Annie’s nerves jolted.
Her petite body moved almost before her consciousness, barely dodging the green light coming from behind.
“Who!”
Annie focused her gaze.
A man with a face so ulcerated it was impossible to recognize stood not far from her, exuding an immense amount of Nurgle’s energy that marked his identity.
He had launched the sneak attack.
“Is that… Xia, your chosen?”
Annie was stunned.
“You, with those honest eyes, have started messing with this kind of thing too?”
But Xia Lan’s expression stiffened.
She scolded the figure, “Why are you here? It’s not safe!”
“I had to help my magical girl, didn’t I?”
The man was Luo Xiao, who had just arrived.
He was experiencing the sensation of using Nurgle’s power for the first time.
‘This feeling of life… it’s not so bad.’
Watching the man and woman start chatting in front of her, Annie’s face filled with helplessness, then quickly turned to delight.
“So it seems you two are going to fight me? Haha, how wonderful. I didn’t expect an extra meal…”
“You’re wrong,” Luo Xiao said with a smile.
“Huh?”
“It’s three against one.”
Boom!
Annie’s expression shifted dramatically.
She instinctively raised her greatsword.
The next moment, a pink-and-white fist descended from the air with immense force.
The delicate white silk glove struck the blade with kinetic energy so intense that sparks flew, like steel clashing.
Muscles tensed instantly.
The greatsword deflected the fist, and the nimble pink-and-white figure landed beside Luo Xiao.
Annie stared intently.
The seductive pink-clad girl was hiding behind Luo Xiao, peeking out cautiously at her like an innocent little girl eyeing a bad uncle.
‘Lady Annie, that’s!’
“I can see it…”
Annie broke into a delighted smile.
“Magical Girl… Slaanesh.”
“Haha, looks like today’s my lucky day! So many surprises! I absolutely love you, Xia!”
“Sorry, but I don’t feel the same about you,” Xia Lan said flatly, though her eyes kept darting toward the pink figure.
‘This is the “treasure” of my father that I’ve been chasing for over ten years… and at the same time…’
A sense of relief rose in Xia Lan’s heart, as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted.
‘I finally found you.’
Meanwhile, Bai Jia turned to look at the filthy, green-clad Magical Girl Nurgle.
Xia Lan’s unsightly appearance gave Bai Jia an extremely bad first impression.
The blasphemous, indescribable body and the overwhelming stench made her instinctively want to shrink behind Luo Xiao.
‘Doesn’t she look like some scheming bioweapon female officer from a superhero movie that the protagonist has to defeat?’
Thinking that Luo Xiao had become a subordinate under this kind of woman, and would have to endure her steel wool and orders in the future, Bai Jia’s heart ached with sorrow, like a husband in a cuckold manga.
‘Bro, my good buddy—I may have lost my dignity, but I’ll definitely work hard to free you from this misery!’
“Three against one? How thrilling! I’ve never fought two magical girls at the same time!”
Annie’s fighting spirit surged even higher.
A towering bloodlust began to spread again.
‘Lady Annie, with so many variables now, priority should be the mission. Retreat!’
“What are you saying, Annabelle? Are you asking me to give up a free meal that just showed up? That’s like telling those redneck MAGA supporters to give up their guns and farms!”
‘Before you are Magical Girl Khorne, you are first a special agent of Leonard Corp! Please suppress Khorne’s bloodlust. There will be plenty of chances to fight them later!’
“But…” Annie tried to argue.
‘Lady Annie, you wouldn’t want this sudden illness to be known by the boss, would you? Especially since the appearance of Slaanesh is a highly important piece of information.’
“Tch, when did you start watching island nation films?”
Under Annabelle’s successive persuasions, Annie forced down her warlike urge.
She pointed the tip of her sword at the three in front of her.
“Sigh, you guys got lucky this time. Looks like I’ll have to savor your blood another day.”
“What do you mean we got lucky? It’s clearly that we outnumber you and you chickened out!”
Bai Jia retorted from behind Luo Xiao.
“Hah! You bastard! Who are you calling a chicken!?”
In an instant, Annie’s cooled head heated up again.
She swung her greatsword, and a bloody sword qi swept horizontally like a towering wave, threatening to drown the three.
“Holy crap, holy crap! Help!”
Bai Jia was startled.
Luo Xiao raised his hand to block.
But a green barrier appeared in front of them, successfully canceling the sword qi.
Xia Lan stepped to the forefront, her gaze fixed on Annie.
She said calmly, “What, Annie, are you planning to abandon your mission objective now?”
“Huh? Mission?”
Annie flashed a confident smile.
“The mission is already complete~”
“What?”
Xia Lan was taken aback.
“Wasn’t your mission Slaanesh?”
“What the hell? How would I know there was…”
‘Lady Annie, please, I’m begging you. Don’t say any more. It invites trouble.’
Annabelle’s voice carried a hint of exhaustion, as if she was utterly exasperated with her foolish master.
“Fine, fine, my little Annabelle.”
Annie hoisted her greatsword onto her shoulder and smiled.
“Well then, I’ll be going now. Otherwise, my cute little Annabelle will start crying again. See you later… though maybe not for long.”
Xia Lan didn’t respond.
Her eyes seemed lost in thought.
The next moment, Annie’s leg muscles tensed, and she vanished from the spot, leaving only a ripple in the air.
Only after confirming that Annie’s presence had truly left the hospital did Xia Lan relax her guard.
But the confusion in her eyes didn’t fade at all.
“Sister Liu Hua, Annie’s reaction… it seems she wasn’t here for Bai Jia this time.”
‘Yes, judging by her expression, she didn’t even know Bai Jia was Slaanesh.’
Sister Liu Hua’s voice spoke slowly.
‘Then when Annie grabbed Bai Jia earlier and said she was taking her back… was that an act?’
“Meant to cover her real purpose?”
Xia Lan lowered her head in thought.
“Miss Nurgle, are you hurt?” Luo Xiao came up behind Xia Lan, concerned.
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. Annie can’t hurt me. I’m Magical Girl Nurgle, after all. A little fight like this is nothing.”
Xia Lan turned around, instantly resuming her usual smile.
“But you came too?”
“I was worried about you, and about Bai Jia,” Luo Xiao said seriously.
“Don’t do this again. Even if you’ve become a chosen one, you can’t just go to such dangerous places!”
Xia Lan’s expression turned stern.
“You still have family waiting for you. If something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain to your grandmother?”
“Since I accepted your power, I think it’s my responsibility to do these things. And now that Bai Jia is involved, there’s no way I can just stand by.”
Luo Xiao’s eyes held no retreat.
He stared into Xia Lan’s eyes.
“You…”
Just as Xia Lan was about to say something else, Bai Jia, behind Luo Xiao, finally spoke.
“Uh, so you’re Magical Girl Nurgle?”
Xia Lan’s gaze shifted to her, softening gradually.
“Yes, hello, Slaanesh. Or rather, my…”
But before Xia Lan could finish, Bai Jia cut in immediately, “I still don’t really get what’s going on, but I hope you’ll treat Luo Xiao well from now on, okay!”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Like, don’t do weird stuff to him, like steel wool, body painting…”
Xia Lan was taken aback.
She looked at the beautiful pink girl before her.
Her dreamlike butterfly eyes held a hint of hostility, as if Xia Lan had stolen something precious from her.
“I… think your imagination might be a bit too active,” Xia Lan replied awkwardly.
“Bai Jia, what are you saying?”
Luo Xiao quickly patted Bai Jia on the head.
“Hey, Luo Xiao, now you’re siding with an outsider? I’m trying to protect your legitimate rights here!”
“What outsider? Miss Nurgle and us are in the same boat now.”
Watching the boy and girl bicker, Xia Lan couldn’t help but smile from the heart.
“It’s wonderful, Sister Liu Hua. This ordinary yet beautiful emotion… Slaanesh, she really is beautiful. Like a white swan on Walden Pond, like the sky over the Rocky Mountains. Compared to her, I’m completely insufficient.”
‘Don’t focus on appearances. The heart is eternal.’
“Yes, I understand.”
‘…So, are you sure you don’t want to tell her about your relationship?’
“To her, within the life she knows, I’m probably just an outsider who suddenly appeared. She already has her own family, her own life. There’s no need for another me.”
‘Is that okay? You’ve been searching for her all these years. She’s your sister.’
“No need.”