Ten Years Ago
The magical girl, dressed in her dazzling costume, collapsed weakly in an abandoned field.
Flickers of magical light danced around her, but under the strain of battle, her garments disintegrated into ash.
“Now do you understand the difference between us?”
Her worst nightmare stood before her—Herrera, the embodiment of evil, slowly descended in a lotus-like bloom of silver-white coral, an overwhelming presence that dominated the battlefield.
Terror filled the girl’s eyes.
She never imagined that in less than ten rounds, she would be thoroughly defeated.
“Oh? So you’ve completely given up resisting?”
Herrera snapped her fingers.
The white corals surged forth like a tide.
“Time for some fun and games~!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The coral tendrils stretched like writhing tentacles.
The girl couldn’t evade them in time—her limbs were quickly bound, and she was strung up in the air.
Even in such a humiliating position, she glared at Herrera without the slightest hint of fear.
“Magical girl Feiyu… there’s something mature about you. I like it.”
Herrera gently caressed her cheek and whispered softly, as though preparing the final symphony before the curtain fell.
“You’re so captivating that I’m tempted to give up on all the other magical girls… and focus solely on breaking you~”
But the words of a woman—nothing but beautiful lies.
Over the next three years, more than twenty magical girls would fall victim to Herrera’s cruelty.
From that moment on, Feiyu’s heart burned with a singular, unrelenting desire: revenge.
***
Present Day
Upon hearing that even Ji Yue had once suffered defeat, Zhou Xi felt a wave of surprise—followed by a strange sense of relief.
“So even you…”
“That’s why I’m telling you, there’s no shame in losing to her. In fact, I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
Ji Yue lowered her voice.
“Though it’s supposed to be top secret, some of the Ten Seats… they’ve also been violated by that wretched woman.”
“The Ten Seats too—?”
“Captured. Both of them.”
Ji Yue offered a bitter smile.
She had been there that day, but paralyzed by the trauma of her past encounter with Herrera, she hadn’t even been able to cry out.
“But that battle taught me something. The gap between the Ten Seats and Herrera… isn’t as wide as it seems.”
Determination ignited in Ji Yue’s eyes.
She had seen it herself—even that terrifying, unpredictable Herrera had struggled against the combined assault of two Ten Seats, resorting to cheap tricks to overcome them.
It was proof—Herrera was not invincible.
“Then why… why haven’t we taken her down?”
Ji Yue posed the question—and then followed it with another.
“Zhou Xi, do you know why the current world order has the Awakened handling supernatural crime, while the Magical Alliance deals with dimensional beasts?”
“…I have a general idea.”
The Awakened Organization was responsible for combating supernatural threats.
The Magical Alliance specialized in fighting dimensional beasts.
Both fields earned public support, and over the years, the two forces had developed a tacit understanding to stick to their own domains.
“That’s not what I’m asking. I mean, why is it divided this way?”
“Probably because of our unique capabilities,” Zhou Xi replied.
Magical girls, for all their love-and-justice branding, were incredibly destructive.
Their abilities were particularly effective against large-sized dimensional beasts.
Meanwhile, the Awakened—essentially a gathering of spiritual power users—wielded forces fundamentally different from that of magical girls.
In terms of raw combat strength, few in the Awakened ranks could go toe-to-toe with a magical girl in single combat.
Yet in every past confrontation between them and the Magical Alliance, the Awakened consistently came out ahead.
Because when it came to playing dirty, they pulled no punches.
Magical girls, bound by their ideals, often found themselves helpless against such underhanded tactics.
Thus, assigning the Awakened to handle supernatural crime made perfect sense.
Sometimes, it takes devils to deal with devils.
Right team for the job.
“Exactly. The reason we can’t defeat that wretched woman boils down to one thing—we’re too inflexible!”
Ji Yue’s tone darkened.
“If we were just a little more ruthless… if we’d poisoned her body from the inside… maybe we really could’ve taken Herrera down.”
Not far away, Luo You trembled as she overheard that sentence—her delicate, snow-white body quivering in alarm.
Her legs, still soaking in the water, buckled at the knees.
Her bare feet rose above the surface, and her toes curled reflexively.
“Did she just say—?!”
Poisoning someone from the inside?!
To Luo You—who took great joy in tasting magical girls with her tongue—this was nothing short of a thunderbolt from the blue.
Magical girls, icons of love and justice… would they really resort to such despicable methods?
“Dad?”
Luo Zining’s brows furrowed, startled by the sudden reaction.
Her hands paused just above Luo You’s waist, wondering—wait, was the belly button a no-touch zone?
Wasn’t this response… a little dramatic?
She glanced back.
Luo You’s soaking wet soles had lifted slightly out of the hot spring, the pinkish, slippery bottoms of her feet fully exposed.
“Huh?”
Luo You finally registered the strange sensation at her lower abdomen.
Her cheeks turned crimson as she turned to ask, “Why are you massaging there?”
“Uh… you moved just now, and my hand slipped.”
It had slipped.
From her shoulder… right down to her belly.
“Shoulders and legs are fine. You don’t need to touch anywhere else.”
Luo You shifted uncomfortably, her posture slightly stiff, the tips of her ears tinged red.
Behind her, Luo Zining said nothing, but her eyes sparkled as if she’d stumbled upon a new continent.
She continued eavesdropping without hesitation.
Zhou Xi’s lips parted slightly.
“Poisoning the body from the inside? That’s…”
“I know. That’s something even the Ten Seats would never stoop to.”
Preparing oneself to be captured by Herrera, as if it were inevitable—that notion was impossible for someone with the pride and strength of a Ten Seat to accept.
It would be like subconsciously admitting defeat before the fight even began.
“Forget the Ten Seats. I couldn’t do something like that either,” Zhou Xi frowned.
“You just need to shift your mindset.”
Ji Yue crossed her arms tightly.
“I admit it. You and I—we’re both weak in front of Herrera. So, is it really so wrong for a weakling to put a layer of protection on their own body?”
“I…”
Zhou Xi opened her mouth but had no rebuttal.
She couldn’t deny the logic—but…
Just imagining Herrera sticking out her tongue and licking her, only to suddenly gag and retch into a wall—Zhou Xi couldn’t help but feel a wave of revulsion.
She wasn’t some poisoned trap—she was the victim.
Why should she have to suffer such indignity even after being violated?
“I really can’t go that far,” Zhou Xi shook her head, her voice low.
“Besides… I think Herrera has changed.”
“Oh?”
A gleam flashed in Ji Yue’s eyes.
“Sounds like you’ve learned quite a bit about her. From what I know, you’re the only magical girl who’s been violated by Herrera twice.”
“Wh—That’s not—!”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not judging. I mean it literally. If you’re willing, could you share the details of that second encounter? I need it.”
The fire of vengeance burned in Ji Yue’s gaze.
“To defeat that wretched woman, I need to understand her as deeply as possible!”
Though the water in the hot spring hovered above forty degrees, Zhou Xi shivered.
Oh god… when a woman holds a grudge, it’s terrifying.
Should she really be telling Ji Yue all this?
But then again, Herrera had violated so many magical girls—being obsessed over like this was just karma coming home.
And besides… even if she told her, it’s not like she’d lose, right?
As if a mental lock had quietly clicked into place, Zhou Xi gave in.
She started telling Ji Yue everything she knew.
“The biggest impression I had was… she feels more, I don’t know—human?”
“Human?”
Ji Yue frowned.
“Yeah, that probably doesn’t make much sense to you. Let me put it another way.”
Zhou Xi paused, then said, “She… Herrera… she actually has a daughter now.”
Ji Yue flinched like she’d taken a heavy blow.
The flames of revenge in her eyes dimmed significantly.
Her clenched fists creaked audibly.
“Are you sure?”
“She said it herself.”
“…With who? How do I not know this?”
“You’re asking me? I have no clue.”
If word got out about this, it would probably shake the entire Magical Alliance to its core.
Everyone would want to know—who on earth is the father of Herrera’s child?
“Heh… heheheh…”
Ji Yue let out a few chilling laughs.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I was just thinking… that a woman like her actually has the right to settle down and start a family.”
“…Is that really so strange? Life is unpredictable.”
“Oh sure, good for her,” Ji Yue said sarcastically, covering half her face with her left hand, her expression unreadable.
“But doesn’t that just mean she now has a weakness?”
Zhou Xi’s brows furrowed in concern.
“That’s a dangerous way of thinking.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about threatening her family. I just mean—family is a wonderful thing, but it can also be a burden. That wild, unchained Herrera… now that she has a daughter, I wonder how much of her old strength she still has left?”
“Well…”
Zhou Xi honestly wasn’t sure what the difference was.
All she knew was that, whether it was then or now, she had been effortlessly defeated by Herrera.
She hadn’t even reached the upper limits of Herrera’s power—so there was nothing to compare.
“Zhou Xi,” Ji Yue said suddenly.
“I want to invite you to join our group that’s fighting against Herrera. Would you be willing to join us?”
“A group?”
“Yes. It’s made up entirely of girls who’ve been violated by Herrera. If we want to defeat her, unity is our only hope.”
This made Luo You, still listening nearby, bristle with alarm.
Good heavens!
These magical girls have a trauma support group?!
And they’re actually plotting how to defeat me together?!
[Are you magical girls or magical vengeful wives?! Is this really what you spend your days planning?!]
“Zining, your aunt is seriously scary.”
“Eh? Why do you say that?”
“Hmm… she just seems really… vengeful.”
Luo You rolled onto her back, resting at the edge of the hot spring.
Her pale, snowy breasts rose as she shifted, the soft curves swelling slightly above the waterline.
[She lost so miserably ten years ago. What gives Ji Yue confidence now?]
Ji Yue wasn’t wrong—having a family could be a liability.
And after seven years of retirement, Luo You was definitely rusty.
Even her transformation had been incomplete earlier.
But if anyone dared suggest she was weaker than she had been during her battle with Feiyu ten years ago—
Luo You would simply laugh them off with a cold, “Heh.”