Chapter 227
After she finished speaking, fiery wings appeared behind her, and she leaped into the air, disappearing from everyone's sight.
Kougami Kage, as always, spent the day in his laboratory.
His girlfriend has recently become obsessed with raising dogs.
Therefore, Kougami also immersed himself in his scientific research after a long absence.
What she is currently studying is a Crystal.
The artifact, named "Ouroboros," was unearthed from an archaeological site in Europe a few years ago.
Previously, using its data, Kougami created a birthday gift for Lily.
She plans to apply her next achievement to Magic girls.
Just as she was struggling with a set of data and was about to relax by looking at Lily's photos, she suddenly heard a loud noise coming from outside the laboratory.
"-----Bang!"
Aside from being with his girlfriend, the usually calm and Kougami Kage was so startled that he instinctively trembled.
Even the coffee on the table was spilled a little.
She stared blankly for a moment, instinctively adjusted her glasses, and then looked towards the door of her laboratory. There she saw the Magic girl, Fate Kite, who seemed to be in a somewhat abnormal mental state, standing there.
This was the first time Kougami had ever seen Fate Kite so nervous, and she had arrived here in a rather reckless and hasty manner.
Upon seeing Kougami, Fate Kite immediately explained her current situation:
"Doctor Hong Shang! I... I think I can't transform into Silver Feather anymore. Can you help me figure out what's wrong?"
Upon seeing Fate Kite, Kougami first let out a breath, then silently pressed a button on her research table to conceal the experiment she had just been conducting, preventing Fate Kite from seeing the Serpent System Crystal.
"Kirishima, calm down. What did you just say about Silver Feather?"
After she comforted her, Fate Kite finally calmed down and told Kougami Kage about what had just happened.
After that, Kougami Kage pondered Kirishima Ai's words.
Can't I transform into Silver Feather anymore?
Even Kougami Kage had never heard of such a situation before. Then, she had Fate Kite take out the Crystal of the Silver Feather.
After receiving the Silver Feather Crystal, Kougami Kage gently pinched the Crystal in her palm. Just by holding it in her hand, she could already sense something was amiss.
Once upon a time, that bright and translucent Silver Feather Crystal.
Now it's dim and lifeless...
Chapter Thirty-Two: Miss Lily
After Kirishima Ai barged into the Doctor's laboratory, Doctor Hong Shang quickly figured out what had happened, and what followed was a dull, unusable Silver Feather Crystal.
It seems that even for the Doctor, this is the first time he has encountered such a situation.
When Crystal loses its luster, it means that all its Magic Power has been lost, and it has become an ordinary stone.
But how could Silver Feather have become like this?
There were no cracks on it; she had always kept it carefully, carrying it with her every day, and it had never been touched by any strange people.
Or is it her own problem?
In the end, the question remained unanswered. Kirishima Ai could only wait for the Doctor to finish collecting Silver Feather's data, then take Silver Feather home. There was nothing else she could do but wait for the results.
The issue of Silver Feather Crystal still requires the Doctor to spend some time researching.
However, this doesn't seem to be a very serious problem.
The Wingless Bird Takanashi Crystal that Takanashi used before has also shattered.
She already rarely uses Silver Feather Crystal, so even if she can't use them for a while, she doesn't need to worry about not being able to fight Monster.
Even if she can never transform into Silver Feather again, in a sense, she will only be missing a very meaningful piece of clothing.
Is that right...?
However, every time Kirishima Ai looked at the dull Silver Feather Crystal, seeing it lose its brightness for the first time and not knowing what it would become in the future, Kirishima Ai's heart suddenly felt empty.
Why do I feel this way?
After the sun set, Kirishima Ai returned home with the dull-colored Silver Feather Crystal.
Should we ask Takanashi?
R'lyeh someone can figure out what's going on with R'lyeh?
After returning home, she didn't turn on the lights. She simply lay down on the bed, picked up the Silver Feather Crystal, held it above her head, and stared at it blankly.
The Crystal's shape was reflected in the girl's clear, black eyes.
"Will I be able to transform into you again in the future?"
Kirishima Ai murmured softly.
Hopefully, it's just a minor malfunction, and maybe after she sleeps it off, the Silver Feather Crystal will be back to normal by tomorrow morning.
She glanced at the calendar; in a few days, it would be time for her and her mother to go to the museum.
Thinking about all these various things, Kirishima Ai carefully stored the Silver Feather Crystal by her bedside, then lay down on her side.
The room was only lit by a sliver of light filtering through the curtains, faintly illuminating some photos and her own belongings.
Some are photos of Silver Feather himself, some are photos of Kirishima Ai with her family, and some are photos she recently took with Teacher Haihara.
There are also Silver Feather figurines.
Silver Feather always smiles at these recorded, silent objects, which is quite unlike Kirishima Ai's usual demeanor.
But it was a dazzling sight that Kirishima Ai greatly envied.
How should I put it...? It's the image of a hero in her mind.
Thinking about all these random thoughts, Kirishima Ai felt it was about time she went to sleep.
Her eyelids grew increasingly heavy with sleepiness...
Will I have dreams that night?
When faced with frustrating or unpleasant situations, people often want to sleep it off, pretending that those facts don't actually exist, hoping to muster the courage to face them again the next day.
On a few occasions, Kirishima Ai found the lighting in her room to be strange in her dreams.
It made her unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.
At these times, Silver Feather would always suddenly appear in her dreams, becoming a completely different person from her.
At night, her room was dimly lit and carried the chill of a winter night. Silver Feather sat quietly by the window, gazing at everything in sight with a gentle and serene expression, as if this alone brought her joy.
In her hand, she seemed to be holding a dull gem. When she looked at it, her usually beautiful eyes revealed a look of loss.
Kirishima Ai vaguely seemed to have seen such a scene, but her mind was still hazy, and she couldn't fully wake up from her dream.
She blinked sleepily and asked instinctively:
"Silver Feather, are you unhappy...?"
If Silver Feather isn't responding to it, and why did it suddenly change its attitude, could it be because it's unhappy?
Because in the past, it was always Silver Feather fought hard, often ending up covered in wounds, but now, Kirishima Ai is gradually using other powers.
That's why she showed that expression.
However, seemingly noticing that Kirishima Ai had woken up, Silver Feather by the window turned his head slightly and looked at Kirishima Ai in bed.
She thought for a while about what Kirishima Ai had said.
And his eyes, which had initially appeared slightly somber, now held an enigmatic light, as if they held a mixture of joy and sorrow.
"No."
A captivating smile appeared on Silver Feather's face, which was even more beautiful than Kirishima Ai's.
"I was just thinking, we did a lot of fun things together recently, right?"
She spoke softly.
A cold wind is howling outside the window, and snow is falling. I wonder if I'll see a layer of snow like goose feathers when I go out tomorrow.
And the Silver Feather themselves are as beautiful and pure white as the snow.
A dazed and confused Kirishima Ai pondered with her not-so-good brain, then mumbled incoherently for a while, trying to figure out what Silver Feather meant.
If you asked her to think about it, the only thing she could think of was when she was soaking in a hot spring with Teacher Haihara.
So white, so soft, so fragrant.
What was that again?
"Um..."
Although Kirishima Ai wasn't fully awake, she remained blushing, huddled under the covers, and covered her face with the blanket—a habit of hers.
In bed, she continued listening to Silver Feather speak:
"We went on a trip in the teacher's car, stayed in a hotel together for two days, soaked in hot springs, ate lots of delicious food, and went to many fun places."
Silver Feather's smile was truly dazzling.
Kirishima Ai didn't know if she would show such a smile, because when she wasn't transformed into Magic girl, she didn't seem to have anything special about her.
"And we even watched fireworks at the end."
What she didn't say was that she eventually confessed her feelings to Teacher Haihara.
Although the teacher never gave a reply in the end.
But Silver Feather looked very happy, or rather, blissful.
Her eyes held a childlike wonder.
In fact, the experience a while ago must have been quite novel for Silver Feather.
She, Magic girl who is always fighting, appears in her spare time.
However, Kirishima Ai felt that something was strange:
"... Silver Feather?"
She called Silver Feather's name softly.
Silver Feather, standing before her, stared at the dull gem in her hand. Her smile faded, and her gaze shifted to the side, as if trying to conceal something.
Kirishima Ai began to sense something was wrong. She groggily peeked out from under the covers and stretched out a weak hand, trying to touch the Silver Feather not far away.
As if she hadn't noticed her presence, Silver Feather lowered her head, her hands somehow closing up to completely cover the Crystal in her hands.
"So... I feel very satisfied and happy."
Kirishima Ai stared blankly for a while.
The Silver Feather before her eyes grew increasingly illusory and blurry, and the serene, white silhouette of the girl gradually became transparent, like a soul that might vanish at any moment.
The emptiness and panic that had gripped them during the day began to spread.
Why?
If she was happy, then why did Kirishima Ai see Silver Feather display an expression that was so familiar to her?
The way she looks when she feels bitter but tries to hold on.
Why are you showing yourself like this again?
"One day, even if I suddenly disappear, you'll be strong enough, right?"
What does that mean?
Suddenly disappeared?
Kirishima Ai couldn't understand.
She reached out her hand, trying to grasp the Silver Feather, but only touched an illusory light. When she realized she had grasped nothingness, the silver-white girl in front of her vanished like a bubble.