“Youzi, are you okay?”
Su Xiaowei asked worriedly.
Youzi dispelled her domain and put the chocolate she had taken out back into her pocket.
“I’m fine.”
On the other side, the Shadow Queen was making her final struggle.
Her domain had been compressed to barely a dozen meters.
A few powerless tentacles waved feebly before being severed one by one.
A few minutes later, the A-rank Witch who had launched multiple attacks and caused nearly a thousand casualties met her end amid the music.
A fist-sized Witch’s Heart dropped to the ground.
Su Xiaocheng approached.
“Is it over? Is everyone okay? Huh? Wait, what is this?”
Where the Shadow Queen had died, a faint gray light orb appeared, emitting a gentle glow.
Xiaotuan appeared and perched on Su Xiaocheng’s shoulder.
“This is new life, meow.”
“New life?”
The pale gray light orb slowly contracted, outlining a tiny silhouette.
Crack.
The light orb cracked open like an eggshell as the small life inside pushed its way out.
A tiny turtle crawled out.
Seeing the group of Magical Girls staring at it, it instinctively pulled its head back into its shell.
“Is this… a newly born Contracted Clan member?” Su Xiaocheng asked curiously.
“Yes, meow~”
“It’s quite amazing, isn’t it?”
Youzi said, looking at the little turtle.
“A Witch born from concentrated negative emotions can, upon death, sometimes give birth to a new Contracted Clan member, thereby increasing the number of Magical Girls who represent purity and beauty.”
“What should we do with it? Should we take it with us?”
Su Xiaocheng poked the turtle shell. The newborn shell was soft and felt nice to the touch.
“No need. It will find a suitable contract partner on its own.”
After explaining, Lu Yinxi turned and said seriously, “Youzi, summon your Maiden Heart.”
“I’m really fine,” Youzi said guiltily, avoiding Lu Yinxi’s gaze.
“If you’re fine, why are you dodging?” Having worked together for so long, Lu Yinxi knew Youzi too well.
Even Xiaobai didn’t believe her. “Youzi, listen, the say.”
“You guys should at least give your senior some face, jeez.”
Youzi summoned her Maiden Heart with a dissatisfied tone.
At this moment, the Maiden Heart had almost completely turned black, with only a small orange area left at the top.
Under the erosion of corruption, it flickered with weak, unstable light.
“It’s okay. Without using magic, I can hold on for a while longer. I might just need everyone’s help later,” Youzi said apologetically.
“I don’t have the energy to deal with you right now. You’d better stay clear-headed,” Lu Yinxi scolded, which was rare for her.
“Will she lose her mind even if she doesn’t use magic?”
Su Xiaocheng asked in confusion.
“Once the Maiden Heart’s corruption exceeds 90%, it becomes irreversibly polluted. Not using magic only slows down the corruption process,” Youzi explained.
“Is there really no other way to reduce the corruption level?”
Su Xiaocheng asked.
“Didn’t you say there are medicines that can lower it?”
“Existing medicines can’t reduce corruption below 90%. Once it crosses the critical threshold, the medicine can only buy a bit more time,” Lu Yinxi said helplessly.
Youzi shrugged.
“The medicine that reduces corruption is too precious. Using it on a Magical Girl who has already passed the critical point would be too wasteful.”
She had benefited from Lu Yinxi’s generosity and taken quite a lot of such medicine.
The Lu Corporation had laboratories dedicated to developing these potions, and Lu Yinxi had sent her many.
Otherwise, she would have had to retire three years ago.
“No need to be so gloomy about it. Even after crossing the critical point, I can still stay sane for several years after retiring. Don’t look at me like I’m already done for, okay?”
Su Xiaocheng stared at Youzi’s Maiden Heart, watching the corruption slowly spread thread by thread.
An indescribable discomfort filled her heart.
“Alright, since it’s all over, let’s head back,” Youzi said, preparing to retract her Maiden Heart.
“Does magic not work either?”
Su Xiaocheng asked persistently.
“Isn’t magic supposed to grant any wish?”
“Provided that you can pay a sufficient price in magic power,” Lu Yinxi shattered Su Xiaocheng’s fantasy.
“The amount of magic power needed to reduce corruption below the critical threshold is something not even an S-rank could provide.”
“Not enough magic power?” Su Xiaocheng seemed to catch onto something.
“Xiaocheng? It’s time to go,” Lu Yinxi reminded her when she saw Su Xiaocheng standing still.
“Oh, right. I’m coming.”
Su Xiaocheng jogged over and climbed into the helicopter.
***9
As the sound of the rotors faded into the distance and everyone finally left, the little turtle cautiously poked its head out to observe its surroundings.
“Are you alone too?”
Qiao’er carefully picked it up in her hands.
The turtle looked at the unfamiliar girl in front of it. Instead of retreating into its shell, it gently rubbed against her palm.
Feeling the ticklish sensation, Qiao’er brought the little life back home with her.
“From now on, you’ll live with me, okay?”
Once back home with her new companion, she filled a basin with water and placed the turtle inside.
She squatted beside the basin, gently poking the turtle with her finger.
“How about I give you a name first? What should I call you?”
Qiao’er thought for a long time.
Only when the turtle crawled onto her hand did the wet, ticklish feeling bring her back to her senses.
“Grandma told Qiao’er to live well. Even if I’m alone, I have to live for a very, very long time. So I’ll call you Jiujiu. That’s nice. I heard turtles live for a really long time. Jiujiu, you’ll be able to stay with me for a long time, right?”
“Gururu~”
A strange sound came out. Qiao’er’s face reddened. It was already late at night, and she hadn’t eaten a single bite yet.
She went to the kitchen, took out the leftovers from lunch, stepped onto a small stool, and tried to heat the food the way her grandma used to.
Although her grandma was no longer in serious danger, the old woman’s body was weak and she had suffered such heavy injuries. She still needed plenty of rest.
Smoke filled the simple kitchen, making Qiao’er’s eyes water.
There was only one exhaust fan in the modest kitchen, but the switch was too high for Qiao’er to reach.
“This should be enough… cough cough.”
Qiao’er didn’t have enough strength to lift the pot and pour the food into a plate.
She could only use the spatula to scoop the food little by little.
Instead of eating immediately, she took a portion of the food, put it on a small plate, and placed it in front of Jiujiu.
The turtle crawled out of the basin and looked at the food.
“Eat up. I don’t know if you’ll like it,” Qiao’er said with a gentle smile.
She brought the rest of the food to her grandma’s bedside.
The two of them ate dinner together.
After filling her stomach, the exhausted Qiao’er climbed into bed.
Having endured a Witch attack and spent hours hiding in fear, today’s events had left her mentally and physically drained.
Once Jiujiu finished eating, it slowly crawled into the bedroom.
Qiao’er was already sound asleep, her brows tightly furrowed as if trapped in a bad dream.
Following the edge of the bed, Jiujiu climbed up. Looking at the sleeping girl, it made up its mind.
An ancient contract formed, linking Jiujiu and Qiao’er.
This was the response to a girl’s purity and beauty.
A crystal-clear Maiden Heart descended into Qiao’er’s chest.
Her tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and a smile appeared on her face.
Her dreams seemed to become beautiful once more.