"Alright, Uncle," Jackie finally relented. Knowing that older folks can be stubborn, there was really no way to change Uncle's mind, so Jackie decided to let him be.
Holding the orange-colored Mini Warriors' mask in one hand and Jade's hand in the other, Jackie sighed as they walked out of the shop. "Jade, you really shouldn't be scaring Uncle like that."
"But can I scare you, Uncle Jackie?"
"No!" Jackie replied firmly.
"Aww…" Jade pouted, her excitement quickly deflated.
"Alright, let's head to Section 13. We need to store this mask safely," Jackie said, shaking the mask lightly in his hand. "And there's a surprise waiting for you there."
"Really?" Jade's mood instantly shot back up, curiosity and excitement bubbling within her.
But…
Section 13.
"Good evening, my friends. Happy Halloween." A towering figure in a black suit with a red bull-patterned mask approached slowly. It was none other than El Toro Fuerte, the famous luchador.
"It's been a long time, El Toro. We're happy you could join us for Halloween," Jackie greeted him with a smile.
"Hahaha... I hope next year, you and Jade can join us in Mexico to celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)."
"Oh, Uncle Jackie, you didn't mean that surprise, right? Not the tagalong?" Jade groaned, realizing that if El Toro was here, his sidekick Paco must be as well.
Looking around suspiciously, Jade asked, "El Toro, where's Paco?"
As if on cue, a short boy with a black tank top and a golden wrestling mask came running out, thumping his chest with pride. "Oh, Jade! I'm the second greatest wrestler in Mexico, right behind El Toro! How about you challenge the runner-up to a match?"
But Jade wasn't one to hold back. "Bring it on, Paco! I'm not afraid of you."
"Stop, stop…" El Toro interjected, shaking his head in exasperation. "...No fighting. Someone's bound to get hurt."
"Someone? You mean me?" Paco asked, slightly confused.
"Uh… yeah, pretty much," El Toro thought, but kept to himself. He had seen Jade's moves before, and he knew Paco didn't stand a chance.
But El Toro couldn't say that aloud, not wanting to hurt Paco's fragile ego. Instead, he said diplomatically, "No, no, I just wanted to remind you of the rules of lucha libre, that's all…"
"You think a Mexican wrestling runner-up could lose to a little girl?" Paco boasted, clearly oblivious to the reality.
"Oh, no no, I'm sure you're a big shot in wrestling..." Jade said, more mature and composed than Paco, then swiftly changed the subject. "Anyway, let's not focus on that. Tonight's all about the Halloween costume contest, and I'm sure I'm going to win."
"You don't think my mask is cool?" Paco pointed to his wrestling mask.
"Sure, but it looks more like a ski mask. It's Halloween, Paco, you need something scarier to win."
"Hahaha… Enough talk! There's not much time left. We need to prepare for some trick-or-treating or pranking," Jackie called out, motioning for everyone to get ready for the evening festivities.
As Jackie and the others walked off, Paco couldn't help but feel a bit dejected. "Looks like this Halloween just isn't my night."
Until…
He spotted the orange-colored mask sitting on Jackie's desk. "Hey… this mask looks way scarier than Jade's!"
Back at Uncle's antique shop.
Holding a hefty magic book, Uncle murmured to himself, "The foundation of the entire world's creation lies in the balance of yin and yang. From them stems the extraordinary forces of this world: the white qi representing yang and the black qi representing yin."
Indeed, ever since the Eight Demon Sorcerers were re-sealed, the black qi representing yin had been stagnant, like a dead pool of water. Compared to those ancient demons, minor threats like Daolon Wong and the mask demons were mere child's play.
For humanity, this stability was a blessing. But for a great sorcerer like Uncle, this eerie calm felt like the silence before a catastrophic storm.
"This magic circle left by the Immortals… It's a form of prophetic magic…" Uncle traced his finger over the annotations in the book and began chanting the spell aloud.
Suddenly, as he sat in the middle of the glowing green magic circle, a shiver ran down Uncle's spine, and his entire body began trembling violently.
For a brief moment, Uncle felt as if his soul had left his body. In a fleeting vision, he saw not just Earth, but the entire moon and beyond—enveloped in the colossal shadow of a great and terrible force.
The world was crumbling apart. Humanity's proudest scientific weapons were utterly useless. Countless lives were trampled beneath the feet of monstrous creatures. San Francisco was reduced to rubble!
"Aiyaaaaa!!!" Uncle screamed in terror, snapping back to reality. His magic book fell from his hands as he gasped for breath, cold sweat pouring from his body.
"Uncle, are you alright!?" Dressed in a bee costume for Halloween, Tohru burst into the study, alarmed by Uncle's scream.
"I… I'm fine. But quickly, Tohru, call Jackie! We're in deep trouble!" Uncle shouted, still trembling as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Tarakudo and his Shadowkhan army were only the beginning, a distraction! They were just pawns meant to divert our attention!"
"The black qi's real plan—the most powerful demon—is coming!!"
"Uncle? You're calling at just the right time. I need your help—what? Wait, Uncle, are you sure? Another warning?" Jackie's voice was full of disbelief as he ran down a busy sidewalk, phone in hand.
"But Uncle, the Shadowkhan mask has already been worn! I need you to make a potion to remove the mask!"
"Aiya! You said you had it under control! How could you let the mask out of your sight!?" Uncle's voice grew louder in frustration at Jackie's explanation.
"Oh, nothing's going right! One bad thing after another! Fine! Jackie, find the person wearing the mask. Tohru and I will start preparing the potion to remove it!"
Click.
As Uncle hung up, Jackie focused his attention on locating Paco, now realizing just how serious the situation had become.
"Hey! Step away from my friend!" A voice called out.
Turning to look, Jackie saw El Toro standing off against Tarakudo, with Paco by his side—his body now transformed by the orange Mini Warriors' mask.
"Senor, I am no longer your sidekick! I am Paco—Paco, the Dark God Destroyer!"
"Oh, a 'god,' huh? Kid, you don't have the right to call yourself that," came a deep voice, followed by a flash of movement.
BOOM—!
The sound of rapid explosions filled the air. After undergoing extensive body modifications through Honkai energy, Leiva moved like a hurricane.
Standing amidst the scattered Mini Warriors' soldiers, their bodies vaporized into black smoke, Leiva appeared beside Paco in the blink of an eye. His supersonic punch connected with the mask on Paco's face in an instant.
BAM!
The ground shook as Paco's body shot backward like a cannonball, trailing a streak of blood as he crashed into a shop several dozen meters away with a thunderous boom.
"Gentlemen… hmm, as you say here, Happy Halloween."
Hearing that familiar voice, Jackie snapped out of his daze. Staring at the figure before him, recognition dawned on him, and he blurted out.
"Leiva!"