Chapter 9: Abyssal Beast (6)

The massive body of the Abyssal-Class Behemoth suddenly dropped, its Elytron—covered in heavy armor—vibrating at a frequency so fast it was nearly impossible to catch with the naked eye, emitting a deafening, piercing buzz!

The next second, its enormous form shot forward like a cannonball, tearing through the air with a terrifying sonic boom and a raging gust that swept everything in its path, hurtling straight toward Mu Xi and her companions!

Its speed was so great that it left a blurred afterimage trailing behind!

“That’s enough! You have to leave here! Now!”

Mu Yurou’s voice was sharper and more commanding than ever before, as she shoved Mu Xi toward a relatively safe cover.

Mu Xi staggered, gritting her teeth as a wave of pain shot through her right shoulder, but she didn’t move away.

She only stared stubbornly at the monstrous shadow bearing down on her like a collapsing mountain.

“It’s too late…”

Her voice was eerily calm, yet carried a chill.

“That monster… it’s coming for me.”

Those cold, greedy compound eyes, like countless searchlights, locked onto her, brimming with a will to destroy.

The massive shadow rapidly expanded, and the scent of death swept in on a bloody gale!

At the same time, a whisper that only Mu Xi could hear slithered into her mind again, seductive and venomous like a viper:

“Transform… Send them away… Then we can continue our transaction…”

The black-haired girl materialized like a phantom before Mu Xi, ignoring all physical distance and the looming, world-shattering beast.

Her pale fingers, cold beyond human warmth, lightly lifted Mu Xi’s chin, her lips curling into an enchanting and wickedly sweet smile.

“Even if your hands are stained with blood… Even if you’re burdened with all the sins in the world… you still want to protect Yurou, don’t you? After all… she’s your only family left…”

Her crimson eyes shimmered with a ghostly light.

“The price to save her… is just loosening the prison bars for a single inmate…”

Mu Xi’s body tensed instantly, her pupils contracting in rage and torment.

“Shut up…”

A low, repressed growl squeezed through her clenched teeth, so faint only she could hear.

“Heh…”

The black-haired girl chuckled, her fingers tracing Mu Xi’s jawline.

“You don’t need to speak. We can communicate regardless… I think you know what you have to do.”

Her figure wavered in the howling wind, like an illusory mirage.

“Send those two troublesome Magical Girls away… Then, transform.”

She tilted her head, her tone dripping with malicious mockery.

“Or… don’t send them away? Tell the whole world that Crystal Orchid has come back from the dead? Then what? Wait for a Witch Hunt to come for you?”

The black-haired girl dramatically covered her mouth, feigning horror.

“Oh my! You don’t want to see your old comrades… and that adorable Apprentice of yours… one day turn their blades against you, do you? Could you stand to see that happen?”

She leaned in close to Mu Xi’s ear, her voice as cold as a blade, slicing into Mu Xi’s nerves.

“Or maybe… you fail to save Xiaorou… You stand once more at the grave of someone you cherish… cursing yourself over and over… for failing to protect them yet again… Do you want to feel that again?!”

Mu Xi’s body trembled violently, the last trace of hesitation in her eyes crushed and replaced by an icy resolve.

“…I understand.”

She gave a barely perceptible nod.

“You need to go now!”

Mu Xi suddenly turned, shouting at Lily of the Valley and Huang Xi, her voice deliberately urgent.

“That monster’s locked onto us! It’s too fast! If you stay, we’ll all die here!”

“No! I won’t leave you!”

Mu Yurou shot back without hesitation, the Star-Patterned White Battle Garment flaring in the gale, her eyes steadfast and unwavering.

“She’s right!”

Huang Xi stepped forward at once, golden eyes fixed on Mu Xi.

“We can’t leave an injured citizen behind! What’s your name?”

She tried to confirm the identity of this person her close friend cared so much about.

“…Mu Xi.”

Mu Xi’s voice was low but clear as she stated her name.

Like a stone dropped into a still lake, that name sent ripples through the air!

In an instant, Huang Xi understood.

She glanced quickly at Mu Yurou, realization dawning in her heart.

No wonder Xiaorou cared so much about this “ordinary citizen”!

She was Mu Yurou’s sister—the one she always talked about!

“ROAR—!!!”

A deafening roar thundered overhead, blasting everyone’s thoughts apart!

The Behemoth was already upon them!

Its monstrous mandibles gaped wide, viscous saliva pouring like a waterfall to corrode the ground below!

The foul wind was nearly strong enough to send them flying!

“We need to get out, now!”

Mu Yurou called urgently, knowing they couldn’t delay any longer!

“That’s why I’m telling you to go!”

Mu Xi tried once more to drive them away, even pretending she was about to leave on her own.

“I still need to find my—Eh, eh, eh?!”

Before she could finish, Mu Yurou struck with lightning speed!

Without hesitation, she scooped Mu Xi up by the waist!

Starlight rippled across the Star-Patterned White Battle Garment, nullifying gravity in an instant!

“Hold on tight!”

Mu Yurou commanded, and with a burst of starlight beneath her feet, she shot into the sky with Mu Xi like an arrow leaving the bow!

“Hey! Wait for me!”

Huang Xi reacted instantly, Dandelion Light Dots whirling around her as she turned into a streak of golden light, chasing after them!

“BOOM—!!!”

At the same moment they left the ground, the Behemoth’s massive body crashed down like a meteorite!

The earth shook violently, shattered stones blasting out in all directions like bullets!

A giant crater was left at the spot where they’d just stood!

Having missed its prey, the monster’s bloodshot compound eyes locked furiously on the three fleeing figures in the sky!

It let out a roar of pure rage, its Elytron vibrating madly once again!

“BANG—!!!”

A shockwave, visible to the naked eye, exploded behind it!

Its gigantic body erupted with a terrifying speed utterly at odds with its size, like a missile locked onto its quarry, slicing through the air with a shrill screech, relentless in pursuit!

“How can it be this fast?!”

Mu Yurou clutched her sister, feeling the pressure behind them like a physical force.

Her heart pounded in shock.

“Why is it so dead set on chasing us?!”

She poured more magic into her acceleration.

“Is that thing… really just Abyssal-class?!”

Huang Xi’s voice trembled in disbelief—she’d seen several high-level Magical Girls defeated!

This power far surpassed the records!

Watching the monstrous shadow in her peripheral vision grow closer and closer, blocking out the sky, Mu Yurou’s heart sank.

She knew that with another person in tow, escape was impossible!

But at least… at least she had to give her sister a chance!

Gritting her teeth, her gaze locked on a relatively open plaza below, littered with the ruins of broken walls and rubble.

“Hold tight!”

She reminded again, plummeting downward with Mu Xi in her arms like a falling star, landing steadily amidst the shattered stones.

Huang Xi followed close behind, landing warily and keeping an eye on the sky.

The monstrous beast indeed hovered overhead like a specter, casting a shadow of death!

Its cold compound eyes swept over them like searchlights.

Mu Yurou drew a deep breath, her eyes filled with determination.

She gently set Mu Xi down.

“Run! Head west! There’s a Temporary Defense Point set up by the Association over there!” she spoke quickly, pointing toward the faint glow of an energy barrier in the distance.

“I’ll hold it off! Buy you some time!”

With that, she gripped her staff, ready to face the terrifying behemoth head-on!

At that moment, a hand seized her wrist!

It was Mu Xi!

That hand was cold and strong, carrying a resolve that brooked no refusal.

“Are you insane?!”

Mu Xi’s voice was almost a reprimand, as she stared fiercely at the unfamiliar Magical Girl before her—yet in her heart, she was overcome by a fierce urge to protect and a strange, indescribable sense of familiarity.

“That thing… isn’t something you can take on alone!” she declared with finality.

“At least two… no, probably three experienced Abyssal-Class Magical Girls would be needed to defeat it!”

Mu Yurou froze!

She stared at Mu Xi in shock, a storm of questions rising in her mind!

Her sister… a supposedly ordinary citizen…

How could she know about the ‘Abyssal-Class,’ a classification used only inside the Association?

And how could she be so clear about the team required to subjugate such a monster?

In her memories, her sister had never been interested in anything related to Magical Girls, even a bit distant!

“How… how do you know all this…”

Mu Yurou’s voice was tinged with barely concealed shock and curiosity.

Mu Xi’s face was expressionless, but her eyes flickered for a moment.

“Doesn’t matter.”

She averted her gaze, her tone stiff as she lied.

“If you must know… I’m kind of a… long-time fan of Magical Girls.”

Even she found this excuse unconvincing.

“I have to go! It’s my duty!”

Mu Yurou broke free from Mu Xi’s grasp, her gaze once again determined, her staff aimed at the beast overhead.

“Besides… it might buy you a little more time to escape!”

This was both her mission as a Magical Girl, and her unspoken way of protecting her sister.

Mu Xi looked into those dark eyes and fell silent for a moment.

“Then… fine.”

She slowly let go, her voice unreadable.

If this stubborn girl insists on throwing her life away… then fine.

At least it gives me a chance to transform in secret.

Mu Xi lowered her gaze.

Her left hand quietly slipped into her clothing, gripping the cold, heavy, rhombus-shaped crystal.