"Ah, so those weren't just decorations?"
Jackie and Jade were dumbfounded.
They had thought the wings on Moss's back were just part of a costume—after all, people who practice magic tend to dress flamboyantly. They never imagined they were real.
"An angel!"
Captain Black blinked in shock and instinctively made a cross gesture.
Lately, with talismans, shadow warriors, and other strange phenomena, his entire worldview had been turned upside down. Magic really existed. If not for Jackie's uncle knowing magic, Section 13 wouldn't have stood a chance against the magically backed Dark Hand.
Now, an angel had shown up—polite, poised, and elegant. Clearly, a force of justice!
Truly heaven-sent!
The end of the Dark Hand must be near!
Overjoyed, Captain Black asked, "Is there anything we can assist you with? ID? A staged operation?"
Moss replied, "No need for that. I only need the Dark Hand's location—and a talisman to use as a bargaining chip. Preferably the Rabbit Talisman."
Half an hour later, as Moss left Section 13, she had the Rabbit Talisman in hand.
Section 13's vault currently held only four talismans: Rooster, Ox, Snake, and Rabbit.
The Rabbit Talisman grants the power of speed.
Even a normal person could easily move at supersonic speed with it.
Moss unfurled her wings and rose into the air. Staring at the Rabbit Talisman in her hand, she thought: Absorption Magic!
She attempted to directly draw out the magic within the talisman.
Sadly, it didn't work.
But she wasn't disappointed. After all, in the original series, the talisman powers had separated from the talismans on two occasions.
Once due to high-voltage electricity, all the talisman powers flowed into Jade's body—and when they returned, some even ended up in the wrong talismans, like Dragon power going into the Horse Talisman.
The second time was when laser blasts shattered the talismans, sending their powers into noble animals, starting the Animal Season storyline.
So, if she could find the Tiger Talisman and shatter its shell, she could obtain its magic.
No rush for now.
Whoosh!
Moss already had flight ability, but not speed. Now, with the Rabbit Talisman, she reached supersonic flight, becoming a blur as she zoomed toward the Dark Hand's HQ.
"Flying at this speed feels amazing!"
She savored the experience as she landed on the rooftop of the Dark Hand headquarters.
The rooftop door was locked.
No problem—she kicked it down.
She was now in the Black Qi camp. A "black qi person." No need to care about rules or formalities.
So she kicked her way down floor by floor, quickly finding the Demon Sorcerer's location.
Currently, the Demon Sorcerer was just a statue mounted on the wall. Standing in front of it was a white-haired man in a green suit—Valmont, the head of the Dark Hand.
Around him stood dozens of red-eyed, black-clothed shadow ninjas.
Moss figured her noisy entrance had led the Demon Sorcerer to summon the ninjas in advance. She wasn't bothered and chuckled, "Heh, unfriendly welcome."
Angewomon's voice reminded her in her head, "We're the ones intruding."
"..."
"Just you?"
Valmont, seeing only one intruder versus his dozens of guards, felt confident.
He gave a smug smile, inspecting his nails. "Lady, I don't care who you are. Kicking my doors down means you owe me. Ninjas, seize her!"
The shadow ninjas surged forward from all directions.
Moss calmly raised her hand and waved.
Heaven's Violet Light!
A violet stream trailed from her hand, firing bursts of glowing purple orbs—hundreds, thousands—at the incoming ninjas.
The blasts weren't precise, but there were enough of them.
In moments, the ninjas were all obliterated.
"——!"
Sweat poured from Valmont's face. His composure was gone. He chuckled nervously, "Lady, what can I do for you?"
Moss smiled slightly. "I want to talk to the statue behind you—alone."
"Of course! I'll leave you to it!" Valmont quickly slipped around her and fled.
Moss turned to the wall-mounted statue and said with a playful smile, "Demon Sorcerer, long time no see."
The Demon Sorcerer—one of the Eight Demon Sorcerers in the Jackie Chan Adventures world, ranked sixth, the Demon of Fire.
In ancient times, the Eight Demons ruled Earth, but were sealed away in the Demon Netherworld by the Eight Immortals.
The Demon Sorcerer promised to "free his brethren," tricking them into helping him escape first.
But once he was free, he broke that promise and didn't care about the others' suffering—he only focused on rebuilding his kingdom.
Because of his tyranny, he was overthrown.
Led by Lo Pei, a group of sorcerers sealed him in statue form, breaking his magic into twelve talismans.
And now…
The statue's voice was rough: "I don't recall ever meeting a humanoid angel like you."
Moss smiled. "Just being polite."
The Demon Sorcerer said nothing.
Moss went on, "Let's get to the point. I know you're after the twelve talismans. I can help you find them—in exchange, I want you to help me find something."
She opened her left hand to show the Rabbit Talisman.
The Demon Sorcerer's eyes glowed red.
A shadow ninja emerged from the ground to grab it.
But Moss instantly used the Rabbit Talisman to dodge at supersonic speed, appearing directly in front of the statue. "Let's make a deal."
A deal?
An angel making a deal with a demon? Unheard of.
But the Demon Sorcerer had no choice—he was still immobile and could only command weak shadow ninjas. He clearly wasn't her match.
He asked, "What do you want?"
Moss softly replied, "The Book of Ages."
At the mention of that name, the Demon Sorcerer's eyes flared red—not in recognition, but in shock.
In the original series, his physical body was destroyed, and his soul tortured in the Netherworld. After regaining his freedom, he tried to use the Book of Ages to rewrite history.
But he hadn't suffered any of that yet—right now, all he wanted were the talismans.
He thought, That book records all of history. This angel actually dares covet it? She's insane!
But someone with a goal can be manipulated.
Like how Valmont wanted wealth—so the Demon Sorcerer tempted him with the treasure of the Golden Rooster King.
This angel wants the Book of Ages? She's clearly no pure angel…
Perfect.
Exploitable.
The Demon Sorcerer said, "All things come with a price. Help me collect the talismans first, and I'll help you find the Book of Ages."
It was a lie.
Moss knew someone like the Demon Sorcerer wouldn't keep promises. He'd just use her to get the talismans, then forget the deal the moment he regained his power.
Because everyone knows… the Demon Sorcerer doesn't keep promises.
But that was fine—Moss never really wanted the Book of Ages. It was just bait.
She wanted him to think that was her true goal so he'd lower his guard about the talismans.
A classic misdirection.
Ah… ancient wisdom.
----------
Each 10 Powerstones? (1 Bonus Chapters)