Yandere Levelling in Her World-Chapter 153 - 154: Change of Mask

Astrid did not wait for Lan Jia to recover with her first attack.

She lunged forward, foot cracking against the tiles of the floor as she closed the distance in an instant. Her axe roared to life, something along the blade flashing as compressed air detonated around it.

"MOVE!" Astrid shouted.

Kyouka was already gone.

She blurred sideways, low to the ground, daggers flashing as she slipped under a wave of newly forming golden threads. Her blades sliced upward, carving clean lines across Lan Jia's torso. Sparks and golden ichor sprayed instead of blood.

Lan Jia hissed, staggering back. "You little sh—"

A gunshot cracked.

Selene fired point-blank, her pistol barking again and again as shadow-coated bullets slammed into Lan Jia's shoulder, hip, and knee. Each impact exploded into writhing darkness, pinning golden threads to the floor like insects nailed to a board.

Nina came in from above.

She leapt, spinning her massive greatsword overhead before bringing it down with both hands.

"Smile for the impact!" she yelled.

The blade smashed into Lan Jia's guard, sending a shockwave through the room. The floor fractured. Walls trembled. Lan Jia was driven to one knee, her arms shaking as golden tendrils snapped and recoiled violently.

Ren stood frozen near the wall, chest heaving.

This was insane.

They were not giving her even a second to breathe.

It was like a perpetual motion machine. There were not space for anyone to breathe. It was one attack after another. As soon as Nina's attack finished, Kyouka took her chance and after that Selene and Astrid again and again.

Astrid was already winding up again. She hurled her axe, the weapon screaming as it spun, releasing a compressed supersonic blast mid-flight.

BOOM!

The blast detonated right in front of Lan Jia's face.

The impact tore through the air, ripping golden threads apart and blasting Lan Jia backward into the wall. It exploded behind her.

Cracks spread across her face.

Not skin.

It was as if the face was made out of clay.

Ren's eyes widened.

Pieces flaked off, clattering to the ground like shattered ceramic.

"What the hell…" he whispered. He knew she wasn't the woman she is showing them to be, but he didn't expect her whole face to be something that is not human.

Lan Jia screamed, a shrill, furious sound, as she ripped herself free from the rubble.

"Enough!" she roared.

Golden tendrils burst outward in every direction, filling the chamber like a storm of blades.

But they still did not let her move freely.

Kyouka flashed in again, crossing her daggers in front of her.

"Hunttress Formation!" she shouted.

Her blades glowed. The air bent.

She dashed forward, carving through the golden storm, her movements sharp and ruthless. Every step placed her at Lan Jia's blind spot. Every strike aimed for joints, tendrils, weak points.

Nina followed immediately, charging straight through the chaos.

"Head-on is my specialty!" she laughed.

Golden threads wrapped around her arms and torso, digging in deep.

She ignored them.

Muscles bulged. Her greatsword flared with raw force as she twisted her body and swung.

The threads snapped.

The sword slammed into Lan Jia's side, sending her skidding across the floor.

Selene appeared behind Lan Jia in a swirl of shadows.

She slammed the pistol into Lan Jia's spine and pulled the trigger.

The shot exploded inward, shadow energy erupting from Lan Jia's chest in a violent burst.

Lan Jia coughed, golden ichor spraying from her lips.

Astrid caught her axe mid-air.

"Don't even think about regenerating," Astrid snarled.

She planted her feet and swung.

The axe released a focused supersonic wave, invisible but devastating.

CRACK.

Lan Jia's face shattered further.

Large chunks fell away, hitting the floor with hollow sounds.

Ren stared, heart pounding.

That face was coming apart like a mask.

Lan Jia stumbled, hands clawing at her own cheeks.

"No… no no no…" she gasped.

Golden hair spilled around her shoulders.

Then it changed.

Right before Ren's eyes, the golden strands darkened, turning deep crimson. The length shortened, falling messily around her neck.

The woman beneath the mask screamed and raised her hands, covering her exposed face.

"Don't look!" she shrieked.

Ren took an instinctive step forward.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

She did not answer.

She was not given the chance.

Kyouka slashed from the left.

Nina slammed from the right.

Selene fired from behind.

Astrid's axe came down again.

The faceless woman curled inward, dropping to her knees, arms shielding her head as blow after blow rained down on her.

She did not fight back.

She just endured.

Golden threads were gone now. No regeneration. No smug smile. It was as if she had given up.

Only raw damage.

Her hair shifted again.

Red faded into black.

Pitch black.

The woman coughed violently, body trembling under the relentless assault.

But they noticed something was oddd.

"Ren!" Astrid shouted. "Get back!"

Ren obeyed, backing away as another shockwave tore through the chamber.

The woman's body was barely holding together.

Bones cracked. Flesh tore. Shadow bullets embedded deep. Blades carved lines across her back.

She was being beaten into the floor.

Then suddenly, the air changed.

A deep vibration rolled through the room.

"Stop," a hoarse voice whispered.

Smoke exploded outward.

Thick, choking smoke flooded the chamber, swallowing everything.

"Cough!" Nina hacked. "What the hell is this?!"

"Eyes sharp!" Kyouka shouted. "Do not let her escape!"

Selene fired blindly into the smoke, shadows slicing through the haze.

Astrid spun her axe, sending another blast through the fog.

Silence answered them.

Slowly, the smoke began to settle.

The first thing they noticed was the absence of golden light.

No tendrils.

No presence.

The spot where the woman had been was empty. There was a broken mask that looked just like Lan Jia and a whole lot of blood both golden and red.

Astrid lowered her axe, breathing hard. "She's gone…"

Kyouka scanned the room, daggers raised. "No trace. No aura."

Nina frowned, scratching her head. "That's not normal. She didn't die. She slipped away."

Selene's eyes widened slightly.

"…Little brother?" she said.

Astrid turned sharply. "Ren?"

The room felt suddenly wrong.

Too quiet.

Astrid looked toward the wall where Ren had been standing.

Empty.

Her blood ran cold.

"Ren!" Astrid shouted.

Nothing.

Kyouka's grip tightened with her whole face turning pale. "He was right there."

Selene knelt, touching the ground where Ren's shadow should have been. Her fingers trembled.

"…He's gone too."

Nina slammed her sword into the floor with a growl like she had been never this angry. "Damn it! Damn it! Daaaamn it!"

Astrid stared at the shattered porcelain pieces scattered across the stone floor, her jaw clenched tight.

"She didn't just escape," Astrid muttered. "She took him."

Kyouka closed her eyes for a brief second, fear burning behind her, as she felt like she was about to faint but she quickly regained her calm.

"Then we hunt her, she cannot go far!" she said coldly. "No matter where she ran."

Selene stood slowly, shadows curling around her like living claws.

"She is wounded," Selene said. "Badly. She cannot hide forever. Let's search outside."

Nina cracked her neck, a dangerous grin returning.

"Good," she said. "Because next time, I'm not stopping until there's nothing left to run."

Astrid tightened her grip on her axe.

***

Meiling's gaze hardened as Gu Ma's smile lingered.

"You are still speaking far too casually," Meiling said. Her voice was calm, but the water around her feet rippled without wind. "You were family once. I have not forgotten that."

Gu Ma tilted her head. "Oh?"

"But do not mistake my patience for mercy," Meiling continued. "Any more disrespect, and I will not tolerate it. Be very careful with the next words that come out of your mouth."

For a moment, the the chamber of water and moss was silent. Only the distant sounds of fighting echoed behind them.

Then Gu Ma laughed.

She placed a hand over her chest, exaggerated and mocking. "Ohh, I'm scared," she said lightly. "The famous Imperial Qi user, Lady Meiling herself, threatening me."

She took a step forward, her boots still untouched by water, as she was standing on a podium that had the angel crucified onto a pole. "Who would have thought the little girl from the inner courtyard would grow teeth?"

Meiling closed her eyes.

Her lashes trembled slightly.

"I did not want to kill any of our family anymore," she murmured, almost to herself. "There is too much to rebuild. Too much already lost."

Gu Ma's smile softened, almost fond. "How kind."

Meiling opened her eyes.

"But," she continued quietly, "I cannot rebuild anything with traitors among my family."

The air shifted.

Golden light began to leak from Meiling's back, thin at first, like threads catching sunlight. Those threads multiplied, weaving rapidly, twisting and braiding together. The pressure of Imperial Qi flooded the water and the whole room, forcing the water to sink and flatten.

A dragon took shape.

It erupted from her back in a roar of light, a massive golden dragon formed entirely from countless glowing threads. Its eyes burned with authority, its scales etched with ancient patterns. The air shook as it coiled above Meiling, filling the ruined chamber with overwhelming presence.

Gu Ma's eyes lit up.

"Ohhh," she said, smiling wider. "You've grown, little lady."

The dragon roared and lunged forward.

"Imperial Qi. Golden Dragon Technique," Meiling said, her voice steady.

The dragon surged toward Gu Ma, jaws open, threads screaming as they cut through the air. The ground cracked beneath its weight. Even the angel's wings fluttered from the pressure.

Gu Ma did not move.

She kept one hand behind her back.

At the very last moment, she calmly pulled something out.

She raised it and pointed it forward.

The golden dragon vanished.

Not shattered. Not dispersed.

It disappeared, as if it had never existed.

The light vanished. The pressure vanished. The threads unraveled into nothing.

Silence crashed down on the wetland.

Meiling's eyes widened.

Her breath caught.

In Gu Ma's hand was a single object, small and pale, glowing faintly. A feather. White and pristine, yet etched with dense sealing patterns that pulsed softly.

An angel feather. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Gu Ma smiled, satisfied. "It really is unfair, isn't it? I have the divine power by my side."