“Magical Girls with close-combat abilities lead the front, while those with ranged attacks stay in the rear.” Porcelain Moon commanded the squad as they pressed forward.
“This area no longer has any fully formed Aberrant Beast combatants, but there are still quite a few that haven’t been completely wiped out. Leave some people behind to clean them up.”
“The last few elite fighters will come with me deeper into the cave.”
Porcelain Moon sensed the presence of the Kingdom-Class Aberrant Beast known as the Earth Dragon nearby.
If a battle broke out, many would be injured, so she could only wait for the others to finish the cleanup and withdrawal first.
After half an hour, all the cleanup work was complete, and the retreat route was clear. Most of the weaker Magical Girls had already pulled back.
“That should be enough… Before we proceed with the further lure operation, let me get to know your names first.” Porcelain Moon looked at the three Magical Girls who had stayed behind.
“I’ll go first!” The blonde girl who had been following her closely said, “My name is Chen Lisi! I’m a ranged A-Class Magical Girl. Porcelain Moon-senpai, I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time!”
Chen Lisi eagerly stepped forward, reaching out to shake Porcelain Moon’s hand.
Since when did I have fans? Porcelain Moon wondered.
“Alright, alright, if you want an autograph, come ask me after the mission is over. Next, you.”
Porcelain Moon turned to a cool, black-haired girl she had been curious about, impressed by her performance during the earlier battle.
“Porcelain Moon-senpai, my name is Ying Xian, an A-Class Magical Girl specializing in close combat, formerly of the Kongling Squad. I’m sorry for the huge sacrifice made during yesterday’s rescue operation because of me…” Ying Xian lowered her head, rubbing the soles of her feet in guilt.
“That’s not your fault,” a girl with blue twin tails comforted her.
“By the way, Porcelain Moon-senpai, my codename is Lin Xing, but I’d much rather you call me by my real name, Zhang Pengtong!”
The blue-haired twin-tail girl said, her hairstyle reminding Porcelain Moon of a certain anime character.
“We’re ready to evacuate.”
“I’m a special-type A-Class Magical Girl! I can teleport short distances. My assigned task from the organization is to facilitate your emergency extraction if needed.”
“That’s a really useful ability.”
Porcelain Moon said, teleportation abilities like that had always been rare among Magical Girls, making those who possessed them very valuable and usually exempt from frontline combat.
“Thank you for the compliment, Porcelain Moon-senpai!” Lin Xing grinned broadly.
Regarding Magical Girls’ codenames and real names, those below A-Class usually had no formal rules. Some preferred to be called by their real names, others by their codenames.
During missions, these names weren’t standardized, which was one of the freedoms of being a Magical Girl that Porcelain Moon secretly wanted to complain about.
“Alright, now that I know who you all are, you’ll follow my orders from here on. When it’s time to retreat, you retreat. I don’t want anyone getting injured or worse right under my watch—Kingdom-Class Aberrant Beasts are no joke.” Porcelain Moon warned them.
“Understood.” The three answered in unison.
They finally reached the deepest part of the cave, the true heart of the Aberrant Beast’s Hive.
It was a vast space, hundreds of meters wide and long.
“I didn’t expect such a large space underground.” Porcelain Moon sighed as she examined the area carefully with the Drone’s illumination. The ground was covered with dormant Aberrants.
“That one should be a Primal Magical Beast.” Ying Xian pointed at a bloated, rounded Aberrant. “It hasn’t noticed us yet. We can quickly kill it and take it back as a specimen.”
“Don’t stir up unnecessary trouble.” Porcelain Moon patted her on the head. “Our primary mission is to lure the enemy out. First, locate the Earth Dragon.”
“Senpai, it looks like a few Aberrants have spotted us.” Chen Lisi noticed several waking Aberrants not far away.
Ying Xian pulled out a small knife and swiftly approached before the Aberrants could react loudly.
The red blade quickly sliced open an Aberrant’s skin, exposing its core, which was then smashed. All of this happened in under ten seconds; six Knight-level Aberrants were killed in the blink of an eye.
“Well done.” Porcelain Moon praised her.
Ying Xian kicked the carcasses aside. “It’s what I’m supposed to do.”
The four of them advanced deeper along a narrow path spaced between Aberrants. The further they went, the higher the levels of the surrounding Aberrants became.
Porcelain Moon felt uneasy. “If something goes wrong, Lin Xing, quickly take the other two back. Don’t worry about me.”
Chen Lisi looked confused. “Why? We can’t just abandon you, Senpai!”
“I’m much stronger than you. You should focus on your own safety first.” Porcelain Moon didn’t really expect these three A-Class Magical Girls to be much help.
The strength of a Kingdom-Class Aberrant Beast was beyond their reach.
“Porcelain Moon-senpai, I understand. Please be careful.” Lin Xing said worriedly, gripping a uniquely shaped Magical Rod—the medium through which she cast her teleportation magic.
They reached the cave’s center, and Porcelain Moon sensed the Kingdom-Class Aberrant Beast nearby.
“A Kingdom-Class Aberrant Beast is never under a hundred meters in size. Why aren’t there any large Aberrants around here?”
Ying Xian asked in confusion as she classified the sleeping Aberrants beside her. “This one’s Baron-level, that one Count-class…”
“Strange. I can definitely feel a powerful presence nearby…”
Chen Lisi glanced around nervously. The cave was lit only by Drones equipped with autonomous combat capabilities that could act independently of remote control, though they were usually barely adequate.
“Can you contact the organization?” Porcelain Moon asked.
Lin Xing answered, “No… The electromagnetic pulse interference here is too strong.”
“There’s only one possibility…” Porcelain Moon looked down. “It’s buried right beneath our feet.”
Porcelain Moon instructed Lin Xing to bring a long detection device capable of sensing subtle abnormal fluctuations.
Following the rising signal, Porcelain Moon came to a strange black, flowing object.
“Is this part of its body?” Porcelain Moon asked.
But no one responded.
She turned around—and no one was there.
“Where did you all go?!” Porcelain Moon panicked, but the surroundings were silent.
The Drones had all vanished.
In her six years as a Magical Girl, she had never seen anything like this—except once, before she became a Magical Girl.
The Aberrants in the cave began to awaken, all silently watching her without moving. Porcelain Moon could see the black pupils of every Aberrant’s eyes, their bodies covered with countless eyes…
Porcelain Moon felt dizzy and disoriented.
The purple-black thoughts of the Aberrants seeped out from those innumerable eyes, filling the cave and engulfing her.
Countless sensations—touch, taste, hearing, and sight—attacked her all at once like a tidal wave. She felt suffocated and helpless.