Chapter 1: After the Magical Girl’s Defeat

Contempt.

“Oh? Even after being injured like this, you still have the strength to stand up?”

A butterfly laced with the aura of death landed on the fingertip of a grey-haired girl.

She looked at the still-defiant magical girl, and a trace of disdain flashed in her eyes.

“Rosemary, if you kneel and beg for mercy, maybe I’ll let you go.”

Kneeling on one knee, the magical girl tightly gripped her pale purple wand, biting her silver teeth as she trembled to her feet.

She pointed the shaking wand at her enemy.

“I will never give up!”

Rosemary didn’t retreat—her gaze burned like fire, even in the face of an overwhelmingly powerful enemy that drove others to despair.

Light purple magic gathered at the tip of her wand.

But before she could finish gathering her power, her enemy dissolved into countless butterflies and, as if teleporting, instantly appeared in front of her, landing a heavy punch to her abdomen.

“Too slow!”

Grey magic pierced through her body, blasting out from her back, draining the color from Rosemary’s face.

“Dark Moth…”

Like a kitten letting out a soft whimper, Rosemary—who had been holding on through sheer willpower—could no longer maintain her transformation after the blow.

As faint violet light scattered from her body, her true form was revealed before Dark Moth’s eyes.

“Hah! I win.”

Dark Moth grinned and lifted the magical girl’s chin with a finger.

“Now let me think how to deal with you. Your magic is pretty tasty… Maybe I’ll take you back as a snack.”

“Oh my, look at that face—what a beauty…”

Dark Moth’s tone shifted from teasing to disbelief, then grew quieter and quieter, until Rosemary could barely hear her.

“…Wait, what?! It’s you?”

That final sentence was so soft that only Dark Moth herself could hear it.

In the next instant, countless grey butterflies swarmed around the now-de-transformed Rosemary, forming a massive cocoon that enveloped her.

“You’re amazing, Lady Dark Moth! That loser Rosemary was no match for you at all!”

A cat-eared girl in a black Gothic dress came running over with adoration on her face.

“That loser Rosemary—didn’t she fall apart? Let me see what she really looks like…”

“Shut up. I still need to get the sealed card from the mountain top. Jiuye, watch over this cocoon. If it goes missing, I’ll deal with you personally!”

Dark Moth cut her off coldly, snorted, and her body once again broke apart into countless fluttering grey butterflies, flying toward the mountaintop.

Jiuye, having just been scolded, scratched her nose, her two tails swaying slowly behind her.

“Lady Dark Moth doesn’t seem too happy…”

“It must be because of that loser Rosemary. Hmph, once Lady Dark Moth gets back, you’re done for!”

She gave the grey cocoon a little kick and grumbled.

But she had no idea what her Lady Dark Moth was going through at that moment.

Question:

As a senior officer of an evil organization, you’ve successfully beaten a magical girl until she de-transformed…

Only to realize the girl you beat up is actually the girl next door you’ve lived alongside for over ten years—your childhood friend.

What do you do now?

Anyway, Dark Moth felt like her brain was about to explode.

“How could it be her?!”

Clutching her head, Dark Moth let out a wail in a secluded grove.

She still remembered how sweetly Rosemary said to her that morning, “Let’s watch a movie together tonight.”

And now, just hours later, she had beaten Rosemary to the point of collapse!

But the worst part was… her organization, Eternal Night, wasn’t exactly friendly toward magical girls. If Rosemary’s identity were discovered by the others in Eternal Night…

“No way, I absolutely cannot let that happen!”

Ming Die braced herself against the nearby tree, lightly bumping her head against the trunk.

What should I do?

There’s no way Rosemary’s allies will make it back in time.

The gray cocoon I just set up might buy a little time, but it won’t take me long to retrieve the sealed card.

If I waste too much time, Jiuyè will definitely get suspicious, and I’ll be affected too…

At that moment, Ming die really wanted to punch her past self from a few days ago.

Why did you have to make such a meticulous plan?

Why were you so desperate to make sure

Rosemary had no chance of turning things around?

Well now, the boomerang has come back to hit you in the face.

There’s no helping it.

To keep things from getting worse, she’d have to use her last resort.

Frustrated, she stomped her foot and removed the butterfly-shaped hair clip from the left side of her hair.

Gray butterflies fluttered away from her body and dispersed into glowing specks.

The elegant dress no less fancy than a magical girl’s outfit vanished, and Ming die returned to her true form.

Black hoodie with the hood down, black track pants, and short, clean-cut white hair—this was Ming die’s real appearance.

Even though she dressed in men’s clothes, on closer inspection, it was still clear that she was a girl.

And “Mingdie” wasn’t her real name.

Her name was Luo Shuangyue.

She tucked the butterfly clip into her pocket and took out another clip.

This one was different—it was pure white and gave off a fresh, light floral scent.

“Sorry, Jiuyè. I’ll have to trouble you for this one.”

She pinned the white clip to the right side of her hair and confidently recited her transformation phrase:

“Byakuya-senpai, lend me your power of light!”

The white hairpin instantly emitted a blinding light.

The intense glow seemed to turn into a thick liquid that enveloped Luo Shuangyue’s body.

Her white hair grew down to her waist and was tied into four ponytails that resembled wings.

Her black clothes disappeared, replaced by a long white dress formed from condensed magical energy.

A long, slender sword made of flowers and vines hung at her waist, making her look less like a magical girl and more like a noble knight.

As the radiance faded, Luo Shuangyue, who just moments ago was exuding villainous energy, had completely transformed.

Looking like this, no one would ever guess she was a villain.

“Still not used to this transformation… Don’t magical girls feel embarrassed flying around in these outfits?”

She glanced down at her calves wrapped in white over-the-knee socks, and the semi-transparent crystal heels on her feet.

Her face flushed slightly as she sighed internally.

It’s exactly because magical girl outfits are even skimpier than villain costumes that she didn’t like using this transformation.

“Of all things to be, you just had to be a magical girl… Xia Mo, you idiot! I’ll remember this debt!”