Outside Lungmen's city outskirts.
Unlike earlier—when the area had been deserted—this time it was packed. People crowded shoulder to shoulder, the noise of bodies and voices rising in waves.
"That's… the leader? Why would the leader lower herself to fight a plain old Sankta?"
"Talulah got taken away by her little brother for days—what was she even doing? Why is she only coming back now?"
"Shh. Stop talking. Talulah… she feels different from before…"
The murmured chatter made Exusiai freeze for a beat. The finger that had been resting on the trigger loosened, almost unconsciously.
Staring at Talulah—now facing off against that "white rabbit"—Exusiai quietly shuffled backward, trying to hide behind the crowd.
So her future sister-in-law wasn't just "some scary older sister." She was the leader of an organization.
Maybe she should keep her head down and watch how this played out first.
"Talulah. Are you really going to keep silent?"
FrostNova stood between Exusiai and Talulah, eyes cold, fixing Talulah with a hard stare as the woman held her sword in one hand—hesitating, as if something were stuck in her throat.
"Talk. What—getting 'woken up' made you mute?"
"…FrostNova. This is my private matter. Move aside."
Private matter?
Starting a fight with a Sankta right next to the Reunion camp counted as private?
Still—
"You really are nothing like the old you, Talulah," FrostNova said, lips curling. "Back then, you would've worn that disgusting fake smile and politely told me to get lost."
As she spoke, the Originium Arts gathering in her hand quietly dissipated.
Exusiai, watching from behind, was immediately disappointed.
"But you still owe me—and everyone here—an explanation," FrostNova continued. "What exactly are you doing?"
She drifted closer, falling in beside Talulah the way she used to, then tilted her head toward Exusiai—who looked half-defeated in the distance.
"Why are you picking a fight with her? Did she steal your brother or something?"
Talulah's gaze flicked away, awkward. But she still gave a small, honest nod.
"Something like that. I'm testing her—whether she's suitable to become my brother's future partner."
"…Tch." FrostNova's expression twisted. "So you're a brother-obsessed freak after all. Honestly? Kind of nauseating."
She gave Talulah a strange look—like she was seeing a new person—then shrugged and stepped back.
"Fine. Do whatever you want. How long is this going to take before you come back?"
Talulah's black sword shuddered—then the thin crust of ice on it shattered apart.
She took two steps forward. Crimson flames coiled around her, rising like living things.
"Give me some time," she said, voice steady. "I need to do a little—however little it may be—for my brother's future."
"After this… I will return to Reunion."
Her words rang out.
For a moment, silence.
Then the sky cracked open with thunderous cheering.
Infected voices surged into one roar. Reunion shouted. Reunion screamed.
Their leader—their pillar, the reason they had gathered, the fighter named Talulah—had finally returned to them.
The cheers rolled like waves, shaking the air. If not for the fear of the heat and flames coiling around Talulah, they would have rushed forward already—lifting her up, throwing her into the air, celebrating without restraint.
And Exusiai—whose halo was now flickering from nerves—watched it all, every second.
"Your sister is a senior inspector. Your uncle is Lungmen's governor. And now your sister is the supreme leader of a major armed organization…"
She swallowed hard.
"What kind of man am I even trying to chase?"
Talulah began walking toward her—slow, controlled, pressure mounting with every step.
Exusiai's whole body tightened. Her eyes locked on the approaching red dragon.
She didn't feel regret.
Even now, with her back against the wall.
Because she was Exusiai. If she quit here, she'd be letting down her sisters—and worse, she'd be letting down herself.
And besides—
She still hadn't made any real progress with Chen Mo.
She still hadn't tasted the long legs and perfect feet she'd been dreaming about—
So how could she possibly give up now?
Clenching her jaw, Exusiai lifted her gun and aimed straight at Talulah.
"Come on, sis—! I will make Chen Mo my man!"
"I told you." Talulah's voice turned flat. "Don't call me that."
Flames surged.
Gunfire flashed.
The sheer heat forced nearby Reunion members to retreat rapidly, pulling back to a safe distance.
Only FrostNova remained where she was, arms folded, muttering with a strangely amused expression:
"I can dress it up however I want, but this just looks like two jealous women fighting."
"Do not speak nonsense."
Thud.
A familiar, heavy footstep sounded behind her.
FrostNova didn't bother turning around. She only clicked her tongue.
"I'm not wrong. If I get to meet her brother later, I'm telling him to stay far away from Talulah."
"Dad, you didn't see her face or hear her voice when she talked about her brother. It was insane. I've never seen her that gentle."
"And now she's pulling this 'testing the future partner' nonsense… that kind of obsessive possessiveness—how is that normal?"
Patriot's gaze remained fixed on Talulah—who was attacking Exusiai, yet clearly holding back.
The great halberd he never let leave his side was planted into the ground, sinking deep with a dull, brutal weight.
"Talulah… has lost… much," Patriot said slowly. "Her heart… is riddled with wounds. Her spirit… exhausted."
"And that pure-blood… Draco… is her medicine. Her pillar… and her salvation."
He paused, watching the fight.
"However… her actions… are indeed… excessive."
"Afterward… I will personally teach her… how a woman… should interact… with her male family."
While FrostNova and Patriot spoke calmly, Exusiai was very much not calm.
After scrambling and rolling—barely dodging a fireball the size of a washbasin—she popped up, face blackened with soot and hair a disaster, and yelled furiously:
"Hey! Didn't you say three minutes?! Why isn't it over yet?!"
A dragon-shaped torrent of flame lashed toward her.
Exusiai could only roll again, sweat pouring down her face. She twisted mid-motion, raised her gun, and fired toward Talulah's abdomen.
Bang! Bang!
Rubber bullets shrieked forward, sparking as they cut the air.
But before they could even touch Talulah's skin, the heat surrounding her melted them into white mist—vanishing into nothing.
Talulah hadn't moved from her spot once.
She simply stood there, face calm, studying Exusiai—who was panting like she'd run through hell.
Then Talulah spoke, voice quiet and cutting:
"Exusiai… are you content to be a woman who can only last three minutes?"
Who was she looking down on?!
Exusiai shot to her feet, wiped sweat off her face, and snapped back into a fighting stance. The complaints she'd been about to spit out vanished down her throat.
A woman couldn't say she was "not enough."
"Come on—sis. Let's keep going!"
Her answer was Talulah's roaring fire.
And this time—
Talulah no longer held back.
Flame poured down like a tide, an entire world of heat crashing over Exusiai. Even in the center of it, Exusiai could hear Reunion's distant gasps and shouts.
No way to dodge.
Only one option—break through.
Seeing the fire close in, sealing every escape route, Exusiai lowered her body and forced herself forward—
A bright blade flash exploded into view.
Cold light, sharp as a severing stroke—like cutting water with a single draw—split the fan-shaped wall of flame cleanly in two.
Exusiai's eyes lit up when she saw the familiar back in front of her.
"Texas! I knew you'd come help me!"
"Don't forget me, you lewd angel."
A teasing, clear male voice.
Exusiai froze—then turned and saw Chen Mo standing beside her, smiling as if he'd come to watch a show.
He lifted a hand and waved.
"Serves you right. You kept sending me filthy, shameless lines—now my sister found them, and you're getting beaten for it."
....
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