"This is the place."
Presented before them was a vast, empty hall. In the center of the hall was a stone seat piled with rocks, and sitting on the stone seat was a man holding red wine—it was Xuan Yue.
Xuan Yue on the stone seat spoke: "Those who can enter this place must all be descendants of Gusilan, right?"
"Right, September?"
Xuan Yue's gaze was fixed on September, looking so cold it seemed to pierce through her heart. September couldn't help but press her hand over her heart.
Asagami Fujino watched silently from the side. Although the Xuan Yue before them was just a leftover projection, this projection was being controlled by that old fox Xuan Yue.
In the entire stolen star world, Xuan Yue's resourcefulness was undoubtedly the most terrifying. After all, this guy was a character who permeated the entire plot. Behind every event, there was the shadow of Xuan Yue; to some extent, it could be said that Xuan Yue forged the entire story of Stolen Star.
"September!"
From the voice, it was clear that October and his group had arrived.
September saw October and the others, nodded gently, and then turned her gaze back to Xuan Yue.
October and the others were also greatly shocked to notice Xuan Yue. Unlike September, who had defected from the Black Moon Iron Cavalry, they had a deeper understanding of this former brother.
"OK! The Black Moon Iron Cavalry have also arrived. Although a few people are still missing, it doesn't matter. Now, it's time to get down to business." Without another word, he stood up from the stone seat, casually placing the red wine on the armrest. His head was slightly lowered: "Next, you should properly appreciate the crystals of wisdom left behind by our ancestors!"
Xuan Yue looked up, his red eyes giving off a bone-chilling feeling: "This will be the final moment of your lives!"
October questioned loudly: "Xuan Yue, what exactly are your intentions!"
"Me?" Xuan Yue looked at October, smiled faintly, and shook his head again: "Goodbye. Oh, no, it should be farewell forever."
After saying that, Xuan Yue suddenly disappeared, and a glowing device also caught everyone's attention.
October suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. Xuan Yue's true body isn't here; what we just saw was only an image left behind using the mechanisms in the ruins!"
Boom!
Suddenly, a violent vibration came from the ground.
"This ruin is about to be destroyed," Asagami Fujino said calmly.
"What?!"
Another vibration came, and September instinctively grabbed Asagami Fujino to steady herself.
"Damn it! Did he activate the ruin's self-destruct mechanism?!"
"Pretty much," Asagami Fujino reminded. "If you guys don't leave now, you won't be able to escape in a moment."
"Damn it! Let's go!" October made a snap decision and called for the others to retreat quickly, while also not forgetting to ask September to leave with them: "September, come with us."
"En." September nodded and directly pulled Asagami Fujino along as she ran, completely forgetting that Asagami Fujino could teleport out directly.
"The exit is ahead! Hurry, keep up!"
Seeing the exit, everyone couldn't help but quicken their pace.
However, the speed at which the ruins were collapsing was also accelerating. At this rate, the ruins would likely collapse completely before everyone could escape.
"How troublesome." Asagami Fujino sighed. As she channeled her magical energy, a cyan magic circle instantly manifested beneath everyone's feet. Before they could even react, they found themselves already outside the ruins.
"What happened?!" February was the first to shout. They were clearly still some distance from the exit, so how did they suddenly escape?
"It was caused by this thing under our feet." March looked at the profound magic circle beneath him thoughtfully. Then, under everyone's gaze, March suddenly vanished and reappeared behind February, delivering a hard kick to February's butt that sent him flying.
"So that's how it is; it increased our speed." October also looked at the magic circle beneath his feet, then vanished from his spot and reappeared on the other side.
"Damn you, March!" The kicked-away February ran back, loudly questioning March.
"Brother October!" May shouted. "Sister September and that person are both gone!"
"What!" October quickly looked around, and indeed, he could not find September or Asagami Fujino anywhere.
"I think it should be fine. Nothing will happen to September if she's with that person," March said while dodging February's fists. Even though March's impression of Asagami Fujino wasn't great—partly because she had taken April away, and partly because he felt April's departure from the Black Moon Iron Cavalry was closely related to her—there was one thing March had to admit: Asagami Fujino was strong! Stronger than all of them! Moreover, she had already given them a great gift.
On the other side, Asagami Fujino and September appeared in the desert. The old woman who had been waiting for them quickly walked over upon seeing the two.
"Thank you for your hard work. Everything is over," Asagami Fujino said.
The old woman nodded, a look of relief appearing on her face. "Then I shall head back first."
After the old woman left, September tugged at Asagami Fujino's clothes. "Where are October and the others?"
"They are still inside the ruins."
"Ah?"
Sensing September's confusion, Asagami Fujino explained softly, "Someone will come to rescue them. It's fine."
"Wait? Is there something else inside those ruins?" September asked hurriedly.
Asagami Fujino nodded. "A few demons from the old era have been sealed inside the ruins. With the ruins collapsing, they are about to come out now."
Hearing this, September couldn't help but worry. "Are those demons very powerful?"
After all, these demons were a perfect counter to October and the others; they didn't fear October's flames, and the Seventh Senses of the others couldn't inflict any damage on them. If March had awakened his Seventh Sense, there might be something to see, but for now, forget it. Even though Asagami Fujino had used Tsukuyomi to help them strengthen their power, it was limited to their self-perception and was useless against these demons. That was why Asagami Fujino said these demons could completely overwhelm October and his group.
"Alright, I won't say more. Someone will come to save them." Seeing September's worried expression, Asagami Fujino said helplessly.
Meanwhile, inside the ruins, October and the others also encountered the demons awakening from their slumber.
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