The Wisteria Train 24

On the other side, Marg was also doing his best, fighting a desperate battle to the death against the vine figures in front of him.

His body was already covered in wounds of varying depths. Beneath his torn clothes, his flesh was ripped open, and his blood was washed into a blur by the rain, but he did not retreat in the slightest.

Marg struggled to break free from the vines wrapping around him. Summoning all his strength, he threw a punch at the vine figure in front of him, knocking it back a few steps and buying himself a few seconds of breathing room.

But right then, a wolf-like beast suddenly lunged from behind him, opening its bloody maw right toward the back of his chest.

Fully focused on guarding against the vine figures in front of him, Marg had no idea that one of the wolf-like beasts had abandoned its siege on Arbiter to target him instead.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

By the time Marg felt the rush of wind behind him and tried to turn to defend himself, it was already too late.

The wolf-like beast's jaws clamped down savagely on his head. Its terrifying bite force crushed his bones past their limit. The instant it bit down, blood erupted from his severed neck.

Marg's body stiffened violently. His hands rose instinctively, trying to grab onto something, but they ultimately fell limp.

Separated from his head, his body slowly collapsed onto the muddy ground, never to move again.

“Marg!”

Witnessing Marg's brutal decapitation, Bai Ci's eyes instantly welled with tears.

This man had died to protect them.

She looked down at her own hands, then at the pale, mobility-impaired Violita beside her, a wave of helplessness washing over her.

In this battle, she was completely powerless, Violita was unable to move freely, and Arbiter was the only one fighting.

Arbiter was fighting a losing battle alone, yet she still had to distract herself to look after the two of them. There was no telling how much longer she could hold out.

In this fight, the terrain and the weather both favored the enemy. Even in terms of numbers, the enemy held an absolute advantage.

The odds could not possibly be any worse.

Bai Ci continuously analyzed the current situation, suppressing her grief and forcing herself to think if there was any piece of information she had overlooked that could be useful in this battle.

Even if it was just a tiny, insignificant detail, and even if it could only help a fraction, it would still lighten Arbiter's burden.

Beside her, Violita had also witnessed the tragedy. Perhaps due to his temperament, or perhaps because he was already accustomed to life and death, his expression was much calmer than Bai Ci's.

Suppressing his fleeting sigh, he immediately snapped back to reality and looked at Bai Ci, who seemed lost in her grief, and softly reminded her.

“Don't grieve too much. Now is not the time for sadness.”

“Watch our surroundings closely. There are quite a few wolf-like beasts closing in nearby. They've likely targeted us as their prey.”

“If you keep letting yourself get distracted by grief, we'll be in grave danger.”

“Okay,” Bai Ci replied, her train of thought forcibly interrupted by Violita.

She acknowledged his words, silently agreeing with Violita's warning without bothering to explain that she wasn't just grieving.

Now was indeed not the time for grief or idle thought. She was still supporting someone who couldn't move on his own, let alone move with her. Their safety was completely compromised.

If she lost focus for even a second, they would end up just like Marg.

On the battlefield not far away, Arbiter also witnessed the moment of Marg's brutal death.

Even though she and Marg had only stood side by side for a brief moment and shared no deep bond, seeing someone she wanted to protect die a horrific death right before her eyes caused her magic to stutter for an instant.

How could a Magical Girl fail to protect the very people she wanted to protect?

When the will to protect wavered due to death, a Magical Girl's power would fluctuate accordingly.

It could grow stronger, or it could weaken.

Because “Magical Girl” had been alienated into a class, this wavering of will was not entirely determined by Arbiter's personal resolve, but rather judged by the current actual circumstances.

Due to her current state of being pushed to her absolute limit, this few-second stutter was glaringly exposed.

A sleek wolf-like beast seized this opening, leaping into the air and lunging straight for Arbiter's chest.

Relying solely on her agile movements, Arbiter narrowly dodged to the side. The sharp claws scraped past her shoulder, instantly tearing open a long, deep gash that left her flesh exposed.

Fortunately, their luck held out this time. The fluctuation in Arbiter's power was positive.

Specifically, the magical flames she unleashed afterward were no longer so easily extinguished by the rain, and their burning power had grown significantly stronger.

Marg's death had bought Arbiter a temporary power boost. The one-sided battle finally stopped tilting further, and the scales of victory began to slowly balance out.

Arbiter gripped her wand tightly. The ruby at its tip flared with brilliant light as she unleashed wave after wave of fire, forcefully driving back the wolf-like beasts and vine figures surrounding her.

But this brief turn of events did not last long.

Wisteria, who had been standing silently nearby and watching the battle with cold eyes, finally made his move.

With a low roar, Wisteria took a sudden step forward and began walking toward Arbiter.

He did not move quickly. He walked rather than ran, adopting a leisurely posture born of the absolute certainty that his prey could not escape.

Wherever he passed, the wolf-like beasts and vine figures that had been attacking Arbiter actively scrambled out of his way.

Those that were too slow to retreat instantly dissolved into blood mist, merging into his fur.

Sensing this fatal threat, Arbiter tightly gripped her wand.

She could clearly feel that the aura radiating from Wisteria was far stronger than that of the wolf-like beasts and vine figures. It was an absolutely overwhelming power.

Arbiter did not back down.

Even though she knew she might be no match for him, even though the wound on her shoulder was still throbbing with intense pain, and even though her magical power was nearly depleted...

...she still gripped her wand tightly, lifted her head, and stared resolutely at the approaching Wisteria.

“Let the karma fire of the abyss sweep the plains, burning away all the filth of this world—Blazing Torrent!”

Arbiter chanted her spell, channeling all her remaining magical power into the tip of her wand. A massive torrent of flames erupted from the tip, hurtling toward Wisteria.

The torrent of flames tore through the curtain of rain with searing heat, instantly vaporizing the rainwater in its path.

Yet this seemingly devastating torrent of flames did absolutely nothing when it struck Wisteria, as futile as an ant trying to shake a giant tree.

He merely tilted his head slightly, letting the torrent of flames wash over him. The fire singed his fur but failed completely to penetrate his tough hide, leaving behind not even a single mark.

Before Arbiter could unleash her next move, Wisteria abandoned his slow pace. Seemingly annoyed by the resistance of his meal, he closed the distance in the blink of an eye and brought his massive claw crashing down toward her.

Arbiter did everything she could to dodge, but she was still a step too slow. The edge of his claw scraped her back, and the immense impact sent her flying, crashing heavily onto the muddy ground.

Her wand slipped from her grasp and landed in the muddy water not far away, the brilliant ruby at its tip instantly dimming.