Chapter 49: All Back, Meow?

Unexpected Encounters

“Sirius? Why are you here too?”

“I… just happened to be watching a play in the theater, didn’t expect you to be here, Little Red Riding Hood.”

Little Red Riding Hood blinked. She distinctly remembered Senior Mu Xingge mentioning that Sirius had no interest in plays. Yet, surprisingly, here she was.

Meanwhile, as Little Red Riding Hood pondered, a few more puppet monsters crawled out from behind the stage backdrop. Consequently, both of them instantly assumed combat stances—clearly, things were never that simple!

Chaos at the Exit

“Don’t worry about me! I can handle these monsters. Sirius, go help evacuate the crowd. There’s a safety exit over there that’s getting blocked!”

Xiao Xi, noticing the puppet monsters posed little threat, followed Little Red Riding Hood’s direction. Indeed, she saw a crowd jammed at a safety exit, panicking and pushing forward mindlessly.

Swiftly, Xiao Xi vaulted over the railing and, finding a gap, leaped into the crowd. The crushing pressure was almost suffocating.

“Make way… I need to check something.”

Fortunately, her [Sirius] form was strong. Thus, Xiao Xi forced her way to the door, grabbed the handle, and shook it—locked? This theater’s safety measures were utterly pathetic.

Without hesitation, Xiao Xi smashed the door open with a single punch. As a result, the moment it gave way, she nearly lost her footing, as if swept by a flood.

“Slow down—the monsters are far from here, they won’t hurt you!”

A Familiar Figure

While Xiao Xi tried to maintain order, her gaze swept the audience seats. Suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure—Ye Xinglan? Why was she back?

No, the theater was too dangerous now. Therefore, she had to get her out immediately!

By now, more puppet monsters had appeared, not just on stage but wandering in groups elsewhere.

However, as Xiao Xi struggled against the crowd’s flow, her foot caught on something. Abruptly, a push from behind sent her stumbling. Her eyes widened as she glimpsed an arm covered in rose-and-thorn tattoos amid the crowd.

‘Oh no!’ she thought. As the floor rushed closer, Xiao Xi’s heart sank. Falling in this crowded chaos could be disastrous!

Ye Xinglan’s Search

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ye Xinglan was searching the theater.

‘That Xiao Xi, disappearing the moment she left the theater,’ she thought. ‘And Coco—has she escaped or not?’

Ye Xinglan scanned around, unconcerned by the monsters. As the Blood Moon Witch, she held an innate dominance over them. Moreover, the monsters here were low-level; if Xiao Xi or Coco were caught, she could easily save them.

“Miss… the safety exit is that way.”

Facing Sirius, who appeared before her, Ye Xinglan didn’t spare a glance. Instead, she smoothly sidestepped to continue her search.

“No need for your help. My girlfriend and her sister haven’t left yet. I need to find them first.”

“No, miss, it’s too dangerous in the theater. You should leave now.”

Rising Tensions

Sirius blocked her again, and Ye Xinglan frowned, annoyed. Magical girls always ruined her plans.

In truth, she was tempted to drain this rookie magical girl dry and toss her aside, just to show who the real danger was.

Suddenly, as they spoke, Ye Xinglan caught a faint, sweet scent of blood. Looking down, she noticed the annoying magical girl’s knee was scraped.

‘This magical girl’s blood… smells surprisingly sweet,’ Ye Xinglan thought, licking her lips. Nevertheless, she ignored Sirius. Clashing with an Association magical girl here wasn’t wise.

The knee injury was from Xiao Xi’s fall earlier. In that critical moment, she’d unleashed strength beyond a D-rank magical girl, using magic to push back the crowd and avoid being trampled.

A D-rank [Sirius] shouldn’t have such power, but Xiao Xi had no time to care. Besides, no one would notice a D-rank’s abnormal strength in that chaos.

Promises and Doubts

Ye Xinglan’s words stunned Xiao Xi. She hadn’t expected her to return for her. But what could Ye Xinglan do? An ordinary person rushing back was suicidal! Furthermore, here Xiao Xi was, standing right in front of her.

“Your friends might just be separated from you. You should leave. Even if they’re still here, I’ll protect them—I promise.”

Ye Xinglan snorted. These two D-rank magical girls wouldn’t even fill a gap in her teeth, yet they spoke so arrogantly.

‘Magical girls are always so irritating,’ she thought. ‘Unlike my Xiao Xi, who’s cute and speaks sweetly…’

As they talked, four or five puppet monsters noticed them and closed in. Quickly, Xiao Xi stepped in front of Ye Xinglan.

“Stay close to me!”

Ye Xinglan wasn’t scared, just exasperated. Then, she noticed something on the annoying magical girl’s wrist.

“That’s…”

Xiao Xi quickly hid her hand, nearly forgetting the VIP seat bracelet she wore.

Luckily, Ye Xinglan didn’t think much of it, assuming the magical girl was watching the play earlier, which explained her quick response.

‘That makes sense,’ Ye Xinglan thought. ‘Magical girls probably love watching stories of Eternal Star beating the Blood Moon Witch.’

Uncovering the Source

During a lull in the fight, Xiao Xi glanced at the stage. The few puppet monsters there had been dealt with by Little Red Riding Hood.

However, something felt off. Monsters kept spawning from every corner. How could a theater hide so many?

Looking at the scattered puppet fragments, Xiao Xi suddenly realized something and shouted to Little Red Riding Hood.

“Little Red Riding Hood, these aren’t the main monsters—just their minions! We need to find the source!”

Hearing Sirius’s shout from the audience, Little Red Riding Hood froze. Then, she realized the issue—they’d defeated so many monsters, yet none dropped a monster cocoon!

There was only one explanation: some monsters created minions with magic. These minions wouldn’t drop cocoons; only defeating the source would stop them.

Consequently, Little Red Riding Hood’s gaze locked onto the stage backdrop—come to think of it, the first puppet monster had emerged from there.