In a small roadside noodle shop, Pride, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, smashed the cup in her hand in frustration and cursed bitterly, “Damn Magical Girls.”
“Hey, what the hell are you doing? Causing trouble? That cup costs 50 if you break it!”
The shop owner came out wielding a rolling pin, pointing at Pride and scolding her.
Pride struggled internally for a long while.
Her tightly clenched fist eventually loosened slowly.
She took out her phone and scanned the code to pay for the damage.
Given her current condition and that of the Shadow Queen, if they were discovered by the Magical Girls again, escaping might not be so easy this time.
Over the past two days, she had been constantly trying to contact the Witch Church for assistance, but for some unknown reason, she couldn’t enter the Witch Church’s assembly space at all—as if someone had revoked her access.
Leaving the noodle shop, she slipped into a small alley.
Pride took out her bell; the ferocious crack on it was glaringly obvious.
She had reached a point of desperation.
Pride had never felt so wretched before.
Yet the intense unwillingness in her heart made her refuse to admit defeat and run away.
“It’s hard to accomplish anything in the city. I’ll have to look for opportunities elsewhere,” Pride thought.
Soon, she settled on her target.
In Changle County, after losing its stationed Magical Girl, this already somewhat quiet small county town became even more desolate.
Even though Magical Girls from the neighboring county temporarily took responsibility for Changle County’s safety, it couldn’t stop the town from gradually declining.
Distant water couldn’t quench a nearby fire.
Many people, thinking of their safety, chose to temporarily leave their hometown.
Qinghe Town had originally been one of the most prosperous large towns under Changle County.
After long-term population outflow and a recent large-scale exodus, only a few ordinary residents who no longer wanted to wander remained.
This once slightly declining small town now only had some easygoing middle-aged and elderly people, along with left-behind children whose parents had gone out to work and couldn’t take them along.
At noon that day, Pride, who had been recuperating for several days, set foot on the soil of Qinghe Town.
This was the target she had carefully chosen after deep consideration.
Changle County was already far from the city center, and Qinghe Town was over a hundred kilometers away from Anning City.
Going any further would take her outside Anning City’s jurisdiction.
Traveling from the city center to here required at least two hours by car.
If she planned well, she would have ample time to recover her condition.
“Once I return to my peak, I will make all of you pay,” Pride said through gritted teeth, completely lacking her previous calm and composed demeanor.
Several yellow-haired young men had been observing the delicate-featured Pride for a while.
They approached to hit on her.
“Hey, girl, what are you doing out here in the middle of the day? Big brother will treat you to a meal~”
“A meal? I am indeed hungry~” For some reason, Pride answered them.
Normally, she would never have bothered with such yellow-haired punks.
“Great! Come with big brother and we’ll get you something delicious.”
The group of yellow-haired youths whistled.
“Something delicious? Isn’t it right here?”
The corners of Pride’s mouth curled up slightly.
A melodious chime from the bell rang out.
The few magic power monitors in the town were simultaneously interfered with.
Although they weren’t damaged, they could no longer transmit any information.
It was the brightest time of the afternoon sun, yet the sky suddenly darkened.
The Shadow Queen appeared behind Pride.
The Witch Domain expanded, enveloping the entire town.
The yellow-haired youths sensed something was wrong, but the moment they turned around, tentacles wrapped around their ankles, causing them to lose balance and fall in a heap.
Slippery tentacles coiled around their bodies, cold as a death sentence.
“Ahhh!!”
The first victim’s scream shattered the town’s silence.
People realized something was amiss, but there was nowhere to escape.
Unlike lower-grade Witch Domains, an A-rank Witch Domain was more than enough to cause ordinary people to lose their way inside it.
At this moment, the entire Qinghe Town had become the Shadow Queen’s hunting ground.
Black shadows split off from the Shadow Queen’s body, transforming into smaller Witches that began their hunt.
At the Changle County branch, although there were no Magical Girls stationed there anymore, the logistics department was still operating as usual.
“Strange, why haven’t the magic power monitor readings from Qinghe Town shown any fluctuations at all?”
The staff member on duty today noticed the anomaly.
For some reason, the monitors in Qinghe Town hadn’t updated for several hours.
“No data, but no damage alert either. The work manual doesn’t say what to do in this situation?”
After flipping through the manual without finding a solution, the on-duty staff reported the abnormality.
“Never mentions anything during work hours, but the moment I get off, the phone starts ringing!”
This was a critical period, and the county had ordered that monitors could not stop.
The maintenance worker put down his bowl of rice, cursing under his breath as he grabbed his tools and rode his electric tricycle out to the countryside on overtime.
The electric tricycle bumped along for over an hour.
By the time the sky had completely darkened, the maintenance worker finally arrived outside Qinghe Town.
Looking at the pitch-black town ahead, he sensed something was wrong.
Why weren’t any of the houses turning on their lights this late?
As the tricycle moved a little further forward, the portable magic power detector tied to his waist let out a faint alarm sound.
The maintenance worker immediately pulled a sharp turn, making the tricycle draw a graceful semicircle on the narrow two-lane road.
While flooring the accelerator, he pulled out his phone to make a call.
“Beep… Hello, this is the Changle County Magical Girl Alliance Branch.”
The call finally connected.
The maintenance worker said, “Qinghe Town…”
Puchi.
A pitch-black tentacle pierced through the maintenance worker’s chest.
Several pieces of still-beating heart fragments clung to the tip of the tentacle.
The electric tricycle lost control and crashed into the roadside guardrail.
The phone slipped to the ground and slid far away due to inertia.
“Tsk, annoying rat.”
Pride frowned as she felt the limited magic power recovering in her body.
For some reason, her magic power recovery speed was unusually slow, and the crack on the bell still could not be repaired.
“Hello?”
Hearing the busy tone from the receiver, the on-duty staff knew something had gone wrong and hurriedly sounded the alarm.
The news was reported up the chain and soon reached Youzi’s hands.
“A Witch Domain suspected to be covering the entire Qinghe Town?”
Youzi’s expression turned grave.
“At least A-rank. It looks like the Witch Church hasn’t given up yet.”
Ten minutes later, five Magical Girls from the Anning City branch gathered in the rest room.
“The opponent should still be two A-ranks. It’s been a week since the last confrontation, so their magic power should have fully recovered. The danger level is extremely high. Xiaocheng, Xiaobai, you two stay behind. The three of us will go engage them.”
Su Xiaocheng looked worriedly at Lu Yinxi and Su Xiaowei.
The people she loved were about to face powerful enemies, yet she couldn’t help at all.
She felt somewhat powerless inside.
“Everyone… be careful,” Su Xiaocheng said, wishing them well.
At the very least, I can’t drag everyone down.
I need to become stronger too.
In the future, I want to fight alongside Xiaolu and the others.
As if sensing Su Xiaocheng’s determination, her Maiden Heart flickered faintly.
“Beep beep beep!”
Just as they were about to set out, Youzi’s terminal rang.
After reading the message on her terminal, a puzzled look appeared in Youzi’s eyes.
However, she still decided to follow the order, as it came from that person.
“There’s a change in plans. No need to leave anyone behind—all members deploy.”
“Hmm?”
Lu Yinxi looked somewhat displeased.
In an A-rank battle, Xiaocheng and Xiaobai currently had limited usefulness and could easily fall into danger.
Youzi helplessly showed the message on her terminal to Lu Yinxi.
“That person probably has her own deeper intentions.”