MTLNOVEL Chapter 106 - Henshin
As Liu Meng steeled her resolve, a golden orb of light suddenly shot out from the yellow gemstone on her necklace.
Controlling the orb, created from her mana, Liu Meng closed her eyes and focused intently on pinpointing YouYu’s exact location. She then directed the glowing sphere to collide with the golden card within YouYu’s body, fusing with it.
“YouYu…”
After her mana merged with the golden card, Liu Meng could immediately sense YouYu’s agitation. His current method of fighting Gray Shadow was reckless, akin to a “suicide mission.” If this continued, it would cause significant harm to his body.
Realizing time was of the essence, Liu Meng sent her voice through the mana connection:
“YouYu! Stop for now. Don’t use the card’s power to fight anymore!”
“If you keep relying on that card, a significant portion of the negative energy in your body will be depleted. I’m working to adapt my mana to you… I don’t know how long it will take, but I’ll do my best!”
“So, for now, stop using the card! Endure this fight with your own strength!”
“I promise I’ll adjust the card so you can use it perfectly!”
“So you have to hold on, YouYu!”
“I won’t say what I did before—I will make sure you live!”
Having said this, Liu Meng fell silent, focusing entirely on calibrating the card within YouYu.
Even though she didn’t hear his reply, she knew—
YouYu would undoubtedly give it his all to endure and survive.
In her heart, she believed YouYu would achieve this.
And, in a way…
This was also her confidence in herself.
“…”
“Seems like you’ve finally figured it out.”
Recalling Liu Meng’s words. A faint smile crossed his lips as he decisively stopped channeling mana through the card, reverting to his state before he possessed it.
After all, he had become skilled enough to switch between “controlled” and “uncontrolled” modes of the card at will.
For instance, even if he wanted to cut Liu Meng off from manipulating the card now, he could easily do so.
But this time, he wouldn’t.
Because the stronger the card became, the more power he could wield.
Until then, all he had to do was stall, hold off Gray Shadow’s attacks, and wait for Liu Meng to finish her adjustments.
For him, this was a simple task.
“Ha… Are you finally out of tricks?”
“It seems the battle ends here!”
Seeing the yellow glow vanish from YouYu’s right hand, Gray Shadow raised its sword and aimed for his now seemingly fragile hand.
Then, in an instant, it swung the blade downward.
However…
The blade didn’t sever YouYu’s hand as Gray Shadow had expected.
Just as the sword was about to strike, a “branch” suddenly shot up from the ground, blocking the blade completely!
Clang!
The impact of the sword against the branch produced a metallic clang, deflecting Gray Shadow’s weapon.
“No! The fight is just beginning!”
Without hesitation, YouYu grabbed the branch with his right hand, snapped it off, and wielded it.
An eerie green light flickered from the branch, transforming it into a sword with a white blade and a dark green hilt.
The moment YouYu gripped the sword, he felt a surge of mana well up inside him!
“Interesting… So this is what it feels like to gain new power. Didn’t expect it to happen so quickly,” he mused, a smirk forming on his face.
With a subtle tilt of his body, YouYu darted forward. Before Gray Shadow even noticed, he thrust the sword.
“Urgh!”
The blade struck Gray Shadow’s white chest armor. What seemed like a light blow shattered the armor instantly, sending Gray Shadow tumbling across the ground.
“Cough cough!”
Struggling to its feet, Gray Shadow’s voice was now fragmented, crackling with static as it growled:
“No… Impossible!”
It stared at the glowing sword in YouYu’s hand—a blade emitting a radiant golden light—and exclaimed in disbelief:
“How can you—a mere nothing—wield the power of a magical girl?! Her mana shouldn’t even be able to merge with you!”
Furious, the Gray Shadow gripped its sword with both hands, green lightning surging down its arms as it charged at YouYu once more.
Boom!
Their weapons clashed, releasing a violent shockwave.
Sensing that YouYu was momentarily on the defensive, Gray Shadow decided to unleash the full force of its body’s abilities.
Compressing the negative energy within itself and amplifying its strength, it roared in anger:
“I thought you’d save me time, but you’re as stubborn as they come! Do you really think you can win just because a magical girl is helping you? You’re nothing—neither human nor beast! Even if you win this battle, your fate won’t change. You’ll die—killed by us or by the magical girls!”
“That’s just what you think!”
YouYu adjusted the flow of energy within his body, balancing his mana and negative emotions. As the golden mana surged to its peak, he seized the moment.
With a burst of strength, he forced Gray Shadow’s attack back, pinning it halfway into the ground.
“!”
Locking eyes with his adversary, YouYu declared with resolute defiance:
“Just because I’ve been turned into a monster, you think I have to accept my fate? I’m not that pessimistic. My plan? To kill every last one of you.”
“And magical girls? They’re not as naive as you think!”
“If my destiny is to face monsters like you, then I’ll fight fate itself—and I’ll win, just to spite you fools! But first, you’ll have to live long enough to see that!”
“My fate is mine to decide!”
As YouYu’s words fell, a golden pillar of light erupted from him, blasting Gray Shadow away.
Its body, now heavily damaged and smoking, fell to the ground, unable to produce any further sound.
From within the smoke, Gray Shadow’s fading vision glimpsed YouYu holding a golden card and a strange belt adorned with a black gemstone.
Staring at the belt, YouYu hesitated briefly before placing the card before the gemstone.
The gemstone absorbed the card, turning from black to yellow.
Then, gazing at the now-floating yellow gem in front of him, a thought formed in his mind.
In one swift motion, he swung his sword at the gem.
“Transform(Henshin)!”