The Witch’s pupils suddenly contracted sharply.
The cold indifference in her eyes was instantly replaced by extreme shock.
The hand gripping the giant axe tightened violently, her knuckles turning white.
She swung the axe down almost reflexively.
A cold gleam sliced through the thick air with a crisp shlick, accompanied by the dull sound of tearing flesh.
A pale, slender arm flew through the air, blood spurting out and splattering onto the Witch’s already bloodstained skirt, blooming into a deeper red.
“Waaah…”
The deliberately weak, tearful cry sounded again, more aggrieved than before, yet carrying a bone-chilling eeriness.
“Miss Witch, my hand is gone too… It hurts, I’m so scared…”
The Witch stiffly lowered her head to look at the girl at her feet.
Ye Ning, who had originally been lying in a pool of blood, a bloody mess, had somehow lifted her head.
Half her face was soaked in blood, her one remaining eye fixed unblinkingly on the Witch.
There was no trace of pain in that gaze, only a dead, empty stillness, as if looking at an insignificant plaything.
The look was too bizarre, making the Witch’s blood feel as if it had frozen solid.
“What kind of monster are you!”
The Witch was thoroughly enraged, or perhaps frightened out of her wits by this uncanny situation beyond her comprehension.
She roared, gripping the giant axe with both hands, raising it high, and slashing it viciously towards Ye Ning’s neck.
The force behind this axe was immense, carrying a world-destroying fury.
With a thud, Ye Ning’s head flew off, rolling into a pool of blood not far away.
The eyes were still wide open, and the corner of the mouth even seemed to curl into a faint, mocking smile.
The headless body swayed but did not fall.
The next second, that familiar, tearful, artificially high-pitched voice sounded again, only this time, the aggrieved tone had faded, replaced by a clear note of mockery.
“Miss Witch, my head is gone too? Could you pick it up for me?”
As soon as the words fell, the headless girl slowly stood up.
Her body swayed slightly, her one remaining hand groping forward.
The movements were stiff yet determined as she took step after step towards the Witch.
Blood continuously gushed from the severed neck, leaving a gruesome trail of bloody footprints on the ground.
The smell of blood in the air was so thick it was almost suffocating.
The Witch finally began to crack.
The coldness and cruelty on her face were completely replaced by terror.
She staggered back a step, her eyes filled with despair and fear.
This girl wasn’t human at all! She was a monster! She could no longer maintain her composure.
Her hands quickly formed seals.
The black mist around her surged wildly.
Thick dark magic condensed in her palms, forming a massive black energy sphere carrying the momentum to annihilate everything.
She hurled it fiercely towards Ye Ning and Hua Niao, who had remained silent all along—she was going to tear these two monsters to shreds!
However, the instant the black energy sphere was about to strike them, an invisible barrier suddenly expanded.
The moment the black sphere collided with the barrier, it dissolved instantly like snow meeting fire, not even causing a single ripple.
Her magic was easily broken.
The Witch’s pupils contracted sharply, her face a mask of terror.
She jerked her head up to look at the figure before her, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
“How could you also be…”
Her words cut off abruptly. In front of the originally headless girl’s body, a black, viscous liquid surged forth like a tide.
The liquid had a bizarre sheen, slowly coalescing and taking shape.
The head and severed arm that had rolled on the ground not far away also gradually transformed into the same black, viscous liquid, merging into that tide.
A moment later, the black liquid receded.
The girl’s head and arm regrew perfectly intact, without leaving a single scar.
“…”
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Magical Girl Association, inside a massive observation chamber.
Silver hair cascaded like moonlight over the slender shoulders of a girl who looked no older than ten.
She sat on a strangely shaped jade-colored meditation cushion, gently swaying, her head nodding slightly.
She hummed a clear, elegant melody, her voice soft yet carrying a meaningful resonance.
“Clouds gather, sparse stars fall, wind brushes old feathers cold. High sky loses crane’s shadow, dust and mud nurture new joy…”
The girl wore a moon-white gown in an ancient style.
The skirt was embroidered with intricate silver thread star patterns, and the collar and cuffs were adorned with pale blue tassels.
Her skin was fair as jade, her cheeks still carrying a hint of baby fat, her nose small and delicate, her lips a faint cherry pink.
She looked so adorable it made one want to get close.
Most striking were her eyes—they were extremely special. Her irises weren’t the usual black or brown but like deep starry skies, filled with fine silver specks.
The outer corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, giving her a mysterious air.
Her eyes gazed quietly into the distance, as if her vision could penetrate the thick alloy walls of the observation chamber.
Her gaze was calm and unruffled, yet carried a trace of indifferent omniscience.
Just then, the door to the observation chamber was gently pushed open.
A tall, slender girl walked in.
She had a neat black single ponytail, the ends slightly upturned, accentuating the graceful lines of her neck.
A black form-fitting combat suit outlined her upright figure.
Her face held little expression, yet it couldn’t hide her exquisite features.
Her eyes were sharp and steady, and her whole person exuded a beautiful, heroic aura.
In her hands, she carried a large white porcelain tray.
On the tray were a bowl of warm porridge and several plates of delicate side dishes.
“Guang Xing? What are you doing?”
The girl entered the chamber and saw the silver-haired loli sitting on the cushion with her eyes open.
Her expression changed instantly.
She hurried over and picked up the black cloth strip the silver-haired girl had discarded to the side.
She carefully picked up the cloth strip and gently wound it around Guang Xing’s eyes.
The cloth seemed alive, automatically contracting and tightly covering her eyes.
Magical Girl Guang Xing puffed out her cheeks, pouting, her voice soft and sticky with a hint of displeasure.
“Silly Yin Xing, I’m observing something very interesting. Don’t disturb me.”
Magical Girl Yin Xing sighed helplessly, reaching out to gently ruffle Guang Xing’s silver hair.
Her tone was full of worry and affection.
“You know your physical condition. The price for observing fate is too great. You can’t be this willful, and you certainly can’t waste your body like this.”
Guang Xing obediently let her ruffle her head.
When Yin Xing picked up the nearby porridge, blew on it to cool it, and fed it to her with a spoon, she immediately opened her mouth, taking a big gulp.
Her little mouth bulged like a little hamster stealing food.
She mumbled indistinctly:
“Hey, Yin Xing, what do you think… when a singing bird falls from the high sky, when its body is stained with filth, what does the bird that climbs up from the ground look like?”
Yin Xing’s feeding hand paused.
A flicker of complexity passed through her eyes.
She remained silent for a few seconds, not answering.
She just scooped another spoonful of porridge, blew on it gently to cool it, and fed it to Guang Xing’s mouth.
…The answer was simple.
At least, the Miss Witch in the abandoned factory knew.
She stared in terror at the girl before her, her body trembling uncontrollably, her eyes filled with despair and fear.
Even her breathing became labored.
Now, Ye Ning’s cheeks were covered in bizarre black patterns.
The patterns coiled like vines, spreading from her neck to her face, gleaming with a sinister luster.
Her light gray school uniform had long since vanished.
In its place was a black lace dress.
The hem was short, reaching the top of her thighs, revealing two slender, pale legs.
It accentuated her delicate collarbones and graceful curves.
Black ribbons were wrapped around her arms, adorned with silver bells that no longer emitted clear chimes, only a dead, heavy silence.
Black, viscous liquid still dripped slowly from the hem of her dress and her hair, falling to the ground with a drip… drip… drip… sound, especially jarring in the silent factory.
An intense aura of Disaster swirled around the girl, yet it was mixed with a deadly allure.
The mockery in her eyes grew more pronounced, and the corner of her mouth curled into a cruel, bewitching smile.
Ye Ning tilted her head slightly, her gaze falling on the Witch collapsed on the ground.
The mockery in her eyes turned into icy indifference.
A bird that returns from hell, a bird that falls from the high sky, will sing no more.
She will herald the arrival of death.
Her name:
Witch [Death’s Herald].