“Damn…”
Ash crushed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, which had shattered into three pieces, and ran her hand through her hair in irritation.
‘Right, this body can’t smoke…’
As a veteran smoker with over twenty years of habit, lighting up when troubled was almost a reflex for Ye Qianqiu.
But Ash was different.
Though Ye Qianqiu and Ash shared the same soul, Ash was a pure, untainted young girl—
Completely different from a middle-aged man riddled with minor vices like Ye Qianqiu.
Naturally, she couldn’t tolerate nicotine entering her body.
‘Better de-transform and turn back into Ye Qianqiu.’
Ash was certain that just one cigarette would calm her down.
She used her hands to prop herself up a bit, making sure she wouldn’t hit her head on the door handle when she changed back.
Then she whispered:
“…De-transform.”
As she spoke, she closed her eyes, feeling the magic gradually being drawn out of her body, along with the wave of heaviness washing over her…
Huh?
It wasn’t heavy at all?
And the magic hadn’t changed either?
Ash opened her eyes in confusion, looking at her fair, soft hands, then at her long, slender, impossibly smooth legs.
She quickly realized:
The transformation hadn’t been canceled?
Was it because there wasn’t enough space?
Or was the magic too unstable?
Faced with an unexpected situation, Ash didn’t panic.
As a mature adult, staying calm in the face of any accident was basic common sense.
So she condensed her magic into a solid form, propping it under her armpits like crutches, and hoisted herself up.
Then, limping, she made her way to the balcony.
There was enough space here, and the magic gradually stabilized.
Good, no problem.
Ash was brimming with confidence.
“De-transform,” she said.
Now the magic should be pulled out of her body, and her body should become heavy…
“…”
Ash slowly opened her eyes, looked down, and silently stared at her petite form.
She hadn’t turned back!!!
The girl’s pupils shook.
Even when facing Chariot, she had never been this shaken.
‘Huh?! Why?!’
‘Calm down, Ye Qianqiu. Calm down.’
‘As a mature and reliable adult, you should face this situation calmly and find a solution…’
Like hell she would!
How was she supposed to stay calm?!
Her racing heartbeat made Ash feel like her entire body was burning.
Not only had the PTSD symptoms vanished, but even the urge to smoke had disappeared completely.
Why, though?
She leaned against the railing, helplessly patting herself down.
The soft sensation under her palm made it undeniably clear that right now, she was the girl named Ash.
‘Can I really not change back?’
Just yesterday, it had worked. Had she, after only one night, said goodbye to her male identity and dignity?
‘N-no way. No way that’s happening!’
“De…de-transform!”
“De-transform!”
“I said de…transform!”
On the balcony, the petite girl tried again and again, failing each time.
Her face, flushed with a cute red, grew visibly more frantic.
In the end, she almost screamed it, but the fact remained:
Nothing happened.
If anyone had been watching, they’d probably think this cute little girl had been watching too many magical girl anime and would say to her, “Little one, magic and miracles exist in this world, but they don’t happen to ordinary people, you know?”
Ash crouched down in despair, clutching her head.
‘A magical girl abandoned by magic and miracles? Are you kidding me?!’
Of course, the girl hadn’t been abandoned by magic and miracles.
If anything, it was precisely because of them that she couldn’t cancel the transformation.
— Deviation value increased to 25%.
Unaware of her current physical state—
Having not yet officially received support from the Special Operations Bureau—
The girl was still immersed in the deep sorrow of losing her little bro.
‘When I need a smoke the most, I can’t even have one. Is there anything more painful in this world?’
Ash leaned on the balcony railing, sighing.
Just then, her phone rang.
‘Probably another spam call selling real estate…’
The girl was about to hang up and continue her emo session, but when she saw the sender’s information, her finger froze above the screen.
…[Chariot]?
You’re not dead?
She opened the details page for the monster and saw that the current Chariot had been rated C+ by the Special Operations Bureau’s Combat Analysis Division.
Then she thought of Chariot’s ability to split and reassemble…
‘I see… Chariot, before I killed you, you split off another version of yourself and escaped, huh?’
‘Heh, Chariot, Chariot, the fact that you aren’t dead is…’
‘Perfect.’
A sickly smile appeared on Ash’s indifferent face.
‘Since I’m in such a terrible mood right now, I’ll take it out on you~’
She lightly hopped onto the balcony railing, then, with a flick of her toes, leaped into the air and sped toward the reported location.
…
If one were to describe Chariot’s current state using a Parasite joke, it would be: Chariot was dead, and now Hanged Man was controlling it.
The surviving part of Chariot was only about D-level.
If it were allowed to develop for a few more years, it might quickly become S-class.
But Hanged Man had come knocking, amplifying Chariot’s power through some method, keeping it at around C+.
“…That’s about it. Chariot is just a walking corpse now. Someone else is definitely controlling it, and that person is likely also a Shadow. Their strength is probably no weaker than the original Chariot.”
Xia Che’s voice came through the micro-earpiece.
Ash sat on the edge of a department store roof, her two little feet crossed and swinging lightly, gleaming white in the sunlight.
Her gaze was fixed on the middle of the street:
The massive black giant was slowly walking along the road, like a zombie in a zombie game that hadn’t been activated.
“I see, okay. Got it~”
Ash said, pushing herself up with her hands like an agile little cat, standing on the edge of the rooftop.
“Ash? Are you okay? Your tone sounds… a bit strange…”
Xia Che asked worriedly.
“Hmm? I’m fine. Not a thing~”
The girl said airily, her waist-length gray hair swaying in the wind.
Her figure looked so frail, as if a stronger gust could blow her away.
“Right now, I’m feeling ve—ry, very good!”
Ash said cheerfully.
— Deviation value increased to 35%.
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
“Ash, please listen to me. Your current mental state isn’t suitable for fighting a monster. Other heroes are already on their way. Retreat for now…”
Ash tapped her earpiece lightly, and the call cut off.
She pinched the small disc attached to her earlobe between two fingers, then squeezed hard.
Crackle!
A faint crackle of static sounded.
Ash moved her thumb away;
On her index finger, the earpiece was shattered, like a crushed mosquito.
“So noisy. Saying my mental state isn’t suitable. I feel great right now. Absolutely great!”
Ash said, spreading her arms, closing her eyes, and leaning backward.
Like a leaf caught in the wind.