Meg involuntarily took a step back as powers beyond her comprehension descended and gently landed on the ground.
From afar, Voldemort and Dumbledore also walked forward, surrounding the three new arrivals.
This was the first time both Voldemort and Ekrizdis had laid eyes upon the three outsiders.
Darth Kars, of course, stood out like a sore thumb, towering as tall as a Giant, the wildness about him filling the surroundings with faint growls of beasts.
Then there was the voluptuous woman in a green gown with black hair and blue eyes, who had consumed the Luck-Luck Fruit before draining Dumbledore of his luck for months.
But it was the third woman, in a sleeveless white vest and blue jeans, who stood out the most, despite looking utterly small compared to the other two Contestants, especially Darth Kars.
And it wasn't just because her burnt upper body, with absolutely no facial features, that stood in contrast to her lush, green hair reaching her waist.
It was because of the anger.
Without eyes, facial contortions, or words, the woman managed to display the grandest of emotions as she stared at… the Yellow Warlock.
Cash — the top-level 12th Floor Contestant from the Flowers of Doom — and the Contestant with the highest Bounty on the 4th Set —
— 3,400,000,000 Berries!!!
The woman in the green gown stepped forward suddenly, eyeing the Yellow Warlock with a seductive smile.
Her small steps rang across the space in the pin-drop silence with every strike of her heels.
Despite giving the impression that she was much weaker compared to either Darth Kars, who held an impressive Bounty of 2,425,000,000 Berries, or Cash, there was something about her that immediately let everyone know that it was she who was calling the shots.
The fact that neither Darth Kars nor Cash had acted on their bloodlust, yet, also added to that impression.
"The Five-Crowned Prince…" The woman licked her lips. "You have no idea how many times I have pleasured myself thinking of this moment…"
Meg's heart suddenly started beating faster, surprising her even more.
It was clear that none of the three Contestants had figured out that it wasn't His Majesty under the yellow cloak.
Yet, for the woman's mere words — which were meant for Kai — to cause such a change in her…
Master was right… Meg gulped, feeling a wetness between her thighs. Every word… Every motion… Every expression of this Seductress is a trap.
"Why have you come here?" Lord Black Phoenix asked, barely able to hide the rage in his voice.
"Don't be a fool now, Dumbledore," Voldemort hissed from beyond the Contestants. "Why they are here is… predictable. The question must be — whose side are they on?"
Ekrizdis stepped forward as well, wielding his Wand just like his fellow Wizards.
"If you think you can harm Lord Yellow Warlock just because he is also an outsider… kekeke…" the Lord of Azkaban cackled. "Between him and the Order of the Immortal Lotus, we all know who stands against the timeline… against our entire world."
Meg's eyes narrowed.
Ekrizdis might remain in His Majesty's shadow because of Death's instructions. But the Inferius was clearly shrewd to have survived Herpo the Foul's hunt for hundreds of years before finally getting sealed.
With only a few words, the Lord of Azkaban instantly divided the battlefield into two fronts, forcing Dumbledore and Voldemort to accept that they must choose the lesser evil in this battle to work with.
Meg didn't need the two Wizards to say it outright, either.
The way both the Dark Lord and Lord Black Phoenix frowned at Ekrizdis's words could only mean that they had already decided to fight alongside the Yellow Warlock if they had to.
That was the best outcome Meg could have hoped for.
With the Mirror timeline standing at an Overall Grade of B+, all three Wizards could easily reach the realms of the 12th Floor, theoretically capable of stepping into the 13th Floor Contestants' level.
However, because the timeline's status had risen only recently, the Characters needed more time to stabilize their own powers, as these qualitative changes happened automatically and involuntarily.
It didn't change the fact that against three 12th Floor Contestants, the three Characters of the Harry Potter Bubble's Mirror timeline were a well-suited match.
"Hehe…" the Seductress suddenly giggled. "Who said weare here to kill him?"
"…"
Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Ekrizdis wore confused frowns.
Meanwhile, the Seductress, smiling enchantingly, continued, "People back home are very interested in you, Red. Especially after your little stunt of making the Inquisitors go away. The Order of the Immortal Lotus… this entire War between Pillars and Mirrors… is pointless compared to what I offer."
"What you offer?" Meg repeated in the Yellow Warlock's harsh tone. "Why would Quasi Cipher Pol offer me anything?"
For the first time, the smile on the Seductress's face flickered.
"My-my… What a surprise…" she said, smiling broadly. "You don't know who I am… I was sure your Sponsor must have warned you. Hehe… Interesting. How interesting…"
Meg's heart skipped a beat.
His Majesty had never bothered learning the identities of these Contestants to keep himself entertained.
So, after he mentioned the features of the woman he had seen with Dumbledore, Meg had made her own inquiries with Red Sun's help.
Cash had been the easiest to find, what with her Bounty.
However, no matter how much she searched, going as far as to enlist the help of her contacts at the Temple of Hastur, she had failed to find the identity of the Seductress.
By process of elimination, though, it was easy to tell that she belonged to Quasi Cipher Pol, with whom this hunt for the Five-Crowned Prince had begun — a hunt that had already resulted in the death of two 12th Floor powerhouses… publicly, at least.
From the way the Seductress had said those words, it felt like Kai must already know who this woman was.
That was ridiculous, Meg knew.
There was no way His Majesty knew who this woman was and hadn't shared it, unless… unless he had locked that memory.
Even as Meg was going through that horrifying thought, she saw the woman's blue eyes glowing bluer.
"Wait a minute…" the Seductress suddenly took several steps forward, alarming the three Wizards. "My, my… is that you under there… little bird?"
And, with those words, Meg's heart jumped to her mouth, the earth giving way beneath her feet.
Because, in the Primordial Tower, only one woman had ever called her "little bird".
It had happened during the Second Stage of the Tournament of Worth, when she had gained an unexpected Sponsor — her one and only Sponsor…
… the oldest Contestant of the 18th Floor — the Viceroy of the Red King —
— Lady Aphrodite!!!!
*************
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