Mechanics dismantled, threats neutralized.
The rest was just garbage time.
Leon cleared all the Kedama and Maids in a few leaps.
The eighth wave was cleared.
From start to finish, it took no more than fifteen seconds.
The young woman stood amidst the scattered debris, panting slightly as she felt her emotions and mana boiling over.
Finally…
she’d passed.
It hadn’t been easy.
The patterns were actually quite simple, just the same few repeated over and over.
Devising strategies against the enemies wasn’t difficult either.
After all, they weren’t real people, lacking the intelligence to adapt on the fly, and their raw strength was simply no match for her in this state.
But…
What if she had to constantly find ways to delay the bomb’s detonation during the process?
At first, even without any external interference, simply maintaining this Half-Step Transformation state would cause her to reach the critical point and sustain damage in no more than fifteen seconds.
But Leon, by modifying her emotions, movements, and lines, and through the increasingly familiar mana trajectories and operations, had forcibly extended this time to over a minute and a half.
Moreover, the longer she held this critical point, the stronger she became.
According to Leon’s own estimation, her physical attributes were roughly five times those of her normal body!
In the real world, this would have far exceeded the limits of an ordinary human.
Walking on walls and leaping across rooftops would be effortless, enough to be called a minor superhuman!
But the price was also obvious.
At this moment, the mana within her body was already close to boiling, its power surging through her organs and flesh.
If she forcibly maintained this Half-Step Transformation state any longer, she estimated she had at most fifteen seconds before losing control.
She let out a long breath, exhaling a stream of searing air, as she assessed her condition.
Before crossing the self-harming critical point, her mana-enhanced body seemed to have gained a special resistance to high temperatures.
Though her body temperature was extremely high, miraculously, she suffered no damage.
She had already cleared all the enemies in the vicinity.
Could she finally stop the transformation process this time with peace of mind?
Without a moment’s pause, her gaze shot directly into the deeper darkness.
Her mana-enhanced senses picked up something.
Yet, at that very instant, the young woman’s expression suddenly turned grave.
Clearly, the answer was no.
Her slender body tensed to the absolute limit in an instant.
From the depths of the darkness, an unprecedentedly powerful presence was closing in, bringing with it a heavy, cold, and suffocating pressure.
Tap, tap, tap.
Accompanied by elegant and rhythmic footsteps, a figure slowly emerged from the black mist.
It was still a female Doll, but completely different from the previous low-grade maids with their coarse cloth and stiff movements.
If the ones before were low-grade maids, then this one was undoubtedly the Head Maid.
She wore a complex and magnificent maid outfit.
The fabric was smooth silk, the blue and white skirt layered in folds, and the collar and cuffs were embroidered with exquisite lace that looked like dried blood patterns.
Her completely blank face had no cracks or holes, appearing incredibly smooth, yet it “looked” in Leon’s direction.
She tilted her head, and her silver twin-braided ponytails swayed with the movement.
At that moment, a feeling of extreme coldness flared in Leon’s heart.
“!!” She was on a completely different level from all the previous monsters.
An elite mob, or perhaps a gate-keeping boss…
However, after locking her gaze on Leon, she did not immediately attack.
Under her gaze, she gently extended her hands, which looked just like a real person’s, clasped them in front of her, and then gave a slight bow to Leon.
The movement was so elegant it was simply flawless, just like a true Head Maid.
The next moment.
Without any warning, a red and white figure appeared beside the seemingly polite Doll almost as if by teleportation.
The red and white trail in the air showed no sign of fading.
A hand-blade, enveloped in flames, swung horizontally toward the Head Maid’s neck without any frills, letting out a sonic boom as it tore through the air.
Bang!
Two equally slender and fair arms collided in the air, bouncing off each other.
The Head Maid’s blank face twisted 180 degrees in an eerie manner, meeting Leon’s eyes just in time.
Yet at this very instant, Leon’s whip kick had already been unleashed, drawing power from the mid-air rotation.
The same bizarre thing happened again.
The opponent vanished silently from her spot, and this heavy strike kicked completely into empty air.
Leon spun twice like a dancer to bleed off the momentum, then stood firm on the spot, looking at the position where the opponent had reappeared, his eyes full of vigilance.
Her strength is no less than mine, which is within the realm of comprehension…
but how could I not see her movements at all?
There was no sound of wind cutting through the air, no warning signs.
It was as if frames had been skipped.
She was absurdly fast.
And in the instant Leon was pondering her ability, the prim and proper Head Maid suddenly moved.
She elegantly lifted her skirt, revealing the cold gleam beneath.
Then— Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!!
Silver flashes of light fanned out like a peacock’s tail.
Sixteen gleaming metal throwing knives soared, their speed even surpassing the limits of Leon’s dynamic vision.
“So fast—!” Leon’s pupils constricted sharply.
She couldn’t see how they had been thrown.
She could only rely on instinct, forcefully twisting her body to swat the knives away.
Puff, puff, puff, puff!
The dull thuds of blades sinking into flesh echoed in rapid succession.
Despite her best efforts, eight throwing knives still embedded themselves deeply into her body: thigh, shoulder, flank…
Three of them had even sunk deep into her organs, and a surge of blood instantly erupted along with the excruciating pain.
“…!!!” It was at this moment that a second wave of cutting sounds struck.
Another handful of silver knives!
Forcing her broken body to move, Leon rolled awkwardly on the ground.
She barely managed to dodge most of them, but two still plunged into her left arm.
She knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth as she looked at her opponent.
The Head Maid remained perfectly composed, without a speck of dust on her, simply holding two small knives as she walked slowly toward Leon.
Leon lowered her head, staring at her body, which now resembled a pincushion.
The Precision Operation Engine could clearly sense her internal condition.
Internal organs damaged, internal bleeding had begun.
Mana had also grown more turbulent due to the excruciating pain and the passage of time.
Even in a one-on-one fight, even if the opponent revealed no new abilities, there was almost no hope left for this broken body.
A desperate situation?
Would she have to start over again?
There seemed to be no resentment.
This time, she had made significant progress.
Not only had she broken through the eighth wave and faced the formidable enemy of the ninth, but she had also obtained much crucial information.
Once she returned and carefully reviewed everything, she would definitely…
No.
At this very moment, amidst the pool of blood, the girl actually let out a low laugh.
“Heh…
I refuse.” Along with her hoarse laughter, the flame-light surging from her mouth and nose with every breath was clearly visible.
Being able to restart an infinite number of times was indeed a good thing.
Making progress with every attempt was truly something anyone would dream of.
Under such circumstances, retreating and growing weary once or twice seemed to be an insignificant matter.
But…
Leon, who treated reality like a game and took the advent of the supernatural for granted from the very beginning, deeply understood one point.
A true master gamer would never make excuses for themselves, but would instead face every single game and every single attempt with the utmost seriousness.
For Leon, treating a matter as a game was not a sign of negligence, but rather meant that she had to give her all and do her best at all times and in all places.
This was her most important…
form of entertainment.
She swayed as she stood up, ignoring the ten throwing knives embedded in her body, ignoring the Head Maid who was approaching her with elegance.
Mana, like a torrential current, was about to explode within her body, bringing with it familiar, excruciating pain.
Yet, the intense fighting spirit and joy burned ever more fiercely in her heart.
At that instant, she seemed to perceive something from the unknown.
It was a premonition from the deepest depths of the [Soul Link].