Ten minutes later, Monice arrived with a massive crowd of people.
The people following Monice were all researchers from the Magic Department.
They had all undergone Transformation and were now able to sense the existence of Vast Power.
Finally, their magical research no longer felt like blind men feeling around in the dark.
Now that Luo Xiangyue claimed she had obtained Monster Origin Substance, these researchers, who had nowhere to use their newfound strength, naturally rushed over to watch the spectacle.
“Let’s go to the no-man’s land!” As soon as Monice arrived, she took command. With a single order, she led the group toward the distant, uninhabited wilderness.
On the Wasteland, the researchers she brought quickly set up various research instruments, determined not to let a single detail of the Monster Origin Substance escape them.
Once the preparations were complete, Monice gave Luo Shuangyue an OK gesture.
Then, she and the other Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls stood ready to face any danger that might appear at any moment.
“Well then, I’m starting.” Luo Shuangyue took out the Sealing Card, sent it a distance away from her, and then controlled the Card to slowly dissolve.
As the white Card gradually melted away, a heavy pressure settled on everyone’s hearts.
When a wisp of Black Qi leaked out from the white Card, that pressure reached its limit.
Almost simultaneously, several Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls raised their hands, intending to launch a lethal strike against that wisp of Black Qi.
“Wait, don’t attack yet. It isn’t a threat for now,” Luo Shuangyue quickly called out to the Magical Girls who could not restrain their urge to act.
Hearing Luo Xiangyue’s shout, the Magical Girls who were about to strike exchanged glances and silently lowered their hands.
They realized that their thoughts seemed to have been influenced by something.
This influence made them perceive that wisp of Black Qi as an enemy that had to be eliminated, which was why they had almost attacked reflexively.
Now that Luo Shuangyue had reminded them, they were able to use their immense self-control to suppress those thoughts and follow Luo Shuangyue’s arrangements.
Meanwhile, the researchers had already gone into full gear, beginning to conduct various data observations on the wisp of Black Qi.
It was estimated that they would soon determine its various properties.
“An abnormal phenomenon is appearing in the sky. It looks like a precursor to a Magical Beast Disaster,” a Soul Butterfly suddenly warned.
While the others were focused on the Black Qi, she had looked up to shift her focus, and that shift actually allowed her to see something interesting.
The sky grew dark, and a faint sense of oppression descended upon everyone’s hearts, as if warning them that something terrifying was coming.
The battle-hardened Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls naturally knew what this was.
Wasn’t this the special effect that preceded the descent of a Demon?
They relied on these signs to disrupt the descent of Demons, but this particular manifestation looked a bit like a Demon Emperor’s arrival.
No, the scale seemed a bit small, but the quality was indeed that of a Demon Emperor…
“The range of influence isn’t large, but the intensity is impressive. How strange…” Monice looked up at the sky, letting out a confused sound.
“It might be because the quality of this Black Qi is enough to become a Demon Emperor, but the volume is too small to attract such a massive disaster,” Luo Shuangyue offered her guess.
The descent process for Demons on the Mother Star was similar to that in the Otherworld.
It always started with a disaster like the Black Calamity, with the Demon gestating at its core.
And this time, the center of the Black Calamity happened to be right where they were. This could not be a coincidence.
The moment she released the Black Qi, the Black Calamity appeared, and its characteristics were identical to the Black Qi.
There was no such thing as such a perfect coincidence.
This Black Calamity was definitely coming for this Black Qi.
It wanted the Black Qi to become a true Demon!
Since she already knew the goal of the Black Calamity, Luo Shuangyue naturally would not let it have its way.
“I’ll handle the Black Calamity. Mentors, please continue to watch the Black Qi!”
After saying that, Luo Shuangyue flew straight into the sky and began to confront the forming Black Calamity.
Calling it a confrontation was actually Luo Shuangyue ruthlessly absorbing the Demonic Energy from within the forming Black Calamity. As long as she sucked all the Demonic Energy dry, the Black Calamity would have no show to put on, right?
Compared to breaking such a natural disaster head-on, Luo Shuangyue’s method of striking at the root was much more efficient, but the threshold was also very high.
After all, a normal Magical Girl could not absorb Demonic Energy as recklessly as she did.
If a Soul Butterfly absorbed too much Demonic Energy, it could give them an upset stomach or even damage their brains.
But for Luo Shuangyue, it wasn’t much of a problem.
There was no Evil Intent in this Black Calamity—only pure Demonic Energy.
Was it perhaps because there were subtle differences in how the two worlds created Demons?
The World Consciousness of the Otherworld would inject the Evil Intent to destroy the world into the Black Qi while the Demon was still in its original form.
That way, it wouldn’t need to mix poison into the Black Calamity when the Demon was actually born.
The World Consciousness of Luo Shuangyue’s world, however, did not do it that way.
It took a dual, firm approach, not only messing with the Demon’s consciousness but also continuing to act on its mind during the Black Calamity, ensuring the Demon became a tool that viewed the destruction of the world as its sole purpose.
Both methods were aimed at killing the target, so it didn’t really matter which one was better or worse.
However, for Luo Shuangyue, the Otherworld consciousness’s method was certainly better.
She didn’t even need to digest the Demonic Energy she absorbed from this Black Calamity; she could just eat it in one go.
Demonic Energy without added poison was truly convenient to eat. It was just a bit lacking in quantity, not enough to fill her stomach.
Luo Shuangyue was now a Demon with a massive appetite.
Her power no longer had an upper limit.
As long as she kept eating, her strength would keep rising. It might not even be impossible for her to surpass her two mothers.
Of course, that was only a possibility.
After all, if she wanted to surpass her two mothers, she would need to eat at least one Demon of the same level as herself to advance her strength once more.
To put it plainly, she would have to eat that massive Black Qi monster to become invincible, but once she ate it, she was more likely to lose her mind before becoming invincible.
At that time, if half her brain wanted her to destroy this place and the other half wanted her to destroy that place, every choice would be a problem.
She couldn’t very well destroy both worlds at the same time, could she?
“It’s not even enough to get stuck between my teeth. How stingy.” Luo Shuangyue muttered softly after absorbing the Black Calamity in front of everyone, slowly landing back on the ground amidst their respectful gazes.
“How are you feeling, Little Butterfly? Is your stomach okay?”
“Is it really fine to absorb so much Demonic Energy at once? Do you need your sister to help check on you?”
Facing everyone’s concern, Luo Shuangyue quickly assured them she was perfectly fine.
That tiny bit of Demonic Energy wasn’t enough to bloat her stomach.
While she was absorbing the Demonic Energy, the research work on the ground was also proceeding in an intense and orderly fashion.
After recording some of the more basic data, Monice began to try her hand at the Black Qi.
She first tried attacking the wisp of Black Qi with her own Demonic Energy to see how it would react.
With that one strike, she discovered that the properties of the Black Qi were very similar to the Original Magic Power of Demons.
“This data matches up with that. So, other than the difference in appearance, is this Black Qi actually a Demon’s Original Magic Power?”
After several attempts, Monice quickly reached a conclusion. This Black Qi was simply another form of a Demon’s Original Magic Power.
As for why it looked like this now, it was perhaps because it had not yet undergone the process of solidifying into Original Magic Power—for example, that Black Calamity that had just appeared and been eaten as a snack by Luo Shuangyue.
It was indeed a Demon’s Original Magic Power, but it had been snatched from the World Gap by Luo Shuangyue before it had a chance to become a Demon.
The Black Calamity that would have allowed it to grow had also been intercepted halfway by Luo Shuangyue, so it was understandable that it remained in its juvenile form.
“If it’s Original Magic Power, could it be purified using a similar method?” Monice had a rough idea in mind.
“Probably not. My mother tried to purify this stuff, but as far as I know, she never succeeded,” Luo Shuangyue chimed in.
It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in her Store Manager’s abilities, but White Night had clearly told her that this Black Qi could not be purified.
Luo Shuangyue felt that her mother wouldn’t lie to her about this.
Monice admitted she didn’t have high hopes either, but since the Black Qi was already in her hands, she had to try everything once, right?
Maybe she would get lucky like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse and find a way to deal with the Black Qi.
Currently, humanity could only gamble—gamble on finding a solution.
Since it was a gamble, one naturally had to be a bit bolder.
Seeing Monice so determined, Luo Shuangyue gave up on trying to persuade her further. In her eyes, this was a waste of time.
However, reality soon played a little joke on her.
Under the constant washing of Monice’s Magic Power, that clump of Black Qi actually acted just like the Original Magic Power of the Demons.
It gradually lost its original pitch-black color and turned into a clump of Demonic Energy carrying Monice’s aura.
“Purification successful?” Looking at the successfully purified clump of Demonic Energy in her hand, Monice turned her head to look at Luo Shuangyue.
‘Were you just lying to me!’
Luo Shuangyue was also stunned.
She clearly remembered her mother telling her that the Black Qi could not be purified.
Could her mother have been lying to her?
‘Mother wouldn’t be making fun of me, would she? Surely not.’ Luo Shuangyue drifted over to Monice’s side, her eyes burning as she looked at the clump of Demonic Energy.
The chaotic consciousness within the Black Qi had vanished completely.
This was now a clump of extremely pure Magic Power that could be absorbed by a Soul Butterfly.
“No, White Night is not the kind of person who doesn’t know the weight of her words. If she said that, it should mean she indeed tried to purify this Black Qi but failed,” Monice shook her head in disagreement.
She had been friends with White Night for many years and knew what kind of person she was.
In a matter like this, White Night certainly wouldn’t play tricks.
Then why could the Black Qi that White Night could not purify be purified relatively easily by her?
“It’s definitely not a matter of strength. Mother said that no matter how weak the Black Qi she attacked was, she could never completely purify its consciousness.” Luo Shuangyue eliminated one incorrect option for Monice.
Strength had nothing to do with this.
Then was it the method?
The purification method Monice used was the one recently discovered by Luo Shuangyue. White Night had been staying at the World Gap and might not have known about the updated purification methods used by the Magical Girls.
“Maybe it’s because the purification method I use is more advanced?”
“There’s no point in blind guessing. We should just go over there and try it out, and take some test subjects back while we’re at it.”
If they could find a way to completely purify the Black Qi Path Creatures, the pressure on her mother’s side would be greatly, greatly reduced.
Seeing hope, Luo Shuangyue’s motivation was naturally maxed out.
Coincidentally, the Black Qi she brought back had been purified by Monice, so she would make another trip and let Monice go over there to test the purification methods of this world.
That way, every condition would be basically the same except for the experimental site.
If it worked in one place and failed in the other, it would mean the inability to purify was due to that Grey Wasteland rather than the Black Qi itself.
If that were the case, many things would have room for maneuver.
“Go there directly?”
“Yeah, the Spatial Channel has already been opened. A round trip won’t even take half a day,” Luo Shuangyue nodded.
Rather than sitting here wondering, it was better to run over there and experiment. That was her thought.
After thinking for a few seconds, Monice agreed that Luo Shuangyue was right.
She handed the Demonic Energy she had just purified to the researchers beside her, letting them determine the difference between this clump of Magic Power and other purified Magic Power after she left.
Meanwhile, she would follow Luo Shuangyue to that even more important place.
“Do you want to bring more things over? If there’s anything else that needs to be done, we can do it all at once. If nothing else, we can gather some data.”
“That makes sense, but the environment over there probably isn’t suitable for ordinary people or general equipment, right?” Monice countered.
Luo Shuangyue, who hadn’t really cared about living environments since becoming a Demon, only then remembered that not everyone was as tough as she was.
The Transhumans were just people who had been transformed to gain the ability to sense Magic Power; they hadn’t directly become superhumans.
Their ability to adapt to the environment was indeed better than average people’s, but if you threw them into space, they would still die.
And the World Gap… for Transhumans, that place was definitely like Hell.
There was no air to breathe, and Black Qi permeated everywhere.
That Black Qi couldn’t harm Luo Shuangyue or a Magical Girl, but Transhumans weren’t that powerful.
If they went over, the most likely outcome was being killed directly by the harsh environment, their corpses decomposed and devoured by that Demonic Energy.
As for research equipment, those precision instruments were certainly not suited for working in such a place.
“I didn’t think it through. But are you really enough on your own?”
“Are you questioning my strength? To be honest, the data measured by those instruments isn’t even as accurate as what I can see with my own eyes.” Monice let out a proud snort and pointed to her eyes.