“Swan Lake” tells a tragic love story.
“Princess Odette is cursed by the Demon King, turning into a swan by day and only regaining human form at night. Only a vow of true love can break the curse.”
“Prince Siegfried, while strolling at night, encounters Odette in her human form by the lake and falls in love, but at a court ball, he is enchanted by the Demon King's daughter, Odile, and makes a false vow, preventing the curse from being lifted.”
“The Four Little Swans dance is performed by other girls who, like Princess Odette, were cursed and transformed into swans. Their movements are light and agile, perfectly synchronized, yet they conceal the girls' sorrow.”
A poster on a nearby wall narrated the story of the ballet.
And wasn't the scene before them another form of story replication?
Lulu, Violet, and Edelweiss, the three of them, lost themselves in the Rules of the Strange, becoming puppet dolls of the Fox Fox Great Demon King, performing an eternal dance drama of lost self—
Looking at their graceful dance steps, Mai Sui felt only terror.
There was no way Lulu and the others could dance ballet, let alone such difficult, synchronized steps.
At this moment, they were merely puppets on a string in Xin Yuehu's hands. Their dance even sent a chill down Mai Sui's spine, making her recall her previous encounter.
Xin Yuehu was definitely not “harmless” as Hyacinth and the others claimed! She was absolutely a very dangerous individual!
“Xin Yuehu! What kind of trick are you playing?!”
Hyacinth gripped her Magic Wand tightly and shouted at the Golden Fox who was gracefully dancing on the stage.
Lulu and the others looked very strange, just like herself when she was controlled by Xin Yuehu… No, it was even worse than she had been.
“Hehehe… Hahahahaha…”
“Look, look at their wonderful dance, look at their graceful figures. As long as they become Fox Fox's puppets and forever indulge in this barrier world, they can always admire this magnificent dance!”
Xin Yuehu's soft laughter came from the sky, bringing whispers that pierced the soul.
Hyacinth hugged the Fox Fox pillow in her arms, trying to resist the magic-infused voice.
But this was the Mindscape World, and as the creator of the Mindscape World, Xin Yuehu possessed immense power and authority. Just two whispers made everyone feel dizzy and disoriented, barely able to stand upright by holding onto the railing.
“Not good… This is Xin Yuehu's… her magic…”
Relying on the foundation provided by Star Shadow, Bai Lili could still barely resist for a few moments, but it was still quite difficult.
“If this continues, we'll be doomed. We have to find a way…”
As soon as she finished speaking, Hyacinth looked up at the ballet poster nearby, and a few lines of glowing text clearly appeared before her eyes.
“What… at a time like this…?”
【The story tells of Princess Odette's loneliness, the Prince's betrayal and redemption, the Black Swan's deception and disguise, and a tragic love that ends in sacrifice.】
【The Princess is bound to Swan Lake, but the Demon King laughs wildly at the ball, deceiving with a false Black Swan, making it impossible for anyone to see through her disguise.】
【The Black Swan's temptation causes the Prince to lose his way; only sacrifice can unleash immense power.】
【Break free from constraints amidst deception, step outside the conventional framework, and find the true Princess, for only then can salvation and hope be brought.】
Hyacinth stared blankly at those lines of text, suddenly realizing something.
Then she turned and roused the groggy Iris, directing her gaze to the glowing poster.
“Iris! Look at this! Maybe you can discover something!”
“Me?…”
Hua Ling paused for a moment, then looked at the poster, narrowing her eyes.
Nan Xiaofeng felt it would be much simpler to let this literary girl carefully examine the strange text on the poster than to try to figure it out alone.
“Is this the story of Swan Lake? But why would it…”
“…Could it be that this is also part of the 【Rules】?”
Iris immediately recalled the content of Swan Lake.
“The Demon King binds the Princess to Swan Lake and sends the Black Swan to deceive and tempt the Prince, causing him to make the wrong decision, thereby making it impossible to lift the curse on the Princess.”
“So what's the meaning of this? Is there any way to break this situation?”
The music of the ballet still echoed, accompanied by Xin Yuehu's soft humming, slowly eroding everyone's will.
Iris remained silent for a long time, then turned to look at Lulu and the other two dancing with the Golden Fox, suddenly realizing something.
The story of Swan Lake is a tragedy.
The Prince is deceived by the Demon King's Black Swan, dedicating his vows to the false Swan Princess, and the Demon King thus succeeds, letting out a joyous, wild laugh.
And wasn't this exactly like the scene before her eyes?!
Xin Yuehu transforms into the Demon King, bringing the 【Black Swan】 to the ball, deceiving the 【Prince】, while the true 【Swan Princess】 is bound elsewhere…
“The Black Swan's temptation causes the Prince to lose his way; only sacrifice can unleash immense power.”
“Find the true Princess, for only then can salvation and hope be brought.”
Murmuring the last two sentences, Iris seemed to grasp something and quickly said to Hyacinth beside her:
“Hyacinth, can you find a way to attack Xin Yuehu on the lake surface?”
“Attack? Isn't she with Lulu? If I attack rashly…”
Hyacinth hesitated a little.
She couldn't transform her Magic Wand into a great sword right now; at most, she could use the Magic Wand to hit someone, but her close-combat strength was not something Lulu and the others could withstand. If she accidentally injured them…
“Just go for it! If what this ‘Rule’ says is correct, those dancing people aren't Lulu and the others at all!”
“?!”
Everyone was puzzled.
Even Mai Sui was stunned by Iris's words, staring blankly at the three graceful dancers on the lake. No matter how she looked, they were her former teammates, and she couldn't understand Iris.
“…Trust me!” Iris's expression was especially firm.
After a moment of hesitation, Hyacinth gritted her teeth, no longer thinking too much, and chose to trust Iris, her seasoned teammate, flipping herself over and leaping down from the observation deck!
The lake surface was permeated with powerful magic. With the help of this magic, Hyacinth successfully stood on the water and dashed towards the four dancers.
Soon, the sky-blue Magic Girl approached the four dancers and swung her Magic Wand at them!
“Hah ah ah ah!!!”
“Crack! Boom!!!”
The loud crash of colliding forces sent a ripple across the lake.
And 【Lulu】 had actually steadily blocked Hyacinth's Magic Wand swing with both hands, and her figure gradually changed from Lulu's appearance—
Deep blue ears, a deep blue tail, a pair of gauntlet-like cat claws, and the fierce glint of a hunter in her feline, nocturnal round pupils!
Villain Magic Girl—Hellcat!
“Congratulations, you got it right.”
Hellcat said with a smile,
“The Demon King summoned the Black Swan, who transformed into the Swan Princess to deceive the Prince and tempt him into making an eternal vow.”
“If you had chosen to rescue 【Lulu】 just now, then the final tragic ending of Swan Lake would have awaited you.”
“Less talk! Let's fight!”
Hyacinth gritted her teeth and said, engaging in a fierce battle with Hellcat, but she was no match for the Cat Girl and was immediately firmly suppressed.
“Hold on! We're coming to help you!”
Nightingale shouted loudly, also flipping over and leaping down from the observation deck to support Hyacinth.
Iris leaped out with Nightingale, then turned and shouted loudly at Mai Sui and the others who were still stunned on the observation deck:
“You all, hurry and leave! Get out of here!”
“Mai Sui! Bai Lili! You must find the real Lulu!!”
“【Break free from constraints amidst deception, step outside the conventional framework】, remember this rule firmly!”
“All other ‘rules’ besides this one are invalid in this Swan Lake!”
A thick curtain suddenly fell over the Swan Lake surface.
And at the same time, everyone suddenly felt the return of magic, as if the power of the Mindscape World had been weakened, and the power to cast magic returned to the Magic Girls.
The Hyacinth Squad made a 【sacrifice】, fulfilling the words that had appeared on the poster earlier:
【The Black Swan's temptation causes the Prince to lose his way; only sacrifice can unleash immense power.】
“Look over there! There's a castle over there!”
Siyecao suddenly saw the castle standing against the night sky on the opposite side of Swan Lake.
Everyone immediately thought of the rules on the flyer:
【1. This zoo has been transformed from Suicheng Wild Animal Park using a barrier. All terrain is identical to the original zoo's terrain. Please strictly follow the map in your hand for your visit. If you see a building not on the map, please pretend not to see it and leave immediately.】
There was no such castle on the map.
However, if one looked at the words on the Swan Lake poster, “【Step outside the conventional framework, and find the true Princess, for only then can salvation and hope be brought】”…
“Not following the conventional framework means that all previous rules are void. We must rush into that castle. We cannot let the Hyacinth Squad's sacrifice be in vain!”
So next… it was time for the decisive battle with the Demon King!