“By the way, Xingyue, there’s a rumor going around that you fought Ellera seven years ago. What was the outcome?”
“Yeah, you’ve never told us about it!”
“Come on, everyone’s dying to know. Spill it!”
The Ten Seats suddenly turned their attention to Xingyue, their voices overlapping with curiosity.
It was impossible not to care.
The world was desperate to know: who was stronger, Ellera or Xingyue?
Could the mightiest magical girl shatter Ellera’s legend of invincibility?
Under the intense scrutiny of the group, Xingyue remained unruffled, her voice calm and measured.
“Let’s just say we were evenly matched in most respects?”
“Why the question mark?” someone piped up.
“Her kicks packed a punch. I took quite a few hits.”
“Close-quarters combat? You actually pushed Ellera that far? As expected of Lady Xingyue!”
“And those hands of hers—they look so delicate, but when she scratches, it hurts.”
“Scratches?”
The crowd picked up on something peculiar in her words.
Why did this sound less like a battle and more like… bedroom flirtation?
Xingyue paused, lost in thought for a moment, before continuing, “The most peculiar thing was the white coral that emerged from the space behind her. When I touched it, my magic stopped flowing entirely.”
“What!?”
Ji Yue shot to her feet, her voice sharp.
“You mean the kind that wriggles like tentacles, with tiny feelers growing on it?”
Xingyue nodded.
“Exactly. That thing was a real cheat. I could handle most of her other tricks, but that one? It felt impossible. That’s probably her strongest form, right?”
Ji Yue let out a quiet sigh of relief, her heart settling. So that was it—she’d faced Ellera’s most powerful form back then.
No wonder her defeat had been so absolute. It all made sense now.
“What are those things? They don’t seem like abilities granted by divine particles…”
Xingyue trailed off, then waved a hand dismissively.
“Anyway, we’ll talk about that later. Let’s get to the main issue. Everyone, quiet down.”
When Xingyue spoke, the room fell silent.
The others, even those itching to ask more, clamped their mouths shut and listened attentively.
Her authority was absolute, radiating from the highest seat.
The magical girls, who moments ago had been clamoring for answers, set aside their thirst for vengeance and turned their focus to her words.
“As you all know, the Boundary Customs was breached yesterday. The dimensional beast that caused it is being tracked by others—we’re only responsible for lending our strength.”
“The real issue is what happened afterward. Someone confronted the beast at the Canglan Ruins. And that someone… is likely Ellera.”
“She’s dangerous. For now, no magical girl is allowed to act alone. Members of the Ten Seats, aside from myself and Manzhushahua, must operate in pairs at minimum.”
That was all.
“Even us?”
Xingyu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Xingyu, dear, you’re the last person who gets to complain,” Broken-Wing Butterfly said with a teasing grin.
“Don’t mock her, Butterfly. You need to be cautious too. Some magical girls have already been targeted by Ellera twice. There’s no guarantee you won’t be next.”
Xingyue’s gaze shifted to Zhou Xi, and every eye in the room followed.
“Zhou Xi, you’re the only one here who’s faced Ellera up close recently. Can you share your experience in detail?”
“I understand. If it helps, I’m honored to share.”
The pressure was immense, but with Jin Wang’s encouraging glance, Zhou Xi took a deep breath and began.
“First, I don’t know if she always had this ability, but she moved at a speed that was practically teleportation.”
“I’m ashamed to admit, I only managed to force her to reveal that much before she overwhelmed me.”
“Any distinct traits?”
Xingyue pressed.
Every ability of Ellera’s had a signature, the very traits that earned her the title of Aurora Witch.
“It was pink. A bright, blinding pink,” Zhou Xi added.
“We also have footage from when Ellera pursued that king-level dimensional beast. It was recorded by residents in a high-rise building. Take a look.”
A projection flickered to life at the center of the table, displaying the events of that day.
***
In the video, magical girl Little Red Riding Hood and her team were incapacitated.
The humanoid king-level dimensional beast, its arm severed, fled in terror before Ellera.
Ellera, however, took her time, playfully teasing Little Red Riding Hood before making her move.
The moment she acted, a single thought gripped everyone watching:
Fast. Too fast.
At a speed that seemed to transcend time itself, the world changed hue.
Everything—people, buildings, the very air—seemed to dissolve into a sea of radiant pink.
From a god’s-eye view, Ellera appeared at the highest point in Huahai City, pinpointing the beast’s location.
In the same breathtaking manner, she intercepted the creature nearly six kilometers away.
Total time elapsed: 5.33 seconds.
“What speed! Can anyone even stand against her with that kind of power?”
The Ten Seats were stunned, their faces pale.
With such speed, how could they fight her?
She could dance circles around them, slipping in and out of danger with ease.
Even if Ellera found herself cornered, that speed would let her escape effortlessly.
“Don’t fixate on her speed alone…”
Xingyue propped her chin on one hand, her gaze drifting to Manzhushahua on her left.
Manzhushahua caught the look and smiled faintly.
“It’s hard not to think of it—the meteor that fell from the heavens into the Boundary Sea twenty years ago.”
“What meteor?”
Jin Wang and the others looked puzzled.
Only Broken-Wing Butterfly seemed to recall something, her expression turning solemn.
“Some of you may remember, others might not. It’s one of those historical mysteries, like the Tunguska Event. At noon, the entire sky turned pink for about ten seconds.”
“Scientists later detected a brilliant pink trail in the atmosphere, concluding it was a meteor that crashed into the Boundary Sea.”
Xingyue stared at the video replay, her eyes gleaming with a rare intensity.
“It’s… almost identical, isn’t it?”
“Zhou Xi, please continue.”
“Mm.”
Zhou Xi went on to share her observations about Ellera, including the fact that Ellera now had a daughter—a detail she’d already confided to Feiyu, so there was no point hiding it.
But for some reason, when the Ten Seats learned that Ellera had a daughter, the room’s atmosphere shifted.
The lingering resentment seemed to morph into something sharper, more murderous.
Even Xingyue, who had maintained an air of control, froze for a few seconds, stunned.
At that moment, the youngest of the Ten Seats, Skylark, spoke up, her timing impeccable.
“Um, you said all magical girls, including the Ten Seats, need to work in pairs. But aren’t we currently coexisting with the Otherkind Organization?”
“If Ellera attacks us, wouldn’t that break the balance? She wouldn’t be that reckless, would she?”
Broken-Wing Butterfly snapped out of her thoughts.
“Skylark’s right. Just a few days ago, when Zhou Xi encountered her, Ellera called it ‘payment’ and justified her actions. But she can’t keep hunting us so blatantly after that.”
“Ugh, but that means we can’t go after her either—not to… bring her to justice,” Xingyu said, her voice thick with frustration.
Ellera was formidable, no question.
But now that Lady Xingyue had returned and the Ten Seats were united, what was Ellera compared to them?
The council chamber fell into a heavy silence.
The Ten Seats sat quietly, each grappling with their own emotions.
Skylark, the newest member and something of an outsider, observed them with clarity.
Were they bitter over their inability to settle old scores?
Relieved that magical girls might no longer be targeted?
Or was it something else entirely stirring within them?
The silence was broken by a single voice.
“Oh, didn’t you know? Seven years ago, Ellera defected from the Otherkind Organization.”
“What!?”
“Xingyue, is that true?”
“She left the Otherkind Organization? How is there no word of this?”
“Why haven’t they hunted her down?”
Xingyue tapped her finger on the table, silencing the barrage of questions.
“It’s true. The Otherkind Organization hasn’t pursued her because they don’t want the Magical Alliance to know how weak they’ve become. They’ve kept it quiet. After all, Ellera was their trump card to keep human governments in check.”
How could they allow such a threat to linger so close?
The Otherkind Organization, once a villainous force, had transformed into a guardian clad in fine robes.
But could human governments ever fully trust a power that operated independently?
Many had dreamed of replacing the Otherkind’s leadership with their own, slowly eroding their influence until they were fully under control.
Ellera’s fearsome reputation had long stalled those plans, leaving them with little progress.
Until two years ago, that is.
Ellera had been silent for too long.
Human governments grew increasingly suspicious, their probes into the Otherkind’s strength intensifying over the past two years.
“So, even if we go all out and take Ellera down, it won’t escalate into a full-blown conflict with the Otherkind Organization?”
Xingyu’s voice rose with excitement.
“Theoretically, yes,” Xingyue said with a nod.
***
A long, heavy silence followed.
“Then what are we waiting for? Gather our forces and crush her!”
“If I don’t make her pay a thousandfold for the humiliation she—not me, my sister—endured, what’s the point of being a magical girl?”
“Everyone, calm down. Revenge needs to be strategic… though I agree, she must face justice for the other magical girls.”
“Oh, Jin Wang, you’re usually so bold. Why so cautious now?”
“Sh-shut up!”
In the hall, the magical girls’ pent-up fury erupted.
With no restraints holding them back, they could already envision Ellera captured, reduced to tears and groveling for mercy in a satisfying scene of retribution.
Manzhushahua, the second-in-command, opened her eyes, her expression one of quiet disapproval.
“Ladies, you don’t look like magical girls right now.”
The room fell silent again, shame creeping over them.
Though less renowned than Xingyue, Manzhushahua had overseen the Ten Seats Council for seven years.
Her presence was understated, her power restrained, yet it carried an unshakable authority that commanded respect.
After a moment, she softened, her usual smile returning.
“I, too, support bringing Ellera to justice. But we must never abandon the core of what it means to be a magical girl. That is all.”
“Next, we’ll discuss the Ellera Suppression Team. I, Manzhushahua, will lead it. Any objections?”