The Wanted List usually refers to the level of threat a magical girl poses to humanity.
Some have achieved their current ranking by actually killing humans, while others are simply so powerful and suited for killing that they’re included on the list.
Take Silver Rin, for example—her danger to humans is immense.
As for Jinluan, she’s on the list because her abilities also pose a significant threat to humanity: her clean, decisive blade, her elusive movement skills that make her nearly impossible to hit, and that rather cold attitude.
In earlier years, Jinluan wasn’t as high as third on the list, but as those ahead of her were eliminated or retired, she climbed up to third place.
The Human Alliance has considered lowering her ranking, but has yet to act.
Magical girl Lunye knows very well the magical girl she’s facing—Jinluan.
Jinluan has revealed a great deal of information about herself to humanity, so many people are aware of her abilities, even if they haven’t fought her themselves.
By contrast, Lunye has disclosed much less to the public, never having hunted before humans.
The Human Alliance knows her general capabilities and style of action from the victims’ accounts, but none of this has been openly released.
Therefore, Huanhong and Jinluan don’t know the specifics of Lunye’s combat methods.
What is known is that, when fighting this Western magical girl, she has some way of rapidly siphoning away her opponent’s magic.
This was intelligence brought by Huanhong.
From the first exchange, Jinluan also learned that Lunye’s attack range is at least forty meters.
She must be wary of these two points.
“Why did you attack us?” Jinluan had already assumed a battle stance, ready to strike at any moment.
She wanted to try and understand this magical girl.
“No, that doesn’t count as an attack,” Lunye’s eyes seemed to shine, unnervingly so in the night, “In your Eastern context, ‘attack’ has a negative meaning, implying wrongdoing. But I wasn’t attacking. I simply want to bring out the most beautiful side of magical girls.”
Jinluan frowned. “What do you mean? I don’t understand.”
Lunye retorted, “Don’t you think magical girls are the most beautiful beings in the world?”
Jinluan’s expression softened a little. “I agree. Magical girls are adorable, so beautiful, they’re like gifts from the heavens.”
“Right, right? You feel it too, don’t you?” Lunye gestured excitedly, “When ropes bind them, and you watch them struggle in vain; when a whip strikes them and their delicate bodies writhe but can’t dodge; when they feel pain, their eyes brimming with tears as they sob and beg for mercy—ah, that’s just too beautiful! Oh~ my pituitary gland is going wild!”
“No!” Jinluan’s face grew resolute. “That’s not it at all! Magical girls should be cherished, like fragile blossoms that need careful tending. What you’re doing is destruction, it’s wrong!”
After her beliefs were refuted, Lunye didn’t get angry, nor would she be so easily convinced.
She looked at Jinluan’s colorful face. “That’s just one form of a magical girl, but it’s far from a perfect work of art. Flowers—only when they face the storm, swaying and on the verge of falling, are at their most beautiful.”
Jinluan: “You’re insane. I absolutely reject your ideas.”
She drew her weapon and pointed it at Lunye.
Lunye also readied herself for battle. “I’ve been waiting to see you howling in agony. For someone so strong to fall to that state—it’ll be beautiful! Frenzy! Pituitary Frenzy unleashed!”
Her look was full of anticipation, the glint in her eyes seemingly brighter—though it was just an illusion, her demeanor radiated madness.
The whip in her hand began to glow as she cast some kind of magic.
Then, she lashed out, the whip elongating dramatically, tracing a massive circle with Lunye at its center.
It was as if she used the whip to create an Absorption Barrier.
Both she and Jinluan were within its scope, and inside, faint magic lingered—it was Lunye’s doing, though the nature of this magic was a mystery, drifting within the Absorption Barrier.
Jinluan didn’t attack right away. Instead, she waited, like a Chivalrous Gentleman, giving Lunye the chance to make the first move.
Thus, Lunye’s spell went off without a hitch.
Once the Absorption Barrier took shape, Jinluan suddenly felt her magic leaking out. Though she wasn’t actively using magic, it was being drawn from her body, dissipating into the air.
No—more precisely, her magic was being funneled into Lunye. This was a technique for absorbing another’s magic.
Huanhong’s sensitivity to magic was weak, so she couldn’t see through Lunye’s tricks.
Jinluan, with her sharper perception, realized her magic was being siphoned away by Lunye.
If she could escape the Absorption Barrier, she could avoid being drained.
Looking around, she saw the Absorption Barrier had a radius of about fifty meters, a hundred meters across—easy enough to exit.
But Jinluan had no intention of leaving. She wanted to defeat Lunye at her strongest, utterly crush her, and make her understand that this was wrong.
Jinluan gauged the rate her magic was leaking and estimated she could last five minutes—enough to settle things with this deranged Western magical girl.
“I’m coming for you now!” Jinluan was quite polite, and with her announcement, her figure vanished in the very next instant.
In a blink, she appeared behind Lunye.
She smashed the back of Lunye’s head hard with the hilt of her blade.
Lunye seemed to have anticipated an attack, defending her front, expecting Jinluan to strike head-on—but guessed wrong, as Jinluan had instantly shifted to her rear.
This blow sent Lunye stumbling, briefly dazed in midair for two seconds, then crashing dozens of meters to the ground.
Jinluan instant-shifted below her and struck Lunye’s side with the back of her blade.
This time, she didn’t actually hurt her, as Lunye quickly activated her magic shield.
Jinluan had held back, refraining from using the blade’s edge.
The two exchanged a few more moves. Lunye gradually got used to Jinluan’s maneuvers and could barely defend against her instant-shifts, even managing to block Jinluan’s blade with her whip on occasion.
Jinluan, in turn, figured out a few of Lunye’s abilities.
Lunye’s close-combat skills were a bit stronger than Huanhong’s, and her shield was much tougher—though still far inferior to Silver Rin’s.
Lunye also had solid long-range physical abilities, with her whip able to strike as far as fifty meters.
But these were all physical attacks—she hadn’t yet revealed her magic attacks, so Jinluan didn’t know how strong those were.
However, this woman could really take a beating—even with blood streaming from her nose, she was still energetic, her eyes shining.
Her left hand was hidden behind her back, faintly glowing, as she cast a spell.
Jinluan didn’t notice this detail.
Thinking it was time to end the fight, she instant-shifted again, appearing behind Lunye in a flash, repeating her earlier tactic.
Just as she was about to swing her blade and finish the battle, her whole body suddenly became sluggish, as if she were swinging her sword underwater, her speed plummeting.
This critical slowdown meant she couldn’t attack or retreat in time—a length of whip suddenly wrapped tightly around her left ankle.
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