Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

December 24th, the winter festival competition, a strong wind blowing.

Although the noise outside was exceptionally boisterous, with various cheers and screams mixed in, Tilan's heart remained particularly quiet. Gazing at the opponent waiting for her, the image of the bustling South First District surfaced vaguely in the girl's mind—the night years ago when she first arrived and sat with her family in the audience, astonished by the figure of Temisia soaring through the night sky, so remote and powerful as if she belonged to a completely different world.

What was going through Sia's mind at that time? The joy of victory, or sheer indifference? Shaking her head, Tilan thought that, given Temisia's personality, she would probably forget about that night rather quickly.

Although the sisters differed in personality, their views on certain matters were unexpectedly similar. Championship and glory, which many people greatly cared about, were merely fleeting clouds to them. Instead, what genuinely mattered to them were often overlooked by others, such as a path that resonated with their hearts, a will uncorrupted, and a spirit free from any shackles.

However, the ways that they expressed this tendency differed—one extroverted, the other introverted. Temisia would boldly force events to unfold according to her own ideas with power, while Hexia preferred to think things through, leading everyone down that path in a peaceful way that seemed natural.

"Zzzt—" The spear tip, wrapped in lightning, clashed against the sword edge, sparks burst forth, and electricity shocked the girl, causing her hair to flutter slightly.

Then the spear slashed again, the black and blue Thunder Spear rotating and piercing through the air, emitting a burnt smell, but still, the attack was dodged by the girl.

Gradually, the two competitors moved faster, the sharp spear moves stabbing and slashing close to the girl's figure time and again, but they could never truly touch even the hem of her garment as if there was an invisible chasm between them.

Once more, after crossing paths and separating, Sweitevi locked his gaze, unable now to underestimate the delicate girl before him.

"You're very strong."

He projected this brief remark before catapulting into the air, shooting up thousands of meters like a bullet.

While the audience watched in surprise, a thick bolt of lightning showed itself, briefly illuminating the night sky in a white blaze. Then, a massive current doubled back through the tiny figure in the sky, striking the girl on the ground.

The black crystal longsword shattered, the white edges of her dress turned charred, and her face was smeared with a touch of black ash, her hair drifting slightly due to the static electricity.

Surprise arose in her formerly calm eyes, and then Tilan blinked, looking up at Sweitevi standing in the sky, as if she had just woken up from her recollections.

But her opponent would not wait, another lightning bolt split the sky, the golden sparks instantly hitting the ground at Tilan's feet, kicking up chunks of stone and dirt, leaving scorched marks behind, yet the girl who had been standing there vanished without a trace.

In the night sky, her jet-black hair fanned out, ethereal blue flames scattered, weaving like the wings of a phantasmal butterfly, blooming behind the girl. Her previously snow-white dress was now overlaid with a glow of black and blue, mirroring the blue butterfly wings on her back.

This set of magic attire was a gift from the "Gothic Doll" during their previous collaboration, and this winter festival competition was the first time Tilan had worn it.

The dress was primarily black with ethereal blue accents, seemingly inspired by a butterfly, with soft black butterfly wing tips along the edges. Adorned with black wrapped in gradient blue, the hem resembled overlapping butterfly wings, and stockings dotted with stars along with black reached up her legs. Black gloves with lifelike butterflies landed on the back of her hands and wrists, and a vertical, ethereal blue diamond gem sat at her chest, providing and storing magic for the attire. Its shoulders were decorated with openwork lace patterns.

The attire carried inscriptions for three effects, "Butterfly Wings Unfolding," "Shadow Flicker," and "Wingsbeat."

The ribbon on the back of her dress fluttered in the evening wind, scattering glints of gold. Then her figure flickered, dodging another fierce bolt of lightning.

Like a butterfly dancing in the night sky, Tilan keenly felt the use of this attire, anticipating each lightning strike with the excellent perception of the Withering Sequence, her somersaulting figure flickering, vanishing, and reappearing, until she drew near to Sweitevi in the air.

At that moment, he was wrapped in a fierce electrical storm, his eyes like thunder, and when he saw Tilan approaching, he dramatically drew back his right arm in midair. A massive bolt of lightning expanded in his palm, stretching in the forward and backward directions, emitting the smell of char as it burst through the air. The magnetic force of the released electric current finally locked onto the girl's figure.

"Thunderbolt Arrow!"

The long-charged, approximately fifty-meter-long gigantic thunderbolt spear swept across, leaving a dazzling trail in the night sky, engulfing Tilan within it.

Seconds later, the white light of the electricity faded, and when the visibility cleared, the onlookers saw Tilan nonchalantly shattering the gathered spherical crystal barrier at her side.

Though she had always evaded, she was not without the ability to withstand direct hits; it was but a matter of habit.

"If these are your only tricks, you won't make it to the end," the girl said with a slight shake of her head. Sweitevi's moves seemed impressive, but they were not focused—effective against the average person, but hardly worth her attention.

Gulping for air, Sweitevi did not reply but instead charged forward with his Thunder Spear, hoping that a relentless assault would overpower Tilan.

But this time, Tilan was not going to play along.

Her figure shifted, instantly moving behind Sweitevi. The sword edge slashed down, striking his body wrapped in electric light, but with a burst of electric fire like reactive armor, it exploded and blew right through his figure.

As Sweitevi saw his opponent ostensibly injured, a hint of hope flared within him, but he quickly realized something was amiss. The dissolving figure behind him was not the real Hexia Tilan.

Where was the real her? Sweitevi's eyes darted around in urgent search, the invisible ripples of electromagnetism spreading out.

At last, he saw Tilan, still standing quietly on the ground at the same spot where she had landed when she first entered.
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In other words, the girl had not moved at all from the start! He had merely been fighting an illusion of her.

A strong sense of humiliation welled up inside Sweitevi, filling him with rage. He let out a roar.

"Thunderbolt of a Thousand Armies!"

A warhorse, wrapped in electric light, leapt down from the sky. He mounted it and, gripping his long spear, locked onto the girl below him with both qi and electromagnetism. He charged down with an unstoppable momentum.

Layers of electric light swirled around him, and as the warhorse and Sweitevi raced through the sky, pebbles and dust on the ground trembled and rose slightly. A strange force field slowly formed and solidified, hindering any secret techniques for space flickering movements, and the scattered lightning made the opponent's figure numb, significantly weakening her reaction speed.

This is more like it, the girl thought as she watched the oncoming charge. She pressed her hands together, whispering a cursing chant, and her skirt fluttered without any wind. The swarming transformation of Aijeika Particles into magic power created a whirlwind, engulfing the ground like a tidal wave.

Then she opened her eyes. Dazzling arcs of purple electricity spread between her hands, and she slowly drew a longsword wrapped in purple lightning from her palm.

"Qing Luan Legitimate Inheritance: Nine Heavens Responding, Divine Liquid Swordsmanship of the Thunder God."

A divine sword, bearing the aura of thunder, was drawn. A peacock feather-like mark emerged on the girl's forehead, and behind her appeared several layers of peacock tail feathers as phantoms. Although it was a special swordsmanship inherited from the Green Lotus Sword Washing Palace, its origins came from another branch of the Qing Luan Legitimate Inheritance's Five Veins, 'Green Pine Peacock Mountain.' The Five Sects of Qing Luan had frequent exchanges in the past, sometimes even exchanging their inheritances with each other.

Wielding the divine sword with a powerful force of thunder, the girl ascended against the wind, and the layered phantoms of peacock tail feathers unfurled behind her, like a shattered and dreamy kaleidoscope.

Brilliant purple lightning rose from below, and blue blazing lightning fell from the sky with the charging warhorse. Then, in an instant, they collided, exploding violently. The stunning blue and purple electric light engulfed everything, radiating out in a ring until it struck the barrier at the edge of the battleground and shattered, bursting into countless sparks.

After the collision, Tilan stood again in mid-air, the peacock feather on her forehead still shimmering with shifting light. A trickle of blood slid slowly from the edge of the feather, bringing a slight coolness to her, with no other wounds left on her body.

On the other side, the electric light warhorse ridden by Sweitevi dissipated. He crashed to the ground, his body covered with hazily burned marks. The long spear that had been by his side was broken, only half remaining, diagonally stuck in the ground.

"Victory to Edith Academy!"

After a brief silence, an overwhelmingly excited noise filled the venue, mixed with countless cheers and screams. Whether on the spot or on distant planets far away, countless people watched in shock and amazement at the figure standing in mid-air.

"Just as expected, this child has not only inherited your talent, she has even far surpassed everyone's expectations," Gu Qianlou remarked from the quiet hall of a small northern town, his voice hoarse with a hint of admiration. A year ago, the still green Hexia had forced him to use all his strength, and now, he probably wouldn't stand a chance against her on the stage either.

"A new generation replaces the old. With her carrying on the Qing Luan lineage, I can rest easy here and live out the rest of my years at peace."

"The world changes. Perhaps back then I should have listened to your thoughts more; it might not have led to the separation between the two sisters because of injuries. But had that been the case, you wouldn't have married an outsider and given birth to them," Gu Qianlou shook his head slowly, sighing at the fickleness of fate.