Merka also took off her hood, and Turing's exquisite and moon-like face appeared in front of Diana, just as she remembered.

Diana's lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but the pain in her eyes choked her throat.

The atmosphere froze for a while in the chaotic fire scene.

"Turing...?" Diana seemed to sense something and furrowed her brows slightly.

Could it be... Does this Diana know Turing well?

Why is the mana consumption of dropback so exaggerated?

Merka lowered her eyes, wanting to say something to ease Diana's doubts, but ultimately decided not to say anything.

In fact, she had no idea about the relationship between Turing and Diana. Were they classmates? Were they friends? What was the social circle like among the nobles? Merka had no clue.

The main days she spent with Turing were during their time working together in Red Port.

Now that she thought about it... Most of the whispers during those days were essentially lies.

I actually didn't know Turing at all.

Merka felt a little sad.

I didn't even know what kind of food she liked.

Not to mention the pain she had personally experienced.

Merka raised her eyes slightly and looked at Diana.

She wished she could sit down with this girl who seemed so familiar with Turing and have a simple chat, discussing every little detail about Turing's past.

But she couldn't.

It was too late for everything, too late for anything.

Feeling a lump in her throat, Merka turned her face away and was about to leave.

Click.

The sound of a gun safety being released rang out.

The cold barrel stopped Merka in her tracks.

"Don't go... Turing."

"Aren't you afraid of a shotgun?"

Diana's tone was cold as iron as she held the shotgun at Merka, but strangely, Merka almost sensed a hint of pleading.

"Hey... Miss Galleher, what's going on now?"

Mulian arrived late, wearing a pair of cat ears and also in a firefighting suit, nervously watching Samael flying through the sky with flames.

Mulian seemed to take out a walkie-talkie to say something, but the next second, vines appeared from somewhere and pierced through her walkie-talkie. Anxiously pressing the call button, Mulian received no response from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

"It was so hard to find Turing... damn it."

Mulian angrily threw the walkie-talkie on the ground, smashing it to pieces.

"General!"

"You guys go back quickly and tell the others to activate the machine right away."

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on Turing."

The Curseborn who had rushed over immediately understood and left Mulian and Diana facing off against Merka.

"Mulian."

"Didn't you say Turing wasn't in the back mountain?"

Diana held the shotgun, her words filled with reproach.

"I said it's just a guess..."

"And is it for certain that the person standing there is Turing? There is a magician in Altria who can transform at will."

"If you're doubtful, why not ask the person directly?"

Mulan stared at Merka intently and spoke word by word.

Merka sighed helplessly and paid no attention to the aggressive Diana, continuing to walk towards the depths of the fire.

"I told you not to move!"

Diana seemed a little impatient as she shouted at Merka.

"You don't have any bullets left, do you?"

"Even if I did, there wouldn't be many left at this point in the competition."

Merka nonchalantly replied. His lonely figure, like the moon, was gradually obscured by the swaying flames, fading away in Diana's eyes.

Diana tightly bit her lip, watching that receding figure, her expression filled with pain as if she could squeeze out tears.

Her trembling fingertips pressed against the trigger, the bitter taste of rust filling her throat - her eyes and everything she had ever known.

In the end, Diana pulled the trigger, the arrogant gunshot swallowed by the flames. As expected, she missed.

"That was... the last bullet, right?" Mulan watched this bizarre aristocratic drama unfold, suppressing her laughter, and reminded Diana.

Diana glared at Mulan with a dark expression, preparing to rush towards the disappeared Merka in the sea of fire.

"What are you doing?! You can't use magic in the competition now, don't you understand how dangerous it is here?"

Mulan grabbed Diana's wrist, but was quickly shaken off.

"You still have the nerve to say that!"

"Are you asking me to just stand by and let her go?"

Hearing this, Mulan's face instantly turned gloomy, and she spoke in a cold tone, "I won't let her go."

"She can't go anywhere."

--------------------------------------------------------------

They didn't ride their horses in here, it was too dangerous in this environment.

So, their horses must be outside this sea of fire.

I can save a bit of my magic now.

Since that's the case, I'll go and deal with them by riding their horses.

Merka quickly changed direction, activated his magic, and galloped through the bubbling lava jungle.

But... since this is the place where the horses were left, it's not impossible for someone to guard them.

After running for a while, when Merka saw the green lawn gradually appear before his eyes, relieving some of the pressure on him, he felt a sense of ease.

Looking around the periphery of the fire, relying on his extensive magic vision, it didn't take long for Merka to find where Diana and the others had tied up their horses.

Merka was delighted and rushed over to mount a horse.

However, a sudden clang startled Merka, his heartstrings trembling. Being prepared, Merka quickly reacted, jumping off the horse and lying under the feet of the herd, narrowly avoiding the deadly arrows.

"Planning to ride our horses and escape, huh?"

"Turing doesn't seem to be that clever..."

A woman's voice sounded nearby, and Merka quickly withdrew his magic vision to prevent dropback from consuming more magic and revealing his hidden magic fluctuations.

The sound of a crossbow being loaded echoed, and the lazy voice of a woman added immense psychological pressure to Merka, who was hiding.

"I'll count to three——come out immediately."

Is she the daughter of the Montecristo family? I think I heard her voice at the ball, she must be working with Diana.

This person is very clever, it's not wise to try to outsmart her.

However, such people are often not good at dealing with fierce and ruthless individuals.

Merka caressed the package on the back of the horse, devising a plan in her mind.