Chapter 341
Xu Ling didn't have time to think about what was going on. She ran at a speed worthy of praise for college students, and it was like a dream come back to high school when the sports committee secretly signed her up for the women's 800 meters and she was completely bewildered when she suddenly learned that she had to participate in the sports meet.
The girl's eyes were filled with a clarity untouched by knowledge; why did the sky suddenly turn pitch black?
Why are there unconscious people all around? Why is Tong Bao without any uncles or aunts by her side, and why is there a surreal monster instead? And most importantly, why is she being chased?!
Never mind, if that monster is chasing her, it won't chase Tong Bao, right? Hopefully, that idiot will quickly push the wheelchair away and hide.
Xu Ling turned around, panting. She glanced behind her out of the corner of her eye and was horrified to find that the dense particles had formed a half-body holding a scythe, which was slashing towards her.
Suddenly, time seemed to slow down.
The allure of [Calamity Wish] echoed in my ears:
"Do you... have any wishes you want to fulfill?"
Xu Ling's first reaction was not to make a wish, but to instinctively lunge forward. She directly applied a trick she learned during her university military training, rolling around and quickly getting up to dodge the giant scythe's attack.
The hard ground was cut into a smooth section, accompanied by an exaggerated whooshing sound, which terrified her so much that she completely forgot about the strange noise in her head. She spotted a bend in the road and turned in, fleeing for her life.
Just kidding, if you get slashed, you'll definitely be cut in two!
Xu Ling crossed the corridor and circled around to hide in the restroom. She had squeezed out all her potential and was now convinced of the existence of Magical Girl.
Because... if there were monsters like this instead of Magical Girl, this world would have been doomed long ago, right?
Unfortunately, the monster seemed completely unwilling to give her the chance to become Magical Girl.
No matter how it circles, it can pass directly through walls and take the most direct route to catch its opponent. The reason it doesn't deliver a fatal blow is that it's just playing a cat-and-mouse game, tricking its opponent into making a wish.
Xu Ling couldn't keep going for long. As a homebody who never exercises, has irregular sleep patterns, and even suffers from sleep deprivation, she ran for only a few minutes before her energy was completely depleted. In the end, she ran into a dead end in a panic and tripped.
With a thud, the phone slipped to the side, and messages in the fan support group kept vibrating, popping up one after another.
[Ling Bao is still sleepy, hurry up, hurry up, if you don't go live soon, Qing Bao's commercial performance will be over!]
[Waaaaah, Qing Bao is back with her white hair and golden eyes again! She doesn't look dyed at all; she's got that pure, alluring charm to the max! I'm totally shipping her!???!]
Why didn't Flash Dance stream the live stream on their official website? If it weren't for the reminder on Weibo and my daily check-in for Qing Bao's selfies, I almost missed it this time!
[Wow, does anyone understand the charm of Qing Bao dressed in all white? So sacred and solemn, and her braided hairstyle is so aloof, giving off a cool, sophisticated wife vibe. I love it!]
[Ling Bao, I heard that the entire Hongkou District is cordoned off, and there are Blacklight in the sky. Are you nearby? Do you know what's going on?]
Although she caught glimpses of the @mentions and comments from her silly group members out of the corner of her eye, Xu Ling simply couldn't bring herself to pick up her phone to send emojis and chat in the group, let alone watch Qing Bao's live commercial performance, as the monster was gradually approaching.
The girl was on the verge of tears. Of course, she was terrified of death, but given that this was already certain, missing Qing Bao and Little Sakura's performance on stage was an even greater misfortune, a torment indeed.
And at this moment,
The voice of [Calamity Wish] rang out again:
"Do you... have a wish that you want to fulfill?"
Xu Ling's eyes were vacant. Bewitched by the aura of disaster, her emotions were out of control, and she blurted out her deepest desire at that moment, sobbing as she said:
"I... I don't want to miss Qing Bao and Yayoi's performance. I also want to watch the live stream with Tong Bao, just like everyone else in the group!"
Then, the distant sickle was lowered, and the illusory water ripples transformed into a screen, immediately reflecting the corresponding image.
The monster then turned and found Pei Xiaotong, pushing her wheelchair toward them.
What's absurd is that, only half a line of lyrics had passed on the screen, and the wheelchair hadn't even moved ten meters before a dazzling light, like shards of gemstones, swept across the surroundings, turning nearby monsters into a blurry mist, and even shattering the water ripples.
Before the [Calamity Wish] can react,
Gungnir, hurtling in from beyond the heavens like a burning meteor, brought blazing flames that shattered the entire pillar of calamity. It scattered threads of fate, connecting hundreds of thousands of people nearby, and incidentally fulfilled Ling Bao's wish.
And so, under the bewildered gazes of Pei Xiaotong and Xu Ling,
The gloom on the horizon was swept away, and the clear blue dome and the radiant light that fell upon it all foreshadowed the abrupt end of the calamity. The [Pure White Aria] that echoed in our ears, in a way that transcended the live broadcast, allowed us to experience the feeling of being on stage.
At this moment, equally bewildered was the Magical Girl outside, who had just changed into her stage outfit and was preparing to go on stage to perform for the public and reveal her identity to the evil forces.
Pansy gazed at the scene, murmuring incredulously:
"The Countermeasures Bureau actually has such a secret weapon? This is too exaggerated! It can affect me from this far away!"
Her Golden Lamp -orange eyes were filled with shock as she whispered:
"This is undoubtedly Shine Magic, but Sea Capital should only have our team, and besides..."
Golden Lamp quickly constructed her Magic Armor, and as she swept to the edge of the previous pillar of calamity, she also brushed against a strand of fate.
Thus, a host of illusory illusions followed.
Five layers of "Flow State"? But they're all unfamiliar faces.
Wait, no... the one in the middle is the most popular contestant in the Sea Capital region, isn't his name Chu Yuanqing?
This is unbelievable! Such powerful, Shine Magic, and its source is actually a [Witch] trainee who hasn't even debuted yet?!
Before I could process this shock, the [Pure White Aria] had already completed its mission and entered the stage of hazy memory.
Golden Lamp felt the images in her mind rapidly blurring, and unless she used Meditation Method and magic to continuously cleanse and dig deeper, she could no longer find any substantial information.
Don't dwell on it.
Golden Lamp snapped out of her daze, looked at Astrid beside her, and nodded earnestly in reply:
"I understand, Dream Weaver teacher."
Although I've forgotten what I saw and heard, the lingering emotions in my chest are enough to tell me that what it represents... is very likely the hope for humanity's future.
Volume 1: 317. Magic Replenishment After the Fact: Who is the Gatekeeper? (5K)
On this day, all those affected by the [Calamity Wish] witnessed, amidst the songs that cleansed their souls, the boundless pure white that dispelled all darkness.
Although the [Pure White Aria] blurred everyone's memory afterward, the Magical Girl in front of the 46 pillars of calamity light all possessed a certain degree of resistance, and thus they all signed corresponding confidentiality agreements.
Thus, the [Calamity Wish] incident, which affected 46 regions worldwide, impacted nearly six million people, and almost prompted the higher-ups to deploy space-based weapons, prematurely exposing the core of the Savior Plan, has finally come to an end.
Time taken...
Three minutes?
No, to be precise, it's 217 seconds.
Astrid pondered the number, she looked at the Savior, still on stage, wrapping up her performance with unparalleled emotion, her dance and singing flawless, and fell into a silent awe.
If we disregard the stage warm-up and the dazzling process, and only consider the actual time she spent making her move, the entire process took less than 10 seconds.
That [Calamity Wish], which was already close to the level of world destruction with just a little development, was not even worth a speck of dust under the sunlight under this person's Destined Magic.
Most terrifyingly, in addition to the 46 pillars of calamity light, 3,791 other areas around the world were reported by their respective branches to have heard the [Pure White Aria] from Saint Wolfgang.
In other words, she also used some means to detect the victims left behind by [Calamity Wish] around the world, and sent those gun shadows of unknown origin to wipe them out.
This has gone beyond the normal scope of Shine Magic.
Chu Yuanqing undoubtedly locked in the concept directly, targeting the rules of [Calamity Wish].
As for the medium, it is most likely the wisp of calamity energy extracted from Luna.
So, if things go smoothly, she might have already killed the main body of [Calamity Wish] just now, but she killed it so quickly that the Countermeasures Bureau didn't even have time to notice.
This method is exceptionally domineering, just like the Saintess's [illusion]. The opponent's magical origin must also be a very overpowered type.
"That's incredible."
Astrid echoed the sentiment of Golden Lamp.
Even if Chu Yuanqing is placed in the position of "lighthouse," in the most optimistic scenario of the data model, it would take until after his debut, or even longer, to achieve something so exaggerated.
This is also the highest expectation that the higher-ups have for this Donghuang Treasure.
Although the opponent displayed unprecedented combat skills, and could be described as a war god who had been reborn after fighting in hell for a lifetime, the higher-ups always believed that Charlotte was irreplaceable in terms of stage presence and Shine Magic.
Now, the atmosphere, which was just moments ago extremely solemn, like a heavy meeting awaiting the verdict on humanity's fate, has entered the champagne-popping stage.
The attendees from the Donghuang Federation praised their Little Idol's excellence, even going so far as to engage in a game of praising one while criticizing the other, and subtly criticizing them while praising them overtly.
Well, although the [Lighthouse] is not to be trifled with, some people will bring up the Pure White Witch's teammates to imply that the new generation selected by the Holy United States is not up to par, just like childish elementary school students, filling the surroundings with a joyful atmosphere.
Astrid didn't get involved in the farce. She watched the stage come to an end from afar, casually deleted the post she made on Charlotte's social media account, and restricted related online discussions to minimize the visibility of Charlotte's hometown.
Meanwhile, live streams launched in Great Xia and various parts of Austria also experienced blackouts.
The Super AI turned to look at the Saintess and asked straightforwardly:
Charlotte, is [Calamity Wish] still alive?
Charlotte blinked, then smiled sweetly and said matter-of-factly:
"I don't know, but even if someone from the Cult of Disaster Gods saves it, it most likely won't survive."
"Did Xiao Meng notice those spears?"
The Doomsday Diva glanced at the Light Dust transformed from the Mercury Tree. Her frosty blue eyelashes drooped, and her eyes held an emotion that was hard to tell whether it was remembrance or sorrow. She spoke softly:
"Those are all projections of Mythical Weapon."
"The Eternal Spear possesses power involving fate and causality, capable of directly locking onto things at the level of rules; even [Calamity Wish] cannot escape it."
"Unless it originates from forbidden territory and has the full support of a certain religious sect, then perhaps it can be stopped."
"After all, the stage was rushed this time, and there wasn't enough time to gather more people to watch, so the brilliance provided was far from enough to bring out its full potential."
Astrid extracted the information and asked:
"Mythical Weapon, Eternal Spear"
"Is this related to her Destined Magic?"
Charlotte turned around and looked at her, then smiled and said:
"Do you know about Xiao Meng? But that's a girl's secret, and I have to keep it a secret for Xiao Qing, so let me keep you in suspense for now."
[Pure White Aria]
This is less like magic and more like a record of saving the world in the first playthrough. Revealing its full power is no different from revealing one's identity.
Although the situation is escalating, the disclosure of this information will not cause negative repercussions at the higher levels. However, once some secrets are exposed, they are no longer secrets.
Assuming that the Disaster God also possesses memories of the first timeline, then we must never allow them to obtain more information about Chu Yuanqing.
Astrid seemed thoughtful. She didn't ask any further questions. Her thoughts were similar to Charlotte's. Given that the power of the Calamity was unpredictable, it was best to use the [Lighthouse] as a surprise weapon, only needing to appear when the time was right.
Therefore, sometimes it's safest to keep things from your own people.
On the stage right now.
Kiriwake Yayoi smiled at the audience with her eyes lowered. She endured the splitting headache, helped the Little Cotton-padded Jacket next to her who almost fell, and while the audience was still stunned, she quickly bowed and left the stage with her teammates.
Tang Liuli looked like a withered cat, her twin ponytails drooping, her emerald eyes darting around, and her [Cocoon of the Heart] had lost its luster. She could only return to the Waiting Room by being dragged back by the cold and domineering Great Demon King beside her.
On this stage, everyone pushed themselves to their limits, while also bearing the severe backlash of the double-buff system. It's truly remarkable that they've persevered this far.
Xie Qingxuan is the same. She looks better than Liuli, which is purely because she is used to high-pressure stage performances and has more resilience. But in reality, she can't even enter Meditation State and could faint at any time.
In fact, if [Pure White Aria] hadn't pulled off a dramatic comeback at the end, there would definitely have been a major incident where everyone collapsed on stage and had to be rushed to the hospital.
After returning to the Waiting Room, the Little Idol, without even having time to change out of their stage outfits, collapsed onto the sofas, letting out sighs of either exhaustion or satisfaction.
The girls' four pairs of thighs were pressed together, making for a very pleasing sight.
Tang Liuli leaned on Chu Wangshu's shoulder, her eyes half-closed in drowsiness. Fortunately, she didn't do sit-ups before going on stage because of nervousness, unlike before, otherwise she would have collapsed from exhaustion halfway through.
"This time, everyone really gave it their all."
"Although I'm really tired, seeing the audience's reactions and knowing that I can help others gives me a very fulfilling feeling."
As Chu Wangshu spoke, she came to her senses, revealed a bright smile, and happily said:
"This must be the sense of accomplishment the teacher was talking about after realizing one's self-worth."
Kiriwake Yayoi closed her eyes, her pink lips curled up, and she said with a satisfied smile:
"This means that both Xiao Shu and we are one step closer to becoming idols, to becoming Magical Girl."
Xie Qingxuan stared blankly for a long time before softly asking:
"Xiao Qing, have we helped any other Magical Girl?"
The gilded light in the Pure White Witch's eyes dimmed. She activated her disguise, turning her hair and eyes completely black to conceal her unfocused gaze. She swallowed the sweet, metallic blood, tucked the lantern deep into her collar, and smiled as she said:
"Yes, of course. It's no exaggeration to say that each of us saved a million lives."
Although this is a scaled-down version of the truth, everyone still treats it as an exaggerated joke.