The surging Dark Magic Power spread out along the cracks on Ye Wanqing’s body like seeping blood, a sight both shocking and terrifying.
The moment it sensed Su Mu’s touch, the irregularly drifting black particles, like tadpoles finding their mother, all swayed in unison, eager to rush into Su Mu’s body.
Under Su Mu’s conscious guidance, they smoothly merged into her still-immature Magical Girl core.
The next instant, Su Mu’s expression and body were twisted by intense pain, and she writhed wildly as if unable to curl up.
Pain!
She almost lost even the most basic ability to think.
Her fingers gripping Ye Wanqing’s arm trembled uncontrollably, and she opened her mouth underwater in a pained cry, but no sound came out.
Her body seemed frozen, unable to move, only the sharp agony continuously stabbing at her consciousness kept her awake.
But the absorption of magic power had already begun and could not be stopped.
Wave after wave of massive Dark Magic Power surged through every fiber of Su Mu’s limbs, draining the rosy hue from her delicate face in a matter of moments until it was as pale as paper.
Her pair of once-vibrant blue eyes lost color and focus, trembling violently.
Her biological instinct urged her to escape this torment, to flee this dreadful experience that might kill her.
What was once a familiar, even enjoyable process now felt unbearably long and agonizing, to the point that she even wished for death.
Yes, she longed for death to bring a sweet end to this pain.
Irina, watching all this helplessly, slammed her fists into the sand repeatedly, her voice hoarse and broken.
“It’s all my fault. No matter what, I shouldn’t have let her bear this.”
“This was my Dark Magic Power, my endless malice I brought upon myself. I had finally managed to completely transfer it into the Dream World, but I never expected it to return in this form.”
The layers upon layers of dark mist-like Dark Magic Power had now spread through Su Mu’s First and Second Dreamscapes, so pervasive that even Irina, in the Third Dreamscape, could feel their reckless presence.
Yet she dared not touch or even approach Su Mu’s dream.
“If I get closer, it will only cause worse consequences—maybe even ruin everything.”
“Don’t be discouraged, it’s not over yet.”
A light voice drifted from behind the kneeling pink-haired witch.
At some point, a familiar black-haired girl had appeared not far off, her graceful gait and tone unchanged.
It was Tang Nai from the dream, still very unfamiliar to Su Mu, but Irina didn’t need to look back to know who it was.
“It’s all your fault, Tang Nai, forcing Su Mu to be some kind of Magical Girl.”
“It’s okay. I promise I’ll make sure you become a proper Magical Girl.”
“…I just don’t understand you.”
Irina gently smoothed Ye Wanqing’s tangled hair on her lap.
To Su Mu, Tang Nai always seemed unreliable.
Just now, she ignored Irina’s warnings and stubbornly rushed in to tear apart Edma’s last resistance.
They had only known each other for a few months, and Irina even less, only a week.
Yet Tang Nai was willing to go to such lengths.
Was she stupid?
‘No, I’m the bigger fool. From the start, I should have just sent her back.’
“You didn’t come here just to watch me make a fool of myself, did you?”
“I don’t have that kind of leisure. Hey, give me your hand.”
“Hah, you’re just a boring jerk, aren’t you?”
Saying this frankly, Irina reluctantly grabbed Tang Nai’s small hand, squeezing hard as if venting her anger.
But the other’s hand was too small to produce any cracking sound.
Honestly, it hurt a bit, but Tang Nai’s expression didn’t change.
She silently transmitted pure magic, cleansing the chaotic magic inside Irina’s body and healing her injuries.
This magic was also controlled by Irina, purifying Ye Wanqing before her.
Unfortunately, it was already a little late.
Dark Magic Power had already infiltrated Ye Wanqing’s Magical Girl core.
Even if removed, some unknown effects would remain, and corruption was not impossible.
Thinking this, Irina sighed deeply.
A similar situation might soon occur with Su Mu, and she had to hurry to resolve it.
At this moment, Su Mu was nearly losing consciousness from the overwhelming pain.
Fortunately, the Dark Magic Power still remembered her body’s shape and didn’t react too aggressively to its old host.
It could be barely suppressed, but her magic core inevitably dimmed little by little.
The Dark Magic Power inside Ye Wanqing remained dense but seemed to be slowly fading instead of maintaining its previous intensity.
It looked like the source had been cut off, but this remaining portion still posed a serious threat.
After gradually adjusting, Su Mu regained consciousness.
Feeling the familiar flow of Dark Magic Power within her, she became somewhat dazed.
As an E Level Strange Person, she hadn’t condensed her own Monster Core, but her three years as a Strange Person had engraved into every cell the ways to coexist with Dark Magic Power.
This was a rare talent even among Strange Persons, but it didn’t mean her Bu Mo Index was higher than others’.
Surprisingly, before becoming a Magical Girl, her body was just flesh and blood—any trained ordinary person could easily take her down.
However, accommodating Dark Magic Power didn’t mean she could control it.
When Su Mu tried to send the thought of communication, she met fierce resistance, as if rejecting temptation.
Not quite like a monk resisting lust… more like this:
Captured Magical Girl Su Mu: “Ugh, just kill me already.”
Muscle-bulging green-skinned troll holding the other end of the rope: “Alrighty.”
Su Mu: “?”
Thus, Su Mu’s plea for peace was violently rejected.
Meanwhile, the restless Dark Magic Power kept rushing toward her magic core nonstop.
In fact, her barely D Level core was not supposed to withstand such an assault.
But perhaps because the Transformation Device had injected pure magic into her, her Magical Girl core shone like stars and briefly resisted the Dark Magic Power’s corruption.
The pain didn’t lessen, but at least the risk of corruption was temporarily held off.
Still, before she could drain all the Dark Magic Power from Ye Wanqing, there was a good chance her body would explode first—her Bu Mo Index was a mere 15%, after all.
Can’t do it after all?
Just as Su Mu fretted, a familiar aura came from behind, filling her with hope.
That water-blue hair swept through the air, light and elegant like a wave lifted by a current.
In mere moments, she stepped onto the water’s surface behind Su Mu.
“Thank goodness, Lando, come quickly…”
Su Mu turned around eagerly, but the unfinished words choked back in her throat when she saw who stood before her.
The familiar figure wasn’t clad in the dashing white military uniform, but wore a gorgeous, cool light-blue gown.
The lace at the hem fluttered behind her, making the standing girl look like a brilliant butterfly orchid caught in the wind.
‘So beautiful.’
But she wasn’t Luo Jialan—or rather, not the Luo Jialan Su Mu knew.
Su Mu’s brow furrowed slightly, her gaze fixed motionless on the shadow line that shouldn’t exist beneath Luo Jialan’s pulled-back clothing.
‘No, you’re not Lando. Lando can’t be this big.’