Su Mu responded unhappily.
Although the authority emanating from Sun Chuan released an aura that shared the same origin as her own, it didn’t mean Su Mu would agree with that woman’s words.
She already knew that the birth of Strange Persons came from the contamination of a Witch’s authority, though she wasn’t clear on the specific process.
In her memory, when she turned into a Strange Person, she only felt a sharp pain in her head, and then something abruptly appeared inside her body, automatically absorbing Dark Magic Power to condense into a Monster Core.
If that ‘something’ was a fragment of authority from Sun Chuan, then it wasn’t surprising that she could suppress Su Mu’s abilities.
However, Su Mu’s response to Sun Chuan’s attempt to elevate herself to a parental role was to spit in her face.
Wasn’t this just like donating your own gold, letting people take it and multiply, then coming to claim the grown children later?
Besides, things like authority didn’t inherently have a master-subordinate relationship; it was only a comparison of strength.
If Su Mu became strong enough, then Sun Chuan wouldn’t get to call herself “Mother.”
Instead, Su Mu would be the one saying, “Old thing, your authority is too weak!”
‘You’ve grown mature and delicious enough. It’s time to give back.’
“Of course it’s you, dear Miss Irina. I think you have already…”
Being addressed like that, Su Mu couldn’t help but recall a certain Witch with a pointy hat.
If Irina had also fought against Sun Chuan, she must have won and taken the authority belonging to Sun Chuan.
That’s what qualified her to be called a Great Witch.
If Irina could do it, didn’t that mean Su Mu could do it too?
Thinking this, Su Mu felt a bit more confident.
“Sorry, there’s probably no chance of that happening. But I’d be happy to attend your funeral.”
“You’re just as sharp-tongued as the rumors say,” Sun Chuan’s lips curled up into a bold, bewitching smile, “That’ll come in handy when receiving clients.”
“Tch, you old hag. Can’t stop talking about your line of work, can you?”
Su Mu pressed on, following the method Tang Nai taught her in the dream, urging her Magic Power.
This time, there was no obstruction.
The Threads of Dominion easily broke free from Sun Chuan’s restraints, becoming strong and powerful again.
‘Did the method from the dream actually work this well too?’ Su Mu felt a surge of joy, finally understanding the meaning behind Tang Nai weaving that dream.
Sensing Su Mu regrouping and confronting her head-on, Sun Chuan was slightly surprised, but she quickly regained her composure, once again tightening the Suppression Chains in her hand.
“My, my. I didn’t expect you could still use your ability. Truly not to be underestimated. But I have no intention of fighting you.” Sun Chuan yanked Lemon over, gripping her slender, fragile neck.
Lemon, who originally had dull eyes, now showed a hint of pain.
“I didn’t expect it to go this smoothly. This little girl barely has any ability to resist… Anyway, I now have a hostage.”
Hearing this, Su Mu’s almond-shaped eyes widened, she was speechless for a long moment.
‘So it backfired.’
Looking at the suffering Lemon, Su Mu couldn’t help but grit her teeth.
‘Hesitating to act for fear of harming the innocent.’
This wasn’t a Magical Girl anime where the villains were all idiots.
Sun Chuan was clearly an extremely difficult opponent and had almost no bottom line—she was a Witch.
If she said she would take a hostage to threaten Su Mu, she would definitely do it.
She might even implant some control method inside Lemon, making her backstab Su Mu once she let her guard down…
The best choice was to ignore her threat.
Perhaps Irina could do something like that, but Su Mu… she couldn’t.
But she could at least stall a bit.
“So, by that logic, if you just grab some random person off the street, I should just surrender obediently? Do you think a Strange Person like me has a good relationship with a Magical Girl?”
Su Mu didn’t rein in her surging Magic Power.
Instead, she secretly added more force, pushing the momentum even stronger, faintly threatening to overwhelm Sun Chuan’s.
Her expression showed no sign of pretense.
“That’s a reasonable point. If it were really like that, it would be too boring. In that case, I’ll just use the simplest method to resolve this.”
As she spoke, Sun Chuan lightly snapped her fingers.
The next moment, the restrained Lemon stopped acting.
Her dull eyes fixed directly on Su Mu, and she also began to exert her authority…
Nothing happened and Su Mu could feel Magic Power continuously radiating from Lemon’s body, but in the detection of her threads, Lemon was still close to a “harmless target.”
‘Even though Tang Nai said Lemon was weak… isn’t this a bit too weak? Can she really be considered B-rank?’
“I’m also puzzled. This little girl seems to have used her authority, but why is there no change at all? Could this be the so-called ordinary authority…”
Just as Sun Chuan was curiously wondering, a sudden, mature woman’s voice cut into the conversation, providing an answer.
More shocked than Sun Chuan was Su Mu, because she was all too familiar with that voice.
“That is ‘Transcendence.’ And the ‘Ordinary’ you look down upon is here.”
Su Ya had silently returned to the room, just as she had been silently taken away earlier.
But now she carried an unprecedented dignity and forcefulness.
She was clearly the same height as Su Mu, and her tone was just as calm, yet her presence overshadowed everyone present.
Su Mu whipped her head around and, sure enough, found the petite girl with a helpless look behind Su Ya.
“Senior, I couldn’t help it…”
***
Rewinding time to a few minutes earlier, right after Lu Shan took Su Ya away.
Wrapped in the cold shadows, Su Ya was first panicked.
The darkness in her vision made her extremely uneasy, but she soon heard Lu Shan’s voice.
“Don’t worry, Auntie Su Ya. It’s me, Lu Shan. Su Mu asked me to take you away.”
Su Ya tried to deceive herself, finding excuses to convince herself she was just an ordinary person living an ordinary life.
It would have been fine if Lu Shan hadn’t said anything more, because the erosion of the Ordinary authority would have kept her content with the status quo.
But Lu Shan’s words aroused Su Ya’s suspicion—anyone who could sit still at a time like this was being a bit too nonchalant.
“When was this? Su Mu didn’t tell me. And where is this? Why can’t I see any light at all?”
Lu Shan was conflicted but kept moving without pause, hoping to reach the nearby ground quickly.
However, when she arrived nearby, she found unsettling Witch auras everywhere.
It was clear the patrolling figures were connected to the Witch who had broken into Su Mu’s home.
Left with no choice, Lu Shan steeled herself and pressed forward until Su Ya voiced her doubts again.
“Wait. I need to go find Little Mu. Where is she? What have you used to cover my eyes?”
If Lu Shan had gone along with Su Ya’s words and made up a somewhat believable lie, Su Ya might not have regained her senses so quickly.
But she stubbornly chose what she thought was the safest method: honesty.
“Auntie Su Ya, the situation is a bit complicated. It’s hard to explain in a short time. Actually…”
Lu Shan gave Su Ya as concise an explanation as possible, not really expecting her to believe it.
But when she mentioned that Su Mu was being attacked by a Witch, Su Ya, who had been silent, suddenly jolted awake.
“Stop.”
“Stop.”
“No, Su Mu said—”
Before Lu Shan could finish, the shadows surrounding them melted away like ice and snow under her astonished gaze.
Lu Shan’s petite body was expelled from the darkness, and along with the Su Ya she was pulling, she thudded to the ground.
Pain was unavoidable, but with a Strange Person’s physical constitution, Lu Shan naturally wasn’t injured.
She looked at Su Ya somewhat reproachfully while trying to reactivate her sluggish authority.
‘Why does this happen every time?’
Noticing Lu Shan’s displeasure, Su Ya’s expression shifted slightly.
“Sorry, I was a bit anxious. But please—”
“Huh? But Su Mu said not to—”
“How could I possibly leave her alone at a time like this? It’s fine. You shouldn’t be dragged into this either. I’ll go back myself.”
Seeing Su Ya about to run back, Lu Shan was stunned for a moment.
Then, as if possessed, she called out to stop her.
“Forget it. I’ll take you back.”
‘She owes me one!’
Since she didn’t have to split her attention explaining things to Su Ya, the return trip took even less time than leaving, just in time to interrupt Sun Chuan.
“Transcendence? I remember it belongs to a certain famous Magical Girl… I never thought it would be so feeble.”
Sun Chuan covered her mouth with a light laugh, but all she saw on Su Ya’s face was disdain.
“That’s because this child cannot master it.”
The authority of Transcendence has only two abilities.
First, in various physical or mental training, it allows the possessor to ignore the supposed upper limit and climb endlessly.
The same applies to training Magic Power and the Bu Mo Index.
Theoretically, Lemon could break through a one hundred percent Bu Mo Index, reaching a realm no one has touched since Ye Qing.
However, because she is too immature, and ordinary training effects are hard to produce a qualitative change in just a few years, she can only be considered a Magical Girl with slightly stronger physical abilities at most.
Second, also an ability to raise the upper limit.
If Lemon challenges someone she believes is stronger than herself and succeeds, her strength will increase exponentially.
Theoretically, this is an incredibly powerful but demanding ability.
Defeating someone stronger requires a great deal of luck and clever planning.
Unlike Ye Qing, who has long been on the front lines against Great Witches, Lemon has almost no opportunity to come into contact with stronger opponents, so she can’t use this ability at all.
This also means Lemon, as a Magical Girl, is essentially a blank slate with little combat capability.
Bullying C-rank small fries with her Bu Mo Index wasn’t hard, but against a B-rank opponent — even someone like Su Mu — she would be quickly subdued.
So, right now, Lemon indeed released her authority.
But because her skill slots are two growth-type passives, she gained no substantial improvement at all.
***
Su Ya’s words were suddenly interrupted.
Looking at the dazed pink-haired girl, Su Ya felt a complex mix of emotions.
For a moment, she forgot her composure and just followed her instincts, stepping forward and pulling Su Mu into her embrace.
“Don’t be afraid. Mother is here…”
Before she could finish, Su Ya abruptly grabbed the silk thread that was sneaking up on her and easily snapped it.
At the same time, Sun Chuan’s expression across from them changed drastically, because all the Threads of Dominion that had approached Su Ya’s side had vanished in that instant.
“I’m sorry, Little Mu. In the end, I still dragged you into this… But Mother will protect you.”
Su Mu was speechless for a moment, just letting Su Ya hold her.
Even the flying threads between her fingers gently fell, intimately winding around Su Ya’s ankles.
She could feel it.
The calm, gentle authority of Ordinary within Su Ya was faintly calling out to her.
It was like a quilt in the depths of winter.
It was silent, not extending an invitation.
It was cold, greedily sucking the warmth from your body when you first slipped in.
But as you gradually adjusted to it, you would grow attached to this hard-won warmth.
“It’s so good to see you’ve grown up so well.”