Endless Silver Machine

Liuyin's driving skills couldn't be said to be as skillful as Shun's, but as long as he sat in the driver's seat and held the steering wheel, Liuyin wouldn't get carsick.

Aika and Luoluo still clearly remember the first time Liuyin got motion sick in front of everyone.

"Please forget what happened at that time..."

Liuyin turned the steering wheel awkwardly. Although the car body was a little unstable, it was still within the safe driving range.

The navigator was turned on next to the steering wheel, and the map of the Imperial Capital was displayed on it. Their car was displayed as a small red dot on the map.

"Found it!" Professor Cocona's voice came from the loudspeaker. "Although the image on the monitor is a bit blurry, Ling should be the only one still walking on the road at this time."

"Is the direction she's heading toward Augustus?"

"It looks like she is. She is not very far away from you. You should be able to stop her in front of her."

Professor Cocona didn't have time to adjust the car's navigation system, so he couldn't display Ling's position on the navigation device. He could only use communications to guide Liuyin's direction.

"Oops, she seems to have found out..."

From Professor Cocona's perspective, Ling seemed to look back at the surveillance camera on the street, and then the figure suddenly disappeared from the current area.

"Professor Cocona, have you lost me?"

"Wait a minute..." Her voice disappeared for a while, and then sounded anxiously, "You go in the direction of August first!"

It seemed that the search was not going well, and Ling might have hid somewhere where the surveillance cameras could not capture him.

"That guy's intuition is still so sharp..."

Aika always believed that most of her talents were used in unnecessary ways.

"Brother, do you have the heart of Orchid?"

"Yeah, take it. How do you know?"

Luoluo didn't remind herself, and Aika almost forgot that Luoluo's necklace was still in the pocket of her coat.

After Aika took away the Orchid Heart without authorization, he kept it in the place where he could keep it most easily.

"I have a vague feeling that it is right next to me..."

"Does the magic costume make you feel like this?"

"Well, brother, can't you feel the presence of the Fiery Eyes?"

"I don't think I've ever felt like this."

Aika vaguely remembered that Ling seemed to have said that he could feel the Light Flame Sword in his body.

Is it because my magic power is very low that I can't feel the presence of the Fiery Eyes?

"She has left the city and is approaching the suburbs. There will be no surveillance cameras soon. You have to catch up before she leaves the surveillance range, otherwise you will lose her."

"How come it's so fast?" Liuyin complained as he stepped on the accelerator, "It takes at least more than an hour to walk from the city to the suburbs!"

On a deserted road at night, there was no limit to acceleration, and the bumps on the car's body became more and more serious. Aika could only pray that the car wouldn't break down midway.

After Liuyin accelerated to the maximum speed that he could barely control, he drove out of the city along the main road in a few minutes.

"After you turn left, you are outside the surveillance range of the surveillance camera."

"Professor Cocona, thank you. Leave the rest to us."

"It would be nice if she was willing to help you..."

"Eh?"

"Nothing, nothing, then I hope you can bring Ling back."

Professor Cocona confused herself by talking to herself, leaving her expectations for everyone before cutting off the communication.

"What did you mean by that sentence just now?"

Luoluo also heard Professor Cocona talking to herself.

"Don't worry about this kind of thing for now, look over there."

The view of the suburbs was empty and it was a moonlit night, so they quickly found the "lost child".

…………

Liuyin stepped on the accelerator and turned the steering wheel hard. The tires rubbed against the road and emitted a plume of smoke, blocking Ling's face laterally.

Ling raised her head slightly, stopped, and watched everyone jump out of the car indifferently.

"Sister Ling, please don't go any further."

"Suddenly leaving a letter, asking everyone to mobilize all their troops to search for you on the streets, there should be a limit to your willfulness."

Luoluo and Liuyin took action before Aika.

"I just chose the most beneficial solution to the current situation. No one will suffer."

"You took Ling away from us. Isn't this considered a loss?"

"Eh? Brother, this kind of statement..."

Ling showed a look of surprise, but it was only for a moment.

"...This is the future decided by me. Aika, you are not qualified to control me. Even family members don't have this kind of freedom?"

"Even if this is really Ling's decision, I won't agree." Aika spoke righteously and said more willfully, "Yes, just like you said, people like me really deserve only "Scumbag," so I want to keep my family by my side and be with the people I like. Isn't it enough to have such a reason?"

Aika no longer avoided Ling's questions. He accepted all Ling's cynicism towards him.

"What's more, this is not Ling's decision. If your family is not qualified to decide Ling's future, then you are even less qualified."

"...What are you talking about? Is there anything wrong with me deciding on my own?"

Her eyes and voice were obviously shaken, and Aika used this to further confirm her guess.

"Lingcai would not do something stupid like sacrificing her life. If it were her, she would definitely use simpler and more crude methods to overcome adversity."

"You are talking too much!"

"How could a method that even Ling herself would not agree with come from her mouth?" Aika smiled contemptuously, "Don't make decisions for her without permission, Light Flame Sword."

Aika said this not to Ling, but to "her" in Ling's body.

"Sister Ling...brother, what is going on?"

Aika did call the current sister Ling the Light Flame Sword, but how is this possible? Luo Luo couldn't understand it.

"Really... So that's what happened..." Liuyin understood faster, "No wonder she suddenly changed the names she called me and Xiao Xi, and she didn't use the honorific title for Cocona."

When Ling woke up and greeted them at the entrance for the first time, Liuyin felt this sense of dissonance.

"Let her explain herself."

Ling stared at Aika with resentment, and Aika stared at her closely.

"Sister Ling, please say something..."

Luoluo looked at Aika and Ling back and forth uneasily. Although she didn't know whether what Aika said was right or wrong, she hoped that both of them could be honest.

"...When did you find out?"

In the end, it was Ling who gave up and admitted Aika's guess.

"When you wrote the letter, you only mentioned Luoluo and me, but Ling should also have something to say to other people. What about Wei Xi who lives together? Are you going to abandon her without saying anything? Ling can't Will do this kind of thing.”

"..."

"At that time, the 'she' in your mouth meant Ling."

"...I was careless about the details..."

Ling, it should be said that the light flame sword occupying Ling's body now, smiled bitterly.

"Sister Ling...is it okay to still call you this?" Luoluo said cautiously, "You obviously left the letter a long time ago, why didn't you leave the mansion until we found out?"

"It was just a whim, thinking about something in the courtyard."

"You are not careless. These are the clues you deliberately left..." Aika didn't know what kind of expression he should make. "If you had just left the city at the speed you had, you would have arrived at Augustus by now." Right? You gave us enough time to catch up with you, just so we could stop you here?"

"I don't have such good intentions... It's just that her body has just woken up and has not adapted to strenuous exercise. Even if I strengthen her physical abilities, it will break down if she is overused."

"Just treat it like this." Aika had no intention of continuing to talk to her in circles, "Then, can you please return Ling's body now?"

"Of course this is impossible." The golden particles condensed into a nearly two-meter long knife in her hand. This was not Ling's usual shape. "If you have the ability, take this body back."

"Liuyin."

"I know, this is the only way."

Aika summoned six floating cannons, and Liuyin held Bing Ning's spear.

"Luoluo, stay away from here."

Aika took out the necklace from her coat, put it into Luoluo's hand, pushed her back and urged her to leave.

"Brother, Xiaoyin, there must be a better way."

Luoluo still couldn't give up. She didn't want to see her family hurt each other.

"This should be spiritual magic. The only way to cut it off is to make the body lose consciousness."

Liuyin whispered to Aika and Luoluo that she could only determine the approximate method, and she could not guarantee whether it would be successful.

"I will try my best not to hurt Ling's body, just use Liuyin's method, don't worry."

After Aika's persuasion, Luoluo compromised and ran to the car a little further away.

After watching Luoluo leave, Aika could focus on "Ling".

"Sure enough, it's just like what I saw. You really care about Luo Luo."

"I don't deny it. Ling must be very unaccustomed to this way of holding a knife."

"This is the correct way for me to use it. I already told her during that game."

"That game" probably refers to the "Maze Exploration" on the second day of the "Moon Flower Festival", which was also the time when Ling and Wei Xi acted alone.

She raised her long sword, and magic circles appeared one after another on her sword, with red flames and golden light intertwining.

[image]

This was the first time Aika saw Ling using this fighting method. He was so shocked that he forgot for a moment that the person in front of him was not actually Ling.

"Ling" didn't move his steps and slashed down on the spot. The flaming dragon formed a straight line and hit the two of them head-on.

Liuyin reacted in time and pushed Aika away, piercing the tip of the spear into the ground. The magic circle flashed in front of the two of them, forming a huge ice shield.

The flaming dragon hit the ice shield with unstoppable momentum, splitting into two forces to the left and right.

Ice should not have an advantage in the face of fire, but when Liuyin's ice faced basic fire magic, this level of heat could not melt it.

"Stop being in a daze!"

Liuyin maintained the ice shield while scolding Aika.

"Ling"'s attack stopped, and she should have discovered that this flame alone could not destroy Liuyin's defense.

Liuyin took advantage of this gap to remove the ice shield and rushed in front of her, his spear and knife colliding together.

Ling once had a head-on conflict with Liuyin using two small swords. At that time, she was still at a disadvantage, but this time she really blocked Liuyin's attack.

Of course, this kind of contact is just like saying hello. Liuyin used his spear to collide with "Ling"'s flame-wrapped sword again and again. His body, which was not good at using the sword, could only slowly retreat under the fierce attack, until "Ling" noticed that he had no way out.

Before she noticed, a huge ice wall had been erected behind her.

She used the blade to twist Liuyin's spear tip, and the blade of the Light Flame Sword suddenly shattered into golden particles. Taking advantage of Liuyin's unstable balance, "Ling" distanced herself from her.

"Liuyin, those golden particles are all blades!"

"So complicated……"

Liuyin immediately adjusted her balance. She waved her hand and the entire tall ice wall shattered. Sharp ice crystals smaller than the golden particles became the mist that protected Liuyin.

How to avoid hurting Ling's body and make her lose consciousness? The final answer Aika got was to make her faint from the pain.

While Liuyin and "Ling" were fighting, Aika quickly approached "Ling" from the other side. She must not have been able to deal with it immediately after escaping from Liuyin's offensive.

But he thought wrongly. Since it was the Light Flame Sword that was fighting, her fighting method would make it easier for her to bring out the full power of the magic suit than Ling's.

Using part of the golden particles transformed from the blade to hold back Liuyin's steps, "Ling" still had a small sword left in his hand.

It was impossible to directly attack Ling's body with the laser of the floating cannon, so Aika chose to use it to block "Ling"'s approach.

The floating cannon adjusted its attack direction according to the line of sight, forcing "Ling" to dodge. After transforming the magic power at the muzzles of the twin guns into the shape of a dagger, Aika resorted to close combat.

Facing "Ling" who only has one knife, he is confident that he is in an advantageous position.

Sure enough, in order to repel Aika, "Ling" chose to give up her control of Liuyin. She used the long knife to block Aika's attack again, and at the same time, the shape of the magic circle on the blade changed.

The black swamp formed by magic spread over a wide area, and Aika suddenly felt that the solid touch under his feet became sticky, as if he were stepping on mud. A moment's delay in his body would change the situation of the battle.

From the beginning, Aika noticed that the magic used by "Ling" was only the basic magic taught in the first grade, but the effect of the magic had far exceeded the scope of basic magic.

When the black marsh spread to Liuyin's feet, it encountered resistance. Her feet were covered with ice, and even the black marsh itself was covered under the ice.

Liuyin's ice can freeze even invisible objects. This is the highest level of ice magic sublimation ability.

"Tsk..."

Giving up on containing Liuyin was her biggest failure, but a smile of ease appeared on her face.

"Is that the only extent?"

"of course not."

Close combat was not Aika's specialty. After escaping from the black swamp, he gave up getting too close to "Ling".

A ribbon of light woven with silver-white magic power shot out from the muzzle and wrapped around the blade of the Light Flame Sword. Aika was about to take the weapon away from her hand.

But the shape of the magic circle changed again. Bai Yao's light blade cut off the silver light belt, and six beams of light were shot out from "Ling"'s side at the same time, shooting at each other with Aika's floating cannon.

This is completely divorced from the ability of basic light magic.

"Aika, don't keep spending time with her. The magic power of the magic costume is very great!"

"I know……"

It's not that Aika and she are engaged in a war of attrition, but because he can't escape "Ling"'s attack.

While using light magic to suppress Aika's attack methods, she swung her blade towards Liuyin, and the thick pillar of flame temporarily delayed Liuyin's footsteps.

"Use two elemental magics at the same time?"

Liuyin hurriedly constructed a defense and was forced to stop.

Even if Aika and Liuyin attack "Ling" at the same time, although they are not at a disadvantage, they still cannot achieve their ultimate goal.

"How can it be so troublesome to use the magic equipment itself as an opponent..."

Liuyin gave up the direct contact with "Ling". Since "Ling" wouldn't let him get close, he could just attack from a distance.

The temperature of the surrounding air dropped sharply, and the spring air was filled with moist moisture, which became Liuyin's weapon.

Liuyin's attack methods are not limited to weapons.

A huge ice fist rose from the ground and hit where "Ling" was standing, and her Aika and Liuyin attacks stopped.

"Ling" who drew his sword to dodge could not easily regain his body balance. Aika, who escaped from the scorching light pursuit, did not give up this opportunity.

The silver birdcage fell from "Ling"'s head, imprisoning her inside.

"Hmph, do you think something like this can stop me?"

"It's not just him."

Liuyin threw a spear, and the tip of the spear pierced the ground some distance away from the birdcage. Centered on the spear tip, the ground was covered with ice.

Following the ice's gaze, when it touched the edge of the birdcage, the fence made of magic was frozen by Liuyin's ice.

The "Ling" flame alone cannot escape from the frozen birdcage.

"Do you want to do this..."

She closed her eyes, and the flames on the blade dissipated, leaving behind a golden stream of light that slowly flowed through the delicate lines.

If the blade of the knife is too high, hold the handle of the knife with both hands and pull it behind you.

"Aika, she is going to cut it directly with a knife."

"I know I won't let her do that."

Countless light strips stretch out from the frozen fence and go around "Ling"'s arms, body, and thighs. It is itself a birdcage built by Aika's magic power, and the magic power inside can also be controlled and shaped at will.

"Hey! Where are you touching!"

"Ling"'s posture completely collapsed. The basic light magic that was used to cut off the light belts could not be used on her body. She could only try hard to break the light belts with brute force.

But of course "Ling"'s body does not have such great strength. The more he struggles, the tighter the light ribbons become.

"Always use this little trick...ah!"

"Sorry, this is the only way I can think of..."

Aika, who finally subdued "Ling" for the time being, breathed a sigh of relief. He and Liuyin walked to the huge birdcage.

"Ling" is like a veritable bird, restrained by light strips and locked in a birdcage, so that she should have no way to resist.

The golden long knife also fell from her hand and landed at her feet, the tip of the knife deeply inserted into the ground.

"Can you give up now?" Aika said softly, "I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"Huh, I just don't want to hurt Ling's body."

"That is also a reason, but joining Augustus is not what you really want, right? Can't we talk about it?"

"What's the answer?"

"Eh?"

Ling suddenly asked back, and Aika was stunned.

"I didn't make up those words, they were all the child's thoughts. I just said them on her behalf. It was you who made Ling so miserable, so it might be easier for her to go to Augustus than to stay with you."

"I...make Ling suffer..."

Aika chewed on the facts that came out of her mouth. He had made Ling feel pain. He had never thought of such a thing.

"That's right, so... ugh..."

"Ling" was about to continue saying something, but she suddenly moaned.

"what happens?"

Looking at "Ling" who suddenly became uncomfortable, Aika became nervous again.

"Symptoms that look very similar to the backlash of magic power."

Liuyin took a step back warily.

"Why? Isn't the Light Flame Sword Ling's magic weapon?"

"She woke up..." "Ling"'s expression was definitely not relaxed, "It seems I went too far...she is rejecting me..."

"...Ling doesn't agree with what you say?"

Aika's heart seemed to be redeemed. He once thought about whether Ling ever hated him. The more he thought about it, the farther away he became from Ling.

"I don't know...she was obviously in so much pain...ah——"

The birdcage is filled with Ling's magic power, to be precise, the magic power of the Light Flame Sword.

"Runaway! Aika, she must be made unconscious now, otherwise it will become very troublesome."

"Even if you say so..."

The birdcage finally couldn't bear the torrent of magic power that spewed out. This happened in just a few seconds.

Ling was liberated from the birdcage, but now there is no human consciousness in her body.

Due to the influence of the magic power of the Light Flame Sword, the sky was filled with golden aurora, but no one cared to appreciate this beautiful scenery.

"Oh no……"

As soon as Liuyin finished speaking, a strong wind of golden particles rolled up from the ground.

The golden particles scattered all over the sky were dozens of times larger than what Ling could usually control.

The golden particles, counted in the thousands, are like countless petals flying in the air.

"If you get involved, there won't even be any scum left..."

Aika murmured and looked at the expanding wind mass.

No human being could be cut by hundreds or thousands of blades and survive intact.

"Can I stop it just by getting close to her?"

Aika finally confirmed to Liuyin.

The current situation was urgent. Ling fell to the ground in pain, and the strong wind whipped up by the golden particles swept towards the direction of Aika and the others with fatal danger.

The slightest mistake can lead to irreversible consequences.

"I can't guarantee that she will lose consciousness without any harm, but in this case..."

"If nothing is done, everyone is at risk."

Aika could only apologize to Ling in his heart. There might be a better way to solve the problem, but there was too little time left for him to think.

"But!" Liuyin's hand holding the spear was trembling, "No... I can't do it!"

She shook her head desperately, her long silver hair swaying from side to side, and she screamed hysterically.

Although under such strong wind, her voice seemed so weak.

"I can't do it...I don't want anyone to get hurt..."

As if the strength he once had was just an act, Liuyin's legs finally couldn't support him anymore and he knelt on the ground.

In her missions so far, she had never had to make such determination, and she could easily subdue the enemies she targeted.

When it really hurt someone, Liuyin took off his disguise.

…………