“Although I don’t really like that guy, I do quite like you two little nieces.”
As the saying goes, every injustice has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor.
The bastard who ran off with her right-hand woman was White Night; these two little girls didn’t have much to do with it.
Monice’s relationship with the parents of these two sisters wasn’t that bad.
Although she disapproved of how White Night had whisked someone away and then disappeared all those years ago, it had been so long now that she couldn’t be bothered to keep clinging to those grudges.
Both nieces were well-behaved and adorable, and one of them was even working to pay off her father’s debts.
She was already quite satisfied.
Now, with her older niece working under her and in danger, as their elder, of course she had to step in and help out—right?
“Good, then let’s discuss how to restrain her.” Monice had just finished speaking when Long Wen took over, joining the remaining Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls in discussing how to make Luo Shuangyue quietly accept Purification Magic without harming her.
Right now, they still didn’t know what Luo Shuangyue would be like after emerging from the cocoon, so all they could do was consider the worst-case scenario:
That Luo Shuangyue really had become a Demon Emperor.
In such a situation, trying to restrain her without causing harm would be extremely difficult.
So, the discussion quickly shifted to how to control Luo Shuangyue without killing her.
At any rate, the first priority was to save her—even if she got hurt, that was a minor issue!
“Fumo-jie, why don’t you go and rest for a bit?” While the seniors urgently discussed, Luo Shuangxing flew over to Xia Mo’s side, her voice tinged with worry as she spoke.
Xia Mo now seemed like a doll that had lost its soul.
Her eyes were devoid of light, gloomy emotions lingering deep within, her whole body radiating an aura of sadness.
Luo Shuangxing could feel the faintness of Xia Mo’s presence.
During the recent battle, Xia Mo had pushed herself to the very edge of collapse.
The only reason she could still maintain her transformation and stand here was thanks to the sliver of hope left in her heart.
She hoped that, after the black cocoon shattered, the person emerging would be her familiar lover.
She wanted to see that slightly embarrassed, apologetic look on her face.
“Shuangxing, she’ll be alright, won’t she?”
“Mhm, sister will definitely be fine, I promise.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do anything to help… Even though I’m her lover, the one who promised to spend her life with her!” Xia Mo covered her face with her right hand, her voice trembling.
“Am I really that useless?”
“No, Xia Mo-jie, you’ve already done really well. It’s just that there are some things only I can do.”
Faced with this situation, what could Xia Mo do? She was just an ordinary Initial Bloom-class Magical Girl.
Her power had already been exhausted in the last great battle.
She had made an indelible contribution to this victory; asking her to help now was simply impossible.
Xia Mo was a flesh-and-blood mortal, not an omnipotent god—there were bound to be things she couldn’t do.
Even if Xia Mo was at her peak, she wouldn’t be able to handle what Luo Shuangyue was facing now.
Only Luo Shuangxing, the girl who’d received White Night’s hairpin, could resolve this.
“So, Xia Mo-jie, you should go rest—”
“No. Just let me watch here. I want the first thing she sees when she comes out of that darkness to be me. I want her to know that no matter what she becomes, I’ll always be by her side,” Xia Mo said softly.
The girl’s fists clenched tightly, her words filled with unshakable determination.
Luo Shuangxing lowered her gaze.
She knew she couldn’t persuade Xia Mo-jie to leave.
When it came to things concerning her sister, Xia Mo-jie was always like this.
Because of this, she couldn’t let Xia Mo-jie, or any of the other seniors, or her mother—who had entrusted her with their last hope—down.
Mother had foreseen the current situation and placed the solution before her; all she needed to do was follow it.
As for her mother being a powerful Magical Girl—
Luo Shuangxing didn’t really feel the impact.
After all, with so many Magical Girls at home, having such a beautiful mother as a Magical Girl didn’t seem strange.
She was only curious: where would such a powerful mother be now?
Sister said mother must still be alive, that she’d find her one day.
Before, Luo Shuangxing didn’t understand where Luo Shuangyue’s confidence came from.
Now she knew—it was because the hairpin was proof that mother was still alive.
When she touched the hairpin, the warmth that surged from her fingertips to her chest made Luo Shuangxing certain: her mother was still alive.
“Xia Mo-jie, believe in our mother. Believe in White Night-senpai, whom you admire and trust the most! We will definitely bring sister back.”
Should she believe? Should she believe in that white figure who once brought her light and faith?
The corners of Xia Mo’s lips curled up slightly, and for the first time, a bit of change appeared on her lifeless face.
Now, all she could do was believe, wasn’t it?
“Can you store up Purification Magic in advance, and as soon as Dark Moth comes out of the cocoon, throw it right at her?” Monice slid a translucent panel in front of Luo Shuangxing, asking for her opinion on the plan.
Striking preemptively, catching Luo Shuangyue off guard with Purification Magic the moment she emerged—this seemed like the simplest strategy.
But clearly, things wouldn’t be so easy.
“No, it won’t work. It takes at least three minutes to cast this Purification Magic, and my transformation time is exactly the same as the time needed to use this magic.” Luo Shuangxing shook her head with a wry smile.
She’d just tried transforming with the hairpin and had calculated the maximum time she could hold it.
It was as if the mother who left this backup had the power of foresight—Luo Shuangxing’s Purification Magic casting time was nearly identical to her transformation time.
After transforming, she could only cast that one Purification Magic.
As for storing up power in advance… the timing was just too tight.
Luo Shuangxing only had three minutes.
If she misjudged the timing of Luo Shuangyue’s emergence, it’d all be for nothing.
Who could know how long it would take for Luo Shuangyue to break out of the cocoon? It could be instant or it could drag on for half a day.
But…
Luo Shuangxing only had one shot; she had to play it safe.
“In that case, let’s give it the full three minutes,” Monice nodded.
“We’ve already contacted Headquarters and had them send over a batch of powerful Restraint Devices. We’ll use these ourselves—they can even restrain a Royal-Class Magic Beast for several minutes.”
As for why they hadn’t used something so good before…
Well, a Demon Emperor is so massive that no matter how strong the Restraint Device, it couldn’t work on an entire Star.
These devices were more effective the smaller the target, and after Luo Shuangyue emerged, she should be human-sized, right?
The current concern was whether Luo Shuangyue would break out before the Restraint Devices arrived. If so, they’d have to resort to rougher methods to restrain her.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Luo Shuangyue quietly slept until the Restraint Devices were delivered.
Watching the returning seniors assemble the large crates into several huge launchers, Luo Shuangxing felt slightly more at ease.
With these, the chances of success had to be higher, right?
The pitch-black cocoon slumbered silently in the starry sky, floating like a lifeless object.
The Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls tried all sorts of ways to probe the cocoon’s interior, but all were in vain.
They could only draw one conclusion: it was best not to use brute force to break the cocoon, as that carried a high risk of harming Luo Shuangyue inside.
It could even result in Luo Shuangyue’s death in the Yellow Springs.
But they were here to save her, not to kill her.
To be sure, the safest method would be to strike while she was down, rip the cocoon open without hesitation, and face little risk.
Luo Shuangyue was ascending; if her advancement was interrupted, at most she’d be a half-step Blooming-Rank, and no threat to Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls.
But… to really do that, the Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls just couldn’t bear it.
Luo Shuangyue had just helped everyone defeat the invading monsters, and her current state was entirely their fault.
For them to consider killing Luo Shuangyue now over such a matter…
That would be utterly heartless!
And besides, Luo Shuangyue was White Night’s child—that’s White Night!
White Night might have disappeared, but she was still alive somewhere.
What if White Night returned one day and found out about this? How would she feel?
Luo Shuangyue was White Night’s own daughter!
In every sense, the Magical Girls had no other choice.
They had to follow the plan White Night left behind, letting Luo Shuangxing purify Luo Shuangyue with Purification Magic.
It was their only option.
Even if they failed and Luo Shuangyue perished, at least they’d have something to explain to White Night, right?
“Honestly, I hope that when she comes out, she’ll still have a bit of reason left, stand still, and obediently accept the Purification Magic. That way, everyone’s job would be easier.” Singularity, who had returned, flexed her wrists, her face full of annoyance.
Behind her stood a blond-haired girl with six wings—an angelic figure who was clutching Singularity’s neck tightly, scolding, “You, get back! There’s nothing here for you to do!”
“I know this girl! I have to help!” Singularity refused to give in.
“You’ll only make things worse, you idiot! We’re here to restrain her, not kill her!”
Other Magical Girls tried to calm Singularity down.
After all, she was completely non-functional for this task, all her skills invested in offense.
If she joined in and accidentally absorbed Luo Shuangyue into her Singularity, things would really blow up.
So, there was absolutely no way she could stay here—no way!
Three Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls unceremoniously each grabbed a limb and dragged the still-protesting, battle-crazy Magical Girl far away.
The remaining Magical Girls all had slightly odd expressions, but quickly composed themselves, aiming the Restraint Devices at the black cocoon.
Time ticked by. Just as everyone was wondering when the cocoon would show any movement, the long-dormant black cocoon finally stirred.
Several fine cracks appeared on the surface, and blackish-purple streams of energy began to ooze out.
At first, these streams were amorphous, but soon,
they solidified into several sharp Zuhuan.
The blades began slicing through the pitch-black cocoon, quickly shredding it.
At last, the contents within were revealed.
Good news: those blades that had cut open the cocoon didn’t come from Luo Shuangyue’s body; Luo Shuangyue still looked human.
Bad news: Luo Shuangyue’s current condition seemed a little off.
Her hair, clothes, and butterfly wings all looked damp and clung to her body.
Her aura was extremely weak, her mental fluctuations faint; she was like a premature infant, liable to die at any moment.
“Full Bloom? But this aura is obviously that of a monster…” Monice frowned. The aura from Luo Shuangyue was no longer what a Magical Girl should have.
That wave of energy, which made everyone present feel disgusted, was undeniably that of a monster.
But this monster—no, this Demon Emperor—was shockingly feeble.
She had but a sliver of vitality left.
Right now, even the weakest Soldier-class Monster could easily kill her.
“I get it! The big butterfly before wanted to use the Demon Emperor’s power to help Dark Moth ascend, but in the end, the big butterfly didn’t bring back enough energy.”
Another Magical Girl suddenly realized, quickly sharing her thoughts.
“There wasn’t enough nutrition, so Dark Moth ended up like this!”
That explained why Dark Moth seemed like a premature baby.
The big butterfly hadn’t gathered enough Magic Power to turn her into a complete and powerful Demon Emperor.
Now the question arose: with Dark Moth confirmed as a Demon Emperor, what should the Magical Girls do? Kill her to prevent future trouble, or…
“Stick to the plan! It doesn’t matter what she’s like now—do any of you really think you’re smarter than White Night?!” Monice’s booming voice rang out.
At the same time, her Domain instantly expanded, wrapping around Luo Shuangyue.
Her words firmed up the Magical Girls’ resolve.
They were all veterans who had seen White Night’s power.
Since White Night had set this purification plan, of course they’d choose to trust her.
And as Monice’s Domain wrapped around her, the red and blue bars above Luo Shuangyue’s head became shockingly short.
Even Monice herself wondered if something was wrong with her Domain.
This physical condition was worse than an ordinary person’s!
“Wait! Don’t activate the Restraint Devices!” She hurriedly stopped the Magical Girls from using the Demon Emperor-only restraints.
Those Name Power Restraints could be harmful, and in Luo Shuangyue’s current state, even one hit from them could kill her on the spot.
Troublesome indeed.
Monice had considered all kinds of scenarios, but she’d never imagined Luo Shuangyue would be this fragile.
What a predicament.