Chapter 94 Part 3: Death Plan

Why would two identities from completely different eras converge in a single person?

Luo Shuangyue still hadn’t realized her identity had once again been sniffed out by that unreasonable “dog nose” of a Magical Girl.

After informing Xia Mo that their special training would be postponed, she began scouring the map for suitable places to train.

But as soon as she started looking, she realized something was off.

Hey, half the original park is still left—couldn’t they use that part?

At this point, she still didn’t suspect that Xia Mo’s comment about “flattening” the place was a test.

In Luo Shuangyue’s own mind, her identity was concealed perfectly; even the often-used Dark Moth hadn’t been exposed, let alone White Night, who only appeared during special training.

She figured Xia Mo had just heard some exaggerated stories from other Magical Girls and believed them.

Even if the park could still be used for training, it was obviously off-limits for now.

There were plenty of Magic Department staff setting up instruments to detect the lingering magic from the Royal-Class Magic Beast, hoping to trace the creature’s escape route.

A tight cordon had formed on the city’s outskirts, set by the Magic Department, and from now on Xinghai City was sealed: no one in or out until the Royal-Class Magic Beast was found and eliminated.

As for the impact this might have, the Magic Department didn’t care at all. In any case, it wouldn’t be worse than letting a tiger return to the mountains.

“Heavenly Net, Earthly Snare, huh.” Muttering softly, Luo Shuangyue turned and left the small park.

She still had to check several other places.

Inside a shuttered factory in Xinghai City, dark-haired, dark-eyed girl hid in the shadows of a corner, quietly waiting for the magical aura from the sky to sweep past.

The city had become a spider’s web, and she was the bug caught in it. The fight with Long Wen had worsened her injuries and weakened her further.

Of the four subordinates she’d brought out, only Moe One remained; the other three were dead.

And the Magic Department clearly wouldn’t let her go. As long as she lived, they would never stop.

Hiding was pointless. To find her, the Magic Department would scrape every inch of Xinghai City and search every corner.

She couldn’t just wait for death—she needed a way out…

But what could break this deadlock?

“Master! I’ve returned!”

At her most troubled, Moe One silently returned to her side. He knelt on one knee and spoke in a voice full of guilt: “This subordinate was useless! Please punish me, Master!”

If he hadn’t fallen into the Magic Department’s trap, his three colleagues wouldn’t have died, and his master wouldn’t be in this state. Everything now was his fault!

But the Royal-Class Magic Beast didn’t scold Moe One. At this point, what was the point of blame? Would it change anything, or bring the dead back?

The creature was rational, unburdened by unnecessary emotions.

For example, habitual anger.

“Tell me everything that happened the night before last, every detail.” Her voice was cool and detached.

“Yes! Here’s what happened. We first heard a rumor…”

As Moe One recounted, the Royal-Class Magic Beast suddenly seized on a key person in the tale.

Dark Moth!

This person was supposed to be an enemy of the Magical Girls in Xinghai City, but after Moe One and his team stole the Sealing Card, she had briefly cooperated with the Magical Girls to deal with Moe One.

It all seemed normal, but—Dark Moth and the Magical Girls had been fighting over a Fake Sealing Card!

After being disassembled, Dark Moth had instantly recovered her combat strength, which was bizarre.

So, was it possible that Dark Moth was actually in league with the Magical Girls, and the whole thing was a staged act for Moe One’s team?

But that wasn’t the point. The real point was that in the ensuing fight, Dark Moth had started devouring Mo Four.

She was eating.

After hearing Moe One’s account, the Royal-Class Magic Beast conceived an idea—a way to turn defeat into survival.

The Magic Department wanted her dead. Only her death would lift the blockade on Xinghai City, giving her a chance to escape and return stronger.

So, she had to die—at least under the Magic Department’s watch.

But she couldn’t actually die. She needed to die and not die—a seemingly impossible task.

But hearing that Dark Moth was attempting to devour Mo Four, the Royal-Class Magic Beast immediately thought of an effective way to fake her death.

Dark Moth was First Bloom-Class, while she was Royal-Class. For a First Bloom-Class Magical Girl to devour Royal-Class magic energy, a little might not matter, but too much—what then?

A magical creature’s consciousness was tied to its magic. If Dark Moth’s body was overloaded with magic beyond her strength, would she still be herself?

“So, you want to eat me, do you?” The Royal-Class Magic Beast’s lips curled into a smile. She believed she’d found the perfect way out.

She didn’t care what her body became; stolen or original, it was all the same to her—none of that human attachment.

After faking her death and seizing Dark Moth’s body, she’d be reborn. For her, this was the best choice right now.

But first, she needed to have Dark Moth gradually devour her magic power, letting it accumulate inside, until finally, she could offer herself up for Dark Moth to consume—then seize the opportunity to usurp her body.

“Moe One, how many more magical creatures can we summon with what we have left?”

“Three King-class, fifteen General-Class.”

“Good. Next, you go summon more creatures to distract the Magic Department. As for Dark Moth, I’ll handle her myself.”

“Understood!”

There was a stirring under the Royal-Class Magic Beast’s black robe.

Soon, a black sphere the size of a fist separated from her body.

Once outside, the sphere rapidly morphed into a black butterfly and fluttered toward the sky.

“My power isn’t so easy to digest…”

For a First Bloom-Class Magical Girl to absorb Royal-Class magic wasn’t simple.

Even after days, the Royal-Class Magic Beast doubted Dark Moth had completely absorbed her power.

As long as any of her magic remained in Dark Moth’s body, the butterfly she’d released would be able to find her.

Once she found Dark Moth, it would be time to stage a “kill”—letting herself be defeated and devoured.

This plan could only be described as handing her head over—she would serve herself up for Dark Moth to eat, and burst her from within!

Monice had vanished.

After learning that Mo Four, the cyborg, had been taken by the Magic Department, she made phone calls for half a day, left a note in the office reading “Going to study that guy,” and disappeared.

With the boss gone, all operations at the Eternal Night Base had to stop. After all, their group was more of a motley crew—without Monice, nothing could run.

“Three of a kind.”

“Bomb! Jiu Ye, you lose!” Luo Shuangyue slammed her last two cards on the table, let out two laughs, and picked up a black marker to draw a dark circle on Jiu Ye’s face.

With the boss missing and nothing to do, the combat-capable girls of Eternal Night could only pass the time like this.

Going outside was out of the question—with Magical Girls everywhere, the Black Dragonfly of the Ninth Night would be wiped out if she set foot outdoors.

“Lord Dark Moth is just too strong, I can’t win.” Jiu Ye lay weakly on the table, her cat ears drooping listlessly atop her head.

She’d been playing cards with Luo Shuangyue all morning and was nearly covered in black circles.

She swore silently: Never again would she play cards with Lord Dark Moth!

“Want another round?”

“No thanks, if I keep playing, I’ll really turn black.” Jiu Ye shook her head over and over.

So Luo Shuangyue turned to Hei Ting, who’d been watching the whole time.

Hei Ting tilted her head, then shook it rapidly like Jiu Ye. “I can’t play cards!”

Well, seems like cards were off the table.

“Jiu Ye, how about some sparring?” Luo Shuangyue beckoned with a finger.

Both Catgirls, but the gap in fighting strength between Jiu Ye and Siam was just too big—Luo Shuangyue found this unacceptable.

How could her own Catgirl be weaker than the Magical Girls’ side?

My cat should be the best cat!

Jiu Ye blinked, hesitating for a long moment before finally nodding.

With nothing else to do, she might as well train with Lord Dark Moth and improve her combat skills.

“Come on, Hei Ting, join us.” To avoid taking all the hits herself, Jiu Ye dragged Hei Ting into it as well.

But even with the two of them together, they couldn’t change their fate—Luo Shuangyue easily tossed them around.

“Meow—!”

Jiu Ye, spun like a windmill by the transformed Luo Shuangyue grabbing her tail, collapsed to the floor, pitifully rubbing her tail.

Did Lord Dark Moth have to be so rough?

As for Hei Ting, her specialty was quick scouting, so Luo Shuangyue just competed with her for speed.

Still, Hei Ting was no match, getting toyed with until she was lost.

“Jiu Ye, you haven’t improved at all since last time.”

“Lord Dark Moth, you know our powers aren’t like the Magical Girls. They get stronger with training, but we can’t.” Jiu Ye whispered her defense.

As cyborgs, unless they modified their bodies further, their power wouldn’t increase much.

They could learn more combat skills at best, but that was nothing in the face of overwhelming strength.

For example, between Jiu Ye and Siam—was there really that much difference in combat skills? Not really.

But Siam could step on air like it was solid, her physical strength far exceeded Jiu Ye’s, and she had magic—Jiu Ye stood no chance.

That’s the plight of the cyborgs: no matter how hard they try, they’re left sighing at the backs of the Magical Girls ahead.

“Unless we completely abandon our humanity and pursue the full power of a magical creature, this is our limit.” Jiu Ye looked down, sighing softly.

Her words were true. Luo Shuangyue had no solution—she was just a fighter. Only Monice could address this.

She simply patted Jiu Ye’s head gently and comforted her as softly as she could: “Trust Monice. This time, she’s seeking a breakthrough.”

Even if she didn’t know how Monice planned to “study that guy,” Luo Shuangyue had faith in her.

Monice was always careful and never acted without purpose.

“By the way, I picked up a new ability a few days ago. Want to see?”

“Huh? A new ability?” Jiu Ye’s eyes flashed with curiosity.

What new power did Lord Dark Moth have?

“Yes, use your claws to scratch my arm. Hard—draw blood if you can…”

“This is nothing short of a miracle! To be transformed like this and still retain human consciousness—the Royal-Class Magic Beast really is a genius.”

“I don’t think so. Can something like that still be called ‘human’?” Long Wen stood outside the transparent glass wall, staring coldly at Mo Four, who was restrained on an iron bed, her expression icy.

Beside her stood a golden-haired girl in a white lab coat.

“That depends on your definition of ‘human.’ In my view, as long as someone thinks of themselves as human and does what is good for humans, then they’re a ‘human.’ Appearance and body are secondary.” Monice shook her head.

Just like Magical Girls—can they truly be called human anymore?

They don’t age, and as long as their magic holds out, they don’t die. Compared to people, aren’t they more like Demons?

You can’t just ignore their peculiarities because they look pretty, right?

“To fight Demons, Magical Girls aren’t enough. Giving regular warriors power to match Demons—that’s the real solution.”

“The Magic Department’s weapons can do that, and they’re easier to accept than your modifications.”

“Weapons and modifications aren’t mutually exclusive. I know you all can’t accept my way, but someone has to explore this path. If you won’t, I will. If I really do find the way, it’ll be a blessing for all humanity.” Monice spoke gently.

Long Wen was silent for a long time before closing her eyes, neither agreeing nor objecting.

“None of its parts are to be removed from this room. All research must be supervised by the Magic Department. That’s our biggest concession.”

“No problem. I’m not greedy, after all.”