Lin Xiaolu and the others were mentally prepared for Arrowroot's arrival. However, even so, the fact that the opponent could precisely track their location on the first day of the assessment still left Lin Xiaolu a little surprised.
Indeed, Mint had clearly mentioned that Arrowroot possessed such abilities, and Lin Xiaolu also knew that for Beast Children, the presence of their kind was quite perceptible. But to track them down across more than half the examination field was far beyond the perception capabilities of a Leaf Level Magical Girl.
"...Is it a Magic Armor ability?"
Lin Xiaolu's whispered self-talk did not escape Arrowroot's ears. She paused slightly and then the smile on her face deepened: "Correct, it's my Magic Armor ability. Although it doesn't match your SS rating, it's still been rated at S Level."
"It's impressive you still dare to confront me after knowing my rating."
Though not fully confident, Lin Xiaolu understood the principle of not losing face in a battle of words, so she retorted firmly: "You didn't come to find me in the last assessment, I thought you were afraid."
"Heh, hearing the rating did startle me a bit."
Arrowroot admitted frankly: "But you lost to Mu Mian before losing to me? Honestly, it was somewhat disappointing."
"Still as annoyingly confident as ever." Lin Xiaolu tightened her grip on her wand, knowing a confrontation was inevitable: "Where are your teammates hiding? Planning an ambush?"
"You mentioned 'as usual', so of course, I'm here alone."
Arrowroot grinned: "I've prepared for a solo fight; how about you? But even if three of you take me on together, I'm fine with it; let's have an unrestricted battle."
"Unrestricted? Are you an idiot? Did you forget our assessment is being watched? Maybe even every word is being heard." Mint interjected.
After a moment of silence, Arrowroot suddenly laughed: "Oh, I almost forgot, you're not participating in this operation, it's normal not to know."
"...What?" Mint was baffled by the response.
"While we can't make any moves in an indoor examination site, this assessment is outdoors, and Sir Bee has already considered that."
Arrowroot raised the wand in her hand, placing it in front of her: "You don't need to know more, just think about how to fight me. And to put things straight, I aim to take all three of your tags."
"So brazen, you might as well hand your tag over to us..." Lin Xiaolu was ready to summon her Magic Armor, but still didn't forgo the strategy of exchanging words before the fight. However, this time, Mint suddenly reached out to stop her.
"Back off." She only had time to say these two words.
Almost the moment the second word fell, a red light burst forth from Arrowroot's wand.
—"Unfurl your wings, Blood Bat."
The girl, enveloped in the black-red glow, chanted.
The wand did not disperse into light as usual with Magical Girls' Magic Armor conjuring. Unlike typical scenes, her wand seemed to gain life, slowly twisting in shape, then from its tip grew fangs, biting into Arrowroot's wrist.
Crimson blood flowed from the wound, continuously into the wand, until some moment, the wand, as if having absorbed enough blood, explosively dissipated into a mass of black mist.
No, that wasn't black mist.
Lin Xiaolu realized this almost instantly.
Thanks to Mint pulling her back, she could discern something amidst the danger, something flying past her previous position from the black mist.
It was a bat.
A red-black bat.
After flying past Lin Xiaolu's position and missing, the bat once again turned into black mist, merging back into the larger clump of black mist around Arrowroot.
"What...is that?" But even after seeing it, Lin Xiaolu still couldn't comprehend the information her eyes received.
"Listen, Bai Mei, I probably only have time to say this once." Mint suddenly spoke, pulling Lin Xiaolu along: "We Beast Children, the 'Magic Armor' we usually use isn't truly Magic Armor, but a disguise to avoid appearing different. It carries over a significant part of the Magic Armor's abilities, but is not the same as true Magic Armor."
"Shifting the base color from Remnant Beasts' magic to that of a Magical Girl, the most noticeable characteristic we gain actually manifests in our Magic Armor."
"Thus, unlike ordinary Magical Girls, even those from Claw Mark can't imitate it; our unique ability is as you see it."
—"Our Magic Armor possesses a degree of autonomy, it's 'alive'."
Lin Xiaolu was momentarily speechless.
Almost instinctively, she summoned her Magic Armor, guarding herself with a spear, fending off the bats suddenly attacking her, before finally finding time to reply: "I see."
She thought for a while, unable to resist asking again: "And your Magic Armor..."
"Can't use it. I don't know what concealment measures Arrowroot mentioned are, but until I understand the situation, I can't expose my true Magic Armor. If it's revealed, my life would truly be over."
Mint replied almost immediately: "So I'm sorry, I can't assist fully, we'll have to rely more on you in this battle."
"Can't use Remnant Beast magic?" Bai Jingxuan queried.
"Someone outside is watching; it would be impossible for even that person to cover for us if Remnant Beast magic is spotted."
Mint lowered her voice: "Arrowroot said Bee considered something, but we have no details. We can't be sure if it's just her Blind Eye Technique or other methods. We can't recklessly use our abilities based on an opponent's word because the worst-case scenario is that she's trying to frame us to expose our magic."
"So? What do we do next?"
In just a few exchanges, Lin Xiaolu was besieged by countless bats once more. The threads she had set up were scattered haphazardly, and the massive magic consumption left her involuntarily gasping: "I get that you both can't go all out, but regular combat should be fine, right?"
Hearing this, without another word, Bai Jingxuan activated her Heavenly Sound, and the music instantly invigorated Lin Xiaolu's internal magic. Her power output increased as her remaining magic supply showed signs of gradual recovery.
However, Mint remained grim: "I will fight alongside you, but facing Arrowroot without full Magic Armor capabilities might..."
"Might what?" No sooner had Lin Xiaolu asked than her face froze.
Even without Mint's reply, she had already felt it. The magic that her body had slowly been regaining due to the Heavenly Sound suddenly plummeted, as if a valve had opened.
And all this, was simply due to a single bat scraping against her arm, cutting a wound with its sharp teeth.
Even though she immediately turned the bat into black mist afterward, the vanished magic didn't return. Furthermore, her body became much heavier.
At this moment, Lin Xiaolu recalled the sight of the Remnant Beast killed by Arrowroot during the maze assessment—a withered and emaciated creature.
Back then, images of a legendary vampire came to her mind, but now, after personally experiencing this power, she had to reconsider.
"The name is 'Blood Bat'; I thought it was some magical ability, but in reality, it absorbs magic power!"
