Chapter 8: The One Who Killed Her

“Lark… was me?”

Ye Ning slumped on the cold metal floor, her fingers unconsciously scraping the ground.

Blood seeped into her fingernails, but she didn’t notice.

She looked up blankly.

Through her tear-blurred vision, all she could see were Hua Niao’s deep, fathomless eyes.

“Then… where is my sister?”

Hua Niao looked down at her.

“Student Ye Ning, have you forgotten? She is dead. According to the official records of the Magical Girl Association, in the Angel suppression battle three years ago, both Lark and Equinox Flower of the Morning Star Squad perished. In reality, you survived. The only one who truly died was your sister.”

Boom—!

Ye Ning’s pupils contracted violently.

It felt as if all the blood in her body had frozen solid in that instant.

The next second, fragments of unfamiliar memories surged into her mind like a bursting dam.

“Ningning, quick, kill me…”

“Don’t hesitate, Ningning… For me…”

“Ningning, good girl, don’t cry, don’t… be sad…”

“Ah—!!!”

Ye Ning clutched her head in agony, curling into a ball and trembling violently on the floor.

A sharp, piercing scream tore through the deathly silence of the room.

Beneath her skin, spiderweb-like patterns of purple-black began to spread.

The patterns, as if alive, rapidly climbed up her cheeks, outlining a sinister and ferocious design.

Her long, black hair visibly lost its original color, transforming into a fluffy mass of curls interwoven with cherry pink and pure white, the ends slightly curled.

It was the appearance of Lark.

A viscous, black, semi-solid liquid began to flow down her skin.

Watching this, Hua Niao frowned slightly, a trace of gravity flashing in her eyes.

She subconsciously took half a step back.

“It seems the Witchification still hasn’t improved.”

Witchification was the final destination for all Magical Girls who fell into the deepest despair.

When a Magical Girl completely loses hope and her spirit collapses, the mana within her body becomes thoroughly corrupted by the Disaster, ultimately undergoing an irreversible Disaster transformation—this is a Witch.

A Witch loses all reason, becoming a monster that worships the Disaster, twisted and insane.

Even more terrifying, once the process of Witchification begins, it can never be reversed.

—

The battlefield had long been torn apart by artillery fire and smoke.

Black plumes rose from the ruins, and the air was thick with a strange energy mixed with an overwhelming, choking scent of blood.

On the ground lay the massive corpse of an Angel, the S-Class Angel that the seven members of the Morning Star Squad had fought with all their might to slay.

Its wings were broken into several pieces, the energy core in its chest completely shattered.

Golden blood had soaked the earth beneath it; it was long dead.

Not far away, five Magical Girls lay scattered, unconscious.

Their combat uniforms were stained with blood and dirt, their wounds still oozing.

Their auras were as faint as candle flames about to be extinguished, having clearly exhausted all their strength in that brutal battle.

In the center of the battlefield, Ye Ning stood frozen—her cherry pink and white combat uniform was slashed with several tears, covered in blood and grime.

Her fluffy pink and white hair was disheveled against her cheeks, a few strands stuck with blood.

Her pink eyes held no light, only a despair that went to the bone.

Her gaze was locked on the girl before her.

Her whole body trembled uncontrollably, mana flickering erratically at her fingertips, yet she lacked even the strength to raise her hand.

That was Liu Tinghua, her sister, the Magical Girl Equinox Flower.

Her deep purple combat uniform was already soaked through with blood.

Her originally cool and upright posture was now slightly hunched.

Her neck, cheeks, even her exposed wrists were covered in spiderweb-like patterns of purple-black.

The fatal marks of Witchification erosion were spreading at a visible, frantic pace.

Yet, even so, a last trace of clarity remained in her eyes.

The look she gave Ye Ning was filled with an unshakeable gentleness and heartache.

“Ningning…”

Equinox Flower’s voice was terribly hoarse, each word seeming to tear at her throat.

She slowly raised a hand, wanting to touch Ye Ning’s cheek, but her fingers trembled uncontrollably, the purple-black patterns writhing madly on the back of her hand.

“Don’t look at me with those eyes…”

Ye Ning’s lips trembled, unable to make a sound.

Only tears streamed down her face.

She remembered clearly.

The Angel, in its death throes, had detonated its own core.

That destructive force was enough to consume everyone present.

It was Xu Tinghua who, without hesitation, shielded them, using her own body to bear the brunt of the damage.

They had fought desperately and slain the Angel, thinking the battle was finally over.

They had never imagined that the explosion of this S-Class Angel’s core would bring about such a violent Disaster infection.

“The infection… it can’t be stopped anymore…”

Equinox Flower looked down at her patterned hand, a desolate yet resigned smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

She suddenly grabbed Ye Ning’s hand, her grip so tight it almost crushed the bones, yet the warmth in her palm remained.

“I can feel it… I don’t want to become a mindless monster. I don’t want to hurt you all, and I especially don’t want… to hurt you…”

She looked up, her gaze gentle yet unusually firm.

The clarity in her eyes was being devoured bit by bit by darkness.

Her tone was full of pleading.

“Ningning, kill me. This is your sister’s only request.”

“No… I won’t!”

Ye Ning finally broke down, sobbing.

“Sister, let’s go to the Magical Girl Association! There must be a way! There has to be! I can’t kill you, I absolutely can’t!”

“There is no way…”

Equinox Flower shook her head gently.

“Don’t hesitate, Ningning…”

In the end, Ye Ning tremblingly raised her hand.

Pale pink mana gathered in her palm.

Her hand shook slightly, unable to act.

The next second, Equinox Flower raised her hand, covered in purple-black patterns, and gently placed it over the back of Ye Ning’s hand.

Her palm was slightly cool, but her grip was exceptionally firm, steadily grasping the trembling hand.

A faint purple mana seeped from her fingertips, silently winding around Ye Ning’s wrist.

With an irresistible pull, it guided Ye Ning’s mana-filled palm slowly toward her own chest.

Ye Ning’s body stiffened.

She didn’t struggle, just allowed that force to move her.

Thump—

The pale pink mana pierced through Xu Tinghua’s chest.

Purple-black mist mixed with blood gushed out, instantly dissipating in the air.

Xu Tinghua’s body gave a slight shudder, but her hand holding Ye Ning’s did not let go.

Only when the strength completely left her body did it slowly slide down.

Her body fell gently into Ye Ning’s arms.

Ye Ning remained in a half-crouch, the warmth of blood and the chill of dissipated mana still lingering on her palm.

After a long time, she slowly knelt on the ground.

‘It hurts so much… Why does it hurt this much?’

She clutched her chest, her fist clenched tight.

Only a few suppressed, hoarse gasps escaped her throat, light as the wind, quickly swallowed by the battlefield’s dead silence.