The two-meter-long greatsword clashed once more against the long spear, forcing both fighters back a step. With the Void Greatsword amplifying her strength, Chu Lian now matched the burly man blow for blow. Guided by experience many times greater than White Chu Lian's, the tide of battle began to shift in her favor.
At first, the burly man could still suppress the wounded Chu Lian. But as time dragged on, he found himself unable to press so recklessly. Each time her strange greatsword collided with his spear, a destructive energy erupted. If not for his own energy forcefully quelling it, his spear would already have been destroyed.
He now had to resist the Void Greatsword's "Deathblow" while fending off Chu Lian's occasional spiritual bullets. Under such strain, his already careless nature left him flustered and stretched thin.
In truth, his strength should not have been so weak. But Chu Lian had released Dark Chu Lian, and that spelled his doom. Had it been White Chu Lian, her lack of combat experience would have allowed him to handle even two at once.
Unfortunately for him, Dark Chu Lian had absorbed all of White Chu Lian's dark memories and emotions. Having endured countless slaughters, she awakened a deep instinct and hidden memories within Chu Lian's soul, elevating her combat technique beyond almost anyone alive.
If not for her weaker strength earlier, and the man's own seasoned experience, she would never have been beaten so badly before. She had only meant to stall, not defeat him alone.
If she had chosen instead to hide in the shadows like Kurosaki Satsuki, striking in wave after wave, even without the perfect synergy of "Shun" and "Ghost Step," she still had a fair chance of killing him.
What's more, she possessed the supreme weapon, the Seven Illusions Bow. But only White Chu Lian could wield it. Even though they shared the same body and soul, the bow rejected her.
White Chu Lian, however, lacked Dark Chu Lian's combat mastery. Even with the Seven Illusions Bow, she could not guarantee victory against him. That was why she hadn't chosen that path.
From the very start, this burly man and his strange companions from the Otherside were doomed. None of them could escape.
"Damn it! How is your strength so great? Just moments ago you were like a beaten dog, yet after drawing that greatsword, you're stronger than me. I refuse! You rely on weapons to suppress me. Even if I die, I'll never yield!" In one exchange, the exhausted man was kicked hard by Dark Chu Lian, sent flying over ten meters, smashing through several bamboo stalks before stopping.
He was lucky—unlike her earlier misfortune, he narrowly missed a jagged bamboo spike. Even so, he was grievously wounded. Chu Lian's strikes were far more refined.
That kick carried infused spiritual power. The moment he hit the ground, the hidden bullet detonated inside him, blasting his body back into the air.
Before he could fall, over a dozen more spiritual bullets followed, engulfing him in a blinding explosion. A violent wave of energy swept through the bamboo forest, scattering countless leaves.
Her figure stood cold and still, sword in hand, as she stepped forward. She halted before his bleeding, battered body, her blade aimed at his neck. Her voice was icy: "Do you yield?"
"Haha! To defeat me with a weapon's power—what right do you have to demand my submission?" Even on the brink of death, his contempt remained. What had once been admiration for her had twisted into disdain, as if she were something filthy.
"Pathetic, ignorant fool…" Dark Chu Lian shook her head. Dispelling the Void Greatsword, she drew the twin blades from her back. Her smile twisted into something eerie and sinister.
"I want to see your expression when your own flesh is cut away piece by piece, yet you still refuse to die." She laughed as she spoke, her eyes narrowing. Then she swung her twin blades wildly, strips of bloodied flesh flying through the air with every strike…
By the time Inori woke up and reached the scene, the burly man's body had already been hacked down to bare bones. His face still bore a mask of terror and agony—he had been dead for some time.
"You're here? Tch, lucky you came late. If you had arrived before my frenzy burned out, I might have attacked anything still alive. Forget it… it's best we both forget everything here. You won't remember, and neither will I…" As her words trailed off, her body went limp, collapsing into Inori's arms.
Almost as if entranced, Inori's eyes turned blank. Mechanically, she picked up the fallen twin blades, slung them across her back, and carried Chu Lian—her blood-soaked hanfu dyed crimson—silently away.
The clearing was left behind, littered with a single mutilated corpse, its head intact, alongside a dozen other humanoid bodies. The grisly scene testified to the massacre that had just taken place.
Only when she stepped out of the bamboo forest did Inori's eyes clear again. She recalled seeing Chu Lian standing before the man's corpse, saying something, then fainting. After that, she carried her away in silence. Yes, that must have been it. They had won, ending the battle in less than half an hour.
Though the process and result were far from what she had expected, the goal was achieved—that was what mattered.
She never realized her memory had been tampered with. She simply accepted it as the truth. Nor did she question the blood covering Chu Lian. In her subconscious, she assumed it was from injuries sustained during the fight, never suspecting otherwise.
Had she turned back then to glance at the battlefield, perhaps something would have changed. But destiny set in stone cannot be altered without overwhelming force. Without intervention, change was impossible.
Standing at the bamboo forest's edge, Inori hesitated. Both she and Chu Lian were covered in blood—they couldn't let others see them like this, or the consequences would be disastrous. Yet carrying Chu Lian, she couldn't simply sneak back unnoticed. She had to think of another way.
Just as she was at a loss, Chu Lian let out a faint groan. Slowly, she opened her eyes, awakening.
Seeing the worry in Inori's gaze, she lifted her hand to caress her cheek. But the small motion pulled at a wound, making her flinch, eyes clamping shut as her body spasmed in pain.
"Lian, are you alright? Where are you hurt?" Inori's worry deepened. She had assumed Chu Lian's injuries weren't serious. She hadn't expected even such a small action to cause so much pain.
Grinding her teeth, Chu Lian endured until the pain ebbed. Then she forced a gentle smile. Even in her frailty, she shone like a ray of sunlight, dispelling the shadows in Inori's heart.
"I'm fine, Inori. The fight was too intense, and I must've gotten hurt again. I just need to rest a little, and I'll be alright." She shook her head, unconcerned.
Indeed, even though her Innate Spiritual Body was still awakening and caused her some strain, it didn't hinder her much. Her natural recovery ability was extraordinary. So long as she didn't lose a limb, she could heal in very little time.
What's more, once healed, her wounds left no scars at all. After discovering this, she no longer feared injury.
Of course, even if she knew she would heal without a trace, Chu Lian still avoided being hurt. After all, wounds were painful—especially in her petite, sensitive body. She had no desire to suffer needlessly.
After resting for a while, Inori pointed at Chu Lian's hanfu, soaked scarlet with blood, then at her own long dress, speckled here and there. "Lian, how can we get back inside? In this state, sneaking in is impossible. We'll need some special way to hide ourselves…"
Chu Lian thought for a moment, then remembered something. Closing her eyes, she opened the system interface, navigated to the Integrity Points exchange tab, and selected a few options. Soon, a robe-like item appeared.
"Invisibility Cloak: An item from the Harry Potter series. Anything covered by the cloak will vanish from sight. Evaluation: Sure, you're invisible, but your physical body still exists. To deal with that problem, just buy a red X-marked tool! Truly the best item for peeking under girls' skirts. Girl, whose bath do you plan on sneaking into? Exchange Cost: 20,000 Integrity Points. (Don't be fooled by its status as one of the Deathly Hallows. In the low-magic world of Harry Potter, this is about what it's worth. Maybe in the item shop it'd even be cheaper? Who knows…)
"Here it is. As long as it covers us, we'll be invisible. But be careful—we'll still make sounds when we walk, and we still exist in this world. People can sense or bump into us. So don't go through crowded places or paths that are heavily warded." Chu Lian waved her hand lightly, the cloak appearing in her grasp. Handing it to Inori, she carefully explained how to use it.
"Lian, why didn't you bring this out earlier? If we'd had it, so many things would've been easier…" Inori didn't put it on right away. She hesitated, then voiced her question.
"Cough, cough… I'm sleepy. Wake me when we get back." Chu Lian knew full well why. She had simply forgotten the system's exchange function. But how could she admit such a shameful thing? With no better excuse, she feigned sleep to cover it up.
"You really are something…" Inori chuckled, but still picked up the cloak and draped it over them both. The oversized garment easily concealed their two slender bodies. So long as they were careful, the walk back posed no risk of being discovered…
High above, that same faint voice whispered: "A second personality… Dark Chu Lian. Interesting, very interesting. Rather than Dark Chu Lian, perhaps 'Queen of Carnage' suits you better. I look forward to seeing how you handle what comes next…"