her mouth, and a stream of air was inhaled. A lively light flashed at the tip of the arrow. When the girl released her fingertips, violent energy burst out and shot out, aiming directly at the "balloon" ghost in mid-air!

After some time had passed, the "balloon" ghost floated to a higher place. It seemed to have realized that it was out of danger, and its waving tentacles subconsciously retracted.

The overall appearance is more like an enlarged version of a pufferfish, combined with tentacles of an octopus or squid.

Roar! ! !

Emerging from its enormous mouth came bursts of what sounded like "emotions," but before long, a sudden burst of light behind it drew its attention.

It was this seemingly ordinary glance that completely destroyed the "balloon" ghost's last chance of survival!

In his eyes, a sphere of light, resembling the sun, rose from the ground, with azure lightning dancing within it. It was completely different from the sun he had ever seen before. Even more strangely, within the sphere of light, there was a sharp arrow, emitting a cold light that was completely different from the sphere of light!

In an instant, the ball of light struck the "balloon" monster. It struggled desperately in mid-air, its mouth emitting a series of astonishing roars. As a result, the power of the holy light arrow suddenly erupted, and its entire body instantly stiffened, then transformed into an even more dazzling ball before exploding!

boom!

A terrifying explosion echoed through the air, disturbing the surrounding clouds and instantly creating a large area of ​​cloudless land.

As the shimmering light descended, the girl who had accomplished all of this simply retracted her crossbow, turned around, and the descending light curtain flowed behind her, creating a magnificent visual feast!

……

Chapter 155 Locating the Holy Light?

After vanquishing the demons, Rika's holy light form dissipated, and her armor and clothing turned into specks of starlight and vanished. Even the crossbow in her hand turned into specks of light and landed on the whale clip above her head.

The girl then turned her head, her anxious gaze fixed on the spot where her mother had fallen. The next second, she suddenly saw a man who had not been there before.

At the same time, a pretty woman walked over from the front, asking with concern, "Rika-san, are you alright? Did that intense battle really not have any effect?"

Only then did Rika exclaim in surprise, "Natsuki-sensei? What are you doing here? And this is... Mai-sensei?!?"

Her gaze swept back and forth between the two, recalling the recent rumors circulating in the academy, and she felt increasingly certain of the rumors' veracity—

Could it be that Natsuki-sensei and Mai-sensei are really...

"...Hmm, I've confirmed it. Their life force is recovering. Luckily, you dealt with it in time. If it had been any later, it might have been too late..."

Through his numerous battles with ghosts, Xia Mu discovered certain patterns.

Although they can absorb human life force, which is the greatest danger that ghosts pose to humans, if the ghosts are defeated in a short time, the life force will return to its original state intact.

Conversely, one can only watch helplessly as the ghosts gradually digest the human's life force, much like a human eating food!

After confirming once again that no one present was in mortal danger and would gradually regain consciousness after some time, Natsuki stood up and walked towards Rika's location.