Time rewound to the moment Levy was sent flying by Shadow Ghost.
Levy struggled to push herself up, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, blooming like crimson plum blossoms on the ice.
She looked up and saw Shadow Ghost walking towards her step by step, his black robe flapping in the cold wind, his eyes under the mask gleaming with icy killing intent.
"What a tenacious little brat," Shadow Ghost sneered, raising his hand to condense a ball of pitch-black shadow energy. "But, playtime is over."
Just as the shadow energy was about to strike Levy, a crimson flame suddenly erupted from her body, forming an eggshell-shaped shield that completely blocked Shadow Ghost's attack.
"What?" Shadow Ghost took a step back in surprise, staring warily at Levy.
Levy slowly stood up, the Seven-Colored Storybook floating before her, radiating a rich red glow.
Its pages turned by themselves, without wind, to the first page, where it was clearly written: [The Adventures of Annie, the Dark Child].
"Although the story isn't quite finished," Levy's voice became childish and cold, "for now, I'll have to use this power early."
"Are you ready to witness true dark power?"
She clasped her hands together, and a seven-colored magic array, composed of ancient characters, unfolded before the girl.
"Story Manifestation · Dark Child · Reader Immersion!"
Before her words finished, the Seven-Colored Storybook erupted in dazzling crimson flames, and the ethereal phantom of a black-haired loli emerged from the fire.
She wore an exquisite black dress, cradling a brown plush bear doll in her arms, her eyes coldly fixed on Shadow Ghost.
"Game time!" The black-haired loli's voice was innocent, yet it sent a chill down Shadow Ghost's spine; the malice emanating from that girl made even him, a killer who had committed countless evil deeds, feel a terrifying shiver.
The black-haired loli spread her arms, her ethereal body floating towards Levy, the spirit body completely overlapping and merging with Levy.
Seven-colored light burst forth suddenly! Crimson flames swept across the entire Ice Lake.
When the firelight dissipated, Levy, holding the plush bear, stood barefoot on the melted ice water.
Her original blue hair had turned black, her round-rimmed glasses became crimson shards flowing with lava, and swirling flame stars slowly circulated around her body.
"This... what kind of power is this?" Shadow Ghost looked at the changes before him in shock, an ominous premonition rising in his heart; he seemed to pace slowly backward out of fear.
But Levy, after her transformation, didn't even look at the enemy in front of her; instead, she lowered her head to look at the shadow at her feet, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
The night was deep, and under the moonlight, a Shadow Ghost emerged from the girl's shadow, extending a hand wrapped in black smoke directly at her vitals, while the Shadow Ghost in the distance dissipated into black smoke, clearly just a clone.
"Bang!"
Shadow Ghost's claw struck the flame shield on Levy's body; the eggshell-shaped flame shield dimmed slightly but did not shatter.
"Have you seen my bear?" Levy asked innocently, looking at Shadow Ghost in front of her, her eyes, however, filled with cold malice.
"Tibbers!"
Shadow Ghost's pupils constricted; he was about to retreat when he suddenly felt a strong sense of danger from above.
He abruptly looked up, only to see a giant flame bear descending from the sky, crashing heavily onto him.
"Boom!"
The enormous impact sent Shadow Ghost flying, blood gushing from his nose and mouth.
He quickly merged his body into the shadows, attempting to escape the flame bear's attack range.
"Roar!"
The flame bear let out a deafening roar, opening its mouth to spew a scorching pillar of fire that chased after Shadow Ghost.
Shadow Ghost rolled frantically on the ice, narrowly dodging the fire pillar, but the high temperature of the flames still made his skin burn.
"Shadow Spike!" Shadow Ghost roared, waving his hands, and dozens of black spikes erupted from the ground, thrusting directly at the flame bear.
However, the flame bear merely raised its giant paw and swung it, shattering all the shadow spikes.
Shadow Ghost's nosebleed dripped onto the ice; he wiped his face, his mask covered in crimson bloodstains. He plunged his hands into the ice, and pitch-black shadow energy spread like venomous snakes along the ice cracks.
Twelve three-meter-high shadow spikes broke through the ice, their tips glowing with a sinister green light, bypassing the flame bear and stabbing at Levy's back from different angles.
"Flames..."
Levy clapped her hands, smiling happily, and an eggshell-shaped flame barrier instantly formed.
The moment the shadow spikes hit the shield, the lava patterns suddenly came alive, moving and transforming the shadow energy into fuel.
The shield not only didn't weaken but instead surged into a five-meter-high wall of fire.
"...are my best toys!" The black-haired girl turned and waved her hand; the wall of fire split into eight fireballs the size of heads.
Shadow Ghost's pupils constricted; his black robe transformed into bat wings, and he rapidly ascended into the sky.
The high-temperature fireballs grazed his shoelaces, exploding into steaming craters in the ice.
He had just let out a sigh of relief when a giant beast's low growl suddenly came from above—Tibbers had somehow leaped twenty meters into the air, his bear paw, wreathed in flames, smashing down like a heavy hammer.
"Darknova!"
In a hurry, Shadow Ghost raised his hands, and dense black smoke erupted, condensing into an energy sphere that collided with the giant magma paw, the resulting shockwave tearing up dozens of meters of ice around them.
Shadow Ghost was sent flying by the recoil, breaking two ice pillars before stopping, black blood seeping from the cracks in his mask.
He tremblingly tore open his left sleeve, revealing a forearm covered in incantations: "Ghost Beacon!"
The pitch-black runes suddenly came alive, drilling into the ice; half of the Ice Lake trembled violently.
A full seventy Shadow Ghosts broke through the ice, each wielding a decaying bone weapon.
Levy's bare feet lightly touched the melted ice water, and the boiling waves solidified into fiery lotus flowers beneath her feet.
"Incinerate."
Tibbers' chest lit up with a hexagram array, and his giant mouth spewed a conical flame dozens of meters long.
The ghosts directly in its path instantly vaporized, while the specters behind them twisted into asphalt-like substances in the high heat.
Levy walked across the battlefield on fiery lotuses, the lava shards reflecting the scene of wailing specters, and fireballs casually flicked from her fingertips precisely exploded any stragglers.
With the ghost soldiers providing a distraction, Shadow Ghost seized the opportunity to draw a teleportation array on the ice; realizing he was outmatched, he immediately planned to escape, blood dripping from his fingertips to form runes.
Just as the magic array was about to be completed, Levy suddenly spread her five fingers in his direction: "Got you."
Five chains of magma burst from the ice, wrapping around his limbs and neck.
Shadow Ghost was horrified to discover that these chains were absorbing shadow energy.
"Shadow Warp!" He gritted his teeth and unleashed his magic, a dense black mist erupting and engulfing his body; the black mist, carrying his form, reappeared on an ice mound a hundred meters away.
"Time for a bear hug!"
The girl laughed gleefully, suddenly spreading her hands towards the sky, and a fiery red magic array opened above her head.
Tibbers, in the distance, suddenly erupted with even denser flames, taking a huge leap towards Shadow Ghost's direction.
Shadow Ghost no longer had time to dodge; the figure of the flaming magical bear grew larger in his pupils.
"No!!!"
The flame's light was so intense it dyed the night sky red; when the bright light dissipated, the ice within a fifty-meter radius, including the shoreline, had turned into a boiling pool of magma.
Shadow Ghost's remaining half-torso hung on the ice rock, his charred knuckles twisted beyond recognition.
Levy walked over, stepping on the solidified lava, Tibbers having shrunk back to doll-size and resting on her shoulder.
"To turn to ash is their fate."
The last flicker of flame shot from the girl's fingertip, and Shadow Ghost's remains turned into smoke in the fire.
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