Luoyou was still the same Luoyou, but the aura she radiated had undergone a cataclysmic transformation, making her unrecognizable!
Originally, her presence was as unfathomable as the starry sky or the deep mountains.
Now, it was completely exposed, showing no intention of hiding the terror within from the world.
What shocked everyone the most was that a surge of magic power had emerged within her body!
It wasn’t as vast as Wangchuan’s, nor as aggressively overwhelming, but it was purer and calmer than Wangchuan’s—perfectly fused with the part polluted by the boundary sea’s matter.
With just one glance, Wangchuan immediately understood that her aura was no different from Akaha’s back then!
“Impossible… Akaha? It really is Akaha? Exactly the same.”
Wangchuan’s lips trembled, his face contorting without him realizing it.
So many nights and days spent yearning for that same kind of overwhelming strength Akaha once possessed, thinking he had finally obtained it and even surpassed her in purity.
And now, someone stood up to tell him that he had taken the wrong path.
And showed him the correct one.
“Could it be… Akaha never actually died… you—”
“I am not Akaha,” Luoyou replied.
“Then why do you resemble her so much? Where does your magic power come from?”
Magic power is the miraculous force exclusive to magical girls.
Even Aurora, the Aurora Witch, had never shown any precedent of wielding magic power.
No, aside from Aurora, no one had ever possessed or controlled magic power.
Even Wangchuan himself only acquired magic power after seizing the singularity core—it wasn’t truly his own.
“My path should be correct. I even hunted down the corpse of that light-harvesting dimensional beast that once polluted her, so why…!”
Wangchuan was too caught up in questioning to figure out the truth.
He would never rest in peace otherwise!
“Do you think having a large amount of magic power is enough? No. Compared to magical girls, there’s not a huge gap. I’m certain that even if the other Ten Seats of magical girls took you on alone, once they understand your patterns, most of them would win in the end.”
Luoyou had witnessed Xingyu’s campaign against that dragon-class dimensional beast in the Nine Nether Seas, so her evaluation of the Ten Seats had risen by a notch.
She recognized that the current Ten Seats were not what they used to be.
Of course, the reason for their progress was still—
“What truly widens the gap between them is their inherent magic.”
Luoyou revealed the answer.
Wangchuan was struck as if by lightning.
“You’re saying the reason I took the wrong path is because I don’t have Akaha’s inherent magic?!”
“That’s right. I don’t care where you learned your magic from, but inherent magic—the ‘personality’ unique to magical girls—you can’t learn it no matter how hard you try. You only have Akaha’s form but lack her truly powerful essence.”
“Then how did you do it!”
“To ask such a basic question shows there’s no point in talking further. I’ll use the very power you long for to reduce you to dust.”
Luoyou took a deep breath.
In this space, even such a subtle motion from her caused the magic power quietly flowing beneath to surge like waves hundreds of meters high, carrying the devastating roar of destruction as it hung silently in the air.
Even Wangchuan doubted whether he would be crushed like a mere ant in the next moment.
After a brief daze, he suddenly snapped back to reality and laughed wildly.
【Divine Particles… haha… It must be the work of divine particles. Otherwise, there’s no explanation!】
【That golden fruit she just ate must be the source of her power. If only I could get that fruit…】
【No! If I could uncover the secrets within her body and seize the divine particles for myself—】
His eyes burned with relentless fervor.
Suddenly, he felt Aura, that woman, was extremely shallow.
Divine particles were truly a miraculous power beyond human control, yet Aura looked down on them?
Utter foolishness!
“Wake up. I still have many cards I haven’t played yet. Why do you think you can defeat me?”
Luoyou saw through his scheming just by his expression.
Her simple words pierced the darkness like lightning.
Wangchuan’s soul trembled, and his figure suddenly vanished.
Luoyou’s oppressive presence only touched the void.
***
Under the blessing of the Crimson Authority, Luoyou was now cold and detached, almost inhuman.
Her sensory perception, composed of smell, sound, touch, and sight, continuously peeled away the superficial appearances of everything before her, distilling endless information that converged before her eyes into countless possibilities and branched paths.
At this moment, she had seen through every counterattack, every route, every thought Wangchuan might have.
With such powerful situational awareness, if no unknown factor appeared, Wangchuan’s death was inevitable.
“By the way, I also know a bit of magic.”
Luoyou crossed her hands in front of her body and spoke softly: “Magic Power Perception.”
The moment she sensed Wangchuan’s position, the once calm flow of data before her immediately contracted, with countless possibilities converging into a single line.
Without hesitation, she extended her hand.
First-rank magic • Divine Word: Let there be light.
Though it appeared instantaneous and resolute, in truth her mind had pondered it countless times to arrive at the most correct conclusion.
The first-rank magic that once shone brilliantly in Xingyu’s hands now manifested again in Luoyou’s, but due to the influence of the boundary sea’s polluted magic power, its form differed greatly from Xingyu’s.
A deep gray light pierced through the colorful world visible to ordinary eyes, tearing countless holes into it, forcibly dividing, distorting, and reflecting countless spirits and monsters as they frantically paraded through the mortal realm!
Its eerie and terrifying appearance could cause nightmares that lasted an entire month with just one glimpse!
Conditions within the boundary sea could no longer be observed from the outside.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh—!”
Wangchuan took the full brunt of the first-rank magic’s power head-on, his body cracking extensively, black blood flowing everywhere, the scene tragically horrific, nearly shattering his soul.
“Not done yet!”
He spread his arms wide, boundary sea matter continually extracted from the sea surface, trying to repair his body.
Luoyou pointed at the ground beneath his feet with one hand.
“Second-rank magic: Teleport.”
“Huh?”
Wangchuan only managed a confused shout before the teleportation magic array completely enveloped him.
His vision spun wildly.
“That should be about it.”
As Luoyou’s voice rang out, an unknown magic tore at Wangchuan’s flesh and skin, more grotesque and nauseating than the skinning scene in the slaughterhouse unfolded before him.
By the time he recovered, his body was severely damaged—skin, flesh, sinews, bones, veins scattered like parts blown into the air.
【Boundary sea matter can be sensed… it can regenerate!】
Wangchuan judged that he must be very high in the air since the teleportation magic hadn’t taken him far.
“As long as I’m in the boundary sea, you can’t kill me!” he said, as boundary sea matter rapidly surged upward.
“No. Neither your combat power nor your regeneration is in the same league as a light-harvesting class.”
Luoyou’s voice came again, as a massive barrier suddenly rose out of nowhere, cutting off his last hope.
Barrier Magic!
“The boundary sea matter inside a light-harvesting class dimensional beast has evolved into a different substance that can regenerate without the boundary sea. You can only absorb from the boundary sea, which is far inferior to a true light-harvesting class!”
Wangchuan went completely mad and fought with all his might.
In his eyes, Luoyou had crossed into his attack range for a decisive strike—“You’re reckless!”
His cracked body suddenly spewed thick fog—terrifying and ominous, causing all inside the boundary sea checkpoint to feel a heavy unease.
This was the most primordial substance inside a light-harvesting class dimensional beast, capable of polluting everything, permanently corrupting the environment.
Visibly, it was vastly different from the boundary sea matter and symbolized the greatest power of a light-harvesting class dimensional beast!
But after unleashing this last resort, Wangchuan himself rapidly withered, the primordial substance drained, paying a terrible price.
These were the last remnants of this light-harvesting class dimensional beast before its death.
Precisely because a trace remained could this beast be revived from the ashes.
Wangchuan dared not use it to regenerate himself; every bit used was one less, and once gone, true death would follow.
“Die!”
The gray fog turned into ghostly springs, omnipresent, submerging Luoyou with no place to avoid.
“Damn, Aurora!”
Xingyu involuntarily leapt into the air but could not approach.
Magic quickly corrupted and collapsed in the face of this bizarre boundary sea matter.
Falling into hell!
Only by observing the boundary sea matter up close could one truly understand its horror.
Contacting it could cost one’s soul.
“Don’t worry, she should be fine.”
Jinwang pulled Xingyu back to avoid her touching the strange matter.
Compared to Aurora, Jinwang was more worried about the boundary sea matter.
Such dense boundary sea matter was just like back then with that guy.
Although not abundant, its spread could alter the nearby environment again!
***
“Even if divine particles are miraculous, I don’t believe you can escape unscathed!”
Succeeding in a last-ditch counterattack, Wangchuan felt a rare sense of satisfaction.
From the start, he had been crushed relentlessly, and now he could finally catch his breath.
He still had to keep her alive and study the secrets within her body…?!
No, the barrier magic blocking the boundary sea matter’s approach… it hadn’t disappeared?
Wangchuan suddenly looked forward—
Through the gray fog, a graceful figure parted the smoke with absolute confidence, absolute posture, and absolute composure.
“You really don’t understand anything.”
Luoyou said slowly, “The concentration of boundary sea matter inside a light-harvesting class is so high that even magical girls would surely die upon contact. Do you know why Akaha survived and transformed within it back then?”
Terror flowed inside Wangchuan’s body.
“C-could her inherent magic be—?!”
“Almost as you imagine. That light-harvesting dimensional beast died back then precisely because of that inherent magic…”?!
Wangchuan suddenly recalled something and, terrified, tried to summon back the primordial substance inside his body.
“It’s useless, useless. Even without Akaha’s inherent magic, divine particles can control and resist this substance. You never had a chance from the start.”
“No! Give it back!”
With a harrowing scream, he completely lost his life.
His body shattered into pieces, falling into the boundary sea, sinking into its vast expanse.
This time, he was truly dead.
The primordial boundary sea matter inside his body wasn’t recovered, leaving no chance of revival.
“…What should I do with this?”
A large number of nine-colored particles surged from Luoyou, forming a world that contained the boundary sea matter stripped from Wangchuan.
The simplest way to deal with it was to throw it back into the boundary sea and be done with it.
She certainly wasn’t going to, like Akaha, fuse these substances into herself. Akaha had barely survived the ordeal, and Luoyou had no intention of trying.
After a moment, she thought of a possible solution.
***
Xue hid in a pit and jumped out with a “bang” as Luoyou landed in front of her.
“Luoyou! Is it over?”
“Mm, come with me.”
Luoyou picked up Xue and swiftly returned to that place.
She wanted Xue—who had once dealt with the existence of a light-harvesting dimensional beast—to handle these materials, hoping to verify a certain suspicion.
Xue dangled midair, limbs flailing wildly.
“Xue, do you want these?” “I’ll try.”
“Don’t push it. Just take a little first.”
Under Luoyou’s guidance, a tiny amount of boundary sea matter gathered before Xue, who surprisingly showed no caution and inhaled it like smoke!
“Hmm! Not bad! Some of my old power has returned!”
“Oh? Then a bit more.”
Luoyou raised an eyebrow, surprised it actually worked.
Although she had never seen it firsthand, according to intelligence from the Heterodox Organization, each light-harvesting dimensional beast’s boundary sea matter was unique.
Though originating from the boundary sea, it had undergone fundamental changes within their bodies.
Xue absorbing matter from a different light-harvesting class should have caused rejection.
“You used to say it was disgusting, right?”
Luoyou asked.
“Hmm… I meant that guy’s existence itself was disgusting. It defied reason.”
“I see.”
“Any more questions? I’m about to show off!”
“Mm, go ahead and show off.”
Since the subject approved, Luoyou didn’t interfere.
If these boundary sea materials could help Xue grow stronger, all the better.
Xue gaining self-defense also made things easier for her.
Back at the Canglan Ruins, the tolerant Saint Litia had entrusted Xue to her, saying Xue was humanity’s hope to understand the boundary sea.
Luoyou thought to herself that this was a step closer to their goal.
***
Having resolved one matter, Luoyou felt no joy—only fatigue.
She hadn’t expected that even today, someone would dredge up Akaha’s secrets and try to replicate them.
Without the support of multiple factions, the Heterodox Organization alone couldn’t have done it.
It seemed that the coveting of Akaha’s power had started back when she was still alive.
Years of preparation had culminated in Wangchuan.
【After today, I wonder if those behind Wangchuan will give up?】
The years of effort from various factions were so easily crushed by her, and they should be somewhat disappointed.
There wouldn’t be another Wangchuan-level specimen.
After all, no one could find another light-harvesting class corpse for their experiments.
Wangchuan was their pinnacle.
After a few seconds, Luoyou thought again: 【No, they definitely won’t give up.】
Though the experiment was still immature, it was a huge development.
Humanity had finally found a second way to gain power besides spiritual ability.
If it continued, sooner or later they’d produce results better than Wangchuan.
But at least no one would try to explore Akaha’s secrets anymore.
As long as that was ensured, Luoyou had no reason to act.
But there was one person she had to reprimand.
“Aura.”
Luoyou’s eyes gleamed coldly.
That woman needed to be whipped.