The bright sunshine fell from a cloudless blue sky, the multicolored blood on the ground gleamed in the sunlight, like vibrant jewels radiating brilliance.

Dust stirred by fallen trees drifted in the air, allowing the sunlight to clearly reveal every tiny silhouette.

The Human-Faced Lion withdrew its hand, in front of it, the Lizard with a hole in its chest wobbled side to side, eyes wide open, showing a look of unwillingness as it fell to the ground.

The flesh and blood in its palm felt so real.

But is this reality, truly real?

A trace of doubt flashed through the Human-Faced Lion's heart.

Since just now, its senses — sight, touch, hearing — originally meant for perceiving the outside world, have become unreliable, non-functional.

It felt that the scene before its eyes also turned somewhat illusory; was it the Lizard it killed, or was it the Lizard that killed it?

Just that it was completely unaware of its own death.

What is real? What is fake?

The Human-Faced Lion couldn't tell, staring at the Treasure User before it, a flash of terror appeared in its eyes.

It was afraid that within the next second, it would plunge into darkness; the youth's fine-featured face, in its eyes, became even more grotesque, horrifying than a Demon.

It's impossible to win.

It must escape!

While the other Treasure User was still under the influence of the Lizard's poison, unable to wield the sword, it still had a chance to escape.

After all, as long as it doesn't make a move, nothing as foolish as gouging out its own heart would happen.

Coupled with its strong physical defense, it could run!

As soon as the Human-Faced Lion figured this out, its confidence soared instantly, it kicked the ground, turned around, and quickly ran backward.

Its movements were seamless.

It felt the surrounding scenery retreat rapidly, yet the boy and girl behind stubbornly kept up the chase.

The Human-Faced Lion could only pick up speed and keep running!

In Phoenix Academy Maggie's eyes, the Human-Faced Lion was constantly circling around this area.

Tall trees were easily toppled by it, dust rose mightily, as if a dust-created donut appeared here.

Phoenix Academy Maggie tilted her head and said, "How long can you still affect him?"

"Should be able to hold until you recover."

Aozawa thought for a moment and gave a vague answer.

Phoenix Academy Maggie furrowed her brow slightly; she also didn't know when she could regain her strength.

If Aozawa runs out of power before she recovers, wouldn't that put both of them in danger?

But if they want to send the enemy away, there's a complication: if it gets too far, the Will-o'-the-wisp effect might wear off.

At that time, the adversary might hide somewhere in the shadows and quietly come back to deal with them, making their situation even more perilous.

The priority was to find a way to recover her strength first, or seek outside assistance.

Phoenix Academy Maggie glanced at the earpiece. Amid the intense battle, her earpiece was destroyed by the enemy; all she could do was look at Aozawa's earpiece and ask, "Can you still contact Headquarters?"

"No, all I get is static from the earpiece."

Aozawa said this as he removed his earpiece and placed it in Phoenix Academy Maggie's ear, the static noise was very clear.

The communication device malfunction, wasn't it the work of a monster present?

Phoenix Academy Maggie slightly furrowed her brow; this also meant that there was likely a monster hidden in a secret spot out of sight.

A trace of worry appeared on her face.

Aozawa supported Phoenix Academy Maggie toward the woods, saying, "I do have a good idea; it might help you regain vitality earlier."

"What method?"

Phoenix Academy Maggie's spirits were lifted; she wanted to hear his good method.

Aozawa, with a serious face, said, "Doesn't the Sword of Promised Victory resonate with your spirit?

I think, as long as your spiritual fluctuations are strong enough, naturally you can unleash the Sword of Promised Victory's power."

"This…"

Phoenix Academy Maggie was taken aback, her porcelain-doll-like face revealing a hint of helplessness. Right now, she felt entirely limp and weak, no longer as resilient as before.

This was inevitably tied to physical condition, which, to some extent, determines the strength of one's will.

To put it plainly, it's difficult for her to even summon that killing intent from her heart now.

"I really wanted to kill that monster just now, but the killing intent in my heart could never reach the state it did when I was healthy."

"Emotional changes come in many forms; it doesn't have to be shown through killing intent."

Aozawa's words made Phoenix Academy Maggie slightly frown, her eyes clear as a lake showing a hint of vigilance, "What kind of stimulus are you suggesting?"

"In this situation, of course, you have to learn from anime; only through the magic replenishment ceremony can you invigorate your spirit."

As Aozawa said these words, he tried hard to keep a straight face without showing a trace of humor.

His expression was very serious and earnest, like a professor in a university classroom discussing life's philosophies with students.

But such an expression couldn't hide the meaning of his words.

A serious delivery of vulgar innuendo is still vulgar innuendo.

Phoenix Academy Maggie was no longer the naive young woman she once was; with the help of Makoto and Little Sayuri, she learned quite a bit about manga, and naturally understood what Aozawa meant by magic replenishment. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Her fair face instantly turned crimson, like the autumn sunset, extraordinarily beautiful.

"Be serious; we're in the middle of a battle!"

"Maggie, I was seriously making a suggestion; didn't you notice, at this moment, you even forgot about your weakness?"

Aozawa answered with a serious expression.

He knew full well that if he displayed any frivolous expression at this time, it would spell disaster.