"Ahhh—" Madam Ma's shrill scream continued, yet as she flailed her arms, she suddenly realized she didn't seem to be burning to death.
What was going on?
Could it be that I really have divine powers?
Madam Ma didn't notice that at her feet, the flames were reflecting an image of her body burning.
The crystal ball that had previously blocked the stun gun had fallen there, but she had ignored it the entire time.
Her attention had been fixed on Vill-V, and she never suspected that the crystal ball had caused all this.
"That's right, it must be divine protection at the brink of life and death!"
So Madam Ma began silently chanting all kinds of spells in her heart, trying to curse the people in front of her who made her grind her teeth in hatred.
Unexpectedly, it actually worked.
An ominous aura began to spread through the air. The originally scorching environment was forcibly transformed into a frigid winter by a chilling, eerie mist.
Purple-black fog churned continuously, condensing into a massive skull.
The flies hovering over the nearby trash piles dropped dead the moment they touched the mist. Even the rats fled from their hiding places, trying to escape the area.
"Kehehehe—"
The skull let out the same cackling laugh as Madam Ma. The sound pierced straight into the soul, like the scythe of death brushing lightly against one's spirit.
Before even seeing what the skull could do, everyone present could already sense how terrifying it was.
"Th-this... what is that?!"
The one who screamed the loudest was actually Madam Ma herself, like a startled ferret.
She had no idea she possessed such an ability, to summon something so horrifying.
Reporter Tan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The scene completely shattered his worldview.
The moment the flames on Madam Ma's body had vanished with a puff, he had already felt something was wrong.
Now, the appearance of this foggy skull confirmed his suspicion.
There really are demons and spirits in this world!
And Madam Ma could actually use divine arts.
If she had this ability, why hadn't she summoned it in front of everyone before?
Was she hiding it?
This old woman's scheming was terrifyingly deep.
This was bad. The three of them were all going to die here.
"Kids, run!"
Reporter Tan grabbed Vill-V, urging her to escape while he stayed behind.
But when he tried to pull her, he found he couldn't move her at all.
"Huh? You practice martial arts? Your stance is so stable?"
Reporter Tan was surprised. Pulling Vill-V felt like dragging a millstone—she didn't budge at all.
"Uh, it's probably not that my stance is stable. I'm just a bit heavy."
"How heavy?"
"About 287.3 kilograms, hehe..."
"Holy—!" Reporter Tan jumped in shock. He hadn't expected the delicate-looking girl in front of him to weigh about as much as a black bear.
So this is what girls are like? You really can't judge by appearances.
Vill-V pouted playfully. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just carrying a lot of stuff. My actual body weight is only... pfft pfft, a beautiful girl would never talk about her weight."
"So it really is 287.3 kilograms?"
"As if."
"Hey, you two, run! What are you standing there for?!"
Reporter Tan originally wanted to pick Vill-V up and run—saving even one person was better than none. As a war correspondent, carrying a teenage girl while escaping wasn't a problem for him.
But given Vill-V's weight, he had no choice but to give up.
Seeing that the girl and the youth remained completely unmoved, he thought that perhaps only he could see the ghost she had summoned. This made him even more anxious.
Madam Ma must be deliberately letting him see it, just to drive him into despair.
These two girls must think he had gone mad and was babbling nonsense.
Reporter Tan suddenly thought of something and pulled out his camera.
Sure enough—
The skull could be captured on camera!
"Look! I'm not talking nonsense—there really is a skull! You two, run!"
Madam Ma stood there in a daze for a long time before finally calming down.
Since the skull hadn't attacked yet, it seemed controllable.
It must be the result of her chanting earlier.
Seeing Reporter Tan and the others trying to escape, how could she let them get away?
"Uh... that thing—kill them!"
Madam Ma didn't know the skull's name, and randomly calling the names of spirits could bring punishment, so she simply issued commands into the air.
Perhaps the summoned entity was generous. The skull didn't disappoint her expectations. With a howl, it charged toward Hua, who still stood in place.
The skull was enormous, several meters tall, capable of swallowing an adult whole.
"Hey!"
Reporter Tan picked up a stone and threw it at the skull, trying to draw its attention.
But the stone passed through it without resistance. The skull paid no attention to his provocation.
Its teeth were as sharp as blades, and ghostly flames burned within its eye sockets, exuding a rotten stench.
It let out a chilling "kehehe" laugh and lunged at Hua with its gaping maw.
Both Reporter Tan and Madam Ma thought he was about to have his soul devoured.
How could an ordinary passerby escape the curse of something so unfathomable?
As expected, the skull swallowed the youth whole.
He must have been dragged into the underworld—or perhaps even his soul had been completely destroyed.
Madam Ma wasn't surprised at all. "Kehehehe, well? Great spirit, how does the first sacrifice taste?"
Her cold gaze then shifted to Reporter Tan. "There are still two left."
Reporter Tan clenched his fists tightly, not knowing how to deal with such an intangible entity.
At that moment, the crow of a rooster rang out, causing the skull's mist to falter.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal striking jade echoed continuously.
Several streaks of sword light shot out from the black mist.
The skull let out a pained wail as its sharp teeth shattered and fell to the ground.
"Roar!"
It opened its maw in panic and spat a person out.
Hua had shed the mascot costume. Beneath it, she wore a pale red immortal robe, its hem flowing like drifting clouds, embroidered with exquisite patterns that radiated an otherworldly aura.
At some point, a golden sword had appeared in her hand, its blade faintly etched with celestial markings.
This was what Hua had been wearing beneath the mascot suit.
Designed by the newly famous designer—Dan Zhu.
The mascot suit had only been a disguise to conceal her brilliance.
The girl let out a soft sigh. "Another demonic beast invasion?"
Both Reporter Tan and Madam Ma were stunned by Hua's transformation, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"Y-you—you—you... you're not a boy, you're a girl!" Madam Ma pointed at Hua, stammering.
Vill-V couldn't help but laugh. "Huh? That's what you're focusing on right now?"
"Of course! A girl can sell for a high price—what a waste it would be to kill her!"
Madam Ma was still thinking about petty profits. She completely failed to notice the fear in the so-called spirit.