Whoosh whoosh whoosh! The wind picked up.
The evening breeze blowing over the river in March carried a biting chill as it brushed against the skin.
The old bridge that had endured decades of wind and rain was, once again, witnessing a fierce battle tonight.
Su Xiaocheng cast a spell from a distance. Pink magic power formed a shield, firmly protecting the civilian driver.
The spinning wind blades slashed viciously against the shield. In an instant, cracks spread across its surface.
Lu Yinxi released a musical note that timely shattered the wind blades.
The driver seized the chance to run back to his car, slam on the gas, and speed off the bridge without looking back.
Su Xiaocheng tried calling out, “Jia Yun’er?”
Jia Yun’er lifted her head.
Her eyes were pitch black, with not a trace of white visible.
Chaotic magic power erupted.
Her body began transforming rapidly.
The detection device on the bridge had just sounded the alarm when a sharp wind blade smashed it to pieces.
“So she really has lost control.”
Although she had mentally prepared herself, Lu Yinxi still felt a pang of sadness at the sight.
Experiencing this scene for the first time, Su Xiaocheng asked in a flustered voice, “Xiaolu, what do we do?”
“Send her off on her final journey!”
A microphone appeared in front of Lu Yinxi as the sounds of various instruments began playing out of thin air.
“Xiaocheng, step back a bit!”
Su Xiaocheng gripped her magic staff tightly and retreated several steps, staying alert to her surroundings.
Xiaotuan poked its head out from Su Xiaocheng’s shoulder to watch the battle together.
During combat, the contractor could merge with the Magical Girl—this was one of the ways the Contracted Clan protected themselves in battle.
Jia Yun’er finally completed her transformation. The once bright and beautiful Magical Girl outfit had lost all its color, turning a dull gray.
Her originally healthy skin tone had become a deathly ashen white.
Black lines spread outward from her heart, following the paths of her blood vessels.
She opened her eyes, which were now completely black.
Sensing the magic power fluctuations, Lu Yinxi said, “Still B-rank?”
Roar! The Witch swung her hand and unleashed a massive wind blade over two meters long.
The powerful wind pressure left a deep crack in the concrete road.
Lu Yinxi reached out in front of her.
A guitar pick appeared in her hand as a guitar materialized and hung before her.
The pick strummed across the strings.
Melody·Wind
Twang! The guitar rang out.
A violent gale followed the sound, instantly dispersing the Witch’s attack.
The wind continued onward without losing momentum, shredding the Witch’s outfit and carving deep gashes across her body.
Yet only strands of magic power drifted out from the wounds—no blood flowed at all.
The Witch howled in pain, but instead of retreating from such injuries, she charged forward against the gale.
In just a few seconds she had closed the distance and reached Lu Yinxi.
“It’s over.” Lu Yinxi’s guitar instantly transformed into a bass guitar.
Melody·Fire
Deep, resonant bass strings sounded.
A bright ring of fire bloomed outward.
The already heavily wounded Witch was blasted back to the center of the bridge by the flames, completely losing all ability to resist as she collapsed to the ground.
A B-rank Witch possessed combat power at the upper limit of ordinary Magical Girls, but in front of Lu Yinxi, she was completely overpowered.
Unlike regular Witches, when a Magical Girl who had been corrupted transformed into a Witch and was defeated, she would revert to human form.
There was a brief state similar to a final flash of life before death.
Jia Yun’er slowly returned to her original appearance.
“I’m sorry… for causing you trouble,” Jia Yun’er’s voice was weak.
“It’s no trouble. Do you have any clues about your loss of control? According to your physical examination report, the state of your Maiden Heart should have been very stable.”
“I… I don’t know. I only remember hearing a strange ringing of bells. Then I involuntarily summoned my Maiden Heart. My contractor tried to run but couldn’t escape.”
“Then there was a black cat. It bit my contractor to death and scratched my Maiden Heart with a claw stained in my contractor’s blood. After that, my Maiden Heart began to be corrupted. I couldn’t control it at all.”
“Yun’er!” The mayor, who had arrived late, stumbled over and pulled Jia Yun’er into her arms.
Having worked together for several years, she had long since come to treat this plain-looking girl as her own daughter.
Unfortunately, Magical Girls were so fragile—their flower-like youth could vanish in an instant.
“I’m sorry… I won’t be able to continue protecting Changle anymore…”
With those final words filled with regret, Jia Yun’er lost all signs of life.
Her body gradually turned into specks of light that scattered away, leaving no trace behind.
When a Magical Girl who had turned into a Witch died, her magic power would disperse into the world while her soul returned to the Sea of Eternal Slumber.
No Witch’s Heart would be left behind. This was the final purity of a Magical Girl.
***
On a small hilltop in the distance, a figure completely shrouded in a black robe put away a small bell while watching the two Magical Girls on the bridge.
“Lu Yinxi, someone as radiant as you will surely become extremely beautiful once you fall.”
“I will make you personally destroy the person you cherish most~” She raised a pale, sickly-looking hand and gently stroked the cheek of the Witch beside her.
“And then make you into my loyal servant as well. This is the price for you stopping the Church’s plan a year ago. Hehehe.”
The Witch obediently bowed at the waist.
If Su Xiaocheng were here, she would definitely recognize that this Witch looked very similar to the one that had appeared in Anning City a few days ago.
The difference was that this one was much taller, with intricate magic patterns covering her body.
Her magic power fluctuations far surpassed those of the previous Witch.
She was like the queen of the “shadow group.”
“How boring. I only had to act once just to corrupt an ordinary Magical Girl who hasn’t even mastered her domain yet.”
A black cat elegantly groomed its sleek fur. “Human, you still have one last chance.”
“Lord Saint Envoy, there is no need to worry. I will use a grand witch disaster to announce the glory of the Witch Church to the world. However, before that, I must display my arrogance—this is also an indispensable part of the doctrine.”
“Do as you please.”
The black cat left without a sound.
Its final words drifted over on the evening breeze: “Human, has no one ever told you that your laugh sounds just like a small-fry villain?”
The black-robed figure froze.
Only after a long while, once she was sure the black cat had left, did she mutter to herself, “Lord Saint Envoy? Hmph, you really think of yourself as some big shot? You’re nothing but a mere sacrifice!”
***
“Will all Magical Girls eventually turn into Witches in the end?”
Witnessing the fall of a Magical Girl for the first time, the thought that she too might one day become such a hideous monster and fight against her former comrades left Su Xiaocheng feeling extremely depressed.
“No, they won’t.” Lu Yinxi answered without the slightest hesitation.
“Because I’m here.”
“Mm… Xiaolu?”
“Saying such sad things deserves a punishment, you know~”
“Don’t… We’re still outside.”
“We’re here now.”
Lu Yinxi lifted Su Xiaocheng in a princess carry, kicked open the door to the room, and tossed her onto the bed.
However, Lu Yinxi did not make any further moves. She simply leaned gently against Su Xiaocheng’s chest.
“Huh?”
Su Xiaocheng had thought things were about to get intimate, but it turned out Lu Yinxi just wanted to cuddle.
“You act so confident on the outside, but you’re actually worried inside, aren’t you? Xiaolu, you’re so dishonest.”
Su Xiaocheng hugged Lu Yinxi tightly and placed her head against her own heart. “Rest well, my Xiaolu~”