Chapter 598
Her petite body spun in the air, blood splattering everywhere. In just a few minutes, the red-haired girl was already in a sorry state, her body covered in wounds.
"What's wrong? Magical Girls, is this all you've got? That's strange. I thought you at least had power similar to mine... I didn't expect..."
The Violence Demon pointed a distorted finger at Aurora, grinning broadly:
"--They're incredibly weak!"
"!!"
The word 'weak' deeply stung Aurora's heart.
She subconsciously looked up at the sky.
The Magical Girls and Pillar-Tier Demon enveloped by the barrier have all disappeared, but Aurora knows that, out of her sight, Yu Muqiu and the others are engaged in a life-or-death battle with the Pillar-Tier Demon.
Even though Yu Muqiu and the others had already delayed the Pillar Rank Demons outside, the result was... they were still so miserable even when facing an Upper Rank- level Demons.
Yes.
The Violence Demon was right.
I am so weak, so weak that... I need girls my own age to shield me, so weak that... I need to watch the person I love sacrifice themselves in front of me.
But--
"I can still fight!! Let's go again!!!"
The red-haired girl unleashed even greater power and swung her fist at the Violence Demon.
The distance of dozens of meters between the two seemed to disappear, as the red-haired girl crossed it in the blink of an eye.
His fist was raised high, the fist encased in arm armor, ready to fall upon the Violence Demon.
But the Violence Demon's face, which resembled that of a gorilla, revealed a ferocious smile:
"It's too slow!!"
Swish!
The Violence Demon vanished before the red-haired girl's eyes, leaving only a blur.
He approached the red-haired girl, his baseball bat covered in a layer of black and red light, reflecting a chilling black glow under the influence of magic.
"Violent Magic - Home Run!"
Boom!!!
An attack that was completely unimpeded and impossible to dodge landed on the red-haired girl.
A loud bang echoed through the air, and the red-haired girl suddenly vanished from the sky, only to be slammed into a nearby gas station.
Boom!!!
The powerful impact, combined with the magical reaction, caused the entire gas station to explode and burst into flames.
Flames shot straight into the sky, engulfing the red-haired girl's figure.
"Violence -- Full marks!!"
The Violence Demon raised his baseball bat high and shouted loudly.
But then the Violence Demon looked in surprise at the center of the fire.
"Whoosh--whoosh--"
Blood streamed down her forehead, and her armor was tattered, yet the red-haired girl stubbornly emerged from the flames, step by step, until she stood before the Violence Demon once more.
"I... said it...!" She clenched her fist, raised it towards the Violence Demon, and gritted her teeth, saying, "I can still fight!! Again!!!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, what tenacious vitality... Magical Girls are truly terrifying creatures, since that's the case—"
The Violence Demon sighed for a moment, then gripped the baseball bat with both hands and vanished again.
When it reappeared, the bat was only centimeters away from Aurora's head.
"Violent Magic - Violent Strike!"
"!!"
They couldn't react in time, couldn't dodge, and couldn't defend themselves.
The baseball bat grew larger and larger in Aurora's field of vision.
If she couldn't dodge that attack, she'd probably end up with her head shattered.
I... it seems like I'm going to die here...
Under the aura of death, time seemed to suddenly stand still for Aurora, and scenes from the past appeared before her.
When Aurora learned that the man was actually Xiao Bai and had already sacrificed himself, Aurora felt that probably no one in the world was in more Pain than she was.
Because Fang Ming was not just someone she liked, but also like family to her.
During the time she trained with Fang Ming, Aurora felt a long-lost warmth and joy.
She had never felt this way, not even from her uncle Harvey.
There was no other way; after all, his uncle was a gambling addict, and if he didn't go out to find work, they wouldn't have anything to eat...
To be honest, Aurora and her uncle Harvey weren't very close.
Because Harvey always wanders around, and every time he comes home, he's likely to bring back a bunch of debt collectors.
Although Harvey raised Aurora and gave her a warm home, though not large, it is an undeniable fact that Aurora was constantly worried that Harvey might sell her as gambling money.
Of course, the fact that Harvey never chose to sell Aurora, even until his death, is enough to prove that he was indeed a qualified uncle.
It's only natural that Aurora would cry for him and be sad for him.
But Fang Ming is different.
Fang Ming would scold Aurora, remind her to take a bath and eat properly, teach her to read and write, and treat her like a younger sister.
Aurora's feelings for Fang Ming may have begun to blossom around that time.
It wasn't until later, when she heard that Fang Ming was leaving, that Aurora realized her feelings for him.
Like...
I love the way he practices with me, I love the way he teaches me to read and write, I love his admonitions, even those that are a little stern, I love... I love everything about him.
Because she liked it, Aurora mustered up the courage to travel from the Americas District to the Central Continent District.
She mustered her courage and decided to make a move on him.
But in the end... he became Xiao Bai, and just like that, he left this world forever, leaving himself behind.
Fang Ming... is Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai is Fang Ming's Magical Girls form.
When Aurora first learned this, she was angry at being kept in the dark and deceived, but this emotion only lasted a few seconds before instantly turning into an even stronger love.
So that's how it is...
So the older man was actually Xiao Bai. No wonder Xiao Bai cared about him so much, and no wonder Xiao Bai always appeared at the most crucial moments.
The feelings of liking did not diminish; on the contrary, they became even stronger.
So intensely concentrated that it can never be dissolved in this lifetime.
But I loved him so much, why did he have to die...? Why...?
--Because you're too weak.
Deep within my heart, my own voice emerged.
In the blank world of consciousness, behind the red-haired girl stood her past self, the one who was dirty and whose clothes were somewhat tattered.
She was watching Aurora's retreating figure, and scolded her:
"'It's fine as it is now,' 'It's fine as it is,' 'As long as I can be with this old man, it doesn't matter if I don't become Magical Girls...' Wasn't that what you were thinking before?"
"... No."
"In the end, you never really wanted to be Magical Girls, right?"
"Meeting Little K was just an accident, and eliminating the monster was only because you had no idea what you were supposed to do. In fact, if it weren't for the uncle's appearance, you probably would have continued to be a henchman for the gang and then died in a gang war one day."
No!!!
"Then answer me, why didn't your strength improve before the old man sacrificed himself?"
"I..." Aurora turned her head abruptly, but looking at her past self, she couldn't answer no matter what.
She couldn't answer, but her past self could answer for her.
"Because you don't actually have a goal, right, Lyla?"
That's what she said in the past.
Aurora, however, fell silent and did not utter a word.
Volume 6 <Magic Autumn> Season 4: Chapter 639 Burning
Aurora never really knew what she should do.
She was in a state of extreme confusion about the future from beginning to end.
Becoming Magical Girls is the same; if it weren't for helping Little K and defeating those she hated, Aurora probably wouldn't have become Magical Girls at all.
In fact, later on, after eliminating Avery of the Aurora Society —that is, the clone in the cult town— Aurora was in a state of complete decline.
Are Demons about to attack? Demon Society come to this world?
Although Aurora was aware of this and outwardly appeared to be working towards it, Aurora secretly harbored the thought that 'there are even more powerful beings ahead of us.'
For example, Yu Muqiu, for example...
Xiao Bai.
That's right, Xiao Bai can solve everything.
That powerful Magical Girls, the Magical Girls who has never been defeated, she can definitely solve all of this, and all I need to do is stay with that old man.
But the girl's illusions were shattered.
Xiao Bai was the older man she liked; not only that, but the powerful Xiao Bai even sacrificed himself in front of her because of him.
I am too weak, so weak that it evokes a sense of sorrow.
Despite her Heart of Passion, she didn't have much Passion for becoming Magical Girls.
This is undeniably ironic.
"Because you have no goals, you're aimless; because you have no goals, you do whatever comes to mind; and because you have no goals, that's why you..."
The version of himself on the other side paused for a moment, then looked up at Aurora and said, "... that's why I'm so weak that it evokes pity."
"I... am not weak..."
"Really? Then why weren't you there when the old man died?"
"!"
"Because you can't participate in the battles of Pillar-Tier Demon at all, right? That was true then, and it's true now."
As Aurora spoke, she took a few steps forward and questioned her as if forcing her:
"So you couldn't be by his side when he sacrificed himself, you didn't even hear his last words, and even now, you still can't do anything... right?!"
"Enough!!!" Aurora covered her ears; she didn't want to hear her own inner voice anymore, she didn't want to face the facts that made her feel sad.
But my past self doesn't want to let her go.
That seemingly weak, small figure actually grabbed her wrist and pried it open, forcing Aurora to face the words she didn't want to hear.
She continued:
"Not enough!! No matter how much I say, it's not enough!! You're too weak, Aurora! You understand now! Without goals, without Passion, no matter how much you improve yourself, you won't grow! If you continue like this, you'll watch helplessly as the person you love dies in front of you again!"
Even you yourself—
"Then tell me, what should I do?!" Aurora cried, "I'm not as strong as Xiao Qiu, nor as courageous as Xiaoxia, and I'm not even as good at providing support as Xiao Chun and Dongdong. All I can do... all I can do is punch them!"
"That's like you said! Punch him!!"